Fallout Equestria: Baltimare Heights

Chapters

Prologue: All Bets Off
Chapter 2: Tower Tour
Chapter 3: Power Saver
Chapter 4: Of Memories and Monsters
Chapter 5: Grit Iron
Chapter 6: Ghoulish Grace
Chapter 7: Stalwart
Chapter 8: Shots Fired
Chapter 9: Timely Changes
Chapter 10: Stable Convenience
Chapter 11: To the Heights
Chapter 12: Life's A Luxury
Chapter 13: Wheel-N-Deal
Chapter 14: The Ponies We Meet
Chapter 16: Fearsome Sight
Chapter 17: Stress Tested
Chapter 1: A Stable Life
Chapter 15: The Friends We Keep

Prologue: All Bets Off

"War..."

"War never changes."

"Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria; balefire rained from the sky."

"As industrialization became ever more prevalent, the demand for trade goods such as coal and gemstones became more crucial to both Equestria and the Zebrecan nations. When demands became too high and too difficult to efficiently be met, tensions began to rise at a staggering rate."

"The disparagements between Roam and Canterlot led to the degradation of our trade agreements. As resources became strained, the princesses of Equestria prepared for the looming war. Birthing the infrastructure and social changes necessary to bring about the creation of the six ministries the bearers of harmony would lead."

"Thousands of casualties were suffered by both sides over the years but as measures were placed and advancements were made, it was inevitable that megaspells would be created: Spells contained and amplified a hundred fold. These bombs delivered us the wasteland we now know.

"Some ponies foresaw the fallout and prepared underground security bunkers that were designed to withhold against all the toxicity of the aftermath. StableTec constructed over a hundred of these stables all across Equestria in the hopes that the ponies who survived could eventually rebuild and revive this once magical land."

"Stable 109; the doorless stable of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences' Baltimare hub. Welcome to the stable of social and scientific stagnation."

Everyone at the table sat in dumbfounded silence. There were six of us sitting at a round table in a maintenance lounge on the fourth floor. All present stared at me as I polished off the last of the bottles I'd just won. It was refreshing. I felt good.

"Damn Glimmer, where'd all that come from?" asked a surly old unicorn stallion. His pale pink mane and purple coat were smudged with grease. "You need to get your nose outta them books."

The zebra stallion that sat close beside him looked from me to him and back again. "Surely you know the history as well as any of us, yes?"

The old unicorn looked like he wanted to answer but a red mare sitting to my right, spoke first. "Of course, I do, but who the hell monologues about that outta the blue during a card game?" She had a broad grin and threw a hoof across my shoulders, pulling me toward her. "Lighten up! Yeah sure, we're trapped in a doorless hole, and we break every rule the Overmare has just by being here doing this. We would definitely become fertilizer if we're caught but hey! Where's the fun in following all those dumb mindless rules."

The old purple stallion nodded and took a drink of his apple cider. Giving a refreshed glour to the rest of us. He was probably the oldest of the ponies here. "The Overmare's rules are to maintain our facility and our faculties. This stable hasn't always been divided."

The old zebra next to him spoke next, "This is true, there once was a time when he and I were colts." He briefly pointed a hoof toward the purple stallion, "In those times, the stable was as one and no restrictions had been forced on anyone."

"So what changed?" I asked as another pony dealt four faces down cards one at a time to each of us.

A mare with a green coat laughed and drank as she looked at her cards. The old stallion gave a sigh giving his four cards a look as well. "Look," he said, "About fifty years ago, the Overmare before our latest one decided that numbers were more important than everything else. That's about it."

I looked at my cards, I had a pair of twos, a queen and a seven. The round began and ponies either made a bet, a bluff or a fold. I made a bet and received a fifth card that was also a queen. "So, everything I've learned about our home is recent? Are all the restrictions on ponies and zebras a new thing?"

The zebra sitting next to me gave a nod. "We used to have living space up there too. I miss it." He had given a bluff of three, returning his extra card to the deck.

As the table began round two, I placed a bluff of four, moving the ace and queen pairs forward facedown and returned the seven to the deck in exchange for another seven off the top. Everyone else either folded or bluffed before everyone flipped their bluffs up. Only four of the players stayed in, my two pairs, the zebra to my left had three of a kind - fours, the older zebra across the way had five down, a low straight. The old stallion next to him had three kings.

His zebra friend won and blew a raspberry at the old unicorn. "You owe me twice now." the zebra bragged.

I sighed and waved my goodbyes to the drink I'd bet. "Well, I'm down to two bottles."

The old purple unicorn laughed, "Little missy, you even got a cutie mark yet? Why do we allow you to play these games with us?"

Eyes wide, "Really, Auger Wright? Weren't you the one who invited me?"

The zebra next to him laughed, "Actually, I was the one who insisted you join us for these games."

Auger laughed and threw a hoof around the zebra, pulling him in and giving him a noogie. "You weren't supposed to say anything, Fjorix!"

Fjorix feigned a struggle but laughed, "Let me go, let me go!" When he was finally released, he ran a hoof over his mane. "From stories and history, we are taught that our existence here is a luxury like no other. Despite the misconceptions and the subjugation of us all, we are still lucky to be here now."

The red earth pony mare to my right started dealing the cards to everyone who placed a bottle in the center. "Either way, I don't like it. Maintaining all the plumbing in this place stinks. Ever trudged through belly deep shit? I have. It stinks."

I checked my cards, grinned and put all four forward for a bluff. "Poppy Petal… That's gross."

"Shits gross, we all make it but when the pipe pops, I'm the one who's cleaning it up." She grimaced with a little shiver.

The table went on with the first round and only two folded. The rest of us made our bluffs and revealed them. I won it with a four of a kind being fives. Taking a big gulp of my drink, I levitated all the bottles to me. "You know, I imagine the world above isn't as bad as we all have been told. Surely that city up there has ponies living in it. What do you all think?"

Auger harrumphed at that. "You're still too young to know how mad that world is."

A ripple of agreements from everyone presents and I sat silently. "How would any of you know for sure?"

Fjorix answered immediately, hopping to his hooves, his chair scratching the concrete floor. "Because we are much older than you, our grandparents told stories of the descent and witnessed the madness that ensued on that dark day."

Auger put a hoof gently on the zebra's shoulder, coaxing him back down. "You've only been alive for feen years. We each have over fifty years on you, just know your place is here in the stable. You still have a long life ahead of you."

Regardless, I couldn't help wondering what Baltimare is actually like. It has been a century and a half after all.

Time flies but the stable stays still.

Chapter 2: Tower Tour

The clock on my EFS read nine in the evening. I had briefly stopped by my boss's office to gather up the enchanted gemstones and a manifest telling me where they each were meant to be installed. After that, I made my way to the elevator.

Upon reaching the elevator, a pair of earth pony guards greeted me. The larger one, a red stallion with a black mane, spoke first with a friendly smile. "Hello ma'am, what floor are you needing?"

I preemptively withdrew my floor pass and special clearance keycard. "I'm going to work from the fifth floor up tonight. I've a lot to catch up on since it's my Monday."

The guard verified my credentials and gave his co-officer a nod. "Fifth floor it is."

The smaller mare, who was white with a teal mane, gave a quick nod and stepped aside revealing the control panel. She pressed the button to call the elevator and we waited a short bit as the lights above the doors lit and dimmed one after another.

Finally, when the doors opened the mare stepped in first. I followed her into the elevator, pausing briefly to look at the large stallion. "Thank you, Big Red. It's always good to see you."

After the door closed the guard hit a button and the elevator began descending. I watched the mare fidget for a bit. "Got spiders in your mane?" I asked her curiously.

"I uh-" she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I'm new to security and…" Pausing again, she watched the light tick from three to four. "I've never seen a zebra, and this is the first chance I've had."

Go figure. "What's your name?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm Cerulean Snow." She admitted timidly.

We came to a stop and the doors opened. "Here's your chance, Cerulean." Just outside the door stood a very tall zebra mare in Stable 109 security barding. She simply nodded to me as I stepped out into the room. Looking back at the little white mare who just gawked at the zebra.

I almost wanted to laugh but chose not to, seeing the two of them staring at one another was kind of a funny moment. The Zebra stood two full heads over the white earth pony. I saw Cerulean's tail swoop under her as she slowly began to back away.

I quickly put a hoof in the way of the closing doors. She gave a nervous chuckle before giving me a pleading glare. I rolled my eyes and sat in the doors' way, pulling my credentials out again and showing them to the zebra. "I'm down here to replace some talismans."

She didn't move, but gave my ID badge a quick look over, it was the same routine as always. I had to say something to break the silent tension. "Ms. Zebra, what's your name?"

Her ears immediately swiveled to her front, but she seemed a bit disheartened by Snow's reaction. "I'm called Xeyal, you know this already." She answered in her usual accented way. I've become accustomed to hearing it as most zebras here have it but seeing Cerulean Snow's reaction was priceless. Her ears danced atop her head as she processed it.

Cerulean stepped forward and stood straight. "I'm Cerulean Snow and I've never met one of you before." the mare immediately panicked and walked back her thoughts, "I mean a Zebra, I mean… I've never even seen one until now and you're wearing the same barding as me. I'm just new. I'm sorry."

I smiled and shook my head a little chuckle before turning back up at Xeyal. She was smiling, an actual grin accompanied by the softest of chortles behind a risen hoof.

"It's all okay, my little pony friend. We are both protectors of our stable and I believe, unlike many zebras here, that we need more cooperation." Her accent seemed to stun Cerulean into a calmer state. She dropped onto her rump next to me in the elevator door.

With that I stood and stepped away. "I'll leave you two to it, keep in mind, Cerulean, don't keep Big Red waiting too long."

Xeyal had seated herself and was sharing a story, so Cerulean Xeyal looked my way with a smile and gave a quick nod. Taking my leave with a quickened pace, I made my way from there to the first stop I had to make, which was my favorite stop.

Opening the windowed doors to the apple orchard always gave me a glint of excitement and wonder. The ponies who designed our stable gave us this beautiful place. Despite being underground, the room was equipped with atmospheric controls providing everything needed to keep these plants as healthy as possible.

The warm humidity inside was a welcomed treat. The smell that hung in the thicker air had a certain sweetness to it that couldn't be found anywhere else. While here, I knew well enough not to eat anything, despite the deliciously plump apples that hung off every branch of every tree. Spotting a few zebra loading baskets of apples onto a flat cart, I trotted over and gave a friendly, "Hello!"

Both of them turned to see me. One of them just returned to his work while the other came to meet me. "Hello. You are here to repair the water, yes?"

I nodded, "Yep, which gemstone broke?"

He swung a hoof for me to follow him as he turned off and started toward the wall where I could see the maintenance door. He pushed down on the large handle and pulled it open. Inside was a small platform with a stairway leading up to the control station.

I listened to the hiss of steam and the grinding of gears that echoed from all around. The low growls of the machinery and clanking of metal actually gave me a feeling of comfort. I couldn't help but smile a little.

The zebra that guided me shouted over the noise, "We are almost there. It will be on the right."

After too many steps, we came to the familiar deck that housed the majority of atmospheric controls for this greenhouse chamber. There were four more zebras here, one of which scowled when he saw me but kept working his station.

The one I followed spoke quietly with a mare who gave a small nod. I watched patiently as she tapped a few buttons which popped open a nearby wall panel to reveal a space with several moving parts and pipes. In its center was a box with a small latch. "Do what you must," he told me before departing back the way we came.

I set to work, I opened the latch and released the clasps that held the two dull sapphires and removed them. Using my magic and drawing out my bag of talismans, I withdrew two of the eight water talismans and inserted them before locking them in place. I waved a hoof to the zebra mare who nodded and reengaged the system. Both gems began to shine as the magic within them began generating fresh clean water.

With a confirmation from the zebra who didn't want me there, I closed the little box and took my leave. The panel slid shut and I sighed, feeling a daunting sadness fall over me as I looked around. One zebra just glared at me, the mare wouldn't look at me, and the other two were snickering amongst themselves with a sideways glance my way.

I wasn't sure, but I could bet that they chuckled at some joke given at my expense. Without another word I went back down the stairs and continued on to my next stop, the trash incinerator was having issues.

I watched a few maintenance and security zebras out and about. Per usual, most were in bed at this time of night. Whatever a pony here could consider night to be anyway. So, few ponies ventured around down here that even after thirteen years in my position, I still receive weird gazes and snide remarks. Many of the zebras here never even see a pony. The separation between us makes it uncanny and uncomfortable for most everyone it seemed.

However, my frequency down here has given me a few unlikely friends and plenty of ways to break a few rules. I passed through the atrium that centered floors four and five. Only a few zebras were present, mostly just cleaning up after the days festivities. I could see the remains of popped balloons, stray streamers and homemade confetti. A few of them looked my way as I passed through.

I swiftly made my way through the empty halls until I got to the trash incinerators. This place had several trash chutes that all ended here, several large metal bins on small metal wheels were still filled with garbage and even one large black bag on a wheeled table.

There was a zebra sleeping with his hooves over his chest and his rear hooves up on his desk. The door opening and closing behind me hadn't disturbed him. I ignored the sleeping zebra as I walked past the garbage pile. I couldn't describe the stench that lingered in here and it was bewildering that this stallion could sleep in such a place.

I made my way to the terminal on the wall next to the closed incinerator. Tapping a few keys brought me to a key card authorization. Using my maintenance key granted me access. Tapping away at the keyboard with my magic, I opened the door to incinerator. I double checked that all functions were turned off and opened the floor panel that housed a fire talisman.

Before entering I double checked my list and found that I was carrying one ruby enchanted for fire production and two that were enchanted with restoration magic. I levitated all three out and quickly identified the marking for the fire ruby.

Putting the others away, I entered the incinerator and quickly swapped out the gemstone. Being in there is always a little unnerving, even when it's off. The walls were equipped with small nozzles that would spew fire when turned on, the ceiling had water sprinklers to clean away the ash. The floor grates that lined the floor would drain away any and all remains.

I quickly left the chamber and closed the door, feeling relieved. I logged off the terminal and made my way over to the sleeping zebra. He just snorted and mumbled but kept snoozing.

"Hey! It's time for work." I kicked his desk hard, and he jerked upright in his seat as it landed back on all four legs. "Good, you're awake. I wanted to let you know that the incinerator's fire gem has been replaced. You can now burn trash again."

He slapped his desk with both forehooves as he stood, "You do not tell me what to do, unicorn."

I rolled my eyes and promptly left him in his stink hole. I was following my usual route reading my list of to-dos to see where my next stop was when I bumped into something that didn't move. I took an unsteady step back and looking up, a very tall Xeyal stood in my way, looking down at me. "Uh… my bad."

The resolve I saw in her eyes made me weary, "the Elders want to speak with you."

I felt a little panic, "the Elders?"

"Yes. I was asked to retrieve you. Now follow me." She turned and began a brisk trot down the hall. I almost had to gallop to keep up. Why is she so damn tall!

I followed her tail as she quietly breezed through the halls back to the atrium. How is a mare that big that quiet?

We went up the main stairs and into the double doors at their top. I couldn't help myself but watching her ass sway per step was somewhat entrancing. She led me up a short set of stairs and along another shorter hallway. At the end of it was another set of double doors.

She pressed a button on the wall and spoke quietly into the speaker beside the door. "I have arrived with the unicorn maintenance mare you've requested."

A moment of silence filled the hall then the speaker crackled, and a stallion spoke in a much thicker accent. "Good," a small click came from the door. "You may enter now."

The doors receded into the walls on either side. We entered together and inside was a large lounge with several very old looking zebras seated around a table. A few other elderly zebras sat off to the sides of the room. It was lined with bookshelves and tables, display cases and statues. Probably one of the most lavish rooms in the whole stable.

I followed the large mare sheepishly. Xeyal didn't speak, opting to bow before sitting on the floor in front of those who sat at the table.

the old mare that sat nearest us seemed to be looking me over. "Do you know why you are here?"

I shook my head no.

She didn't react at all. "Do you know who we are?"

"No." I answered, shaking my head again.

She gave a small, annoyed huff then turned and nodded to the rest of the table. A stallion stood slowly; his voice was unexpectedly more boisterous than he looked. "Do you know what you are?"

The question lingered in the air, it made my stomach churn a little and my voice caught in my throat. "Yes." I examined my hooves for a moment before looking back up at the old buck.

He walked around the table to stand in front of me. "Does the name Glyph Stone mean anything to you, Glimmer Stone?"

This time I couldn't hide the shock I felt, it made my heart quicken enough for me to hear it. I stood and took a few measured steps backward. He had an ugly scar across his cheek and eye, and one of his ears was missing most of its tip. "How?" I asked hesitantly, "What is it? How do you know me?"

He seated himself and cocked his head to one side, his ears swiveled toward me. "Don't overreact, it serves no purpose."

I scrambled to right myself, flushing with embarrassment as Xeyal just shook her head with a hoof pressed against her brow.

"Little pony… You're of the same blood as I. Glyph is my son and your mothers like a daughter." He touched his chest gently with a forehoof. "You see; you are safe here."

"Then you all know I'm a hybrid?" I asked and saw Xeyal's eyes widen in surprise. However, all the elderly ponies just gave reassuring nods and quips in agreement.

"Your mother, Silver Torrent, has always been one unicorn unlike any other. She helped us, healed us and fought for us." He paused and held a hoof out to the elderly mare who originally spoke.

She spoke with her heart in her throat. "My Glyph Stone died for our safety. She warned us of our impending demise when the Overmare of that time determined us dangerous and unneeded. All of us were to be incinerated. Our rebellion showed them we are capable of protecting our own."

A third zebra at the table spoke up. "Despite our better efforts, we failed to find equality and now we are destined to be hated and forgotten." Several of the zebras in the room grumbled in agreement. "Our brothers and sisters are sickened and struggling. We aren't wanted. We are needed."

The stallion spoke up again. "Silver Torrent has requested of us to help you to help us and to help us we must have freedom."

The room fell silent. Then I realized they were waiting on me to speak. "I… I want to help but I don't even know where to begin."

"It isn't a one-day task. It will take time for change to come. You are the only one who can bring about that change. The ways will show themselves, so take pace and remember this." He smiled at me. "If you are even half the zebra your father was, you will succeed." With that he stood and stepped toward me, scooping me up into a big hug.

His sheer strength surprised me. I can't breathe! A moment later he dropped me with his hooves on my shoulders. "You must follow your mothers' instructions and meet her up in the tower."

"I may have someone capable of joining me. Hopefully between him and I we'll be able to get out of here." I smiled but it wasn't with happiness. Meeting my dad's parents… it was easier than expected.

The elderly mare stood and slowly moved to Xeyal. "You understand that this secret must remain a secret. If by any chance she's discovered as a zony, she'll be hunted down and killed on sight."

I shivered at the cold honesty. A Zony? I thought briefly. Seeing Xeyal’s solemn nod gave me a little reassurance that despite what I am, I could still be seen as acceptable. Knowing my life up until now had been a pile of lies still left a bitter taste in my mouth though.

Despite that I still had a lot of unanswered questions. “What actually happened back then. During the uprising, I mean.”

“There’s much to be said on that topic. For now, just know that your father was a hero and a martyr.” The stallion said without missing a beat. "What is your plan?"

Mulling over his question for a moment, I had given it plenty of thought, but I was no closer to figuring it out. "I'll be honest. I don't know yet. Coffee Bean and I will probably make a break for the teleporter tomorrow night. He knows the guards' patrols and is devising the best timing."

He gave a nod and returned to his seat on the far side of the table. "Niara, my love. Please give our granddaughter the gift we prepared."

The old mare nodded and brought a box out from under the table to sit in front of her. She gave the package a small push and it came to stop in front of Xeyal and I. Niara gave a smile. "Healing potions and special rejuvenation brews. Six of each. Burdel and I made them to take with you."

I took the box and removed the lid. Inside were twelve glowing bottles. Half were a deep red and the other half were a vivid light purple. moving them into my pack with my magic, I looked around the room, everyone here, I could consider to be family now. "Thank you."

"We hope to see you again. Go now, find your mother and she can explain more of what you don't yet know. Take care, Glimmer Stone." Niara spoke with a kindness I had only ever heard come from my mom when she would try to comfort me as a filly.

I smiled the best I could then turned to retrace my steps. Xeyal moved ahead of me to guide the way. Her tail swishing elegantly.

As we neared the atrium, I could almost smell her from here, it made me lightheaded with a daydream of her and I. When she came to an abrupt stop, I caught myself almost in her tail horn first.

She looked at me in bewilderment and I could feel a blush heat my cheeks. She smirked and lashed her tail as she sat down beside the door. "You will see me again when you least expect it."

I wanted to ask what she meant by that, but there were zebras around. "Have a good night, Xeyal. See you later.

This room… I spent all day cleaning and organizing it. I wanted to take all of my most cherished things, but none of it could come with me. Where is he? I looked at the time and continued to pace in my small space.

I wore my stable 109 jumpsuit under my utility barding and saddlebags along with an extra set of four small saddle packs attached to my belts. I had organized my inventory four times and had made sure that I hadn't forgotten anything. Twice.

A knock came at my door and I quickly opened the door to let Coffee Bean in. He moved inside quickly, the door closing behind him. "Are we ready?" I asked.

Without speaking he reached into one of his saddlebags and pulled out a map that he unrolled on my desk. "The teleporter is here," he pointed a hoof at a room that branched off the hallway that ran from the atrium to the Overmare's office. "Security is always posted here and here." His hoof tapped on the atrium and on the Overmare's office.

"So how do we get around them unnoticed?" I questioned with an inkling of a thought.

"I figure we can provide a distraction. I could claim that the zebras are coming up the utility stairs," he offered.

Shaking my head "mm-no," I started slowly. "If anything, they would stay posted where they are for the Overmare's protection. Maybe some lesser disturbance." I tapped my chin with a hoof. "Perhaps a fire in one of the atrium's restaurants?"

He nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Here, I found a stash of this stuff once and never bothered with it." He pulled an unopened bottle of Applebuck Whiskey. Contraband. Illegal to make, have or consume within the stable.

"Never have I ever drank or wanted to drink." I said with a smirk, levitating the bottle to me. Popping the cap off of it, he gave a smirk and no protest. I had a big drink. Feeling the alcohol burning my tongue and throat I gulped and held the bottle out for him. I coughed feeling the immediate effects of it spread throughout my body.

He took the bottle and proceeded to take an even larger pair of gulps, ending with a refreshed "Ah!" He found the cap where I'd dropped it accidently and closed the bottle before hiding it back in his pack. "Been a very long while." He said with a smile.

I nodded primly, "first time for everything."

"Tonight's a night for a lot of firsts," He answered somberly. "Right, let's go, we can work out more of a plan once we've gotten out."

I paused and went back to my desk, scooped up the hoof-made map and put it in his bag for him. "Are you sure you're up for this? Chances are you won't be able to come back."

Great, he took it the wrong way. He balked at my assertion."If you think I'm abandoning my home, I don't see it that way. This stable will always be my home and helping you now will be helping save my home from itself." He paused and chose his next wording, "I know your secret and I know what is at stake here… I agree that the zebra shouldn't be subjugated the way they are."

"I just… I didn't expect you to so willingly help me. I know I haven't been the friendliest customer in the past."

He smirked and waved a hoof before him. "It's fine. I've always treated it like a game, you're easy to get a reaction from. I always found it cute to be fair, but it was a highlight of the mornings for me."

That made me steam a little, "Rude, I knew it!"

He only offered a grin in response, "You and I are a lot alike. Neither of us followed our parents' profession and we both are a bit standoffish to the rest of them, aren't we?"

He had a fair point there, even if it was an assumption on his part. "Whatever… I honestly don't think I could do this alone." With that I moved in and gave him a hug, "Thank you."

He hugged me back, squeezing me just enough to comfort and it made all the chaos in my head tone down for a moment. This week has been unexpectedly crazy. I could stay here for a while longer…

He let go, and so I reluctantly did too. "We should get going," he told me, glancing off at his own EFS clock.

We both left the room and made our way to the atrium in silence. Making it there unnoticed was easy, after entering the atrium we stuck close to the walls under the upper floor balconies. Luckily no security was present here. I used my maintenance key to unlock the restaurant and we slipped inside.

Coffee Bean turned to me with a puzzling look. "Do we need to actually set a fire to get past them?"

"I'd think it would make it more convincing and allow us a more genuine go at them. Beats lying and hoping they believe it." I told him as I started toward the kitchen at the back of the restaurant.

He gave a soft sigh and nodded. "Mom's going to hate me for this one."

"Does your mom work here?" I asked him, as we entered the kitchen.

"No, she's in security too, but vandalism is rare. She'll be mad when she finds out it was me."

I began to turn on the burners and toss tablecloths and cleaning rags onto them. "If they ask, just blame me."

With smoke building up I grabbed a chair in my magic and we quickly left. I placed the chair in the door to prevent it from closing.

We ran up the stairs to the two guards posted outside the twin doors leading to the Overmare's quarters and office. The guards stiffened at our sudden approach, "Halt, what's the commotion about?"

I spoke first, trying to make myself sound frantic. "I was replacing a gemstone in the kitchen of his restaurant and, and…" I began to huff and puff as if hyperventilating. "We need your help down there!"

Coffee just nodded frantically and stamped his hooves in a hurry. Both the guards just looked at one another. "Yeah right, good try. Go back to work."

"She's not joking! My kitchen is actually on fire! Help me you dolts!" Coffee Bean had given his voice an almost shrill pitch.

I turned to see black smoke coming up from below. "See!" I shouted pointing a hoof at it.

That got them to move. They took off around us and down the stairs. I took the opportunity to open the doors. We ran inside and galloped around the corner.

Two more guards were at the end of the hall. One started speaking into an earpiece as the other started trotting toward us, a metal baton floating beside him. "This area is off limits! Leave now."

Fear. It made my hooves heavier than stone. I wasn't prepared to fight; I've never fought before. Coffee Bean charged forward. I gave myself a little shake and broke into a gallop. "We just need to get inside! I shouted."

He shot a sideward glance to me and nodded. He was smiling. Coffee Bean jumped to the side of the leading unicorn to dodge a strike with the baton. With a swift twist and a solid buck to the unicorns' side.

Thrown off balance, the unicorn hit the wall and swung the baton to find that it was no longer in his magic. I brought it down on his head as hard as I could. The crack of metal on bone. He dropped to the floor like a sack of flour.

I was breathing heavily, my mind going a mile a minute. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. I hope you recover okay, just please don't be dead!

"I'm sorry!" I shouted, running past the downed unicorn. The earth pony stallion took a battle stance and hopped aside to avoid a kick from Coffee Bean, then danced backward to avoid my first downward swing.

He held a baton in his mouth and swung it knocking mine away as I tried to bring it back up under his chin. He kicked forward toward me but bucked backward catching Coffee Bean in the chest, knocking him away. I twisted and tried to buck at him but he hopped back onto his rear hooves, bringing his forehooves down at me.

I quickly dodged it, his hoof stomps echoing down the hall. Coffee Bean shouted something, but I was too focused. I brought the baton around and swung it at the back of his hooves, tripping him just as he started toward me. I jumped forward and his face landed against my hooves. He dropped to the ground but quickly stood back up.

Spitting the baton out, he put his hoof through its chain. "You bitch!" With that, Coffee Bean saved the day. He gave the earth pony a solid squared kick to the ribs. the side of his shocked face hit the wall first.

Down he went. I dropped the baton next to him before jumping over him and hurrying to the door.

Using my maintenance keycard on the doors card reader thankfully opened it with a green light and a soft click. Coffee Bean and I rushed inside.

"We have very little time to work with," Coffee Bean reminded me. "More guards will be here any minute." He was looking around the room, it wasn't a large room, there was a round glass chamber in the center of it and a control panel between us and it.

I raced over to those controls. Everything seemed to be set to the previous use, which is exactly what we needed.

Holding my pipbuck up, I tugged a cable from it and plugged it into the terminal. The lock on the terminal could be overridden but I lacked any knowledge to do such a thing. "I can't access it. No idea what I'm looking at here." Several blocks of numbers and letters scrolled by with some words seemingly randomly placed in the jargon.

"Maybe I can be of help." a female voice with that distinct accent came from somewhere behind us. Suddenly a very tall and familiar zebra appeared. "You have three chances." Xeyal was saying as she looked over my shoulder at my pipbuck screen. "That one." she said with a nod.

"Which one?" I queried. I pointed at one of the words that read "Ascension".

She nodded. "Yes. I believe that will grant you access." I selected it and the terminal screen flashed "Access Granted"

I disconnected my pipbuck and turned to the zebra, "How are you here?"

"Nevermind that, we must move now." She insisted, pushing in close beside me. "Turn on the teleporter and begin the synchronization protocols. It should only take a little time to prime before we teleport."

Coffee Bean just sat in shocked silence. His gaze hadn't left Xeyal since she had appeared from nowhere. I focused and followed her direction. The chamber began to glow as magic flowed into it.

As soon as I had finished, Xeyal spoke loud over the humming of the teleporter. "Good, all in now."

Just then the door behind us opened as several guards poured in, followed by the Overmare in a pink nightgown.

All three of us quickly moved into the center chamber and the Overmare was shouting something, but it was lost as the magic whirled up and engulfed us.

In that same moment everything flashed white and we found ourselves standing in the center of a dilapidated and dingy room. The chamber was the identical albeit, much darker and lit by a single red rotating light centered above the only door.

"Are we actually out?" Coffee Bean asked.

"Yes. We're now in the Ministry of Arcane Science above Stable 109." I answered, stepping out of the dust-covered glass chamber.

"To answer your earlier question. I used a gift from your grandparents. They asked me to keep you safe." She dug into a saddlebag and tugged out the corner of what I could guess was a blanket. She tucked it away again. "Zebra Stealth Cloak, provides invisibility and dampens the sounds of the wearer."

Coffee Bean followed along a little behind, "Thanks for helping, Miss uh…"

The zebra gazed back at him before turning to face him. "My apologies, my name is Xeyal, and you are?"

He stammered, looking up at her, "I'm Coffee Bean. I was a cafe server and chef."

She simply nodded. "I'm a senior security officer for the zebra floors and was tasked with protecting you both."

Coffee Bean took to sitting and so did I. He looked at me and asked, "Where do we start then? We're here to find the mission team, my dad had a bad feeling about it. He acted like they were being sent to their deaths."

"Mom said the same. She got the feeling that they wouldn't be allowed back into the stable." I responded evenly. Despite the rising anxiety I felt. Feeling out of place and without direction. I looked up at the small red light. "Looks like this place is running on backup generators."

"Or perhaps it's in a security lockdown." Xeyal chimed in wistfully. "In security, we have access to the pipbuck tags of all zebras and we can use that to track down anyone out of place. Didn't your mother give you her tag before leaving?"

I gave a quick nod and went about looking at my pipbuck. I dug through menus until I turned her tag on. A solid blue upside-down triangle appeared on my compass across the bottom of my vision. Above it in tiny numbers, "100m and probably above us."

Xeyal and Coffee Bean followed me out into what looked like the main lobby of the ground floor. Again, the room had to be dimly lit by a couple of red emergency lights that rotated and bathed the room in a red glow. I'm already getting sick of it.

Now, I never was great at magic, but I know a few tricks and spells. It didn't take much focus to magic a wisp of light into being above me. It didn't consume too much magic to make, but it did require some focus to keep it formed and following.

Coffee Bean gasped, causing me and Xeyal to rush over to him. He was looking out past the large receptionist desk. "Do you see them all?" he whispered as we got over to him.

Xeyah gave a sharp inhale as she peered out across the open room. I followed their gazes and moved my orb out into the center of the room. As it moved, I could clearly see that the majority of the floor was hidden by skeletons. The floor stained red by long dried blood could barely be seen in between the piled bones.

"Oh Celestia," I whispered. intensifying the light from my orb to properly illuminate the room. The windowed walls of the room were stained glass and above the main entrance depicted a purple unicorn rearing up in front of and surrounded by stars. Beyond the glass was just dense dark green. It looked sickly and obscured everything outside the wall.

"How many may be here?" Xeyal asked quietly.

"I can't imagine." Bean replied grimly. "I wonder how it happened."

I looked away, returning the light orb to me and tuning it back down, I could feel myself starting to get tired from the spell. Looking along the receptionist's desk closest to me, beside the terminal were a few nic-nacs and some photos. I gently blew dust off the photos.

They depicted a light pink mare with a flower cutie mark standing with a colt and a filly and a stallion for a family picture. The filly was reared up with her hooves against her father's knee. The little colt sat with a huge smile and a small glow around his horn, maybe being the one to take the photo.

I couldn't imagine what that day must have meant to them or how long ago it was even taken but seeing this happy family from a bygone era standing on green grass and surrounded by shady trees under a blue sky. It made me sad, and I didn't know why. Maybe it was the carefree looks they all shared or the setting that surrounded them. Either way I felt like crying a little, in this dark room surrounded by the bones of so many ponies.

I sighed with a heavy heart and skimmed the paperwork on the desk. Most of it seemed to be calendars and appointments, schedules and names. Opening the drawers offered a few gold bits, which I promptly took, alongside a variety of office supplies. Checking the other drawers offered folders of paperwork and two unopened bottles of Sparkle Cola and a box of carrot cakes.

I took the snack cakes and sodas because why not. Food was something we should have packed. Searching the other three desk spaces yielded two bags of chips, five bottles of water and another Sparkle Cola.

Looking around, I saw Coffee and Xeyal standing by a couple elevators. Joining them, I heard Coffee Bean speaking. "So, do you think they'll work?"

Xeyal shook her head. "I think it would be safer for us to use the stairs. We don't know what did... that... to all these ponies, but the bones are thicker at the doors. Whatever it was, may still be here."

I watched as he blinked. Then he blinked again. "Do you actually think whatever killed all these ponies-" he swept a hoof across the room "-would still be around after over a hundred and fifty years later?"

"Well, the teleporter worked on the backup power, maybe the elevators do too. It beats using the stairs." I thought out loud.

"Too bad we don't know what's where." Coffee Bean grumbled under his breath, then his ear twitched a little. "Wait, how far above are they?" He asked, looking at me.

Huh? Checking, I responded tentatively. "About one hundred."

He scratched his chin for a moment. "I'll bet you they are on floor fourteen or fifteen."

"I'll take that bet." I said with a smile. "Let's go back to the teleporter and see if there are others on higher floors."

"Good thinking," came the zebra's voice as she walked back the way we had come.

"She's excited to be here." I told Coffee.

He looked confused, "really? I can't tell."

"Well, I can only guess but I'd imagine that she's more than happy to be the first zebra out of our stable. C'mon, let's catch up." I took a quick trot and he scrambled to catch up.

Catching up, Xeyal had already accessed the teleporter's control console. She was navigating the menus faster than I cared to keep track of. She finally stopped and asked, "Where do we go? We have twelve possible locations but four are offline and two are restricted access."

Coffee Bean looked over the list of locations and after a moment pointed a hoof at the screen. "We should start there, Option five; Engineering."

Coffee Bean then pointed his hoof at one of the red inaccessible floors. "Floor fifty-five - Executive Office. That must be the top floor. Shouldn't we explore some of the floors for information on the tower? Maybe the security office is here on the ground floor." He looked to our zebra companion and continued, "Wouldn't they have interior maps or something we can use?"

Xeyal gave a moment of silent thought then nodded. "Certainly, I would expect an armory as well. Although, it may not be here on the ground floor." She refocused on the terminal, and I watched as she ran the processes to synchronize the teleporter with floor twenty-three.

The machinery around us started up and we moved onto the teleporter pad. I wonder what all this place worked on back in the war…

I looked at Coffee just as the pad below us swirled with blue and purple magic. He just gave me a smile.

Footnotes:
Level Up! Lv. 1
Perk Unlocked: Folly's Foil
Carefully make haste!
+1 Luck

Chapter 3: Power Saver

In a flash of magic, we appeared in a similar room complete with annoying red lights. The compass on my EFS showed that my mother's tag was much closer now.

The three of us circled around the computer consoles and exited through the only door. "It looks like they're on this floor. This way!" I told them quickly before breaking into a hasty gallop.

"Wait!" came a pair of shouts that I promptly ignored. Rounding the first corner I'd come to; I focused on the number that ticked even lower under the pipbuck tag indicator.

Skidding to a stop in front of a large pair of doors labelled "Power Station One" I stopped to look back and see my companions catching up to me.

When they reached me, Xeyal gave the top of my head a swift hoof that made my ears ring. "Owww!" I whined as my vision swam a little. "Why'd you hit me?"

"Because you are being an idiot. We don't know this place or what dangers it may hold. We have no weapons and neither of you have armor." She crouched so we were eye to eye. "We must go quietly with care. You understand, yes?"

I know... I rubbed the top of my head, "My bad. You have a point." I waved a hoof at the little tarnished plaque next to the door. "My EFS says the mission party should be in here."

Xeyal didn't say anything else, but her eyes hadn't left mine and that made my mane itch. I looked away first, opting instead to focus on the door. Opening it with my maintenance key card. It was as dark inside as the hallways were. I could hear the old machinery struggle in their old age. Turning on my pipbuck lamp, both my companions did as well.

Inside were a pair of large generators built into both sides of the room and along the far end were three technician stations. At the center monitor sat a pony with two more standing beside them. My compass indicated that one of them had to be my mom.

One of the standing ponies turned to look at us, his eyes were glowing a sickly green. "Who's there?" he asked in a deep, guttural voice.

It sent a primal chill down my spine and made my mane stand stark. "What the hell was that?" I whispered, taking a step back.

The other standing pony turned to face us with the same glowing eyes piercing the dark. This one gave off a disgusting laughter that suited death himself. He turned to the others, "Looks like we got some more smooth coats from the stable."

The one in the chair cocked his head back at an extreme angle and one brightly glowing yellow eye focused directly on me. "Nosey little rats. Disarm and capture them. We will put them with the rest." His voice was shockingly smooth in comparison to the other two.

Coffee Bean stepped in beside me. "Should we run? I'd like to run now. C-Can I run now?" His voice shook but I could see he was trying to brave it.

The dark shapes of the two standing ponies started a slow saunter toward us. "Come easy now." One said with a nasty rattle.

As they approached, I could see the faint glow of magic and each one brandished a weapon tucked in close to them. They came close enough to us that we could see them clearly now. Mottled, mostly bold, their skin hung off raw muscle and bone was easily visible all across them.

A putrid funk hit my nose and I could have gagged on the air. Ignore it, focus.

"Come on now, we don't want to kill you, but we will if we have to." The zombie on the left said, wielding a black combat shotgun.

The mare on the right had a pair of sleek looking pistols pointed at us.

Looking around in a frenzy, I spotted something familiar. One of the maintenance panels had been removed and left leaning against some of the machinery. I gave a sly smirk to Coffee Bean and threw my hooves up as I sat back on my haunches. "You've got us! We'll surrender."

The pair gave some gross gutty laughs and quickened the pace, striding past the stray steel panel. Focusing my magic on it, I brought the square around and broadsided the pair and their guns. After that, I flung the metal square like a frisbee at the one that stayed seated and quickly scooped up the fallen shotgun in my own magic.

With the shotgun levelled at the dead ponies head. The metal panel hit the far wall with a shower of sparks and the pony at the terminal jumped up and screamed "What the hell guys!"

The pony I pointed my new shiny shotgun at looked at it but only smiled. "I bet I have more guts than you do. You should have shot me already." I only barely saw the small switchblade fly out of his pocket aiming for me.

"Shit." This'll hurt.

I took quick aim and pulled the trigger just as the knife buried itself into my shoulder. The shotgun kick was more force than I could handle, it kicked itself out of my magical grasp and clattered to the floor. I couldn't help but scream as I fell next to the now headless dead pony. His blood and gore covering his back and the floor beyond.

My EFS notified me that I had taken damage to my shoulder, it registered as my left foreleg rather than my neck. Small favors, I suppose. Better than dead.

I watched pitifully as Xeyal put a pair of bullets into the head of the other rotting dead pony. His body fell like a sack of potatoes and Xeyal quickly turned to me. "Don't remove the blade, you'll bleed out faster," she instructed in a stern tone. "We must capture that one now."

I gave her a nod and stood up on three legs, letting my injured leg hang limp. My magic slowly lifted the shotgun again and we moved in toward the last pony.

"These zombie ponies are disgusting things." Coffee Bean mumbled from just behind me.

With a huff and a few deep breaths, I focused entirely on the pony that had my mothers' pipbuck. "Where is she?" I asked in a shaking voice. Anger fueling every step I took. "Where is the mare you stole that pipbuck from?!"

The zombie pony stood his ground and said nothing. Xeyal tilted her head toward me with a sideways glare to Bean. He hurried forward and put a hoof up in front of me. "Let Xeyal handle him. Keep the shotgun on him but let me take care of that knife wound."

"But-" I started only for him to cut me off by pulling the knife from my shoulder. "Yeowch! Celestia dammit all that hurt!" Looking down at the fresh wound, I watched blood pour from the hole. I looked away from it and chose to focus on the zombie in front of us. "I have healing potions in my left saddlebag. Give me one."

He did as I asked and pulled out one of the healing potions and popped it open for me. I took it in my injured forehoof and drank it. Almost immediately the healing magic took effect and the wound stitched itself closed. "Thanks for that."

"Disarm yourself." Xeyal instructed the zombie pony around the grip of her weapon. She walked closer to him as he scoffed before drawing a pair of pistols and tossed them into the floor. She gave them a quick kick, sending them skidding across the floor to Coffee Bean. He quickly plucked and bagged them.

Coffee and myself moved forward as well. Coffee fetched himself the pair of pistols and held one in his mouth. "Look, I know you have a pipbuck, I want it and the pony you took it from. Now."

He sat on his haunches and held his hooves up in a shrug. "As you can see, I don't have a pipbuck." He said with a smirk.

I wasn't in the mood for that. I shoved the shotgun against his forehead. "Give me that pipbuck and tell me where the others are. If you do, I'll let you live."

He pushed his head against the shotgun's barrel with a dull thunk. "Just kill me then. Be a murderer, I've already surrendered."

That made me faulter. It struck me that if these zombies are still ponies, we just killed two of them. My stomach lurched and I moved the shotgun away from his head but kept it focused on him. "Make a move and I will kill you. Give some snarky answer, I will kill you slower." I growled. Both Xeyal and Bean moved closer to him and I asked again, "Where are the others?"

The zombie gave a sigh, reached into the pocket of his saddlebag and pulled out a clean gray pipbuck. I took it from him and put it in my bag, "Good, now tell me what you needed it for?"

He took a long look at all three guns pointed at him before speaking. "Pipbucks are equipped with everything we need to access the systems we have long been locked out of."

I gave both Xeyal and Coffee Bean a nod. They both stowed their weapons. "I'll keep him busy, Xeyal, get the power turned on. Coffee, stand guard at the door."

The zombie in front of me just frowned watching the zebra walk past him. Looking back at me, he spoke in that smooth yet gross voice. "Oh, right. You asked how we got it and where the other smooth ones are. If you let me leave, I'll tell you."

"Oh? Is that so? Tough luck. I imagine there are more of you zombie monsters here, why would I let you go?" I tried to sound confident, but my voice was shaking.

"Zombie monsters? Girly, you haven't a clue. We're ponies just like you, the only difference is that I'm 178 years old." He sighed before continuing, "I'm a ghoul, I and everyone else here absorbed too much magical radiation too quickly."

That's old… "Wait, so you were here for the war? What happened back then? Why's this place on backup power?"

"You ask too many questions. Yes, I saw the death of Equestria and that's a long story."

Xeyal shouted "Got it!" Followed closely by the lights turning on. I pushed the shotgun into his mottle chest with a gooey squish. our eyes met and he stood and turned away from it. We walked over to where the zebra sat.

The ghoul wasted no time. He looked at the screen and asked, "What did you just do?"

She looked over at him, her face as stoic as ever. In an even voice she answered and demonstrated it on the monitor. "You see, the main generators had never been switched off. This security protocol here is what kept the towers shielding at maximum and when the power usage had hit critical levels it switched everything else to the backup system to keep the shield active." She paused and scanned different power options and uses then closed everything. Disconnecting her own pipbuck from the terminal, she turned and stood. "I turned off the external shielding."

His jaw hung loose for a moment. "That shield protected us and kept everything else out there." He paused in thought, "Wait, the shield is a security protocol, how did you access that from here?"

She gave a small smile I doubted he would notice. "I'm registered as a senior security officer in the stable and it would appear that both the tower and the stable operate on the same internal systems. Security included."

The ghoul sighed and looking at him now in proper lighting, he was much uglier than his voice let on. His patchy brown coat and stringy tuffs of light blue mane looked as though it all clung to his boney frame by just the green-tinged skin he still had. Half his face had at some point been torn off, leaving half of his teeth exposed where hr had once had a cheek. He gave a chuckle that rattled his chest.

I lowered the shotgun but kept it close. "What is your name?" I asked him calmly.

His glowing eyes met mine. "It's not important who I am."

Grinding my teeth in annoyance, "Fine. Where are the others?"

"Can't tell you." His broken smile made me want to punch him. Hard.

Xeyal leaned closer to the ghoul. "Had you been planning something else?"

He leaned away from her and his eyes darted between the two of us. "we, I, uhm… Yes."

"And what would you have done to turn the power back on?" She asked evenly toned.

"I have no reaso-"

"Wrong answer!" She slammed her forehooves into his chest. The force knocked him off his hooves and he slid across the floor on his back. I found it satisfying to watch.

He groaned, moving to a sitting position. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you." he waved one hoof in the air and the other pressed against his new ache.

The two of us walked over to him. My shotgun barrel levelled with his forehead and Xeyal asked again. "How had you planned to turn the power on?"

"I was instructed to reroute the stable's power." He huffed trying to catch a breath. "I think… you just broke my rib cage." He rasped.

That sent fire through my veins. "You were going to kill over five hundred ponies?!"

"Yes, that's what I said," he reaffirmed. "The first group can be found down on the tenth floor. In security. The rest of the ghouls who call this place home each have their own floors for various reasons. This place is special and we've maintained it for this long."

"You deserve the same fate as those two, but who sent you and what is your name?" I asked incredulously.

He sighed and rested his head against the barrel of my gun, seeming to examine the floor tiles between us. "I'm Professor Willow Sky and I, along with most of the ghouls here, despise you stable ponies. Your ancestors made it down and the rest of us were left trapped here to starve and die." He pressed his head against the barrel and peered up at me. "Shoot me already! We've been stuck here maintaining this place for far too long."

"So, what happened when the stable was locked? How many were left?"

"All fifty-five floors of this tower housed six thousand of the most brilliant ponies in all of Equestria. Only five hundred were saved by the stable. The rest of us struggled for nearly a year before rations began to dry up." He squeezed his eyes close as if crying, but he wasn't.

"I see." I said moving the weapon away from him, his head dipped forward before he righted himself. "So how did you become a ghoul?"

He opened his eyes but stayed focused on the floor. "Well, it happened a long time ago and it killed a large portion of the ponies here." He looked up at me.

Xeyal looked at me and then to him and asked, "can you take us to the others?"

"I can, but I won't," He answered, wielding a devilish smile.

"And why not?" I asked.

His grin grew, "Because I don't want to, and I don't like any of you stable dwelling assholes. You all escaped the hell the rest of us have been in for a hundred and fifty years!"

My blood boiled with anger, "quit being a stubborn old fool! We aren't your enemy and we had nothing to do with what happened all that time ago."

"Still, it's a no. You already killed both of them, you may as well just kill me too." He flicked a hoof off toward the pair we killed.

Xeyal didn't say anything, but she held a stern emotionless stare. "If you insist, albeit you ordered them to kill us first." She withdrew her pistol, pointing it at him.

The ghoul laughed and I put up a hoof to stop her. "We may as well keep him alive. Let's go, the elevators should be working now."

Xeyal gave me a nod and put her pistol away. "Lead the way."

Turning and walking out of the room followed by Willow Sky and Xeyal, I paused and looked around the empty hallway. "Uhm… Where's Coffee Bean?" I asked, looking back at my zebra friend.

"Maybe he got bored." Xeyal offered, pointing a hoof to a door that stood open.

I poked my head around the doorframe to see our cream-colored friend digging through boxes on storage shelves.

Xeyal stood just behind me, peering into the little room as I did. I looked straight up, and she looked straight down back at me.

He looked up at us smiling, laughing a little. "Sorry, I got distracted."

The room being filled with cleaning supplies and a variety of chemicals gave me the impression that it hadn't been used for a very long time. The room was slender with shelves lining two of the walls. "Janitorial closet." the ghoul mumbled from behind us. "Hasn't been used in a century."

Coffee smiled and held up an unopened carton of cigarettes. "From what I've found hidden behind the usual stock, the janitors would spend their break in here. There's three more unopened cartons and one with three packs left in it."

Going over to him and taking a look myself, I could see an ashtray, an open case of Sparkle Cola, and a small selection of spirits. I levitated the collection of contraband out and helped Coffee tuck it all into his saddle bags. He smiled, "We may not need it, but someone else might."

"We have to get going, Mr. Sky here agreed to help us against his will. We're heading down to the tenth floor. The mission group is in the security cells there." I told him, waving a hoof toward the ghoul pony beside Xeyal.

Both Coffee and I left the cramped little room, returning to the dusty hallway. "Which way is the elevator?" I asked Willow Sky.

He pointed down the hall. "We're going all to the end, taking a left and it's on the right." We started that way and followed his instructions, Xeyal and Sky in the lead followed by Coffee and I. Reaching the elevators and calling it gave us time.

Xeyal wrinkled her nose. "I hadn't noticed until now but…" She turned to Willow Sky and took a sniff. "You smell of death and decay."

The ghoul rolled his eyes but said nothing. My own nose finally registered the stench. Both Coffee Bean and I staggered away with our forehooves over our noses. "How did I not notice that smell was coming from them!?" I asked him.

"I don't know how my nose missed it either." He replied through clenched teeth.

The ghoul grumbled and stepped into the elevator when the doors opened. Xeyal followed him in and left a hoof in the door. "Come on you two."

I looked over at Coffee Bean and he looked over at me. We both shook our heads. "We can take the stairs." Coffee Bean suggested.

"Hold your breath and get on." insisted the zebra as the doors tried to close.

"But stairs!" I told her, dropping back to all fours.

Coffee Bean sighed and took a very deep breath. "Elevator time."

Giving a defeated sigh of my own, I took in a full breath and boarded beside the ghoul. Xeyal let the doors close, and she pressed the tenth-floor button. The elevator gave a small lurch and began to descend. Coffee Bean and I shared a look with our cheeks full of air. He smiled and I laughed letting loose the breath I held.

The doors opened just then, and I leapt forward into the hallway taking in a somewhat stale breath of air. Coffee Bean stepped out laughing just behind me with Xeyal and Willow after him.

Looking up at Xeyal, her expression being one of disappointment. "He may not smell good, but overreacting is not the answer. Nor is it funny."

She had a point. While his smell did make my stomach revolt, it wasn't unbearable. "Alright, fine." I stood up and looked at Willow Sky. "What can we expect?"

The ghoul gave a gross cough and cleared his throat before speaking. "The other smooth coats were disarmed and put in a holding cell. I don't know any more than that." He started down another hall, and the rest of us followed. Levitating the shotgun out, I tucked it between my belt and between my bags on my back.

We reached a set of double doors at the end of a short hallway. The double doors had "Security" written across it and prior to them were two more rooms. "So, what kind of security does this place have?"

The ghoul gave a rattled chuckle, "Well, besides the pony forces that are long dead, the tower has a plethora of automated defenses such as beam turrets and lockdown traps. Both of which work off a database of verified personnel and cameras."

It didn't surprise me any, to be fair, I would have been surprised if there weren't security features. "So why haven't they tried to shoot us?" Coffee asked before I could.

"Because I'm here and the system still recognizes me as personnel. It has probably registered you lot as a group of guests." The ghoul responded flatly. "Or because we have a security officer present."

"Then we can presume that those who sent you to maintenance know that we have you captive." Xeyal said in a gloomy tone.

