Fallout: Equestria - Operation Killjoy

Chapters

Chapter 2: Entanglement
Chapter 3: Appeal
Chapter 4: Carcass
Chapter 5: Tunnels
Chapter 6: Refractions
Chapter 7: Gateways
Chapter 8: Silence
Chapter 9: Gears
Chapter 10: Connections
Chapter 11: Standstill
Chapter 12: Obsession
Chapter 13: Unseen
Chapter 14: Rot
Chapter 15: Priorities
Chapter 17: Purpose
Chapter 18: Escalation
Chapter 19: Abandon
Chapter 20: Remorse
Chapter 21: Conviction
Chapter 22: Endure
Chapter 23: Connected
Epilogue
Chapter 1: Premonition
Chapter 16: Interlinked

Chapter 2: Entanglement

“If you’d tell me that every life is a road and the junctions are where we meet, then I would rather end up in a ditch.”

Shibboleth would lead them up north. The small group of ponies wandered for hours through the desolate landscape that was unfolding in front of them the further they traversed until they wandered through a dead forest. The night’s frost crunched under their hooves and the cold winds soon began to pierce through their clothes. Even Midnight felt his body beginning to freeze.

It wouldn’t be until very late that same night that they arrived at Shibboleth’s shelter. At this point Fade lost all hope for a safe and warm place to spend the night, seeing as their shelter was nothing more but an old, run down roadside diner. Its big window panels were shattered, the inside of the place was thoroughly looted and even the wiring leading to the neon sign was torn out.

“Will we rest… here?” Key asked and couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“Uh… Yes, I’m sorry dear, I know it's cold… But tomorrow we will go straight to Edmareton.” Shibboleth tried to comfort her daughter with a little smile.

Key grew a little silent and looked back down the path from which they came. “What about… Dad?”

Fade’s heart began to race, bringing bad news was never something she had to worry about before. She sighed and stepped up to Key and Shibboleth. “Uhm… about that kid… uhm, Key.” She then turned her gaze to Shibboleth as well, although she was sure that Keys mother was already aware of what transpired back at the town center.

Shibboleth quickly noticed the tone in Fade’s voice. “Midnight, Can you go look with Key if the building is empty? Her E.F.S. should help… please.”

Midnight saw the dread in her tired eyes of what she would hear any moment. “Yes sure… Are you alright with this, Key?” Midnight asked, his voice hoarse from the cold yet still trying to sound optimistic. Key nodded and both of them began to slowly walk into the old diner.

Shibboleth made sure they would be out of sight, before turning back to Fade. A heavy sigh began to escape her mouth, then she would begin to speak. “No word to Key about what happened to Valiant.”

“So… you figured it out yourself?”

“Of course I did!” Shibboleth snapped. She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I… I’m sorry I just… Nevermind. Fade, listen to me… No word to Key, understood?”

Fade frowned and shook her head at Shibboleth’s seeming ignorance about the ruthless wasteland. “Then you tell her, you are her mother”

“That is not your decision, Fade. I’m happy that you helped us, but that is none of your concern, got it?”

“It… kind of is! My mother… She kept it a secret from me as well. And guess what, I didn’t fucking take it kindly when I finally realized it myself. You don’t want to be like her.” Fade took a step closer.

“Don’t tell me how to raise my daughter!”

“Well then… see if I care!” Fade noticed Midnight waving at them from the entrance to the diner, signaling that it was safe.

The diner felt more like a metallic skeleton, rather than a nice cozy place to enjoy a meal, yet alone a safe haven. It was starved of any last scrap of food and water, cold, dirty and simply desolate. Fade and Shibboleth were lucky enough to find some planks of moldy wood and a single cooking pot. The group made a small fire pit in the large walk-in freezer, as it was the only place thoroughly protected by the cold winds, blowing in through the broken windows.

Midnight ventured up onto the roof and observed the surrounding area. The absence of sunlight made it even hard to see a hoof in front of one’s eyes. The thick clouds were blocking out the light of the stars and the moon. Far to the west however, the still burning city of Vanhoover was sending a green hue up against the clouds, other than that no pony could navigate the darkness without a lightsource. It would be difficult for pursuers to find them amidst the trees,a thought that calmed Midnight down as he knew his companions could sleep peacefully.

He only had to face the cold alone, having his body grow rigid and stiff over time. Moving his legs every few minutes helped every now and again, but the frost was also settling on his fur, his eyes and tongue. He could manage a night or two in this state, however in a few weeks the nights would grow a lot colder, cold enough to freeze him completely.

While he tried to concentrate on his surroundings, he noticed the sound of hoofsteps slowly emerging from the stairwell leading to the roof.

“Who’s there?” He was quickly swinging around to face the stairs.

“It’s me!” Fade said. “Key is crying in her sleep and… shit I just need some fresh air. Got some more room up here?”

“I see… yeah sure, always.” The rifle sank back into his forelegs, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. “Why didn’t you use a light?”

Fade followed his voice and sat down a few feet away. “Didn’t want to give away our position, obviously.”

“You should go back inside and sleep, Fade. You need your strength for tomorrow.”

“Nah… I settled for not being able to sleep, especially with Key around.”

“It sounds like you want to get rid of them…”

“Eh… No, to be honest I wasn’t much better when I was her age.” She tried to wrap her clothes tighter to shield herself against the cold. “It’s… more that I don’t understand how ponies still find the time and reason to fuck.”

“Heh, well it tells me that things are not so bad.” He smirked.

“It’s bad Midnight! Kids are just too stupid to realize it. They can’t read nor write. Shit, they can’t even do simple math! Few weeks ago I saw this teenager with a foal. By their coat and eye colors it was hers by the way. She taught her child how to find wild potatoes in the dirt, so far so good right? Basic survival knowledge at work, however when the little one saw me, she drew a knife! The fucker knew how to handle a weapon before she could speak a full sentence!”

“So… I see your point. But… I have the feeling something else is bothering you?” Midnight said. “A few hours ago you were… much more reserved.”

Fade sighed. “Well! Key lost her fucking dad! And Shib doesn’t want to tell her! I thought… Ugh, I'm just… a tad worried okay? Could you look a bit after Key?”

“Sure thing, but why me?”

“Because you are not bothered by all of this.”

“Oh, it does bother me,” Midnight said. “The Ministry of Morale just taught me how to not let it get to me, that's it. I assure you, I do want the old Equestria back, same as you or any other.”

“Nah… I don’t want the old Equestria back, Midnight.”

“Huh? Why that?”

Fade grew silent, staring out into the darkness. Her voice began to grow more sober, almost a whisper in comparison to her earlier tone. “Because It wouldn’t make a difference. The wasteland didn’t keep Key’s dad alive… as for the old Equestria… it didn’t keep mine alive.”

The next morning arrived and Fade decided to skim through the diner for anything useful. She knew nothing valuable could be found at this point, but going through the motions distracted her from the cold and the hunger. She rummaged around the shelves and drawers in the kitchen and checked every box and dish nearby. It was infuriating to spend hours searching a place just to find dried and moldy stains of what could have been food at some point in time. A part of her envied the ponies down here who didn’t have to lick the old dishes clean just to survive.

“Mom? What happened to Dad?” Fade’s ear twitched when she heard Key’s voice from the main room.

“Fade told me they took him prisoner…” She sighed and set down the plate she was holding, awaiting the rest of the conversation with her jaw clenched.

“Is that true? We have to go back and save him!”

“We… we can’t sweetie. They are alerted now and… Here, take my jacket. It will be colder soon and—”

Key cut her mothers words short and smacked the jacket away. “What about the gunshots? You know something don’t you?”

“T-they shot at Midnight! Key you should really—”

Loud stomps of hooves emerged from the kitchen and Fade stepped into the room. Fade couldn't let this go on. “I checked twice now, there really isn’t anything left around here… Let’s go.” She didn’t wait for an answer and simply walked past both Shibboleth and Key. Midnight was already waiting at the door leading to the parking lot.

“Fade?” Key’s hesitant whisper stopped her. “What exactly did you see yesterday?”

“I…” Fade hesitated. She remembered all the lies told by her mother. “Midnight shot the pink pony, well, ghoul rather. I told your mother the rest.” Fade glared at Shibboleth one last time before hurrying to leave the diner.

Both directions of the highway were cluttered with broken down vehicles and carts. There was no sufficient means of escape for the ponies fleeing the incoming bombs. The only thing they could do was to move as far as possible and hope for the best. Every few hundred yards was another obstacle, some of which, like trucks and buses, were arranged into small forts and camps. They were Equestria’s terminal breaths to maintain civilization, before the nation succumbed to the radiation like its other inhabitants.

While it seemed like a golden opportunity at first, the group decided not to stop and attempt to loot the rusting hulls. A passing glance into the empty carts while traversing the highway was sufficient enough to tell that there was nothing left.

After a few miles along the highway they reached the remnants of an old evacuation center. Its sectioned off walls were colored a bright yellow and painted with huge, pink butterflies, no doubt representing the cutie mark of someone important in the past. A black slogan disturbed the now dull splash of color however.

“You brought this upon us, yellow bitch!”

Key stopped to read the text once again. “What do they mean, Mom?”

Shibboleth flicked her ear when she heard her daughter’s voice and looked up at the wall as well. “You see Key, most ponies blame the Ministries for the outcome of the war.”

“I thought they were doctors?” She pointed at the butterfly design.

Midnight walked up to the two and nodded. “They were, but the Ministry of Peace also created the megaspells at the same time.”

His statement made Key’s eyes grow bigger. “W-what?! They build the bombs? The same bombs that destroyed Equestria?”

“No, not the bombs. The Ministry of Peace only provided the basic magic. You see, the zebras actually made the balefire and eventually they just put both together. Kind of like what we did and like this we destroyed more than just Equestria.”

Shibboleth nudged her daughter. “Let’s keep going, we still have a long way to go.” Shibboleth wanted to continue.

But Key grabbed her hoof the moment she began moving. “But… maybe there is some medicine left inside that building, shouldn’t we at least look?” She suggested.

The group looked at each other, then they noticed the abandoned body bags lining up at the side of the road near the building. Shibboleth looked down at Key and simply shook her head. With nothing else left to say, Key eventually sunk her head and started walking along.

The highway was cutting through the hills like a knife. They were accompanied by wide railroad tracks, running parallel to it and creating an even wider scar in the landscape. Efficiency to keep the war going was more important than the gentle flow of hills and plain. Many woods were cut down, meadows turned into asphalt and lakes were pumped dry. The bombs couldn’t devastate the land much more than ponies already had. All the balefire did in the end was to turn the cargo trains into massive coffins to transport irradiated corpses.

Amidst the hills and the spurs of the Unicorn Range mountains, the cancerous growth of Edmareton’s industry became a beacon amid the wastes. It would still take them hours, until they would get even close to Edmareton, yet they already saw several scavengers working around the ruins, welding off metal from the old factories. Fade estimated the worth of the scrap metal and tried to figure out how many days it could feed a small group such as theirs, for Midnight it was only a mere reminder of what Equestria could be and what it became instead.

The smoke from chimneys and campfires in the small settlement of Edmareton made them think that some parts of the industry were still alive. The town was surrounded by massive walls, welded together from cargo containers, steel plates and massive rocks from the mines. Not even The Mandate could destroy these walls easily.

With the evening approaching, dozens of ponies returned from their arduous work outside the city, drenched in sweat and dirt. The narrow paths between old logistic halls and shanties reeked of oil, ash and even more sweat from the crowd. Fade’s breathing grew shallow, her focus rose sharply as she looked at the ponies around her. She couldn’t help but feel the need to keep her knife ready, no doubt there were a few rats amidst these ponies. It was during big masses such as this when terrible things were to happen, not just down in the Wasteland, but high up in the sky cities as well. She remembered when pegasi would suddenly disappear without a trace.

“Pidgeon hm? These meatballs are made from pigeons…” Fade muttered silently under her breath. “Bastards…”

The cold air blowing through their manes was a welcomed relief to the group, meaning they had managed to leave the crowds behind them. Their goal, the Edmareton radio station, was not much further away. A generator was buzzing and shaking outside the old building, powering the station and promising well desired warmth. Shibboleth walked up to the door first and knocked. Silence took place for a brief moment, until a pony, no doubt the friend she had mentioned along the way, finally opened the door. Both of them began to smile and in a heavy, heartfelt sigh of relief they embraced each other in a tight hug.

“Good that you made it!” The pony said. She looked up at the others shortly after, skimming through the new faces among them, then she felt her heart sink a bit and worry began filling her eyes instead.

“Where is Valiant…?”

The radio station was small, consisting of a narrow hallway connecting the radio room, with a tiny compartment for a generator, to Phone’s bedroom. Shibboleth insisted for Key to rest in the bedroom while she would talk with her friend. Phones showed her gratitude to Fade and Midnight by allowing them to stay in her meager house during their visit.

Even though they had a roof over their head as well as a much warmer environment than before, they felt restless, unable to sleep or even just relax. The generator was droning constantly just on the other side of the bedroom’s wall, blocking out the outside noises and leaving them with their own thoughts.

“Why did you come to Stable Fifty-Four?” Key eventually asked, cutting through the monotone noises of the humming generator.

Midnight smiled and sat up, happy and eager to finally break the silence that took hold thus far. “I am searching for a friend. He was the leader of our peace activity group. Did I tell you about it?”

Key shook her head.

“It was a great time… It was more like a game, you know? We even had codenames! I was the Black King and my friend was the White King. Every one of us had a different name.”

“And what have you done?” She raised an eyebrow, still unsure of his past.

“We… Well, we did really bad things,” Midnight whispered.

“Oh? Like, sabotage?”

“No no no… Much worse. Want me to tell you? We… kissed zebras in public.”

Perhaps it was the dumb face midnight pulled or the way he told his story, but neither Key nor Fade was able to resist a chuckle at his remark. Soon after, Keys' gaze would turn to Fade. “And you?”

Fade shrugged and looked away. “I just lived in this area for quite a while. I grew up in Tall Tale and thought… I could visit it after twenty years.”

“Are your parents there?” Key asked.

Fades expression turned into a light frown, then a more somber one as she released a sigh. “No.” She shook her head. “The last time I saw my mother… was eighteen years ago. It was before she had to flee from the Enclave.”

“And your father?”

“…my father? He died when I was two years old.”

“Oh… what happened?”

Fade thought long about what to say, to a point that Key was seemingly about to apologize and turn away, however her action was interrupted when Fade finally continued. “He was in the Equestrian air force. When I was old enough I read the… casualty notification. All we know is that he got confirmed K.I.A., which means 'killed in action'.” Fade closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall.

“I’m sorry…”

“Eh, It’s okay. That’s just how life turned out for me, you know?”

Key looked down rubbing a hoof against her foreleg.

“Maybe you should sleep now, Key. After all, it's been a really long day,” Fade said.

Key nodded and curled up on the only mattress in the room. “What will we do tomorrow? Shouldn’t we plan ahead?”