"Well, let's go." I told them, moving toward the doors. Entering the main lobby to security was about as I had expected it to look. One large counter stretching the length of the room with a small gate at one end giving access to the back half of the room which was mostly filing cabinets and desks. Off to the right was a label-less door.

The ghoul started toward that door. "It's this way. They are probably expecting us." He said with a faint guttural chuckle.

Coffee and Xeyal shared a look of caution before pulling out their pistols and clenching them in their teeth. I levitated my shotgun nearby. With that the four of us continued through to another short hallway that ran the length of the previous room. A long cork bulletin board with a variety of papers pinned to it filled a portion of the left wall. Along with several military and ministry posters framed past the cork board. I looked at each of them as we passed by.

One depicted a group of pegasi flying upward leaving behind a smokey rainbow and it read "Join the Wonderbolts today!" Another one showed a pink earth pony smiling big with a hoof against the poster. Her eyes were creepy and the quote only added to the creepiness. "Pinkie Pie will protect you!"

Skipping past the other framed wartime posters, I caught back up with the others. Willow Sky guided us through the door to the holding cells. Inside were two unicorn ghouls in tattered white lab coats and all the stable ponies locked inside cells. When the ghouls saw us, they both levitated weapons and took aim. "Stop! Don't move at all or we will shoot." One said in a panic.

I levitated the shotgun up so they could see it pointed at the back of Willow's head.
Willow Sky spoke up first. "They don't care about us. They already killed Riptide and Basalt without a-"

I pushed the barrel into the back of his neck. Cutting him off, I reiterated my defense. "you told them to kill us! That was self-defense. Listen to me, we are not here to hurt anyone, we're only here to help the others."

"Then what are you all doing here?" asked a stallion who levitated a pistol.

"I'm here now to rescue my mom and the rest of her group. She's the pony this one took the pipbuck from. Now release them all and we will give you back Willow Sky."

The mare wielding a rifle of some kind snickered. "You couldn't possibly kill all of us. Now why are you all here? These guys haven't said a word since we captured them." She kicked the bars with a rear hoof. "They've been scared shitless since we met."

Xeyal answered in a sharp authoritative voice and her accent gave me a warm reason to hold my breath. "We were sent to take care of several tasks that are required to sustain the power systems of our stable. We also need several resources that could be found here. However, you've rendered our initial group irresponsive, and we were sent to investigate." She walked forward and drew her pistol again. Around the grip she spoke again, "Release them now."

Out of nowhere, Coffee Bean turned and bucked Willow Sky's shoulder as hard as possible. The unicorn ghoul flew off his hooves and slammed against the wall with a heavy thunk. On the floor where he had stood, a pair of knives now laid.

Looking at him I shouted. "What the hell was that?!"

Coffee Cake pointed a hoof down at the knives without looking away from the other ghouls. "I had a feeling. Turned out to be right."

The mare pointed and fired her rifle. Luckily Coffee Bean jumped out of the way reflexively, dodging the shots that rang out.

Xeyal quickly fired off three shots, two of which hit, the third embedded itself in the screen of a terminal. In a shower of sparks the mare dropped to the floor, her rifle clattering next to her. The stallion shouted something and fired wildly at Xeyal, I ran forward and magically moved my shotgun even quicker. I fired at him as soon as I could guarantee a hit.

The zebra and the ghoul both went down at the same time. The ghoul was now headless. Xeyal, on the other hoof, was bleeding from multiple bullet wounds. I rushed over to her and looked her over. Shallow breaths… but breathing.

Levitating the shotgun I swung it around to the last ghoul. "Willow! Open these cages now!" I shouted in distress. I could feel my heart rate spike and my voice shook.

"No. I already told you to kill me." He said sternly. "You may as well be a monst-"

I looked to see Coffee Bean nearby. "Keep him in check, I'll do it."

He gave a quick solute and so I turned back and ran over to a working terminal. I ran the cable from my pipbuck to an input on the control board. My pipbuck screen came up with its decoding program. Several words were available. Maybe this one? I picked one and the screen flashed with "Access Denied" in red letters. I tried a different one and it gave the same message. taking a deep breath I guessed again and in green it read "Access Granted".

"Thank goodness, I'm in!" I shouted. Quickly navigating options. I turned off the magic suppression systems, opened all the cell doors and turned the security threat level to zero. "Coffee! Start opening these cells!" I instructed him as I bolted for the nearest cell.

Inside were two of the security guards, I recognized as Vivid Glare and Espresso Cream. Both were bound by rope and their muzzles taped shut. I quickly undid their ropes with my magic. I didn't wait for them, moving straight to the next cell and saw my mother bound and taped with none of her gear.

Seeing her like this, wide eyed and tearful. Her mane and tail, a total mess. She wiggled and looked up at her horn. A metal ring with a gemstone in it was on it. "Don't worry mom, I'm here to help, but Xeyal just got shot. She needs you now." I told her as I unbound her hooves.

As soon as her hooves were free she took the ring off her horn and threw it across the little cell. Using her magic, she took the tape off her muzzle while jumping to her hooves. On her way out of the cell, her eyes met mine for a brief moment but we both knew this was not the time for talk.

She started to speak to Coffee Bean, but I didn't listen. I was stuck looking at the spot where I had found her. The floor was freshly stained and the cell smelt sour. That gave me a bizarre sense of clarity. My thoughts and emotions swirled as time ticked by even more slowly.

Mom shouted, "She's lost a lot of blood, but the bullets are out. Now we need a healing potion!"

I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks and seeing my mom like that will probably be a moment frozen in the back of my mind. Before I turned away I levitated that little horn ring to me and stowed it in my bag.

Footnotes
Level Up! Lv. 2
Perk Unlocked: Sweet Talkers' Tongue - Rank 1
Communication is a key after all.
+25% Speech skill

Perk Unlocked: Scavenger's Delight
You see the value in everything you gather. Be it for practical use or monetary gain.
+2 Luck when looting in a new location.

Chapter 4: Of Memories and Monsters

Waking up on the couch of some long dead officer felt kind of odd. I yawned and got to my hooves. Putting my saddlebags back on, I then turned my EFS back on and fiddled with my settings and explored the menus while I woke up. "I forgot about this." I turned on the options for. HUD Entities and Intent Recognition Protocol before changing to the radio. There were several new stations, but I was enjoying the silence by myself.

I opened the inventory sorter and a dialogue box appeared over it. StableTec/MAS foundational systems and framework upgrade request. Y/N?

I tapped yes and found my EFS shutting down as my pipbuck initialized the update and rebooted. A bit of time passed and a little blue pony trotted happily in place on my pipbuck screen. Another series of dialogue boxes appeared.

Framework Patch: FWMAS-SFS_3K_4.1.001

Feature Upgrades:
Eyes-Forward Sparkle Upgrade
Inventory Detection Expansion
Internal Database Expansion
Mapping Intuitiveness
Radio and BiComm Upgrade
StableTec/MAS Employee Accessories

A series of codes ran across my vision as my EFS came back to life. Finally, after the codes quit running, my vision displayed another text box.

Admin Account Created
Systems Engineer, Glimmer Stone
Welcome to MAS Framework 4.1.001

The box disappeared and my usual display returned and that all left me a little confused. "What… just… happened?" I asked the room. How did and why did it register me as a system engineer with administrative access?

"What's that even mean?" I asked no one.

I went back to looking at my pipbuck. The UI of the menus had a somewhat different look to it, it was sleeker looking than before. Looking at the items I was carrying, I noted that everything had been given an approximated value. I found the shotgun which was apparently called an IF-12 Combat Shotgun, valued at 1200 caps.

"Caps? Why? What about bits?" I asked the room again, and without an answer I continued to look at the rest of my very short list. Apparently more than half the potions I was given had been taken or used because I only had two of each kind remaining.

I selected the shotgun as a favorite item, moving it to the top of the list and realized that my pipbuck tracked bullets as well. Showing 3(18) Slugs by its ammunition type.

"Well, I guess I should probably reload that gun before I need it again." I mumbled standing back up and looking about the room.

The events of yesterday seemed like a blur, and not thinking about it would be a challenge for me. From the condition the mission team was in, to the deaths I had caused. Just don't think about it. I thought as I took a deep breath in a futile attempt to push it all from my mind, but all of it persisted.

Fear and anger twisted inside my chest; I couldn’t feel any shred of happiness right now. This wasteland will be a broken and unpredictable place. For Celestia's love and understanding… What has Equestria become?

I took the moment of peace and looked around the room I found myself in. It apparently belonged to the Chief of Security. Inside his desk was a large open bottle of premium Wild Pegasus whiskey in the drawer alongside a couple glasses and a few boxes of really old snack cakes. I took the bottle and the glasses beside it as well as the cakes.

In another drawer was a revolver of some sort. Turning it over in my magic, I could see that it was fully loaded and next to it was a box of ammo, .45 caliber was printed on the packaging. I really need to learn more about all this. All these guns and bullets makes me feel stupid.

Stowing the gun and the extra ammunition for it, I continued to think too hard while sifting through folders of paperwork and a variety of collectables and nic-nacs. I came to two conclusions; Chief Snow Crisp was a bit of a perfectionist and he apparently lived in this office. Everything in here had been kept in a very neat order. From the mundane paperwork of everyday events to the very particular way he displayed his wartime medals and accolades. Even his family photos were straight and meticulously cared for.

Inside a cupboard behind his desk I found a variety of unopened alcoholic drinks that I promptly took. I could see something metal set into the back of that liquor shelf. Taking a closer look showed me that it was a combination lock safe. A rather large one at that. Tapping a couple of its buttons and trying to open it only won me an angry pair of beeps. I closed the cupboard, deciding to come back to it later on. For now, I need to go check on Xeyal.

Leaving the office, the lobby of security was in a bit of a bustle. I could see Coffee Bean and his dad, Espresso Cream, were deep in conversation with Emerald Carrot and Vivid Glare. The four of them were standing around a stockpile of weapons, munitions and explosives. Rust Bracket and Flash Sprocket were talking about different supplies while sharing a terminal screen. My mom and Xeyal were nowhere in sight.

I chose to join Coffee Bean and as I approached them; their conversation died, leaving an awkward silence. Coffee Bean spoke to me first, “Hey there, Glimmer Stone... Are you feeling better?”

Sitting on the floor beside them, I couldn’t find a way to smile. “I’m feeling good. Yep, yep; just fine.” I told him, swinging a hoof in front of me. Still, I felt a bit groggy and now that I really thought about it; I couldn't actually remember falling asleep.

"Sure you are," Espresso said as he gave a dismissing hoof to both Emerald Carrot and Vivid Glare. The pair shared a look before moving off to continue their own discussion. "By the way, you hyperventilated and passed out after saving our asses. We were just as worried about you as you seemed to be about that zebra."

The way he sneered his last word made me hate him, just a little bit. He swept the room with his eyes before addressing me again. "I suppose I owe you a thanks for saving our hides. However, I have a question that my son here can't seem to answer. How did you come to find us? Because I imagine the Overmare hadn't sent you."

I gave a sigh and looked over at Coffee Bean. Fucking really? He had put his hooves up in a shrug with that cheeky grin he’d always worn when I’d order my end-of-shift coffee. It made my face warm up. Probably a fever, yeah… A fever.

Looking up at Espresso Cream made me feel small. I wasn't sure if it was because of his size, or the intimidation of his position. I also didn't know how to go about answering his question. “I was, uh- We were- The three of us had to come here to make sure you all were okay. Coffee had said that you all had little confidence in the safety of this mission and my mother told me the same. I had a feeling you all would need backup… and no, we didn't have her permission...”

Espresso looked from me to his son and back again with a scowl of disapproval. “You two are idiots… You know that by violating the law of the Overmare it means that neither of you nor that zebra will be allowed back into Stable 109.”

Did he just do it again? He did, didn't he? Sneering as though the word itself tasted bad.

He gave a huff and crossed his forelegs across his chest. “Not that it matters now. The two of you are here and there’s no turning back time.”

Coffee Bean still smiled. “That’s fine, we’ll just chase these nasty ghouls out and stay here in the tower. Being a barista wasn’t exactly my idea of a lifetime career anyway.”

How can he just smile like that! I wondered in pure annoyance. Ignoring that, I turned back to Espresso. “Aren’t you the chief of security down there? Wouldn't you be able to make her understand this sort of stuff? I mean it's a mission for the sake of the stable."

“This sort of stuff?” He pondered for a moment, scratching at his chin. “No, this isn’t the sort of stuff she would just overlook, even for the sake of the stable. You both used the teleporter without express permission and brought a zebra with you!"

His exasperated emphasis was really clipping my nerves, but he wasn't some pony I could speak willynilly to…

He continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if there are several other laws that were broken in that process. From my understanding, all three of you are on grounds to be decommissioned as non-essential.”

Rubbing a hoof behind his head, Coffee Bean began being honest. With a damnedable grin! “We were out long past curfew, and she was on shift." He explained flicking a hoof my way. "We set fire to a kitchen. Knocked out a couple guards. Oh, and the Overmare saw the three of us using the teleporter just as we poofed. I gave her a proper salute.” He mimicked the salute for his dad.

A salute? I don’t remember that. I sighed and knocked a hoof against the side of his head. “Idiot.” His dad just chuckled at that, but I didn’t care. Turning back to his dad, he rubbed his head with one hoof. "Sorry."

“You didn’t hear that, did you?” I asked Espresso, giving him the best smile I could muster.

“Yes, I did. Although, it’s nothing Mrs. Beets doesn’t already know about.” He looked from me to his son and back before looking up away from us. As quick as I could think 'huh?' I heard a door close somewhere behind me. Turning around, I saw my mom come out of another office.

I waved her over before turning back to Espresso, "you said Mrs. Beets, that's the Overmare, right?"

He nodded, "I know she doesn't like her name, but Sweet Beets isn't a bad pony. Strict as all hell, but she truly cares about the stable."

Just then my mom took to sitting beside me. She now had her lab coat over her gray pelt and she had fixed her mane. She didn't look at me. Not even a glance. "I've managed to stabilize the zebra, she took one bullet to the shoulder as well as two in the neck and chest, getting the rounds out wasn't difficult but even with healing potions, they tore her up. A collapsed lung and a punctured artery."

Espresso stood. "Right. You and your daughter should stay here with the zebra and my son. Rust, Flash and I are going to scout for storage and clear out the zombies we come across. Vivid Glare and Emerald Carrot are going to keep the halls on this floor guarded."

I started to speak, but Coffee put a hoof to my muzzle, then my mom answered him. "Considering our goals for this mission, that isn't a bad idea. Chances are that the supplies we need will be found on the floors below us. The zebra will still need another day of rest but should make a full recovery.

Espresso gave a nod. "Right, off we go then." With that he stood and joined Rust Bracket and Flash Sprocket by the exit.

My mom looked over at me but rather than saying anything she simply pulled me into a very snug hug. "I'm so happy you came for us; I knew something terrible would happen. When we were separated and captured I just… all I had was a little hope that you were on your way."

I squeezed her tight, taking in her familiar smell, even if she smelt sweaty. She still smelled like she always had, and just having her here now was comforting. "I was so worried!" I could feel tears dampening my cheeks and her shoulder.

When we separated, I levitated her pipbuck out of my bag and gave it to her. "So, I met Grandpa and Grandma, they told me about what I am and why you had to hide it from me. They gave me healing potions and told us that we had to come find you."

She looked over at Coffee Bean. "Please stay here. Glimmer, come with me." She stood and I followed her back to the room she came out of. Inside I saw Xeyal laying on her side across the desk. Everything was thrown off it and all the spare pillows as well as a blanket were tossed on it to make her as comfortable as possible.

"Mom?" I asked as she magicked the door closed behind me. I took a deep breath. "What's going to happen once this is all over? How did you know this would be so dangerous? Why did you ask me to follow you here?"

She didn't answer immediately, opting to find herself a comfortable spot on the carpeted floor to lay down on. Above her, Xeyal sturred and gave a soft groan.

"It's a heavy burden to bear, but I've never liked the way our stable is run. The separation of zebra and pony wasn't supposed to happen. The Overmares have kept themselves in power and forced such separation in a farcical attempt of diplomacy and peace, but all it has accomplished is driving the two groups apart despite being one stable we all should be able to call home." She looked over as one of Xeyals' hooves fell off the desk and hung limply. Using her magic, she gently tucked the hoof back up against Xeyal.

Mom turned back to me, an intensity in her eyes that I'd never seen before. "I helped to organize the zebra rebellion twenty-five years ago. The same one that took your father from me." Her breathing had become more rigid, but her eyes stayed focused. "It was all my fault. All I want is for our stable to thrive as one. The plan moving forward from here is to open this tower to all the ponies and zebras and to force a change in how the stable operates."

Despite the icy chill that ran down my spine, I could agree with that. "So, you believe the Overmare would just step down and let the stable move into the tower? Come on, Mom. We both know how difficult that would be and how everyone else will react to such a situation." I could clearly imagine the skepticism the zebras would have and the paranoia the ponies would feel. None of this would play out like she hopes.

"That may be true, but the zebras of our stable are in no way, shape or form responsible for the atrocities that came about Equestrian soil. Those ponies believe and act like they're living above a curse. Despite the zebras keeping us all alive and healthy." She sighed and looked away. "I know you've seen it. It might have been wrong of me to put you in Talisman Maintenance rather than having you apprentice as a medical pony, but it was for your own good."

I jumped to my hooves at that. "Really? It was you who put a stop to me following your hoof prints? You're the reason they pulled me from the Medic Specialist courses and forced me to take Talismans and Stable Maintenance courses. You do realize that being on the night shift has made it almost impossible for me to have friends, right?" I felt hot with anger, but I tried to keep my volume low; if only for Xeyal. My voice trembled with a slew of emotions.

I continued to vent my frustrations, "Do you realize how dysfunctional Talisman Repair is? We have only three unicorns in the entire stable who can enchant gemstones properly. Yet my department is the least recognized and we all work our tails off. None of us have the time or energy to do anything but work!" I paused to breath as my pitch rose. Bringing it back down, I continued with a different thought. "You know how badly I wanted to learn medicine? Of course not, because you and the educators determined my magic wouldn't be good enough. They told me I had half the magic reserves of a regular unicorn." I deflated and slumped into a sitting position, my hooves tucked and my tail wrapped around them.

"Was it because I'm half zebra? Is that why I wasn't good enough?" My eyes were squeezed shut and I allowed my head to hang, face hidden behind my mane. All I could manage now was to weep until it was all out.

"My Glimmy, you never told me any of this… I was always operating with a belief that you were happy working in maintenance." Her voice was as soft as could be. "I'm sorry for putting you through all of it… but I do need to say, I believe you would have made an excellent medical pony." With that I felt her hoof rest on my shoulder.

I dipped my shoulder letting it slide off. My mom continued, "Tell me this, Glimmer. Did you know that the zebras work two twelve-hour shifts? Did you know they don't have adequate bedding for everyone since all the lodging is on the upper three floors? Did you know they only have two communal shower rooms, both on the third floor?"

I just slowly nodded, That explains why they sleep at their stations.. "I know the unfair work load they're given and I do agree with you on the purpose of an equilibrium. They don't deserve forced servitude, or third-rate rations." I sniffled and rubbed at my leaky nose. "I get it, Mom. I really do… But you kept so much of my life a secret from me and I guess I just…" I inhaled deeply and held it for a moment.

Exhaling, I continued, "I guess I just thought we could have been closer… You've always been distant ever since I got my stupid cutie mark. As soon as I could have my own room. Do you know how that's been? Sure we see each other every few days, but it's always brief and you've always been saving some pony… I guess it just made me feel more worthless."

She pulled me into a tight hug and despite my better effort to stay mad with her, all I could accomplish was slumping into her, crying even harder. "I'm sorry but switching you from medical to maintenance wasn't my idea. I may have had a say in it as you would have apprenticed under me, but ultimately, it was necessary for the stable. I really wanted you to replace me one day, but this all has been coming for a long time. You had to be in Talisman Maintenance in order to ever meet your Dad's parents."

Wrapping my hooves around her, I sniffled and sobbed like a foal. "I wish I could have met him."

A stray cough cut the otherwise silent air and we both looked over to see Xeyal had been spectating. "I never got to know my parents. They both died trying to free us from the Overmare shortly after I was born" She coughed again. "The elders had taken me in and raised me. Having taken my father's position in security as soon as I was old enough to learn how to perform a takedown. They trained me in special combat tactics and I always believed I would have made him proud."

Xeyal gave another couple dry coughs but continued, "the time has finally come to free my family or die trying. That is why I offered my assistance to you. I believe you are the catalyst of change for our home."

"Xeyal…" was all I could choke out. Silver pulled away from me and rounded the desk Xeyal laid on. She pulled a bottle of water from her bag and using her magic, Mom elevated the zebra's head to make it easier for her to drink.

I stood and walked over just as Xeyal finished drinking and my mom gently laid her head back down. "Thank you Xeyal, for being here with me and helping like you have."

"You speak as though I'll die here, but that's incorrect. Now, if you two mares are done arguing; I would greatly appreciate some sleep." She smiled broadly at me before closing her topaz eyes. "Thank you, Silver Torrent. For all that you have done and will do."

"It's been worth it, now get some rest." Mom told her before turning and waving me toward the door.

No one was in the main room and the stillness reminded me of that hidden wall safe. "Hey mom, when I woke up, I gave that room a quick search and I found something I'd like you to see. It's in the other office -- this way."

We started toward the office I'd woken up in and she gave me a quizzical sideway glance. "What is it?" She asked as we entered the room. I guided her around the desk and opened the cupboard that hid the wall safe.

"I don't think it's been opened in a very long time." I told her as she examined the keypad. "I don't have a clue where to start, I looked around but I hadn't seen anything looking like a combination code."

She gave a thoughtful hum as she glanced around the room looking for something. She rifled through the desk, the filing cabinet and all the furniture, even looking under the couch and chair cushions. Turning to the terminal, she hooked her pipbuck to it and easily cracked its code. "Damnit. No unlock function. This Snow Crisp guy probably had his codes memorized."

"He seemed to be a perfectionist, everything's labelled and dated and organized." I walked around to the front of the desk. A hefty metal triangle that read, Chief Snow Crisp. Itsat centered at the front of the desk. Picking it up and rotating it in my magic. On the bottom it read 11095011 "Mom, I think I found it."

She looked over from the terminal and smiled. "Smart! I guess he never changed the combo. Shall we take a look?" She got down in front of the safe, "ready, read it out."

I did so and the door opened. Putting the heavy name plaque back in its place, I rounded the desk and pressed my cheek against hers so we both could peer into it.

"Can I have it?" I asked her sheepishly.

Inside the safe were a pair of orbs that swirled with thick silvery smoke. in front of them laid a weathered pistol and a box labelled .38 ammunition. On a smaller shelf just above that was a pile of folders and some paperwork on a clipboard.

"I don't know what they are." My mom said, using her magic, she took the pistol and inspected it. "I for one believe Mr. Crisp won't be needing this. It's pretty old and well taken care of, probably modified."

I could see an etching on the barrel. PVT S. Crisp "It must have been his first firearm." I told her before looking back at the orbs. On the other side of the barrel, it read Temptation.

Taking one of them in my magic, I looked into it a little closer and as I did so, the smoke seemed to reach out to me as the world fell away.

Okay. This is weird. I felt a sharp panic rising, but my heart rate retained its slow and steady beat. I took a mental note, this wasn't my body. For one, I was now taller. Secondly, I was a male unicorn.

Where the hell am I? I thought as I looked from a very pretty and healthy mare to a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We appeared to be standing near the outskirts of a sprawling city and above it all, off in the distance I saw a castle standing tall, made of crystal. The mare next to me gave a giggle, "First time seeing the Crystal Empire?"

I turned back to her and felt a big grin cross my cheeks, In a voice much deeper than mine, "First time here. Baltimare keeps me rather busy." I took a deep breath, the cool clean air smelt of fresh grass and flowers, ponies with perfume, and the smoke of the coal powered train.

Is this what it was like? Is this what Equestria used to be? I was walking, the mare next to me matching my pace. "I'm excited for this vacation." We weaved between ponies and it surprised me that a lot of the ponies here looked like none I'd ever seen before. Ponies that twinkled as if made of precious stone.

She gave a giggle, "Well, at least you won't forget it with that silly looking recollector on your head." She bumped her rump against mine, "Our dinner reservation is at the palace in four or five hours, why don't we go shopping first?"

The pony I was in came to an abrupt stop and smiled at the cream coated mare. "Anything, love. Just point it out."

The mare looked down and rubbed her belly before looking back up, "I do need some new dresses, my others are hardly fitting right now." A giggle and a wink made my face warm up and that smile of hers got my heart rate up.

Oh! She's pregnant. The two of us continued walking, my eyes focused on the castle in the distance. The whole thing glistened in the warm sunshine. Some of the ponies we passed snickered at us and the mare leaned close to me and whispered, "you might want to take that tiara off."

"Yeah, it is a bit weird." I told before using my magic to remove the recollector. Wait!

I blinked and awoke slowly. "W- What in Luna's dream just happened?" I found myself laying on the couch and my mom sitting next to me.

When she realized I was awake, she thanked Celestia, "I'd like to know that too, one minute you're talking to me and the next you were asleep on the floor."

I rubbed my forehead as I thought about what had happened. "It was weird. I was Chief Snow Crisp… I… He and his wife were vacationing to a place called Crystal Empire. There were ponies there who had crystalline bodies and I guess he recorded his experience using a special thing called a recollector. At least, that's what the mare he was with called it."

"You were asleep for almost an hour. You still talk in your sleep by the way." My mom smiled and turned around. Standing up, I went over to the desk where everything had been moved. "I pulled it all out and have been reading through the documents."

Off to the side with the two orbs, lay a clean blank envelope with a piece of twine securing a key to it. Despite my curiosity, I didn't mess with it. "Anything we should know about in them?"

She nodded slowly; her brow furrowed. "This MAS Hub had been used for testing experimental magic." She flipped open one of the thick folders. "Incident reports that were deemed classified."

"Really? Like what?" I asked as I pulled over one of the folders.

"Everything from zebra weapons and tools to experimental spells and unique enchantments. There are some pretty dangerous things here, and this barely scratches the surface. This hub is used to store anything magical with the intent to understand and reverse engineer it. We have megaspells here too."

"Megaspells? What's a megaspell?" I asked her. All she could do was give me a shrug.

"I would have to guess, and I really don't want to. All I do know is that they were the ultimate weapons that ended the war." She opened the drawer of the desk and put the documents in it. "Now, about these orbs, you said it put you in a memory?"

"Yeah. It was one of Snow Crisp's memories. It was of him and his wife taking a vacation." I walked over to the wall of photos, "She looked a little younger than I am now, and she was pregnant."

"You know, they look happy together." She indicated the row of photographs that hung on the walls.

"You should view the memory too. The beauty of old Equestria… It was wonderful -- besides being a guy." I chuckled a little.

"I'm curious about the other one. Can I?" I asked, putting a hoof on one of the orbs.

"I don't see why not. We have plenty of time with not a lot to do." She smiled and took to sitting at the desk. "I'll study the tower from here." She told me as she began browsing the chief's computer terminal.

"Sounds good, but before I take a nap… What's up with the letter and key? Weren't you curious about that?" I asked her as I hoofed the unviewed orb onto the couch. It bounced but settled into the corner of the cushions.

She magicked the key and envelope up. "I haven't a clue to be honest, I figured the key goes to something not here, so why bother with it?"

Taking the letter out of the air, I opened it and pulled out the single sheet of paper.

To my lovely Crispy Snowball,

If you've received this note, then I never returned from my mission. Please take good care of our son and make sure he knows his mother loved him dearly.

Attached to this is a very important key that opens a door no pony can see, even though you have looked right into it. We had fun, you and me. You were my love, my life; and nowhere else could I find the peace you brought me. Beyond my flower of you and below the hemlock grove, you'll find it there.

Just know that whatever happens and regardless of what happened to me… I'll always be with you.

Forever yours, Crème de Menthe

That made my heart hurt a little. "It's a riddle in a love letter." They were clearly in love and then the war destroyed it.

Trotting over and laying on the couch, I used magic to levitate the orb like before, but continued to look at the photos around that decorated this room. After a minute of silence, I looked into the swirling orb and closed my eyes. I felt my senses dull for a moment as everything drifted away.

This time I was immediately aware of the body I was in. A male unicorn… checking himself out in a mirror. The white pony with a crisp icy blue mane that was chopped short. I smiled and looked over myself once more, correcting my off centered tie. On top of my head sat a tiara. I would have to agree with Crème. That recollector device looked ridiculous.

Despite being old enough to be my own dad, I'd have to admit that Snow Crisp was a dashing unicorn. Fitted with a white tuxedo and a red tie over a black collared shirt with just the top button left undone. Turning and leaving the small restroom, Snow made his way to a dining table at the edge of a restaurant. I could see that the table had a waitress picking up plates. She left the table and I smiled, seeing the beauty of Crème de Menthe waiting. Her light mint mane was loosely tied back and decorated with lily flowers.

Snow's heart raced as she smiled and waved a hoof as he approached. Taking my seat and levitating a tall slender glass, he took a sip and I tasted an alcohol I'd never had before. It had a light burning sensation and my nose filled with a smell that cleared my sinuses. It smelt simply delectable, if not a bit fruity. I wanted more of it, but he put the glass down.

"My dear Crème. Please don't laugh at me for this." He told her as she chuckled into a folded hoof.

Her answer was just perfect, "It is a silly hat. Though, it suits you nicely, princess Snowdrop."

"I can agree with that."

Yes! He levitated the glass again and took another, larger, drink. Whatever it is, he likes it as much as I do. I could feel him flex as he took a deep breath. He stood and moved around the table to stand beside her. In a swift movement he bowed and was holding something up to her.

"My dear Crème de Menthe, will you marry me?" I asked with all of his confidence.

She took a bracelet decorated with rubies and emeralds from the box I held up and snapped it onto her foreleg's wrist. I looked up at her to see tears bubbling over in her eyes. A huge smile across her face. "Yes! Yes, oh yesyesyes! Of course I will! You are my Crispy Snowball after all."

I stood just in time to catch her as she dove forward into a hug. Feeling her warmth made Snow smile but left him speechless. The two separated a little but still held one another before sharing a long kiss.

1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11…

GET ON WITH IT! I thought as they slowly but surely transitioned their passion for one another into something hotter.

Finally, the two separated and she blushed intensely, Snow looked around the room and almost every pony sat in silence, some even ventured from their seats to create a semi-circle. Someone in the crowd started a slow clap that seemed to spread through the gathered ponies. Sure enough, it climaxed with a pony cheering too hard, he passed out, foaming at the mouth.

Both Snow and Crème were blushing profusely, She downed the remainder of her alcohol and I magicked over the bottle, refilled her glass and then took a swig straight from it. Looking at its label, it read Pinot Noir, Canterlot Peak Winery.

The pair smiled and Crème gave me a soft peck on the cheek. "Let's go back to my place, it's not far from here."

Looking her in the eyes, they were an even lighter shade of green than her mane and twinkled with something akin to lust. She winked at me and levitated her glass close by, refilling it nearly to the brim before refilling mine as well.

The crowd had backed off, a few helped the guy who got too excited. We exited to the street and wandered along for a bit, enjoying the silent calmness of the night. A few ponies walked and talked, others were closing up shops and only a few carts were moving through the streets. "It's a beautiful full moon tonight." She said in a much more relaxed voice. It was a sweet voice; one I could tell calmed Snow.

He took in a deep breath, the cool air outside smelt of baked goods and perfume. "It truly is the best night of my life. That bracelet does look wonderful on you."

"I have a gift for you when we get home." She said in a voice that was light and soft yet intimidating and made my whole body warm up… especially parts I didn't want to think about.

He and I shared the same thought then because he downed his glass of wine. "How much further? I don't think I've ever seen your home."

We must have been having a good time, because after only a turn or two, the building had shifted from shops to homes and she came to a stop in front of one that had a fence and a stairway leading up to a cosy little house, single story but in a great location. "Nice place." I looked up at the full moon and smiled.

She had opened the fence gate and was halfway up the stairs before she stopped and looked back. "You coming?"

He finally looked at her, "Of course." He took a drink and followed her up and into the house. She used her magic to turn lights on. The home was cozy and as soon as the door closed behind me, she had hooves around my neck and her mouth pressed to mine in a sudden lust.

Nononono! I could feel his shock and pleasant surprise. His body obviously knew what was to come next.

She pulled away and smiled. Taking the bottle in her hoof and took a drink to match my last one. "Time to take that stupid hat off." She said before turning away and walking away. "I'm going to go clean up. Please, make yourself comfortable." She gave a seductive look and a little smirk before dipping around a corner.

I could hear a door close and a moment later a faucet began running. Snow Crisp took the opportunity to case the home. She had a tasteful art on her walls, landscapes and abstract pieces. She seemed to be a minimalist, the furniture was sparsely placed and looked unused or just very clean.

Livingroom, kitchen, dinner nook, an office and her bedroom across from the bathroom she was currently using. He opted for the office, inside was a desk with several tools used for creating maps and charts along with several filing cabinets and a StableTec terminal. "Cartography? For StableTec?"

He left the room undisturbed and went to explore her bedroom. She had the same design schemes here, the bed was a comfortable queen size covered messily with pillows and blankets, there were several articles of clothing scattered across the floor and a desk with hair care products and different types of brushes.

He left the room and returned to the living room. Snow Crisp took a seat in an armchair beside the couch. Taking a swig of wine, he seemed to be thinking because he just swished the wine from cheek to cheek as he stared at the table in front of him. Nothing was on the table except for a vase that held a bundle of light blue mums.

Above the couch was a framed watercolor painting of a huge hemlock tree by itself surrounded by flowers and more distant trees.

A hoof ran along my shoulders and a second touched my shoulder. Snow Crisp leaned his head back and smiled up to a beautiful mare who kissed him gently on the forehead.

"You still have that stupid tiara on." She said quietly as I watched her round the chair. Using her magic, she undid his tie and jacket.

Crap… Here we go. I thought.

She pushed a lever and the chair readjusted. The backrest reclined and the bottom kicked out. She gave a smirk and readjusted on top of him. She wore nothing now and she made it very clear what she was after. She sipped at the wine as she began massaging his chest with her hooves.

He helped her out by magically removing the clothing himself and tossing it aside. With another firm kiss she pressed herself against his body. "I can't wait any longer, Crisp. Take it off already."

He laughed and removed it…

My eyes sprung open, and I leapt up from the couch. Landing on all four hooves I felt hot and sweaty. Mom was now sitting next to the couch, near where my head had been. She snickered, trying not to laugh. "You okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, of course I am. How long was I out?" I asked as I sat. As soon as my ass hit the floor though I hopped back to my hooves. "Oh Luna, don't tell me…"

Looking under me I could see I was dripping. I sighed and looked over at my mom, laughing. "You just spent a solid half hour cooing and moaning in your sleep."

"It wasn't even that exciting!" I countered but felt a blush wash over my face. "Damn it…" I grumbled looking over at the huge wet spot on the couch where I'd been laying.

Giving up, I shrugged off the embarrassment. "Mom, give me a break." I sighed and levitated a bottle of alcohol out of my bag with the two crystal glasses. "Want to try this?"

She gave me her best fake frown, "Glimmer Stone, we're on a mission and that is contraband."

"Yeah? Well then, I'll drink this stuff on my own. Mission be damned, it's been too long!" Uncapping it and pouring myself a full glass, I sat the bottle next to us on the corner of the desk.

My mom gave an eye roll and levitated the bottle over to fill the other glass halfway. "As far as I'm aware, you've never drank before. So, since we have another day or so, I may as well share this drink with you. My beautiful daughter that I love oh-so much!"

I smiled broadly and the two of us clinked our glasses together. "Cheers, Mom!"

Footnotes:
Level Up! Lv. 3
Perk Unlocked; Rationale - Rank 1
You can think on your hooves! Especially under the influence.
+1 Strength, +1 Charisma, -1 Intellect when drinking or drunk. However, You ignore minor injuries and minor ailments.

Chapter 5: Grit Iron

Gulping down the last bit of my Wild Pegasus, I squeezed my eyes shut as it burned my throat. Once it was gone, I gave a sharp inhale, "Aaah! That'sa yummy drink. Ya'know? I can't figur-t out. Why's thistuffs nottallowed down in our Shtable."

My mom gave a sharp winnie and pointed at me with the neck of the bottle she levitated. "I've got the answer for that one, actually!" Taking a small swig of it, she leaned toward me. "Your dad and several other zebras would brew drinks of all sorts, and the whole stable would partake despite the re-uh.. regul… rules. We would smuggle it around but there were ponies who used our drinks while on shifts." She bursted into laughter, "They blew up a water purring-fires and and… It was grosh! Poop went all over! The whole floor stank for months."

"That'sa shitty situ-" I paused and focused as I tried to sound it out. "Sit-uat-ion, situation! Hahaah! I got it!" I tried to take a drink from my empty glass. Pouted and looked at the bottle mom levitated.

She laughed, "After your first one you said you didn't want to overdo it." She capped the bottle at that point and hid it away in a bag.

I levitated a different bottle from my bag and tried to read it. "Sauvi-gnot Blank, Whiningery of Canterlude. Heh. Sun Butt's Select."

My mom snatched it from me with her hooves. "Sauvignon Blanc Celestia Select. It's a wine from the Winery of Canterlot. Says this bottles almost a hundred and sixty years old." She tucked that bottle into her bag too.

"Hey! Stops that," I told her. Everything had a certain shine to it, like it was outlined in a fuzzy light. I levitated the next unopened bottle I had out and again, tried to read it out loud. "Ah-Hah! I've gots this one! Far Trotters Bourbon."

I gave a little cheer, throwing one hoof into the air as my mom cheerfully snatched that bottle from me too. She tucked the fancy bottle away and just smiled. "You've had enough, and so have I. We shouldn't drink too much of ot or else we both'er get sick and that wouldn't be any fun." She laughed happily. "I never thought I'd get to drink with you. I'm glad we could… Those zo- I mean ghouls were going to kill us and eat us."

Leaning forward, trying on a serious face completed with a furrowed brow of farce anger, "di'they actually say that?"

She gave a solemn nod and began to fiddle with her pipbuck. "Did you get some MAS pipbuck update? Apparently I'm now registered as Chief Medical Director, Silver Torrent." She tapped a few more times, "Any clue what 'caps' are?"

Unsure what they were myself, I shrugged. "I dunno, but that's pretty cool! It called me a Systems Engineer or something like that.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me.” I watched as she tried to snatch yet another bottle from my magical grip. I raised it up out of her reach. “Come on, put that bottle away and let’s go do a thing!”

“Okay!” I cheered and put the bottle back in my bag. “I wanna go see what Willow Sky knows.” I realized right then that I hadn’t heard or seen him since yesterday. “Hey… Where is that ugly ghoul guy anyway?”

“We put him in one of the cells. I wouldn’t mind asking him a few questions myself.” Mom told me as I tried to balance a book on my nose. It fell flat on the floor with a solid thunk. “What are… you… doing?”

She turned and started to leave, and stumbled, tripping over that book. I righted myself and grinned happily. My body felt warm and pretty numb. It was great. “I wanna ask him about all sorts of stuffs!”

She just rolled her eyes. No one was around when we left the office. I followed my mom as she guided the way back to the holding cells. “Hey mom, how long do you think it will take for Xeyal to heal up?”

Not missing a step and now taking on a more serious tone, “She’ll be back on her hooves within the next day or so.” She opened the door and inside a warm wave of stink smashed me in the nose. I couldn’t help but gag on the stench, recoiling away from the door.

“Why’sit have to smell so bad!” I asked, trying not to breathe.

“Doesn’t surprise me none,” she told me before turning and going inside.

I sighed, swallowed my vomit and joined her. I could see why it stank. The two ghouls we had killed in here were still here, Willow Sky was in a locked cell and the other cells were left unclean. No wonder it smells so terrible.

Willow Sky calmly sat at the bars that separated us from him. “Well, well. If it isn’t the mare who wanted her mommy… and I’ll guess that you're her mommy, huh?” He laughed at his own bad joke, smacking a hoof off the floor a couple of times. “Did you two ladies come to free me from this life? I really hope that is the case.” His voice grated my ears, smooth yet cracked and broken.

“Shup ut.” I said, giving him the best glare I could. “I have questions!”

He leaned away from us with a hoof held before him. “Is she drunk? How many hooves do you see?”

“Actually, we both are and I have questions for you as well.” My mom told him. She was now sitting, fiddling with her pipbuck. “I’ll let her go first, since this is her first time drinking, she doesn’t seem to have much patience.”

Prancing in place, I hummed a little tune. When my mom prodded me twice in the side with a hoof, I paused mid-step and looked at her. Mom swooped her hoof, pointing at ghoul. “Oh, right. Questions.” I took a sitting position and cleared my throat in my hoof. I levitated a bottle from my bag and offered it to the ghoul. “Will you drink with us?”

My mom face-hoofed, slapping herself in the forehead. She shook her head in disbelief or disappointment, but I felt that the ghoul needed it as much as we did at this point, so why not share? Besides, I still had plenty. He took the bottle in his hooves and pulled the cork out with his teeth. He dropped the cork into his breast pocket. “Thanks for the wine. However, I am going to refuse to answer any other questions.”

While the ghoul drank the wine, I asked my first question. “What’re caps? Some sort of currency?”

Gulping down his wine, he tilted his head slightly and his ears twitched a bit. “Caps are bottle caps. Ya’know, the little metal bit on soda bottles?”

Feeling a little dumb, I bit back my immediate response, opting to think of another question instead. “What do ponies today use bottle caps for?”

Giving us a shrug. “Ponies started using them because they’re everywhere and nobody is making more of them.” He went about taking another drink of wine.

I had my next question. “Where are we? I know it’s an MAS tower, but like where in Equestria are we?”

“This tower is in a city called Baltimare. Use your pipbucks. They have maps for that, you dumbass.” He retorted with a venom in his voice.

My mom looked over at me with an eyebrow risen. “I could have answered that one for you, Glimmy.”

I sighed, "I already knew that too." Pressing on I asked my next question. “What is this tower used for?”

He took a big drink of wine. “I won’t tell you that.”

I gave an agitated whinny. “Fine. Why are there so many skeletons in the main lobby?”

Speaking solemnly, he didn't blink or break eye contact. “They were killed by that toxic irradiated fog that filled in from the ocean. It was fast and extremely painful. They were my friends and co-workers… Each and every pony and zebra who were here back then had a bright, brilliant mind.”

Mom replied before I could, "Why haven't all of you left the tower? What's kept you here?"

Willow Sky didn't answer immediately, finally after a bit of thought he started slow. "We all have our own reasons for staying. We're safe here for one thing. Since we don't really need food, water or sleep anymore, we can find ourselves lost in our work. The job's all we have left. Doing our research and maintaining the security of our experiments has kept us sane all these years." He put a hoof to his chest, "I personally love the work I do here and I don't want to go anywhere else in this forsaken city."

Mom stepped forward, lowering her head as she stocked closer to the cage. Her ears folded back and teeth on display. "Do all of you spite us for being trapped in Stable 109?"

The ghoul took a step away from her, leaning back, his ass almost touching the floor. He stood with a hoof guarding his breast and his jaw working like he was trying to find an answer for her.

His silence dragged on too long and she snapped at him again. "You ghouls were all set to turn our lives off! You wanted to shut down the stable entirely, cutting us off! Do you realize how many ponies and zebras are down there? Do you!?"

She didn't give him a chance to answer. "I recognize and sympathize with all of the horrors you and the others here have endured, but this hasn't been a cake walk for me, my daughter, my father, his mother, or anyone else down there!" I watched as she fumed, I couldn't recall ever seeing her this angry.

She continued to vent on him. "We've strived in mundanity under rules of iron to keep ourselves contained, coordinated and alive! We've strived for the hopes and dreams of those who came before us. We all have lived and died in that stable, and you all are up here slaving away in routines just to keep sane. Yet you wanted to turn our livelihood into a coffin fit for well over five hundred souls!That goes against everything Twilight Sparkle would have wanted."

She turned to me and I could feel her gaze burrow into my soul. "Come on, let's go."

With that and without a reply she turned and left, leaving me to follow in a stumbling hurry. Once I caught up to her in the hallway, "Wow Mom. Never seen you so mad."

She stopped and turned to me. "I wanted to kill him just then for even trying to orchestrate sabotage like that. To think all they needed was our pipbucks to override the terminal lockdown procedure."

I sighed, "Yeah… I didn't want to do it, but they gave me no choice. Even before I knew they were just ugly ponies… I didn't want to kill them." I felt a pang of sadness as I thought about the ones I killed.

"Don't let it bug you, we have to do what must be done to save the ponies we love." She put a hoof gently on my shoulder and I immediately pulled her into a tight hug. After a moment we separated and continued on our drunken way. She levitated out my bottle of whiskey and took a drink before offering me the bottle.

I happily grabbed it in my magic and took a drink as well. I looked at the mostly gone bottle of liquor. "I wanta get to the bottom of this. Shurely, not all of them are bad ponies."

She gave a hearty laugh. "I'd agree. They probably aren't all bad. hopefully we've given that one something to think on."

"So, do we go exploring?" I offered her the bottle after taking another sizable drink. Only a good bit remained.

She took it and finished it off. "No, we need to stay here."

"Awe, come on!" I whined, hoping for the best. "Please?"

Tucking the empty bottle in her bag, she stood firm. "I said no. We need to stay here for when everyone else comes back with the supplies."

"Not fair. I wanta put this time we've got together to good use. There's gotta be some way to talk with the stable now that the powers on. Besides, I need to check in on things and stuffs." Prancing in place, I tried to think of what else it was I had to do.

She didn't try to argue. Instead she turned and led the way back to the main office space. "Besides, we still need to figure out that note with the key. It might go to something here."

I perked up at the mention of that. Bouncing happily ahead of her toward that room. "Oh! I may actually already have the answer to that!"

She paused and just stared at me as I opened the door and smiled back at her. "C'mon, It's your turn to experience Crispy Snowball."

She didn't smile and her eyes never left mine. Once we were in and the door was closed, she locked it. "You'd better stay in this office."

"Here, this one first." I had scooped up one of the orbs in my hoof and gently tossed it onto the couch. I wasn't sure which it was, but I hoped it was the vacation one.

"You'd better keep an eye on me, because you were out for a while." She got onto the couch and got comfy. She levitated the orb for a moment before it dropped back to the cushion. Her head lowered and she seemed to be asleep.

I watched her work her jaw as she slept and opted to instead browse the folders from the safe. As expected, everything seemed pretty orderly. Organized by dates. There were five folders; one for incident reports, one for personnel complaints, another for acquisitions and artifacts, and two for investigations.

I opened and began reading the first folder. This one being for an investigation into the zebra infiltrators within Baltimare city.

Ministry Mare Pinkie Pie has come to the conclusion that a secretive group of zebra sympathisers has been operating within the city of Baltimare. She has requested that all Ministry personnel be put on high alert and report any and all suspicious activity. All personnel will be required to file daily reports and security personnel will be required to maintain higher security protocols around the clock.

~M.M. Twilight Sparkle

Pausing, I levitated all the paperwork out and counted the report headers spanning more than three years worth of documents. "Fifty-two reports in all." I grumbled feeling exhausted just thinking about that.

I had given up on reading and decided it was much more fun to take a drink each time mom spoke in her dreams. Mostly just mumblings about the beautiful sky. I opened a small bottle of Flaming Saddle spiced rum and was now four drinks in.

She should be almost finished with it. I hated waiting, but I did so impatiently as my mind wondered. I thought about the last two days, reminiscing on how much I've changed in such a short amount of time. Then I shifted my mind back to the memory my mom was currently experiencing. I wish I could have seen that place with my own eyes.

With a little groan or a yawn, mom woke up and shifted to a sitting position above me. I was laying on my side with my back against the couch, my tail neatly around my hooves. I was comfortable and didn't want to move.

I looked up to see her looking down at me. I smiled and offered her the bottle I'd opened. "What'ya think?"

She took the bottle in her magic and took a small drink, crinkled her nose for a moment then took another drink before passing the bottle back. "Beautiful."

I grinned devilishly, "Next orb!"

"Not yet." she said as she got off the couch and carefully levitated the orb back to the desk's drawer. She then took the other one and put it on the couch. "What did you notice about that memory?"

"That his wife was pregnant? That some ponies refracted light? That Snowy wanted to shop too? That they were going to the big crystal palace for dinner?" I could have kept guessing but I couldn't be bothered to think on it any further.

"All true, but had you noticed the thing they called a recollector? I'm guessing it's the device that records the memory." She paused as I laughed. "What?"

I kept laughing and it quickly became hysterical. I laughed so hard I couldn't maintain my telekinesis and had to put the rum bottle down. "Silly hat!" I managed in between gasps. "It's the funny hat! It looks as goofy as you think it might on him." I slapped at the carpeted floor with a hoof as I tried to curb my laughter "Next orb, next orb."

She sighed and looked at it skeptically. "That orb concerns me considering how you reacted to it."

I finally stopped laughing and immediately began blushing. 'It's not as bad as you think, granted it is very… hot." I grinned at her.

"Have fun!" I told her as she got back on the couch. "I'll only drink if you talk or make noises." I held up the bottle only one third emptied.

She simply rolled her eyes and magically entered the orb. She subconsciously got comfortable and so did I reclaiming my position lying in front of the couch.

It didn't take long for her to start quietly muttering to herself. I took a small swig; I was going to have to make the bottle last.

"Aw… cute…" she mumbled, shifting to lay on her side, her back toward me. I looked up at her over my shoulder. Her tail was gently moving as she relived his proposal.

Nothing happened for a while, she was silent, and I patiently waited for it to happen, then I heard it. she gasped, a sharp inhale "oh!" she said, clear enough for it to be easily heard "My… yes."

I took two drinks then a third as she gave a slow groan. She shifted on the couch above me, her breathing became heavy.

She snickered in her sleep. Probably at the goofiness of the recollector. It didn't take long for the heavy breathing to return though. "Mmmm…." she hummed with it catching deep in her throat. She stretched her hind hooves out, into the back of the couch. I could hear the cushions compress as I took another drink.

A little more time passed, and she had begun to pant in her sleep. Eventually she grumbled and sat up on the couch. I stood, albeit with a little wobble. "Did you notice it?" I asked her as she sat up on the couch.

"No… notice what?" She asked with a drowsiness to her slow reaction. She rubbed her eyes. "That… yeah… no… huh?"

I rolled my eyes and held up the bottle of run that was now only a third full. "The house, the picture over her couch? Didn't you read the note Crème left with that key?"

She sighed in thought and mumbled. "I wish he had kept that silly hat on a little longer. I don't even care that I was him and not her." She rubbed her temple with a hoof.

She stood and returned the orb to the drawer. I laughed, noticing the wet spot on the couch. She levitated the note and quickly read it. "So, you think the key goes to something in her home? Well, no point in having it then."

She dropped the key and note into the drawer and closed it. "Damnit, now I'm frustrated."

I walked over to join her, opening the drawer and I took the key. "Never know what'll happen next. I wanna keep it!"

I put the key in my bag and turned to her. "Why are you frazzled?" I asked with only a little slurring.

"Shut up." she told me in a matter-of-fact tone. "I need to work this out. Go and sort ammunition or something."

I laughed and trotted to the door. "You do you. I'mma go play with guns while only a little drunk." I told her with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

Closing the door behind me I saw that no one was here. I went one office to find Xeyal still on the table but as I closed the door behind me, her head turned to me. "Hello, Glimmer."

"So you are awake, I was coming to check on you. Want anything?" I asked trotting toward her. I stopped at the edge of the desk and levitated a bottle of water over to us. "Here, drink up."

She did so and with that she sat up, letting the blanket tumble down her back. I could see where the bullet had dug in just above her collarbone. She took a deep breath. "Your mother is a life saver. Where is she so I may thank her."

I wanted to burst into laughter, but I restrained myself the best I could only letting a small smile across my face. "She's currently busy with something private, but if you're doing well enough, we can get your gear and you can help me out. I gotta organize everything they pulled outta the armory."

Xeyal gave me a nod and hopped down from the desk. She stumbled and I caught her on my shoulders. "Why you so tall?" I asked as she corrected herself.

"Thank you, again." she mumbled. Clearing her throat, she looked around the room. In the chairs that had been moved aside had her armor and bags. She walked over to it and found her Stable 109 jumpsuit had been cut off, it was laying on the floor next to the chairs. She picked it up with a hoof and looked it over. A massive bloodstain surrounded a pair of holes. "How fortunate of me to be alive…"

I could tell she had more thoughts on it, but she dropped her jumpsuit and proceeded to get her body armor and bags on. "Ready," she announced as she turned toward me, she cocked her head with a questioning look.

"What?" I asked her. "What's with the look?"

"You are red in the cheeks. Very red. Are you feverish?"

It dawned on me that I was blushing and very drunk. I looked around, at anything but her. "I uhm… No fever, just a, erm.. nevermind me, let's go."

Leading the way out of the room the zebra kept pace with me out and over to the literal pile of weapons and boxes. "We need to organize this stuff. Weapons by types and bullets for 'em."

She nodded and we set to work. My body felt hot, like really warm and I couldn't keep myself from watching her work as she sorted ammo boxes. All I did was lay there and organize the guns with my magic.

Time seemed to pass quickly and then a door clicked close behind me. From Snow Crisps room my mom joined us. Xeyal turned to her and gave a broad smile. "Mrs. Torrent, I owe my life to you. Thank you for mending my wounds."

"You're welcome, I'm not one to let my saviors die when I can help them. We're lucky there was so much liquor here to sterilize my tools." She walked over and joined us. She smelt sweaty but seemed overly calm. Then she turned to me. "You ought to go get some sleep. I'm sure tomorrow will be a busy day. Xeyal and I need to go talk to that ghoul."

I couldn't argue, instead I gave a big yawn and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. If'n something happens, come wake me up."

Standing up, I looked over our work, the guns and ammo had been organized and we had quite the arsenal here. I turned and walked towards Snow's office. Once inside I found myself a spot behind the desk with one of the pillows off the couch and fell right to sleep. My warm, numb body didn't resist one bit. It was nice.

Someone shoved against my shoulder before prodding me in the ribs. "Glimmer! Wake up!" The voice was an urgent whisper against my ear. My head pounded and my stomach hurt.

"Glimmer Stone!" The hushed voice came again, "get up, we have to move!"

I stirred, finding the energy to sit up and look at the pony who prodded me awake. I rubbed my eyes with the back side of my hooves and saw Coffee Bean standing beside me. "What's happened?" I inquired.

He kept his voice low, "So, you've been asleep for a while. My dad and the others have finished locating and moving the materials down to the main lobby. Sprocket and Rust have finished repairs on the main generators and the water filtration systems." He glanced back over at the door and back at me. "I don't really know what's going on but your mom and Xeyal are making their way down to the main lobby now. We need to get down there."

I quickly got my bags on as I moved for the door. "Why are you being all quiet?" I asked him, but a shotgun blast splintered the wooden door's latch. Fear forced my heart to leap, and I staggered backward away from the door.

"That's why!" he shouted before pulling his pistol out and taking aim over the wooden desk. Turning my E.F.S. back on I could see… a sea of red dots.

"Crap, that's a lot of red." I muttered, just as a pair of metal apples were lobbed into the room, both at angles to maximize damage. "Hide!" I shouted at Coffee Bean as I tucked my shotgun away.

Focusing on myself I imagined myself on the desk that Xeyal had been laying on. My magic went off and I found myself standing on top of that desk in the office next door. I actually managed to teleport for once!

Pulling the shotgun out, I jumped off the desk and rushed out the door to find the main office had five ghouls in it. The two closest to me had a shotgun levelled at the door and the one next to him dropped a pair of metal pins when he saw me. "What the hell?" he asked just as I activated SATS. and watched as everything came to a crawl. I toggled in two rounds, one at each of their heads.

Letting the targeting spell end, I took the shots just as the room exploded. Both shots hit their marks, dropping the ghouls in that split second. I found myself panting as the other ghouls are pointed weapons my way. At once I dropped to the floor and scurried forward to the closest desk. A shot rang out and hit the wall next to the door I had just exited. "Come out girly!" came a grossly distorted voice. "We're not bad ponies, but we don't need rats like you snooping around our home."

I could see them on my EFS but couldn't judge their distances. I peeked over the desk toward the voice and saw him moving toward my desk. I ducked just as he fired at me. Hearing a spray of rounds hit the desk and the floor and wall in front of me made my heart thump harder and my headache intensified with all the noise. Hearing the blood roar in my ears I squeezed my eyes closed and pictured Coffee Bean in my mind. I tried to teleport, but it didn't work. "Well shit." I muttered

Swinging the shotgun around the edge of the desk I peeked around the corner to see him. I fired and missed. He fired and missed. I could see the other two dots moving as well so I moved around the opposite side, staying low. I checked my SATS. to see it was still useless to me. "Fuck it!" I dropped the shotgun and pulled out the .45mm revolver, poking my head up. I took aim as quickly as I could and fired two shots, thankfully, the second one hit the mark and buried into his neck, just below his jaw.

He barely reacted to it, instead he whipped around on me and fired his automatic. I ducked and dashed along the length of desks. I skidded to a stop as I neared the far end of the room, SATS. was available again so I used it. The room came to a crawl and I targeted the one that had just fired at me. I could see that my chance of hitting him were lower than the others. I toggled two shots and let it loose.

Ending the spell the shots fired in rapid succession and his head was hit twice. Sheer luck. I didn't wait, having seen the other two running toward me. I pressed my back to the desk, trying to stay low. Over taxing my magic made my head spin, but I focused on my pipbuck, finding the .45mm rounds in my bag. The pipbuck's sorting magic made it easy to scoop it from my bag. I quickly reloaded the chambers all in one go and gave the revolver a spin before snapping it shut.

Just then a ghoulish mare with no lips smiled at me. "I've got chya!" She shouted, taking aim and firing. As swift as I could manage, I pushed off the desk and propelled myself away from the desk. Her shot caught my right flank, peppering it with a pain that felt like fiery needles all stabbing me at the same time.

I screamed and rolled onto my left as I landed. "Celestia's shit that hurt!" I shouted as I took aim, unloading three shots at her head. I didn't bother with aiming but was happy to see her drop as one of the three shots hit her in the left eye.

That leaves me with only one. I tucked my injured leg in and ground my teeth on pain. I saw him taking cover off to my left so I limped as fast as I could back the way I came, keeping low behind the desks was difficult and when he popped his head up, I fired a shot in his direction. He dipped and I watched as his dot moved parallel to my own movement. I fired another shot across the room at him as I passed a gap in the desks. Scooping my shotgun back up I stowed the revolver.

"You guys are scientists and researchers! Why are you trying to kill us?" I shouted, pressing my back to a desk, I examined my flank. I was bleeding profusely and it looked just as bad as it felt.

I could hear him walking now. He was moving quickly toward me. I jumped up, planting both my forehooves on the desk and took aim right at him. "Tell me!"

He wore a snarl, a grimace that suited his flaky skin and glowing eyes. "We all hate you for existing this long!" he shouted at me and took aim.

I didn't give him another moment. "Then die." I told him in a cold quiet voice. Magically pulling the trigger, the slug dug into the end of his muzzle and devastated his face as it sank in and his weapon hit the floor. The moment slowed to a crawl as he stood for a moment before dropping to the floor. Black ichor pooled around his head, but I ignored him. I ignored the other four lifeless ghouls too.

I staggered a bit as I limped my way back to the Snow Crisp's office. Putting my gun away, I entered the now destroyed room. Small fires were burning but the room's sprinkler system was dousing them. The room was blackened by the incendiary grenades, everything was rocked by the blasts and left charred. I rounded the desk to find the rear of a pony sticking out from under the desk. "For Celestia's sake, you'd better be breathing…" I whispered.

I used my magic to move the desk away from him. The desk had shielded him from most of the blast but his chin, some of his chest and forelegs along with the whole right side of belly and rump were missing hair entirely. His tail had completely burned away, his skin was boiled and melted. but he was breathing.

I tried to do what I could for him. Drawing out all my healing potions and rejuvenation potions I drink one for my leg. After that I slowly trickled the other into his mouth and helped him to swallow it. After that I readied some medical bandages and soaked them in a rejuvenation potion before I began wrapping his burns. After that I helped feed him the last rejuvenation potion.

His breathing had deepened and steadied but he was still out cold. I couldn't cover the burns on his chin and neck or forelegs. Looking at my EFS I could see there were still a lot of red dots moving around. I took the moment to reload both the shotgun and the revolver, I also opted to check the ammo on both the other pistols I'd acquired. After that, with all my weapons loaded and ready, I sat and waited. I desperately wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I needed to be strong right now.

I could feel the tears forming as I sat there watching Coffee Bean breath. I focused and tried to lift him in my magic, but he was heavy and that made it even more difficult, but I managed to get him onto my back. With some difficulty, I walked out of the blasted office, making my way quietly out into the hallway. Peeking around corners and moving as quickly as I could manage.

I supposed luck to be on my side as no other ghouls came across me as I made my way to the elevator. I pressed the button for the elevator and quickly realized that there were a pair of red dots very close to being in front of me. "Crap." I struggled a great deal at this point, my brain felt as though it were melting but I levitated out the pair of pistols and readied myself to use SATS on them.

As the elevator doors opened, I dropped into the targeting spell and saw their faces slowly turn into angry surprise. They both wore proper body armor but neither of them had their faces protected. I allocated two shots, one for each face and released the SATS.

Their brains painted the back of the elevator, before I stepped in and turned around between them. Hoofing the ground floor button, I stowed my weapons and waited.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 4
Perk Unlocked - Pressure Controlled
When under pressure, you will find it easier to stay level-headed.
+1 Perception
+25% SATS Accuracy

Chapter 6: Ghoulish Grace

The elevator doors opened to the main lobby. Stepping off, I noted that the room looked completely different in good light. I took in the sight. Beyond the stained glass walls were decrepit and utterly destroyed city streets and buildings. Above it were rolling green hued clouds that threatened to rain. A semicircular step separated the waiting seats and the door from the receptionist desks. The lower floor was filled with white skeletons that had long rotted into the carpeted floor.

I looked over at the door to the teleporter. I could see Xeyal sitting next to the door just watching me. The shocked expression she wore was uncommon for sure, she didn't speak but she did knock on the door. That was followed by Silver Torrent stepping out and looking over at Xeyal then to me. At that point, I promptly fell on my face, spilling the earth pony onto the floor before me.

"Glimmer!" I heard my mom shout, but I couldn't be bothered to move any more. Everything hurt. My mind swam in pain, but I could relax now. My eyes closed and the commotion that followed sounded distant.

"...the hell happened to them?"

"...that blast we felt shake…"

I could feel myself being lifted by magic. I could catch bits and pieces of what they said…

"...first degree burns…"

They laid me down and I could feel my gear being removed.

"...she's lost a lot…"

"...an anesthesia spell on her…"

A fog set in and the pain ebbed away.

Blinking, I found myself walking along one of my favorite halls in Stable 109. I was passing by observation windows that looked in on our orchard to my left and one of the gardens on my right. Something about this felt a bit off and I couldn't quite put a hoof on what it. Deciding not to worry about it, I continued walking. The views and the hall came to an end leaving to go left or right.

I turned right and found myself back where I had started, looking into the orchard and the gardens. "What the-" I muttered and studied the rooms beyond the glass. Both were well lit, and the life inside was as vibrant as ever. Everything seemed to be right but… not.

I looked down at my pipbuck as I realized my E.F.S. was off… my foreleg was bare and striped, black and white. I looked over myself, my legs were all striped as was my belly and most of my sides. The stripes were vertical, jagged and thick, I looked up and realized what had been missing. There were no zebras beyond the glass.

Breaking into a sprint, I galloped the length of the hall and took a left this time to find myself back where I had been before. Looking into the orchard, the leaves on the trees were brown, orange and yellow. The grass had changed too; the same conditions were reflected with wilted crops in the gardens.

Racing around the corner, I peered through the windows in horror. The plants were dead and rotting, trees barren and grasses all gone. I hadn't slowed my sprint as I reached the end of the hall. Rounding the corner however forced me to a dead stop. Fear forced my heart to leap into my throat. The hall before me was almost unrecognizable: Most of the lights were blown and others flickered. Some hung halfway to the floor which was cracked and covered in debris. I walked the hall slowly. Past the glass were flickering lights and red emergency lights.

Something moved around inside both those eerie rooms. By accident, I kicked a chunk of rubble that echoed throughout the hall. Momentary silence befell me as I watched yellow glowing eyes peered out at me from all directions accompanied by a cascade of guttural howls and screams.

Sure enough, I'd found the zebras…

Several dozen ghoulified zebras charged the windows from both sides, Hooves smacked on the reinforced glass. Their snapping jaws scraped against the glass as they tried for me. I watched them beat on the windows for a moment as I continued to walk down the hallway.

Coming to its end and turning yet another corner, I found myself staring down a dark tunnel, with very few flickering lights. The windows were shattered, and glass covered the floor, catching bits of light. I walked forward, feeling something warm and thick surround my hooves. Lifting my hoof up, I could see that my white stripes were now drenched in thick red blood.

I stopped and took in the sight. The silence was overwhelming, and I felt my mane prickling with anticipation.

I closed my eyes for a moment and everything changed. I found myself standing amongst the skeletons in the main reception. I was standing just inside the doors to the Ministry of Arcane Science. I looked up to see the stained-glass image of Twilight Sparkle.

A warmth bathed me as the pale sunlight shone down on me from between the buildings. Looking around, I noted that the bones were bathed in a rainbow of light.

"Glimmer…"

I spun around in a heartbeat. Before me stood Coffee Bean, Nasty bare red burns oozed blood from over half his body.

"Wake up…"

____________

With a jolt, I rolled onto my belly and pushed myself upright. In as much of a hurry as my tired body would allow for, I took in my surroundings. It was just me, my mom and Xeyal. Only Xeyal was awake.

She was watching me struggle. Great."You're awake. I'm glad to see it."

"Is Coffee Bean okay?" I wearily asked her. I slowly stood, putting weight on my hind leg didn't hurt as bad as expected. A small relief, but nothing compared to Bean's condition.

Shrugging her shoulders, she stood and walked over to my mom, giving her a gentle rock with a hoof. She turned back to me, "His condition was extreme, but he was breathing. Silver Torrent and I both stayed here with you, but his father and the rest of the team returned to the Stable."

Mom stirred and sat up, blinking and rubbing her eyes, she gave a yawn. "Is Glimmer awake?"

"Hi Mom." I offered as confirmation.

She stood and walked around the teleporter to me. Pulling me into a tight hug, she cried into my shoulder. "I'm glad you made it."

I wrapped a hoof around her rigid shoulders and patted her back. "It… I… Did he live?"

With a sniffle and a step back, she nodded. "He will live, His father and I have set up coms so he can keep me updated. Him and the others have reported all three of us dead to the Overmare."

That made sense. It meant that Coffee Bean wouldn't be punished for helping Xeyal and I escape. "Good. I want to talk to these ghouls. Surely not all of them want to kill us. We need to go back up and talk to Willow Sky."

Xeyal spoke up, "what would this accomplish?"

"Well, they know this place better than any of us do." I shrugged, "it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to kill us all again. We may as well beat them to the punch, right?"

My mom spoke again, "I overheard them talking about progress on some project, but they weren't specific, but I do believe we can go up to floor thirty-four." She turned to the terminal and got the teleporter ready. The three of us stepped in the glass cylinder and after a flash of magic, we stepped off into a tattered and broken room. Broken glass surrounded us accompanied by scorch marks and plenty of dried bones.

I picked my steps toward the door, as did Xeyal. "Guess we aren't going to talk to Willow Sky?" I asked them as my mom teleported to meet us at the door.

She sighed, "He broke out of the cell two days ago after you saved Coffee." She sighed, "I went up there that same day to talk to him and he was gone."

That caught me off guard. "I was out for a full two days?"

Xeyal nodded standing beside me, "yes, you ended up with a fever after that fight."

My mom wore a sad smile and trotted out into the hallway. "I'm just happy you recovered fully. Right, we need to catch some of these ghouls and question them."

The three of us sifted through several offices and collected a healthy stock of food, drink, and other odds and ends. We circled the floor and opted to avoid the laboratory which occupied the center of this floor. The first door we had seen for it was boarded closed and blockaded.

It had taken us a few hours to get through it all. We finally settled in a break room that had a kitchen nook and a bathroom. First thing Xeyal did was close the blinds like she had in every room that looked out over the sundered city. She hadn't said why, but I felt it too. The openness of it all made me dizzy and nauseous.

The room had been emptied out a long time ago, only a bent up can of baked beans was left. My mom had gone about preparing that can of food along with a few others we'd scavenged in a pot on the stove. Xeyal and I munched on a box of old cereal called Sugar Apple Bombs as well as a box of Fancy Buck Cakes. Of course, we saved some of them for the cook.

Xeyal looked from me to Silver Torrent. "Do you two believe that my family will be freed once we succeed?"

I could see that Xeyal's black ears had begun to droop, her eyes focused on her Fancy Buck Cake in front of her. She nudged it with a hoof and I was left without an answer for her. My mom luckily joined us just then, levitating three pairs of spoons and bowls with a pot of vegetarian chili. "I believe freedom will come to your people and some of us pony folk will be able to help maintain the lower floors."

Giving my chin a tap, "so what is the plan you have worked out?" I really needed some clarity on this.

She took a seat and ladled out the food for us. "You see, the weapons are to be secured in security, however, they believe we are all dead. Once this tower is secured, we will have our opportunity, with the help of Espresso Cream and the others, to convince the Overmare to step down from her position and establish proper counsel."

The zebra gave a sigh "I believe this to be well-wished and foolish. Even if Overmare agrees, the ponies will not. The zebra will not either. Without understanding, fighting will break out in time. Even with this tower as a new space, I do not believe peace is achievable in our current state."

I nodded my agreement. "The rift is deeper now than ever before and it's not something that'll be easy to right." I started eating my food while I thought about it. I found myself surprised when Xeyal gave an exotic yet happy little squee as she tasted my mom's cooking.

Mom gave a small chuckle and enjoyed her own bowl. "There is more, eat it while you can."

While we all ate, I decided to turn on my pipbuck's radio. There were a lot of available broadcasts, none of which were from Stable 109. I shrugged and started from the top, which was labeled, 'Riverbase Estuary'.

Static crackled briefly followed by a stallion's deep voice, it sounded rigid and scripted. "To everyone still in Baltimare, we have horrible news. Do not drink the water! Do not touch the water! Do not be near the water!" zztchzz "The bombings have heavily contaminated all water in the ci-" kchtzzzcktzzch "Radiation levels are so high that you will-" zzchk "Message will repeat. To everyone still in Baltimare…"

I changed it to the next station labeled 'SysLink2MWTpublic'. This one had a serious-sounding mare speaking. "City evacuation routes can be found in the metro tunnels. All trains running in the city center have been rerouted to the Ministry of Wartime Technology base north of the city. Please be patient in the stations, please be orderly in the stations, please do not push or shove. All stations will be rerouted to the Ministry of Wartime Technology base north of the city. Repeat Message. City evac-"

I changed it to the next station and continued to eat. This station was labeled 'Emergency!Help!' and it was unintelligible static with a stallion crying and pleading periodically on repeat. I skipped it and went to the next broadcast, 'Classical'. This one offered soothing tones of stringed instruments.

There were only three other options, they were called 'MASEBSBaltimare1' 'HeightsNews', and 'MayhamMall'. I wondered about that last one, so I turned to it.

An old buck sang a song to the tune of a stringed guitar, it had a slow saunter to it, but otherwise wasn't too catchy.

"A storied killer from the far far west,
a living whirlwind in the city of death,
He's a wanderer in a crimson vest,
Here to hunt the hunters' last breath."

I turned the volume down as the old stallion played and continued to eat. It didn't take long for the song to end, it must have been near done when I tuned into it. After a moment of silence, a stallion spoke up; smooth but raspy. "Evening everyone! The time is eight p.m. and another has come to an end."

We all paused and listened in, so I turned up the volume. "To all those ponies with no homes and no caps, if you are good with your gun but need to get better, come on over to the Mayhem Mall. We sell everything you'll ever need and if you are capless, you can participate in our daily festivities, Bullet Brawls." The radio pony took a moment before he continued. "In other news, tensions have been a brewin' amongst the gangs. So if you're traveling, it's recommended that you swing wide and avoid the western suburbs and market street."

After that, the music returned with some fast-pace music. The ponies' vocals were strong and unintelligible growls and scratches. With that I turned to a different channel. "Crappy music." Xeyal chipped in as she refilled her bowl. "This soup is delicious, Silver."

"Thank you, I did the best I could with what we had." Mom answered and I tuned into Heights News on my radio.

A mare was in the midst of a speech. She had an elegant voice and had a certain snooty pitch to it that made me want to change the channel right away, but I didn't. "Trading caravans have been constantly raided heading north-west along the city's outskirts and to any travelers heading that way, we recommend giving Route 505 a wide berth or deal with the raiders there. In other news, The Heights have been looking for any unicorns who are willing to assist in further expansion work. So, do I need a job? Come on up."

With that the transmission switched to slow waltz with piano. I turned it off. "There's only one other station here, the 'MASEBSBaltStat1' station."

"Play it, I don't mind learning more about this city." Silver offered. "So far, we have a ganger brawl pit and trade center called Mayhem Mall, and some community called The Heights and apparently there are trade routes and raiders, well, raiding. We may as well see if this last one is a dead station."

Tuning into the radio station, we caught the last notes of a song before a brief silence. Then the deep silky-smooth voice of a stallion, "Good Evening to all the children of Equestria, this is DJ Pon3 here to give you the good news. As many of you already know, the Equestrian Wasteland is a very dangerous place. Between the beasts and the baddies, you're likely to pass through some radiation or even taint in some places. Don't let that get to you though, just be sure you have Rad Away. Yeah, I know what you may be thinking, 'that orange stuff that tastes like brahmin dung?' You would be wise to drink it anyway, because it might save you from a slow and probably painful death."

He gave a small cough for emphasis. "Now, fillies and gentlecolts, if you happen upon a place where you think the radiation levels are high, you might feel severely sick rather quickly. In which case, you'll either go through all your Rad Away very fast, or you could just get the hell away from there. So be careful if you're scavenging and avoid any place with radiation signs or barrels of radioactive materials. That's all from me for now. Be safe and fight the good fight everyone."

The seductive pony voice chuckled, "Oh! One last thing. I want to give a big thank you to the small group of ponies who have been taking out raider nests along the south side of Manehatten. Now for some of Sweetie Belle's classics."

With that the soft sounds of a piano began to play, accompanied by the sad soft voice of a mare. I turned it off at that point.

We sat in silence for what I could only guess was an eternity. We all finished eating, the clanking of our dishes the only sounds in the dusty room. Xeyal broke our vigil. "I have to ask you a question, Glimmer."

I waited for the question, but her silence made me realize she was waiting for permission, "sure." I said, wondering why the security pony hesitated.

Xeyal gave a nod, "Did Coffee Bean assist you with those ghouls that ambushed the two of you?"

Her question gave me a chill as I remembered it. "No."

She and Silver shared a look. Silver spoke up, "The office you were in was completely destroyed. How did you escape that?"

I opened my mouth to answer but failed to answer right away. Chewing on my cheek, I thought about this and realized the two of them had both gone back up there while I was out. "I teleported."

My mom smiled, while Xeyal nodded. "I'll assume then that you alone took down all those ghouls. You know, that is actually scary."

Okay… "I was stressed, hung over, and when I saw those grenades fly through the door…" I felt tears in my eyes. "I wanted to get him out of there, but I couldn't. So, I had to get rid of them, so I could get him safe."

My mom tapped a hoof on the table drawing my attention. "You did what you could and for that he will live. I don’t know if he’ll regrow his coat, but he’s in one piece and breathing. You provided sufficient medical attention to stabilize him until he could get to the infirmary.” She gave a small sigh. “I looked him over immediately upon your arrival. From what I could tell, you would have had to attend to his burns within minutes of that explosion or he would have bled out. I can’t imagine how you managed that.”

I felt a numbness tingling my hooves. “It wasn’t an easy fight.”

“You took a shotgun blast, in full, to your hip and flank, and from the direction of how it hit you, you had managed to avoid taking that to the chest at close range.” My mom told me. “I know, I had to dig the beads out.” She looked at me and took a breath. “You’ve always been quiet, but I never would have guessed you to be good in combat. It surprised the two of us is all.”

I shrugged. “Let’s change the topic, please?” I was getting tired of this and this tower by conjunction. “Are we going to see what’s in that laboratory?”

Xeyal frowned. “That room has four entrances and all four of them are boarded up and barricaded from the outside. I, for one, do not want to explore that room.”

My mom shook her head. “I vouch we note it for later. We haven’t seen any ghouls here and we really need to find them.” She opened up one of her Fancy Buck cakes and ate it before stowing the other two in her bag. After that she went and laid down on the couch. “I think we should rest for now, while we have a safe space.”

I gave a yawn, “Sleep does sound good.”

Xeyal gave a sigh, “I suppose that means I’ve got first watch.”

I walked over to an adjacent couch to where my mom already slept. “Sounds good, night!” Watching her reaction made me chuckle. Despite the zebra’s best efforts to maintain a stoic demeanor.

Her jaw hung for a moment before she gave a smile and a snort. “Sleep well, you will have the next watch.”

My little triumphant grin floundered. “Fine,” I tossed a hoof toward my mom, it just flopped against the front of the couch, “She needs the sleep anyway.” It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep at that point. I watched Xeyal sitting at the table, she’d taken to cleaning it off. I heard her gently put the dishes in the sink before returning to the table. At this point I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, my full belly making me pretty tired. I could still hear her as she, I’d guess, set about checking her weapons over.

I was gently nudged awake and I blinked away the dreamless rest I had. Looking up at Xeyal, she gave a weary smile. "It is your watch, trade me spots, please."

Giving a yawn, I nodded and begrudgingly stepped off my warm couch. Turning about, I saw the zebra had already taken my spot. She only wore her blue and gold stable jumpsuit, the rest of her gear rested against the couch front. "Get some good rest."

She gave me an "uh-huh" while yawning. I went about regearing myself and walked over to the table, opening my inventory sorter. Withdrawing all the weapons I'd collected and laying them out on the table, I figured it would be wise to study them. Once everything was out and sorted, I had three 9mm, a six-shot .45 revolver, and a combat shotgun. I also had most recently picked up a combat knife from one of the offices.

I emptied out all the munitions and inspected each of the guns. All of them were in relatively good shape. I went about fully reloading the spare clips and reloading one of the three 9mm pistols. Out of the three, I chose the one that had been modified. Its handle had been etched on and had an extended barrel.

Unfortunately, with at least another three hours to go, I put everything away and began pacing. Willow had said there were about fifty of them left. Maybe thirty or so of them were left.

I stopped my pacing and sat down still pondering on how many ghouls may actually side with us. I was unknowingly watching the two of them sleeping. I sighed and turned the radio on, choosing to listen in on DJ Pon3's station. It was playing more of Sweetie Bloom's music. I found it to be peaceful, despite her song being a sad one.

I laid down and waited as song after song played, listening and waiting. Just waiting. It was after the fourth song began that I decidedly stood and paced about again. That's it, I hate waiting around.

With nothing to do, I sat at the table and fiddled with my pipbuck. I opened up the map and was pleasantly surprised by it. Now it showed a map labeled 'Baltimare' and at my location it showed an icon that was labeled 'MAS: Baltimare Hub'. Zooming out, I found that 'The Heights', 'Mayhem Mall', and 'MWT Base' were labeled as well. We weren't actually too far from The Heights. It was about a mile or two west of us, still in the city center.

Zooming out even further, I could see that the city of Manehatten had been labeled and resided to the north of Baltimare. Highway 505 was labeled and was a winding road that seemed to connect the two cities. Everything else was just a dark shade of blue with no distinguishable detail.

I switched away from the map to my inventory, and with a bit of sadness, I'd realized I only had one book with me. The Big Book of Arcane Science. I pulled that out and flipped open to my bookmark, I was on chapter 9 labeled, Magical Barriers and Spells that Heal.

I went about reading the chapter, I reread the chapter once I'd finished. It was mostly out of habit and by the time I finished my second reading it was time to wake my mom for her watch. As much as I wanted to let her sleep, this break room only had two couches.

I put my book away and stood, I sauntered over to Silver and gave her a gentle shake. "Mom," When she grumbled and repositioned, I pressed against her charcoal shoulder again. "Mom, wake up."

This time she slowly came to and shook off her dreams. "Wha- what time is it?"

"It's your turn to watch." I told her. "I'm ready to get a bit more rest."

She stood on the couch and stretched out like a cat with a big yawn. "Fine, fine. I'll put on some tea."

"We don't have any." I thought aloud. I had already sifted through the cabinets and hadn't seen anything.

She gave a small chuckle as she got her gear on. "I found some a while ago as well as a kettle. I always have tea." She gave me a glance over her shoulder with a clever smirk. "You get some rest, hon."

With that, I took her warm spot and smiled to myself. I hadn't bothered to take my stuff off; I just didn't see the point in it. Taking a deep breath, I recognized her scent and it brought back memories as I fell asleep.

Waking up to the sound of gunfire wasn't ideal, but it did the trick. Both I and Xeyal bolted off our couches, almost bumping into each other. We shared a look and then shared a glance at the open door of the break room. "Get ready." I told her as I drew my 9mm semi-automatic pistol. It levitated close to my side, pointed at the floor and I flipped the safety off.

Moving to the door, I poked my head out and heard two more shots ring out, followed by a ghoulish screech.

I swiftly moved out and down the hallway and rounding the nearest corner I almost ran into my mom's tail. She was creeping along close to the wall and didn't look back at me. I rounded about to the opposite side of the hall and caught a glance of what she was stalking toward. Up ahead a unicorn ghoul in a lab coat and both his hind legs were blue and frozen solid, a spot on the floor not far behind him was also coated in frost surrounding a bullet hole.

Looking over at Silver Torrent I saw that she had Snow Crisps pistol, Temptation. She held it in her magic and held it firmly before her as she kept him in its sight. She wore an expression of complete focus as she stocked slowly forward. I for one found it a little unnerving.

The ghoul hastily trying to escape opened a door and dragged himself inside, as soon as he rounded the corner, Silver vanished and reappeared in the doorway, stopping it from closing with her gun, then she shoved it back open with the barrel. "Damn, she's scary." I muttered running over to catch up to her. Entering the room behind her, I focused my pistol on the ghoul that was curling up in the middle of the office.

"She was spying on us." Mom told me before I could ask, "Who sent you and what do you all want of us?"

The ghoul was looking up at her as she hugged her frosty legs. In a shaken and broken voice, "I- I sh-should… be asking you that! W-we, t-the ghouls here he-have to protect our ho-ome…" Her teeth chattered and the fear in her eyes made me feel for the mare.

I put my pistol away. "For now, you're staying with us, but we can't have you running off right now." Just then Xeyal came in behind us and the mare immediately began pushing herself away from us.

"Th-they said y-ou worked with the zebra! Th-ey were r-r-right! Yo-our all m-monsters!" She got into octaves that were starting to hurt my ears.

I sighed and my mom had put her pistol away. She walked over to the ghoul and used her magic to knock the frightened mare out. "We need some fire to thaw her hindlegs."

Xeyal and I set about building a small fire in a metal waste basket. Laying the ghoul out beside it with her legs nearest the fire. I looked over at my mom once and we had nothing to do but wait for her to awake. "How did you freeze her?"

Silver pulled out Snow's pistol and levitated it between us. "It surprised me. Apparently, there is a spell imbued into the barrel that enchants bullets as they are fired."

"Huh, nifty pistol." I chortled. "Once she's awake, she'll be able to move around freely. Shouldn't we tie her hooves?"

"No. Xeyal, stay in front of the door and lock it." Silver told us as she set about magically removing the bullets and dousing the holes with a healing potion. It didn't take long for the frost to melt away, but she would still probably be numb for a bit.

I watched the holes close themselves and watched as her horn began to glow. She touched her horn to the ghouls' head and the ghoul stirred, scrunching her ragged facial features. Opening her glowing eyes and rubbing her head she propped herself up on her other foreleg. "What happened… I was…" At that point she swiftly leapt away from the two of us searching for an escape route. Then, she paused suddenly.

She stretched her back legs one after the other. At that point she sat and looked at them, then at us, and the fire in the can. "You shot me then healed me? I'm a ghoul, why aren't you scared?"

I pulled out my pistol and held it in my magic, aimed at the floor. "You're an odd one, aren't you?"

The ghoul mare reached a hoof into her pocket and pulled out a small rectangular box. Opening it, she put on a set of glasses then returned the box to her pocket. She was taking deeper breaths, trying to keep calm as she assessed her situation then with a huff, she deflated and sat down, back to the desk. "You caught me."

"No duh." I told her as I walked forward and sat in front of her. "You might be getting my hopes up…" I muttered quietly before addressing her again. "Why were you spying on us and how did you know where we were?"

The ghoul looked from me to Silver and back. "I was told to. We have access to the camera systems and some of them don't trust you stable dwellers. I for one don't care. I just want to keep being me and living here. It's been my home since the day the bombs fell."

I exhaled feeling better, I stowed my pistol. and sat down closer to the ghoulish mare. Ignoring her rotten smell, I gave her a smile. "Hey, hey. There's no reason to fear us. None of us want to hurt you, and we never wanted to hurt your friends. Now, what's your name?"

The mare visibly relaxed and answered my question with her own. "It's impolite to ask that without offering your own name first. What's yours?"

Scrunching my nose, I waved Xeyal over. "I'm Glimmer Stone."

My mom spoke up and waved, "Doctor Silver Torrent."

Xeyal didn't speak or wave, decidedly maintaining her silence. That made the ghoul just repeatedly tossing her sideways glances. Hesitantly, she introduced herself. "My name is Misty Grace, but everyone just calls me Grace

"Okay Grace. I have a few questions for you, because I want to end this conflict and we don't want to displace you all." I paused for a moment to think before continuing. "Do all the ghouls here hate us for living in the Stable?"

She gave a small sigh, "Maybe half, if not more. You all came up here outta nowhere and started killing us off. Seventeen of us, to my count." She gave a small pause, "I just want to live peacefully… Fulsome Quibble insists that you don't belong here. He's the one that wants you all dead."

I was about to speak when Mom cut in. "We were only defending ourselves. We weren't given any other options."

The ghoul gave a slow nod, "Not all of us agree with Fulsome's assessment. Personally, I believe we need more ponies here, this place used to employ almost two thousand ponies."

I gave my mom a glance, she looked back at me and gave a shrug, saying "eh," then she looked back to Misty Grace. "Do you want to help us then? I'm sorry I shot you."

The mare gently kicked a hind hoof as if it were wet. "I wish I could, but I was sent as a scout. this floor's labratory is dangerous so none of us come here. It's probably still in containment and thanks to you returning power to all systems, it's safer now than before."

Xeyal asked the question that burned my mane, "what is in there and how is it contained?"

Grace dipped her head, what bits of mane she had fell to block her eyes. "It's a test subject." Looking back up at us. "Just… Just stay out of there and it won't be able to harm you. There are dozens of laboratories in this tower and most of them are extremely dangerous. Each one has specific interaction protocols. We've had a few break loose over the years and its never gone well. Please be careful nosing about and stay out of the labs."

I took note of that. I tapped a hoof on the floor as I thought. In the meantime, Xeyal clicked her tongue twice, drawing all eyes to her. "I assume they knew which floor we are on. Who sent you to us and what were their instructions? Was it this Fulsome guy?"

She vigorously shook her head for a moment. "No, no, no. Fulsome isn't foolish, He's been watching all of you and saw the supplies and weapons your other group took with them. He was surprised when she took down five of his fighters on her own." She waved a hoof at me in the most nonchalant way possible. "I was sent by a friend of mine. She told me to get caught, but she wanted to know why you all came here."

Xeyal and my mom both looked at me sharing the same questionable look. "What?"

Xeyal went back to watching Grace. "Do continue, please."

Grace gave one curt nod. "Well, Fulsome has other ways to kill off the entire stable indirectly, and I haven't a clue how he plans to go about that. Only that he does plan to." She paused, shifting her weight from side to side, she looked ready to faint, but she continued. "Look, I have to go back to floor forty-two, that floor doesn't have a lab and is a security floor. It's got a teleporter and is the highest floor any of us can access. Only Fulsome himself has access to any floor above it."

My mom chortled, "sweetie, you are quite a talkative one, aren't you?"

That made the ghoul bulk and bite her breath. Xeyal chuckled, "We thank you for the assistance. Well, you may as well relay our purpose here."

I waited for her to continue, just watching the ghoul intently for any reactionary expressions… My mom feigned a cough into her wrist, and Xeyal flicked my flank with her tail. My blood pressure suddenly jumped, and not because of that tail flick.

Looking back and forth between them, I put a hoof to my chest, "Me? Why do I gotta explain a thing?"

My mom immediately smacked her forehead with a hoof and held it there as she shook her head. "Just explain to her what's going on…"

"But that's a thing I don't fully understand!" My complaint fell on deaf ears. My head fell back and gave an exasperated grumble. Looking back at the ghoulish mare, "Fine." I attempted to rattle it off as quick as I could, "The systems of the stable have been over-taxed for several years now, leading to whole sections suffering from power surges which in turn have been causing key functionality to become compromised. The surges have been popping talismans left and right, causing issues all across the facility and putting good ponies and zebras at serious risk."

I paused briefly to take a breath and continued, "The blackouts have been becoming more frequent but have only been affecting systems, leaving some ponies none the wiser, however as these blackouts continue to happen, we've been burning through supplies much quicker than before and our reserves have finally hot a critical low, so in essence, we needed to restock supply and figure out what was causing power cuts throughout the stable. We've done that by turning off the hub's magical shield generator and restored the primary power generators as well as lifted the emergency security protocols."

I took a deep breath and continued again. "Now, I don't believe the Overmare actually wants to reclaim the Hub. She would rather keep the stable safe and her security ponies having more weapons and ammunition means she can now enforce stricter rules. Weapons weren't something we previously had a lot of."

Silver Torrent took over following my spiel. "Correction, weapons aren't something we have a lot left of. Most security just have botons now. The previous Overmare had all weapons destroyed after a stable wide…" My mom paused for a moment searching for a word, "...dispute. As for what she'll do with them is beyond us currently, but we're not really fans of hers."

Xeyal looked over her shoulder. "We should let you return now. Time isn't something we can waste. Please speak with those who wish not to kill us. We must secure our homes future."

With that, Misty Grace stood and started walking toward us, the three of us parted to give her room. She paused and glanced over at me. "I will talk to the others; we may be able to take care of those who side with Fulsome. Thank you for the clarity."

Feeling a bit dumbfounded, I gave a simple nod and watched the ghoul go. Xeyal was across from Silver and me. "I agree with you, Silver. She does underestimate her own capability."

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 5
Perk unlocked - Reader's Digest
You can read more than just books.
+1 Charisma
+50% chance to reroll a failed speech check.

Chapter 7: Stalwart

We hadn't let the time pass us by. Xeyal, mom and I had taken the elevator back down to the ground floor reception hall and were waiting for nightfall. Outside was a dull golden green fog thick enough to obscure everything beyond the glass. "I think this will work out. Mom and I will head up and try talking to them once you're gone."

Xeyal stood as tall as ever, I had given her the extra pistol I had. "I look forward to making my report to the elders. I'm sure they have anticipation built by now."

"You will radio me and update us once you have, correct?" Mom asked her in a concise tone.

Xeyal dipped her head slowly but wore her usual nonchalant stoicism. "Of course I will. I do hope no one takes notice of me. I worry that security may be higher now, now that the ghouls' presence is known."

Looking out the windows, I spoke slowly at first. "So, Grace told us which floor to go to, hopefully to regroup and convince the ghouls we are needed here as much as they are." I groaned knowing this wouldn't be easy. I'll probably get shot again… I just know it's coming. So long as mom's okay, this will work? I think this will work… It's got to!

I gave a soft sigh, "I hope you'll be okay, Xeyal. Please contact us as quickly as you can."

The tall zebra trotted over to me, promptly sat and pulled me into a surprise hug. "I'll be okay. You, however, are reckless. Be careful and listen to your mother. She has far more experience than you expect."

I dumbly nodded, my chin barely above her shoulder. "I can do that." I mumbled.

As soon as she let me go, I stumbled back to all fours and my mom chuckled a little. "Twelve hours." she told Xeyal. Silver looked out the windows from near the teleporter room's door. "I think we're good to go, it's almost 9:00pm so the guard shift should be switching soon."

With that, all of us moved into the teleporter room, I spectated as mom got the system started up and Xeyal got ready to go back. She had the stealth cloak readied to be put on. She smiled and waved, both of us waved back.

Just before she disappeared, I saw her toss the cloak over herself and she was gone. I looked over to see my mom quickly shutting down the systems. "We have to move quick now, and we don't want anyone using this so I'm going to override the door lock once we're out."

I nodded; feeling the gravity of our situation settle over us like a blanket. Once she was done the two of us made our way back out of the room. Mom paused and turned back to the keycard lock. Plugging her pipbuck into she got to work. "I'm adding a layer of encryption that will require my pipbuck to unlock this door. Since it's the only teleporter here that connects to the stable."

Once she had finished, she turned to me, an almost sad look about her. It prompted a "What?" from me.

She sighed, averting her gaze to the windows behind me. "It's nothing," she told me as she started toward the elevator. I joined her just as she called it down. "You know the rebellion that took place all those years ago? I was secretly working with the zebras on that. The elders needed my expertise and I freely helped for the sake of the stable."

She sighed and the doors opened in front of us. We stepped in side by side, and she pressed the button and the doors closed. "Your father and I were in love. True, it had been forbidden for as long as the stable's had a population, but that was just a stupid rule to us. Now though, I wish my heart could have found someone else..."

I could see tears streaming down her cheek and dripping from her chin. "We love who we love, and nothing should get in the way of that…" she pressed on, stopping only to give a sharp inhale. "You see, if it weren't for my love for your dad, I wouldn't have you and you looked so much like him as a foal… You have no idea."

She readied Temptation and that prompted me to ready my .45mm revolver, stow it and opt for the combat shotgun. Double checking my magazine. Still full. "Mom, I'm not mad about it. We went over all this just the other night, didn't we?"

She sniffled and began drying her eyes. "True… but I just…" she stopped and inhaled deeply then slowly released the breath. "Okay. Try not to kill any of them if they don't attack first. We have to find Misty Grace first and foremost."

Watching the lights count up and feeling the elevator slow I readied my shotgun. "They probably know we're on our way. I'll guess there to be thirty or forty left. probably two-thirds of them want us all dead."

Mom didn't reply as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened to reveal an empty hallway, so we slowly peeked out into the hallway. Nothing. Shit.

I looked back to see my mom almost mimic my head turn. Her eyes had a stillness to them, a piercing gaze. There was an almost spooky calmness about her. She gave a quick tilt of her head and started moving down the hallway as quiet as a cat. I followed her trying to keep my hoof falls as quiet as hers. It didn't work.

We went just far enough to dip into the first office we came across, closing the door behind us. Looking at her, "Didn't she say they occupy the laboratory on this floor and that Fulsome guy stays up on floor thirty-two?" Maybe everyone on this floor may be friendly then.

"Yes," she started as she searched about the office space. "I have a sneaking suspicion that the ghouls occupy several different floors in smaller groups."

Without much luck in the way of food or drink, we moved back into the hallway and found our way to the next office. We didn't speak, simply dug through the office and found some Fancy Buck cakes and a few really old bottles of water. We took the time to eat and drink before moving onward. One office only offered a bloodstained window and some ammunition for the gun near a unicorn skeleton. Another office had a vault with several boxes of different well-preserved foods, as well as some ammo. allowed us to overhear the ghouls inside. On my EFS I could see several little yellow orbs appear along my compass, I could assume she saw that as well. I moved my weapon out of view and kept it vertical beside the door. Mom did the same, keeping Temptation close to her side and out of potential view.

Pushing the doors fully open, we took in the view. The laboratory was a large open space, along the walls and in the rooms, corners were several computers that were connected to large glowing cylinders filled with some kind of liquid. Along the walls were also several cabinets and stations for everything from washing things to washing ponies. Throughout the room were several long tables equipped with all sorts of science-y stuff. Everything just seemed too clean in here.

The ghouls in the room were maintaining the centerpiece of this lab, a large tree that seemed to be growing rainbow apples. Several apples were laid out across worktables, some sliced up, others being tested with various methods. One of the ghouls finally took notice of us and gave a screech, drawing the attention of others. “Dwellers! Protect the tree!” Several of the ghouls scrambled to find weapons, one levitated several scalpels, another had a pistol, but the rest opted for blunt objects, just caught completely unprepared for a fight.

This would be easy… I thought briefly before dropping back onto my haunches and waving both hooves before me in a frantic display. “Wooh! Now hang on there, we didn’t know there was a tree here!”

Silver Torrent gave an audible sigh, mimicking my positioning, weapons floating behind us. Her hooves went up nice and easy. “She’s a bumbling fool, if you can’t tell. We’re alone and we came looking for one of your ghouls. She offered to help us with a problem, and we were hoping she would be here.” All the tension washed away and all the dots on my compass changed back to red and then back to yellow. Except for one which remained red. The ghoul with the scalpels walked toward us as the rest gathered nearby. I was just happy that the one with the pistol was yellow for now.

“What’s your purpose? Who are you looking for?” His voice was rough, but I ignored that. Mom put her hooves down and I followed suit.

We both sat in the doorway side by side, none of these ghouls appeared to recognize us, and considering that reaction… Maybe Grace had spoken with these ponies? “We aren’t here to take any of this from you, and we aren’t evil, please can we speak without weapons?” Silver’s calm voice was warm yet measured.

With that, the last red dot turned yellow and the leading ghoul put down his tools, following his lead the other six ghouls began putting their makeshift weapons back. “Fine, now who are you and why are you here?”

“Straight to the point then?” Mom gave him a smile. “Are you the leader here?”

“No, I’m not,” he answered.

I sighed, “I’m Glimmer Stone and this is my mom, Silver Torrent. We are from the stable, but right now. Your turn, who are you and are you in a senior position here?” I had tried to measure my words to make them authoritative and strong, I wasn’t wanting to intimidate, but I wanted to offer him the respect he probably deserved.

He gave a smirk, er, at least what he could consider a smirk. He was missing a cheek after all… and an eye… He looks deader than the other ghouls… “You two got some guts.” He told us, waving a hoof and the other ghouls dispersed, returning to their work. “Look, we can go to one of the offices and talk there. If this turns sour, I don’t want this lab damaged. Got it?”

“Works for us, but before we go, who are you?” I asked him.

“Major Starsail. I was here when the tower went on lockdown. Now, let’s go.” He paused and magicked off his lab coat revealing a blue uniform with medals dangling from his breast.

I saw mom’s eyes go wide for a moment before she turned and left the room. I turned and followed her. The doors closed for a brief moment, allowing us to bag our guns before the major stepped out behind us. “I need a drink.” he said, stopping us in our tracks. He trotted between us with a wave of rotten meat washing off him, making me gag a little. “This way. I keep a stash in one of the offices on this floor.”

I accidently gave a burst of laughter and levitated out an open bottle of Wild Pegasus. “Was this yours?”

He stared at the bottle for a long time before nodding. “I see. You’re a thief.” he sighed and continued walking. “I want that back.” He told me but made no move to take the bottle. The two of us followed him back to the office I’d taken the bottles from. Once we were all in the room, he levitated a trio of glasses from a nearby drawer and sat them on the desk.

I took the Wild Pegasus out and filled the three cups before leaving the bottle on the desk for him. “I didn’t know it belonged to anyone, sorry for taking your booze.”

“You’re alright,” he laughed. “I found all the glasses and all those bottles in offices down on the thirtieth floor.” the ghoul took one of the glasses in his magic and levitated it to him. Taking a big drink before continuing. “Being what I am now, alcohol doesn’t have much effect anymore, but I do still remember what it was like all those years ago. Tastes better now too.”

Mom and I both took our glasses and I sipped at mine. Mom just held hers nearby and posed a question, “Major Starsail, you said you were trapped here, right? What’s kept you here?”

He swirled the drink in his glass. “I’ve actually been patiently waiting for your stable to open. The teleporter downstairs was locked from the stable side and so no one could access it until someone came out of there.” He paused for a moment, taking a drink. “You see, I know the city has a lot of secrets and this tower holds a majority of them. This was my last official station and I intend to protect it until I die. I understand that the two of you represent your stable, so I need to ask a few questions.”

I balked but my mom took a sip of her drink and smiled at him. “Yes, we do Major, and we’re thankful you came along. We spoke with a mare named Misty Grace, she said she was sent to keep an eye on us. Was she reporting to you?”

He nodded. “That she was, and she reported to me that you two might come along. My question is simple. How many are in the stable and how adept is the population after all these years?”

I knew this one. “There are currently six hundred and twelve residents in the stable, we’ve followed protocols and maintained a high enough mechanical and historical intelligence to understand our situation. About a third of that population are zebras and the majority of ponies are unicorns. There are plenty of earth ponies there as well. Unfortunately, the Overmare’s of recent have implemented some detrimental policies that we have been forced to maintain.”

Silver Torrent cocked an eyebrow at me for a split second before giving her attention back to the Major. “She’s correct.”

"I, uh... I don't have many friends so I studied the stable a lot," I told them sheepishly.

He seemed to think about that, letting time pass slowly as he drank and refilled his glass. “I see. The current Overseer, are they tyrannical by nature?”

I couldn’t answer, having never actually spoken with her, so I and the Major both looked to Silver for an answer. She cleared her throat, “if she is, she hides it well. Overall, I believe she’s overly cautious and willing to swing her power at anything that threatens her position or her order. She does allow for a good amount of freedom and her policies do carry weight in protecting all of us and maintaining a high standard for the facility as a whole. Her motto is maintaining and endure, so I suppose she’s just doing her job the best way she believes she can. Granted she inherited the position from her mother who was racist and fairly open about it. She does drink, despite having a ban on alcohol production and consumption.” She paused for a moment, placing a hoof to her chin in thought, “I only know this because I’m her doctor,” she added quickly. “That being said, she does show more competence than her mother ever did, so I’ll go with, no. She’s not a tyrant, but I don’t think she’ll be open to any sort of change in her status quo.”

Major Starsail nodded along and sipped at his second drink, making it last a little longer. “Are there any chances that she could be swayed?”

She furrowed her brow and stared down at the floor in thought. “...Maybe…” She looked over at me and I just shrugged my indifference. “Depending on what she’s being swayed from and to, I’d suppose it would be possible if it’s for the good of the stable. We have a population separation issue down there that will be resolved one way or another. She’s not a fan of zebras but she knows how necessary they are.”

He looked back and forth between us. “Do either of you think the stable population would be willing to maintain the MAS Hub’s stability and directives?”

I spoke first, “I believe we need to reclaim access to this place. While I’m unsure what the extent of this hub holds, we are still a part of it, and we shouldn’t be seen as outsiders. We’ve been here as long as you have and with the right direction, many of our ponies and zebras are capable of carrying on our ancestors' work.”

The Major stood and walked around the desk, I could see he still had his cutie mark, it was a pair of teddy bears hugging. It made me snicker a little and provoked a glare from him. “What’s funny?”

Waving a hoof and shaking my head, I declined to answer him. “Moving on, how many ghouls here are on your side? From what Grace had told us, this Fulsome guy has other plans for the experiments here and shouldn’t be trusted.”

“That’s true. There are currently thirty-nine ghouls left here now and only eleven of those have chosen to side with me behind Fulsome’s tail. We’re outnumbered but not outgunned, the issue at hoof is that several of those scientists that have chosen to follow Fulsome’s lead have the knowledge and the know-how of what this tower holds and hides. We can’t allow them to leave, not that they want to, but if worse comes to worse, they either need to be dead or on our side.”