“I have to agree with Fade.” Midnight replied and stood up. “I will try to get some work for the night, maybe I can barter some breakfast for you. As for tomorrow… Hm we will see.”

Midnight left the others to rest and slowly wandered through the narrow streets. Night fell pretty fast and the lack of light forced most ponies of the town to return to their home and sleep. A few unlucky ponies gathered around the few campfires or lit barrels filled with garbage to endure the night. The older ones were gazing into the warm orange flames with wishful eyes, while younger ponies were discussing the next day and telling jokes to another.

Walking along the calmer paths made Midnight think of the cold and dark winter nights, before the bombs destroyed Equestria; When everything slowed down during the colder months. It was as if the war wasn’t there, unlike now when the cold crept through the thin walls of the shabby buildings and reminded the ponies of its outcome.

During his search for the local militia or security, Midnight noticed the smell of warm food. He remembered the feeling of hunger, the faint craving that once seemed so normal to him. Following the scent through the dark streets, he eventually turned around a corner and froze in place. When Midnight saw the distant field kitchen, he thought The Mandate was already here. But then he saw the silhouette of a metallic behemoth moving with heavy steps through the camp. There was no doubt that It was a Steel Ranger; A pony clad in heavy, silver power armor. Midnight’s memory of hunger was quickly replaced by fear… and anger. Steel rangers, once Equestria’s elite, were sworn to end the war and bring peace, however their method was merely defined by the heavy weapons attached to their armor. Midnight always wanted to save the zebras, but they only wanted to kill them. Hate was never something Midnight wanted to carry in his heart, until they recruited his brother into their ranks. Since then the rift between the two grew bigger and bigger, without any hope or chance to ever heal.

Midnight turned around when he heard the familiar words usually spoken in Stalliongrad. He hesitated for a short moment, his ear twitching faintly. “What if he was in their contingent? Maybe they know something…” he thought to himself.

Trying to ignore the ill feelings in his chest, he decided to approach the Steel Ranger camp. The soldiers were gathered around the field kitchen and a few campfires scattered around the cold ground. A few engineers sat between worn tents and sorted scrap or installed harnesses on carts so that they could be pulled by a pony in power armor.

“Business time is over!” The harsh voice of one of their guards flung into Midnight’s ear. “Get away from the perimeter!”

“I’m not here to trade, I have a question!”

The guard answered Midnight's words with an irritated frown. “Oh yeah? Come back tomorrow!” Some of the resting technicians and soldiers looked up from their meal or work and wondered what the commotion was about.

“Vy iz Stalliongrada?” Midnight asked into the group using the Stalliongrad language, ignoring the guard.

“Who wants to know that?” His attempt would eventually be answered by one of the unicorn mares in the group. There was a hint or wariness in her tired eyes, which she brought back from the front lines. She got up and walked up to Midnight in slow careful steps.

It made him hesitant to ask, after all he didn’t want to tear open old wounds. “My name is Midnight Gambit. You see, my brother joined the Steel Rangers, his name is Thunderbolt. I was wondering if he is in your contingent?”

The mare stopped and looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked to a nearby tent instead, whispering something to the ponies inside. A moment later a pale blue hue of magic would levitate the tent’s flap aside and a tall pony would eventually step out of it. Midnight was shocked, his eyes widened and his breath stopped for a second as he couldn’t believe what he saw. His brother grew old, unbelievably old, to a point he wasn’t fully sure if it was actually him. It wasn’t until he saw disgust flame up in his brother’s eyes. Neither the officer’s uniform nor his slow stride through the camp could hide how shaken he was.

“Bolt… You made it,” Midnight muttered quietly.

Thunderbolt stopped a few feet away. His expression would join the disgust he already carried in his eyes when he recognized Midnight’s police barding. “We need to talk.” He walked away from the camp until he was out of earshot of the other Steel Rangers.

Midnight followed his brother, all the while he looked at Thunderbolt’s pale, worn uniform. “You are chief engineer? That’s great.” He smiled but his brother ignored him.

“Do you know anything about Mom and Dad?” Thunderbolt asked harshly.

“I…” Midnight was taken aback. “I didn’t find them. I couldn’t even find our home. So I—”

“Their home. Not yours!” Thunderbolt cut him short.

“Are… are you still mad at me?” Once again his brother didn’t answer, only his glare would reach Midnight. “Bolt, can’t we leave the past behind?”

“Look at the shit around us!” Thunderbolt growled, gesturing to the ruins around them. “It reminds me every day of the past!”

“It’s been more than twenty years, Bolt! Twenty years and you are still angry that I kissed zebras?”

“As if kissing zebras was the problem…” Thunderbolt scoffed.

“Then what is your problem?” Midnight finally raised his voice.

“My problem? I'll tell you, Midnight! My problem is that the Ministry of Morale didn’t let rot in Shattered Hoof! Heck you couldn’t even do that! You better fuck off, right now… Some of the Rangers are not fond of your kind, frankly neither am I.”

Midnight took a few steps back in shock, his body no longer able to feel anger or even rage. But it lingered in his mind. Without another word he turned around and left before the urge for violence was able to overcome him.

“Fade… are you awake?” Key’s whisper broke the silence of the night, her voice felt so much more fragile than back then in the Stable when they first met. Fade turned her head to look around the dark room. Midnight was still gone and Shibboleth was in her own room, probably with her friend Phones. Guessing by the silent sobs she would hear every once a while, she seemed to prefer to be alone rather than have her daughter notice her pain. It was cowardly, but again, it wasn’t Fade’s business to point that out. Her train of thought was eventually interrupted by a pair of sad eyes stepping out of the darkness and towards her. Key looked up at her and rubbed her eyes.

“I'm sorry… Did I wake you up?” Key asked hesitantly.

“No it’s fine… What is it?”

“I can’t sleep…”

Fade clenched her forelegs around her stomach and frowned. She would rather have Shibboleth deal with that, yet Fade knew she would only say things like ‘But you have to’. Like her own mother always used to do.

“Bad dreams?” She eventually asked.

“No…”

Fade sighed and sat up, there was no way she would get any rest tonight. Her legs hurt from sleeping on the hard floor already, now she would have to play mother as well. “You know when I was sixteen, I couldn’t sleep either.”

“But now you can sleep, right?”

“Heh, sometimes.”

Key sat down next to her, wrapped up tightly in her mother’s jacket. Fade remembered how she wore her mother’s flight suit during the cold winter nights after the bombs fell.

“Why does Mom say Dad is still alive?” Key asked.

“She… she tries to protect you.”

“With a lie?” Key frowned, naturally so and looked up at Fade, awaiting an answer. But what would she even tell her? She didn’t know why her own mother lied to her when she was in Key’s age other than the typical “protection” excuse. Fade shook her head and turned away, leaning back against the wall in hopes to find more comfort, yet only felt the cold of the metal seeping through her clothes. “We really need to sleep.”

“What if I can’t…?”

“We have to… goodnight, Key.”

The silence of the night would eventually be interrupted by a series of dainty noises hammering onto the metallic rooftops, followed by a deep thunder blowing through the darkness outside. The hailstorm made it impossible for Fade and Key to sleep or even just pretend to do so. Key sat up first and covered her ears to block out the increasingly louder hailstones battering against the thin sheet metal roof and walls. Fade curled up as well, soon hundreds of those impacts would melt into a dark drone, not too different from how Fade remembered the roaring balefire beneath the clouds.

Thunder eventually started to join the orchestra, growling above the town, having Fade curl up in slight fear. Those noises, once natural, now just a dark reminder of the Enclave cloud ships and how they opened fire upon crowds of starving ponies begging for food. Fade’s stomach cramped and her body twitched when a second wave of thunder erupted from above the clouds, its rumble shaking the thin walls of their building.

She sat up, instinctively moving her hoof to her knife and grabbing it tightly, her throat dry, her heart racing. A loud, almost unnatural rumble echoed through the dark and shook the walls.

“Key? Key, get up! I have a bad feeling…”

“Is something wrong?”

Fade didn’t answer, instead she just left the room and hurried outside the radio station. The constant growl of the heavy hailstones droned out any other noise but the thunder from above, the raging white pieces of ice rampaging through the wind, cloaking everything around her. She shielded her face with a foreleg and looked up to the sky.

“No fucking way…” Escaped her cold lips in a silent gasp. She saw a colossal cloudship slowly descending from the sky, dark thunderclouds weaved around the warship and lightning crawling over its hull, the flashes illuminating the belly of the metallic beast. A ribcage was painted on the bottom side; a prison for crudely drawn, starving zebras. No doubt about it, it was the Enclave.

Fade rushed back into the radio station, her cold body burning up with both fear as well as rage. If she would have been on her own, she would’ve conjured up a plan to fight the Enclave and maybe kill one or two of them. But since she wasn’t, such an action would have only endangered Key and the others.

“Key! Pack your things—” She began, however a loud horn blared from the cloudship and silenced Fade. She cowered on the ground, her teeth clenched, her ears hurting from the monstrous noise. The walls of the hut around her were shaking once again, trembling from the deep cry that was turning into a longer growl. In a desperate attempt to cushion the noise, both Key and Fade held their ears shut. While Fade may have been able to block the noise as well, she was unable to block out the memories of pegasi incinerated by siege cannons and missiles.

When the droning noise finally subsided, Fade struggled to get up. Her entire body was still shaking, a harsh huff escaped through her teeth. “Key! Shib! We have to leave the town! Now!” She yelled out. Shibboleth stormed into the room, probably just as shocked by the demonic noises breaking the silence of night.

“I-is this the Enclave?” She asked as she hastily wrapped her jacket around Key’s head in hope to protect her from the hailstorm outside.

“Yes! Phones! Ignore the radio and leave the town as well!” Fade continued.

“No! I have to warn the other cities! Damn it! They are blocking my radio signal!”

Fade growled in frustration. Were those ponies just stupid or simply unaware of the danger they were in? “We don’t have fucking time for this!” She pulled her hood over her head and left the building, stopping only briefly to call out to the others. The warship was still descending and already launching small scout vessels from the rear hangers. The vessels themselves, Vertibucks, circled the town from above like flies.

“Fade!” Midnight called out to her through the howling wind. He was galloping to the radio station as fast as he could under the current conditions, his pale eyes unable to hide his worries. “What is the Enclave doing here?”

“The fuck do I know? Get your stuff! We have to leave!” Fade huffed at him, then stomped away from the radio station and towards the descending ship.

“W-Wait! Where to?”

“Anywhere but here!” She replied. Midnight hurried up to her and blocked her path.

“Wait! Can’t we just hide here? Edmareton is surrounded by old mines and factories after all.”

“Hiding?” Fade started to chuckle, pointing up at the smaller scout ships. “You see that, old man? These fucking things have E.F.S. and the Enclave surely knows every pony in the town. Shit, I wouldn’t even be surprised if they have a map of the entire damn area! We have to leave!” She wants to continue, however Midnight once again steps in front of her.

“Hang on Fade! Is it really that bad? I mean…”

Fade sighed angrily, briefly looking back up at the warship above them, then she nodded and turned her gaze back to Midnight.

“Alright… Alright, fine.” Midnight gave in with a final sigh. “I will bring you to Tall Tale. Watch them, while I tell the others.”

“Tall Tale? Then we have to pass by Stable Fifty-Four. Can’t we go north to Stalliongrad?”

“I would rather not. It’s winter up there and we don’t have proper clothes and food.”

Fade sighed and rubbed her cold face in frustration. “Okay fine… Tall Tale it is. Now please hurry!”

Shibboleth’s goodbye to her friend was brief. Phones decided to stay behind and ensure that she got the warning past the Enclave’s jammers and out into the wasteland. While Phones stayed, the rest of Edmareton came to the same realization as Fade and began to panic. Soon the narrow streets were crowded by ponies trying to leave the city with barely any protection against the heavy hailstorm.

The few town gates weren’t nearly enough to allow a quick evacuation of every pony, leading to hordes of them pushing and shoving each other, turning the whole situation much more frantic and chaotic with every second. As much as Fade wanted to push forward herself, she was eventually forced to stay with Midnight and the others and slowly inch their way forward as a group. Every other moment, Fade looked up at the warship and the massive bombardment turrets on the underside, glowing and crackling with magical energy ready to unload onto the helpless town at any moment.

Instead of a barrage however, a lonely Vertibuck descended from the dark clouds, heading for the town square. Fade stopped for a moment, staring at the vehicle and wondering what the Enclave was doing here.

The warship’s horn blared again and made the ponies cower in fear and cover their ears. The ear-splitting drone reverberated from the hills and sent smaller groups and children into blank panic. The resulting rush of motion among the crowd was similar to a tidal wave, forcing the ponies away from the town square to make room for the Vertibuck to land.

“Mom!” Key yelled as she was torn away from her mother by the current of fleeing ponies.

“Damn it! Midnight! Stay with Shibboleth!” Fade shouted at the two before turning around and rushing through the crowd of ponies. She tried to push, tackle even, anything that could get her ahead of the others, however the crowd turned more and more dense.
“Fuck… Key!” Fade’s voice was barely noticeable in all the chaos unfolding around them. She growled and exhaled sharply through her nostrils, loosening her cape to spread her wings. A jump onto a nearby ponies’ back followed by another, eventually adding a strong flap of her wings to help her get on the lower roofs. She was an easy target with all the scouts and Vertibucks circling the area, but she had to find Key before she would disappear in the masses. She sprinted, jumped and slid along the rooftops, chasing after the faint voice of Key.

“There you are!” In the midst of the horde she caught a quick glimpse of the young pony. She leaped off the roof and into the crowd underneath. “Key! Out of my damn way!” Without hesitation she began forcing herself between Key and an ignorant stallion who was shoving Key with him. Fade reared up and eventually struck the stallion with her hoof, hitting him in his face, then his neck, however the adrenalin inside the stallion made him continue on anyway, barely paying attention to anything around him.

“Fine then!” Finally she dashed against the stallion and tackled him with all her might until he slipped and fell onto the cold hailstones below. “Hah, watch your step, asshole!” She growled.

“Get out of the way, you fucking cunt!”

The stallion recoiled and struggled to get back up, giving Fade enough time to wrap a wing around Key and guiding her to the walls of the shanties. She used her wing to press the little pony tightly against the walls, doing her best to shield her from the wave of escapees, their thundering hooves whirling up more and more of the cold mud. Shibboleth and Midnight joined them not much later after the majority of ponies rushed through the alley.

“You got her?” Midnight sighed in relief, signaling the two to follow him. “Good, come on this way! It’s closer to the Enclave, I know, but there are less ponies!”

Fade didn’t like the idea at all, but it would beat getting trampled to death. She gave him a nod and followed with Key close to her side. A brief moment later, Fade realized they were close to the town square.

The Vertibuck’s horn echoed over the town to make the last ponies scatter and give the vehicle room to finally land. Pegasus soldiers, bodies completely covered in a black carapace-like armor, were circling in v-shaped formations around the vehicle. Others were already landing on the ground, aiming their energy rifles down various alleys between the shanties.

“Midnight! That’s too close! Let’s get away!” She growled in a flat whisper.