Mom spoke up from beside me, her glass nearly empty now. “What’s the plan you’ve got then? How do we sway them to our side? I’d rather make allies and be absolutely sure that the stable population will be safe.”

“Well, many of them just want to secure the tower. They treat this place and the contents of it as a sacred place. Ever since you’ve turned the power back on, we’ve had someone staged and watching the front doors. That shield protected us from a lot of the danger this city can offer and the last thing we need is raiders storming in here. I believe we can persuade them towards cooperation.” The Major’s voice was like gravel, but his tone was like bedrock. He seemed sure of this.

“Then we shouldn’t dottle. We have a timeline to keep.” I said feeling confident that we’d be able to make this work. “You go back to that lab of yours and convince the other ghouls there not to fear us. Silver and I will go wherever you need us to go. If they attack us, we will win but we will try to offer peace first.”

“To that point, you’ll need to go two floors up. Use the stairs, the elevator is guarded.” With that he added, “Give me back all my drink?” he asked with a smirk.

Rolling my eyes, I saw mom snickering into her fetlock. “Fine…” Out of my bag levitated six bottles of various shapes and sizes. I lined them out on the desk before turning to leave. “Keep us in the loop, let Grace know we’ve spoken with you, Major.”

“Once we’re ready, we will use the elevator and join you up there, so go slow. I want to be there first.” His voice spoke volumes for his planning. “Don’t stop on the floor above us. It’s a dangerous one.”

Silver answered before I could, “Noted, my daughter and I don’t have the time or ammunition to waste. Let’s go already.”

That got us a hearty laugh from him. “Alright then. Thank you for not killing us on sight.”

We passed by a door that had been nailed shut, blasted with a blowtorch, melting the door in place and for an extra measure, someone had at some point brought a desk all the way up to this floor's landing and left it pushed up against the door. Coming up to the door for the floor we needed, we both readied our weapons. “All set. No EFS notice.”

“Shouldn't we have some yellow or red pips by now?” I asked her, feeling a little on edge. I wasn’t ready to get shot at again.

“I don’t know, I figured the same. Quiet time, come on.” She opened the door, and we entered the hall and quietly made our way through them. As we were checking the office, we came across one that was in absolute shambles. Everything was burnt. Near the door I picked up the nameplate that once sat upon the desk that was now sitting awkwardly against a display case. The name was illegible, and the offices were shredded by some sort of explosive years ago. Across all the offices we checked we hadn’t stumbled upon a single ghoul. Which means they're all probably in the laboratory.

"So what now?" I asked Silver. "We can't just go straight into the lab. Besides, wasn't Major Starsail supposed to meet us here?"

She shook her head. "Perhaps something else demanded his attention." She put her hoof to her chin as she did the math. "How many of those ghouls had you killed?"

I didn't want to think about it, I gave a little grumble and looked at the scorched floor. "Between Xeyal and I… maybe ten?"

She nodded. "Before you saved us, we had killed eight and then after that, there were another seven. I think that leaves maybe twelve or thirteen hostile ghouls."

"mhm," I had guesstimate that too. "Think that's why we haven't seen any? the Major seemed fairly sure they'd be here."

Swaying a bit, she stood and started out the door. "I bet it's a trap. We can't just walk in there. Let's go."

I felt the exhaustion and gave a little yawn. Shaking it off, I followed her out into the hall. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, I have a plan." She told me as I struggled to keep up with her. "They know we're coming, but we can make it more difficult for them to know where from." At that moment she shot a camera that protrude from the ceiling. It froze over before exploding with a shower of sparks.

"Ah…" I mused for a moment, paused and began to trot back the way I'd come. I popped another camera and then another in the corner of the hall. It took some time but by the time we regrouped, I'd taken out a further five cameras including one by the entrance to two of the lab's doors.

"Got them all?" She questioned knowing the answer. She was more focused on reloading her pistol. I did the same before pulling out the matching 9mm semi-automatic I had. Making sure both were full, I let her know I was ready. "Good. Be ready and follow my lead."

"Okay," I told her as I wondered how this would go. I watched a small canister with a pair of yellow bands float out of her saddlebag.

Just then a large bullet ripped through the metal door and tore through the air between our heads. Dropping to the floor in a panic, my heart nearly stopped. I looked over to see that mom had also dropped. We shared the same surprised expression just as two more high caliber rounds tore through the pair of doors.

Warning shots? I thought as I shuffled toward the wall. I used my magic to open the doors. As they opened, I watched her pitch the yellow ribbon grenade into the room. "Close your eyes!" she shouted.

I did so, hearing some ponies cry out in pain as it detonated, I could catch the inklings of the flash of blinding light. "Now!" I heard her say just as she jumped to hooves and raced around the corner. I followed quickly and tried to take in the layout of the laboratory. The pair of us found shelter behind a long lab desk.

In that brief view, I had seen a large cylinder filled with glowing liquid took up the center portion of the room, tons of conduits and large cables running out of it and connecting to a semi-circle of machinery around it. As well as a series of chemical worktables and storage units lined the walls as well as in between the machinery and the walls. Some giant grotesque looking thing bobbed in that tube with dozens of wires and tubes connected to it.

I watched as Silver peeked around the end of the table with her pistol at the ready. Two shots rang from it before she pulled back. "One down, only eleven to go."

I gave a reassuring nod and jumped to my hooves, triggering SATS. I saw one stallion swinging that massive rifle my way in slow motion. Taking aim with both pistols, I focused one shot from each on his head. The spell told me that I low chance of hitting with either shot, so I toggled in a third shot before releasing the spell.

I ducked back down as soon as the shots were taken. Lucky had I because the metal door of the cabinet I sat in front of took four rounds all at once. "Dunno if I got him." I said to no one. She had apparently taken that opportunity to reposition herself.

I heard another shot and saw a stray red dot disappear from my compass. I peeked around the corner of my cover to see a shotgun almost against my muzzle, just then the head behind it turned to ice and the gun fell to the floor. A cold chill ran down my back, that could have been really bad.

Keeping low, I dashed across a gap before popping up again to take aim at a pair of ghouls closest to me, I took aim and fired twice, once from each pistol. One missed and shattered a beaker on the table behind them, but the other bullet hit its mark. The ghoul I hit reeled back on two legs before dropping back to all four and glaring at me. My bullet had caught him in the bottom of his nose. He inhaled sharply and spat a bloody loogie while his companion lifted a hoof and leaned away from him. "Dude," she told him the tune of disgust. "Gross."

A bullet imbedded itself in my shoulder and the explosion of pain sent me toppling to the floor. A ghoul stepped around the corner, chuckling to himself. "Got'chya," he told me as he approached. "We needed some fresh unicorn."

I watched as his head froze over as a bullet passed through his temples. I scrambled back to my hooves and saw that the two I had been focused on had taken cover. "Damnit!" I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore my shoulder, but every step hurt like hell.

Making my way around the outside of the room, I spotted the dull and dirty tail of ghoul barely sticking out past the edge of table. With as much swiftness as I could muster, I rounded the corner with both pistols trained on the pair I had previously shot. The one I had missed was using a pair of tweezers to remove the bullet from the others nostril. She turned to me with a panicked look but otherwise didn't move.

After my hesitation she insisted, "Just shoot already!" The ghoul under her just grunted his agreement. He couldn't answer due to literally having a hoof in his mouth.

I lowered my guns. "Only if you try to kill me first." I fished out a healing potion and sat it on the floor next to them. "I'm sorry about that." I told him before I went about my way continuing on along the wall. On my compass I could see two overlapping yellows as well as four remaining red dots.

I heard the sound of a pair of doors being thrown open. Looking up and across the room, I could see two of the ghouls galloping away. A moment later I saw my move dodge around the corner and disappear through the closing doors. That left two. I out the pair of 9mm pistols away and pulled out the revolver. I knew where they were, so I quickly made my way forward and found myself almost nose to nose with a ghoul mare who had that big rifle levitating beside her.

I hit SATS as quick I could. Seeing the surprise dance across her face was almost priceless and since my revolver was in front of me, I found it directly below her chin. I took aim and twice. Releasing the spell, the top of her head exploded twice, and the rifle hit the floor. I nosed the rifle shoulder sash and swung the gun onto my back. "And then there was one!" I shouted.

That last red dot turned yellow on my compass, a ghoul popped up nearby, "I quit, please don't kill me!"

Just then my mom came trotting back into the room. She saw the ghoul with her hooves up, her pistol leveled in front of her, but she didn't shoot. She trotted over to join me. "Got those two, they weren't interested in talking though. Are these three?"

"I think so," I didn't know if this buck would try something tricky, so I kept a gun on him. "Check on the two over there, they didn't come off as aggressive."

She nodded and went over to them. I moved around the desk and made my way over to the stallion. "Are you working for Fulsome? If so, what's he planning?"

The ghoul put his hooves back on the floor. "I don't work for him, but I do know Fulsome wants tests subjects. He wants to find a cure to reverse ghoulification."

I blinked drawing a blank. "Do you trust him?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't. He's been on the verge of losing himself for two decades now. His fixation on the stable only recently came about. He thinks there is an answer to be found in there."

My mind clicked, "He wanted the stable as test stock? That's insane! So, when he couldn't figure out a way to take over the stable, he started trying to just kill us off?"

The ghoul levelled a cold steely stare that made my skin crawl. "Do I have a choice? It's to deal with you or leave this tower."

My mother walked over to join us. "What's your name? I'm Silver Torrent and this is Glimmer Stone."

He gave a grumble; maybe it was a laugh. Did all ghouls sound like they were gargling on nuts and bolts? "I'm Sandy Quartz, and you are?"

Touching my chest with a hoof, "I'm Glimmer Stone and that's Silver Torrent." I waved a hoof off towards her. "We didn't ask for this either, but we can't stand by and let Fulsome kill off our home. I'm willing to say that Stable 109 is a part of this MAS hub and so this tower is our home too."

"You all should join Major Starsail down on floor thirty-four. We're going to go after Fulsome." I told him in as much of a commanding tone as I could.

He just cocked his head slight and dug a hoof into his ear. "Sure, but Fulsome's gone. I overheard him and Willow discussing it. They left hours ago, but I was told not to say anything." He gave a shrug of indifference.

My mom joined us, the other pair of ghouls in tow. She sat down and looked back and forth. "What?"

Sandy slapped his forehead. "Fulsome's gone. He left hours ago in secret." He repeated himself then continued, "look, the three of us have a lot of work to do cleaning up this mess, you two should go back and talk to the Major."

I rolled my eyes, "where'd him and Willow go? I'm sure Major Starsail will want to know."

"Probably to the MAS repository research center to the southeast of here, north of the factory district." He told us.

Both Silver and I shared a questioning glance before giving him the same dumbfounded look.

"Check your pipbuck maps later, now either you both can help us clean up your mess, or you can go back and talk to the Starsail."

I looked past him at the behemoth floating in the middle of the room. "I'd like to know what this lab was working on first. What is that?"

He peered over his shoulder for a moment. "Ah, yes. The first unicorn." He sat down and waved the other two ghouls over. "Nova Haze and Aqua Marine. You two were assigned here, want to explain?"

The smaller mare hopped over and the gruff buck sauntered past us. Both of them sat down and the stallion spoke first, his tattered muzzle showing fresh scars where he still had skin. "That hurt a lot by the way." He told me as he rubbed his muzzle.

"Good shot, thanks for that potion," the mare beside him added with a hint of a laugh. "I'm Aqua, he's Nova. And that's the first unicorn."

Nova tilted his head back a little and groaned. After a minute he turned his head to look at Aqua, "That name is inaccurate. The documents call him Stalwart."

She rolled her eyes and ignored him, "Yep! He was the first subject to survive and benefit from the potion once brewed here. However, there's a catch. We ran out of samples of that zebra infused serum a century ago. Now we just study him and use his blood to try and synthesize a weaker version of the Arete Potion."

I scratched behind an ear while my mom asked the question, I'd thought of first. "What's this potion supposed to do? Why was it being developed?"

Nova Haze gave a reluctant gurgle which prompted Aqua Marie to continue her explanations. "The Arete Potion is a powerful magic booster that is supposed to give the subject ten-fold magical capabilities and almost completely remove the possibility of magical burnout."

As if anticipating our next question or three, she took a deep breath, "Stalwart back there," she swept her head back toward the massive beast, "was the first one to survive the treatment. Before him, several unicorn subjects died and the serum was never used on earth ponies, pegasi or any other species. The purpose was to allow our battle mages and medics to be more efficient in the battlefields during the war, but it was later deemed too dangerous. We were later instructed to keep studying it."

I gave a shiver, "If he was the first to live, I don't want to know what happened to the others." I couldn't pull my eyes from the twisted form floating in the tank. He was a unicorn once, but now resembled a massive fleshy monster. He didn't have any hair anywhere and looked to have massive bulges under his stretched skin. In comparison to his size, his head was only slightly larger than a normal ponies. His bald bulbous body appeared to have growths all over and his whole body appeared to be scarred.

Kind of sickening me, I couldn't look away. Pretty sure I'll never forget the sight of this monstrosity.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 6
Perk Unlocked - Ghoul Slayer: Rank 1
You now have a +50% chance to land headshots against ghouls when not using SATS. Your party members also receive half this passive buff.

Chapter 8: Shots Fired

"Well… We have an hour or so left." Silver Torrent told me.

We had ventured back down the tower, looking for Misty Grace or Major Starsail. Unfortunately, our search came up short, we couldn't find them or any of the other ghouls.

I yawned. This was all pretty exhausting and I'm just happy we have working elevators. "Mom? Should we just go to the teleporter room? Xeyal should reach out to us soon."

She gave a yawn of her own and nodded her agreement. The two of us got on another elevator and continued our descent. The doors closed and we both took the moment to sit and rest. "You know, I can't teleport the both of us. Are you able to teleport again?"

I wasn't sure. "I'm already near my limit on magic, I can try but probably not."

"Damn." She seemed as out of it as I was. "Looks like we need to find a way to contact Espresso Cream, but I don't know if he will help us."

The muffled sound of gunfire reached my ears as the elevator descended. "Shit. Do you hear it?"

Silver Torrent stood and listened, "Yep." The both of us drew our pistols and readied for a fight. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to a cascade of noise.

The lobby looked to be a warzone. We could see that the ghouls had gathered here; playing defense against something trying to get inside the tower. "Let's find the Major!" Silver shouted at me over the noise. She galloped off, keeping low as she moved into the smoke filled room.

I followed close on her heels toward the gun fight. We quickly found Misty Grace hiding behind the large receptionist desk. Her eyes were wide and round as she looked up at us. "What're you two doing here?"

"Likewise! What's happening?" I hollered back in between the bursts of gunshots.

Grace winced as a spray of bullets passed above us, covering her head with her hooves again.

"A Steel Rangers' scout team. They must have noticed the shields went down!" The voice of Major Starsail from just beyond Grace, he turned to us with a grim look. "We can't let them leave alive, take a look."

I peeked over the top of the desk to see two giant metalclad ponies with massive weapons mounted to their sides. One of them seemed to look directly at me. Its guns quickly followed. Ducking away; my heart leapt and raced. "What the hell are they? Killer robots?"

"Robots? No! They're ponies in armor. That there's the problem, we ain't got a way to penetrate that gear."

Silver Torrent scuttled closer, "Does that armor have any weak point?"

He touched his forehead with a hoof, "The eyes and joints are the soft spots."

"What are we against?" I promptly questioned, hoping for any sort of weakness we could actually take advantage of.

"I don't know and we got to do something fast! Got any whiskey left?"

"Now's no time for drinking!" I told him as I levitated out one of my bottles of alcohol. "Here, take it you drunk."

He snatched it out of the air and bit the cork out. He shoved a clump of cloth into it and lit it on fire. He promptly stood and flung the bottle at our enemy. "Got any more?" The sound of shattering glass was accompanied by the explosion of fire consuming the alcohol.

"No." I told him flatly. "You just wasted that bottle. they're in armor and I doubt fire will do anything to them."

He got in my face and growled a gutteral stinch. "It's worth the try. So do something."

His eyes were impossible to look away from and his breath made me hold mine. I furrowed my brow and snorted. "Fine."

With that, I levitated out the heavy rifle I had picked up just days ago. unfolding it and locking everything into place, I ejected the clip to see that the ghoul had used four of seven shots. "Only three shots. Only three enemies."

I adjusted myself and opted to hold the weapon in my own hooves rather than levitating it. As quick as I could, I stood and rested the barrel on the wall between two clerk windows. Activating SATS and peering through the scope; I lined up my shot. Wasting no time, I fired and watched in slow motion as the bullet split the helmet and blood erupted from it.

The weapons of that ranger slowed to a stop as he fell to the floor l. A silence gripped the room and the other one took immediate note, back-stepping toward the doors and the third ranger who guarded their rear.

I didn't waste any time, but now with SATS on a cooldown, I repositioned my body so I could take another shot. I quickly slammed on the hammer, ejecting a spent casing and chambered the next one as I lined it up the same way. I fired, the shot missed. taking off one of the Steel Rangers headlamps instead. I muttered a curse and chambered my last round. Firing again, I landed a hit. Much lower than I had aimed for; still, it was effective. The bullet punched a hole through the neck of the ranger and he crumpled to the floor.

The third ranger stepped into the room at that moment and stood between his fallen comrades. In a booming voice (probably amplified by his armor) he addressed us. "You are all trespassers here and none of you will be allowed to live after this transgression. Attacking and killing a warrior of the Ministry of Wartime Technology is a crime and is punishable by death." With that he opened fire, launching grenades from both his side-mounted launchers.

"Got anymore ammo for this thing?" I asked the major.

He shook his head, "Nope! What else do you got?"

I opened my inventory on my pipbuck and cycled through weapons, "Uh, think a .38 magnum'll do any damage?"

"Probably not, but you can give it a shot." He retorted.

"I've an idea." Silver Torrent told us before disappearing in a flash of magic.

Starsail and I shared a look of surprise before simultaneously looking out at the steel ranger. In front of him stood Silver Torrent. We watched as she magically shoved a pair of grenades into each of his launchers before capping them with magical barriers. He hadn't stopped firing and when the grenades exploded she disappeared and reappeared beside me.

We watched as his heavy guns exploded at his sides, shrouding him in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke dispersed, The giant armored pony hadn't moved, but both his guns had been destroyed. His speaker cracked the silence after that explosion. "This is only the beginning. The Steel Rangers will reclaim control of this station."

The ranger turned and walked out the doors which silently slid close behind him. With the conflict over, I took in the room now that the lights were on. The skeletons that had covered the floor were now scattered, broken and crushed all over the place. Most of the furniture was now destroyed. Bullet casings were also scattered about and four of the ghouls had died in the fight.

"Thankfully the windows here are enchanted to be extremely durable." Starsail told us before dismissing himself to join Grace who was tending to the rest of the ghouls.

I looked around again and saw Silver Torrent walking toward the teleporter door. Trotting over to join her, I checked my clock. "How are we doing this? Are we going to try and meet with the Overmare?"

"That's the plan, hopefully we don't need our backup." She sounded weary. She looked haggard too. having her mane and tail in tangles and her lab coat covered in everything from rust to blood.

She unlocked the door while I watched the ghouls start to clean up the lobby. When the door opened, I turned my attention back to the task at hoof. "So, what's the backup plan then?"

She didn't offer an answer, opting to stay focused. She must be near her limit. She turned on the main terminal and unlocked the teleporter, she then went about creating a secure channel to the elders terminal. When she succeeded, we found one new message.

This is Xeyal. I have spoken with the elders and given them all the information I had gathered. The security has been placed on high alert.

The elders have been discussing strategies for battle, if one takes place. Otherwise, most debate has been about possible avenues of negotiation.

After both of us had read it, she quickly sent back a message of confirmation. She hit send and backed out. She then started up the teleporter. I followed her wordlessly onto the teleportation platform. "Follow my lead and no matter what, do not resort to violence. We will run if we must, but it won't be successful."

I nodded, feeling a well of anticipation catching my breath. "Got it."

The teleporter activated and the room around us swirled and changed to that of Stable 107. As the magic receded and the platform went dark under us, a pair of guards wielding metal batons met us.

"Don't move! If you try anything at all, we will act accordingly." The left-most guard told us. We both nodded and stepped out of the teleporter.

Silver Torrent looked at them both. "We must speak with the Overmare immediately."

"Bullshit, you both were announced as dead days ago. We know you're up to something and we will be taking you both to the holding cells, stripping you of your pipbucks and equipment. Now move before we cuff and carry you."

Mom sighed and I bit my tongue. One of the guards led the way, opening the door while the other followed behind us. It was lage and the halls were empty, except for a few patrolling guards who stopped, watched, and speculated out of earshot. We were guided to the nearest elevator and the guard behind me gave me a swift kick in the hindquarters, causing me to spin and growl at him. I quickly righted myself, seeing his stupid smirk made my blood boil.

"That's for almost breaking my leg on your way out." His snarkiness was infuriating, but I didn't retaliate.

Once we were off the elevator the guards guided us to the third floor security office. Staffed by a younger mare whose eyes went wide as we were herded in. "These two are going to be stripped of all they have and placed in a holding cell until morning. Schedule a pipbuck tech to come down. They're already classified as deceased."

The mare continued to stare dumbfoundedly at the two of us, mostly at Silver Torrent, before the guard stamped his forehooves to draw her attention.

She snapped back to reality and nodded vigorously. "Sure, sure, got it. Pipbuck tech first thing in the morning. Two unicorns scheduled for processing."

"Good." He didn't waste time either, giving the Silvers hind leg a solid hit that made her yelp in pain. The mare at the desk gave a wince but didn't look away from her terminal screen. The other guard led us around to the back and once we were through a door, we found ourselves in a smaller room with just empty tables. "Be quick, take it all off and place it on the tables."

Silver and I both did so, removing our saddlebags first. I removed my Stable 107 jumpsuit as well as my utility belts and satchel pouches. Silver did the same, leaving the both of us with nothing but our pipbucks. The guard immediately levitated my saddlebags over to him and began unloading its contents onto the table. I wanted nothing more than to hit him as hard as I could. The other guard did the same with Silver Torrents stuff.

The guard with my bag pulled out my combat shotgun and inspected it closely. "Well, well. This is definitely contraband and definitely getting you recycled by this time tomorrow." His voice went quieter, "Thinking I'll keep it for myself." He continued to withdraw all three of my pistols, the anti-tank rifle, Several apple shaped grenades of different types,l. There were my potions, food, liquor - which he immediately opened the one sealed bottle and drank from before passing it to his fellow officer. He then tossed my books and notes and other miscellaneous stuff out onto the table. Turning the pair of bags upside down, he shook out the last few bits and bobs left. He tossed my bags on top of it all and took my bottle back for another drink. He gave a satisfied sigh and smirked begrudgingly.

"Thanks, little foal, for all the neat stuff." He chuckled and as he went to take another drink I crushed the bottle in a burst of magic. dropping all the liquor over him and letting the glass shards drop into his open face.

He was lucky, none of the glass fell in his eyes or mouth and he immediately glared at me. I just smiled, "I didn't do anything."

He took one of my pistols off the table and pointed it at me. "Are you sure? Lie to me again. I dare you."

My smile faltered and I didn't answer. Silver and the other guard just watched the exchange. He lowered the gun a little as if he were putting it away and instead shot me in the leg. "Oops, accidental discharge." He whimsied as he tossed it back onto the table.

I in turn crumpled in the pain that exploded from my foreleg. Blood bubbled from the hole and trickled out the back side. He'd missed bone, but it still hurt like hell. I didn't scream or wail or even whine. I took deep breaths and levitated over a healing potion from the table.

"Nope!" He shouted as he hit the glass vial as hard as he could with his baton. Smashing it in midair, the liquid dropped to the floor, so I dove over it, regardless of the glass that cut into me, or the alcohol that made those cuts burn. I rubbed my fresh bullet hole across the magic healing puddle as fast as I could, picking up any shards in the way.

He gave me that much, letting me mop up the healing brew with my wounded leg. I could feel the magic beginning to stitch both sides of the hole closed, but it wasn't nearly enough. My blood smeared the floor, and as I pushed myself up to a sitting position the stallion kicked the side of my head hard enough to leave my ears ringing and vision blurry. "That's for busting up my friend with his own baton."

I couldn't feel much beyond the pain. I ached all over and he sounded like he was in an echo chamber. I steadied myself on my haunches, I just stared straight down at my hooves. The world was tilting slowly, before resetting itself and tilting again.

"Alright Sweeper, get them in a cell, and I'll go make up an incident report." The asshole who shot me said.

"Got it, Wild Ace." The other guard said with enough vigor, he had probably saluted. Looking up turned out to be a bad idea, my head spun the world in front of me and dizziness set in quickly. My ear still rang too.

The asshole, Wild Ace, left out the door we entered through and Sweeper got us to our hooves. With everything a blur, I staggered and was caught by Silver's shoulder which I leaned into to keep my weight off my injury. We were led through to a room of empty cells and put into one of them. Sweeper didn't say anything; locking us in and leaving us be.

I promptly fell to the floor and just laid there. All my muscles and all my stress just bled away as I relaxed in my pain. Closing my eyes and regulating my breathing made it easier to stand it.

"You always have been a brash one," Silver Torrent told me. "Even when you were little, you'd act before thinking it through." She began gently pulling broken glass out of me. "You've always been quick to act too, which isn't a bad thing. You saved me and you saved Coffee Bean."

A warm silence filled our cell, only broken by the light clink of the glass falling on stone and the feeling of her healing spells closing the smaller throbbing cuts. After a while, she nuzzled my cheek, making me open one eye to see her. "Thanks mom."

"You really should be more careful. That was pretty hard to watch."

"So what now? We don't have anything to work with from here?"

"We get some rest because the morning is going to be a day to remember." She laid down beside me and yawned. "I need some sleep."

It's true, they are contagious. I gave a yawn of my own and laid my head back down. I could feel Silver's warmth pressed against my back. It was comforting. "Love you, Mom. Good night."

"Love you too, sweetie."

A dreamless sleep made the few hours of rest fly by. Someone was tapping their hoof on the barred door. "Wake up!" came an exasperated shout.

Both Silver Torrent and I jerked awake and groggily stood. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and saw a small mare with a white mane and a pink coat looking at us. She wore her stable 107 jumpsuit and stood with Espresso Cream who wore his usual security chief gear.

"Good; you're both awake," the Overmare scoffed. "Espresso had filed a report that documented the exploration of the tower above us. His report detailed the horrors up there, mad undead scientists who were plotting to kill the whole stable. His report detailed quite a bit more, but also explored the death of our senior-most surgeon and her daughter…" She clapped her hooves on her cheeks with a shocked expression before throwing her hooves out toward us. "But lookie here, our senior surgeon and her daughter. Not dead."

Putting her hooves down and looking up at Espresso, she gave him a spiteful glower. Swiftly turning her attention back to us, "So! Tell me; how are you two alive?"

I answered first, "Hardly."

That prompted Silver Torrent to elbow my ribs and speak our side. "We thought we were as good as dead as well when we last saw Espresso, but we managed to escape our situation. We took out the bad ghouls, and any remaining scientists up there are on our side." She took a deep breath. "Look, we need to reconsider our positions. This stable needs to open up and repopulate that tower. We need to end the separation of pony and zebra and work together as a whole to stabilize and sustain the MAS tower or else we will lose it all."

Both Espresso Cream and the Overmare balked. She bit her tongue, taking the time to think. In her silence, Espresso Cream answered, "After being up there and seeing what that tower has to offer us in terms of space and necessities, I'd have to agree with her. Our stable is a part of that tower and to have it rot away above up there will only trap us here."

That gave the Overmare a solid reason to ponder our predicament. She tapped a hoof on her chin. She pointed that hoof at the two of us. "Neither of you will be recycled and you'll be allowed to keep your pipbucks. However, you'll be spending another day here while I sort paperwork and reopen your previous stations." She paused and glanced at Espresso, "I will need to gather more information on the MAS."

Silver Torrent then spoke up again. "We don't have that kind of time. The tower was using all its power to keep the defensive shields up which preserved and protected it and us. We had to turn it off to restore power to all systems. There are forces outside the tower that wish to claim it and the stable for themselves and they are dangerous."

"Armorclad ponies with giant guns." I added without hesitation. "We and the ghouls defended the tower last night against a scout team. They are very powerful and when they come back, we need to be ready."

That left them speechless, so I continued, "You need to end this bigotry because we will need every zebra and pony to be able to work together to repair that tower. It houses many wartime experiments and other dangerous artifacts. We need to be capable of understanding and protecting our ancestors' work. We will need to be able to work with the ghouls up there that have kept us safe for well over a hundred years!" I stood and walked closer to the door that separated us.

The Overmare made a cautious reverse step, but otherwise held her ground, if only with a small glance to the large stallion beside her. Espresso Cream didn't make a move, his even gaze stayed on me and he was listening carefully. So I continued: "The stable needs change, even if they don't see it. This stable needs the Ministry tower regardless of how we feel about it. Fact is that our reality requires us all to work together and reacquaint ourselves with the city of Baltimare. For our own safety; we must protect ourselves and our home."

I caught a pair of small nods from Espresso, but I didn't dare break away from the Overmare. Her features were in contempt but offered compilation.

"Our home is a target, and there is a lot of danger looking our way." I finished with a deep breath as I took to sitting, keeping my back straight, I wrapped my tail over my hooves.

The Overmares eyes followed my tail and her eyes rested on the fleshy, bruised and healing bullet wound on my foreleg. Her mouth worked as she thought, She looked me once-over - all the fresh little scars, the greasy mess I could very much feel, as well as the ratty way of my tangled mane and tail. I was covered head to hoof in everything from the past week of not showering.

Her hesitance annoyed me, so I turned my gaze over to Espresso Cream, at the same moment the Overmare's eyes tried to meet mine. Giving him a much softer look and relaxing my brow; I asked the question I needed answered. "Is Coffee Bean okay?"

He blinked at me and it changed his whole demeanor. "He will live. His coat's growing back but about sixty percent of his body is scarred. He's awake and in the recovery wing for another week."

"Thank Celestia." I breathed, it was relieving to hear it. "Thank him for me."

Espresso gave me a nod. "Thank you for saving him, both of you. He's told me a lot."

The Overmare stepped forward again and coughed into her hoof. "Unlock them. You both are free to go, Espresso will make sure you both get your non-contraband back. The weapons will be kept safe in the armory but they will be yours to keep when need be."

Espresso Cream nodded to her and proceeded to unlock the door. I walked out, followed by Silver. We both sat before the Overmare. She and Espresso shared a look. "Espresso, please take Glimmer Stone to retrieve their things. Silver Torrent, please accompany me to my office."

Silver and I shared a glance and a nod. She followed the Overmare out. Espresso Cream gestured with a hoof for me to follow. So I did. We followed the Overmare and Silver back to the main security office. They left out the main entrance, while Espresso led the way around to the evidence locker. He unlocked and opened the door before stepping aside so I could enter. I walked in and looked around. The shelves were filled with all sorts of stuff, some covered with a lot of dust.

On a cleared spot nearest the door, I saw where they'd thrown all our stuff. I grabbed the saddle bags and dropped them on the floor. I started with my moms stuff. Reloading the allowed items from her pile back into her bags. I then did the same with my own. Her lab coat had been tattered and stained, as was my own stable jumpsuit.

Once I was done, the shelf consisted of several weapons, the memory orbs, a few opened bottles of alcohol, and a few boxes of ammunition. Off to the side I could see the cartons of cigarettes and a single unopened pack, probably from Coffee Beans bags.

Espresso Cream coughed, "Take your guns with you, leave the drinks," he calmly said in a quiet voice. His bulk filled the doorway, leaving little room between his shoulders and the frame. I nodded and dropped the guns into our bags, same with the memory orbs and the grenades.

I levitated the bags onto my back and turned to leave. "You will not use them down here. Got it?"

"Got it. Can you take me to Coffee Bean?" I asked him.

"No, he's in recovery and should not be bothered." He has been asking about you. I will let him know you're safe when I see him next. For now though, I need you in my office." He took a step back and stepped aside for me to exit. Once I had, he closed the door letting it automatically lock.

After that he guided me to his office. Once inside, he closed the door behind me. I opted to stand between the offered chairs. He didn't smile or grimace, but held a leveled gaze as he took his seat behind the desk. "You mentioned an outside force that threatens our home. I need more information."

"The heavy armor ponies we encountered last night. They came to the tower and called it theirs. Said we were trespassing within the property of the Ministry of Wartime Technology. They were calling themselves the Steel Rangers. I still don't understand it, but we managed to kill two of them and then disarm the third. Unfortunately, he left, warning that they will return."

"Steel Rangers…" He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I recall they were a powerful part of our military back in the war, but why would they be here now?"

"I couldn't tell you, but they came in, big guns just blazin'!" I stood on my rear hooves and waves my forelegs over my head in a slow big arc. Dropping back to all fours, I continued. "There are a lot of dangerous items and experiments that the tower contains. I can't even begin to explain, but if Stalwart is any indication…"

"Stalwart?" He asked, his eyes opening as he leaned on his desk.

"Stalwart, the First Unicorn, is a bahemoth of a pony that's held in stasis on one of the highest floors. He was the first unicorn to undergo an experimental drug and survived. I don't know any more about it though. I can only imagine what can come if this towers secrets fall into the wrong hooves."

"As can I. What came of that ghoul, Willow?" He thoughtly asked.

"He and the unicorn who had been attempting to kill us made a run for it, just a day before the Steel Rangers showed up. Professor Fulsome escaped before we even found him. Willow left with him, but we don't know how many other ghouls left with them. Major Starsail may have a better idea on that, I would recommend that you go up and meet with him. You two may hit it off."

He nodded. "Duly noted. One last question for you. When saving my son, how did you escape with him?"

I finally sat down, feeling the weight of the bags shift on my sides. "I teleported to the next room over, it was an instinctual panic… I may have fought and won against five or six ghouls. I was in a blind rage and that was days ago… Afterwards, I carried him out on my back."

"He's a heavy one. Again, thank you. You're dismissed, please go and relax, you'll have a new work schedule and duty list given to you in the near future." He gave me a curt nod that I returned.

Leaving the security quarters, I took the elevator up one floor and went through the atrium heading for my room, but the smell of coffee and baked goods caught me and I diverted toward one of the atrium diners. Inside wasn't very big, three tables and a few booths as well as an icecream bar. It drew up memories from when I was a foal. My mom would bring me here and we would speculate on what Equestria used to be, before the industrial growth spurt.

I levitated the bags into a booth before me and settled into the soft pillowed bench. Looking down at my pipbuck, the clock told me it was only eleven in the morning. My little pony showed a yellow leg and a light green body. I switched to my files, I had downloaded some audio and text files from the computers over the last week. Most of this was from Snow's terminal. The text files wouldn't open, being compressed documents. The audio files were accessible to play. Tapping the side of my pipbuck a little earpiece spring out, I levitated it into my ear.

Just then a waitress stopped beside me. "Hi! Is there anything I can get for you this morning?" She was bubbly, and that alone made me smile.

"Sure, may I get a coffee and whatever today's soup is? Medium bowl."

She nodded, "Today we have a three bean soup with a thin sunflower broth." she jotted it down real quick. "Anything in the coffee?"

"Two sugar lumps please."

"Got it. I'll be right back with that." She had a jolly disposition, and her quick pace trot reflected that.

Turning back to my pipbuck, I started the file. Well, here we are. The sirens blare outside and every radio station is calling it our end. From my window I can watch the world die. The world I love… It's a clear sunny day.

His voice was calm and sad. I didn't know how to feel after that, did I want to listen to the other logs? Looking down at the list, there were several logs here and that one had the earliest date. No, I didn't want to listen anymore right now. I removed the earbud and clipped it back into its spot.

Just then the waitress returned with a cup and a pot of coffee. She sat them down alongside a small bowl of sugar cubes. "Enjoy! The soup will be right out." she gleefully chirped before leaving again.

I dropped two sugar cubes into the cup and followed them with fresh coffee. Giving it a slow stir while waiting. I definitely need a shower. I thought, catching a 8whiff of my own body odor.

I smelled pretty bad. Bad enough that made my brain register the greasiness that coated me. Dried sweat and blood made my coat cling to me making me itchy. Resisting that urge and leaning back in the booth, I noted all the holes that had been made over the course of the last week. "Damn, I'm a mess."

"That you are." I looked up to see the waitress standing beside my table levitating a serving tray. "That's okay though, some days are rougher than others. Just get a good shower and some sleep and you'll be as good as new!"

Her optomisium must have been contagious because I could feel my whole body relax and a real smile cross my face. The waitress placed my soup down with spoon on a napkin. "Enjoy! It's fresh too."

"Thank you!" I told her before taking a drink of my coffee.

She turned and left, leaving me to stare at my soup and coffee. My reflection stared back at me in the stainless steel coffee pot. I caught my own sullen eye and I looked as ragged as I felt. Like a wet cloth: wrung out and hung up. My coat was unkept and my mane was in tangles around my ears.

I rotated the pot telekinetically so the handle was blocking my view of me. I quickly ate and drink that one cup of coffee. I left my price and tip on the table before leaving. These ponies aren't at all prepared.

After a hot shower with actual soap, I gave the stall a quick rinse before returning to my room. When I got there I found a tall zebra laying on my bed fast asleep. I dropped all the saddle bags in front of my desk then turned on the too bright overhead light.

I smiled as she furrowed her brow. "Wakey wakey. You're in my spot."

She burried her face into the bunched up blanket she laid on but I heard a long yawn.

I walked over and prodded her side with a gentle hoof. "Can you at least scoot over some?" I asked her.

She did so but barely. "Why are this tired?"

She didn't look up but she did answer. "I haven't a had a bed since I got back, so I borrowed yours."

"What happened to your living quarters?"

"It is not mine anymore."She finally lifted her head. "I also needed to wait for your return, the elders need to speak with you and I tonight. We also need your mother, where is she?"

"She's with the Overmare, discussing a strategy to move into and revitalize the MAS hub." Hopping onto the edge of the bed, I pushed a hoof against her side. "Move over, I'm exhausted."

She moved against the wall, giving me the room I needed to get comfortable. Turning the lights off left my room pitch black. Just the way I preferred it. Giving a big yawn and getting comfortable next to Xeyal, I had to ask, "I believe a peaceful resolution will be brought up. We have bigger problems now so we have no better choice. Some of those ghouls escaped the tower and some scary ponies came knocking."

I could hear her breathing evenly beside me, our shoulders almost touching. "Your bed is small, I can not stretch."

She then stretched, pressing her back against mine and nearly pushing me off the bed! "woaoh!" I dug a hoof into the bed and pushed back against her. She gave in and relaxed again.

"I thank you for letting me stay here, sorry for intruding." She said, Though the cadence of her tone gave more than her words.

Rolling over I nuzzled her short mane, trying to comfort her a bit. "No intrusion. As for everything to come… I think the stable will be able to make the adjustments needed to make it work."

She took a deep breath. "I fear that many of the zebras and ponies here are not ready for Baltimare's horror."

"I agree," it was all I could fathom to say. My eyelids were getting heavy. I rolled back over and pressed my back against hers. "Good night."

"It's just about noon." she retorted.

That got me to smile.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 7
Perk Unlocked: Determination
Strength: +1
Endurance: +1
Perk Unlocked: Gunner Class
Small Guns: +20%
Big Guns: +20%

Chapter 9: Timely Changes

The lights of my room flicked on causing me to furrow my brow and hide my face under a foreleg. I gave a yawn; my sleepiness receded and I took note of my senses. A hoof was wrapped around my stomach and my back was pressed against a warm body. A blanket had been moved over me at some point in the night and I felt well-rested for the first time in a long while.

"Well then. That's not quite what I had expected," came the voice of my mother.

The foreleg moved from around me and Xeyal nudged the back of my neck. That got me to get up off the bed, "I'm up, I'm up. What time is it?"

While I stretched my legs, back and neck, Xeyal got up with a yawn of her own, "It is almost supper time."

Turning and giving her a look of my cluelessness, she reiterated that. "Five in the evening," and with a rare bit of snark, she added, "Turn on your pipbuck."

I raised one eyebrow and did just that. My HUD displayed the time; I always forget that. "Got it, I'm not a smart pony." Turning my attention to Silver Torrent, I asked my next question. "So, how did things go with the Overmare? Oh! I have your bags. Espresso Cream has let us keep our weapons as a just-in-case."

"Luckily, we won't need them. The Overmare seems to be on our side with this but she is hesitant to change the status quo without good reason." She gave a small sigh and shook her head. She took a moment to levitate her bags onto her back. "She asked me to retrieve the ponies she needs for proper counsel. She wants you both to attend as well. Xeyal, can you bring a few of the elders up to her office? The guards won't stop you, but do be careful. Come on, we have no time to dottle."

Xeyal and I both went about getting dressed. I got into a fresh stable jumpsuit while she donned her stable security barding. With our saddlebags on we left my little room. As we walked, the ponies we were passing would pause and watch us. I couldn't make it out, but I could hear their whisperings. Probably due to the zebra with us.

When we reached the atrium, Silver stopped us at the door. "We'll ride down the elevator together, Shimmer and I need to go talk to Espresso. Xeyal, you need to talk to the elders and have one or two of them send someone up. You are to come too."

Neither of us spoke, opting instead to glance at one another and nod in unison. Silver smiled, "Good, today is the day we reunite this stable." With that she pushed the door open to the business of dinner time rush hour. I normally sleep until 8:00 so to see it this full felt… uncanny.

Most if not all the tables were full, leaving several variously sized groups to stand along the walls and converse. The uproar of conversation and laughter made it damn near impossible to distinguish any individual by voice alone. Throughout the crowd were several of the security ponies and as we entered several ponies took note of us. That included a couple of guards.

We didn't linger, Silver had already started toward the elevators at the back of the room. I looked over to see Xeyal gulp her discomfort, even though she wore a calm cool expression. When we reached the elevator the guard beside it looked at Xeyal in shock. "What are you doing up here, zebra? Shouldn't you be down there shoveling shit or something?"

I wanted to buck him. I wanted her to buck him. Instead of bucking him, she stepped to the side showing that along her armor was the word "Security" just like his. "I'm up here because the Overmare has deemed it necessary. Step aside and let us through."

He seemingly ignored her barding and status, choosing instead to hold his ground and double down on his vulgarity. "Look princess, I don't know how you came across that barding but even if you are in security, you have zero pull on this floor." He gave a simple curt nod and from behind us a couple of guards came in closer. "You two ladies should go get some food or something. This zebra's coming with us to the security holding cells."

Silver Torrent and I both stepped in closer to Xeyal. "What's your name?"

"That's none of your concern, now move it. You know the rules." The other guards moved in closer, flanking us. Taking a quick look around, a semicircle of ponies were spectating this fiasco.

Silver and I didn't budge. It was my turn, "Look, I've dealt with far better fights than you could provide. The Overmare has requested us to speak with Espresso Cream. We'll be sure to mention the hassle you're giving us."

He didn't speak, instead taking in the gathered crowd. "Fine. If you three are going to speak with Espresso, I'll be joining you. No funny business, you hear me?"

He didn't move. So I told him what he wanted to hear. "Fine, sure; whatever. Let's go!"

Giving us an all knowing smile he turned and ran his keycard. The elevator door opened and the four of us boarded. He boarded last then held the door for one of the other security officers. It was Ace Wild. Of course it was Wild Ace. Why would any other asshole be here?

No one said a thing as the doors closed. The guard that held us up hit the third floor button and as the elevator lurched to life he laughed. "Y'all think this'll change anything? You ever met Espresso Cream? He's not an easy going stallion. You'll see, we'll have that zebra in a box for questioning on how she ever got up to the second floor without us noticing."

I bursted into a laugher fit, one that required leaning against the wall and smacking a hoof against it. Both him and Ace Wild shared a look of discontent.

"I used a cloak of invisibility. An ancient zebra artifact passed on to me by my grandmother. I then hacked into an unused room and slept there for a day or two… or was it three?" Xeyal shrugged and smiled politely. "It makes no difference, I suppose."

Anger flared up in their eyes and I couldn't be happier for it. "Look, we've all met Espresso Cream. I'm fairly sure you and that dishonorable asshole there will understand soon. Thanks for the escort though, I hope you both get to shovel plant food after this."

Glancing ever-so briefly at Ace Wild. The red stallion had a more relaxed demeanor to him. Just as he looked over at me, I looked away and just as I looked away, the elevator stopped. It was only one floor after all. The door opened and the new asshole guard stepped out first, followed by the three of us and followed up by Ace.

Our journey through the empty halls proved to be a silent time. No one spoke and when we finally reached our destination, we were met by Espresso Cream. He was having a conversation with the mare who sat at the front desk. We took their attention upon entering. "What's all this?" Espresso asked us.

Silver stepped forward to answer but our nameless new friend took charge. "These two have been harboring this zebra up here. They were going to use the elevator to smuggle her back down to the lower floors. I, for one, think they're working on some sort of sabotage to flip the stable!" Ace Wild was nodding his own agreement.

His sheer incorrectness made all three of us and Espresso Cream start laughing. Him and Ace both appeared to cringe seeing their boss laughing their accusation off.

Silver coughed into a hoof, drawing everyone's attention. "Yes, well… While this has been an unsavory sort of entertainment: We have more pressing matters."

"What would that be, Ms. Torrent?"

"Espresso, I was sent to find you. The Overmare has requested a conference. She also requested Xeyal here to accompany a zebra elder. We also need the Chief of Engineering, a zebra named Oazu."

Espresso nodded, "Okay. Xeyal?"

"Yes?"

He looked at both his subordinates. "You're free to go. Please communicate with Oazu as well as Burdal then return to the Overmare's office." He hadn't moved his eyes and didn't react to their reaction.

Both guards started to speak over one another but Espresso Cream talked over them in a more commanding voice. "Night Flare! Ace Wild! Did I ask for your opinion?"

Both of them snapped to attention. "No, Sir!"

"Night Flare. Please return to your post. Ace Wild, stay here." He wore a grim glower.

Night Flare gave a small bow and dismissed himself. I smiled seeing Ace Wild shift uncomfortably on his haunches. I leaned toward him. "Not so powerful now, huh?"

That got me a sharp glare from him. Just then Espresso interjected. "So, I heard you had these two lovely mares slated for recycling. Then this morning I see a bloodied white room with a shell casing in it. When I spoke with Ms. Stone, I noticed she was limping." He paused and turned to me. "May I see your left foreleg?"

I walked forward, magicked my sleeve up and put my leg on the desk. He got in close and ran a hoof gently up my leg, reversing the fur. He saw the bullet wound and turned my leg to see the exit wound. "Thank you." He took a step back and returned to standing on all four.

"Snowflake Flurry told me she had concerns. I've already spoken with Little Sweeper and he confirmed my suspicions. Now, what I need from you is honesty. Why did you shoot Glimmer Stone with her own weapon?"

He stiffened up. "You see sir, she was reported missing and dead days ago and during her initial escape, she stole my brother's baton and gave him a concussion and broke his ribs. He's still in recovery. I did it for him."

Xeyal stepped forward, placing herself between him and I. "She did take his baton, but I was the one that kicked him into the wall that knocked him out. She didn't touch him."

His jaw hung open for a moment, then he looked back to the chief. "Look, I-"

"No. You've abused your position and the power of authority you've been given, however I don't have time to deal with you right now. I'll give you this one warning. Do not slip up or fall out of line again. Otherwise I will request your position be vacated."

"But sir, I-"

Espresso Cream shook his head and shouted back at him, "Ace Wild, you are dismissed! Return to your room, you're on suspension until further notice."

His ears drooped and he nodded. "Yes sir." He turned and left the office as quietly as he could.

The doors slid closed and Espresso turned to Snowflake Flurry. "Please remove Ace and Sweeps from the next week of shift scheduling."

She nodded primly, "Sure thing, sir."

"Alright, let's go. Xeyal, please be quick. We will meet you upstairs and don't worry, we won't start without you." Silver Torrent didn't like wasting time.

The Overmare's office is a lot bigger than I had expected. A large circular metal desk that seemed to slope toward a small pale mare took up the majority of the room. The rest of the room consisted of filing cabinets and dressers. Photographs and frames covered the walls and behind the Overseer was the circular window that looked out over the atrium. There was a door to our left, a simple wooden door with an elegant bronze lever-handle. It caught my attention, being the only wooden door in the entire stable.

The mare stood with her hooves on the desk to be able to see us over it. "Ah! You've arrived!" She wore a smile and her stable outfit, She dropped the floor and disappeared for a moment to walk around the desk.

Espresso gave a kind bow, "Evening, Sweet Beets."

She nodded and looked at the three of us. "You there," she pointed a hoof at me, "Shimmer Stone, correct? Both Espresso Cream and Silver Torrent have reported to me on how their excursion went. However, the last time I saw you was just as the teleporter whisked you and your friends away."

I was about to speak when Silver gently shouldered me. The Overmare continued, "I'd like to hear your perspective on your escape because you caused quite an uproar with your departure, hospitalizing three of my guards." She seated herself.

I started again, "I was made privy to the potential dangers they were facing and had to rescue your scout team and my mother. I hadn't planned to bring anyone, but I'm forever thankful that they had joined me last minute. There's no way I would have been able to save any of them by myself."

She nodded along as I spoke. "I would like to extend my own thanks as well. For if you hadn't gone none of our issues would have been solved." She paused, touching her hoof to her chin. "Then again all my other reports on the tower mission seem to be in agreement that you were the one who took charge in clearing the tower of its hostile inhabitants. Can you please explain to me how our stable was in danger?"

I nodded. "Sure. A ghoul by the name of Fulsome Quibble convinced most of the ghouls who had chosen to stay in the tower that our stable was a threat to the stability of the tower's power grid. The tower has an exterior barrier spell that has been maintained since the war. He planned to shut down the stable, but he didn't have any way to access the power grid. Between my group and Espresso's group forced him and Willow Sky to flee the tower. However, they aren't the only standing threat we face. These Steel Ranger guys are well equipped and heavily armored. They sent a scout party and one of them had a pair of grenade launchers the size of me attached to him."

The Overmare's expression was that of horror and deep contemplation. "We have no choice but to protect the tower and treat it as a part of our home."

"It's always been a part of our home, we just never realized it." Silver Torrent added, "The issue at hoof is that the tower was a research hub for the MAS. It hosts several dangerous artifacts and many secret experiments that can be ridiculously dangerous in the wrong hooves. Both Quibble and Willow have had access to all of that since the war, there's no telling what they will come up with."

Espresso's smooth deep voice held a grim tone. "They're bound to do something. It's only a matter of time."

The doors opened behind us and in came three zebras. In came Burdel, Aozi and Xeyal. The Overmare was up and welcoming them immediately. It left me looking back to where she had just been then back again. Wow! She's quick.

Burdel, the elderly but burly zebra elder had to be the tallest one in the room now and seeing him towering over the little pale colored mare was something to behold. Beside him stood Aozi, He wasn't a very big zebra, short and skinny. Wearing a baggy brown maintenance jumpsuit and with his head held low made him appear frightful. He looks as if he were feeling out of place or troubled.

Xeyal came over and sat next to me once her and the Overmare exchanged greetings. "Aozi is a little skittish."

Seeing him hesitate to shake the Overmare's hoof, "I figured it was something like that. This meeting seems promising so far."

Sweet Beets motioned for everyone to group together. Once everyone was seated, she clapped her hooves twice. "Aozi, I have asked for your presence here because of your keen expertise. I know you're still new to your current posting as our Chief Engineer, but you understand the stable's functions better than most others. What insight can you provide in regards to our home's stability?"

His eyes grew like bulbs, as a smile crossed his face. "Ma'am, I just do my job and I try to do it well. The stable needs me to." He scratched the bottom of his chin while thinking. "From a mechanical perspective, the stable runs fine. However, due to how many times parts have been replaced and replaced again, almost all of our systems have suffered a lot. You can't follow any pipe down there more than ten feet without seeing an old patch or a section replaced with repurposed parts. This also applies to our furnaces and power generators. If it weren't for talismans being easily replaced, nothing would have lasted this long. I would like to take apart and clean rust off some of the key parts but we can't afford to shut down the systems."

My eyes glazed over for the majority of his spiel, up until he mentioned the talismans. Everyone else seemed to follow though so I didn't feel bad for not really listening.

The Overmare spoke again, "Thank you for the input. If given the opportunity: Would you like to learn more about the mechanical operations of the building above us?"

He had a moment of contemplation before giving a slow nod. "Isn't that the ministry hub? Are there schematics or would I and my team have to create new ones?"

Espresso gave some insight, "The scientists were meticulous and there are bound to be schematics somewhere up there."

I chimed in with a useful tidbit, "Turns out that the computer systems share personnel data."

Aozi bounced to all four and trotted in place. "That means that I probably have access to all that information!"

The Overmare tapped the floor with a hoof, signaling him to calm down. "Espresso, in what condition is the tower? What approach would we want to take if we wish to restore it to a usable standard?"

He looked around at us all first, giving the question a moment to linger. "There are plenty of supplies left unused that can be utilized. I'd recommend we start small and have cleaning crews clear out the dead and debris that has accumulated. Starting with the lower floors and working our way up. There are a total of forty-five floors, the top floor is inaccessible."

Silver spoke up, "We also need to make sure that security is posted at the main entrance. From my understanding there is a deadly fog that blankets the outside every now and again. If the doors open while it's present, everyone who is caught in it is as good as dead. Making sure it is locked and secured is a priority."

I stood to add a piece. "Major Starsail will have that taken care of for now, I don't believe he can lock it down, but he and his ghouls are on guard."

"And who's this Major Starsail? What is a ghoul exactly?" Burdel, the zebra elder asked, having stood for his question.

I sat down and Silver took to standing. "The ghouls are ponies who have been heavily mutated by magical radiation. They look like dead ponies but are very much still alive and can probably live indefinitely. I, for one, want to know more about them and study their sickness." She sat down and added, "Major Starsail is trustworthy."

The Overmare looked to Burdel, "I know my mother's mother implemented several unsavory policies and caused a rift in our stable. I've given this issue a thought since I was a foal, of how I could reunite our stable. Despite my predecessors' shortcomings, the rift between zebra and pony is more complicated and will be very difficult to repair. I don't believe that anything you or I say can change the feelings everyone else harbors." She sighed and looked around. No one said anything so she continued. "I have already spoken at length with Silver about policies that can be changed or removed but I'd like your input as well."

If the giant zebra was feeling any certain way, he hid it well. "You'll need to be more specific. The current policies treat us as a pest."

Sweet Beets smiled, "Sure." Her horn began to glow as telekinetically picked up a vanilla fold and levitated it from behind her desk to the zebra. "This documents all the rules my mother and her mother put into effect that involve and perpetuate the separation. I have already taken steps to dismantle these rules and return our stable to its original directive. The one given to us by Twilight Sparkle."

Burdel had taken the folder and laid it on top of a nearby cabinet. He took his time reading, letting the room fall silent. Xeyal spoke up in his place. "I believe that the tower will provide plenty of room for everyone. We will want to set limits and restrictions on the laboratories and catalog all the dangers there."

"There are other settlements located in Baltimare, I believe it will be worth looking at our available stocks and potential trade goods." I added, thinking back to the radio broadcasts.

Sweet Beets looked at Xeyal and nodded then looked at me. "You and Xeyal have good points and while establishing ourselves as potential trade partners will be a necessity in time, for now we do need to focus on securing the hub and making sure everyone is safe there."

Burdel closed the folder and left it where it was. Turning back to the group "I find these changes suvice. Allowing freedom to all ponies and zebras will help. I am also happy to see proper rations to all rather than that previous staggering of class tiered food." He turned to Aozi, "Are you opposed to having ponies as a part of your team?"

Aozi hesitated and slowly shook his head no. "Some of my engineers may be against this though. Forced cooperation may backfire."

Xeyal nodded, "I agree, words alone will not turn back time and easily mend our broken bonds. We zebras have many reasons to feel betrayed."

The Overmare gave a small sigh, "I understand this and I will be holding a full stable announcement tomorrow. This will require everyone to be present. Burdel, will you help me with planning this speech? I would like you to help deliver it."

Burdel gave the Overmare a slight leer. 'Only under one condition. Once we have established the hub, you and I will build a council that will lead our home moving forward."

Her eyes lit up, "Yes of course, I had already planned to discuss that matter with you. Ms. Torrent had mentioned it this morning."

Espresso spoke up, "Alright, while the two of you work out the details, I will take Silver Torrent and Shimmer Stone with me up to the hub. I want to meet with this Starsail fellow and gather information on all these experiments."

Burdel gave Espresso Cream a leveled gaze, "Xeyal will go with you." He looked over at Aozi, "Would you like to stay here or go with them?"

Before Aozi could answer, Silver spoke for him. "I believe he would be better off staying here. Ghouls are… a wake up call… and I bet most of the stable will have trouble seeing them."

Aozi stood and stepped forward, "I believe I can speak for myself here, yes? I would like to see the outside. I would also like to take a look and see if I can find any schematics to bring back."

Silver Torrent didn't argue and no one else spoke up so Aozi sat and smiled "I am glad that is resolved. I will accompany you."

With that, Espresso nodded, "Just be aware that it could be dangerous, so we will not be splitting up, let's go." He gave the elder and Overmare a solute before making his way to the door.

I stood and followed, as did Silver, Xeyal and Aozi. Aozi was a bit giddy, almost prancing with anticipation while Xeyal and I both walked slower anticipating the need to close window blinds.

We made a left into the teleporter room where Silver Torrent started it up and we all gathered into the glass chamber. The teleport went smooth and everyone clambered out of the tower's teleporter room. It was still dusty, but now that the lights were working, I could actually see the layer of dust over everything.

Aozi immediately made his way to a nearby terminal but realized quickly that he couldn't access it. "Crap, it's locked." he mimbled.

"Doesn't matter, it probably doesn't have anything related to engineering. That console was probably used for maintaining the teleporters.

"These teleporters are a part of engineering though!" He sternly countered. "It may not create energy but it does consume it and I'd like to know how much."

I sat back and shrugged, "Silver could have it for you."

She gave me a squinty glare before walking over to Aozi. I just smiled and Xeyal chuckled into her hoof, "You know, we don't have time for that, right? We can't leave him here and we don't know where Major Starsail is."

"Good point, but having him gather information he can use later is just as important." I told her without hesitating. "We have time, though I believe we'll be spending the night up here anyway."

Watching the two of them work at the terminal was leaving me feeling antsy. I stood and walked out into the main lobby. No one was here and the setting sun filtered through the clouds. The ravaged streets and dilapidated buildings were glowing gold in the evening sunlight. The stained glass mirrored Twilight Sparkle onto the floor below the long desks. I walked down the steps and stood under her, looking up at the cloudy sky between the buildings. The ghouls had cleaned up the lobby. All the bones were pushed to one corner while the dead ghouls and the two metalclad pony corpses were gone.

"She was the unicorn responsible for this hub and our stable? Twilight Sparkle?" Xeyals voice was quiet and soothing.

"Yep. She's our ministry mare." I answered without looking away. The buildings I could see were decrepit. Missing windows, some of which had been boarded over. One giant hole was blown out of one of them, leaving a pile of rubble on the sidewalk below it. "What do you think the ponies out there know? Do you think they're all crazy ghouls or trigger happy giants?"

"I don't believe so. I do remember those broadcasts you played. That DJ Pon3 seemed to have good sense."

I sighed and looked for solace in her eyes. "The Mayhem Mall says otherwise. I don't know what to expect, but I want to go find out. The Heights was looking for ponies."

She didn't break eye contact. "Do you plan to leave?"

"No… At least not yet." I couldn't keep looking at her, so I looked back up at Twilight Sparkle. "I don't believe I'll be much help here though."

Some static began to fill the air followed by a deep stallion's voice. It was that DJ, "Hello Wastelanders! I just finished dinner and before I could even throw the bean can away, somepony was giving me an update. Today started off with good news and now it will end with some great news! There is a group of heroes in Hoofington that has been carving out the raiders and slavers, making room for the settlements there to be traded with. MegaMart has reopened its gates for ponies passing by there. Also, it turns out that Old Appleoosa has seen those heroes from Manehatten pass through, and trade routes are safe once again."

There was a pause with a rifling of papers.

"Now for the news that interrupted my dinner. We all know how dangerous Baltimare is, right? Some ponies from a village north of there witnessed something incredible. The Ministry of Arcane Science hub lit up like a Christmas tree the other night. It would be a death wish to try and visit that place though. Anyway folks, that's all for now, take care my dear listeners and enjoy some of this smooth music."

The transmission switched over to music using piano to accent a brass base. Xeyal and I looked at one another and I switched off my radio. She hummed for a moment, "It appears we're on someone's radar."

From above us a speaker crackled to life and out came a voice. "Major Starsail, please report to the main reception area. Major Starsail, please report to the maon reception area. Thank you!"

"Was that Silver Torrents' voice?" Xeyal asked as she stood and turned back.

I stood and looked back as well. Silver was standing behind one of the reception desks talking with Aozi and Espresso Cream. "Let's go, I guess." Xeyal and I went and rejoined them, "Aozi, I know where one of the Engineering offices are, would you like me to take you there?"

Aozi bounced on his hooves, "Yes please!"

"No. We will go later. For now we are here to speak with Starsail." Espresso Cream was stern in this choice."I want to make sure the tower is safe. I still don't trust it."

I sat down heavily and pouted. I really didn't want to wait around for more politics. "Fine. We'll go afterwards." I said watching as Aozi deflated, his enthusiasm was welcomed though. A thought cross my mind as I looked out at the debris filled street. What's it like for ponies out there…

The elevator gave a ding and the doors opened. Out stepped Starsail and Misty Grace. "You called?"

I laughed as Aozi took in the sight of the two ghouls walking toward us. His wide eyed expression was a mix of shock and horror. His mouth held a quiver and he was moment from screaming when I stepped in front of him. "Don't," Was all I had to say. "No need to be scared. They're ghouls. Just hold your breath."

He still wore a mask of fear, but he gave a small nod of understanding. I looked over to the ghouls as they reached us. He looked over us all, "What's happening?"

"We needed to speak with you about the future of this tower." Silver Torrent informed him, "This is Espresso Cream," She gestured to the large earth pony, "he is our chief of security in the stable and he wanted to speak to you."

The ghoul looked up at the massive buck. "I'm Major Starsail. I've called this tower home ever since the final day of the war. It was my last security post given to me directly by Applejack, the ministry mare of Wartime Technology."

"Good to meet you. You've really be alive that long?" Espresso Cream asked in bewilderment. "My concerns are in the safety of this tower and the dangers that it holds. We need you to come visit Stable 107 and meet the Overmare."

Starsails good ear perked up, "Fine." He answered plainly, "I suppose if the stable plans to move into the tower it would be worth providing my assistance in reestablishing this place. The ghouls still here have be working on stabilizing protective protocols and securing the experimental floors." He began to cough and the sound of it made me cringe.

Silver Torrent waited for him amd turned to Misty Grace. "You're familiar with the computer systems and machinary here, right?"

She responded with a little squeak and a nod. "I was an admin here in the tower so keeping track of paperwork and personnel."

"Would you please take these three with you? Aozi, the zebra there, is our Chief Engineer and has been tasked to collecting schematics and oporational statistics on the towers systems."

Misty gave a smile, "Sure. I can give them a tour and help him precure the information needed."

Footnote:
No levels gained, but you do feel more experienced.

Chapter 10: Stable Convenience

While Major Starsail and Silver Torrent took Starsail down to meet with Burdel and the Overmare; the rest of us went on to collect data for Aozi. Grace gave us a tour and I could see that they've used their time since the attack to take care of the bodies we had previously left behind.

I was following behind Aozi and Grace as they talked about the key differences between a flux capacitor and a lodestone inhibitor. I leaned closer to Xeyal, "Engineering nerds, right?"

Xeyal didn't laugh, only one of her ears swiveled to me. Without a response, I continued to follow in silence for a while longer. "He has never had many friends. Just acquaintances. It's pleasing to see him so accepting and being accepted."

Damnit… I was never funny anyway. With a quick blink, I saw that both of them shared a smile. "Yeah, I can understand that.

"Besides, she is an administrator, not an engineer." Xeyal gave me a sideward glance. "Are you jealous?"

That made me almost trip over my hooves. "What? No. Why would I be?"

"Because, they have a deeper topic to speak on than us. I don't have a topic to share and I'm a little envious." She was blunt for sure.

"That obvious?"

"Not at all, but small talk isn't your strong suit."

It had taken a couple more hours, Xeyal hacked terminals that Aozi or Grace couldn't access. I just spent the time confronting my new found fear of heights and open space by staring out the windows while waiting. If nothing else, I wanted to see something, anything move about.

Finally after visiting six different floors Grace and Aozi agreed that he had gathered enough physical paperwork and digital logs to keep himself busy for a while. Taking the nearest elevator down to the main lobby, we continued on to the elevator, but I stopped and looked at the front doors. In the dwindling daylight, I saw them. A large group of slack jawed ghouls wandering down the center of the road. Probably a couple dozen. It was an eerie sight. dark green mist was moving along the ground, about knee high and thick enough to obscure the ground. It made for a dreadful scene and if the windows weren't there…

"Nobody move," I told them as Xeyal turned to look back at me. Following my line of sight, I watched as her eyes grew round.

All at once we stood as still as statues and watched them pass. "Those are feral ghouls," Grace chimed in quietly. "They react to sound and movement, those windows should hold them back."

"Should?" I asked incredulously.

She glared over at me. I took the hint and kept my trap shut. We all watched as the shambling horde passed by. A few of their glowing eyes looked in at us, but none of them diverged.

I could see Aozi's knees shaking while Xeyal watched them intently. As the front ones left our view, more came along following right behind them. "This might take awhile. Do you think they will notice if we move slowly?" I quietly asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. We shouldn't take the chance." Silver answered in a hushed tone.

Time seemed to move slowly as we all stood perfectly still and watched them pass. I watched Aozi turn toward Misty Grace, "how many do you think are out there?"

Her answer wasn't what I could ever have fathomed. "This city was home to a couple hundred thousand ponies. If I had to guess… Possibly a third of them were ghoulified."

Aozi physically leaned back, raising a forehoof under him. "You mean there's over a hundred thousand ferals out there!?" He neglected to whisper and quickly put a hoof over his mouth.

I turned to the slow stampede outside and was thankful that none of them reacted to us. Silver Torrent continued to watch them as well, "do you think it's possible to return them to how they once were? Before becoming ghouls?"

"Probably not. we've spent a lot of time here trying to find a way to reverse the ghoulifying process to no success." Grace gave a sigh. "Let's just go."

As slow as possible, we all made our way into the teleporter room. Silver unlocked the door and the rest of us moved in. She didn't waste time closing and relocking the door. "Well, that was terrifying."

Aozi just nodded vigorously, sweat matting his coat, "I… I… I…"

Xeyal shook her head, looking down at the smaller zebra. "Do not fear them. The tower is sturdy and we will rarely be dealing with them."

He just gulped and nodded his head slower this time. "Can we go home now?"

Silver got the teleporter turned on and readied. "Why am I the only one who understands this thing?"

Her mumbled disposition reached my ears and I just smiled at her. Just as the teleporter whirled to life under us and she stepped into the chamber; "Because, you's too smart!"

She gave me an incredulous look and stuck her tongue out while trying not to smile. She failed at that last bit. The machine activated its sequence and sent us down to Stable 107 where we all unloaded from the cramped glass chamber and quickly left the room. A couple of guards were shocked to see us come out. One of them was Big Red and the other was Wild Ace.

He looked away from me but couldn't hide his reaction to Misty Grace. He recoiled immediately while Big Red covered his nose and gave a small bow. Granted he was huge and towered over all of us, except Xeyal.

Silver took the initiative. "We need to join the meeting in the Overmare's office, can we just go on in?"

Big Red gave a chuckle. "I don't see why not. Espresso told us that you all might come by later." He stepped over to the office door and opened it for us.

As I passed by him his eye caught mine. "Thank you, Big Red."

The dip of his head and the kind smile he gave left me feeling happy. I wasn't too sure why, but right now I didn't have the time for that. Maybe it was because he was always friendly like that.

Inside the office stood Major Starsail, Sweet Beets, Espresso Cream, and Burdel. A new table sat in the middle of them simply covered in papers, folders, books and a few glasses holding amber colored liquid. I immediately recognized it as the stable's apple cider.

Sweet Beets addressed us first. "Welcome back everyone. I imagine your excursion?"

Everyone waited as we gathered in, Aozi spoke up first. "We managed to gather a motherload of information in regards to the MAS hub's power grid and other utilities. It may take a week or more for me and my team to sift through all this and make sense of it."

The Overmare smiled. "Can it be done quicker with a larger team?"

He hesitated, "Yes…My team would be dividing the information based on a number of factors, but I can't dedicate everyone to this project. Maybe five zebras would be available to work on this, including myself."

"How would you feel about working with the Chief of Engineering on the third floor? The ponies there are just as capable." Sweet Beets gave a gentle smile. "I believe that ten minds on this will flow easier and quicker than just five."

Aozi didn't say anything, opting to give a curt nod. Silver Torrent spoke up. "Major Starsail, how many feral ghouls are in Baltimare city?"

Starsail put a hoof to his chin and scratched his neck. "Haven't a clue, more than can be counted. This city had quite the population boom as the war began to ramp up."

I quietly thanked Misty Grace for chiming in at this. "Sir, the city had a couple hundred thousand ponies. At least a third of them were potentially ghoulified. I would wager my undead life on that."

The overmare's jaw dropped and Espresso looked shaken by this trivia. I had to address this next bit that nagged at me. "What's up with that green fog? I know it is radioactive and deadly, but what do we do about it?"

Starsail had an answer for me, "That fog rolls off the ocean. I don't exactly know what causes it, but if you're caught in it without a radiation suit…"

"Good as dead, huh?" I finished for him.

"Yep. You'll either become a ghoul yourself if you're lucky, but most of the time you'll just vomit up your organs and die on the spot."

That made my stomach turn over. It had the same effect on every other stable dweller here. Misty Grace scratched at her ear with a boney hoof. "That's not all. Those steel rangers are bound to come back with a star paladin. I'm sure of it. They don't take "No" very easily and beside that, Shimmer Stone killed two of them. They won't let that stand."

Everyone at the table looked at me. Even Espresso Cream regarded me with a shocked expression. "What?"

Sweet Beets' voice was shaken, "Yes, uhm, well then. These steel rangers, what do we know about them?"

Major Starsail smacked the table top with a hoof. "They were originally a division of elite soldiers trained to operate power armor. That armor is a very heavy suit equipped with the same arcano-tech that your pipbuck has. They are usually equipped with the heaviest possible weapons. Walking tanks; designed by Applejack herself designed the armor for the Ministry of Wartime technology. Twilight Sparkle helped with the arcano-tech incorporated in the design. From the advanced features of the Eyes-Forward Sparkle and StableTec Accelerated Tracking System."

"Wait, those things had EFS and SATS!?" I interrupted him without another thought. "By Sunbutt's grace, we should've died."

While my mind reeled at this revelation, Starsail cleared his rugged throat. "Yeah. That they do and that we should have. Gotta love them metal reinforced desks."

Espresso Cream checked his pipbuck for a moment then looked over the Overmare. "Sweet Beets, I have business to attend to down in security. I have to dismiss myself now. Do fill me in later though."

"I will. Thank you for all you've done, Espresso." She told him as he turned to leave. Once he was gone and the door was closed again, Sweet Beets addressed us all. "Is it reasonable to believe that there are good ponies somewhere out there?"

Xeyal and I both looked at one another but Misty Grace beat us to it. "There are. Manehatten is north of here and in that city is Tenpony Tower, it's one of the wealthiest settlements nearby and is home to the mysterious radio pony, DJ Pon3." She shifted her weight from one side to the other. "Of course closer to us are The Heights and High Town. The Heights is a tower similar to Tenpony Tower just a few blocks to the south of us. High Town is a series of tightly built office buildings to the northwest of us. There are a couple other settlements further out but those two are the closest ones."

"Thank you Ms. … uh I'm sorry, I hadn't gotten your name." Sweet Beets gave a little nervous laugh.

"It's Misry Grace, ma'am. I was a secretary for Ms. Sparkle during the war." She gave a small smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Overmare."

"My name's Sweet Beets and since you aren't a member of my stable, you may call me that."

Xeyal asked my question first, "Do these settlements trade? If so, what do they need?"

Misty and Starsail both looked at one another, "I imagine they do, but I don't know." Grace told her.

I took a deep breath and stamped a hoof on the floor. "I volunteer."

Everyone remained silent and they all stared at me in disbelief. If no one else would say anything, I offered justification. "Look, we need to make contact with someone. Having allies will probably be beneficial to the stable as a whole and besides that, we have a lot of stuff here that those ponies might need or want. If the stable is opening and we're reintroducing ourselves to the Equestrian wasteland, we may as well try to help however we can, right?"

Silver Torrent spoke up over Sweet Beets. "No. You're not leaving, I won't allow it."

Sweet Beets interjected before I could rebuttal. "I believe Shimmer makes a fine point, but I also think that's a suicide mission and I'm unwilling to put anyone to that quite yet."

Heated by the thought of me leaving, Silver Torrent dove right back into it. "I will not let my daughter go out there a-"

I cut her off with a raised voice. "I'm the best option! You've seen what happened up there, I'm already a murderer! There's no way I can just go back to maintaining gemstone talismans. I want to do this for the good of our home."

Xeyal stamped a hoof. "I will agree with her on this. I have seen her in combat and for being a novice, she has proven to be a natural in the heated moment where it counts. If anyone should represent Stable 107 out there, it should be her."

Silver Torrent leaned back and just glared at the zebra. "She's all I have. I refuse to lose her. If she leaves the stable, she'll die. I just know it."

I walked around the zebra and over to Burdel and Silver. "You have to be here to help and heal our home. All I ever did was put enchanted stones into sockets. Anyone can do that. I believe this is my purpose and what I need to do."

This seemed to get through to her a little, her expression softened for a moment and she pulled me into a big hug. "You're still my little filly and I don't want to worry about whether or not you're alive."

I wrapped my hooves around my mom and squeezed her close. "Mom, I love you and I love this stable, I really do."

Burdel finally spoke up. "You do have a greater purpose. Perhaps this is it. You've set in motion the reunion of our stable and opened up the MAS hub and saved our stable from unforeseen doom." Silver and myself separated and listened to the elder. "Xeyal recounted the venture of securing the tower and saving our kin to me. She expressed the prowess Shimmer displayed." I felt a blush hit my cheeks.

Silver didn't reply, so Sweet Beets did. "Shimmer," I gave her my attention, as did everyone else. "Are you sure?"

"There was a broadcast from the Heights saying they were looking for capable unicorns to help with expansion work. That makes me think they're reasonable ponies. I want to visit them and see what it's like for wastelanders." I stood and stomped to make myself clear. "The stables were made so we could eventually help rebuild Equestria. This is our chance."

Silver Torrent started crying and Xeyal walked over and whispered something to Burdel. He gave her a small nod, "Okay."

Sweet Beets hummed her curiosity and tapped on the table drawing the elders attention. "If you permit Shimmers' request then I would like to have Xeyal accompany her. She would act as a bodyguard and as a representative of the zebras here."

"Xeyal, are you sure?" I asked her, feeling my voice crack a little. A warmth bloomed in my chest.

She walked over to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "Of course. Our home is important to me and your reasons are sound. I'd prefer you to stay whole."

Sweet Beets claps her hooves once, drawing everyone's attention. "Then it is settled. Shimmer, Xeyal. Please go prepare yourselves for your journey. We have radiation suits in maintenance and Aozi can provide those. Aozi, please reconvene with your staff and report to level three maintenance tomorrow morning. Burdel and Silver Torrent, I would like you two to stay here a little longer, we have a lot to go over with these ghouls."

"Hey, Aozi." I paused, looking back at him just before we got to the atrium doors. Thankfully, no one else was here except the guards back at the Overmare's office. "The ghoul party outside should be kept to yourself. We don't want to spark any rumors and cause a panic, I'm sure plenty of ponies have noticed something is happening."

"This whole journey has been quite an eye opener." He started shifting his weight back and forth. "While I do not wish to share that experience with anyone, I can understand the concern, I'll overlook our return trip in the debriefs."

Passing by the door into the atrium made me realize I hadn't even checked the time since leaving. It was already eleven in the evening, almost midnight. "Oooh…" Having stopped at the top of the stairs, looking out over a completely empty atrium, I realized just how exhausted I was. So that's why I'm so tired. "It's been twenty-nine hours."

Xeyal gave a loud "Haah!" and it echoed. "I know." She said with a small smile. "I am tired too."

I started down the stairs, "Okay then, let's go. Good night, Aozi."

Waking up with a stretch, my eyes opened easily and I felt good, almost brimming with energy. Sitting up on the bed, I pressed a hoof against Xeyal's shoulder. "Wake up, time to go."

Turning on my EFS and checking the clock, it was nearly two in the afternoon. I gave her another push when she reluctantly hid her face.

"Fine, fine. I'm awake." she said, rolling to face me. I got up and dorned myself a clean stable 107 jumpsuit with my saddle bags over my back. The night before we had taken turns showering and sorting out what stuff we would need and what we would be picking up from the armory.

Xeyal prepared herself opting to keep her security vest on with her bag straps tucked under it. "You need something that will provide more protection."

I looked myself over, and while I could agree with that… "Nah, I feel more flexible this way." I told her as I did a little twirl.

"We'll see what you think when you get shot again." Countering my confidence with her reasonable logic. Getting shot does hurt a lot.

"Fine, if there is something suitable that fits in security, I'll take it. Now, let's get a move on."

Leaving my room behind, we made our way to the elevator. As we went, we passed by a pair of mares who were deep in conversation. Of course, when they saw Xeyal and I walking toward them, a silence filled the hall. They just stared as we passed by them. I didn't recognize either of them, but I broke the silence. "Have a good one." I told them and one just scoffed while the other only offered an eye-roll.

"Rude." I hollered back at them before we rounded a corner.

"Don't let them bother you, they will probably opt to stay here when the tower is in full use."

"Yeah but still…"

"I agree. I also believe they will change their ways eventually."

Opening the door at the end of the hall led us into a bustling atrium. No one seemed to pay either of us any attention, which I was happier for. There seemed to be a set up going on, several tables were moved from the center of the room and a small podium had been placed near the base of the stairs.

Big Red stood beside the elevator. "There you two are. Espresso told me you would come by. He's waiting for you both in Security."

He stepped aside and opened the door. "Thank you, Red Brick." Xeyal told him with a bow. He was only a few inches taller than her. Both of them made me feel small.

Taking the elevator and making our way wordlessly to the Security wing, we stood there with just his secretary. "Is Espresso Cream in his office?" I asked her.

She nodded, "mhhmm." She was eating her own lunch when I asked. Her round eyes were full of curiosity though.

Just as we reached his office, the door slid open and he came out of it. "Oh, you're finally here. I had expected the two of you to have been ready to leave earlier." He looked us over. "Follow me."

He passed between us and led us around and behind the main counter. We entered the stable's armory and I almost gasped in awe. The room had a variety of lockers on either side, a large locker across the back wall and a table sat in the center of it. We gathered around the table, Xeyal and I stood side by side while Espresso rounded the table to face us. On the table in front of us were two radiation suits folded neatly with respirator helmets sat on top. They were a dark orange with a cool looking vizor and an attached air filter on one side.

"Alright, show me all your weapons, I want to make sure you have enough ammunition."

We did as he asked. Xeyal reached into her bag and pulled out a single pistol as well as her metal baton. I on the other hoof, levitated out a pair of small caliber pistols, a revolver, the combat shotgun and the folded anti-tank rifle.

He raised an eyebrow at my collection, "Overpacking?"

I gave a grin and he shook his head as he looked around the room. "Let's see, I don't think we have any rounds for that rifle, but we do have shotgun shells and both calibers for all four pistols."

He dug around for a moment and dropped a couple boxes of ammo on the table. "Xeyal, wouldn't you like a back up weapon?"

"The pistol is my backup." The monotone spoke volumes because Espresso nodded and didn't push the subject. We loaded everything back into our bags after checking our weapons over.

Espresso Cream took the opportunity to offer a combat knife to Xeyal. It had a sheath on it that she could attach to her vest or upper leg. She didn't decline it and proceeded to attach it to her upper leg. He then offered me some barding to put under my bags. I wasn't about to go back on my word, so I accepted that armor. It was a thick black vest with no distinct designs, so I put it on. It covered the majority of my body. It was a lot like Xeyal's vest, but this one covered my hips and haunches more completely.

The collar on it was thick and helped to cover my neck from the back and sides. After getting my bags back on, I felt… heavy. I dug out my fathers locket and put it on, tucking it into the collar of my stable jumpsuit.

Xeyal chuckled from beside me with the back of her hoof to her mouth. "You're so small, yet so fierce looking. I wouldn't want to fight you."

Just behind my shoulders were a pair of pistol holsters, I put my small pair in them. "Right, I suppose we should leave."

"Not quite, you need to stop in with my wife. She has prepared a week of rations for each of you." He walked around the table and pulled me into a big hug, practically plucking me off the ground. "You brought my son back to me and I can not thank you enough."

I tried to hug him back but with my shoulders inside his forelegs, all I could do was tap his shoulder with a hoof. "You're welcome," was all I could choke out since I couldn't breathe.

When he released me, I gasped, taking in a big breath. Xeyal justcsmiled at me, probably trying not to laugh. Espresso was a very strong pony apparently.

"Go on then, Sunny Tea will be waiting for you." He led the way out and we followed him as far as his office where he turned in. We continued on out and back to the elevator. Taking it back up to the atrium, both of us were combat ready and that drew every eye as we walked through the early dinner crowd.

It didn't surprise me, but I still didn't like having everyone watching us. The quiet crowd rippled with whispers and speculations. We made our way up the stairs and around the balcony to the cafe run by Sunny Tea, Toasty's.

As we approached, a few bucks sitting at a table across from the entrance halted their conversation and stopped us. "Hey, you."

Seriously? I thought briefly as I turned back to look at the one who said it. "What?" I asked as pleasantly as I could manage. I had a feeling something dumb was about to be said.

The stallion smirked, "You single? I need a mare who can carry herself."

I rolled my eyes and as I started to push on the glass door from behind me one of them said, "Dude, she's got guns." I looked back and they were whispering to one another.

The three of them stood up. and the tallest of the group telekinetically pulled out his ID card. "I'm off duty, but I am in Security, can you explain to me why you have this zebra here and why you're armored and armed?"

Xeyal stepped between us before I could say anything. "For one, I am a senior security officer and have been tasked with protecting Ms. Shimmer Stone on a classified mission given to her by the Overmare and Espresso Cream - Your boss can answer your questions, we do not have the time to waste here talking with you three."

Steam must have released from my ears because my sudden anger dissipated immediately. I pushed open the hinged door and smiled broadly, Coffee Bean was standing at the counter. I immediately rushed ahead before the door could close behind Xeyal.

His expression was one of shock. He had peach fuzz that had just started to grow back over two-thirds of his face and a bald ear. He looked much older now, where the explosives had practically melted his skin.

"Glimmer Stone? Where have you been?" His look of stunned disbelief left him searching for words. "They told me you saved me…"

"I'm so glad you're okay! Can I hug you?" I looked back and forth along the counter and spotted the little latch gate. He quickly jumped over the counter and pulled me into a hug. "I have no idea how you did it. All I know is what I had seen…" His voice gave away some sadness or fear. I only barely caugh the hitch in his statement.

I pulled away from him and looked at Xeyal as she walked up. Looking back to him, "I'm just happy you survived."

He gave me that grin only he could pull off. "I am too, thank you." He perked his ears, and turned to the kitchen door just as his mom came out, a smaller earth pony balancing a tray of food and drinks on her head.

She hurried over to a table and made her delivery before joining us. "You mist be Shimmer Stone and Xeyal, my husband told me you would stop by, I have your ration packs ready to go."

"Ration packs?" Coffee Bean looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me you two are leaving."

He told me not, so I stayed silent. He in turn looked up at the zebra. "Really? Why did neither of you tell me!" He wasn't shouting, but I'd bet he wished he could.

Xeyal didn't respond or flinch. Sunny Tea came back carrying two large bags in her teeth. I levitated them from her and tucked one in my bag and the other in Xeyals'. "Thank you," she told me, "Espresso couldn't go into detail, but he told me that you two are doing what is best for the stable and I wanted to thank you for that."

"I appreciate the food." Xeyal told her with a full bow, complete with a forehoof up under her. "We will make sure it all goes to good use."

Coffee Bean was sitting with his hooves out to both sides of his forehooves, ears drooping and a bit of a pout on his lip. "Leaving me behind?"

"No, that's not it. Your dad will be needing you here." I held out a hoof to him.

He gave it a long look before looking past it to lock eyes with me. "Fine. I'll do what I can here." He bumped my hoof with his own. "Please, be safe."

"Will do. I'll see ya' later, Beany." Putting my hoof down, Xeyal and I left the very quiet cafe. Everyone in the room had spent that time spectating us. One of them coughed as we started for the door.

As we left, more eyes were on us, but no one dared to speak their thoughts. We quickened our pace and made our way out of the atrium heading to the Overmare's office. One of the guards there readied themself for a fight, seeing us round the corner in body armor probably made this new security officer a little weary.

The other guard took a step forward and addressed us, "The Overmare is not available for an audience. Please leave."

Xeyal, in her most authoritative voice, answered him. "She is expecting us."

"No she isn't, she told us no one is allowed in." He barked back, drawing his own baton.

We both continued to walk forward, having slown our pace dramatically. "Look, Sweet Beets wanted to see us before we left the stable, we're leaving now. Please step aside and allow us in."

"No," he started just as the door behind him opened. The Overmare stood in it looking at the guards. "Ah, I guess I forgot to mention this one meeting."

Both guards stepped aside and put their weapons away, "Yes, ma'am."

Xeyal and I passed by them and Sweet Beets, letting the door close behind us. "I'm thankful you two stopped by. After speaking at length with Misty and Starsail, we have a better timeline to work with. The ghouls will be striving to make sure all of the MAS hubs' laboratories and high security areas are maintained and safe for when we move up there." She paused and walked around the table, rifled through papers for a moment and then picked one up. "We have about a month before we can fully transition to having ponies living and working in the tower. Until then, the main floor and the floor above it are to be used to help build defenses for when the Steel Rangers return."

"So we should move quick and try to find a way to deter them?" Xeyal offered.

"Yes, please be conscientious of our situation. I fear that they will come back very soon with overwhelming force." She shivered at the thought and my gut dropped.

"Okay, we will gather information on them and see if there is anything we can do to ward them off." I can only hope there is another way to handle them.

"Starsail has ghouls standing guard and is capable of reactivating the defensive shielding, I believe this will buy us time when that time comes." She walked back to us and circled us. "You both look quite capable. Please do what is right and make sure you return as soon as you can."

Both of us bowed. "We will take care." Xeyal said, turning to leave.

"Overmare, I have a request."

"What would that be?"

"My friend, Coffee Bean. He has a lot to offer and can do so much more than taking food orders. He's a smart pony, just meet him." With that I turned and started to leave, Xeyal opened the door.

"I will do that, thank you." She told us as we exited.

Stepping out of the teleporter room, the main lobby was filled with light. Outside was brighter than usual. There were a pair of ghouls who lounged around near the reception counters. While they both saw us, neither of them showed any interest in talking to us.

As we walked by them and down the pair of steps to stand in the purple light of the mozaic stained glass portrait of Twilight Sparkle, I turned back and very loudly told them, "Tell Major Starsail we've left and we will be back as soon as we can."

One of them with a raspy gurgling voice responded. "Yeah, sure."

With that the two of us took our first steps out of the ministry hub and onto the streets of Baltimare. Taking a deep breath and exhaling was exhilarating. The faint breeze that blew through the abandoned street felt great. The air was warm, but not too hot… and then I looked up and instantly regretted it.

The building towered so far above us that they appeared to lean toward me as if they wanted to fall and crush us. To me, they rotated around me. Then I fell to the ground and clenched my eyes closed. This was even worse, the ground felt like it was rotating under me. I took a few slow breaths and everything stopped.

"Are you alright?" I heard my companion ask.

I rolled onto my belly and opened my eyes, seeing her with her head lowered toward me. "Yeah, I shouldn't have looked up. Got dizzy." With that I stood back up and looked at my pipbuck. I navigated to my map and placed a location tag on "The Heights".

A blue diamond on a stick appeared on my EFS radar. We were facing east and the marker was due southwest. "I marked the place. You should have it too, mark The Heights as your destination, just in case we get separated somehow."

While she did, I looked around the street. The road had two lanes and a few very old and mostly decayed carts and wagons of various sizes. "Okay, this might just be me, but this is a bit overwhelming."

"Same," was all she said before she turned and started down the sidewalk. I hurried to catch up to her and once I'd fallen in pace with her, she continued her thought. "While I too feel a little overwhelmed, I also know that we do not have time to waste."

"I'll bet that we will get attacked within the next hour." I was being sarcastic, but before I finished that sentence I knew it would probably be the case.

"Let us hope not." Xeyal grimaced and stepped over a fallen pole. "I would like to avoid conflict wherever possible."

"Yeah, but feral ghouls should be easy enough to take out."

"That isn't what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"The radio ponies talk of raiders and bandits. I do not wish to kill anyone."

Her pace had quickened to the point I was having trouble keeping up. I started a light trot to make it easier. "Neither do I, but if they shoot at us, I will shoot back."

"I would rather buck them aside."
Her eyes followed the building and she glanced down the narrow paths between them."Broken ribs will heal. A bullet in the eye will not."

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 7
Strength +1
Charisma +1
Passive Unlocked - New World Blues
The city is big and broken but you have purpose. Your determination prevents you from being swayed from your path.

Chapter 11: To the Heights

The two of us hadn't made it but two blocks before I kicked a chunk of broken concrete and yelped loud enough for it to echo off the silent buildings. While I took a moment to tend to my now numb foreleg, Xeyal stood beside me, "You really should watch your step."

"Bite me." I told her as I shook my injured forehoof as if it were on fire. A sensation of pins and needles overtook it as feeling returned with a dull throb.

Something groaned from a nearby alley and out of it stepped a pair of ghouls. "Shit." I heard Xeyal whisper under her breath. "Do we fight them or run?"

I levitated my pair of 9mm pistols out of their holsters. "There's only two of them."

"The noise will attract more." She countered as she drew out her baton.

Seeing us, the front ghoul rushed us. The other one let loose a guttural howl that echoed off all the buildings. I took aim and shot the closest one in his right eye. The sound of that shot reverberated back at us and from other alleys emerged more feral ghouls.

"Time to run!" I shouted and ignoring my sore hoof, I booked it. Xeyal kept pace with me. Some of the ghouls ahead of us came within lunging range just to eat a bullet or be knocked away by my partner's baton. Once the crowd was entirely behind us, we kept running as they gave chase.

"How do we lose them?" My question was given between pants as we both ran as fast as possible.

"I don't know!" She hollered back Just then we split and went around a large wagon that laid sideways across the middle of the street. Galloping about another block and a half, someone somewhere shouted something.

A moment or two passed before something big was launched from a nearby building. It flew between us and in what felt like a second of slow motion I watched the rocket fly by. It struck the overturned wagon just in time. The feral wave rounded both sides of it. The cart exploded behind us, leaving my ears to ring as the heat of the blast washed over me.

"What the hell!" I shouted to whoever did that.

A speaker sounded off somewhere overhead, "Mercs! Capture them alive!"

Both of us kept running but a hail of machine gun rounds zigzagging across the road ahead of us made us hit the breaks. Three earth ponies came out the double doors of a nearby hotel. All three of them were dirty and ragged looking. Each one brandished a melee weapon, small knives.

One more came out the door with a rifle strapped to his side. He was a big buck, almost as big as Big Red, the rifle he wore was something similar to my anti-tank rifle, minus a scope. He had something in his mouth, a flat pad of some sort and a glass lens over his right eye.

The machine gun upstairs went off again, this time aimed at the ghouls. I watched them drop by the dozens as the gunner made a slow sweep across the street.

The big buck made his way over to us but held a safe distance. His armor seemed to be a tier higher than that of the small earth ponies. It was solid steel plating with fabric padding under and around its edging. "You two mercenaries, I want to know who your employer is." His gruff voice was muffled due to that thing he had in his mouth.

"We aren't mercenaries, and who are you all?" I tried to sound confident, but my voice cracked a bit.

That made the three gaunt ponies chuckle over their weapons, one taunted us as he walked back and forth, but it was unintelligible.

"Didn't anyone teach you not to speak when your mouth is full?" Xeyal asked him.

That guy paused and looked at her. He sat back and took the blade from his teeth, "I said; You two look pretty when you's scared." With that he put the knife back in his teeth and continued to circle around us with the other two mangy ponies.

"Oh! We aren't scared. We just don't want to kill anypony." Xeyal looked at the big guy. "Are you the boss then?"

"Yeah, I am the boss here and if you're thinkin' of doin' somethin' witty or clever, I'll put ya' down in a heartbeat." He stepped to the side, revealing the doors behind him, "You two sweet things are gonna walk right in there and you're going to drop all your stuff for us. You play nice and we might let you leave.

"So, Are you the bad ponies?" I asked him, tilting my head to one side. My guns were still levitating, but under me.

He laughed at me, "You better get to walkin', else you're dead. I got dozens of friends who want to meet you and your zebra friend here." He chuckled again, "Of course, I might just keep'er for myself."

Xeyal's eyes went wide, her jaw dropped only a little. She looked over at me and I looked back at him and nodded, more-so to Xeyal than to him.

Xeyal frowned and looked at the three circling us. Then she looked at the big boss. "What is your name?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Listen, I've tried playon' nice. move it else I'll make ya move it!"

"Wooh, easy now, big guy. We're just curious about who we're dealing with. We might be able to work out a different deal here."

"There ain't no other deals bein' worked out. Now move your scrawny asses! Boys, slice, 'em up." He bit down on that thing in his mouth and the rifle on his size fired a shot that whizzed between us. The sound of it firing made my ears ring and I couldn't hear anything else afterward.

From the edge of my vision, I saw one of the melee bucks move in quickly to take a stab at me. "No you don't!" I shouted as I jumped back. As I did so, I maneuvered my pistols out and pressed one of them to his chin. I wasted no time pulling that trigger and watching his brain jump out the top of his head. It was like a fountain without water… Did I really just think that?

Ignoring my intrusive thoughts, I turned both my pistols at the boss who was lining up an actual shot. Xeyal took on the other two with her trusty baton and some impressive footwork, but he was aiming for me. Hitting SATS with both my pistols leveled at him, I watched him in slow motion. Lining up both shots, the spell offered different targeted locations, I pointed both at his head. Ending the spell, I immediately dropped to one side and rolled, my guns went off at the same time as his, but his bullet blew a chunk out of the road while both of mine destroyed his muzzle. The boss dropped to the ground, and Xeyal broke the neck of the second scrawny melee pony.

Another rocket was launched. Aimed directly at us, it's trajectory changed just in time to fly over our heads, exploding just behind us. Did I just piss myself? I think I just pissed myself.

"Inside! Now!" She shouted to me. Without any hesitation the both of us made a desperate dash to the door the boss and his goons came from. I could hear that machine gun spin up and let loose a torrent of fire just behind us. His range was wide, but he couldn’t aim straight down at us. As soon as we’d crossed into the building we both came to a halt. From the light that poured in behind us, I could only see a barricade facing us. It was strategically placed at the bottom of a staircase that centered the main foyer. Off to our right was a reception desk and to our left a pair of doors and a hallway that led back behind the stairs.

There were ponies behind the barricade and at the top of the stairs, all of which had weapons trained on us. Xeyal didn’t stop to think about it, she immediately dashed for the hallway on the left. I followed closely behind her, unloading both my pistols as we ran. The shots they took on us went wide, almost all of them missing. I took one shot, but it had hit my flank, just above my cutie mark. Thankfully, no one was in the hallway ahead of us and there were several doorways without doors. Xeyal and I slowed our pace, making sure to check our corners when passing these open rooms.

Neither of us slowed the pace, taking a right turn at the end of the hall just as ponies started down the hall behind us. It didn’t take long for us to reach the end of the hallway. Xeyal didn’t slow down as she turned and bucked the door off its hinges. It was a kitchen, off to our left was a door with a screen door before it. The left exit appeared to lead out to a dining area. Ignoring the empty kitchen space and all the goodies it could contain, we made our way to the screen door. I opened it with my magic and Xeyal bucked the door open. Be damned the lock and boards that barred it closed.

“This way, let’s get outta here!” I shouted just as ponies were making their way through the kitchen. The two of us ran for it, clambering over some fallen rubble that blocked one of the exits, putting anything between us and all those bandits would be good. Leaving the alleyway and checking for my waypoint, it helped determine the direction we needed to go. “I… Hate… Running…” I panted, trying to catch my breath. “This… Way…” I told her, as I started running again.

Xeyal didn’t laugh, but she did gallop alongside me, “You need to work on your cardio. We should not stay on this road.”

I nodded and tried a door up ahead with my magic. Thankfully the handle twisted and the door opened allowing both of us in before anyone could see us. Closing the door and taking a look around, I guess I could count myself lucky. This was a store. Empty shelves filled the floor and a checkstand was off to one side with a door beside it. I took this time to reload both my pistols as I walked around and peeked into each aisle for anything of use but there was nothing but empty shelf space.

“Shimmer, over here.” I heard and turned to see Xeyal waving a hoof, beckoning me to join her by the register. When I did, I could see that she’d opened the register to find it still full of bits and a key ring with two keys on it. “We may come across something else here.” She said as she scooped the bits into her coinpurse.

I took the keys in my magic and tried them both on the drawer below the register, one of them worked and the drawer came open. Inside was another bag of coins as well as some paperwork and a stack of till reports. I took this bag of bits and closed the drawer. “Great, more coins.” I drolled as if I had expected more.

Xeyal left me and made her way over to the first door, giving its handle a push that didn’t budge it she looked back my way. Levitating the keys beside me, I joined her at the door and tried one to no avail then the other which clicked the deadbolt. Xeyal gave it another go, pushing the door open to a storage room. “Good thing the cashier left themselves signed into the register, huh?” I said with a smile.

“I suppose so,” was all she had to say. Inside was this store's storage space, it wasn’t a very large room, everything on the left side of the room were unopened boxes that filled the shelves running the length of the room. The right side had a series of coolers for cold storage and the center was nothing but boxes stacked atop one another.

“Well, I hope all this was properly labelled.” I said as I started along the dry storage wall. I scanned the boxes and felt a little disappointed. Some of the boxes had labels, but they weren’t saying what items were packaged, just a sticker with numbers and barcodes. “Crap, do we have time for this?” I asked, turning back to my zebra companion.

“I wouldn’t mind resting here.” she responded as she looked at the coolers on the opposite wall. “We may as well use our time here. This could yield us with tradable goods if nothing else.”

She had a point. “Alright, I’ll go see if one of these keys locks the front door.” With that I went back out to the main shop and made my way over to the front door. I locked the handle and the deadbolt before sliding the iron gate across the door. From it dangled a padlock that I took off the door. Clicking it locked, I tried both keys on it and neither worked, “Crap.”

I gave the room a quick glance over, looking for anything solid and straight then I spotted just what I needed. A wrought iron pole with a flag at the top of it. Levitating it to me, I slit it down through the metal gate’s lock holes and tested the door against the flagpole. It sat snug and didn’t give. Happy with it, I went back over to the register and tried both keys on the door behind the counter. Opening it, gave me a reason to slam the door shut and recoil as I gagged on the stale disgusting air.
Leaving the room for future exploration, I returned to the storage room to find Xeyal digging in a box she’d opened. “Anything good?” I asked.

She responded by holding up a can of baked beans that looked brand new. “Yes. Lots of food. This box has thirty-six cans in it.”

I levitated the next box off the top and pulled the packing tape off. Flipping it open revealed cans of mixed veggies. The next box was canned carrots and the one after that contained canned pears. A half hour passed and we’d gone through most of the boxes in the center, we had enough food here to last us months. Apart from the canned and boxed foods we had found flour and sugar, condiments and sodapop. The coolers were broken so all the soda and beer was room temperature. We also found boxes containing nothing but paper plates, plastic cups, metal utensils and napkins. Most of what was here seemed to be general grocers products and all together probably not worth too much back in the day, nowadays though, this was the equivalent of a gem mine!

“So, I believe it may be better for us to note this location and just sell the information about it to someone who runs a food stall.” I told Xeyal as I put the last box back in place on the shelf.

“We should take some of this with us as proof.” She suggested before dropping a can of pears into her bag.
Taking her advice and taking a couple cans from a few different boxes, I dropped them into my own saddle bag as well. “So I’ve locked the front door and figured I’d check that room behind the register, but something must have died in there because it smells horrible.”

Xeyal gave a hum sound as she walked back to the door. “Shall we go take a look then?”

I grimaced. “I guess…” I don’t mind puking that much…

The two of us made our way to the door behind the register, I kept my distance and used my light orb spell. As she opened the door, I saw her recoil a lot like I had. She looked away from the door and gasped for cleaner air. Holding my breath, I moved the orb into the room, illuminating it. I saw Xeyal steady herself taking a step inside and looking around. It only took her a moments’ glance to recoil and stumble backward away from the room. “Close it, close that door.” She was breathing heavily as she looked away from me.

I did so, using my telekinesis to pull the door closed. I walked around the counter to where Xeyal sat heaving before she vomited. “Are you okay? What was it?”

“I…” she vomited again as she stood up. “It was…” She shivered and looked around the room. “Water?” she asked me after a moment. Her eyes were watery and her muzzle had bits sticking to it.

I levitated out a bottle of water for her. She popped it open and swished a gulp around before spitting it at the wall she had heaved at. After that she dumped some on her muzzle and shook her head. Finding the closest piece of stray paper, she wiped her mouth clean. “Why would someone do that?” she asked me.

“Do what?” my curiosity peaked when she was puking. I couldn’t imagine what would cause her to react that way… Do I even want to know?

She looked at me and proceeded to drink some of the water. “I can’t unsee that.”

“That’s it, I’m taking a look.” I told her as I turned back to the door and held my breath. Casting my light spell again and opening the door, I looked inside the office. The room was painted red with dried blood and the floor was covered in a dry black and brown mixture. On the desk was a rotted corpse of a mare splayed open with her entrails pulled out. Her face faced me, eyeless and silently screaming.

I slammed the door shut on my own face before adding to the stomach stew Xeyal started. “That…” I finally said after my stomach was empty and I continued to dry heave. “...was gruesome.”

She just nodded to me. “The stuffiness of that room must have preserved it… but wasn’t the room locked from the outside?”

That made my stomach churn again, if only it weren’t empty… “It was. How long could a body stay like that? It looked as if it’s been there for a long time. Whoever did it, didn’t have any interest in the rest of the place and even put the keys back.”

“Maybe she has been there since the war?” Xeyal offered with a hint of doubt.

“I’d rather not think about it. Whoever did that is a monster and I only hope they died the way she did.” The image of her face stuck in my mind. Her broken neck made it so she was facing the door.

“We can’t stay here.” I said.

Xeyal pointed a hoof at the door. “I don’t believe we have a choice.” Outside the front window were the wisps of green fog rolling in. “We should wait here until tomorrow.”

I gave a single hearty, “Haah!” before levitating out my radiation suit. “We came prepared for it. Get yours on and let’s go. We aren’t that far away from the Heights anyway.”

“No.” she said, standing and walking to the backroom. “I would rather sleep here, even if that body is this close. It is safer for us here than out there in the dark.”