“Stay calm, Fade. If you run now you will only look suspicious!”

“The Enclave doesn’t care about that, you idiot!” Fade observed the hasty flight of the pegasi above them. “These fuckers shoot when they feel like it…”

“If they were going to shoot, why did they land?” Midnight replied in the same tone.

“Ugh…” Fade hissed, however she had to admit that Midnight had a point. She looked up at the warship and wondered why they came down here in the first place.

The Vertibuck eventually landed, its rotors blowing cold winds across the area, even hurling painful hailstones into the ponies’ faces. Then the hatch opened, two more squads started to take position. Two, later even three dozen heavily armed pegasi began securing the place, slowly scattering over the plaza. Their armor was too dark and matt to reflect even the bright flashing lightning from the warship itself. The pink glow of their energy rifles was the only light shining through the dark.

When the rotors finally stopped, the continuous impacts of the hailstone on sheet-metal also began dying down, turning the place more into a quiet whisper. Edmareton was waiting and even Fade didn’t dare to move out of fear the soldiers would open fire. Her hooves were shaking, tightly grabbing a hold of her knife underneath her cape.

“Stop right there!” One of the soldiers on the town square shouted. “Prepare for engagement!”

Midnight watched when the Steel Rangers slowly approached the vessel. After they were noticed they stopped dead in their tracks. He saw a familiar face under them step forward. It was his brother, Thunderbolt, slowly lifting a hoof to the Enclave in a calming gesture. The Steel Rangers took position but remained passive, guarding the escorting engineers behind them. Midnight noticed how Thunderbolt caught a brief glimpse of him and his companions, distrust visible in his eyes.

In the eerie stillness a white pegasus finally stepped out of the Vertibuck. She opened milky-white umbrella to shield herself from the last hailstones. A thick jacket with a furry collar around her shoulders, underneath the same black armor as the other pegasi. The cleanliness of her coat, as well as her purple mane and tail, amplified the disgust she showed when she had to step onto the much dirtier ground underneath her hooves.

Slowly and carefully she began scanning her surroundings with a cold gaze. After a few seconds she reached into her jacket pocket and grabbed some sort of radio device, moving it closer to her muzzle. She cleared her throat and began to speak into it in a loud confident tone.

“Ponies of Edmareton!” Her amplified voice echoed through the Vertibuck’s loudspeakers. ”The Great Pegasus Enclave demands cooperation! In exchange for valuable metal and replacement parts, we will, in return, provide food!”

Fade looked up at the mentioning of food. Two pegasi, in rather dirty and shabby clothes, hastily brought a white box out of the Vertibuck. After they removed the lid, they quickly retreated back into the vehicle.

“This is a token of our gratitude!” The white pegasus proclaimed. She placed a hoof onto the crate and knocked the crate over with ease, using the strength of her enhanced armor. White, gelatinous nutrition cubes rolled out and into the dirt.

“These are for you. We can grow food and bring you more, but only in exchange for valuable material!” She smiled when she saw a few ponies looking at the food, some even slowly approaching the vessel. “Don’t be shy… It’s a present.” She added.

Fade’s stomach tightened as well, after all they needed the food.

“Midnight… listen to me. Get Key and Shib out of the town, I’ll meet you outside.”

“What are you—” He started, however Fade quickly interrupted him.

“We need food, Mr. Midnight.” She sighed, not even looking at him as she slowly made her way towards the white Enclave soldier on the plaza. She knew there wasn’t much time, the moment another pony would step forward, it would cause all the others to follow like greedy ants on a picnic. If not that, perhaps the enclave would start to become twitchy, irritated even. Fade had to be the first if she wanted to get anything.

“Fade, we can—” Midnight tried to stop her, but Fade was already trotting to the crate. She eyed the soldiers carefully. Typical for Enclave scum, most of them shared the same equipment and armor, with no real way to tell them apart. Their manes were covered by the helmet, some had their eyes covered as well, a rebreather covering their muzzles as if the air on the ground was toxic. Even their tails were covered by a segmented tail ending, finished with a vicious blade or stinger. The occasional flick of their tails told Fade that most of these soldiers must have been very young, a fresh generation of perfectly indoctrinated soldiers.

Fade then glanced over the white pegasus, who was resting her body on the crate. She loathed the arrogant smirk on her face, a smirk she would have loved to get rid off. Fade knew however that as long as they felt superior there was little danger to her or her group. Fade shook her head and focused on the crate, preparing her cape as a makeshift bag for the soft cubes. She knelt down and pushed the brittle cubes from the crate onto the fabric, hurrying to get as much as she could as the next few ponies slowly began to walk up to it as well.

“Aren’t we a bit greedy?” The white pegasus asked while gently leaning over the crate. Much to her dismay however, Fade decided to ignore her completely.

“Hey! I asked you something!” Her loud outburst made the other ponies twitch and stop in their tracks, as a result some of the enclave soldiers turned their gaze towards Fade.

The white pegasus leaned forward and pushed Fade’s hood back to reveal her short pale blue mane with a few strands of pink scattered through it. Fade’s eyes widened and in the beat of a heart she swung her hoof and lashed out to smack the pegasus hoof away, her other hoof quickly drawing her blade. The ponies gasped at her fast movement, the guts to simply defy an Enclave officer. The soldiers looked at each other both in shock and confusion.

For a brief moment she even saw surprise in the pegasus’ gray eyes. The energy weapons of the other enclave soldiers began to buzz and the tips glowed stronger with green and pink hue. Fade clenched her teeth, flattening her breath, ready to run at the first shot fired.

“How adorable! Do you really think you can do anything with that little toy knife of yours?” The Enclave mare said. “I don’t even need my E.F.S. to know that you won’t attack me… No one is that stupid. You know as well as I do that nothing short of power armor would protect you from a point-blank hit by a plasma rifle.”

The white pegasus returned to her superior smirk while the other soldiers slowly started to join in, the ponies stepping back in fear of a possible firefight.

Fade kept the knife revealed, her green eyes glaring right into hers. “Don’t you dare to fucking touch me again… Enclave whore!” The soldiers turned silent, simply baffled by the scene unfolding in front of them.

“Woah, where are you manners? Aren’t you a bit old for a mud pony to have none?” Her eyes wandered over Fade’s body, specifically her sides. “Or… do I see a pair of angry wings flaring under that loose cape?”

“I’m not a pegasus…” Fade growled through her teeth.

“Hm… Well now, you are certainly hating me a lot, for a… not-pegasus pony.”

“All the ponies down here hate your kind, the clouds being one reason.”

The white pegasus chuckled once more and shook her head. “They certainly do, don’t they? I met enough ponies in Quebit to see the difference of… loathing and hating in the eyes of other ponies. And I must correct you in one thing. You are hating the old Enclave. You see… We are the new Enclave.”

“Heh, there is no fucking difference.” Fade huffed in disgust.

“Oh but there is. I am only twenty-two years old, you know? I don’t even remember the time before the cloud cover was issued. But I do know all the benefits of it and I am sure the young ponies down there will too.”

Fades growl grew deeper as the pegasus began to grin even wider. “There is no benefit, but fine, believe in whatever fairy tale you want. Never stopped you guys anyways.” She eventually decided she had better odds reasoning with a wall and she would much rather be buried underneath one rather than continue this banter.

She slid the knife back into its sheath and wrapped up her little food bundle, ignoring the arrogant mare, when suddenly a plastic bag with a pale sandwich inside was teasingly held in front of her muzzle. “Where did you steal that?” She muttered in disbelief at the sight of the fresh sandwich in front of her eyes.

“Stealing? Ha! We didn’t steal it. We made it! Tell me, can you grow food on this ground? No of course you can’t, it’s saturated with radiation, toxins and all the pollution from war-time industry, not to mention the fires from the bombs. But above the clouds… we can grow wheat. Not just that, but soy and oats as well. We managed to cultivate bacteria to ferment dough and plant milk. Yes you heard me right… This right here is a real sandwich, with butter and even cheese.”

Fade averted her eyes, unable to hide her desire for proper food. She never had the chance to taste real food since she fled with her mother above the clouds. She huffed angrily, feeling embarrassed that the enclave scum was able to get her to this point of showing weakness.

“Let’s start again, shall we? My name is Colloquy and if you tell me your name, I will give it to you. Pretty simply, don’t you agree?”

Fade frowned, even giving that Colloquy her name was a thought that made her sick to her stomach, yet again if that was all it took to get some fresh food then…

“Fade. Now give it to me,” She quickly replied, reaching out in an attempt to snatch the sandwich, however Colloquy, now aware of Fade’s speed, was faster and pulled the bag away.

“Nonono… Your real name” The enclave officer purred playfully, swinging the bag over Fades head in a provocative manner. She could see the rage building up in Fades’ eyes, making it even sweeter for the white pegasus.

“This is my real name you fucking—”

“Nah-nah-nah…” Colloquy flicked her tongue, placing her plasma sidearm against the sandwich. “Don’t be rude… and dont be silly either. Do you think I am a fool? I know very… very well that you lived above the clouds. The way you easily ignored our power armor, the fact that you know what these special nutrition cubes are, heh, even your cute little hatred against me… Don’t be shy. We both know that if you are down here, your family may be as well… or that the old Enclave failed to feed them during the great famine.”

Fade scoffed and shook her head, she would rather die than comply any further.

“No? Maybe I underestimated how much food you actually have down here. If you don’t need that sandwich, then perhaps you don't even need these rations. None of you in fact. Shall we pack up?”

“You fucking little-” She growled, her ears lowered and her chest aching by the memories of the starving ponies around her. She remembered both young and old, sick and relatively healthy ponies whining, almost even crying as they watched the soldiers pack up crates with food.

“Alright everyone, time to—”

“Swift Wings.” Silence took place. Colloquy’s ear twitched for a moment and her head turned back towards Fade.

“Hm? I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I said… my name is Swift Wings, alright? Now… give me the sandwich… and leave the food for the others!”

With a smug smile Colloquy offered her the sandwich and Fade grabbed it.

“See you around… Swift.” Colloquy smirked. Fade looked up at her one last time before leaving. Fade put her hood back up and hurried away, quickly disappearing in the crowd, while the other ponies around them quickly hurried to pick up what little food remained.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Wary - Other ponies have their Speech reduced by 10% if Midnight distrusts them.

New Perk: Rekindled Scorn - Recent reminders of the Enclave’s atrocities let Fade deal 10% more damage against Enclave loyalists.

Chapter 3: Appeal

“You would be amazed if you knew how far ponies are willing to go if you ask them nicely.”

Exhausted from their hasty escape and the still ongoing hailstorm, the group settled down in a broken down truck not far from the city. Fade unfolded her cape and gave Shibboleth and Key the rich abundance of food she scrounged from the Enclave, then she retreated into one of the corners of the truck. Midnight remained at the makeshift bed somepony had placed inside the vehicle, watching the distant cloudship that was still hovering above Edmareton.

Key grimaced after taking a bite from the pale sandwich. “Is this even edible?”

Shibboleth scooted next to her and took a small bite as well. “It’s… very bland. Is all of their food like this?”

Fade nodded before curling up more. Shibboleth took some of the food Fade provided and offered it to her, however Fade only shook her head at the gesture. “I’m not hungry…”

“Even so, you should still eat something, Fade. It was… very brave of you to take this from them.”

“I can go a few days without food.” She looked up at Shibboleth, carrying a light smile.

“Me too.”

“Well then, more for Key.”

The distaste on Key’s face was obvious as she took another bite of the sandwich. Fade wasn’t able to resist a brief smile, after all the sandwich did not look very appetizing to begin with, but it definitely beat those disgusting nutritional cubes. Her smile would quickly disappear however when Fade noticed the cloudship in the corner of her eyes.

Shibboleth sighed and turned her gaze towards the ship as well. “I know the radio operator in Tall Tale. He’s not as close a friend as Phones, but he can give us shelter. I’m not sure about food though or… finding a way to pay you.”

“Pay?” Fade raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Why yes… For saving us and further protecting us.”

“Heh, listen I’m not—Look, It’s okay. Don’t worry about it alright?” Fade mumbled. “Sometimes things are just… fucked up. Big time.”

“Language!” Key tossed in, her hoof raised at Fade.

Fade chuckled, glad to see that Key berated her. “I’m an adult, Key. I am allowed to say these things.”

“Oh yeah? I’m an adult, too. Well, for wasteland standards,” Key replied. “I have seen ponies, even without a cutie mark, being able to handle huge guns. I am even sure there is at least one pony out there with a gun as their cutie mark out there. It would be really handy to have one myself.”

“Key!” Shibboleth huffed. She tried to continue but Key did so instead.

“No, Mom! Dad is no longer here to protect us and Fade and Midnight are only with us because… uhm, because things are just fucked up! She said so herself! The moment we reach Tall Tale and you pay them, they surely get on with their lives on leave!”

“Your dad will be with us soon, okay? Now please be quiet and eat your sandwich.”

“And how long do you want us to eat this crap? The shit from the Stable wasn’t much better, but at least it had some flavor! Do you want to keep Fade around us and have her beg the Enclave for more food, or do you actually plan to return home and save dad?”

“That’s enough!” She said out loud, stomping both her hooves onto the ground. “You stop this nagging in an instant and eat your food! It’s a long way to Tall Tale.”

Key answered her mother’s words with an angry glare, dropping her meal in protest and marching to the poorly made bed without saying another word. She simply slumped onto her haunches and looked outside the small window, not giving Midnight even the slightest glance.

Midnight noticed the frustration in Key’s eyes and the tense atmosphere that had settled into the walls. It was an uncomfortable reminder of the arguments he himself had with his brother. He looked back at Fade and Shibboleth, both avoiding each other’s gaze, just like his parents used to do in the same kind of situation.

He turned around and sighed, rubbing his weary head. “Maybe the Steel Rangers can help, I saw them in Edmareton.”

“Are you sure?” Shibboleth asked. “But they didn’t help anypony so far, why do you think they will help out now?”

“I haven’t thought about it that far. It’s just an idea.”

“It is because of his brother. He mentioned him back in Stable Fifty-Four to me.”

“My brother?” Midnight felt his body tense up, even his frail wings started to flare up slightly. He wished he didn’t say a thing and maybe his parents knew something about being quiet. “That… won’t make a difference.”

“Key has a point, Midnight,” Fade suddenly chimed in. “The Enclave are all inbred cronies. Heh, you can’t kill one of these fuckers without causing some kind of family feud.”

Midnight shook his head. “It’s a bit, uh… difficult. My brother is still alive, I actually met him yesterday evening. But—”

“Wait, your brother is a Steel Ranger?” Shibboleth’s eyes widened. “Your brother is a Steel Ranger and you didn’t tell us? Midnight, this changes everything!” Her voice raised.

“No! He hates me!” Midnight suddenly replied sharply for the first time the group met each other. Silence took place once more as their eyes began resting on Midnight. “He… fought in the war you know. I demonstrated against it and for a good reason. He killed zebras! My best friend was—no, is, a half-zebra!”

“Are you seriously telling me that we have to sit in this rusty truck, just because you two don’t like each other?” Shibboleth threw in. “Hell, we could go to their Stable instead of Tall Tale! All of this could have been avoided if you would simply act like an adult!”

“Oh really? Well, have you considered that I tried!” Midnight’s voice tensed up. “I walked up to him, I tried to mend what was broken, but all he did was to remind me that the Steel Rangers don’t like ghouls! And that he didn’t like me…”

“So what? He doesn’t need to like you! He just has to be reasonable and—”

“I will not ask him! I will rather take my rifle, return to your Stable and shoot Everlast a second time!” Midnight interrupted her loudly, his hoof tightly grabbing the wooden rim of his rifle. An angry huff escaped his nostrils, followed by a deep grunt.

“Maybe… maybe this time—” Shibboleth stopped herself at the last moment. She looked at Key for a brief moment before eventually averting her gaze.

“Maybe what?” Midnight growled, his frown still fixated on Shibboleth. Something in his voice and eyes made the others shy away from him, even Fade felt the urge to reach for her knife, her hoof already resting on its sheath.

“Maybe…” Shibboleth said quietly, glancing at Key. “Maybe next time he won’t be able to shoot back at you.”

After a dreadfully long time the storm finally died down and the once furious hail began turning into a mere cold drizzle. The ground was slowly turning into a cold sludge of mud and melting hailstones, the rain was drenching their clothes and coats, rapidly making them freeze. Shivering, panting, marching on and on, no one had the strength to complain nor talk. Even if they did, each one of them knew the situation and the new goal, Tall Tale, what else was there to say and decided.

Tall Tale was approximately three days away from Edmareton, at least by hoof. Fade started to worry that they had to go take a detour around Stable Fifty-Four, actively doubling the time it would take them to reach their destination. The prolonged march through the dangerous terrain was one thing, but the limited amount of food she got from the Enclave had to last until then. While surely provided with chances to hunt, scavenge or trade along the way, they decided to avoid any small camps and strangers they met along the way.

After all, the danger of encountering one of Everlast’s agents was too much of a risk and ever present. Even though they stood away from the established routes between Tall Tale and Edmareton, they still didn’t dare to make something as simple as a fire out of fear of being seen. Without a way to cook food, they quickly discarded the idea to hunt all together. Instead the group walked past the far outskirts of Tall Tale that was rich in all kinds of stray animals. All they had were cold and slimy cubes, just nutritious enough to keep them going.

Eventually, in the setting sun of the last day of their journey, they finally saw Tall Tale’s skyline appear at the horizon. It was still hours away and they had to travel through the early hours of night to reach the city. From the distance they noticed the high Stable-Tec office spire. Its massive logo was recognizable even in the fading light of the day. Key looked at the crooked and damaged shape for a while.

There were ruins of small settlements all around the city, however they quickly agreed that they didn’t want to spend another night in the wet and cold wasteland, especially since their goal was so close. They took one last break to eat what was left of the cubes and had a sip of water. Shibboleth gave Key the last bite of the pale sandwich, then they marched on.

The crooked spires of the city center were all that was left of Equestria’s civilization. The western buildings seemed mostly intact, the buildings further to the east however were slowly deteriorating. It appeared that the balefire bomb struck the more industrial center of the city. A gentle, green glow was emanating from its crater and into the dusty air above.

However, before they would arrive at the outskirts of the city they heard gunfire echoing through the approaching night, slowly increasing in both volume and frequency. At first fear and dread of the Mandate began to spread through them, but soon enough they realized that their sound of automatic rifles and large explosives were missing. It was just yet another fight for food and rather calming to know, should Everlast attack he would have to face hundreds of armed ponies.

The streets were littered with countless pieces of trash, lit barrels and shifty looking ponies gathered around them. The group passed several houses on their way, occupied by small gangs and drifters. Crude graffities along the walls depicting doglike creatures showed that not just ponies were living in the city. After further inspection it was clear that they weren't just random smears of paint either, but rather warnings to the inhabitants of the city themselves. One of the creatures shown in the graffiti was standing on its hindlegs, holding a pony above itself, tearing it apart.

“Are those hellhounds…?” Key whispered silently.

“No, those are normal Diamond Dogs. They don’t want us in their territory.” Shibboleth replied calmly.

“Say, where does your friend live, Shib?” Fade asked, her eyes still carefully scanning her surroundings.

“Tall Tale’s radio station, it’s at the city market. I must say it’s much friendlier there.”

“Why do they hate us?” Key spoke up once more, still looking at the graffiti.

“I’ll tell you later, dear. Come now, every pony, we may have to hurry.”

Fade hurried ahead and in front of the others, feeling a strange and eerie feeling of teeth and claws lurking in the shadows.

Once the group reached the mall in the city center, they were greeted by bright lights, pleasant sounds of street musicians and the smell of warm food. The scent of dirty and sweaty ponies still gave them a hint of warmth from inside the shoddy, yet well maintained walls of the mall. Old logos and labels of its former owners were still in place, evoking cozy memories of the past. Midnight even began humming one of the old jingles, which were now played by the musicians.

They made their way through the crowd of haggling, shouting and laughing ponies. Key was excitedly observing all the different goings-on around her until she noticed two young foals arguing about who could eat the tumor of a mutated rat, they were roasting over a fire. Shibboleth kept her daughter close to her at all times, slowly guiding the group inside the mall. For a brief moment in a very long time they felt hopeful, however, Fade remained wary of pickpockets, or even worse.

Entering the mall they quickly wrinkled their noses, trying to ignore the strange smells creeping into their nostrils. The mall was not only a place to trade, but also served as a refuge for dozens or maybe even hundreds of ponies seeking shelter from the cold. If the smell wasn’t enough, the loud conversations and other noises filling the halls quickly drove the group further away from the larger crowds in the center.

“Why hello there, young little pony! You look pretty hungry.” A shifty looking stranger slowly approached Key from the side, a crooked grin stretched over its face. “Do you want one?” He offered her some kind of food.

“No, we are fine! Now back off!” Fade stepped between Key and the stranger, glaring at him from under her hood. The stranger flinched by her sudden appearance, his hooves almost dropping the plate of food. She looked down at the plate and was rather surprised to see an ordinary burger in place of regular wasteland slop. It had everything you could think of ranging from bread, some canned vegetables and even edible looking cheese. The smell of greasy meat however made her stomach churn. Shibboleth and Midnight weren’t convinced about the quality of the food either and kept moving.

“But I-it’s free!” He smiled once more, raising his plate up and almost under Fades nose. She frowned and used the opportunity to study him a little. His light green fur seemed clean enough, if slightly greasy and no doubt reeking of his burgers. His darker red mane was cut short, perhaps to keep it from ending up in his food. His dirty apron spelled “Kiss The Cook”.

Shibboleth stopped and looked back, so did Fade after deciding to turn away at first. Something was rather alluring about what he had to offer at his stand. It wasn’t just a pre-packed burger, but rather a freshly made one at that. The stranger had a whole cart nearby, which was still radiating heat and a painted sign with a rather simple drawing of his product. The subtle buzz of a nearby energy cell drew their attention to the cooking area of the cart, seemingly responsible for cooking the burger meat as well as toasting the bread.

“Look dear customers, I know you are eyeing my delicious treats. I still have a few more minutes left in the cell, I can probably cook one for each and every one of you! Hehe, you should grab them while they’re still hot.”

“Ugh… Generous, but no. Thank you.” Fade replied and turned away when Shibboleth suddenly nudged her.

“Shouldn’t we at least see what he got?”

“What? Eh, I don’t eat meat, especially if I didn't hunt it for myself.”

“I hear you whisper…” The stranger joined in in a melodic tone.

“What the hell!” Fade was about to react when the stranger simply continued in a bubbly tune.

“No need to be shy lads, you can go and ask around! I am well known here for being very generous, as well as having the bestest and most delicious treats you will ever find in Tall Tale. No exaggeration!” He nodded to a group of ponies nearby who were currently munching away on some burgers themselves. He then began to fiddle around in his jacket and pulled out a small plastic card. “Years of experience, lots of smiles and happy customers as you can see. I was an employee at Lunaland. Yes you all heard me right, the most amazing spot in Equestria. Heck I still have access to the logistic tunnels! I go in every few weeks and get fresh flour and other ingredients. Everything you see and taste comes from the best place the wasteland can offer. It barely even costs a thing haha! It’s almost like a reversed highway robbery!”

“But the meant—”
“Exactly! I basically throw my food at my beloved customers!”

Fade got annoyed by the frequent interruptions. Yet the card seemed authentic enough and even showed his picture. She couldn’t read the name that was engraved under the photograph, but the green coat and red mane definitely proved it to be him. “Alright look, could we have some without the meat?”

“Of course you can, my hooded friend! However you know what they say! Protein is very good these days. One needs the power and energy to kick some serious butt out there hehe. I'm sorry for my words, sorry young lady. Do not swear. It's a bad habit.”

“Could we just get the damn—”

“Ah but if you desire a burger with meat let me assure you that it’s all very fresh and hoofmade by yours truly each and every day, served to order! If you fancy yourself something more refined, I also added dry aged meat to the menu recently. Sometimes with a tiny pinch of radiation. For the extra spicy kick! Pick your favorite! Rat, deer and even cow!” He laughed. “No roaches though… they taste terrible.”

Key slowly walked up to him with a light frown. “But… it is wrong to eat animals.”

“Ohoho! Look at our nature lover over here. No, no, no, young lady, you see it is wrong to kill them for food, not to eat them.” He explained with a warm smile. “See, I do that, so you can eat absolutely one-hundred percent guilt-free!”

Shibboleth stepped forward, a little annoyed as well at this point. “Alright then mister, how many vegetarian burgers do we get for this?” She reached into her saddlebag and offered the cart owner about half the bullets in her pistol’s magazine.

“Well, I usually prefer energy cells for my freezer, but in this case I would say… enough!” He happily agreed and grabbed the bullets, quickly putting them into the small bag on his hip before turning to his cart. “Ready? Let’s go!” Taking a greasy spatula he began to flip the buns on the grill, toasting them one after the other, even putting three slices of meat onto the grill right next to them.

“I said without meat.” Shibboleth frowned.

“Of course, of course ma’am, I will keep them separated. For later, you see?”

Fade winced. “Yeah… Look everyone, I don’t want any of this. I will try to find a meal elsewhere. See you later.” Shibboleth and the others gave her only a small nod, then she set off while the burger flipping spectacle continued.

“One cheese sandwich for you, young lady,” the stranger said and gave Key a freshly made burger.

More hungry than wary however she took the warm meal with a silent “Thank you”. Her stomach was eager to receive the warm dish, but she still hesitated to take a bite.

“It’s okay, go ahead and enjoy your meal, dear.” Shibboleth smiled softly.

Key nervously and slowly took a bite. It didn’t take long until they saw her eyes widen and for an even wider smile to spread over her face. She quickly started to take another bite, then another and another. “It’s so damn good!”

The group including the stranger began to laugh, even Fade couldn’t help but smile a little as Key’s laughter snuck into her fine ear, however she simply couldn’t shake off this sick feeling spreading in her stomach. “Pigeons…” She remembered again and again.

Fade felt much better once she got far enough away from the weird food cart. She was still feeling slightly nauseous and sweaty from the sticky, dull heat inside the mall. She took a deep breath outside and let the cold winds calm her down while watching the mall slowly calm down. With the sun disappearing at the horizon, more and more ponies slowly retreated to their small rooms and shelters to sleep, yet still, she didn’t feel particularly safe. The place was big, fortified, well guarded but it didn’t feel safe. Just like Equestria did before the bombs fell. With this thought she wrapped her clothes tighter again to keep any indication of her wings hidden and her hood down in her face.

She wandered through the mall for a while without any real purpose, keeping eyes and ears open while trying her best to collect her thoughts. All she collected was how much Shibboleth lied to her daughter, that Valiant was still alive. She considered not heading back to Midnight, Key and Shibboleth. “It’s surely easier for them not having to convince the radio operator to shelter four ponies.”

Fade stopped by a trader who offered a wide selection of clothes of all kinds. The wide selection of flight suits specifically designed for pegasi caught her attention.

“Looks like you found a boutique which actually caters to ponies like you.”

Fade jumped at the sudden voice. While not threatening but rather calm in tone, she quickly swung around to face its source. A purple earth pony with a white blaze on his nose leaned on a small table next to her and rested his head on his forehoof. There was something about his cheeky grin Fade hated immediately. “I’m not a pegasus.” She replied in a scruff tone.

“Tomcat never said you were.” The trader purred. “But Tomcat noticed that you have a very peculiar interest in these suits.”

Fade scoffed and kept looking at them. A dark blue one caught her attention however. “Let’s say they look very warm. Are they expensive?”

“Oh yes, very. Both in warmth and price.” He chuckled. “But Tomcat is a good trader. Pick what fancies you and we will find an agreement afterwards. Sounds good?”

Fade didn’t answer him, instead she would continue to gaze at the blue suit. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but It was somehow strangely familiar to her. She pushed the other suits off the rack and away so she could examine it even closer. “What…” She whispered under her breath as her hoof ran over a cutie mark that was embroidered into the side of the suit. Two curved feathers neatly arranged in a circle, the cutie mark of her mother.

Tomcat grinned and leaned over the small table to observe her. “Hm? Found something interesting?”

“Where did you get this?” Fade whispered, her eyes still fixated on the embroidered cutie mark.

The still grinning trader got up and walked around the table. “Tomcat usually doesn’t disclose his clients. It’s business you see. But it looks like you found something very peculiar indeed.”

Her head snapped in his direction, her green eyes glaring into his own. “Cut the fucking bullshit!” Her voice was shaking in anger and Tomcat’s grin quickly faded. “Tell me where you got it… And if I have to buy the info, then tell me how much, but stop with your dumb games!”

His grin appears on his muzzle again. “Tomcat is usually not an info broker…”

Fades glare deepened. “I don’t give a fuck about Tomcat! Tell me! How much for the information?”

Tomcat rubbed his chin with a hoof and gave a long deep sigh. “I… am willing to give you the information if you buy the suit. The suit itself is for… hmmm, let’s say two weeks worth of food.”

“Two weeks!? That’s absurd!”

“That one suit may help you survive the cold for the next six months, maybe even a few years if you are careful. For Tomcat, this is a very cheap deal.”

“Yeah. How about that? Fuck off!”

“Oh Tomcat would like to.” He answered the insult with a sly grin. “But Tomcat’s cart is very heavy. Snow will begin to fall soon and… oh if only there was something to help out poor old Tomcat.”

Fade groaned. “Just say what you want!”

“Nothing too complicated, don't worry. Tomcat simply needs a magical Antigravitalizer Six-Thousand. Flim-Flam’s produced them in this very city! They had a facility close to the Tall Tale crater just a few minutes from here. Especially with wings.”

She was speechless for a moment. “Okay, so… you want me to go into an irradiated factory, next to a gigantic balefire crater and get you that antigravity device in return for… where you bought it?”