I hate when she’s right. I tucked away my radsuit and joined her in the backroom. “Fine, but we should at least listen to the radio.” She didn’t protest it, opting to lie down near the back of the room. I levitated some of the boxes off the shelf to build us a little wall. It made me feel a little more comfortable, not being visible from the door. She laid down with her chin on her fetlocks and I laid down next to her, she adjusted her weight to lean against the wall opposite me.

Turning on my radio, I flipped through the stations and everyone was just playing music, so I looked over at Xeyal. She gave a yawn and said, “The stringed instrumental one.” On her request, I turned it back to DJ-Pon3’s station.

“Good night, sleep well.” I told her.

“You too.” I told her, but she’d already fallen asleep. I laid there and listened to the music, I didn’t want to close my eyes though. It didn’t feel safe to me. So I laid there and stared at the wall and listened to Xeyal’s steady breath.

Morning came quickly and I must have dozed off at some point. The sound of a stallion speaking stirred me from my dreamless sleep. “Good morning children! May Celestia bless your day and hopefully Luna gave you all a good nights’ rest. The time is seven a.m. and the rad. phoenixes are singing. This morning is a good morning for a little good news. As it turns out, over the course of last night, a pair of heroes have been flaunting their success in taking out an entire bandit camp along the highways between Manehatten and Hoofington region. Todays forecast is, as always, cloudy. Thank your local Enclave for another one of these partly rainy kinda days.” He gave an infectious laughter that got me to smile as I stretched for the day. Beside me was my zebra friend who was still fast asleep. I prodded her flank with a forehoof and she kicked at me in response.

“Time to get up, Xeyal. We have to get moving.” I told her, prodding her again, this time with a little more force. She rolled and sat up groggily.

“Augh… already? I did not sleep well.” She grumbled before yawning. She rubbed her eyes and looked at me. “Fine then. Let’s go.” She had bags under her eyes. “You are quite a fidgety sleeper, you do know that, right?”

I blinked at her. I hadn’t known that but I wasn’t about to admit it. “Whatever, let’s get outta here, do we have a name for this place?”

She gave me a shrug and yawned again. “Not a clue. Maybe there is a sign outside?”

I turned off my radio and started for the door, Xeyal followed me out at a sluggish pace. Stopping at the door, “Should we eat here or wait until we get there?”

“Hunger will be a good motivator, I do not want to be here any longer than you do.”

That was fine by me, we crossed the empty sales floor and I levitated the flagpole out of the door and opened both doors. It was clear outside, if not a little frigid. My pipbuck gave off a soft clicking noise and I could hear it coming from Xeyal’s pipbuck as well. Looking down at my pipbuck I saw that the radiation gadge was ticking up with a little display reading “+3rpm”

“It’s radiation left over from the fog.” Xeyal observed aloud, “It’s because the street is still wet with the mornings’ dew. It doesn’t appear to be high enough to worry about, but we should get moving because we will start feeling it soon.”

I nodded my understanding and led the way up the road toward my EFS marker. “Shouldn’t take us more than an hour to get there, we should be fine.” We continued along the wrecked roadways, heading east toward the other end of downtown, which happened to be down a long hill. Several of the super tall mirror-like buildings that surrounded us reflected one another and the cloudy sky above. Their height still bothered me though so I indulged myself in speculating about what this all would have looked like when it was all actually occupied and clean.

“This city must be vast, surely there are good ponies somewhere.” Xeyal mused as we went. She hopped up on the concrete edge that split the road down the center, a dirt bed with the remains of dead bushes periodically poked from the muddied divider.

“Wouldn’t it be nice? To meet someone out here we can actually trust.” I mused as we passed another four-way intersection, she had hopped off the center divider and walked along the sidewalk beside me. The slope had steadily gotten steeper and now we had a barrier on our right that overlooked a whole nother section of the city, a lot of smaller office buildings, shops, and apartments pretty far below us. It was weird. It was like the balcony back in the atrium, but on a completely different scale. The buildings weren’t that far below us, but we could see the ocean bay, old boats floating at the docks and the greenish glow the water had made it look angry or sickly… Maybe both?

Either way, I couldn’t stop myself from looking across the cityscape down there in awe. The roads weaved back and forth, criss-crossing everywhere. There were several larger flat buildings that took up as much space as several of the larger buildings that stood out against the smaller shops and stops. Looking back at Xeyal and I could see she was looking out over it in awe as well. The tall building just a few blocks back was almost entirely hidden behind the also tall building we’d most recently passed by. Further down the road we followed were several more super tall buildings that were presumably our destination.

The waters' ebb and flow was rough with large waves rolling in through the narrow bay. The green glow that emanated from deep below those waves gave an eeriness to the silence of the scene. Only the crashing waves and the whistling breeze made a noise.

"We should keep moving." Xeyal finally said, poking my shoulder with a hoof.

"Yeah. I guess we should." I absently answered as I examined the rest of my view before turning back to the Heights we needed to reach. "Isn't it remarkable though?"

Xeyal tilted her head and looked down at me, "Oh? What do you mean? This is a very big city and easily functioned with several hundred thousand ponies."

"Yes, but not what I was going to say." I smiled up at her, "I find it remarkable that this city is so quiet. It feels huge, but so very empty. I find it remarkable that we're here now as a new hope for Equestria and for this city."

"Ah," she started, then paused to ponder the notion. We continued on our way in silence. Listening to the distant waves crashings all along the shoreline. As the slope leveled out and the buildings surrounded us once again, we found ourselves at a Y-junction. The building before us wasn't a tower but still stood a couple stories tall. In the front of it was a dried up fountain and above it was a very large blackened screen. The screen wrapped around and led down both roads, the left seemed to round back northbound while our path, on the right, continued on east toward the skyscrapers.

"We're almost there." I said as we continued on our way, "See that?" I pointed with my nose. Down the road, I could see an enclosed bridge extending across the road from one building to another. Granted that one looked like it was built prewar. "I think one of those buildings might be the one we need."

"I truly hope this venture has not been a wasted time." She grumbled, drawing me to a stop so I could just stare at her.

When she noticed I had stopped and she looked back at me, I could see something in her had changed. "Xeyal, are you worried they will be prejudiced against zebras?"

She simply nodded.

I started walking again, "Even if they are, I doubt there are many zebras here. They may be indifferent."

"That may be so, but I still worry that this is folly." She said with a sense of clarity.

"Even if it were foolish of us to come out here, we have to do whatever we can to help our home establish itself. We can't just stay sheltered. There is too much out here for us to stay hidden away for any longer."

Xeyal smiled at me but just as she was about to speak someone began shouting in the distance. Our attention caught sight of a group of five down the road from us.

Some of these ponies stood with weapons drawn while two of them were walking toward us.

I used a spell to amplify my voice. "We come in peace!" I shouted and shocked myself when Xeyal danced away from me, covering her ears.

The ponies down the road shouted something back. "Come here then! Draw a gun and we will shoot!"

Xeyal dropped back to all four and the two of us quickened our pace to a light trot. The two of them did as well and after a block and a half of trotting, I could make out their features. Both of them were unicorns, a younger buck who was dark purple with a charcoal black mane. The other was an older light orange mare with a fluffy light blue mane and tail. Both of them looked fit and healthy though which was a nice change of pace.

"Howdy doodles!" The mare said as we all came to a stop. "We don't see many mercenaries here, and before we can permit you entry into our town, we need to make absolutely sure that you're not hunting one of our residents, got it?"

I sat back on my haunches, "We aren't mercenaries!" I said waving my hooves back and forth as fast as I could. "We're, uh, travelers." I put one forehoof back down and the other against my chest. "I'm Shimmer Stone and this is my friend Xeyal."

"Not mercs? Well, ya coulda fooled me!" The mare said, "Oh right! I'm Daisy Chain and this is-"

He cut her off, "They don't need our names. We need to disarm them before we allow them into the towers."

"Don't be like that!" She scolded him before turning back to us, she gave a courteous bow. " My apologies. You see, Nightshade here is still new in his security role and has always been a strict individual. Now, what is your business in the Heights?"

"May we get off the street, Ma'am?" Xeyal asked in her usual confidence and exotic voice. It gave Nightshade a reason to grumble.

"Oh, yes. Of course, please follow me." She waved a hoof and as the pair turned, I saw them put away the guns they had hidden behind them.

We fell in step with them and I offered up our reason for coming here. "The two of us are here to represent our home as a potential trade partner with the Heights. I had heard a radio broadcast saying you needed more unicorns for expansion work. I hope it wasn't presumptuous of me."

"Not at all, my dear. Not at all." She led us to a pair of double doors that had guards stationed inside it and outside it. "Now, please follow me inside, we will not take your weapons, as there are shops here for repair and enhancements, but we do require all of your ammo, explosives and melee weapons." She guided us to a reception desk where another pair of unicorns sat. These two didn't look up at us, but one repeated Daisy's request.

Xeyal and I withdrew our guns and munitions, explosives and melee weapons. Emptying the chambers and dropping the clips, we put our now emptied guns away, we were given a clip board as they levitated our ammo stuff into an empty box. I jotted down our names on a line, the mare behind the desk added a number beside it as well as a date and time before taking our stuff through a door. The two of us turned back to Daisy and Nightshade. "Now what?"

"Well, you're free to enter through here." Daisy lazily pointed a hoof at the next set of doors. "Feel free to explore. Most ponies here have something to sell. We don't regulate the market here but if you do sell something, expect to pay a fine on your way out." She gave a sweet smile, but I didn't trust it.

"A fine for what?" I asked.

"You see, we don't condone slavery here, and so the Heights has to make it's money somehow. We provide a safe place for ponies to conduct their business with little to no intervention, however if you want your munitions back, you will have to pay a portion of your total profit made while here. It isn't a lot, a lousy 10%. We try to keep it fair because many residents of the Heights rarely leave, so we only make this from travelers such as yourselves."

"That is fair." Xeyal told her as she stood and walked between us toward the doors. I stood and followed her. "Thank you, Daisy."

With that, the two of us passed through the doors into the Heights.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 9
Endurance +2
Intelligence +1
Perk Unlocked - Speed Demon: Rank 1
Fortifying your stance, your gallop can carry you further and faster than most any Pony.

Chapter 12: Life's A Luxury

"Woah! Look at this place!" I exclaimed, taking in the sight of what had once been a casino and hotel. From the beautifully designed wooden floors that featured floral designs that expanded off into a sea of moving bodies to the gold-trimmed crystalline chandeliers and soft-lit square pillars that reached up from the colorful crowd. They were evenly spaced throughout the area and had intricately detailed plant life carved into the stone. These pillars, the chandeliers and the overhead lights and high placed wall lamps gave everything in here a beautiful, warm glow. This one room seemed to expand endlessly and it left me awestruck. The original walls were practically hidden at ground level as shops had been built in from them. Every shop appeared to be professionally constructed and seemed to be sizably spacious. Smaller stalls dotted the innermost area of the floor and the closest ones that faced us appeared to be selling freshly cooked food.

The two of us looked at one another in surprise. This place was immaculate and neither of us would have expected it to look like this. Then she looked over my head. "The guards," she started as she walked past me. I looked back over my shoulder to see two guards talking beside the doors we’d just come through and an unlabelled door off to their other side. "Maybe they will help us," she told me as I fell in step beside her.

They stopped their conversation and took stock of us as we approached them. Standing straighter, the earth pony mare on the right gave us a friendly smile. "You two must be new here, need something?"

The buck beside her took a step toward us. "If you're lost and looking for a little guidance, you'll want to speak with the bankers at the Exchange. They know a lot more about who buys and sells what around here. Food stalls are all around, so be sure you get a full stomach while you're here.”

Xeyal took a look around while I just lifted an eyebrow. "The Exchange? Where's that even at?"

The mare chuckled, but hid it behind her hoof, "First timers, am I right?"

The buck didn't laugh with her, he instead pointed a hoof high over the crowd. "Against the back wall over that way, huge sign, you can't miss it. It's the Height's public bank.”

Xeyal looked off that way then gave her attention back to the buck. “What is a bank?” she asked without any hint of sarcasm.

The guards both gave her a deadpan look up at her. “You’re joking right?” The mare asked her. “I mean I know the wasteland doesn’t have a lot of them, but surely you’ve been in one at some point.”

Smacking his forehead, the buck didn’t even try to explain it to us, giving a “bah” and dismissing us with a wave of his hoof. He looked back to the mare beside him, “Look it’s time I go to lunch. I’ll be back in an hour.” He left the three of us and walked off into the crowd.

Not wanting to deal with this mare any longer, I mimicked the dismissing hoof wave the buck had given us, turned and left heading the way he had directed us. Xeyal gave the mare a bow and fell in step beside me. I wanted to find out who sold ammunition and if bits were of any use here. The two of us melded into the crowd, finding that the ponies here seemed to flow in single directions, off to our right, ponies stood around near the shops and booths on our left ponies were moving back the direction we had just come from. Past them were more ponies standing about. Everyone here was wearing a variety of outfits, some wore nothing at all, others wore suits with ties and fancy dresses or gowns and quite a few of them were wearing body armor. The armors varied from ragged looking metal plate gear while others wore high combat equipment.

Up ahead of us, I could see a large elegantly crafted stone sign that had “Grand Exchange” written in satan black cursive across its center. “There it is.” Xeyal told me. Now that we were a part of the crowd, she had to lean in close to me in order for me to hear her over the crowd.

“I see it!” I hollered back up at her. As the crowd ahead of us began disbursing in every direction, up ahead I could see a short line of ponies waiting at a set of four windows. The entire counter was behind a wall of glass, effectively separating it from the rest of the floor. Just as we got into line, I caught the smell of something. Something that smelt amazing. I lifted my nose into the air and gave a few more sniffs before I located where that smell was coming from. A nearby stall with several ponies who stood around it. “Wait here, I’m getting us some food.” I told Xeyal before galloping over as quickly as I could.

I walked around the crowd until I found a gap I could squeeze in. Sure enough as ponies were getting their food, they turned and left. The ponies around me had paper trays magically passed to them and finally I was at the front. Before me was a pair of young mares who had a wood burning grill set up. On that grill were sticks with chunks of vegetables that smelt like peppers, but I could also see zucchini, radish and other chunked vegetables on them. Putting my forehooves on the counter, my mouth felt like a fountain, swallowing to empty my mouth. I had to ask, “How much for four?”

The mare tending the cash box looked up at me with a smirk, “For you, fifteen caps each.”

I instantly deflated on their counter. “What’s a cap? I only have bits.” I begrudgingly asked her.

Her brow rose sharply at that, “What are you, some kind of time traveller?” She questioned with all the sarcasm she could muster.

“No? Can you accept bits?”

“No. Some ponies do value them higher than caps, but we can’t use ‘em. Try the Exchange, it’s literally right there.” She pointed a hoof at the windows directly behind me.

“Yeah, we just got here and have to wait in line, but I smelled your amazing food and couldn’t wait.” My stomach growled as if to emphasize my point. Too bad the noise around us easily drowned it out.

“Tell you what,” She looked over at her companion. “Let me talk to my partner here.” She turned away from me and talked to the other mare who gave her a quick accepting nod before turning her attention back to me. “If you’re trading in a couple pre-war coins, you should have no issue covering the cost. I’ll give you these skewers now if you come back and pay for 'em. How many did you find anyway?”

“Uhh…” I didn’t know how many bits we had combined, I’d always saved them up since I never used them for anything back in the stable. I pulled out all four bags I carried, three were smaller and one was the life savings bag I tried to never use. “A lot," was all I told her while grinning from. ear to ear.

Both of the mares' eyes practically popped from their heads as their jaws hung open. “Wow.” was all she told me before reading the skewers for me. “You know, how about you give me twenty of them and we call it good.”

“Nah, you just said they were ten caps each, right?”

She caught on immediately. With a flare of anger, she took a deep breath to level out her tone. “No, I told you fifteen each. That’s what we’ve always sold 'em at. Sixty caps total for four. Don’t try to pull a fast one on me or anyone else here. You’ll get kicked out onto the street without your ammo faster than you could fart, asshole. Just because you're rich doesn’t mean I have to be nice to you, this will probably be your only warning.”

“Fine, fine, I just misunderstood you, it’s noisy in here. I swear though, I wasn’t trying to pull anything.” I told her trying to sound as honest as I could. I withdrew thirty bits from the big bag and sat them in three stacks of ten before stowing the bags. “Here, thank you for the advice.”

She snorted and stared me in the eye for a very long minute before levitating the coins down into her box. The other unicorn levitated four of the steaming skewers out to me in a little paper tray. “Thank you for the business and enjoy the food. Please be sure to throw that tray in a trash can. We try to keep this place as clean as possible.”

I gave her a nod. “Will do and thank you again.” I levitated the food next to me as I made my way back to where Xeyel stood. She had moved forward two spots and we were now third in line. I levitated two of the skewers for myself and held the tray out to Xeyal. She took it in her hooves. “Well, it appears we're rich.”

“How so?” she asked me, sitting back on her haunches as she took the tray in her hooves. She held one of the skewers out and sniffed at it. She didn’t hesitate, two of the veggie chunks off with her teeth and ate them. I did the same and was filled with instant joy when it tasted better than they smelled. “These are delicious!” Her voice shot up a whole octave of pure delight.

I chewed and swallowed, not waiting to take another bit or three. By the time both our skewers were just sticks in the tray I levitated before us, we were at the front of the line and a stallion was waving us to him. “Next!” he said through a small gap at the bottom of the window. Each window had a wooden wall built up to separate the clientele.

We both stepped forward and I put the trash I held to one side of the counter. “Hello, sir,” I started. “This is our first time here in the Heights and we had no idea where to start. One of the guards told us to come talk to you.”

His sigh of annoyance made me fidget a little. “We are a bank. If you have items to store, we can set you up with an account and a safe. The fee for this service is one hundred caps every thirty days from the day the account is created. The currencies we exchange can be from anywhere in the Equestrian Wasteland. We exchange caps for gold and silver bars, the NCR dollar, pre-war gold coins, Legionarian coin, the Hoofington regional dollar, and the Fillydelphian silver dollar coin. These are the currencies we have in stock and are the most common ones in todays’ Wasteland. What would you like to exchange?” He levitated a bottle of water to him and took a drink.

“Yes, we have some pre-war bits to exchange, what’s the rate?” I asked him, feeling a little giddy.

“Sure. Many ponies don’t see the value in these coins, but there are certain communities that rely on them. Above this, They are necessary for certain machines that only accept them. Also, there is no possible way to recreate these coins. As they are somewhat rare, we offer ten caps per coin. How many did you happen upon?” The stallion’s demeanor had almost completely changed. He still seemed bored but the mention of pre-war bits had improved his mood just a tidbit.

I was excited to see his reaction when I showed him my savings, but figured I’d let Xeyal go first. “My friend here also has some too. May she make her exchange first?” I looked up at Xeyal who cocked an eyebrow but held her stoic demeanor. She reached back into her saddlebag and drew out a pair of good sized bags. “Here, I have been saving for a while now. Here are three hundred and fifty bits.”

The stallion’s eyes opened wide as he took the bags in his magic and took a peek inside. Confirmation attained, he looked up at us again. “This may take us a while to process. Would you two be able to wait? We have a VIP visitor lounge through the door to your left.

“That we can,” I told him as I withdrew my own bags. “ I have around five or six hundred saved..”

He levitated my bags separate from my friends. “This will take us at least an hour or two. Please, make use of the lounge, you will find tea and cookies available to you as well as an assistant who can answer any questions or concerns you two may have.” With that, he moved a sign to the center of his window that read “closed”.

Xeyal started toward the lounge door, but I watched and listened for a moment. Him and a mare spoke for a moment, she seemed just as shocked as he had. The pair disappeared through a door with all our bits.

With that, I picked up my trash and dropped it in the garbage that was only a few paces past the door. Afterwards, I accompanied Xeyal into the lounge. She took one of the couches, stretched out on her back. Her saddlebags were laying on the floor beside her. I followed her lead, removing my own saddlebags before finding a comfy position on the couch. I laid on my stomach with my front hooves tucked under my chest and my chin resting on the arm of my couch. It didn't smell clean, but they were so much better than a stone floor. The plush cushions made it easy for me to start nodding off. I didn't even care enough right now to address the assistant that was sitting near the back of the room in a chair reading a book. She hadn't bothered to address us either, so the silence we shared was comparably comforting in contrast to the trade floor.

With my eyes closed and a big yawn, I asked her. "Question; who is in charged around here?"

I could see the mare, but her voice was silky smooth and prompt. "That would be Mr. Avenue, he and his council keep this place safe and functional."

Council? "Do they accept scheduled meetings? If so, how would we set it up?" The book closed and hooves lightly tapped the wood-trimmed carpets. Half her steps were muted.

I cracked my eyes open to see her standing over me, looking down. She wore small framed square glasses in front of her light lavender eyes. She wore her light brown mane curled mane to one side in a braid that was tied back under her right ear. She leered at me with a judgemental hum. "I've never seen you or your zebra bodyguard here before and I know most every VIP pony in Baltimare. Who are you to ask about an audience with my boss?"

I felt taken aback and tried not to show it but her gaze had a certain piercing quality to it. So I sat up, which made me a little taller than her. "My name's Glimmer Stone and my friend there," I dipped my head toward the snoozing zebra, "is Xeyal. We were sent here to organize a trade deal."

"I see," she turned and walked away from me in the most prim and proper strut I've ever seen. Her braided tail flicked back and forth as she made her way over to a radio she had sitting on a table next to her chair. She turned, sat, and looked back at me. "While I myself can not schedule you an appointment, I am capable of getting your request heard. However, They are all busy ponies and rarely have the time to hear about desperate communities and their rationing issues."

Rationing issues? "Hold on, do I look like a pony representing some small group?"

"No, but anyone can bathe and buy a nice set of armor here." Her counter argument was sound and I sort of hated her for the assumption.

"True as that may be, I assure you, this isn't a single-sided proposition." I told her as I held a calm and collected tone."Now that I think about it, I am willing to bet that there are other towns who can use the supply we have to offer."

She laughed at that. "You're a persuasive mare. You know that, don't you? Tell you what, Ms. Stone, I will pass on your request. I imagine that you do have the capital to rent a room for two."

I laid back down and got comfortable again. "How much would one be and where would we pay for it?"

"The hotel's reception desk can be down the corridor to the right of the Exchange windows." She picked up her book and returned to the marked page. "Do you have any other questions I may answer?"

"Actually, I do." I told her as my eyes closed once again. "Are there any other zebras in this wasteland?"

I heard her snort softly. "Yes, but many of them live in small secluded villages or roam Equestria without a home. Most are scavengers and reclusive in nature." She paused briefly, "Few zebras make their way here but I don't see them here with any frequency."

Hearing this gave me a feeling of relief, at least our stable wasn't the last of them. "Okay, next question. I had heard of this place through your broadcast. The radio pony mentioned something about unicorns being needed for expansionary work. What sort of work is it? Does it pay well?"

The mare had a lull to her voice, "Uhm, yes. It is. The Heights has always worked hard to maintain the quality of the pre-war structure of this and surrounding buildings. There are suspension bridges being built at higher floors with the intent to be above the heavy fog that blankets the city streets." She paused briefly, I could hear her chair squeak a little as she readjusted herself. "I'm unsure what sort of benefits the work offers, but you can speak with Ratchet in his office."

She had neglected to tell me where to find his office, but it didn't matter right now. "Sure, Rachet, got it."

Just then a door opened near the gray mare, I heard footsteps come in only far enough to be near the earth pony and to hear her whisper back, "Thank you."

Cracking an eye open, I could see the stallion who had helped me at the desk turn and leave the way he had come. This prickled at my mane so I asked, "A note?"

"Yes, but nothing regarding you." She answered, assuring me that it was probably regarding us.

"So tell me, what is your line of work, Ms. Stone?" Her question felt like a probe in the ear.

"I gave a sigh and readjusted myself, rolling to one side and pressing my back into the cushions. I stretched my legs out and groaned in relief. "I'm a talisman technician."

The sudden closing of her book and the sound of four hooves lightly tapping the floor in quick succession followed by her taking a quick approach to stand beside the couch. "What is it you do, one more time?"

This time, with my head in the corner of the cushions and the arm of the couch pressed against the top of my head, I smiled at the sideways mare. "I'm a talisman technician." I repeated but figured further clarification is what she wanted from me. "You know those gemstones that are enchanted and used in machinery? I make them."

"So you are a Steel Ranger. What's your real reason to be here?" Her eyes focused on mine with an intensity that carried her accusation with a clear intent.

"What's a Steel Ranger?" I asked her, of course I knew, but dumb was a better option here.

"Don't play stupid with me." She insisted, "I can tell that you're more intelligent than that."

I repositioned so I could look her in the eye properly. I was pretty sore still and didn't want to move any more than I had to right now. "Look, I'll be straight with you… uh, whatever your name is, I ha-".

"It's Amethyst Smoke," she interjected.

"Fine, Ms. Smoke. Let me explain this to you. We had a single run in with these Steel Ranger guys. There was a fight and while I'm not proud of it, I killed two of them and while I'm not proud of that fact, they started the fight. Why the hell would you think we're with them?"

She didn't answer me immediately, but her sharp eyes stayed locked with mine. I didn't loom away from her, but as the silence continued, I furrowed my brow. "Well?" I asked her with as much venom as I could into the word.

The smirk she gave me was eerily scary. "I believe you, but that leaves me with one last question for you."

"Is this an interrogation? It's beginning to feel like an interrogation." That only made Amethysts' smile widen with the barest hint of a laugh.

"No, Ms. Stone, it isn't. I’ll assume that you don’t realize just how few ponies walk around with a computer strapped to their foreleg?" At that, I looked down at my pipbuck wide-eyed and she continued, satisfied with my reaction. "Thought so. You see, those are quite rare.” She gave me that knowing smile once more. “Considering how healthy you both look and that both of you have a pipbuck, it left our security team a little weary." She looked over at Xeyal who was fast asleep then back at me.

"Ah, so this is an interrogation. Are you a part of the security team?" I asked her.

"Well, I am in a sense a part of the security team, I'm actually the Head of Information. I see and hear everything that happens in the Heights and I'm the first pony they notify when unusual things happen." Amethysts' voice didn't waver, "You see. I'm aware of the gear you left in the security checkpoint and of the amount of caps you'll receive from all that pre-war currency you just exchanged. Now, I do believe you when you say the Steel Rangers attacked you and that you were capable of killing them." Her leer made me feel uneasy, as if she could see my very soul.

“That means you are stable dwellers. Are you two out here for the first time? It would explain the large exchange of pre-war currency and your potential trade proposition." She gave me a knowing smile and her glasses glinted, reflecting the overhead lights. “Am I correct?”

I sighed and stood up, the two of us were about the same height, I might have had a few inches on her thanks to my horn. She can’t be much older than me. I took a step toward her and furrowed my brow. "Fine, you caught me but since you're so well informed, will you take my request straight to your boss? I don't want my time wasted."

With me almost nose to nose with her, she gave a grin and walked away from me. She headed back to the door near her chair and turned back to me. "I'll tell them you're ready." With that she opened the door and gave a short but sharp whistle before returning to stand beside me.

"Where are the Steel Rangers based? How far is it from here?" My voice must have shaken a little because she cocked an eyebrow and gave me a curious look.

"About twelve miles north of here. Tell you what, I'll make sure that you get an audience with the council. Trading with a stable could be lucrative for both our communities.” She put a hoof up and lightly scratched at her chin. “What Stable do the two of you call home?"

I stayed silent for a moment, pressing my lips together as I debated saying any more. She cut off my silence, "Look, you do know that I will be there when you meet with Mr. Avenue, right? You're safe here and this information will be required at some point."

"Fine, that works for me. We're from Stable 109 and it's not too far from here. About half a days walk." The door opened and the pony who helped me at the window came in.

"We've calculated your exchanges and have your caps ready." They looked past Amethyst and I at the sleeping zebra still sprawled out on her back. "Uh, right," his eyes snapped over to meet mine and I cocked an eyebrow. "Here you are, five thousand five hundred caps. Your friend has three thousand five hundred."

"Is that a lot?" I asked him for an answer.

"Well… I suppose. Ten thousand caps can go a long way if invested properly, otherwise you can easily blow through it." He walked toward us and levitated several cloth bags with him. Placing thee large bags and a smaller bag near Xeyal, he left six bags beside me. "They're by the thousand. The smaller ones are five hundred each."

He then took a closer look at me or more specifically, my body armor. "Yes yes yes…” he mumbled. “Modified, multi-layered and reinforced…" He stepped back and smiled, "I used to make and sell barding. This is high quality and whoever did the modifications on it knew exactly how to go about thickening it up, and expanding the coverage to include your shoulders, neck and hindquarters. Tell me this, about how heavy does it feel?"

I incredulously hold a hoof up between the two of us. I wasn't a fan of being interrogated and inspected. This guy’s weird. "Probably twenty or thirty pounds. It's noticeably heavy."

"Thought so. This is reinforced with steel plating to help against penetrating bullets. Does it have any protection from magical weapons?" He tapped his hooves on the floor in rapid succession and struck a wide pose with his head low, Eyeing the center of my chest.

"Wait, magic weapons?" I felt dumb just asking that question, but it made the buck deflate and Amethyst bursted into laughter.

Xeyal snorted and yawned, rolling off the couch onto her hooves behind me. She looked from the bags in front of her to the three of us. "I am still very tired," was all she told us before getting her saddle bags back on. "What have I missed? What are these?" Opening the bag, she pulled out a red cap with the initials SC on it. "Soda caps?"

Amethyst actually laughed. “Sparkle Cola,” she corrected, wiping the corner of her eye.

"Amethyst, how much is the room and can you take us to it?" I asked her. "Maybe you can explain some things to me along the way. Like what’re these magic weapons?”

Amethyst Smoke nodded and turned to the teller. "Thank you for your services, you’re dismissed." She told him. He gave her a small bow and left the way he came in. She waited patiently for us to stow our caps to load and for me to put my bags on. She held the door for Xeyal and I as we left the small waiting room. We garnered the attention of the ponies we passed throughout the crowd. With Amethyst guiding us, those who we passed were stopping to step out of our way. Some of the ponies we passed were talking to one another while stealing glances at us. Sucks I can’t make it out. I just hope it’s nothing crazy.

It hadn’t taken us long with Amethyst guiding the way. We broke free of the thicker shopping crowd and found ourselves in a wide corridor that had living bushes and trees that had tables and benches particularly placed along the center of the hall. Off to both sides of this area were the building's original restaurants. Quite a few ponies were enjoying themselves, laughing and drinking, eating and gambling. It looked like a good time, but we didn’t have the time for that right now. Amethyst led us through the beautifully decorated area. At the end of it, I could see that the hall ended in a row of elevators and a desk was set against the left wall. Two bucks sat bored behind the desk as we approached.

Spotting Amethyst, both of them bolted to look busy. One took a pencil in his magic and acted like he was checking paperwork while the other addressed us. “Hello! Welcome to the Heights, Are you here on business? We have several rooms available for one night stays.”

Amethyst waved a hoof, “These two are looking for a monthly rent room for two.”

I nodded when he looked my way then he looked up at Xeyal. “Alright, we have a few of those available. We can give you one on the eleventh floor for five hundred caps monthly.”

I pulled out the smaller of my bags, Amethyst interjected, “Please make it two hundred. They are special guests and I will cover the first month.”

Why’s she doing that? She knows I can afford it. As if she could hear my thoughts, she turned to me. “This is more than a gesture of good will, you’ll need those caps, so do use them wisely.”

I nodded and dropped the caps back into my pack. The buck behind the desk levitated a pair of keys, one to each of us. “Please do not lose these. It’s a bitch to make more.”

Xeyal and I each took one, a green plastic square read R:1101. With a smile we thanked him as Amethyst led us to the elevators. She pressed the button and the door opened for us. Boarding it, she tagged the floor we needed and it gave a small jolt, beginning to move. “To answer your question from before, magical weapons are weapons that use arcane power cells and are extremely powerful. Exceptionally rare too, Most of the ones you’ll see for sale here are rebuilt by mechanics and weaponsmiths who repurpose the laser rifles scavenged from destroyed robots and higher security sentries.”

Xeyal looked over at the mare, “What happens if one is hit with one of this magic?”

“Well, if it makes contact with your skin, you’ll get burned. Depending on the weapon though, there is a good chance that you’ll burst into flame and die.” Amethyst saw us exchange a shocked look that we both directed back at her. “Oh, and if you’re lucky, the magic will destabilize your genetic code and you’ll disintegrate on the spot.”

I grimace, “that’s dark. What the hell was wrong with us back then…” I audibly thought.

Xeyal just nodded and Amethyst spoke up, “These weapons only scratch the surface of what darkness the war had wrought.”

The elevator dinged and the doors swooshed silently open. “Here you are, we will speak again.” Amethyst told us as we stepped off. She stayed put while we stepped off it. She pressed another button and closed the doors. I turned to see her smiling and our eyes locked for a split second over the brim of her glasses.

Xeyal shrugged and started down the carpeted hallway. I caught up to her. “I don’t trust that mare.” I told her.

“Neither do I.” she replied in her trademark stoicism. "She seems to be hiding something from you."

"Yeah," I told her. We took a right, and sure enough, our room was the first door on the left. "Here we are. Time to see what our new home looks like."

I unlocked the door and gave it a push, the door swung away to reveal two beds on the left, a desk on the right with a pair of shelves above it. Beside the desk was a long dresser. A clock on above it and off to our right were some towels folded neatly and placed into a floor to ceiling cubical storage compartment with four shelves (including the bottom one) The top one was empty except for a few small bottles of soaps. Beside it was a door that stood open leading to the bathroom.

Xeyal strolled past everything and peaked past the closed curtains that hid the far wall. She immediately looked back at me and tapped the bed beside her with a hoof, "this one is all yours."

Sparking my interest, I walked over to the curtain and peered out a wall of glass. The entire wall was a window and from here, eleven stories down made my mind spin and heart leap into action. I looked back at her. "You touched it first. That one's yours now."

She just laughed, "Not happening," She took too long strides and dove onto the bed closest to the door. "I am your bodyguard and so I require the bed closest to the door."

Her accent made me less willing to argue the point because it was a fair point. So I chose the next best option. "I don't care how safe that window is, I don't want to be right up against it." I used my magic to push my bed up against hers before flopping down on it. "Problem solved."

"Excuses," she told me before pushing herself up onto her haunches to remove her saddlebags and armor. After putting them against the side of her bed, she turned to me wearing nothing but her pipbuck. "Do you need the restroom?"

I blushed for whatever reason, maybe it was the softness in her voice that had gotten to me or her eyes... I couldn't be sure. "Good, then I will go shower. Once I'm done, you should too."

I watched as she leaned off the bed, and kicked her rear legs out from under her. Landing on all four she nipped a towel off the shelf and stepped into the bathroom. The door softly closed and I was left alone for the first time in what felt like forever. I stood on the bed, took everything off and left it all next to my bed. I didn't see a reason for unpacking anything so to kill the time, I turned on the radio and I flipped through the different stations. I had upbeat electronics on DJ-Pon3's station, Heavy metal on the Malls station, and classical instrumentals on the Heights. I left it on the upbeat electronica and laid back down for a moment. My eyes got to feeling heavy and the soft pillow under my head made the music sound distant despite my pipbuck being on the pillow beside my head. My mind wandered off and before I knew it, I fell fast asleep.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 10
+1 Strength
+2 Perception
Perk Unlocked: Foodies Favor
You absorb no rads when consuming fresh produce, cooked or raw.

Chapter 13: Wheel-N-Deal

I had woken up early the following morning, my pipbuck was off and I had a blanket laid over me. It was the top cover of Xeyal's bed. Having just finished taking a shower, I came out of the bathroom with my mane wrapped up in the towel and Xeyal was sitting beside her bed, adjusting her security barding. She looked up at me and smiled. "Good morning, Shimmer."

I just blinked slowly, still waking up. The shower hadn't done much in the way of that. "Good morning to you too, Xeyal." I walked over to the window and poked my head between the curtains. The sun was just barely coming up and there was no fog in sight. Looking down still made me queasy though.

I sat down next to my bed and rubbed the towel into my mane before pulling it off. I tossed it flat over the back of the desk chair and started getting ready for the day. Deciding that the body armor was staying here, I had no need for it today. Xeyal looked at me as I put on my saddlebags. "What?" I asked her as I levitated a hairbrush from my bag and began fixing my mop of a mane.

"I would prefer you to wear your armor." She walked around the beds and pulled out a brush of her own. Putting it on one hoof, she lifted my tail with the other and started brushing it. While I didn't much care for anyone touching my tail, I wasn't going to stop her though. This feels so strange, but oddly satisfying. I was able to watch her in the mirror, sitting just behind me, working knots from my damp tail.

I found myself looking at the angles of her facial structure and the pattern of stripes she had. Unlike most zebras back in the stable, she kept her mane long and braided, ending in a ponytail. "I don't feel like wearing my barding. It's heavy and I wouldn't mind finding something new to wear."

She didn't look up, "Understandable, I will not ask again."

"You might consider taking yours off. You aren't a part of the security here, somepony might get the wrong idea." I could feel her pause with the brush in the base of my tail.

Finishing off one last full length stroke she put her brush on the dresser beside me. "You make a good point. I suppose I am being overly protective."

Setting my brush down, I used my magic to help take her saddlebags off so she could remove her armor. Once she was out of it, she put her bags back on. "I feel…"

"Aggressively beautiful?" I offered with the most dashing grin I could manage.

She stared at me for a short time before slowly starting again, "No… I was going to say "naked". I prefer having protection on."

I laughed, "That's what he said."

She didn't laugh, Instead she decidedly left the room, leaving me to hurry and catch the closing door with a hoof. Why am I so dumb sometimes? "Hey, wait up!"

Her long legs carried her so quickly when she put on this speedy strut. She didn't slow down leaving with no option other than a quick trot to catch up. "What's wrong?"

"You are." She answered keeping her eyes forward.

I was joking! Damnit… The two of us passed a mare who appeared to be intoxicated, she pressed her shoulder into the wall and stopped to gawk when she saw the big zebra walking straight at her. Once we passed she started talking to herself.

We reached the elevators and called one of them. While we waited, I loomed up at Xeyal, "I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to apologize."

That made my mind reel. Then why the hell are you acting so offended!"

There was a "ding!" and the doors opened. Thankfully we boarded an empty lift. Once the doors closed and we were off to the ground level. I was stuck sharing the most awkward silence the two of us have ever shared and I had no idea why.

The door opened and she waved a hoof for me to go first. I did so and she followed me out. "Well, uh… I started then my stomach growled. "Breakfast?"

"Sure, lead the way." She followed behind me, head held high as we walked over to the desk.

"Good morning!" a younger mare said as we approached.

"Morning, any place here got coffee?" I asked her. I would love something warm to sip on.

"Sure do, You'll want the Haystack. It's the restaurant on the left just before you hit the market." She told us and waved when we turned to leave.

Over my should I offered her my thanks while Xeyal remained quiet. The zebra just quietly followed me the whole way, and most the ponies out and about those early were focused on themselves or the ones they were with. No spotlight on us this time, thank Celestia. We entered the Haystacks to find that it had quite a few patrons present. It was a lively atmosphere as everyone talked, laughed and ate.

One of the signs near the door told us to take a seat and we'd be served soon. We did just that, Xeyal sat across the table from me. It was a small window seat in the front-most corner and we didn't wait long for a mare to approach us. She was white with a two-toned strawberry red and pink mane. Wearing an apron that matched she levitated a notepad. "Good morning! Here are some menus, and what would you two like to drink?"

At least someone here was cheerful.

Xeyal spoke up, "I would like a pot of hot water, please."

"I'll take a cup of coffee, please. Black." I added, crossing my hooves and leaning on the table.

The waitress shifted her weight to one hip, "I'll be back shortly." She did a little twirl and left us.

I looked at the laminated paper in front of me and skimmed the options. "A hundred and fifty caps for a pair of wheatcakes? Well, I guess that's what I'll be having."

Without looking up from her menu, "I imagine it will come with more than just the cakes."

Good point. I pushed my menu to one side and leaned back with a foreleg over the back of my chair. Xeyal put her menu to one side and reached into her saddlebag. Pulling out a little wooden box with a latch on it; she flipped it open and plucked a teabag from it before returning the box to her bag.

I was about to ask what kind it was when the waitress returned with a pair of cups and two coffee pots. One with hot water and the other filled with coffee. I didn't wait, as the waitress' magic dispersed; I took hold of the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. The waitress watched Xeyal open the top of the water pot, drop the teabag in before closing its lid on the string.

"Are you two ready to order?" She asked, readying her pencil over the paper pad.

"Yes, I would like number 7." I told her with a smile.

"That comes with a side, would you like today's soup or some hash browns? We also have two kinds of syrup, apple cobbler and honey grass." The waitress smiled kindly and looked back and forth.

I didn't give it much thought, "Hash browns and the apple cobbler syrup please."

She gave a curt nod and looked at Xeyal patiently. "I would like the number two. What is the soup of the day?"

I levitated my coffee cup and gently blew on it. The waitress answered swiftly while writing, "Today we have celery broth soup. It's better than it sounds. I like it."

"I would like a bowl as my side dish, thank you ma'am." Xeyal chimed in before she bit the string and gave it a tug. The string had a little knot that caught on the lid of the pot as the bag sank on its own.

The waitress stashed her notepad and picked up the menus before she left us with a friendly wave. I took a timid sip off my cup while Xeyal poured herself a cup of tea. I was still feeling stupid from my previous awkwardness so I chose to keep my dumb mouth shut.

Thankfully the coffee was drinkable, hot, but drinkable. "My tea is an herbal blend I prepared myself. I have been looking forward to this for a week now." Xeyal held her cup before her and took a drink. She gave a delighted little, "Mmm…"

I involuntarily smiled behind my cup just as I went to take a full drink. Seeing Xeyal without her armor, in such a relaxed setting, it felt surreal. She had always had a bit of an imposing presence, but seeing her down-dressed and simply enjoying tea made me realize just how far we’ve come from the mundane life we both had led back home. Now that I gave it the thought, this was the first time I’d ever seen her genuinely happy.

She noticed. Because of course she would notice me. How long have I been taking this drink? I took a big gulp and broke out into a coughing fit. Holding my breath as soon as it started, I quickly put my cup on the table before spilling it everywhere. My magic collapsed and I drew everyone's attention as I coughed out of control. Finally, as it began to subside and I was left trying to breath intermittently between softer coughs, I heard someone at another table ask, “Is she dying over there?”

Hearing that, I wish it were the case. Instead, between my coughs I made it a point to choke out, “Sorry… Wrong pipe… I…”

Xeyal just stared at me wide-eyed but when she heard my explanation she took a drink of her tea again. “It happens to us all, also. Here comes our food.” I looked over to see the mare levitating a pair of plates on her way toward us. When she arrived, she gave me a plate of wheat cakes topped with sliced strawberries and a syrup made of apples and a smaller bowl of hash browns with green beans and topped with a little tomato sauce.

Xeyal received hers, a bowl of soup, it was a thicker broth soup and I could see small chunks of peppers and herbs floating across the top. Beside that she received a fruit salad boasting a healthy amount of green leafy goodness with apples, pears, carrots. There were also a variety of nuts and seeds that brought it all together to be a beautifully built dish. “Thank you ma’am, tell the cook that this looks really good.” Xeyal told the waitress.

“I will pass that on. Enjoy your breakfasts!” She gave a little wave and spun away to visit another table that had just been seated.

The two of us dug in and sure enough, it was delicious. My cakes were deliciously filling and I was fairly happy with it and the potatoes and beans. Overall, I couldn’t find any reason to complain. “I’m surprised this is as good as it looked, how’s yours?” I asked her when I slowed my shoveling of sweet breakfast food to my face.

She was busy looking around the room, taking in the atmosphere of the old world's architecture and designs. The building had a variety of intricate stone carvings of plant life that decorated the pillars that held up the lower roof here. There were quite a few different flowers growing in planter boxes built into the stonework that helped to separate the benched dining booths. She looked back at me just and swallowed the bite she’d been working on. “I agree with you. The food is excellent. However, I do miss the elder chef back home.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I continued to eat and watch the ponies around the room having their own conversations. I could make out bits and pieces of nearby tables, but they were talking about other ponies and situations that didn’t have much substance to me and my mind wanted to just speculate about who Mr. Avenue was and what he would be like, but I didn’t see much point in worrying about any of that until we had a scheduled meeting.

Xeyal broke the silence, “Would you like to try some of my tea?”

I looked down at my empty coffee cup. I pushed the cup forward with the front of a hoof. “Sure, I’d love some. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a zebra tea blend.”

That earned me a smile as she filled my cup, “It is a sunflower green tea with a hint of little mint added to give it a more airy flavor.”

I levitated it before me. It had a nice gold tint to it; like a cup of liquid gold. “This’ll be delicious.”

Having finished and paid for our meals, the two of us went about checking the various shops to get a better idea of the prices. We discovered that ammo was available, but would only be purchasable through the Heights security. Any munitions bought would be added to our collection in the front checkpoint. Xeyal and I weren't surprised to see that summer dresses made before the war were substantially more expensive than the highest quality reinforced barding we had come across. We spent around three hours browsing shops looking for more casual clothing that was priced well above our budgets to little success.

We walked into another shop to find the walls and every surface in between was absolutely covered in weapons. One wall was nothing but bladed weapons while the other side had large guns. a massive six barreled machine gun sat as a centerpiece pointed right at us. The short but stockily built unicorn buck sat drinking a beer behind a counter that displayed all sorts of small guns. Some of which looked to be magical in nature.

The plump pink unicorn cocked an eye at us when we approached the desk, eyeballing the walls around us. "Just looking or are you gonna buy a thing?"

"Debatable," was all I told him before taking a step over to a case where a long flat blade caught my eye. "What's this cost?"

"That bastard sword'd be seven hundred and fifty caps. Nothin' special about it, it's a two-sided blade." He leaned into his chair as he tilted his beer back again, emptying it. He rolled forward onto all four and disappeared behind his counter.

"I'll pass for now, but I was wondering if you had anything with custom enchantments or knew which shop may have raw gems and crafting tools." I asked as kindly as I could.

He hadn't given it much thought. "That shits rare and expensive. I buy busted shooters and fix 'em. Ain't got time to go lookin' through other ponies wares. Now if you pair ain't browsing' to buy, I don't think I can help yah much."

Xeyal walked over and joined us, "I would like to make a purchase."

His ears swiveled toward her. "What was it?" He asked her immediately.

She tilted her head, "Over here," she said before turning and walking back to the other side of the shop. I followed along to see what it was.

She pointed a hoof into the case at a unique looking piece. A double ended blade with a uniquely ornate mouth grip in the middle. The hilt guards were made of silver and the mouth grip was bound in a very old looking piece of leather. Both of the long blades were double sided and had zebracan glyphical script written along the center. "How much for this blade?"

The shop owner walked around the case, opened it and very carefully levitated the blade and the cloth under it and placed it on the table. "Well, this was a piece I had brought in by some drug addict. I have no idea where he found it but it's incredibly sharp." He eyed the zebra as she inspected it closer. "It's one of the more unique blades I've ever seen, I can sell it to you for one thousand five hundred caps."

Xeyal nodded and went for her caps, but I stepped up to counter his proposed price. "Hold up, that's far too expensive. How about eight hundred caps?"

He raised an eyebrow, "How about two thousand caps or you can leave now without it."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, twelve hundred and I'll drop three hundred on that 9mm machine gun behind you, the long barreled one to your right."

He turned and grabbed the gun off the wall. "This is a SM-9, it was a standard model produced by Ironshod Firearms near the start of the war. This one is modified for earth pony use, make it four hundred and you've got a deal."

"Fine," we made the exchange and promptly left him with sixteen hundred caps, Xeyal was looking very happy with the purchese. I was given the submachine gun while he wrapped the knife in its cloth and boxed it telling us he would have it delivered to security.

"What did the glyphs on that blade say?" I asked her.

"That is a zebra warriors spirit weapon. I want to learn more about it but will need to show it to the elders to learn more. From legends I have heard. It possesses the soul of the warrior who wielded it and will never dull or degrade." She came to a stop and looked down at me. "Those glyphs said "Glory of Battle" on one side, reversed and flipped, the other blade read as "The Soul of Might"."

With that she started walking again and I let her take the lead. "We should find a medicine shop, we need to make sure we're stocked up." I said as I watched ponies who stopped to watch the zebra trot along just ahead of me.

Xeyal seemed to be ignoring the zebras as she looked from shop to shop for one that might have what we needed. She looked down at me, "This way." She pivoted, turning and taking us in between the food stalls toward a shop on the far side of the floor.

When we arrived in front of a building with a sign that read PharmaSin, which was written across a sign that depicted a blood bag, I could only assume this place had medical supplies. Few ponies were inside as we entered. A white maned earth pony mare was sitting behind a desk near the entrance reading a book. She closed it and looked up at us, "What you want?" She asked us quite bluntly.

Xeyal kept the lead, "We require medical supplies, do you have healing potions and RadAway?"

"I have both of 'em. I also have practically every drug under the cloud. If you ain't got Rad-X and Med-X, I recommend them as a pinch save."

"Sure, can we get some of those too?" I asked her.

"Sure. One moment." The elderly mare got up and went to her back wall. She opened a few drawers and collected items into a bag.

All of the drawers were labeled and I started reading them. Day Tripper, Moondust, Jet, Addictol, Buffout, Rage, Hydra, Mentats, Steady, Ex-Cell, Steady, Turbo, Psycho, Fixer. "Do you have anything for curing poison?"

"That I do." She mumbled, grabbing us some four bottles from a bin labeled, "Anti-Tonic". She turned back to us and put the bag on the counter. "These will cure most poisons you may come across. All in all, this will cost you four hundred caps."

This time Xeyal covered the payment, and stowed the medicines in her saddlebags. "What else do we need?" Xeyal asked as we left the shop.

"Well, I'd still like to find something more suitable to wear before we start meeting important ponies." SHIT! I spoke too soon.

There in front of us stood Amethyst Smoke flanked by a couple security ponies. Today she actually wore a Light blue dress suit over a white blouse and a tie that matched her eyes. She approached us and stopped right before me. "Come with me. The council is waiting to hear your case."

Both Xeyal and I looked at one another then back at her, "lead the way." Amethyst turned and started walking away, the guards waited for us to follow and fell in behind us. We were led back to the elevators and once all five of us had boarded, Amethyst pressed a button and turned to face the two of us. "So you are aware, the Council consists of five ponies and all five have connections that span most of the Equestrian Wastelands' largest settlements. I've given them my opinions of you, Glimmer Stone, and they seemed particularly interested in questioning you themselves."

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened to a small room where only two of the four elevators reached. Each side of the room had a row of chairs and the far wall had a pair of doors with a camera above it. Amethyst guided us to the doors and gave a quick knock before we proceeded. Both the guards followed us in and watched us intently but stayed at the door. Amethyst guided Xeyal and I to the center of the room before she turned to us. She held up a hoof and didn't speak.

There were three ponies seated behind three of the five individual desks that all faced the door in a semi-circular fashion. We stood before them while Amethyst went and filled the fourth desk, leaving just the center desk empty. Of course; it was also the biggest desk at that.

None of them spoke as Amethyst Smoke sat down. That bitch is one of the council members!

I looked at the other members. An older black stallion unicorn with a gray mane sat to the left of Amethyst, and on the opposite side of the empty desk were two more mares. One was light green with a light blue mane, the other was purple with a black and white mane. After a moment of no one speaking one of the other doors opened. Out came a unicorn who looked to be about my age, he was white with a gold mane. Having taken a seat at his desk, he pressed his hooves together and stared at me for far too long. An eerie feeling crept up my spine causing me to flick my tail out.

He smiled and put his hooves down as he leaned on his desk. "You are the Stable 109 ponies I have been told about. Looking to set a common grounds trade route, yes?"

My hair stood on end. His voice was sharp and seductive, but he emphasized syllables in a jarring way. It rolled off as pompous and self-entitled. When I finally answered him, I tried to sound confident in my role, "Yes, we are."