Tomcat smiled and nodded eagerly.

Fade chuckled at first and then laughed. “You are absolutely nuts, you know that?”

“Tomcat will pay you very well for the Antigravitalizer. Much more than just the suit of course. Tomcat promises.”

“A promise is nice, but I would prefer something more substantial…”

Tomcat nodded once again and returned behind the table to dig around in a large brown bag. Soon enough a satchel with a dull orange liquid would emerge from its dusty depth. A picture of a happy pony on its front, slurping the orange stuff as if it was a sweet and tasty drink. Fade grimaced, knowing very well how horrid the actual medicine against radiation tasted.

“The medicine upfront, because Tomcat wants you to return. The suit, the information and everything of equal worth to an Antigravitlizer after delivery however.” His grin widened ”So, what do you say? Is that substantial enough?”

Sleep and hunger were no longer a concern for Fade. In a pure state of fixation, blurring out everything and anything around her to make room for her thoughts run wild in her head. With a hasty step she moved down the big hallways of the mall, her gaze staring straight ahead yet not seeing anything. She didn’t have much time to locate the factory before nightfall. Her fast stride turned into a trot and soon she galloped through the mall. Her disturbance was not unnoticed however and a few ponies were shouting and cursing as she roughly bumped into some on the way.

“Fade!” A familiar voice fell amongst the angry crowd around her, a voice she wasn’t able to ignore as easily as the others. It took her a moment but eventually her gaze fell upon Midnight who was standing on the upper mezzanine. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t have fucking time to answer questions!”

“Shut up!” A young mare growled back at her, throwing a can at her as she got up from a pile of sleeping bags. “My kids are trying to sleep!”

Fade dodged the can rather easily and replied with just a glare. After all she had better things to do than argue or explain her actions. Just as she wanted to continue her mad dash, Midnight suddenly landed in front of her. His body, not made for such a hasty and heavy landing, struggled to fold his frail wings back into place.

“Are you deaf? I don’t have time, Midnight!”

“I noticed, but—”

His words were cut short when the same mare from earlier threw yet another piece of trash at them. “Take your fucking necroprancer and piss off!”

Fade finally kicked the can back at her and into her face. Enraged, the mare picked up a metal pipe and stomped towards her.

“Oh boy… Tell me on the way.” He whispered to Fade while more angry looks started to dart in their direction. Both didn’t hesitate any further and they left the mall as quickly as they could.

Outside they saw the sun already setting, however there was still a bit of light left to explore the city from above and Fade was desperate to do just that. She took off to the sky, too fast for Midnight to follow. Only when she gained enough altitude to look over the ruined city, she noticed the green hue already emanating from the crater nearby. The sight made her stop for a moment; Once she fled with her mother from the impending balefire and now she had to approach it.

Midnight eventually caught up with her. “Uhm, Fade? Why are you flying towards the crater? Come to think of it, why are you flying at all? I thought you wanted to stay hidden.” He had to strain his voice a little in order to be heard over the winds.

Fade gave him only the briefest answers, close to a simple shrug in nature. He saw worry and doubt dwelling in her eyes, a rather bewildering sight for her.

“Fade? I can help you navigate the area around the crater if you like. I can sense the radiation hot spots, you know.”

“I have medicine, Midnight. You don’t have to worry about me, alright?” She replied pretty quickly. “I mean… I don’t want to drag you into this.”

“But you are glad that I am letting you drag me into this, aren’t you?” He smirked.

Fade huffed in frustration. “Just tell me if you notice one of these hotspots.”

“So… That is a yes then.” Midnight grinned wider.

“Let’s… let’s just get this over with, okay?”

“Whatever you say, comrade.”

Even the approaching nightfall couldn’t hide the fact of how much more neglected and damaged the buildings looked that were the closest to the crater. The tall apartment blocks were soon replaced by large industrial complexes. Plundered, forgotten and probably very soon reduced to rubble.

Only very few ponies were actually living in that part of the city. From above, Fade and Midnight noticed their much thicker attire, tightly wrapped around them as means to protect against the irradiated dust in the area. A lucky few had the luxury of owning a gasmask, many others had their muzzles covered by their clothes or rags instead. After a short moment a set of colorful shimmers pierced the growing darkness. Fade observed how unicorns below them used their magic to move rubble around while keeping as much distance to the irradiated parts as possible. Eventually the magic glow did no longer appear between the ruins.

Midnight noticed a pony stumbling over some of the rubble underneath, the dim light in the streets showing that it lost most of its mane and coat. It tripped and fell over, however it got back up and continued its mindless wandering without making another noise. To Midnight there was no doubt of what that pony was. He tried to ignore the memories of ponies dying from balefire radiation, who then came back just to behave the same way as the pony he just now observed. It made him remember how his own body felt only a few hours before he died.

Being lost in his thoughts, Midnight looked down at the broken city once more. The massive complexes, pipes, scaffolds slowly turned into a nightmarish labyrinth. Collapsed walls opened up huge gaps in the buildings, hiding who knows how many creatures getting ready for the nocturnal hunt. Many of the older buildings closest to the crater had their foundations cracked and partially sunk into the ground due to the ravines, stretching out over the radiated earth like veins. Then, after another few minutes of flying, they finally gazed upon the impact site, a festering glowing wound in the center of the industrial park surrounding them. It made Midnight think of himself as part of the disease that destroyed and still spread through Equestria.

Midnight forced his lungs to take a deep breath. Although It didn’t bring the feeling of relief he had hoped for, it did clear his mind for the moment. “You said you need an Antigravitalizer? I… I know where they were built.”

“You do?” Her head turned to Midnight, partially in surprise, partially in confusion. “Did you by chance live or work here in Tall Tale?”

Midnight shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. I know that these things were used for tanks and cloudships. Oh! I also think they were used for the Ministry of Morale’s musical robots.”

“You mean those Sprite Bots? They were intended for spying on ponies.”

“What? No, they wouldn’t do such a thing. The Ministry of Morale was there for parties and to help ponies remember that war was only temporary.”

Fade rolled her eyes and simply nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Just lead the way so we can leave this place as soon as possible.”

Midnight observed the area and tried his best to maneuver both of them through the radiation hotspots, even though he had to stop and hover in the air to regain his orientation every once in a while. Fade grew nervous whenever he did that.

“That looks promising!” He led her down to a huge complex of factories and pipes, stretching over several blocks. Being ravaged by years of radiation and brittle foundations, there wasn’t much left to help them identify the right building amidst the ruins. However they eventually discovered a trace of small and later much bigger puddles of a strange rainbow colored sludge leading into a building nearby. It must have been proof enough for Midnight that this was the correct location.

“Is this it, Midnight?”

“Yes, that is the Hippocratic research facility. Do you still have the flashlight from the Stable?”

Fade nodded and took hers out from under her cape.

“Look for blue and white stripes, it’s the Hippocratic’s signature color palette. Don’t turn it on until it is absolutely necessary though.”

“I know how to sneak into a ruin, you bonehead.” Fade hurried down to the ruins and hovered just barely over the fragile roof, looking for a safe spot to land. The construction groaned deeply under her hooves, echoing through the brittle halls underneath. She stepped forward and tried to peek through one of the many holes, but the interior was completely dark.

“Radiation is pretty bad down there,” Midnight said.

“Shh!” She tilted her head to listen, being sure she heard something just a brief moment ago. Heavy steps began to echo through the empty structure, just audible enough. “There is something in the ruins…”

“Well, yeah? Probably ghouls. Let me take a look, they won’t attack me after all.” Midnight grabbed his own Flashlight and turned it on. “I’ll give you a signal when it’s safe.”

He jumped through the biggest hole in the roof he could find, flapping his wings to keep up an unsteady hover while slowly descending into the huge factory hall. The machines and conveyor belts were mostly destroyed by debris from the roof and walls or dismantled a long time ago. He landed on one of the machines and grimaced at the sight of the nasty floor in front of him. It was covered in irradiated mud, a mix of balefire ash, dust, and rain, a sticky bed the machine was slowly sinking into.

Suddenly a raspy groan caught Midnight’s attention. A ghoul was slowly walking through the radiated swamp, staring mindlessly at the flashlight. It was covered in so much dirt and soot that it was impossible for Midnight to even see its eyes, nor tell if the undead pony was even a mare or a stallion; A problem he remembered all too vividly from the day when Stalliongrad was destroyed.

The ghoul sluggishly stumbled towards the light, struggling and falling with its torn legs. Midnight covered his flashlight, hoping it would calm the ghoul and let it sleep again. After another minute or two of searching the area he eventually found a big gate supposedly leading to a storage room. The high shelves on the other side were knocked over, blocking the entrance and covering the ground in pieces of wood and rusty scrap metal. Countless more crates and boxes spilled from the shelves into the production hall nearby, slowly rotting and molding from the irradiated puddles they have been submerged in for decades. His attention was drawn to something moving behind the cage of shelves. But he wasn’t able to make out what it was.

“Just another survivor…” Midnight whispered to himself and gave Fade the signal with his light. Moments later she arrived next to him, hovering slightly above ground next to him. Midnight pointed to the storage room. “The water and mud is irradiated.”

“Yeah I guessed as much… I can feel my stomach turn just by being near it. Anything else?” She replied as she stared out into the sticky sea of irradiated dirt.

“I saw another ghoul in there.” Midnight pointed to the storage room. “I better go first.”

“Just one? It’s fine, I can deal with a zombie or two, even some radiation if need be.”

Midnight glanced back at her. “Uhm… They are still ponies, you know?”

Fade looked back at him and scoffed. “Ponies? Listen, you can call them apples if you like, but if one of these fuckers comes sprinting and screeching at me, I don’t see any difference. Heck, might as well be a damn Enclave pony.”

“You know that ghouls don't have a choice.”

“Okay, fine. I guess you are right. Heh, it would be an insult to the zombies comparing them to brainless drones of the Enclave.”

Midnight sighed and shook his head. “Just… don’t call them zombies, okay? Follow me.” He landed on the pile of crates and climbed onto the closest rack, pushing some of the old boxes aside until some of the wet cardboard tore open. He watched the contents of the boxes, some tiny toy soldiers, slowly falling out of the box; All of them in bright colors, equipped with modern rifles and uniforms. The toy zebras on the other hoof were all in a dirty gray and armed with stone clubs and shoddy spears. He frowned and pushed them away before continuing.

“Midnight, don’t go too fast. We have to search for the… thing.” Fade followed him and checked the boxes he moved when she noticed the toy soldiers as well. She picked up a tiny figurine of Rainbow Dash in a black combat armor. She couldn’t help but smile a little bit and quickly put it into her bag while Midnight wasn’t looking. She pushed another box away and suddenly jumped at an unexpected sight. She drew her knife at the sight of a dead pony’s leathery face staring back at her.

“Quiet!” Midnight whispered. “Don’t move…”

“It’s Just a corpse.”

“Too much meat… It’s a sleeping ghoul.” He turned around and carefully pushed another crate between Fade and the ghoul. “Leave him be, please. Here, follow me.”

After another few minutes of walking and searching some crates in the vicinity, Fade started to hear a few noises from below. She couldn’t say if it was some of the toys falling out of the decaying boxes, or a radroach, perhaps even one of those ghouls moving about.

“This way.” Midnight whispered, turning towards some collapsed pipes. They began crawling deeper into the maze of metal pipes and shelves that were grating against each other. Both could hear one of the ghouls waking up below, groaning and stumbling through the puddles, its motions stirring up a disgusting moldy stench. Midnight pushed his frail body through narrow gaps, between crates too heavy to move and rusty racks, eventually climbing up and crawling forward a little more to finally make it to the end of the cascade of fallen shelves. Fade followed closely behind.

His light illuminated the massive warehouse. Sections of it suffered from what seemed to have been a large fire, leaving the shelves warped and covered in muddy ash. Murky water was dripping from the high ceiling. On first sight it was high enough to utilize levitation magic and pegasi to store more products further up. Forklifts and carriages were rusting in the irradiated water, which added a faint, green glow under their hooves. Surprisingly they even found a freight crane still hanging from its compartments at the ceiling.

Fade stopped a few feet away from him. “Oh fuck…” She groaned when she realized the full size of the facility. Their lights were drawing the attention of a few more ghouls scattered all around the hall. One of them was rising from a puddle of water, covered by a film of sickly rainbow colored sludge. It could barely move as it had to drag a fleshy growth with it.

“As if radiation is not bad enough, they had to store taint here as well,” Fade whispered. Something in the corner of her eyes suddenly caught her attention. She turned her head, but could only find debris and a few things covered in slick oil. “Hey Midnight? Are you sure there are only ghouls in here?”

“Must be. I mean, they would have chased away every other animal.”

“Even tainted ones?”

Midnight shrugged. “I’m not an expert on wasteland fauna.”

“Nevermind then… Let’s get moving.” Fade got up and jumped off the racks to take flight into the huge hall. With most of the shelves broken she had more than enough room to fly freely enough, occasionally landing and jumping off of partially collapsed metal shelves and busted crates. She ignored the ghouls who were rushing through the neck high water to hunt her, even though they were unable to reach her.

Midnight followed her with heavy flaps of his own. “You shouldn’t anger the ghouls, Fade.”

“Look, I'm on a tight schedule. They are not. Also they can’t reach me anyway as long as I fly.”

“I would prefer if you would be quieter at least and… let them sleep.”

Fade sighed and landed on a nearby shelf to check the crates. “Yes, yes, yes. I got it. You sure care an awful lot about them, but why? Like… you are a ghoul, but you are nothing like them. They are braindead killing machines while you still have your intelligence. Heck, those fuckers are basically rabid animals… very dumb, smelly, rabid animals.”

“I wouldn’t call them animals.” Midnight answered calmly as he landed a bit lower, to check the boxes below Fade, just to find more toy soldiers. “While being a bit rude about it, you are kind of right. They are not themselves anymore.”

“Like you?” She moved to the next crate nearby.

Midnight scoffed. “I am myself, thank you very much. What makes you even say that?”

“Well…” She quickly moved to the next crate in line “Every time we talk about the Ministry of Morale and what they did to you, you are defending them. I threw away all my Ministry of Morale birthday toys, when I began to understand how much they spied on us.”

“They were never spying on us! This is just some… I don’t know, but it’s certainly not zebra propaganda.”

“What is it then?” She blew some dust off of a bigger and much older looking crate near her.

“I… I don’t—” He is suddenly interrupted by an excited gasp by Fade. “Did you find something?”

“Replacement parts for magical antigrav… Yes! Midnight, I found something!” Fade looked down to Midnight when she saw about a dozen of ghouls climbing on top of each other to reach out for her. Their snarling and groaning became increasingly annoying to her.

“Fade, please be so kind and land on that shelf over there and turn off your light,” Midnight said silently. “Let them calm down.”

“Calm down? Does that even help?” Fade pushed the boxes aside and landed on the rack, her knife ready just in case one of them figured out how to climb up higher.

“Just be quiet for a moment.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll shut up.” She sat down and turned off the light, watching the ghouls with their damaged dirty faces from above. She wondered if the Enclave saw the starving pegasi in a similar way. “Stay down and you get a ration!” She remembered suddenly. “Airborne pegasi will be shot!”

Then something grabbed her tail, a sudden jank sending pain up her entire spine when her body was dragged over the edge of the rack. She groaned and grabbed a nearby metal bar at the last second. “Fuck!” She cried out in pain when something far stronger than a ghoul began to pull at her tail. She kicked blindly, only to feel her hooves connect with a leathery and cold tendril slowly tightening the grip further.

Midnight rushed through a gap to the other side and stopped, his eyes wide open when he caught the sight of a black maw, filled with needle-like teeth, gapingly wide open to swallow Fade whole. One thin tentacle protruding from a round, featureless body was entangled in Fade’s tail, a second thin tentacle whipping to grab her leg. Midnight took the rifle and aimed at its head but he could only find a flat, oily surface where the eyes should have been.

The crack of the rifle echoed violently in the huge hall and more feral ghouls answered its cry with their own. The bullet itself didn’t even leave a mark on the tough skin of the beast, instead the monster pulled even stronger at Fade. Her cries of pain eventually went silent when she wrapped both her forelegs around the metal bar until she felt it cut into her skin.

“Cut it!” Fade yelled. “Just fucking cut it!”

Midnight frantically looked around until he found her knife laying on a lower shelf. He rushed down and reached out for it, luckily being ignored by the ghouls. He grabbed the handle with his teeth. As he turned around however he saw how the monster got a hold of one of Fade’s hindlegs.

Another one of Fade’s cries made Midnight flinch. “Damn it!” He hurried back up and reached with the blade for Fade’s tail. A first cut wasn’t enough. The second attempt was stopped by the leathery tentacles itself.

“Come one! Damn you!” Fade screamed once more, kicking back until she found a hold to push herself up, making the rest of her tail rip in the process. While it helped for the moment, the creature still had a tight grip around her other leg.

Midnight growled, desperate to find a way to get rid of the tentacle. He stretched out his head some more to reach Fade’s leg and began to cut open the ragged clothes wrapped around it, hoping it would do the trick. He kept working on the tough fabric, tearing through it quickly, ever more frantically until the blade cut into skin by accident. Finally the tentacle slipped off.

“Fucking hell, finally!” She gasped, quickly crawling back up and sitting down onto the cold metal of the structure, holding her leg in pain. “It burns!” She looked down at her hindleg and saw that her hair was starting to fall out.

“Move up! It’s irradiated!” Midnight yelled as he landed next to her, dropping the knife into her lap. “Go!” He then grabbed his rifle and flew up, quickly whirling it in his hoof and shooting at the creature in the process. Its tentacles were lashing out wildly, grabbing anything they could touch and smacking away some of the nearby ghouls and crates.

Fade forced her wings open and jumped off the shelf, flapping them wildly despite the pain in her leg and spine. Midnight flew around, kicking and shoving a range of boxes and crates down onto the monster. It was surprising how much the radiation coming from the monster invigorated his body. The impact of the heavy crates made the monster stagger, damaging some of the ghouls gathering around it.

“What the hell is that?” Midnight fled from the rack when the monster reached with its two tentacles after him, ignoring the ghouls around it, which appeared more alive and wilder than before. Midnight caught up to Fade who sat down on the highest rack possible. Her body was shaking, blood dripping from the stump where the monster tore parts of her tail out. Her chest was heaving as she tried to force the bitter medicine down her throat.

“Are you okay? How are your injuries?”

Fade took a long deep sigh after swallowing the medication and leaned back against the cold metal bars. “They’re fucking great! Ten out of ten.” She huffed.

“Well, you can joke around so I guess that’s good. Can you get out yourself?”

Fade briefly looked up, searching for a hole in the roof. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay, you do that. I will keep searching for the device.” He looked down and scanned the chaos unfolding underneath. The monster was still down there, showing its grizzly maw while the agitated ghouls were howling and groaning almost in unison. When he looked up to find a safer route for Fade, he noticed something. “Fade, do you see the crane up there?”

She nodded, before heaving from the medicine.

“Follow the rails. If you are lucky they lead to a hatch in the roof for aerial transports.”

“As always, you know a weird amount of information about this place.”

Fade got up and stretched her wings moments before she took off to search for a way out. Midnight waited another moment for the ghouls and the monster to follow Fade. When they were far away enough and he dived down to the lower shelves. “Wasn’t it around here somewhere?” He gasped when his eyes grazed over the description she had read out loud earlier. Not losing any time he grabbed what he could and flew back up to the roof where Fade was already waiting for him. Together they then quickly made their way back to the city, leaving this death trap far behind them.

“Hey, wait up!” Midnight tried to catch up to Fade galloping down the streets. The moment Fade delivered the Antigravitaliter to Tomcat she rushed out, ignoring her injuries and his pleas to slow down.

Fade didn’t answer him, instead she decided to speed up, her mind racing alongside her own hooves. The school Tomcat mentioned wasn’t far away anymore. Many ponies were wandering along the streets in search of resources or to hunt small nocturnal animals for food. They shouted and glared angrily at Fade’s mad dash, her hooves scaring off any game and generally disturbing the calm of night, but she didn’t care.

Midnight looked back at Shibboleth and Key, both trying to keep up as well. He dashed into a faster gallop to stay up to speed as much as his body allowed it.

Fade arrived at the school first and ran inside the dusty old building. It was rather silent, old pre war posters were decorating the walls and faded signs were pointing to rooms that no longer fulfilled their intended purposes. She checked every room on every floor, but most, if not all of them inside the ruined apartment building were empty. She flew up the stairs to the last floor, not giving any attention to the others as they chased after her.

Fade’s mad dash through the old building continued with short flat breaths. Her head kept telling her it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Not after all these years. Words she kept repeating over and over in her head as her hope was dwindling with each empty room passing, until finally one of them would stand out. An old wooden door, decorated with drawings of flowers, birds and beetles, an open blue sky, a childish impression of Equestria before the bombs fell. The ponies drawn onto it were smiling happily, yet Fade felt nothing but dread. If this room was empty too, it would mean that all her hope was for nothing.

Her heart was racing, a rush she would only feel in battle. Her hoof started to weigh several tons, her throat began to dry out “This can’t be real…” She muttered under her breath, then opened the door ever so slowly. Instead of a small hallway or yet another storage room, Fade found herself in a pretty wide classroom. Low tables and seats were scattered in the repurposed apartment, all neatly set up to face the front where a tiny blackboard was leaning against the wall. Next to it was a low desk with a few books lying on it.

There, behind it and slightly illuminated by the rays of a weak lamp, sat an older mare. Her mane was dark blue, her white coat stained with the dust that was gently floating through the air. Her tired, rose colored eyes looked up at the intruder standing by the doorway. Silent, stunned by disbelief, as if she saw a ghost from the past, it took anything but a brief moment before she realized that it was not just a regular pony that had entered her classroom. “Fade?” She finally spoke up.

“Mom?” Fade muttered, the weight of the world was lifted, even just for a short moment. Fade rushed to her mother and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. She sank down onto the floor, her face tightly pressed against her mother’s chest, as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Forgotten was the war, forgotten was the wasteland. The only thing that mattered at this very moment was a lost child finding her mother.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Sharpshooter - Midnight has a 5% higher chance to critically hit with Aimed Shots.

New Perk: Cautious Looter - Fade gets 1 Armor Class for every Action Point that was spent for inventory management or looting.

Chapter 4: Carcass

“It is arrogant to believe ponies are not thriving on death. It was the war; the killing, that made us grow strong in the first place.”

Time passed by since the reunion of Fade and her mother. However all they had done since then was to look out the broken window in silence. Fade saw the mall and its bright lights, as well as the faint glow of the balefire crater in the east of the city, that kept her aware of the radiation burns she suffered. Yet it did not matter. Eighteen years had passed since they last saw each other and yet not a single word could escape their lips. Both patiently waited for the other to speak, a silence eventually broken by Fade.

“So… you decided to be a teacher again?” She hoped her mother would smile but it only left a sad expression on her face.

“It’s nothing like it was during the war, or even before that. For the parents, my school is a drop-off point for their kids. For the kids, it’s just a waste of time. They don’t want to learn how to read or do basic math, until I explain to them why it helps them survive… And even then, it’s still not enough.”

“Yeah, but… eh, young ones are all fucking smartasses, pretending they know better than we do. Reading may not save your life in battle, but it can prevent you from ending up in one. If you are lucky.” Fade turned her head to look over to Key to check if she was still asleep. She and her mother lied down in the opposite corner of the room, huddled together in blankets that Feather provided.

“What happened in the Stable?” Feather asked.

“The usual. Bad ponies came, shot around… And things just got fucked up.”

Feather nodded and remained quiet for a moment, looking at her daughter’s tired face. “Fade… Even after eighteen years I can still see in your eyes that something’s on your mind. Would you like to tell me what it is?”

Fade pulled her clothes tighter and sighed. “It’s…” She started, frowning at the answer that would follow. “I got them out in one piece, but not her father.” Fade rubbed her eyes, pretending that it was simply due to tiredness, it would take more to trick her mother. A moment later she felt a wing on her back. Fade’s ears perked up, then lowered as she hugged herself tighter. “It’s just Da—” She took a deeper breath. “Brave, all over again… Shib doesn’t want to tell her.”

Feather retreated her wing and sat up. She took a deep and heavy breath, then turned back to Fade. “Do you blame her for that, Fade?”

“Yes! Well… I guess… N-no.”

A long period of silence followed, only interrupted by a few sounds of gunfire somewhere in the city.

“So… you got over it?” Feather asked carefully. ”With your father, I mean?”

Fade shrugged. “I mean… yeah. After all, I never even got to know him.”

“Oh, but you did. When you were still very young you always asked for him.”

“I never knew Brave, okay?” Fade said a tad harsh in tone.

Her mother sighed and leaned against the cold wall behind her. “I only wanted to know if you are alright, that’s all.”

“I’m not a child anymore, Mother. I am beyond crying at this point, especially about people like him.” She then turned to Feather. “What about you though? Did you get over it?”

Feather hesitated, but then she took something small out of her jacket pocket. It was a war medal, golden and freshly polished. The decorative band was already heavily frayed from being carried around for years. “I guess…”

Fade glanced at the medal, alas dismissively. “It’s Brave’s, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Hero of Orlov, it says. Your father has gotten many medals in his time, but he was always proud of this one specifically.”

“Great. Couldn’t you have sold that piece of metal instead of your flight suit?”

Feather glared at Fade before she put the medal away again. Fade tensed up and the silence between them returned once more.

“Speaking of old times,” Fade tried to continue. “Are you still teaching history?”

“No.” Feather replied after a brief moment as she tried to relax. “They don’t want to learn history from… ponies like us.”

“Pegasi?”

“No, Just old ponies. They blame us for the state of the world.”

“Well, they aren’t wrong.” Fade shrugged.

“They are wrong, Fade.” Feather whispered. She glanced at Key and Shibboleth and shook her head. “Some tried to stop it.”

“Heh… like Brave?”

“Fade! Your father tried his best. He fought for—”

“Yeah yeah, for fucking up Equestria. Because of that stupid fucking war. And what did we get? A shitty wasteland and me growing up without a father… yet alone mother. And even then, Key had a father and he died because of some equally stupid thing from the past. Now you are asking me if I got over all of this shit. What am I supposed to say?”

“I just tried to be nice…”

“I know…” She sighed and looked out the window again.

“Fade…” Feather eventually spoke up. “When I asked about the Stable, I… didn’t want to bring back bad memories. I was more thinking about… why was The Mandate there?”

Fade leaned on the broken window frame and let the cold wind brush over her short messy mane. “Their leader thought Key’s father was a Shadowbolt. Apparently he was right. He was looking for something called Killjoy… and when Key’s father denied cooperation…” When she briefly looked at her mother, she saw something in her mother’s eyes… something that scared her. “You… you know about it, don’t you?" Fade asked.

Feather nodded and turned away. “I do, but… I will tell you tomorrow, okay? You know… I don’t want your friends to wake up and I also don’t want to repeat myself either.” Feather retreated into another room while Fade remained at the window. She couldn’t help but somehow feel lost. Her mother never retreated like this, not even when she asked when her father would return home.

The hours went by and Fade couldn’t sleep. She rolled around, curled up, then smelling the ashen air of the wasteland. Occasional gunshots could be heard every few minutes. These noises somewhat calmed her down, having become her lullabies ever since she arrived in the wasteland. It helped her guess how far away the enemies were, how many there were or even tell her a few things about their equipment. Energy weapons were quiet, but a pony being vaporized by their destructive magic screamed louder, before their vocal cords turned into pink dust.

Midnight had settled down in the hallway, pretending and remembering falling asleep. He was blissfully unaware of what Feather revealed to Fade. Feather’s school was left undisturbed during the night and Midnight certainly sought solitude among the colorful pictures Feather drew at the walls of the hallway.

At dawn the nightly battles were slowly replaced by the shouting and yelling of ponies waking up, arguments about what to do, to eat and to trade. Only now they realized how far voices could travel without the constant buzz of vehicles and heavy machines.

Tired but restless Fade followed Feather’s invitation to join them for breakfast, even though she wasn’t hungry. Her stomach felt cramped from the lack of proper food and the worry of what Feather’s knowledge of Killjoy may entail. She lost even the rest of her appetite when Shibboleth unpacked the meat she bought the day before. Feather offered stale oats but what really caught Midnight’s and Fade’s attention was a piece of chocolate Feather offered to Shibboleth and Key.

Midnight envied them, still smiling from the memory of how chocolate tasted. Fade however remembered that she only offered sweets to bribe some of the less loyal Enclave ponies. It reminded her of how easy it was to rat out your own friends and comrades if necessary.

“I talked with my daughter last night,” Feather spoke up. “She told me what happened at your Stable, why The Mandate was there and… about Killjoy. In fact I know what this Killjoy actually is.” The breakfast was dropped in an instant as everypony’s gaze quickly turned to Feather. She let the revelation sink in. Key didn’t even take some of the chocolate.

“How?” Fade replied first.

Feather sighed and met her daughter’s gaze. “Brave, Fade’s father, met a lot of ponies during his time in the army. After he… died, one of his acquaintances offered me a job. Since teachers weren’t paid as much as they used to, I agreed rather quickly and… kind of began my work for the Ministries.”

“Ministries? Which one?” Midnight chimed in.

“None in particular. It was more of a state agency to help the Ministries coordinate.”

Shibboleth’s ears perked up. “You mean the O.I.A.?”

“What is the O.I.A., Mom?” Key asked, looking at her mother, then turned her gaze to Fade, who wore an equally puzzled expression.

“The Office of Interministrary Affairs, dear,” Shibboleth said.

“How do you know about them?” Feather raised an eyebrow.

Before Shibboleth answered however, she briefly looked at Key. “My department at work used the Office to request stuff from Wartime. They produced all the radio equipment you see… But it still doesn’t explain how you know about Killjoy.”