All eyes were now on us. "Then let us begin. Where is your stable located and what trade goods could you offer us?"

I looked up to see Xeyal stoic as ever, her eyes focused solely on him. So I returned my focus to him as well. "We're the remnants of the MAS hub scientists and our stable is located beneath it. We've only recently reclaimed the ministry tower as a part of our home but with it we have a lot to offer. We have food and medicine as well as a variety of facilities that will be repurposed for manufacturing useful materials. The issue is that we lack some key components and the tower is requiring a lot of sudden upkeep which can take time. The most pressing matter right now is that of the Steel Rangers, they noticed the tower shielding drop and paid us a visit. They want to claim it for themselves and that can not happen." It wasn't everything but hopefully these ponies were trustworthy.

All five of them shared glances. The mare on the far left raised her hoof and Mr. Avenue nodded to her. "Mrs. Olive Twist?"

She pushed up and stood with her forward hooves planted on her desk. "I want to preface this with a statement: I do not trust either of you. Now, as you have witnessed, we have a lot of ponies to care for and protect. In what ways would your community be capable of upsetting or disrupting the peace we hold dearly?"

Well then.

I mulled over her question, but it was Xeyal who spoke first. "We have enough well kept weapons to arm a formidable fighting force of well-fed and fit ponies in armor. Above this, the Ministry hub houses many experiments and dangerous magical artifacts that could serve potentially catastrophic results. We have a technological advantage over you and while it would be a bloodbath neither of us want or need. However, if the Steel Rangers take that tower from us, all that it holds very well could destroy Baltimare."

I chimed in as the council members wrote notes, "I believe that the leadership of my stable would like to have a relationship that is mutually beneficial. We've come here because we lack knowledge and friends in this world we have only just rediscovered." I had taken to looking at each one of them and the only one to have matched my gaze was that of Mr. Avenue.

Mrs. Twist started to say something when Mr. Avenue some over her. "I like you two. Sharper than most, and quick to the point. I do not envy the position you have found yourselves in. This part of the wasteland is particularly hazardous and our local Steel Ranger chapter is particularly strict. Being on their radar is never a good time." He looked over at the gray-maned buck. "Mr. Genes Dio, you were our liaison with them. What would Star Paladin Dancer possibly want from the Ministry of Arcane Science?"

He gave a burst of laughter. "Technology, of course! That mare wants nothing more than the technology it preserves." Taking a more serious tone, he looked at me. Once I'd met his eye he spoke again. "The real question is, what is the most dangerous thing you have there?"

A behemoth of a unicorn locked in stasis? My mind conjured an image of Stalwart and that experimental serum. Then I remembered the floor that had been entirely barricaded. "Honestly? I haven't got a clue. When the shields were up, it shut down several of the security protocols and some floors were made entirely inaccessible decades ago." Then I thought about it. "I do recall a single report mentioning a megaspell chamber, but it made no mention as to what the spell was."

That made ears prick and asshole tighten. Everyone except Xeyal and I were immediately put on edge. Mr. Twist hesitantly spoke, "Do you have this document?"

"I do." I sat down and navigated the menus of my pipbuck and asked, "Do you have a terminal I can transfer this to?"

Mr. Avenue stood and waved a hoof to me. "This way to my office." When he saw Xeyal start to follow me, he looked at her, "Ms. Stone only. Please wait here, ma'am."

Xeyal stopped, dipped her head in a bow and took a seat on the floor. I followed Avenue through to his office where he guided me to the computer on his desk. He set it up for a data transfer and I plugged my pipbuck in. Transferring a copy of the document that made mention of the Megaspell. "You see, I know a great deal about what the Ministry Mares had happening here in Baltimare," he started with a weavering voice. The file loaded and opened so I gave him the silence he'd need while reading the report. Once he had finished he looked back to me. "As I suspected. You see, during the war there had been a boom of industry here, spurred on by the war. I knew of the megaspell chambers here in Baltimare. I should have expected it to be in the MAS hub." He closed the report and turned off the screen. "Regardless of the spells that chamber can make. I can not let the Star Paladin claim that hub. Come on , let the council hear my argument."

He walked past me and opened the door. I walked back out first with him just a step behind and returned to the center floor where Xeyal still sat. Mr. Avenue took his place once again and cleared his throat. In a swave, smooth voice he spoke with the authority he held. "Ms. Stone speaks the truth. If the Steel Rangers plan to assault the MAS hub for control it is our duty to our city to protect the good folk of Stable 109."

The council sat quiet for a moment, then the mare to his left spoke for the first time. Her curly black and white mane bounced as she stood, hooves on desk. "If we are to trade with this new community, we should dispatch a caravan. One which offers security and hospitality. We will need to have an informant present who can take proper stock of their needs as well as our quickest courier for communications." The mare sat back down. "If we are to have a positive relationship, it is only right that one of us should meet with your leadership for further dealings."

"I offer my services." Amethyst Smoke said as she stood. "Mrs. Prise Opal, I believe I am the most qualified informant available and a member of this council. I will hoof pick a courier myself and we will require at least ten of our finest officers."

Mr. Avenue nodded. "It seems we are in agreement that the Stable 109 community needs our assistance. Hooves in favor of Mrs. Smoke's proposal." He put his own hoof up, as did each of the other ponies. "Good. We are in agreement. Tonight we will send an Envoy to the MAS hub. Ms. Stone, would you like to travel with them?"

I had been considering that… but… "No. I will be remaining here as a liaison for my Stable. If you need me to get any work done."

Mr. Avenue nodded. "Alright, we will come back to that. For now though," he looked to the other council members. "Any question?"

Amethyst stood once again, "Yes. While it is a short distance, were there any hazards along the way?"

Xeyal stepped forward, "We had an encounter along the way. A large stallion and his goons tried to hold us up. We killed him and made a run for it. There were many others there along with mounted guns in the windows above."

"They also had a rocket launcher!" My outburst surprised me as much as Xeyal who looked back at me with a wide-eyed expression. "What? It scared the shit outta me."

Amethyst levitated a pen. "Where were these bandits?"

"Uh…" I honestly had no clue. "Between here and there? The street had four lanes and some very wide sidewalks."

Xeyal just shook her head. Probably in disappointment. "They were in a hotel bed and breakfast called The Salted Bay. It was along OceanFront boulevard."

Wait, she actually paid attention to all that? Even when we were running from the ghouls and getting shot at?

Xeyal continued her explanation "We also found a store room in a small convenient store on Clover avenue that had a storage room filled with untouched canned goods. If you do stop to gather that supplies, I have the keys right here. Do not go into the managers' office." Afterwards, she dug into her bag and pulled out the keyring.

"How come?" Amethyst asked.

While Xeyal walked over and dropped the keys on her desk, I offered an answer. "Someone was brutalized in the office. No idea how it happened, but it can't be more than two months old. It was weird, they even put the keys back in the register."

That left the room quiet as Xeyal returned to standing beside me facing Mr. Avenue. From his left came a cough, drawing everyone's attention as Mrs. Opal stood up. "I do have a question for you two. What sort of supplies are needed? This way, we can have a cart ready by lunch."

Xeyal looked to me for an answer, so I thought about it. "Well, We're in need of gemstones, scrap metal and ponies who can teach them about the wasteland. Weapons and ammunition probably wouldn't be a bad idea either. We don't have very many options that can take down Steel Rangers easily."

She sat down and started writing again while Mr. Dio stood up. "What purpose did the Steel Rangers have? How many were present at the time of the attack?"

"We did not arrive in time to see how the conflict started, however, we killed two of them and disabled the third one's weapons. He left with a proclamation claiming the MAS hub as property of the Ministry of Wartime Technology."

"How long ago was that?" He asked.

"Maybe four or five days ago." I told him.

"Chances are likely that they have prepared a much stronger force and are making their way there. Sta Paladin Dance doesn't take losses like this very lightly." He sat and began to write.

"Any other questions?" I asked.

Mr. Avenue stood, We will send out our caravan before leaving and I haven't had any scout reports regarding Steel Rangers. That means we have time and hopefully they will be open to other options." He sat back down and crossed his hooves in front of him. "Now, I have a job for the two of you. I want you to make your way south of here, to the shipyard and check to see if any of those ships are in operational shape. If one is, take note and come back. You'll want to be careful not to fall into the water and be aware there are robots that patrol the warehouses. If you feel inclined to scavenge, you can keep whatever you find."

I nodded when Xeyal briefly looked my way. "Sounds good, may I ask why you need a ship?"

"It's so we can trade with other coastal settlements, at least that is our hope." Mr. Avenue answered. "This meeting is now over. You all know what needs to be done."

Amethyst Smoke joined me and Xeyal as we started back to the elevator. "Hey, Glimmer, is there anything else I need to know before going to your stable?"

The three of us left the room and waited for the elevator to arrive. "Yeah, some ghouls have kept the tower in pretty good shape, don't shoot them when you get there and knock on the doors. Major Starsail is the pony you want to speak to first. He's the ghouls leader and a part of our leadership council."

Hearing the ding of the elevator and the doors opening, the three of us stepped inside. "Floor eleven, please."

Footnote:
No Levels Gained

Chapter 14: The Ponies We Meet

I don’t want to go, to be honest.

The two of us had taken the following two days to better explore the Heights. Before Amethyst Smoke and her caravan left for Stable 109, she shared with me some of the things we may need. We moved on her recommendations, making sure we had a healthy stock of pulse grenades and clean water. The following day gave us an entire day of rainfall. So, I spent the day sleeping and emptying out the unnecessary items from my saddlebags. Xeyal had done the same. The two of us only left our room for some food.

I found that the blankets were piled on me and her warm body pressed against my back. Sweating profusely, the heat must have woken me. She’s gotta know how weird it is for me. Mixed signals and all.

I levitated the blankets up so I could step out of bed without disturbing Xeyal. I peaked out the window to see the clouds glowing their sunny orange. I was thankful to see no rain or fog. Far off over the ocean bay, I could see the cloud's edge which made the water glow brilliantly. It left me feeling a little hollow.

After using the restroom and feeling refreshed, I left the room with my saddlebags. I need to get something smaller, I miss my utility belts and pockets. With a sigh that turned to a yawn, I reached the elevators. Hitting the button on the wall, I stood, gently tapping a hoof while I waited.

A pair of bucks joined me while I waited. The one to my right wore just a hat and some saddle bags, while the other wore nothing at all and stood to my left. Both of them checked me over, immediately making me uncomfortable. Really?

“Howdy! How's your morning?" The tan buck with the hat asked me.

The elevator gave a "Ding!" before the doors opened.

I boarded and both the well-kept earth ponies joined me. I stood with my tail against the back wall, giving them more room. I looked them both over, the tan pony had a gnarly set of scar across one of his shoulders and a cutie mark depicting a red crosshair over a gray tin can. The blue pony was muscular and his cutie mark was that of a neat pile of green and red casino chips.

Still, I had no reason to trust these two. “I’m doing okay. I just woke up and was going down for some coffee and uh… Who are you guys?”

The tan stallion hit the ground floor button before giving an answer. “I’m Sunny Ember and this is my brother, Daring Shade. It’s been some time since I've seen a mare quite like you. Are you new here?”

A little annoyance trickled into my voice, “Yes, I am. You know, there’s a lot of us here, what would make me any different?”

Shade looked to the ceiling and gave an exaggerated sigh.0 "Here we go again." Looking back to his brother, “You never cease to amaze me, Ember.”

Giving us both a cocky smile. “Well, I know most of the mares here, and most of those mares would have already punched my face in. So, there’s something different about you.”

Daring Shade spoke up while I tried my best angry look on his brother. “Don’t let him lie to you, the only mares he knows around here are a couple of waitresses and the local chem dealers.” I watched as he looked down at my pipbuck before looking back at Sunny then back to me. "Wait, aren't you and that zebra here together?"

My ears perked up and automatically swiveled toward him. Well then. What’s this game? “Yeah, how did you know that?”

“You two have been here a couple days and it’s not often that a zebra walks through here. You two draw a lot of eyes. Besides, there are rumors flying about that you both are from a stable. Is it true?” He glanced down at my pipbuck again as the elevator came to a slowing stop.

As the doors opened, both of them stayed put, effectively blocking my only exit. Sunny Ember put his rear hoof in the door to hold it open without waiting for me to answer his brother’s question, Ember added his own. “What brings you here anyway?”

Past these two, I could only see a few meandering ponies off in the distance. I gave them a yawn, hoping they’d recognize my disinterest in the current topic. “I am from a stable and I had business here. Can you two please get out of my way now?”

The brothers exchanged a quick look and both of them left the elevator at the same time. They stepped aside as I walked out between them. “Thank you. Now, I really must be going.”

The brothers fell in step beside me, “You know, you have me curious. What was it like to live in a stable? I imagine it’s a paradise compared to the wasteland.” Ember’s speculations continued, “Like, fresh unirradiated water to drink. A hot shower after each day's work. Plenty to eat and no fear of being eaten.”

I didn't find his musings all that interesting, but before I could answer him, Daring interjected and gave a slight chuckle. "If I remember right, you had that opportunity and told them to eat shit."

"Yeah…" Ember tilted his head with his eyes closed. “Don’t you remember what we later learned why that stable?”

“Okay, you’ve got me. What was wrong with that stable?” I asked them just as we walked into one of the restaurants, it was empty beside one other table of four.

We got seated, and Shade filled me in. “So back out west, it was Stable 55, a control stable that was almost entirely mare earth ponies and there were only a few bucks there. They had opened their stable and being in the middle of nowhere made it easy for them to avoid being noticed. However, we later found out that they had a habit of breeding any pony dumb enough to join them before ritualistically sacrificing them to maintain the stable. It was demented and we’re lucky we had a job that we couldn’t stray from.”

I was speechless. That was not what I'd expected to hear… “That’s crazy, why would any stable have to sacrifice anyone?"

A waiter appeared beside us, "Good mornings!" The buck looked grizzled and his high pitch voice seemed to conflict with his gruff exterior. He wore an eye-patch and was missing chunks of his coat. "What can I get you today?"

I withheld my laughter, this buck didn't deserve to be made fun of. Both the brothers appeared to give no shits though, blatantly laughing at him and his silly voice. "I'm not with these two." I told him just as anger washed across his features. When he looked down at me, I asked, "May I just have a hot pot of water, please?"

He nodded to me before his gaze fell on Ember and Shade. "You two got a problem?"

That made them laugh harder and the waiter rolled his one good eye. "Two cups of piss for ya' then. A different waiter will be with you momentarily." He practically hissed it with all the restraint he could muster.

Once he left the brothers' laughter dwindled to sputtering chuckles. "His voice…" Ember mumbled between his laughs. "He sounded like a squeaky toy, but looked like a sailor!"

I reached across the table just as he leaned forward to try and compose himself. Just as he took a deep breath I whacked the back of his head making him headbutt the table with enough force to make it echo across the restaurant. Shade's laughter came to a full stop as he looked at me with a shocked expression

Sunny Ember hadn't said anything, he rubbed his forehead with a hoof as he slowly sat back up. "Fuckin' really?"

"Yes, really. Don't be an asshole." I told him before I stood and walked over to the waiter with the eye-patch. He and his co-worker had seen that, He also had my pitcher of hot water ready on a platter. I levitated out a bag and dolled out twenty-five caps. "Sorry for their rudeness, how much for the pot of water?"

The buck scooted the caps off the counter into his apron pocket. "You're fine, it's not the first time." He told me. It sounded like he was trying to deepen his shrill voice. "Saw you rock his clock, thank you for that."

I levitated the pot and held it in the air beside me, "Yeah, he was being rude. So, how much do I owe you for the pot and water?"

"Tell ya' what," said the other waiter, "You gave a good show and stood up for Ol' Dinger here. You can have it, we'll tell the boss it got crunched. You take care."

"Fine by me. I appreciate it." I started to turn to leave when I looked over and saw the brothers quietly talking. Shade tossed his forelegs up while Ember pointed a hoof at me. "Can I pay for their food then? How much for two meals?" I asked, looking back at the waiters.

They looked at one another and shrugged. "Sure, Our priciest plate is a hundred and twenty caps, so say a hundred and fifty."

"Sure." I paid them and walked back to the table the brothers sat at.

They both just stared at me, but in shock not anger. "Weren't you leaving?" Ember asked incredulously. Surprise rang true in his tone.

"Well, I am still leaving. I only came down for a pot of hot water. Going to have some tea back home." I paused and looked at Daring Shade, "by the way, I've paid for your breakfasts."

As I started to leave, a hoof touched my tail. I paused and peered over my shoulder to see Shade standing up from his chair. "You don't have to pay for us. We have plenty of caps."

"Already did." I told him as I rotated my body for the sake of my neck. "Do the two of you need work?"

Ember and Shade shared a look, "What sort of job?" Ember asked me.

"It's a scavenging job, we were tasked with finding a boat at the docks east of here that's suitable for sailing trade goods along the coast. I don't expect much trouble, but I don't know what all's out there."

Ember laughed which drew Shade's attention, he leaned on the table, "You appear to be perfectly capable of protecting yourself. Why pay us to tag along?"

I gave a little sigh before giving an answer. "Because, I hear the warehouses there are full of good stuff to scavenge, but the whole area is well guarded and dangerous. Look, I have to go. Come by room 1101 after you're done eating, if you're interested. If you do; bring some radiation suits." I hadn't given them time to answer as I started for the exit.

Xeyal was up and the beds were made. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom so I pulled the pair of glasses I had from the tower out and put them on the desk with the hot pot. Well, guess I'l have to wait for her. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked healthy enough, the good rest and food had gone a long way towards that. My mane, somewhat longer now, still flowed wavy down the right side of my face. The teal portions intermittently spaced between the majority of my black mane. The dark gray hair of my face was soft and silky smooth, well kept except for one spot on my forehead. Just below my left ear was a spot where a scar had formed and the hair that covered it had always stuck out a bit. At least to me. I couldn't remember where I got that scar, but it'd be there for as long as I could remember.

The shower turned off and I could hear muffled hoofsteps. I craned my neck each way as I looked for anything out of the ordinary. I’d always shared my mom's coat and mane but unlike her, my eyes were a soft pale green. Something that I could only ever guess came from my dad. Can’t help but wonder what he would think of me now.

I sighed and looked over at the bathroom door, just in time too, the door opened, releasing a cloud of steam. Xeyal came out with a towel over her back and shoulders. She saw me and the two crystal cups. "Good morning, Shimmer. I had wondered how long you would be gone."

"I got distracted, so it took a little longer than it should have, but I got us a pot of hot water. I assumed you would like some tea, but I didn't want to dig in your stuff." I told her as I rolled a little ways back and levitated the pot of water to her bed.

I put it down while she went and dug her tea out. A moment later she had a teabag in the pot and I moved it back to the desk. Now we wait. "So I met a couple of goofy bucks who may come by. I offered them a job to join us on our outing."

She took the time to sit next to her bed and finished drying herself off. When she had finished she tossed the towel onto the bed. "I believe we will have to keep an eye on them then. At least until we know they are worthy of our trust." She began getting her barding on, "that tea can be poured now." She said before she finished fastening her barding straps.

Giving a nod, I poured our drinks. "These two are crude, but they seem healthy and capable, so I think we'll be fine for this job." I levitated my tea and took a sip, the water had cooled to a suitably pleasant warmth. The taste was delightfully light with a twinge of sweetness to it. I couldn't resist a pleasant "mmm".

Xeyal smiled as she sat beside me, taking her cup in between her hooves and taking a small drink herself. She mimicked my delight and told me, "Your mother knows how to make this tea blend, by the way. It surprises me that you have not had it before."

"Doesn't surprise me much actually. We never really spent a lot of time together once I got my own room." Looking up, I peered into the mirror again. I wasn't ready to go back out into the city, but I stood and got my barding and bags on. Just as I tightened the straps a knock came from our door. "That must be them," I told her as I magically opened the door.

As the door opened, Ember’s forehoof caught free air, just barely missing the door. With that hoof he rubbed the back of his neck, “oh look at that. It moved on me.” He was looking at his brother and turned to look at us as he walked in. “So, the four of us are going down to the docks? What’re you paying us for this?”

I drank my tea while I examined their outfits. Sunny was wearing some lightweight leather armor and had one of those weapon mounts rigged to him, it didn’t have a gun in it and was folded against him. Daring wore a black heavy set of barding that matched his darker coat and mane, he wore saddlebags and a couple utility belts which could also hold ammo. Daring Shade saw me looking at him and took the opportunity while he had my attention. “Checkin’ me out won’t bring down our price.” he quipped.

I swallowed the last of my tea and smiled. “I wouldn’t hope so. How does five hundred caps each sound?”

“Not near high enough,” said Sunny Ember. “At that rate, you’re asking us to take your caps, hold you up and take the rest. You clearly have no idea what the value of honesty is out here.” He didn’t smile nor did he make any sort of joke out of it.

He’s probably right about that. “Fine, fifteen hundred each. Sound better? We should only be out for three days or so, you can see the docks from our window. I spent most of yesterday looking out there trying to figure out which one would be the best option.”

“See, that’s a much more reasonable amount. Although; I was looking for either three hundred a day or one thousand caps each once the job’s done.” With that Ember and Shade both stood and walked over to the window. Shade gave the cord a tug which opened the window curtains. Xeyal pointedly stood and took care of moving her towel to the little hamper before opting to wait in the hallway. That reaction prompted Shade to give me a questioning look.

All I could do was follow her out, levitating the cups and tea with me. “Nope!”

I could hear Sunny Ember laughing at our expense, so I poked my head back around the corner after I gave Xeyal her cup. “Can you close the curtains when you’re done?”

Ember kept laughing but found the breath to utter, “Yeah, sure, can do princess.”

Hearing him call me a princess made my ears prickle and fall flat, “Damn him.” Thankfully, Xeyal was the only one who heard me. She gave me a smirk and rather than saying anything, she tilted her head back and finished off her tea. She held the glass out to me so I could take it and put it away. The heating pot was empty beyond a trickle at the bottom.

Shade spoke up from within our room, “hey Shimmer Stone, I think we’re looking at about a five day round trip at least.”

I walked around the corner of the door and turned into the restroom. “Really?” I turned on the sink, dropped the tea bag into the trash can and rinsed the cups and coffee pot out. After turning the water off, I returned to the main room where both of them were standing near the window. “Why would it take us a week?”

Sunny was opening the blinds all the way while Daring Shade made his way toward me. “Well, I could point it out to you, but it looks like the closest downhill street has a bridge collapsed across it. Even if we were to climb through that, we’d still have to follow the shipyard fence south until we reached the entrance.”

When Daring stopped beside me, I was still watching his brother who snickered to himself. “Hey, Sunny. Close those blinds.”

He turned around and smiled at me with a shrug before walking to join us. “Nah, you two should have natural light, it’ll do wonders for your complexion.”

I rolled my eyes and telekinetically closed them in a quick swish before I turned my interest back to Daring. “Essentially, I was looking at the wrong boats. If we find one that works, we should try making it easily accessible for a caravan to reach…”

“Right,” he replied. “The ports here are pretty large and there are two docking areas. The really big boats probably wouldn’t be operable, but we could still check them over. The docks on the southern side of the bay is where the majority of personal boats are docked.”

Sunny added his two bits too, “So that makes it cost more, how about five hundred caps a day?”

My brow furrowed as soon as I caught his eyes. “Really?”

His smile only broadened. “How about a thousand a day?”

To this his younger brother stepped forward and put a foreleg around his neck. “Sunny, when a pretty mare gives you that kind of look,” he raised an eyebrow to me while I held my glare. “Try thinking before speaking.” As Daring continued to explain, he pulled Sunny into a headlock and rubbed a hoof against the top of his head. “Aren’t you supposed to be a smooth talker? You’re smarter than that dude!”

Sunny Ember struggled against his brother's hoof, trying to pull himself free. When Daring Shade finally released him, Sunny stood up on his rear legs and dramatically staggered over to fall on the beds. He took a pose with a hoof just below his ear, expecting to land on a solid surface, but the elbow he planned to land on fell straight down between the two mattresses. The shock that overtook his face as he landed caught him off guard and he gave a sharp, “Oh shit!” as the blankets tugged toward the center of the beds and covered his head. “It’s eating me!”

The sudden commotion prompted Xeyal to join us in a hurry. She trotted in quickly and looked at the bed while Shade and I broke into fits of laughter. Xeyal gave an annoyed groan. "This is why we do not have nice things."

I looked up at her as I wiped a tear from my cheek. Xeyal looked down at me, "May we get going before these two destroy our new home?"

The four of us had bought and retrieved our munitions and melee weapons on our way out. I bought three mags filled with armor piercing rounds for the sniper rifle and made sure every weapon we had was loaded and readied. I opted to keep my shotgun strapped to my back.

Seeing me and Xeyal load everything, moreso me, left both of the guys flabbergasted. Sunny Ember had a laser rifle mounted to his side and a multi-cell pack on his other side. The pack had six arcane powercells plugged into it and each of them swirled with a purple and blue magic.

Daring Shade had given a whistle when I unfolded and loaded my sniper rifle. He had put his own rifle across his back after loading it and a mouth gripped submachine gun that dangled around his neck by a strap. "That rifle's nice," he told me, "I'd imagine it has quite the kick."

"That it does. My pipbuck says it's-"

Shade interrupted me."It's a HI-6, heavy infantry six round .503 anti-tank rifle. I remember reading about it once, the manufacturers, Ironshod Firearms, had nicknamed it "Pumpkin". Fitting name in my opinion."

I hadn't known that, so I asked him, "What about your rifle?"

We walked at a moderate pace, Xeyal and I both had our EFS on and nothing was on it. "Mine is somewhat unique, being produced by the pegasi for the Ministry of Awesome. It's an MOA-S15, semi automatic using .357 rounds on a fifteen round magazine. It's a lightweight frame with a long barrel."

"Ministry of Awesome?" Xeyal inquired, curiosity rang in her voice. "What did they do?"

Ember butted in, "Well, it depends on who you ask. I've heard they did nothing but build those giant towers throughout Equestria. Others will say that Rainbow Dash was in charge of ariel forces and assassinations. Her ministry didn't do a lot on paper, besides commissioning construction projects. The Ministry of Wartime Technology worked with the Ministry of Awesome whenever a big battle took place, but off the battlefield there weren't a lot of documented missions between either ministry."

Shade decided to add onto his brother's remark, "We've spent some time digging through Ministry ruins and knowledge so sometimes valuable, often it can point you towards some unique old world stuff. That's how I found my sniper rifle."

"And this beam rifle," Ember added enthusiastically. "It's been awhile since we last left the Heights, so if we come across some raiders or ferals; let us handle them."

Xeyal currently held her stoicism in check but I could see she was trying not to snicker. “We are perfectly capable of protecting ourselves as well. I am still trying to figure out why Shimmer decided we needed companions.”

I couldn’t tell if it was what she said or how she sounded, but that had made both the guys share a look at one another that was followed by a prolonged silence. Shade finally spoke up after walking around a bit of rubble. “You know… Feel free to tell me I’m wrong, but I was assuming it’s because we’re more acquainted with the shitty shit out here and may be able to save your hides if something unexpected happens.”

Sunny trotted around to walk between Xeyal and I, “and something unexpected always happens, it’s kind of a rule out here in the wasteland.” He leaned toward me, “You know? I’m curious about something.”

I widened the space between us and hopped a small hole that had been blown from the road. “What’s that?” I asked him just as I landed.

He didn’t seem to take it to heart, having turned his attention to the zebra that still stood a whole head over him. She could just shoulder him in the snout if he said something dumb. Oh, how I’d love to see that.

“So, have you two encountered ghouls?” He asked her before looking back at me. “Know what a ghoul is?”

That’s about what I had expected him to ask. “Yeah, we met a few on our way out of the stable. Ran from some feral ghouls on our way to the Heights. We were saved from the ferals by some raider gang types, killed their boss guy and fled for our hides. Came across a cache of food and a gruesome murder scene before making it.”

His eyes went wide and Shade gave a chuckle, “You keep surprising us, y’know that, right?” He trotted around from Xeyal’s farside to be in the middle with his brother, but on my side of Ember. Before he could continue, the sounds of trumpets accompanied by a drum beat met our ears. Xeyal and my ears pricked and focused ahead of us. Further down the road was a little round thing bobbing in the air a few feet off the ground. While Xeyal and I both went into a serious speculative mode of mind, both of these guys gave it but a moment before turning their attention back to us. Daring Shade seemed to have the answer I needed. “Don’t worry about that, it’s a sprite bot. It’s one of the machines the Ministry of Morale used during the war. It plays an annoying song and at one point was used for Equestria wide announcements. Now it plays that or pre-recorded recruiting messages.”

Sunny Ember gave a little chuckle, “Rumors have it that a ghost possesses them sometimes to give helpful advice in dire times.” He was trying and failing to make it sound spooky, “I’ve never met a pony that’s had it happen to them though.”

Xeyal squinted at it. “These sprite bots are not dangerous?”

Her tone prompted Ember to chuckle and look up at her. “Not at all. They aren’t equipped with anything other than cameras and speakers.”

As we walked, the triumphant music got louder. That little bobbing robots tune was static-filled and extremely annoying, just as Daring Shade had said. “You weren’t lying about that tune being annoying, but someone please shoot it.”

“Nope,” said Ember, “firing a weapon here will only draw attention to us. We don’t need unwanted attention.”

His brother impulsively chimed in, “that’s right! We don’t know who’s drugged out near an open window or how many ferals are laying around.” They seemed pretty confident about it, so I bit my lip and laid my ears flat. That tinny song was like sandpaper to my eardrums.

“Can we at least bludgeon it!” I asked them in agony.

“Sure, go for it.” Shade said. Then, without hesitation, Xeyal broke into a full sprint. As she approached the floating noise ball, she took a short leap that closed the remaining gap. She landed with her forehooves together and rotated as her rear hooves came down. On her pivote, she used the downward momentum to deliver a devistating buck to the bottom of the sprite bot. The robot didn't stand a chance, even though it was floating. The music cut off as sparks erupted from where she connected, the robot flew high as it's parts unravelled. Reaching it's peak height, the sprite bot fell and landed several paces ahead of where Xeyal stood, all of us watched as it exploded on impact.

The brothers and myself covered our ears, just barely in time. The explosion threw loose debris in all directions, shatting windows and sending an echo throughout the streets. Everything settled and my ears still rang, Xeyal looked back at us, stoic as ever.

"What the hell was that?! You idiots really want to draw us some sort of trouble, don't you?" Ember shouted as he began to trot toward Xeyal.

I trotted after him and Daring Shade joined us. Xeyal stood facing us, outlined by the flickering orange from the fire behind her. As we were approaching her the sharp booming sound of a single sniper shot echoed off the city around us. In that same moment my heart stopped. The world froze in a snapshot of clarity.

It all played out so fast. From somewhere high above, a bullet struck Xeyal in a crimson splash. Knocked from her hooves, the zebra fell to the ground.

All I could do was scream her name.

"Xeyal!"

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 11
Perk Unlocked: Influential Speaker
+2 Charisma
+3 Luck
You're capable of adjusting your speech to better communicate with any other pony.

Chapter 16: Fearsome Sight

Author's Note

This chapter marks the end of the first act and the start of the second. I think the stories going to be a bit longer than I initially expected...

I hope everyones enjoying the ride so far! Thank you so much for reading along.

Chapter 16: Fearsome Sight

With the water off, the room's cold air penetrated my soaking wet coat. I shivered a little. Giving a sad little sigh, the echoes of my hooves were my only company. The way they fled really perturbed me. As if I were some sort of monster... One look was pall it took for the bathing mares to race out.

Fog covered the mirror above the sink, obscuring my reflection. Those reactions still rang in my mind. I'm not that ugly.

Taking up an old towel from a nearby bench in my magic, it lazily floated to me. Using it left me grumbling in annoyance. Countless washes had taken every ounce of softness from that poor piece of cloth. Feeling it brush by skin and scars was excruciatingly uncomfortable.

Despite all this, I was happy to have my magic back. Even if it's still weak. To get stuck living as a horned earth pony was beginning to drive me up a wall. Regardless of the towel's condition, I finished drying myself before running the towel across the mirror. It left streaks of water and revealed my crisp reality.

Can't say I'm surprised by their reactions though. At least I got privacy outta it.

The reflection in the mirror was, in fact, a horrifically disfigured one. The mare that looked back at her was still unrecognizable… She wasn’t just missing an eye. The scar of which had been healed immediately. It left her with a jagged, broken ring of bone where the socket had shattered and stitched itself back together. Above it; a ridge of misshapen bone ran from the socket, parallel to her mane to meet the spot the bullet had hit her. It didn’t matter to her that much of her hair had been burned off.

No wonder her headache never went away. Her head had been torn apart and hastily put back together. Distractions. That’s what I need. Get dressed and go. Yup! Time to go.

I dried myself in a well-known silence I’d always found to be comforting. Redressing myself, I made sure that I had my fathers locket on. After that, I wore my cleanest stable suit. I always loved them, even if the bright blue and gold embroidered “109” clashed with my hair colors. Over it were my heavy, black-plated barding and my saddlebags.

From my bags I pulled out a red scarf. My mom had said it was my fathers… Magic wasn’t much help here, but after a few attempts, I found a snug way to wrap it around just the right side of my head. It was effective in hiding my scars and horn.

Looking at myself in the mirror, a smirk made its way across my face... "Coffee Bean was right." I admired myself in the complete setup, "It does make me look badass." I told myself quietly, giving myself a reason to stand tall. With that I turned and left the mares room.

In the hallway were eight or nine mares waiting patiently. Their collective silence spoke volumes about what they now thought of me. Ignoring their over reactions and potential questions, I left to get some food before leaving.

My mom and Overmare Sweet Beets stood in the hallway outside the teleportation room, conversating as I kept them waiting. I could barely hear them as I climbed the short stack of stairs and approached them, they both paused and turned to me. “Shimmer Stone, are you sure you want to go again?”

Coming to a stop before them, I gave Sweet Beets a curt nod. “Mhm. I think I’ve had enough rest and I’ve got my magic back. I still have a job to complete, so it’s time I get to it.”

My mother stepped forward, “I’ve a gift for you,” she levitated a small bag out between us. “It’s something you might find some use for out there.”

I opened the bag and from it came a small bundle of wires that were wrapped around what looked like a key, but with fewer teeth. “What is it?”

“It’s an advanced electronic lockpick. The Ministry of Moral would use these to carry out investigations and it’s capable of opening any physical lock.” Silver explained to me before stepping in close, she kissed my left cheek before trying to place her forehead against mine.

I took a small step back and placed a hoof on her chest. "Mom, please." Putting the lockpick away, I sat back on my haunches and looked past her at Sweet Beets. "Have you and Starsail finished organizing the towers' secrets?"

The disappointment that sang in my moms eyes was evident as she backstepped to stand beside our Overmare, but she focused on the conversation. "Yes, well… most of it. We've found files documenting most magical objects and constructed a list of the various experiments this MAS hub had been conducting."

"Had any of the projects been accessed and copied?" I asked, thinking back to Willow Sky and Fulsome Quibble's hasty escape.

"I hadn't looked for recent activity, but the major had been, you should ask him. The tower contains a lot of dangerous stuff and I can't imagine what they could do in the wrong hooves." Sweet Beets looked over at my mom, "Wait, does this have to do with those ghouls you and Starsail were talking about?"

"Probably. Those two managed to sneak out before we could locate Fulsome. Those ghouls must have had a plan." She leaned back on her haunches and crossed her forehooves. "With Starsail's help, I was able to figure out what Fulsome and Willow were tasked with during the war."

"Really?" asked the overmare.

"Turns out Fulsome was the head researcher on unicorn enhancements as well as a few of the theoretical spells that could have been contained in megaspells." She held her hoof out to her side, then the other hoof and acted like a scale. "On the other hoof, Willow Sky's an engineer who specializes in arcane technologies. He helped in the development of stealth bucks, a bit of hardware that plugs into a pipbuck and gives its user temporary invisibility."

"Well, as fascinating as this all is, we haven't a clue where they went." I said as I stood. "I'm sure everyones tired of waiting on me, so I ought to get going. Can you help me with the teleporter?"

My mom nodded and stood, we went through the door to the teleporter room and she prepped the system as I got into position. "You know, it's pretty impressive that you were able to teleport yourself and your friends almost a mile."

"Yeah, sure. I still got shot in the head though." I replied bluntly. An image of my bloodied room popped vividly in my mind and I held my breath for a moment.

"Your friend, Daring Shade, told me that your eyes were glowing white while you channeled that spell… You know that right?"

It annoyed me a little that she was standing there rather than teleporting me, but I shoved that annoyance out of my mind. "First I've heard of it." I told her, sounding rather clueless.

She softly chuckled. "You know, that doesn't surprise me. Ever since you were little, I knew you had it in you."

I tilted my head and furrowed my brow. "What're you getting at?"

She gave me a reassuring smile. "There aren't many documented cases of it happening. These magical epiphanies are rare and usually invoked by strong emotions and stress." She paused and touched her horn. "You had one apparently and with it, you saved Xeyal."

She triggered the teleporter. "I love you, mom. I'll be seeing you later!"

The magic engulfed me and a moment later, I found myself standing in a room much like before, but with Xeyal, Coffee Bean, Sunny Ember and Daring Shade.

"Finally!" Sunny exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. "We've been waiting for- what? An hour?" He shot a glance around at the others.

Coffee Bean was the one who just offered him a shrug. "We can't leave without her."

"You're coming with?" I asked him, I was a little astonished, after taking a grenade to the face.

"Yup! I've talked it over with my dad and despite it all, he agreed to train me. Look…" With a momentary lapse of time, he found his words. "I've felt this urge ever since I woke up all exploded like… I want to help. I want to be out there, doing my part to save Equestria. I can't do that from here. Being a waiter doesn't save ponies."

." I watched as everyone looked over at him. Xeyal was the first one to respond, “I believe Equestria needs more ponies like you.”

The five of us left the teleporter room, while Daring Shade offered his own advice to the young buck. “Bean, you’ll find that this city has a lot of ponies who really just need one thing, a bullet… not a healing hoof.”

That brought Coffee Bean to a dead stop just as we were stepping down the two steps to the lobby’s main floor. Before he could answer, Sunny Ember pitched in his two bits. “Yeah, Shade’s got a point. There are a lot of raiders, gangers, and crazies out there. Those ponies were born in this hell hole and broken by the wasteland. Helping Equestria would mean you’ll have to shoot to kill. We can’t afford you hesitating in a clutch.”

Bean tried to answer again, but someone kicked open a door in a hurry. “Don’t go yet!” They shouted at our merry party. Once the ghoul made her way around the reception desk and into view, I was happy to see that it was Misty Grace. “I’m glad I caught you. Starsail wanted me to pass on a message before you go. We got the radio tower tuned and we’ve been able to eavesdrop on the Steel Rangers.”

Having taken a sharp step toward the Misty, my voice was deeper than I’d expected, “What’re they planning?”

“We aren’t too sure yet.” The shake to her voice gave me the impression that she was bothered. “We… They are working with a few ghouls on something secret. The chatters avoided the topic, but there were mentions of a research center and some of the conversations were about gathering research materials for someone there.”

“Shit.” I said aloud. She nodded, agreeing or at least understanding. My shoulder slumped and I sat back on my haunches, “Does that mean they are working with Fulsome?”

“Who’s Fulsome?” Daring asked after Misty gave a slow and deliberate nod.

Misty Grace gave a sigh as she came down the room-wide steps. “Fulsome Quibble is a bit evil…”

Sunny Ember stepped up and turned to me. “Don’t tell me…”

Misty coughed into her hoof, “He was a project lead here during the war, since then, he went crazy… His breed of crazy means he’s pretty unpredictable and if he’s working with the Steel Rangers, there’s no telling what can happen when they finally come back. We’ve got security posted around the clock; around the block. We’ll see them coming.”

Sunny continued his bit, “You actually have a mad scientist as a nemesis?” He laughed! I could have kicked him in the face right then and there. I didn't, but I wanted to. “No but really… If you’re talking about the Steel Rangers at the northern base… they aren’t normally bad ponies. We’ve been to their base before.”

“Really?” I asked as I turned to him. "What's it like? How many of them are there?"

Touching his chin and looking upward, "It was over two years ago now. That base is pretty heavily guarded and I couldn't tell ya how many ponies are there. We were delivering medical supplies and they restricted us to a visitors cabin."

"Fort Whinny Worth is absolutely massive." Daring added, "There's no telling how many Steel Rangers are there."

"No reason to fret over this for now." Xeyal told us, "We have no way of dealing with the threat they present until they make a move."

Huh? Right, good point. Xeyal and the brothers started to leave, so I stood to join them. Coffee Bean was waiting with me.

Misty Grace gave a little wave as we left. "Well, we are going to keep an ear open on the radio and if anything comes up, we may try to find a way to contact your group."

Turning my head didn’t let me see her, but I gave a small wave, “Take care of this place, let us know.”

With the doors closing behind me as a warm breeze whistled through the abandoned street. The sound of our hooves echoed off the buildings and none of us spoke. The brothers walked side by side in the lead, while Xeyal and Coffee Bean whispered back and forth.

I was bringing up the rear of our pack and caught myself scanning the building's windows overlooking us. These streets are so much more dangerous than initially expected. It bothered me that any building could have a raider gang in it. I didn't enjoy the prospects of being the target for practice.

"You okay?" Coffees' voice came from beside me. I hadn't noticed him and Xeyal dropping back to match my slow sultry speed.

Surprise shouldn't have been my first reaction though. My breath held thick in my throat and my shoulders squared up, nearly tripping myself. With a sharp inhale and a quick swallow, I answered him. "Yeah, I'm fine… but a bit worried about what might try to kill us first."

Coffee, to his credit, sounded confident. "Why worry about it? It's bound to happen and we'll win anyway."

The brothers had come to a stop to let us catch up. "Hey, so excluding other ponies and undead ponies, what other creatures live here?"

Sunny gave his trademark smirk. "There's a lot of critters in this city. Wild dogs and cats, a ton of rats, bloodwings, manticores oh and the hellhounds! Besides that, there are plenty of different robots and in certain buildings you can find some elaborate security systems that are stupidly efficient."

Almost all of that had entries in the Wasteland Survival Guide. Except the dogs and cats. How could those be dangerous? Before I could ask; Bean got ahead of me.

"What's a bloodwing?" he inquired with a fair curiosity.

Shade chimed in, "They're nocturnal. Giant bats that usually hunt cats and rats, but they have no problem plucking a young pony right off the ground."

Xeyal seemed taken aback. "How big are these things?"

"Bloodwings have a wingspan of four to seven feet, but can get much larger." I answered, reciting the guide's entry on them.

Sunny laughed. "I was being attacked by some giant rats when a couple swooped in and carried them off. They drop their prey from deadly heights if they can't kill it in flight."

Coffee Bean frowned while Sunny gave his usual sly smirk.

Shade hopped a fallen light pole, "Oh hey. We’ve got bloatsprites ahead."

Seeing them up ahead and readying myself my pair of pistols. Counting the little disfigured blobs, there were at least seven or eight of them. “Aren’t those the things that eat and spit more of themselves out?”

“Yeah, that’s them,” Sunny answered before coming to a stop in front of me. He looked back at me, “Can we see how Coffee Bean handles them?”

That wasn’t a bad idea, any of us could step in if need be. “Fine,” I told him, holstering my guns before looking over to see Coffee’s bewildered look. “You’re up, Coffee!”

The golden and brown maned buck readied himself a pistol with a mouth grip. He moved toward them and slowed his steps, probably using his pipbucks’ targeting spell. “Think he’ll miss any shots?” Shade asked, sitting to watch.

Xeyal and I simultaneously answered the same. “Nope!” The two of us looked at one another and shared a little laugh, leaving the brothers with raised eyebrows.

Sunny shrugged it off. “I’d bet you all the caps you owe us, that he’ll miss one. Double if he does.”

Coffee took two shots and two of the bloatsprites popped and fell. “See, Coffee was already a sure shot, and he’s spent quite a bit of time just practicing. I’ll take your bet and if I win, you get no caps. Sound like a good gamble?”

Coffee Bean took another shot, hitting his mark on the third sprite and now the others were coming at him. He took another shot, killing off another one, leaving only five left. He took the opportunity to reload his pistol.

Looking back at me, Sunny gave a chuckle, “I bet I’ll lose, but I’ll take your gamble.” As soon as the words left his lips, his brother punched his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble to his hooves.

“You idiot,” was all Shade told him. “That’s the only reason we’re out here?! We’ve already been out of the Heights for what? Two weeks?”

Turning to his brother with a furrowed brow, “Hold on a minute, it’s not like we won’t find something worth selling on this adventure.”

Off in the background, I watched as Coffee Bean took two more shots, killing another pair of sprites. Leaving only one bobbing off in the distance. It was far enough away that my radar couldn’t pin it as hostile. The two brothers were more focused on each other and practically ignored Coffee’s marksmanship skills.

Daring Shade gave an exhaustive sigh, “You’re such a dumbass, Ember.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” his brother answered while grinning.

One last shot rang out and the last of the bloatsprites fell. He put his weapon away and came back over to us. “All done! Didn’t miss a shot either.” He twirled his hoof and blew across the top of it as if it were a gun, “that was too easy.”

Xeyal stepped between the brothers, abruptly interrupting Sunny and Shade to address Coffee Bean. “You have definitely improved. Glad to see it.” She gave a small, soft smile before the zebra pulled him into a hug.

Coffee Bean yelped in surprise, probably since Xeyal rarely showed affection to anyone, but she was also the biggest of us here and Coffee Bean being the smallest made the hug look more like she was trying to squeeze him to death. As if unable to breath he squeaked out, “I’m glad I could help.”

She let him go and the poor buck inhaled sharply. “You’re a lot stronger than I expected.” he told her, “Maybe, no more surprise hugs?”

She laughed, “My apologies.”

Whatever it was, it broke the tension the brothers had been building as the pair shared in her laughter. With that, the five of us continued on our way. Shade walked over and scooped up one of the bloatsprites and tied it to his bag straps.

“Might make for a good dinner, ya’know?” He muttered as he caught back up to us. All I could do was look at him questioningly while Coffee and Xeyal gave him a look of disgust.

None of us dared to ask if he was going to eat it, the thought of eating those nasty beasts never even crossed my mind.

With the sun setting and the fog rolling in, making three of us begin to click wildly. So, we moved indoors.

Only a little dusk light made it in from broken and boarded windows. My pipbuck was still clicking away. This hotel made me anxious and I couldn't tell why…

The main lobby of the Rising Sun hotel was where we found ourselves. It had a large desk at the back of the room, with some red satin couch chairs surrounding small round dark wood tables. This setting was mirrored four times in the room, each of them isolated by low standing walls. The walls had once been planters with only the cracked earth in them anymore.

Surrounding the sectional seating stood book shelves and magazine racks, the latter of which both Daring and Sunny were sifting through. I could catch bits and pieces of their hushed conversation as they spotted comic books mixed into the magazines. The mere mention of comics caught Coffee Bean's attention, drawing him into their conversation.

A coffee shop was built into the left side of the room accompanied by doors to the restrooms. The opposite wall was centered by a pair of large doors. It looked heavy. Being elegantly carved into the shape of clouds over a rising sun. The sun itself was made from two of the largest citrine gemstones I'd ever seen!

"Should we check for some supplies?" I asked, tipping my head toward the coffee shop.

Xeyal shrugged slightly. "I do not think we have much time." She raised her pipbuck, which like mine, was still clicking with the radiation. "We are already over ten CPM. I already have almost one hundred rads built up."

She made a fair point, time we moved up a few floors. "Hopefully, we're the only ones here." I whistled at the guys, who all turned to me, halting their nerdy party. "We gotta get goin', before we all get sick. Radiations tickin' up quick."

While Sunny and Daring both shoved books in their bags, Coffee Bean nodded and said, "Okay." He rejoined the other two, bagging a few magazines.

As they finished up, Xeyal and I pushed open the giant wooden doors to reveal a luxurious dinner hall. A massive table left set and ready for a very large party. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust, and there were several doors along the right wall as well as a once fully stocked bar. Most of the bottles were now gone, but a few still stood on shelves built across a mirrored wall.

We walked the length of the room. I was in shock at the elegance of it all. The walls were decorated with painted landscapes and above the bar was the bars name carved into the wooden shelving frame. It read "Stanza" in an elegant cursive font.

I levitated a few of the bottles to me that looked to still be sealed. Sunny poked his head into one of the doors. Leaving it stand open he turned back to us, "It's a really nice kitchen."

"Well, where's the stairs? I didn't see any back that way." Coffee tossed his head back to indicate the room we just left. "Why would they put it back here?"

I sighed, looking around the darkening dining hall. "Maybe there's some way we can turn the power back on. Daring, Sunny? Do you guys have light sources?"

They both shook their heads to one another. "Nope."

"Okay, you two with me. Xeyal, can you and Coffee Bean take a look around, we need to see if this place has a basement or stairs."

"Why a basement?" Sunny asked me.

"Because…" I started, turning back toward him as I made my way back to the way we had come. "This place doesn't have power, so maybe it has a backup generator or something to get those elevators running."

"What floor are we at?" Sunny whined.

"Thirteenth. Let's call it good enough," answered Daring.

I was behind them, dragging my hooves. We spent almost an hour searching for the stairs. Whoever designed this hotel sucked, having hidden the only staircase behind the kitchen and labeling it as maintenance only. There was also an emergency exit in the stairwell.

Sunny kicked open the door, which opened up to a hallway of doors. The carpet had diagonal blue hued stripes and the wallpaper peeled, exposing the building's wood and stone walls. Much of it was beginning to rot and a draft wind was moving through the darkness. Daring took to checking doors, "Well, at least you three aren't clicking, but it looks like all these doors are locked."

"Well, let's kick open some doors." I told him. "Xeyal?"

She trotted forward and gave one of the doors a swift buck. The lock gave out easily letting the door swing open with enough force to bounce closed again. Xeyal smirked, gently knocking on the door before she entered. "Anyone home?" She asked as she entered.

Coffee Bean and Daring Shade entered behind her while Sunny Ember doddled for a moment. "Remind me to avoid pissing her off," he told me with a laugh. "That's one hell of a kick."

I raised my eyebrow and rounded him so I could see him. "Am I hearing you right?"

His rump dipped as he leaned back, his chin rose and his brow furrowed slightly. "Uh, what do you think you heard?" His hoof rose to a defensive position.

I gave a broad smile, "Nevermind, no worries." With a light weighted spin, I followed everyone else with him following just behind me.

The room wasn't too big, offering a desk, a pair of beds, and a small coffee nook as well as a single shower and toilet in a room to themselves. Xeyal had taken one of the beds immediately.

Coffee Bean and Daring Shade were digging their comics out. I could hear bits and pieces of it, Coffee was gushing over the nearly new quality of his space adventure while Daring organized his stack of treasure by release.

I looked back to Sunny and teleported a bottle from my bag between us, "Want to drink?"

His eyes ballooned as he eyed the bottle, "please?" He gave a small whimpering noise and made his bottom lip quiver.

I rolled my eye with a small smile. I tipped the top to him as an offering. "Go ahead."

"Yay!" He squealed before snatching the bottle and looking at the top. He then looked around in need of a corkscrew. It only took a moment for him to conclude there was no way for him to open the bottle, so he held it back out to me. "Could yuh help?"

I pulled the cork out with a resounding pop. He took a long drink from it before giving a refreshed "aaah" before offering me the bottle. He gave a little shudder and squeezed his eyes closed.

It was no surprise to me that Coffee Bean and Daring Shade were both staring at us, quietly talking to one another. I levitated the bottle from his hooves and took a drink of my own. It burned my throat, but the caramel-like flavor was delightfully bitter. It reminded me of those little butterscotch candies we would make in our school years. Though, this had an aftertaste that made me cringe a little. It was sweet, tasting like burnt barnish, probably from the cask it came from.