“Right. You know… I started as a courier, mostly during the school’s holidays.” Feather looked over to Fade while she spoke. “When things got worse with the war, I decided to save up some money for a Stable ticket or… just to get very, very far away. So… they gave me a holodisk, vaguely telling me what was on there, how important it was and then they sent me off to the north. My mission was to hide it somewhere deep in Stalliongrad.”

“But what is it?” Shibboleth frowned, slowly growing impatient.

“A key. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Shibboleth sighed angrily. “So you want to tell me that The Mandate invaded my home, did… what he did, just to get yet another key? A random key? Don’t they already have a skeleton key to all of Equestria with the Mandate?”

Feather shook her head. “The Royal Mandate is a magic spell created… I don’t know… hundred or even thousands of years ago, to grant the holder access to all Royal Equestrian facilities like the treasury or, well, the Royal Guards. However, to prevent sabotage and infiltration, it was never updated to include newer branches like for example the Ministries, the mechanized cavalry branch of the military or the megaspell chambers.”

“And Killjoy can grant—” Midnight asked hesitantly, but Fade quickly cut him short.

“Why did you never tell me about this?”

“It was a secret, Fade.”

“Secret? A secret? You were a courier, Mom! Your job couldn’t have been that important most of the time. And, heh, why did you keep it a secret even long after the bombs had already fallen? We were still together back then…”

“Because you were sixteen and there were more important things to worry about.”

“Sixteen doesn’t mean I was a stupid child anymore! You could have shown—” Fade stopped abruptly when she noticed Shibboleth’s glare and subtle shaking of her head. She sighed and just sat back down. “Nevermind…”

“Do you know…” Shibboleth forced herself to speak as calmly as she could. “Just by chance… Was Killjoy a Shadowbolt operation?”

“No. I can say for sure that it wasn’t. Even if it was, it was kept secret from me. Is it really true that your husband was a Shadowbolt?”

Shibboleth frowned at Fade. “If he didn’t lie, he still is a Shadowbolt. To be frank, Valiant preferred not to speak about the war or his life before that.”

In the brief silence Feather’s eyes fell on Key. “It is only a matter of time until The Mandate knows you are here. I… could make you a proposal. An offer, which may even solve your problem.” The others stirred at Feather’s words. “I know where Killjoy is, but… I may require Key to come with me to Stalliongrad.”

After a while everypony but Feather and Shibboleth were asked to leave the room so they could talk. Fade and Key pretended they wouldn’t hear their mothers yelling at each other, while Midnight rested near the door to make sure nopony would interrupt the two.

Fade could understand Shibboleth’s temper to a degree. She remembered watching her mother killing an undercover Enclave agent with her bare hooves. Her first meal in days above the clouds was a hard oatmeal bar, taken from the pockets of the dead pony. She didn’t know what made the two mares shout at each other, but Fade knew Shibboleth was trying to protect her daughter.

“Why doesn’t Mom ask me about my opinion?” Key asked, taking a tiny piece of chocolate before wrapping up the rest. She looked up and hoped to get an answer from the others, but Fade was sitting at the window, brooding about why her mother kept her work secret from her all those years. Midnight was cleaning his rifle, but at least he gave Key a shrug, symbolizing he wouldn’t know.

“Midnight… would you teach me how to shoot that rifle?” She asked, nodding at Midnight’s gun.

He smiled and leaned forward a little. “No. Because this one is mine and it has my ghoul slobber all over it.”

Key didn’t laugh, showing how serious her request was. “I’m a unicorn, I’m fine.”

“Still, it is not my decision,” He leaned back against the wall.

“I didn’t ask if you would, if my mother allowed it. I asked if you would teach me.”

Midnight looked at Fade, giving him the same clueless shrug. He thought about it for a moment and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. The wasteland is dangerous and it is a necessity, yes, but on the other hoof using weapons is the last thing ponies should fall back to, even in these times.”

“Sounds smarter than my mom…”

Midnight put the rifle away and looked back at Key. “Your mother is a smart mare.”

“Do smart people really sound like that?” Key nodded to the door, where her mother was still yelling at Feather and vice versa, but Midnight didn’t know how to reply to that. “Whatever, forget the question… Can I ask you something else instead?”

“Sure thing.”

“Would you bring us to Stalliongrad?”

Fade turned around, huffing at Key. “It is not our decision. Even if you want to go north with us, if Shib says no, then it is a no. It sucks but that’s how it is.”

“You don’t have to talk to me like you are some kind of big sister,” Key snapped.

“And you don’t have to talk to me like you are my little sister. It is how it is. The end.”

Key crossed her forelegs and huffed, turning away from Fade. In the midst of the tension, Midnight slowly stood up and turned towards the door. “I may have an idea. Let me talk to them, alright? I’ll be right back.”

“This could have been very useful information days ago!” Shibboleth was angrily pacing up and down in the small room. Midnight was able to make them stop fighting for the moment, but Shibboleth's temper grew bigger after he told them about his brother.

“That is right, but that’s all I can offer you. I will bring you to Stalliongrad, help you get Killjoy and then you go to the Rangers and ask them for help.”

“And if they say no?” Shibboleth asked.

“Then… then tell them the leader of The Mandate is a ghoul and hope for the best.”

“You are kidding…”

“No, I'm not. My own brother said right into my face that he doesn’t like my kind. Also… I don’t know who else could be entrusted with Killjoy. They are the only ones in all of Equestria with the knowhow and resources to make a significant difference.”

Shibboleth sat down. “What about Key?”

“The Rangers can protect her.” Midnight answered. “Plus Key is smart, the Rangers would gladly give her the education she needs.”

“She would have gotten a proper education in the Stable.”

Midnight shook his head. “She would have learned to maintain a Stable. The Rangers can teach her how to build generators, radios, water purifiers, bridges, basic infrastructures. She would learn things that would help her survive and that are not about using a weapon.”

Shibboleth sighed. “Before I make a decision, you better tell them the rest of your stupid crap, Feather.” She stood up and left the room. “Fade, your mother needs to talk to you.”

“Shib?” Midnight called her before she left the room. “Ask Key about her opinion on this.”

Shibboleth scoffed and made room for Fade to step in. After Fade closed the door, Feather released a heavy sigh.

“There is a big problem with Killjoy,” Feather began. “And that’s why… I said that we need Key.”

“Well, tell us.” Fade also began to grow more annoyed by the secrecy and formalities.

After a brief nod Feather began to tell them what she kept hidden at first. “The holodisk is hidden in an abandoned salt mine, half a day north of Stalliongrad.”

“Oh… I know this area,” Midnight smiled. “I think I know where this is going. Hippocratic Research bought these mines to dump their toxic waste there. Mostly taint.”

“Wait…” Fade couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “You mean the rainbow sludge we saw in the factory yesterday… that stuff is stored alongside Killjoy?”

Feather nodded. “Yes.”

“Hah, what stupid dumbfuck got that aneurism of an idea?”

“Watch your language, Fade.”

“Oh don’t you—” But Feather continued before Fade could even start.

“This was before the bombs fell, priorities were a bit different back then.”

“Yeah sure, but it’s been twenty fucking years. The barrels and crates will have torn open by now! The entire cave is probably filled with toxic sludge and mutants by now.”

“Actually It’s even worse.” Feather added. “The mine got mostly flooded by snowmelt during the past summers. So, wearing rubber boots and wrapping ourselves in clothes and plastic bags won’t be enough.”

Fade rubbed her face with her hooves in frustration, even Midnight couldn’t hide his disbelief by raising his eyebrow.

“This is where we need Key,” Feather said.

“How is she going to help?” Fade laughed.

“That is the part where we have to rely on The Mandate’s research about Valiant to be true. If Key’s father really was a Shadowbolt, the inheritance protocols allow her access to the Ministry of Awesome Hubs.”

“Ministry of Awesome?” Midnight spoke up. “What does Awesome have to do with the Shadowbolts? I thought they were air force.”

Fade shook her head. “No. Awesome was… Equestria’s spec-ops. The princesses were able to keep it secret. However, it got well known among pegasi, because the Enclave is only as smart as the clouds around them and couldn’t keep their mouths shut.”

“But I still don’t know how it helps us with the salt mine.”

“The Shadowbolts were used for more than just aerial missions behind enemy lines.” Feather explained. “They were trained for all kinds of missions, including chemical warfare. In case the zeebs would poison a city or something else.”

“First, it’s zebras and second they wouldn’t have done that,” Midnight said defensively.

“Doesn’t matter, if we are lucky then they will still have hazmat suits stored in their facility.”

Fade shook her head and looked at her mother. “I get why Shib was yelling at you.”

Nopony dared to say it but they all knew the decision to go to Stalliongrad was made, not by free will but by sheer necessity. They already dreaded the week-long hike to the city, which was already battling the early, northern winter. Not even Midnight was looking forward to seeing his home, knowing that each step would be accompanied by the reluctance of his companions.

Midnight was cleaning his rifle a second time, a little ritual he would turn to to calm his nerves or simply concentrate. He didn’t know how to break the silence after the argument, given every party was rather tense and a wrong word could only worsen the situation. All but Key were eating the meager food they had prepared, not out of any appetite but out of a habit, drilled into their heads by the harsh wasteland.

Eventually Midnight sighed and put his rifle away. “Should I try to get us some food or new clothes?”

Feather looked up and replied first. “Didn’t you say you were in a Hippocratic Research factory yesterday?”

Midnight nodded briefly. “Yes. That’s where the monster is.”

“Well… not too far away is a Ministry of Image. The ghoul, leading that place, put out a bounty on that monster.”

“This ghoul,” Shibboleth said. “Does he go by the name of Endeavor?”

“Yes, that’s him.” Feather didn’t hide the aversion in her voice.

“Great, It’s getting better and better…” Shibboleth shook her head in resignation. “Do we really have to work with this weirdo?”

Even Key looked up from her crumbs of oats when she heard her mother speak that way about somepony. “What’s wrong with him, mom?”

Shibboleth took a short breath to hide her annoyance. “He believes ghouls are the next stage of pony evolution, because they are better fit to survive in the wasteland. His ramblings over the airwaves got really annoying and everypony is glad that somepony took down his transmitter.”

“Uhm… and why is this bad?” Key tilted her head a little.

Shibboleth pondered for a moment, trying to think of a good way to answer the question. “Let me say it like this… he doesn’t have any problems letting his supporters hunt normal ponies.”

“And kill them.” Feather added harshly.

“Why does he want the monster dead?” Midnight asked.

“I don’t really care why, but… other ponies all over the city think the monster is responsible for a lot of killings anyway,” Feather said. ”The corpses are usually found closer to the industrial district and are lacking meat, but intestines and organs are left—”

“Uhm, Feather? Could you spare my daughter the details?” Shibboleth intervened.

“Fine, what I want to say is that even if you have a deal with Endeavor, killing the monster still does the city a favor.”

“I usually don’t hunt animals.”

“Heh… that fucking thing? That is not an animal,” Fade smirked. “It’s some fucking disgusting abomination made by ponies, or fuck, maybe even zebras. And you weren’t fussy when Valiant gave us a job. To hunt an animal.” Her cussing brought a frown into Shibboleth’s face once more.

Midnight got up and took his rifle, shouldering it in one fluent movement. “Valiant told us to search for tracks, not hunting. Also… Fade? Key? Make sure that your parents won’t go for each other’s throats, while I am away.”

After Midnight arrived in the industrial district, he landed on one of the roofs of the remaining buildings which survived the shockwave. Still, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that the balefire crater and the destruction was like a disease in a once busy city. And yet he found himself asking if the balefire wasn’t just a vaccine to a different kind of sickness.

A few ghouls caught his attention. They were slowly wandering through the ruins, indifferent to the destroyed city or their own condition. He heard them laughing with their raspy voices. Midnight wondered if they played chess. Sadly however he didn’t have time to sit down for a game, so he decided to march on. He kept searching the area for a building that was in a much better shape than the rest. Not much later he eventually found just that, quite far away as well. While the buildings around it were mostly turned to rubble, its own structure was too intact to be a coincidence, making it stick out like a bone from a wound.

He took off, landing a few blocks away to not cause any concern or unnecessary attention. He kept his rifle on his back while he wandered down the streets, noticing many more ghouls along the way. They weren’t laughing however, instead they were guarding the area from the windows and rooftops. Midnight waved his hoof at a few, but they just kept staring at him as if he was simply too alive.

When he turned into the street he immediately saw the Ministry building. During the war it would have been a completely unremarkable building, one of many, a facade without any decoration, the windows barred shut with metal plates and bars. Just another office building defined by ponies’ paranoia of zebra spies. Two ghouls were guarding the entrance, one having a face mostly void of any flesh and skin.

“Uhm… Good day. I’d like to talk with Mr. Endeavor, if that’s possible.” His body was tensing up. The eyes of the faceless ghoul made him worry that they could lash out at any moment.

“Do you have an appointment?” The other ghoul asked, his lips more intact than his raspy voice.

“Actually, no. I am here because of the… the bounty.”

“If this is your inquiry, I will inform Mr. Endeavor. Please come in.”

He followed the ghoul inside, past two heavy and reinforced doors and a small hallway. The entrance hall was dimly lit and each of Midnight’s steps crunched on the dirty floor. The carpet was covered in dust and brittle pieces of plaster that fell from the ceiling. To his left was a desk with a mare behind it, slowly typing away and working on a long dead terminal. She held a machine pistol in one foreleg as if it was a pet.

“Please wait here.” The ghoul went down a corridor and left him alone. Midnight’s ears flicked when the mare struggled to press a key. When he looked at her, he couldn’t say if her hooves or the terminal would cease to function first. But he knew he didn’t want to be around if either of it happened.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long in the presence of the undead mare. An orange unicorn strode down the hallway towards Midnight. Most of his fur and mane were long gone by the looks of it, even some flesh had already rotten away. His white suit however was kept in pristine condition for some reason.The unicorn used his magic to remove dust off the sleeves and straighten the fabric, repeating the process whenever he discovered a crease he didn’t like.

“Excuse my appearance. It is not very easy to keep up the standard of proper attire these days. I requested new business suits multiple times. Hm. I have no idea what the Ministry Mare is thinking, to simply ignore proper clothing for her subordinates like that. Ah, but please ignore my ramblings, the name is Endeavor. How can I be of service?”

Midnight looked to the door, unsure if he wanted to keep up the facade or leave before Endeavor would forget about ghouls. “Uhm… I am afraid I have to be the bringer of bad news, but… the Ministry Mare—”

“Shhh…” The ghoul stepped closer to whisper. “Ms. Buttercup doesn’t need to know. She is a very… delicate flower. If you allow, please follow me to a more discreet location.”

“I understand. Please lead the way.” Midnight followed Endeavor to a small conference room. It wasn’t in a much better shape, but the ghoul was constantly using his magic to nudge dust and dirt into the corners.

“I got informed you are here for the bounty. Are you planning to hunt the creature or did it happen that you were already successful?”