"So," Sunny started as I passed him the bottle. "I've gotta ask you, what are you going to do? Like…" He paused and took a drink before passing it back. "Ahhh! Like, why are you working for those assholes? You gotta know what the Heights does right?"

That pricked my ears before I squinted at him. I took myself a bog drink, feeling it warm my body. A small tremor rolled down my spine, briefly setting my hair on end. "What's it I'm supposed to know?" I passed him the bottle.

"You don't know then…" He gave a small groan. "Mr. Avenue has a smoke screen disguising the whole operation. " Taking a drink, " he continued. "Look at it this way, The heights are built by chem dealers and slaves. Though, they don't call them slaves and they don't use the term slave or serfs. They don't use bomb collars, they use chems and keep them addicted."

That honestly didn't surprise me. "Keeping ponies hopped up on drugs to produce even more drugs? No wonder the food's more expensive than the radaway." I took the bottle from him and took another big drink, finally feeling it affect me. A wistful clarity cleared my mind and the dull headache I had up 'til now faded. My muscle and joint pains dulled and I could finally feel relaxed as the tension was washed away.

"Yeah, the council runs several refineries hidden throughout the city, there's a reason no one fucks with them. Even the gangers down at the Slaughter Mall trade with them. Ponies for chems and food. Did you notice that the Heights is one of the only places here with clean water? They use this water purifier to control everything in the city." He took the bottle and took a rip from it. "Hell, they don't like or want competition."

"So, you think they got plans?" I asked, levitating out a second bottle. I popped it open and took another drink as he took one too. "You got a theorem to share?"

"Yep," He took another drink and repositioned himself, he hopped up onto the empty bed and faced me, tossing the emptied body to the corner of the room. "I've been thinking on this ever since you teleported us to your stable. Who do you think shot you?"

I hadn't thought about it… so I shrugged. "I dunno, a raider or a ganger?"

"We were within three blocks of the heights. There's no way it was a ganger who sniped you two." He tapped his hoof against his temple. "Think about it."

"Wait, you mean they gave me a task, and told their scouts to shoot us on sight?" That honestly didn't surprise me as much as I would've expected. Probably the drink, "Ya'know, that lines us since that council was way more curious in my home than in me. Amethyst Smoke seemed pretty interested in me though."

"Amethyst Smoke is Mr. Avenue's wife and an informant. The two of them plan everything. They don't like loose ends either."

"Do they even need a boat then?" I asked, sitting beside the end of the bed.

He snatched my bottle and took a drink before I took it back. He shrugged, "Beats me, but I don't think they're expecting to see you again."

Shade and Coffee joined us. Coffee hoofed the bottle from my magic before I noticed him there. He timidly took a drink and winced, spitting it to the floor. "Gross."

Daring Shade took the bottle and read the label and laughed aloud. "Y'all are drinkin' this? It says 95 proof." He took a swig of it, and we all laughed as his eyes shot wide. He broke into a coughing fit.

He dropped the bottle, but I caught it in my magic. My attention returned to Sunny, "what do you think then? If the Heights council isn't worth trusting… Is it possible that they're looking to overtake my stable and enslave my home?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya' but I think we should still get a boat, it might come in useful."

Coffee Bean held up a hoof, "What's happening?"

I looked at him and then to Daring Shade. "Well, it looks like the Height's council played me for a fool before shooting me in the head."

He didn't respond; instead he scratched at his mane with a confused "Uh…"

Daring Shade's shoulders sagged. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. Them assholes."

Behind Daring Shade, Xeyal snored and repositioned herself as she slept. Daring turned to the still confused Coffee Bean. "You see, the Heights is a high society hub that peddles only the best of the best. They run this city with a shadowed hoof of iron and don't like competition."

Sunny chimed in with an outstretched hoof. "Bottle please!"

Rolling my eyes, I passed it to him.

He took a big drink and smiled drunkenly. "If you goes to confront them, can I come too? They gonna be so surprised."

'Well, I guess we need a boat first. Where do they do the drug making?" I asked.

Shade chuckled, "Depends on the chem. They got productions all over the northern parts of the city and they're heavily defended locations." He hoofed the bottle from his brother and took a sizable drink. After a reactionary take, he continued. "I once got a Steel Ranger scribe drunker than she'd ever been before. She described to me the tedious relations between them and the Height."

"I remember her! Cherry Strudel, right? That pink mare you boinked for a week or two?" Sunny Ember prodded the air with a hoof as he laughed. "She was a charmer."

Shade gave a flat toned "hah, hah. Yeah, that's her. She broke your face if I remember right."

"Yeah…" Sunny rubbed his cheek, "That one hurt. Didn't know a unicorn could do that."

Coffee piped up, "What'd she do?"

Shade looked over at him as he took another drink. "My brother slapped her ass and asked if she would ride his steel paladin… Using her magic, she reinforced her hoof and shattered his cheekbone in one swift hit."

That gave me the idea to try it. Not on him of course. I held up my hoof, looked at the wall I stood beside then back to my hoof. Concentrating on my hoof, I tried to solidify my magic into a sphere, but it wobbled and dissolved. "Damn. If I ever meet her, I want to see that spell."

Shade laughed, "I've seem her use it twice and both times were devistating. The second time was her trying to smash my face."

He held the bottle out for Coffee who immediately waves his hooves before it, declining to drink. With a shrug of his shoulders, Shade took another swig. "She hit the wall behind me and blew a hole outta it. She. Was. Pissed."

Sunny and I looked over to see the bafflement on Coffee Bean's face. He added, to my surprise, "It was a meter thick concrete wall. That mare's punch is more powerful than most powerhooves."

"What's a powerhoof?" He asked immediately, my voice flooded with an enthusiasm that I hadn't expected.

Shade snickered at me before giving an answer. "It's a wartime tech that you wear on your hoof. They hit pretty hard."

Reeling in my excitement and taking another drink, I cleared my throat behind a hoof. "Okay. So what's the relationship between the Heights and the Steel Rangers?"

Sun waved a hoof in the air like an enthusiastic colt in class. We all stared at him, but he just gave a shit eating grin.

"Sunny, just spit it out." his brother told him.

Putting his hoof out, "Can I have the bottle?" Once I gave it to him he said, "Thank you!" with a droll in his voice. Afterward, "Shade has the better answer, but the Rangers offer protection to the chem factories while the Heights offers them unicorn fillies and colts they can conscript."

In my drunken mindset, I wanted to be angry about it, but found myself laughing. "Well, I'd assume then that the Rangers are spread a bit thinner than I expected. Explains why they didn't follow up on the threat of invading the MAS hub."

I closed my eye and took a long slow drink. I heard Sunny whisper, "what in the hell?"

I gently tossed the bottle off to the corner to join the other. I opened my eye to see all three of them wide-eyed staring at me. "The fuck?" I asked.

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv. 13
Feat Unlocked - Elite Badass
Having taken a bullet to the face and survived gives you reason to brag.
+50% chance to succeed on intimidation checks when not wearing hats.
-50% chance to succeed on persuasion checks when not wearing hats.

Perk Unlocked - Medusa's Gaze
+75% chance to paralyze others in fear when you unequip your hat.
Hat perks rock.

Chapter 17: Stress Tested

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 1: A Stable Life

Mornings always come too early, "but at least my night's over." I sighed and gently blew the steam from my drink. Next to me sat a small box with simple ribbon, a present for my mom. A tradition of ours. This slow morning being the anniversary of when our stable locked down exactly one hundred and fifty years ago.

The atrium, being a large open space, could accommodate the majority of the ponies here. I sat patiently and watched the ponies go about their morning routines. My ears twitched at the stray hearty laughter that cuts through the silence. Several ponies, I'd noticed, were preparing for the day's festivities, Unpacking familiar looking streamers, signs, banners and balloons. Off to another corner were a few of the foals from the daycare who were making arts and crafts projects on the floor of the atrium while their caregivers talked happily over their own breakfasts.

A busy morning for sure, I thought warmly as I lifted the coffee in my magic and took a good drink. Its warmth settled in my belly and I couldn't help a little sigh of gratified glee.

Just then a flash of magic filled my vision and my heart leapt into my throat, preventing more than a squeak of surprise. A light blue mare with an ebony mane appeared in the seat across from me wearing her medical coat, she blinked her vivid violet eyes at me and began to snicker into a raised hoof.

My magic had faltered, dropping my cup back to the table with a resounding thunk. It bounced and rolled, spilling the fresh drink between us. "Thanks, mom." I gasped with a cough, pressing a hoof to my chest. "You can have me as your next open heart patient." I grumbled.

Levitating a dirty grease rag from my saddlebag, I tried to clean it up. I only succeeded in pushing the mess around and mixing grease into it. Frustratedly wringing out the towel, I opted to move down a few seats.

Mom wiped a tear away with the back of her sleeve. She gave a resoundingly high sigh and moved down a seat as well. Waving her hooves before her, she sputtered, "I'm sor-... It's just th-..." she inhaled sharply, followed by smaller giggles and snorts. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. I saw you taking that drink just as the spell triggered! I couldn't stop it." She gave another light-hearted sigh and just smiled with big violet eyes.

I stood somberly and started back toward the café, feeling a little foolish. My cheeks surely reflected that. My mom teleported in-step next to me, "Come on now, Glimmer Stone, this isn't the day for pouting. You'll see."

Looking over, I was met by her eyes… There was a hint of sadness there. Some emotion she couldn't express. I just can't put a hoof on it. "Mom, you okay?"

That look, that foggy glower vanished as she blinked. "I'm fine. It's just you're not that little filly anymore." She answered, dodging the question. We came to the line that led up to the café window and moved forward as the pair before us received their purchase and left.

"Back for more already, Glimmer Stone?" The large light green stallion with a light blue mane behind the counter asked cheerfully. I rather pointedly looked away. Choosing to look at anything other than his smug grin.

My mom just gave a little snort while laughing beside me and answered for me. "Two coffees please. I'll also take a sunflower sandwich. I'll need a few napkins also; I spilt her coffee."

The stallion gave a short chuckle, "That'll be twelve bits, Silver Torrent."

A few moments later my mom levitated a coffee before me and I looked back at her, ignoring the stallion. "Thank you." I mumbled as I took the drink in my own magic.

Departing for our seats again, my mother bumped my rump with her own. "Don't be so grumpy! You know as well as I do that sulking won't fix anything.” Finding our seats; I offered her my gift.

Silver Torrent took the box between her hooves and her horn glowed a pale green. A very small, lightly wrapped package levitated out of her pocket and was placed in front of me. "Here's your gift, Glimmy. What's wrong with a little fun every now and again?” Her magic undid the ribbon and from the box she withdrew a small twelve ounce custom-made glass bottle with a dark amber liquid in it. She placed it back in the box. "Liquor?" She asked in a hushed tone.

A smile cross my lips, "no mom it's fresh pressed apple juice. I swear. It was hard to make."

Silver Torrent closed the box and moved it aside before taking a good drink of her coffee. She smiled but worked her jaw in thought. "Your turn, Sweetie."

I eyed her before opening the present. Her expression was soft but guarded and that threw me off a little… Inside the box sat an ornate silver locket. Levitating it out, I examined the piece; it was old, probably as old if not older than the Stable itself. I opened it and frowned. Nothing. There wasn't anything in it except an inscription on the inside of the lid, opposite where a photo could be placed.

"Be free with me. ~Glyph Stone" I read out loud. "Glyph Stone?" I asked curiously.

Silver Torrent's voice was lowered to a hushed whisper. "He's your father. He found that locket in a stockroom packaged with supplies. It was lost by someone long ago." She began to munch on her sandwich.

I tucked the locket away in my pocket and glanced around. My mind reeled with a depiction of who I'd have been if he were still here. It made me feel… sad? Maybe longful? "Wh- what was he like?" My voice hitched as I asked.

I watched the colorful ponies as they flowed into the atrium. The conversations and discussions became more numerous and indistinguishable, a consistent fog of words and sounds. My EFS or Eyes-Forward Sparkle had been turned off, but even still, I could assume the time to be nearing seven in the morning.

Silver Torrent finished off her sandwich and had just taken a drink of her coffee. "So how's talisman maintenance been?" She asked quizzically, pointedly ignoring yet another of my questions.

Giving a low groan and slumping on the table, hooves stretched wide. "It's been exhausting. There are always talismans going out and needing replaced. It surprises me that this facility can still support us after all these years down here. You'd be surprised too, although I am sorry for those maintenance ponies. It's a pretty shitty situation for them every now and then." I grumbled with my chin resting on the table top. Looking up at her for a long minute my thoughts about what kind of pony Glyph Stone could have been still sturred in my mind.

Finally I sat back up, if only for my coffee. I took a drink and continued, "It's tiring. Between the paperwork and the magic, there is the headache of trying to make absolutely sure I'm putting the right enchanted gem into the proper spot. Despite it all, my crew partner is the boss, so he just gives me a list and a pile of talismans that need replacing and sends me on my way. He prefers to do the enchantments and sit on his ass at his terminal."

She didn't react, opting to just sip on her coffee and smile. "Sweetie, just make sure you're making time for you. I know maintenance is difficult and that Stable 109 is slowly falling apart, but it's been this way since my mother was your age." She gave a wink and continued but a more remote look overtook her expression and her eyes softened with thoughts. "I had an old photo of your dad and I. Unfortunately I haven't had any luck finding it… I had wanted to somehow put it in that locket, but it looks like I won't have the time for that now. I think your dad kept it anyway, I haven't a clue where though."

Taking the locket out again, this time to give it a closer look, and enjoy the fine craftsmanship of the piece. “I wonder just how old it actually is then." Opening it, Be free with me. I kept rereading it. A sense of sadness surrounded it.

She used her magic to adjust a few things on her pipbuck before looking back up at me. She gave a weary gaze to the multitude of ponies around us now. Looking back at me she slouched a little and she gave me a small half-smile and some sad eyes. "I have to go get ready, it is a big day."

I sighed, knowing she wouldn't say anymore. She'd always been dodgy about him and that alone had nearly driven a wedge between us when I was younger. I levitated our trash for us and walked around the table to meet her. Our eyes met then we closed them in unison. She touched her horn to mine for a moment and I could feel the tingle of her magic like a warm blanket covering my body. I offered her some magic of my own in return. Only a moment passed before we rested our foreheads against one another. Sharing a laugh, as it was something we’d always done. It’s like a super duper special magical unicorn hug! Damnit. We separated and "Love you, Mom. Don't work too hard today.”

She gave a small tired sigh. "I love you too. Be sure you're back here for the events at five this evening. We can talk then. Please be early and don't sleep in!"

"I'll make sure to set an alarm this time, I promise." I answered. She gave a quick nod and disappeared in a poof of magic. My sight swept across the busy ponies all around the atrium. It was far too early for this kind of excitement and with that I started for the exit, dropping the trash in a bin on my way out. Trying to hurry was difficult, exhaustion was an enemy of mine right now.

I stopped by my room and changed out of my work outfit, went and hit the showers in the communal restrooms before making my way back to my room. Arriving at my door and levitating my keycard out, I placed it to the small panel next to the door. The light above it flashed green, and with a swoosh, the door split open and receded into the walls. I walked in and telekinetically turned my desk light on. More so out of habit. Finding the darn thing in the dark was impossible and turning on the main room light was entirely too bright.

Feeling the coffee still fueling my actions, despite the fogginess in my brain, I sat down and studied my copy of the Big Book of Arcane Sciences: Enchantments Edition. Flipping on the radio built into my pipbuck, I quickly found my favorite station. The stallions in broadcasting have a pretty solid selection of old wartime music and the stables had a few good voices come up over the years. Beyond nice waltzy music and some pretty cool industrialist tones, the variety is definitely welcomed.

I studied for a half-an-hour or so before my eyes refused to stay open and before passing out to drool all over another page; I decided to leave the book and dive into my bed. Using magic, I wrapped up comfortably and turned off the desk lamp I’d been using. I turned off the radio, turned on my alarm and fell asleep without even a chance to dream.

hr][

Waking up hours later from a dreamless sleep, I slowly unraveled myself and got into my standard stable outfit. Tapping my pipbuck, I turned my Eyes-Forward Sparkle on. I really do love how nifty these spells are. The clock that floated in the lower corner of my vision read a quarter past three. My E.F.S. also highlighted a few items around the room that I’d previously marked as important.

The E.F.S. also provided me with a compass and several other features I couldn't even begin to comprehend the functionality of. A giant yawn took priority just as I took to leaving my quarters.

First thought: Why so bright… I opened my eyes slowly to take in the dull blank walls lined by numbered doors. Quickly, I made my way toward the atrium. Sure, enough as I approached the doors to the atrium, the sound of festivities drowned out the echoes of my hoofsteps. I paused at the door, with a hoof against it. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before going in.

The music that captured the bulk of the ponies was a couple on the stage singing a duet. I couldn't see them from here but even I could recognize the angelic voices of Saffron Fluff and Ruby Bolt.

Damn it. Almost everypony must be here. Where are you Mom?

Staying close to the wall, I made my way through the crowd and struggled up the very full stairs to the upper floor. This is exactly why I stay in my room for these events!

"Hey! Glimmer Stone is that you?" a voice came from just behind me. I paused and turned toward the voice; it was Coffee Bean. He wasn’t dressed in his usual work attire, and I could see that his cutie mark was a chocolate cupcake with icing and coffee beans on top.

I could feel my heart rate raise and a fresh flush cross my cheeks as I spun around to fully face him. "Hey uh, Coffee Bean… You haven't seen Silver Torrent here anywhere, have you?"

He sat and rubbed his chin for a moment. "Can't say I have, I only just got here too."

I groaned internally and took to scanning the crowd again, "Well, I hope she finds me then."

He stepped up next to me and put his hooves up on the railing, giving the room a broad scan. "I'm not seeing her either." He shoved off the railing and sat again. "Want to get some lunch with me? I'm sure she'll come around soon."

Giving up and sitting down, my tail wrapped around my hooves automatically as I debated his offer. My face burned and then my stomach growled. My eyes immediately caught his, but he had no reaction to give beyond a grin. Thank Celestia he couldn't have heard it. Another growl roared from my belly as if punctuating its needs.

"Sure." I nodded and stood as he bounced to his hooves and spun to lead the way.

It took a good bit of time but we managed to find an open table and get food ordered. We just got some water and a couple veggie soup. While we waited, I chose to watch the ponies out in the atrium. Barely hearing Coffee's question, I turned my attention back to him. "What's up?" I asked as calmly as I could muster.

He gave a small huff, "Do you have issues with crowds? I've never seen you at one of these anniversary parties."

"I suppose I do. Gatherings like this have never been my scene." Looking back out at them all, "It's too much noise for me, besides that I'm usually asleep at this time of day."

"Oh! I didn't know you were working the night shift. All I'd known was that you were a part of the maintenance crew." He touched his hoof to his chin.

That pricked my ears and made them burn a bit. "Actually, I'm in Talisman Repair, but I suppose it is a maintenance branch. Either way, it's nothing exciting. If a talisman breaks the crew responsible for that section shuts it down and cleans up any mess made. I simply install the new one and repair the old one."

Our soups arrived just then, the waitress giving him a curt nod and levitated both bowls down in front of us. "Two bowls of vegetable soup for a lovely new couple. Enjoy the festivities!" She spoke so quickly I couldn't give a proper retort! She just gave me a wink before leaving us be.

I didn't care though, "We're not a couple!" I shouted at her causing quite a few heads to swivel my way. I quickly slouched on my chair and looked at Coffee Bean. He wasn't smiling anymore and was just looking around at all that had turned to us. "I just lost my appetite." I admitted quietly.

He looked back at me, "Couldn't just leave that one be, could you?"

"Sorry, it just came out. I didn't mean-"

"Didn't mean what? I know this isn't a date and I’m not here to try and court you. I know you haven't that many friends here and wanted to be just that for you: A friend. Thanks for the embarrassment though." With that he picked up his spoon and began eating as silence fell across our tiny table.

Crap. I've gotta make this right somehow… but how? I pondered on that as I began to eat the soup, he'd bought me.

As I dwelled on that, he and I finished eating in silence as the rest of the restaurant carried on merrily. Finally, he stood up and walked part way around the table. "Did you hear the announcement from our Overmare earlier today?"

I stood and cocked my head. "No?" was all I could muster up.

"You must have been asleep." He started toward the door, making me catch up with him. "Apparently there will be a big announcement made today. I'm not too sure about it though."

Checking the time, it read four forty-five. Reentering the atrium's crowd just made me all the more miserable, then a silver mare appeared before me, and I fell back onto my haunches in surprise.

It was my mother. "Aren't you two just the cutest pair in the room! I've been looking forward to seeing this since you were both just tiny tots." She sat back and excitedly clapped her hooves together. Grinning like that was a rare thing for her, so I chose not to fight it this time.

After looking over at Coffee Bean, I knew it was the better option because he just smiled wholeheartedly at her. Turning to me he had to state the obvious. "Told you she'd find you."

"Yeah, she's good at that." I said as I stood back up. Giving her a better look, I could see she was wearing her stable outfit under her lab coat and was sporting a pair of saddlebags over it all. "Mom, what's with the getup? Saddlebags?"

Her grin immediately died, and a somberness overtook it. "Come closer, both of you."

We did so, her horn gave a soft glow before all three of us were teleported to her living quarters. I hadn't been here in a long time, it was kept very tidy, even the bed was made, but it also felt somewhat empty with a few boxes under her bed.

"What's going on?" Coffee Bean asked.

Silver Torrent sat as her horn gave a glow again, one of the boxes moved forward. "I've been requested for a mission by our Overmare. They need a medical professional just in case things don't go as planned. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, but I've never been one to just follow the rules." she paused and began digging through the box. Things were caught in her magical grasp as she tossed them aside.

With a little whinny, she held up a book between her hooves and held it out to me. "It's your father's journal. He kept a lot of notes in all aspects of his life and studies. I've read it many times."

Taking the book, I opened it to the front page. In its center was his name and a quote I read out loud. "By the grace of Celestia, Luna guides the lost." I couldn't understand it and just chose not to dwell on it either. Flipping pages, I could see a steady improvement in legibility of his writing.

"Sweetheart, look in the back cover." My mother instructed with a sort of urgency I hadn't expected.

I gave a nod and flipped the pages forward. In the back taped to the binding was a larger photograph of Silver Torrent sitting close beside a zebra. Both their black tails entwined in between them.

I slammed the book shut and dropped it. My heart was slamming in my chest and the room spun around me. Anything that was said sounded distant and echoey. Feeling myself fall to one side I was quickly caught by a pair of light green hooves.

My senses returned a moment later as it sank in. Several emotions swirled around within me… I felt angry and betrayed, confused and uncertain about everything all of a sudden. "Is that true? Was that him? Am I really part Zebra!? What am I then?!" I hadn't realized it, but Silver Torrent had gone from sitting to lying on her belly with her hooves over her eyes.

Too loud. I thought.

Tears were now bubbling up and my anger poured like a faucet. Great, now I'm crying. Is she crying too?

No one spoke for a moment. I could feel my rage subside a little as I watched my mother wipe away tears as she sat back up and looked off at a corner of the floor.

I need answers! "Now!" I shouted without another thought. Her eyes snapped to mine and her body went rigid.

She started, paused and stammered then Coffee Bean stepped between us with a heavy pair of hoof stomps. He stared at me hard and it destroyed my anger. "Stop it." He said in a calm indoor voice. "You have to be willing to listen. I can see this hurts you and you probably feel betrayed, but anger isn't helpful."

Silence was all I could give, but it seemed to be the answer he wanted. Coffee took two steps back and sat down watching my moms' reaction. I followed his gaze back to Silver Torrent.

She gave a sigh. "It was a young love. We both worked in the medicine field, so we had a lot of run ins throughout the years. We eventually started sneaking between floors to see one another, mostly just to play games and talk…"

She briefly paused in thought. When neither of us spoke, she continued "We fell in love, and it's my fault for it. He was just too good for me. However, it was then and still is taboo for any interactions, much less what we'd had. Then you came along, just as tensions were rising between floors."

I couldn't speak. I wanted to hug her, but something held me back. I didn't want to listen anymore. I didn't want to know anymore. She continued, "Ever since you were born, I've never told anyone here who fathered you."

I looked down at the fallen journal. A thing I had only just been excited to hold. Picking it up again, I looked at the photo again. Looking closer at Silver Torrent, she appeared much younger, probably close to my age now.

She looked happy. "I look exactly like you here," I finally said, trying to find some sense of understanding. The zebra next to her was handsome here, but it was just so jarring to me in this context.

"I loved him, and I miss him every day," Silver Torrent said, having closed the gap between us. "I'm sorry, Glimmer Stone."

Coffee Bean had to butt in, "So you're saying she's a hybrid? What would happen to her if other ponies knew?"

Silver Torrent gave a nod. "Yes, she is, and they would have her killed for it. However, because of this mission, there's a chance I won't come back. The Overmare's sending a team through the teleporter to the M.A.S tower above. Chances are that my daughter will be discovered within a month or two after I'm gone."

"The Ministry of Arcane Science?" Coffee Bean asked. "I don't see how dangerous that place would be. Besides structural issues, I can't imagine this being a no return trip."

"I can't go into details, but it would seem that is probably not the case. The Overmare has some limited access to the tower, and we don't know what will happen or how long it will take." She gave a small sigh. "The Overmare will explain more later at the event, I'd imagine."

Reality just overhauled my life, "How would anyone find out about me?"

"Look, it doesn't matter. You will have to leave here within a week. I want you to log my pipbuck tag." She held up her forehoof and magicked to the menu.

I gave a nod, raised my roof and found the menu. Within a few moments our pipbucks were matched and her name and tag number appeared on my screen. "Why should I leave anyway, it's not like anyone will find out what I am."

"They will find out. The Overmare and Security Chief don't expect us to come back from this mission and beyond that, they've been investigating me since your birth." She paused and pulled me into a hug, speaking more quietly. "You are what they don't want here and when they finally put the last pieces together, you'll have no time to react. Get ahead of it, use that master maintenance keycard of yours and follow my instruction."

Coffee Bean spoke up, "I'll do whatever I can to help. I've always wondered what it'd be like up there. I always wondered what the sky looked like."

I paused and gave Coffee Bean a questionable look, "you sure?"

Giving me a slow steady nod he answered again, "Yep! I want to help you however I can. This is important and when my dad told me he was leaving the stable, I knew something was up."

My mom suddenly jumped to her hooves. "We've got to go. I'm late."

I scooped up the journal in my magic and put it in a pocket while she shoved the box of stuff back in place. We grouped together and she teleported us all back to the atrium.

"Just know that I love you with all my heart." She gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Please keep each other safe."

She disappeared in a flash of magic. I turned to Coffee Bean and gave him a small nod. My body was feeling numb, and my head began to ache. The crowd around us did not pay us any mind though, the music still captivated its audience. Coffee Bean guided the way toward the wall, and we started toward the stage.

We found a spot where we could see the ponies who sang just as they ended their song on a high note. After a few bows they moved off stage and the Overmare took center stage.

Seeing the small orange pony on stage, her curly mane and tail bounced as she trotted. Using her magic, she lowered the microphone to her height. Silence filled the room as she cleared her throat. "Hello everyone! This year is a very special year as it is our one hundred and fiftieth anniversary!"

A roar of cheers rose up from the crowd and after it died back down, she continued. "Now, I have been in a tedious process of managing our resources and it has come to my attention that the M.A.S tower above us has resources we are in need of procuring. Beyond that, the tower provides our stable with a few essential utilities. Those machines are beginning to fail and are in need of repairs. So, I have put together a team that will be the first ponies to leave this Stable in order to gather necessities and make the required repairs."

As she concluded, a group of six ponies stepped up onto the stage. I watched them line up on either side of our Overmare. “These ponies have been selected for their talents in their respective fields." She paused and motioned them to her right. "Emerald Carrot and Rust Bracket." I watched them both give bows and stand tall with pride.

"Vivid Glare and Espresso Cream, two magnificent security ponies that have never let me down." They both moved forward and bowed before stepping back in place beaming with excitement in their security barding.

“From Medical and Electrical Maintenance, we have Silver Torrent and Flash Sprocket, both of which have always exceeded expectations. All six of these ponies have agreed to take on this momentous task for the sake of our Stable. May Luna guide your hoofsteps and keep you all safe in the unknowns ahead." With that murmurs rippled throughout the crowd, but cheers began to rise from the gathering.

I turned to look at Coffee Bean. "Isn't Espresso Cream your dad?"

"Yes, he is…" He answered solemnly. "He and I have already talked about this event, and he shares the same sentiment your mom does."

"I see." Giving him a sudden hug made his entire body turn to jelly as he shakily wrapped his hooves around me in reciprocation. "When do we leave?"

Regaining his composure, "How about three days from now?"

"That'll work, I have a task or two to address. Be sure to be ready." I sighed and we broke our embrace. This all just hurts too much… and now the Stable itself is my enemy.

We watched the mission team depart the stage following the Overmare then took our own leave.

Footnotes:
Perk Unlocked: Zony Insight
You're part Zebra! Who would’ve known?
+2 Agility and +1 Intellect

Chapter 15: The Friends We Keep

Xeyal hit the ground before any of us could reach her. I could hear Shade shout something to his brother but my own heartbeat in my ear drowned out all other noise. As I approached my friend, I could see the damage done. It made my veins run cold and my stomach lurched.

"No! Nonononono, NO!" I must have changed colors because both of the brothers were looking at me as I panicked. I couldn't take my eyes from Xeyal, she was on her side and blood gushed from a hole just above her collar bone. Her mouth was open and moved as if she were trying to speak while her eye was locked on me. I crouched so I could speak to her more quietly. "Don't worry, Xeyal. We… We're gonna save you. You're going to be okay."

Sunny and Shade were standing close beside me, "We have to get somewhere safe right now!" Sunny shouted as he looked around vigilantly.

I ignored him and watched as Xeyal's eye rolled upward and her eyelid half closed. "No…" I told her. "You have to stay with us! I won't let you die yet!" With that I looked up at the Shade who had been watching this play out. My mind reeled with memories and the one that stuck in my mind was seeing Xeyal asleep on my bed. A heat began to spread through me, it started at my hooves and in my horn before consuming me.

"Shimmer? Are you okay?" Shade asked me. A moment barely passed as I felt my magic focus, making my horn glow with multiple layers. tendrils of dust began circling my hooves as I stood up straight. I felt possessed as tears flowed freely down my cheeks. Another layer of lavender magic overlayed my horn and the dust turned into a whirlwind that encircled myself, Xeyal and the bewildered brothers.

The sound of another bullet cracked the air just as the spell triggered. Something hit the back of my head just as the whirlwind turned to a magical light that rapidly rotated around the four of us. Darkness enveloped me and the wind had stopped as I fell against a carpeted floor. My magic spent and my head throbbing with a trickling tingle right between my ears.

Someone shouted.

It all sounded so distant…

They argued and I fell asleep with a lofty… floaty feeling.

I stood at the door leading into maintenance. I still hadn't found my cutie mark despite trying a variety of different jobs Stable 109 had to offer. I was told I wasn't cut out to be in medical, security, or daily services. I stood there lost in my thoughts when the door opened and a really old unicorn smiled at me.

He gave his short white beard a stroke with one hoof as he studied me. "You must be that pesky little blank flank that I'm supposed to tutor."

I wanted to curse at him, but I held it in and chose to examine my hooves. I felt his hoof on my shoulder. "No worries, little missy. How good are you with magic?"

Looking up at him, he wore a wide friendly smile. "Follow me, I've a test for you."

The elderly unicorn turned and guided me past a few different work stations. I could see dismantled pipbucks in a few stations, then a door that read Pipbuck Repair Lead. Passing by that was another section of workstations that I could guess were dedicated to maintaining other miscellaneous equipment and devices.

"What does everypony do here?" I asked sheepishly.

"This is where we bring anything that needs repaired. We fix everything from the showerheads to the keycard readers. If it breaks, we fix it."

That was the obvious answer. I shrugged it off since I didn't know if I would even be staying here. I'd probably learn about all that in time if I did.

"Now no need for you to fret on those spots, because you're going to be working with me in Talisman Maintenance. Our job is the most critical role in this stable." He smiled as he unlocked one of the side rooms.

'Talismans' was written above the door. Inside were a few workstations, gemstones of all sorts were scattered across one of the desks. Another one had books piled high on it, next to that one were bookcases and most of the shelves held everything but books. Only the bottom two shelves were dedicated to books. The room had a couple additions that made it feel like a living space. Against one wall was a sink and beside it on a countertop sat a hot pad with a pot on it.

"Do me a favor and levitate the heaviest object in this room." He spoke with a whimsical tone, having turned around while I had been distracted.

I sat and scanned the room, stopping on the bookcases. Thinking again, I focused my magic on a couch that sat against the wall. It made me sweat, but I managed to bring it to us. I jumped up on it and sat with triumph.

"Okay." He stated taking a seat in front of the couch. We were now eye level with one another. "Now show me your favorite spell." He smiled a genuine smile. "I'll show you mine if you do."

I thought about that. Then I smiled and telekinetically turned off the lights. After that I focused on it and produced a little bubble of white light that floated before me. "I found it in a textbook once and thought it could be useful, even if it's just a reading light." I said then giggled a little and let it pop into tiny sparks before turning the lights back on.

He just smiled. "You'll do well here. Now let me show you what my spell is." His horn gave off a glow that layered upon itself, A ball of magic poofed into existence between us and expanded until it surrounded him and I. He gave me a smile, "just watch." The walls of the spell solidified in a brilliant yellow light before changing to show a green grassy field. It stretched across the floor and I could feel a breeze blow through my hair, as if it were real. The walls turned to blue skies with fluffy clouds quietly adrift and hills hiding distant mountains and forests. Off to our left, I could see a road, it was leading into a town and a sign that read "Welcome to Ponyville'' stood not far from us. This was an incredible spell.

The old pony chuckled, "Unfortunately, it works like a photograph. It can't be moved and we can't explore." He let the spell go and the sunny day dissipated.

"What's your name, anyway?" I asked him.

"Oh, no one told you? I'm Cornius Cob, head of maintenance."

My dreams were interrupted as reality reminded me of my headache. Why does my head hurt? What happened? My eyes… I couldn't open them. Panic made my heart rate increase and I could hear it. Not internally but because a machine somewhere nearby was beeping in time with my heart rate.

I tried again to open my eyes. It wasn't happening. I tried to move my hooves, but that didn't work either. Come to think of it, I couldn't even feel them or whatever I laid on. My panic made the machine go wild, which in turn triggered a higher pitch sound. I heard a frenzy of voices and moving bodies, felt a pinch on my neck and my panic ebbed away. I wasn't about to fall asleep again, but now I needed to know… "What… the… hell…happ-?" My voice sounded deep and sluggish around the tubes that were shoved down my throat.

"Don't try to speak." said a mare to my ear, "You suffered a traumatic injury, but we're doing everything we can to fix you and your friend. Relax and get some rest."

With that, I did as she said and let the fog of sleep roll over me once again.

I found myself standing at the window of my room in the Heights, except the glass was gone and fog flowed between the buildings below me. The wind howled against the cold concrete and off in the distance I heard something howl to the wind. It sounded painful, as if whatever it were had been in agony. Another howl rose from somewhere else followed by the sounds of explosions accompanied by a distant tower collapsing. I could see the smoke and dust and debris fly up around it as its collapse disbursed the fog like a wave between the streets.

I stepped forward and looked straight down the side of the building. It didn't scare me. At the bottom of the wall I stood on, below the thick obscuring fog, were thousands of yellow eyes glowing up at me. The faintest sounds of ghoulish growls echoed up from them. The whole street was packed and I couldn't look away.

A gust of wind hit me from the front, forcing me to take a step back into my room. The force of the wind being pushed back out from behind me carried me off my hooves and out into the open air. My heart leapt and I screamed for all my lungs could muster, but that was drowned out by the rushing air as I plunged into the ground.

As soon as the fog wrapped around me…

I jerked awake again, my heart racing, thankfully though, this time my right eye opened and I didn't have tubes lodged in my face. Okay, starting off good… I took in my surroundings the best I could. I found myself wrapped up in a blanket on a medical bed in a well kept and clean hospital room. I was still hooked up to some machines and an IV drip.

I groaned and felt a flourishing pain behind my left eye. My head continued to pulse with a dull headache. The lights were bright and unyielding and the steady beeping of the monitor was too loud. "Hello?" I said as loud as I could, "anyone around?" No response came back, So i tried again, "Hello!" I shouted, my voice cracked and caught in my dried throat.

I pensively held my breath, trying not to cough as the dry air tickled my throat. A zebra mare wearing a doctor's coat opened the door and walked in. "Oh, you've awoken, how are you feeling?"

"My head hurts a lot. Wait…" Zebra doctor? Clean medical room? "Am I in Stable 109?"

"Yes, that you are, Ms. Stone. Do you not know how you came to be here?" Her accent made me think of Xeyal, her voice held a much lighter tone that I found pleasantly calming.

I couldn't remember. Last thing I could recall was seeing Xeyal launch that robot into the sky. So, I shook my head.

The mare went about turning a chair and took to sitting beside me. "As expected. You were shot in the back of the head, luckily the bullet passed through your brain and exited through your left eye socket, which minimized damage."

A hollow panic tried to wail up inside me but with a deep breath; I quailed it. I didn't see the point in overreacting to what's already happened. It can't be changed now.

"You and your friends were found in your room. From my understanding, you teleported here."

A comforting numbness overtook me. I saved us? "How long have we been here?"

"You've been asleep for nearly a week and thanks to your mother and some experimental medical magic, we were able to keep you alive and repair the damage to your brain and skull, but we aren't sure what affects you will suffer. Healing magic can only do so much. Xeyal was already healed by your friends who found help for you. They had administered healing potions and a chemical cocktail to you both. We aren't entirely sure what all they had used, but it seemed to have stabilized you both."

"What's Xeyal's condition, is she still on bed rest?" I asked, confident that she lived, but I still needed to know it.

"She has been doing well. She recovered quickly and was released the day before last." The doctor took out a small flashlight, about the size of a pen. "Follow the light with just your eye." She shined the light in my eye and moved it from side to side and I did as she asked. "Good, good." She put the flashlight away in a quick flick of her wrist. "Now, are you able to move your limbs?

I raised a hoof out from under the cover and waved at her. "Looks like it," I told her. "Other than this headache, I feel fine."

She turned to the countertop behind her and wrote something down on her clipboard before turning back to me. "Any feeling of numbness or prickly feeling in your hooves, back, mane or tail?"

I looked at my forehoof, I didn't feel any painful prickly feeling. I bit my foreleg and felt it. No, I still had feelings then. "Neither, I feel fine."

The doctor nodded. "Okay, can you sit up?"

I did as she asked with some concentrated effort. It left me a little winded, but I managed to sit up right and pull my hindlegs under me. "Good work." She told me as she walked around my bed. She proceeded to remove the tubes and wires from me. "This may hurt a little," was all she said before pulling the IV from my leg. I flinched in pain, but managed to hold still for her. She pressed a wad of gauze against the spot and bandage wrapped it in place. With that she began cleaning up as she spoke to me. "Do not try to stand. We have food ready for you and a nurse will come in shortly with it and a wheelchair."

Once the zebra finished and left, It was just me and my thoughts. So now what, Shimmer? What do I do now… Shot in the head, surely I should be dead. I blinked my eye and looked around the room the best I could. Nothing in the room really stood out. Beside my bed was a small table and on it was a book. I tried to use my magic but that just made my head hurt twice over.

I leaned over and picked it up and read the cover. "Wasteland Survival Guide, written by Ditzy Doo" I opened it and began reading while I waited.

It hadn't been very long before that nurse came in with food and a wheelchair. The nurse placed the chair beside the bed and my food tray on the bed in front of me. She didn't talk to me since I chose to keep my eyes busy.

I was wheeled into Sweet Beets office by my mom. She had filled me in on the happenings since I had last been home. It was just the three of us and as we entered Sweet Beets looked up from her oversized metal desk. "Oh! Welcome Silver Torrent. Hello, Shimmer Stone. I'm happy you've awakened. So, down to business then, you had a caravan visit us. I met with Amethyst Smoke and after some detailing, we worked out a beneficial deal with the Heights. They left several days ago with a few ponies who were interested in working with them, some of the guards that were with them stayed here in case of another Steel Ranger attack."

I wasn't even listening. Okay; I was listening, but I didn't care about the caravaning and trade deals. "I'm happy to hear it work out." My utter lack of enthusiasm must have been pretty obvious because both of them gave me a pitiful look. "What?" I asked.

Silver Torrent gave me a small sympathetic look, "Shimmer, we have spoken with Xeyal about what the Heights are like, but we would also like your recount of your time there."

Giving an exasperated sigh. "Do we really have to? I'm getting tired of recounting this shit." When the two of them neglected to answer me. I rolled my eyes, "Fine, here y'go."

It took us a few hours to go over everything that had happened. Apparently, my tale gave them information they were needing such as the exchange rate of bits to caps and the extent of just how much power the Heights probably wielded. "I, for one, don't trust them," the Overmare told me.

"I've got my reservations for them too." I told her. "I'm not sure exactly what it was, but something felt off."

Sweet Beets had her hooves set against each other under her chin. "Thank you for your services, please go eat and get some more rest." She smiled at me as I was dismissed.

"Alright, time for us to go," mom told me. She stood, went over and opened the door. Silver's magic gripped the handles of my chair and started to turn me around and out the door we went with her leading the way. Once the door closed behind us, she looked over her shoulder, "Your strength should come back in a day or so. Also, try not to scratch at your eye as the socket heals."

I slowly put my hoof back down before I could start rubbing at my bandaged eye. That earned me a smile, a real smile. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd last seen that smile from her. She seemed genuinely happy for the first time in a very long time. I couldn't resist the urge to return the smile, in spite of how hollow I felt.

She wheeled me down to my room and stopped at the door. "Before we go in, you need to know that janitorial hasn't been able to clean the mess up."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" I inquired as my stomach tightened.

She looked at me and grimaced, "Your room looks like a homicide scene."

I gulped as she opened my door and turned on the light before rolling me in. The tan carpeting of my room had a massive red stain with three spots where the blood had pooled under Xeyal and myself, leaving indentations in the bloody mess. There was also a thick spray of blood that painted the wall between my desk and bed. A bullet and chunks of me were scattered across the floor leading up to that wall.

The sight of it made my stomach lurch. My bed and desk were speckled by the blast too and I could see a dint in the metal wall where the bullet hit. The thick smell of the blood filled the room and it only served to make me gag on it. "Mom?"

"It's a lot, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" I paused, the scene sinking in. Both Xeyal and I were dead. There's no doubt that we should have been dead. "Were you one of the first responders?"

"I was."

"We were breathing, right?"

She sighed and hesitated before answering me. "No."

I was still shell-shocked. The image of my blood and brains… my eye was probably blown to pieces amongst that mess… I couldn't not think about it. Silver had taken me up to the atrium while Xeyal brought the brothers to meet with me. Seeing Sunny Ember and Daring Shade helped solidify the reality of my situation, and depression be damned if I would show it.

When the two of them approached, it was Sunny who made the first joke. Because of course he would. "I guess you could say we kept an eye out for ya." When no one laughed and I simply looked away from him, he took the hint. "Look… I mean. Seeing as… Shit! Shade, do the talking, please?"

"You've always been the talker, you can handle this." His smile gave me a little something to smile for. He turned to me when his brother reluctantly looked away, choosing to watch the ponies and zebras go about their day. "He just doesn't do well with grief. Look, I don't know how you managed it, but that teleport spell saved all of us."

"I still died." I told him flatly.

Shade's eyes didn't leave mine, his steadied gaze, warm and friendly with his voice. "Yet here you are. You saved your friend and got us out of a sticky situation."

His brother on the other hoof, completely derailed the sentiment. "Heh," he laughed, "sticky situations." He spoke a bit louder when he noticed us all looking at him, "I've seen some shit, but that's the first time I've ever been noped out of a situation like that."

Daring Shade gave a nod, "Yup. We've made some incredible escapes, but this one jumps toward the top. It doesn't beat that time we narrowly avoided a balefire bomb just north of Old Appleloosa." He nudged Sunny, "Do you remember that one?"

"How could I ever forget?" He responded. "Being as drunk as I was made that so much easier to endure. That poor distillery."

"I'm still surprised your tail grew back after that." Shade told him with a chuckle. He then looked back to me, "So, this stable is a hundred times better than any of the others we've stumbled through."

Silver Torrent and Xeyal shared the same befuddled expression while I slapped my forehead with a hoof. Silver Torrent was the first to respond and true to her scientific mind, she asked an actually legitimate question. “You two are quite adventurous; what other stables have you come across?”

Sunny Ember and Shade shared a glance at one another. Shade lifted his hooves in a shrug, so Sunny looked back to Silver and answered. “Well, excluding this stable, we’ve been to stable 66, stable 96 and stable 28. They weren’t what we expected. Stable 66 was a smaller stable and was all dead when we found it still closed up tight.”

Shade chimed in, “When we finally found a way in, we found that the stable was still powered. After reading the files on the Overseer’s terminal, that’s how we learned of what really happened there. Apparently, this stable was what’s known as a control stable which means it was used for a specific experiment. This stable was rigged to flood the air ducts with a hallucinogenic gas every night to induce nightmares and study the different types of dreams they all experienced.” He paused for a moment, “Wasn’t Stable 96 the one with the mares and the sacrifices of stray bucks?”

Sunny nodded, “Yup, it was. That stable had an altar of some kind under the Overseer’s desk. Apparently the stable was closed for eighty years before opening up. It was ninety mares and ten bucks and once a year a pony needed to be sacrificed to maintain something. I don’t think it was actually required though, they were doing as they were told so a lottery would be held, expecting mothers would be excluded. Now though, they all bein’ crazy in there.”

Daring coughed, “They’re the healthiest raiders I know of, thank goodness that’s back on the west coast. Stable 28 was just sad though.”

Sunny nodded his agreement. “That’s true. Stable 28 was… sad.”

“Why?” Xeyal asked with genuine curiosity. Her hooves were laid across the table as she leaned in. “Was it another experiment?”

Daring sighed, “Uh-huh, that it was. See Stable 28 only had twenty ponies in it when it locked down. The stable wasn’t equipped with water at all. The only food that was available was from a material reprocessor meant to repurpose personal waste, however the machine requires water. Above that though, them assholes in StableTec thought it would be funny to fully stock this stable with nothing but alcohol and packaged shortcakes.”

Sunny must have seen the surprise the three of us shared because he whinnied softly, “It’s true. We walked outta there with a cart loaded with probably thirty or forty cases of drink.”

Daring added, “The fancy buck cakes were all eaten and according to the diaries we came across, it got pretty nasty down there.” He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “The stable’s computer system was rigged to prevent any override code on the main door.” He sighed again, “and apparently after only a month or so, these drunk forsaken folks were killin’ one another.”

“Yeah, it was pretty fucked. The ones who did the killings were eating and drinking from their victims.” Sunny seemed physically sickened by the thought. “Those diaries were pretty hard to read.”

Xeyal excused herself from the table, opting to just leave the conversation while mom and I shared a look of disgust. Silver looked back to the brothers. “You mean StableTec knowingly rigged a stable to become cannibalistic and fueled by alcohol?”

Daring held up a hoof, “Not really, I wanted more answers. I did some exploring and found that while the stable didn’t have water, it was because no one actually turned it on from the outside.”

“They never turned the main valve on? That’s a horrendous oversight!” I almost shouted it in my shock. All those ponies just gone, like that, over something stupid!

Silver Torrent turned to see where Xeyal had gone. “Excuse me,” she told us quickly before getting up and following after her. This left just the brothers and I at the table. “So, I have to ask this…” I started strong, but my voice hitched in my throat. I gulped and as I continued, I found my voice to be much softer and unsteady, I couldn’t fix that so I pushed through. “How bad was it… whe-when we got-t here…”

Daring and Sunny gave me looks loaded with sympathy. Neither of them spoke and that silence infuriated me to no end. “How bad is it?”

“Well… I…” Sunny started but abruptly stopped.

“We uh… you’re…” Daring tried but couldn’t find his voice either.

“Damnit, just spit it out!” I screamed unintentionally. Fear drove me and I didn’t care if literally everyone looked at us. Tears flooded my left eye, “Celestia damnit, tell me!”

“Shimmer.” came my mothers voice from beside me. I hadn’t noticed her and Xeyal’s return… all my focus was on them. She telekinetically turned my wheelchair and pulled me into a hug after flipping my wheel lock. “You’ll always be my beautiful daughter and nothing will ever change that.”

I simply weeped into her shoulder, letting my emotions out. It was an ugly sob, but I just didn’t care.

It had taken three more days before I was able to walk on my own. My magic was still burnt and I couldn’t focus even a flicker of a spell without it resulting in a thrumming headache. I had gathered everything of mine from my room and moved it to a storage spot in my mothers’ room. The maintenance crew was tasked to take the room apart, removing the carpet entirely before refurbishing everything else. I hate this anticipation…

Xeyal had offered to join me for this. The two of us were on our way up to medical to get my bandages removed and I suspected that my mane would be greasy and gross. At least, that’s how I was keeping myself in check. Neither of us chose to speak as the tension that pierced the air around me was potent. So potent that it felt like anyone we passed had to stop and stare at me.

I tried to ignore them, but hearing their whispers of my feats had made me well known to those around me. I heard one pair of mares whispering, “That’s her?”

“Yeah, I think so? Wasn’t she shot in the head?”

“Think she’s like those ghouls up above? How else would she still be alive?”

Neither of us stopped to answer them, I didn’t acknowledge them at all, opting to stare at the floor in front of my hooves. It was clean. No garbage or debris to accidentally kick or trip on, I was about to see my face. I was already finding it difficult to keep my strut straight…

Xeyal’s voice penetrated my anxiety. “Do not fret, Shimmer. Regardless of what has happened, you have lived through it and that is what matters. We have survived and I thank you for that.”

I locked eyes with her as we walked side-by-side. Her voice had a soothing tone to it and that comforted me more than anything. We’d been through a lot together. We came to a stop outside the door leading into the atrium on the second floor. “Thank you, Xeyal. You really are awesome.”

She gave a smile and opened the door for me. The atrium was as busy as usual, I could spot a few new faces, probably the reinforcements from the Heights. From my blind side came a familiar yellow buck who nearly gave me a heart attack. "Hey Shimmer! I've been trying to catch you ever since you woke up, how are you feeling? I've heard some pretty wild stories, is it true?"

"Wooh!" I sat back on my haunches with a hoof against my chest. "Luna's love, you scared me. Coffee Bean, can you slow down some and try that again, we're on our way to medical, can you come with?"

He gingerly took a step to my left, "Sure, and I'm going to guess you're not doing alright… Right?"

"Right," Xeyal told him for me. The three of us started moving again. "She's having the bandages removed, so please be supportive."

You shouldn't have to point that out, Xeyal. I gave off a small but sharp exhale through my nostrils. They hadn't noticed it and if they had, they didn't make it known. My pace had quickened, leaving both of them to keep up with me. I could feel the sweat building under my coat, I wasn't sure if it was all the eyes on me or the speed at which I was now going. My quickened walk had become a wannabe gallop as I reached the upper floor and I hastily made my way to the doors that would lead me to the medical wing.

I got through the door as fast as I possibly could. In the empty hallway, I skidded to a halt and took to sitting with my hoof over my good eye. My head and heart were pounding in sync leaving me searching for a way to calm myself. I took to breathing deeply, I hadn’t noticed my friends catching up behind me. Both of them came walking around me as I sat there, in the center of the hall. Coffee Bean and Xeyal sat before me and while neither spoke, I could feel them there… That helped me a lot. I put my hoof down and stood back up. One last big breath, “Okay!” I said as I exhaled. “Let’s go see how ugly I am.”

Footnote:
Level Up! Lv.12
Feat Unlocked: Friendship’s Magic
You gain +20 DT when protecting an injured ally.
Allies have +10 DT when protecting you.
“Friendship is magic”
Feat Unlocked: Limit Breaker
+2 Spell slots
You can now cast advanced spells.
+20% more magic
“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”