Midnight sat down. “I heard that the monster is hunting ponies, but why do you want it killed?”

“It kills our kind. Apparently not as often as our… less fortunate cousins.”

Midnight furrowed his brows.

“Oh… You don’t know yet. I mean the ponies who didn’t have the great opportunity to be turned into our kind by the balefire.”

“No. This is not what I meant. See… I have seen the monster. It lives in the old Hippocratic Research facility alongside a few dozen ghouls. They lost their mind but… it didn’t attack them. It actually ignored me as well.”

“This is indeed a quite particular detail, one I was not aware of.” Endeavor rubbed his chin and began pacing up and down the room. “Then what else could leave my kind in such a horribly mangled state, some describe as… being butchered.”

“Butchered?”

“Yes. The meat was removed and everything else left for the rats. Animals wouldn’t do this. And now that you told me that this monster shows no interest in ghouls, I would rather have it alive to be honest,” Endeavor said, still walking up and down the room.

“And the bounty?”

“In this case, you would have to hunt a pony, but don’t be concerned about it. After all, they are going to go extinct very soon anyway. Why not speed up the process?”

“Because—”

“There is no ‘Because’. You have to admit that no one of our kind wouldn’t eat its own for the primitive reason of hunger. Or are you disagreeing?” He stopped his restless pacing, glaring at Midnight.

Midnight shook his head quickly. “No, I am not. What I wanted to say is that hunting a pony is more dangerous than hunting an animal. I would like to negotiate payment first.”

“Very well, what do you need?”

“Food and clothes.”

“Food… ?” He raised his brow, looking at Midnight.

“F-for trading of course! You see I am from Stalliongrad. It’s my home there and… uhm, I am trying to get more warm clothes. Many ghouls freeze and go wild. They need warm clothes and the best way to get them is to sell food to ponies.”

“Hm…” The old ghoul growls a bit under his breath. “I don’t appreciate your stance on this matter and maybe you should leave. If you don’t want to accept that we are the superior species, you are no longer welcome in our midst.”

Midnight felt the urge of violence returning, however he kept his composure. “You said it yourself, ponies are willing to eat each other to survive, but they can’t eat each other to prevent freezing to death. If they keep their clothes, they can survive the winter and maybe they kill one or two for the meat. Without the warm clothes however, they will freeze to death in a few days.” Midnight wanted to cut his tongue out for saying this.

It mollified the ghoul and he was smiling. “I like your way of thinking, to use nature to accelerate the inevitable. Unfortunately we don’t have food here and since you want to help our kind in Stalliongrad… I am willing to pay. Ten sets of fine winter garments oughta be enough I assume. Provided by the ever so generous Ministry of Image.”

“And this is why Luna is to blame for the state of Equestria.”

Midnight returned to the small apartment building, when he found Feather teaching Key a few details about the war. Details she didn’t learn in the Stable’s school. He saw in Key’s eyes concern and confusion of how bad Feather talked about the princesses who ruled over Equestria during the war.

“What about Princess Celestia?” Key asked.

Feather responded with a sigh. “Nothing but a coward.”

“But the Ministry Mares—”

“Useful idiots, most of them at least. Their somewhat-leader, Twilight Sparkle, was so indoctrinated by princess Celestia, that all her wits and intelligence she may have had, didn’t help to see through the actual damage they had caused.” Feather looked up when she noticed Midnight. “Oh you are back, any news?”

Midnight frowned at what he just heard, but he nodded. He briefly told her about Everlast’s offer, all the while trying to hide the fact he wasn’t too keen on hunting a pony, especially not for a ghoul like Endeavor. Every time Midnight thought about him, he felt the urge to clutch his rifle tighter to his body.

“You can ask Fade,” Feather said, pulling Midnight out of his thoughts. “If Endeavor’s suggestion is true, then it means a cannibal is on the loose. She will gladly help.”

“No, I don’t want to drag her further into this. I pushed her to return to the Stable but now she has a chance to get away from all of this.”

Feather shook her head. “That’s not quite correct. We all got dragged into it, even me. Everlast looks for something I was involved in. No matter if he looks after you or me or Killjoy, just because you were here, will make Everlast look for all of us.”

“Then we should keep a low profile instead of causing a fuss by killing some random pony in the city.”

“Ponies are getting killed in this city every day, Midnight. Especially with a psychopath on the loose.”

“But that doesn’t mean Midnight and Fade have to kill one as well,” Key chimed in.

But Feather simply continued. “There is a serial killer here who may have killed dozens of ponies already. If he won’t be stopped he may kill a dozen more, maybe even one of us if we are unlucky enough.”

“That’s… unnerving. Doesn’t the city have a police force, or basic laws?” Key asked.

“Not anymore. I’m also sure that your mother wouldn’t like you listening to such a conversation. Could you please go to the other room and tell Fade to come in here?”

Key rolled her eyes and turned. “Do all mothers treat young ponies like foals?”

“No,” Midnight said. “I’ll talk to her by myself.” He took a few steps through the room when he suddenly stopped. “Say, Feather? Before I leave, may I ask you a question?”

She looked up, waiting.

“Since you worked at the O.I.A., have you ever heard of a pony named Blue Sky? He is part zebra, part pony. He has some blue stripes…”

She furrowed her brows. “You know… I met a lot of ponies, but never one such as that. Believe me, I would certainly remember.”

“I see… Well, thank you.” He continued, knocking politely before entering Fade’s room. She was sitting near a window, sewing some rags onto her clothes in order to repair them. By the looks of it, she seemed to have gathered some experience doing so over the years. Midnight couldn’t ignore her loss of fur and the blackened skin on her hindleg

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Sure.” She answered directly, not bothering looking up. Midnight put his rifle against the wall and sat down a few feet away from her. “I have a question.”

“I’m kinda busy here.”

“It’s just a small question. Are you coming with us to Stalliongrad?”

“Small, huh? Also, us? So you decided to bring us there?”

“It’s not really a decision. I’m still searching for my friend. Or at least a trace. I don’t know where Blue Sky was when the bombs fell, but I wonder if he may have returned home just like… us.”

“Hm… Well, this ruin here is not my home. Heck, I honestly don’t even want to find my old home. I am sure by now it’s either filled with shit, corpses, roaches or all of it.”

“Then why did you come back here in the first place?” Midnight asked. “Especially after such a long time?”

Fade scoffed. “Do you know why you came back?”

“I can’t put it into words. I felt somewhat… incomplete. Only coming back made the feeling go away, you know? And while I am here already, I could look for Blue Sky.”

“Lucky you. Personally I have no fucking idea, except that being back in Tall Tale doesn’t feel as shitty as I was afraid of.”

“And Stalliongrad?”

“I don’t give a fuck about Stalliongrad. Mom does though. I don’t care about Killjoy either to be honest. I don’t even believe there is such a thing as a magical key. I mean, no sane pony would build something like that. Not even the Enclave was that stupid. And trust me, I snuck into their facilities often enough to steal food and valuables. After all, it was the food we deserved.”

“So you think she may not be telling the truth?”

“I—” She sighed and shook her head. “N-no, Mom wouldn’t lie, at least not about Killjoy.” She seemed a little unsure about her own answer.

Midnight nodded briefly. “So… I still didn’t get an answer to my question.”

“What fucking question?”

“I just…. Will you come with us to Stalliongrad? Yes or no?”

Fade groaned and put down the needle. “Yes, even though I have no idea how to get there without having figured out provisions and clothes that is. I found this rancid piece here in the garbage.” She nudged at the piece of cloth she attached to her suit. “I have no idea what literal shit it may have seen. Maybe somepony even died in it.”

“Lovely picture, Fade. Why don’t you just wear the flight suit?”

“Why? First, it’s hers. And Second, we need every piece of cloth we can find in order to get to Stalliongrad without freezing to death. Don’t you need some clothes too? Ghouls can still freeze solid, right?”

Midnight nodded again. “About that, I actually made a deal to get that covered, but we have to hunt down a pony.”

“You got us a bounty?” Fade chuckled. “I thought you were security for hire, not a bounty hunter.”

“I’m not, but the pony in question is likely a serial killer and… there are concerns that this one may be a cannibal too.”

Midnight kept his distance from Fade and the other ponies in the mall. He wrapped a dirty blanket around his body, trying to hide his wings and hopefully cover his smell. After he met Endeavor, he saw the wary glances of other ponies in a new light.

“Say… How do you find a cannibal, Fade?” He asked quietly.

“How do I know? It’s not like I’ve been hunting cannibals all my life. Or do I look like I would buy their trash?”

“No, but you certainly want to know how to avoid them.”

“Avoiding them doesn’t mean I have to find them.” Fade stopped and looked at a food stall nearby, which was selling canned food. “But you are right, let’s split up and check the stores around here.”

“What should I look out for exactly?” Midnight asked while Fade pulled her hood over her head. Before he knew it she was already trotting down the hall and up the stairs to the upper galleries.

“Alright, I'll just stay down here then I guess.” He mumbled to himself. The first stand on his route was proudly presenting its delicacies, a bunch of dead rats, dangling upside down from some dirty rope. Charred and ready to be sold to hungry ponies.

“You wanna buy somethin’?” The owner of the store grumbled when he noticed Midnight.

“No, thank you.”

“Then fuck off!”

With a charming flip of his hoof, the vendor turned away from him, having Midnight question his idea of the mall being the best place to investigate. He couldn’t share Fade’s enthusiasm, not to mention that he was more concerned about her eagerness to hunt down a pony.

Continuing to look around aimlessly, his gaze eventually fell upon a gaunt mare sitting not too far away from another stand. He only noticed her because she was the only one not bartering for anything, but rather sitting idly in front of an old blackboard, draped with big photos and pictures of a beige pegasus. He didn’t know if that was his natural coat or if the pictures had simply aged too much and faded in color. Strangely enough he felt a familiarity with that pegasus.

“Do you recognize him?” The mare asked Midnight in a tired tone as he stepped up to the board.

He shook his head. “Should I?”

“Only if you are from Stalliongrad. Are you?”

“Yes, yes I am. But uh, how did you know?”

“You look like the one from the newspapers. Maybe a bit older, but I have seen so many of Featherweight’s pictures that I recognize that blue mane and gray coat every time.” She squinted her eyes. “You are Midnight Gambit, aren’t you?”

“I-I don’t really remember that Featherweight.” Midnight stepped closer and looked at the picture. “Who was he?”

“A journalist and a war hero. He reported from the front lines until the zebras began to hunt him down. He managed to move to Stalliongrad, the farthest place away from the war. There… he reported about you.”

Midnight shook his head in disbelief. “You must have mistaken me, I don’t remember any journalist.”

The mare took a tiny booklet from her thick rags. Midnight caught but a small glimpse of how skinny she was underneath the clothes. She began to flick through the pages of the old journal in her hooves. “Here, isn’t this you?” She turned the booklet around to show him its old yellowed pages.

It was a photo of himself back when he was young and still able to eat, sleep and feel the cold air of Stalliongrad’s winter burning in his nose. Next to him was an even younger mare. He didn’t recall her face or name but she was resting a foreleg around his neck, while they were posing for the camera. “No doubt that’s me, but… I really don’t remember anything else, especially that mare.”

“I see… Must have been the balefire. I am sorry.” Regret filled the eyes of the elderly pony as she closed the book.

“Do you… have more of these pictures?”

“I have only sixteen pictures in my collection. The rest of his are archived in the Ministry of Image Hub here in Tall Tale. I’ve sent a letter and asked to receive them for the museum, but I never got an answer. It’s too dangerous for non-ghouls to go there, you see.”

“Wait, Endeavor has them?”

She nodded slowly.

“Hm… Do you want me to get them for you?”

This time she shook her head however. “No, they are better kept there. In fact, maybe it is better to ask you to bring the exhibits to Endeavor too.”

“What? Why? Honestly, I wouldn’t entrust him with this.”

“Would you entrust them to a starving mare? Sometimes the ponies give me a bit of food. But to be honest, I surely won’t make it past this year’s winter. But I don’t mind. It’s just—”

“Please don’t say such things.” Midnight wanted to steer the conversion into a different direction and to get rid of the sad atmosphere that took hold of him. ”The pony who buys the rats from the store over there… Do you know where he is?”

“Who?”

“The green and red stallion who sells burgers. He makes them from rats I believe, so he surely buys them from there.”

“Oh, that charming fellah? No no, I never saw him buy any food. He usually gives me the leftovers, you see? Sometimes he even keeps a warm meal just for me. Such a nice gentlecolt”

Midnight smiled a little seeing her do the same. “Why don’t I get you a warm meal from him? You should savor every piece of strength you can get, especially… since you try to keep some memories alive. And… since you already know my name… may I ask for yours?”

She smiled wider and nodded. “Praise.”

Midnight tried to follow the smell of greasy meat and toasted bread. The scent was unfortunately very faint and dull. As a ghoul he could no longer easily pick up subtle and finer scents such as that, but he was still glad about it at the same time, considering how many unwashed ponies he had to pass by. He wondered if they got used to the scent and not noticing it anymore.

He moved to the upper galleries, where he found Fade sitting in front of an old dress shop. The big shop windows were long broken and turned into makeshift sleeping spots instead. Next to fade he saw an old toppled over display dummy, bereft of clothes and purpose, yet still able to carry its stupid smile. An eerily familiar one at that, but Midnight didn’t mind. A dummy like that had it easier to be a good pony.

While approaching Fade, he noticed that she was staring at the pony he sought after himself. His cart was on the opposite side of the mall’s hallway. She didn’t avert her gaze for a second, carefully observing the burger cooking pony and his dozens of customers swarming him and his stand. “It’s him,” She whispered.

“That guy? How do you know?” He tilted his head and sat down a small distance away.

“Many reasons. First off, he is too friendly.”

“I am friendly too.” He smiled.

“No Midnight, you are what I’d like to call ‘idiot-friendly’. You don’t try so hard to make others like you. This one does.”

“Hurtful as always.” Midnight rolled his eyes, but had to think about the trader who sold the rats. “Maybe you have some more… reliable reasons? Like, you know, where does he get his food from?”

“I was getting to tha—” Suddenly her eyes widened and she got up. “Fuck, he saw us.” She started to walk away towards the stairs.

Midnight looked at the cook and noticed that he was still flipping the meat and buns without a care in the world, all the while his main attention seemed to have shifted to the two. “We don’t have to scamper away. We could just… pretend to relax?” He asked silently while following after her.

“Relax? When was the last time you saw a pony actually relaxing?”

“Hm… About a week ago, maybe in Stable Fifty-Four? When we were playing chess, remember? Anyway, you can’t just say he is the murderer, just because he is friendly.”

Fade stopped and turned around. “Have you not noticed yet that being friendly is what kills ponies? If you are friendly and share your resources and your resting place with others, they will take your stuff and outright murder you in your sleep.”
She frowns and looks down. “Or hell, perhaps do even worse things to you. Oh, and if others try to be your friends, then usually for yet another ulterior motive!”

Midnight grew silent for a brief moment, then he raised his hoof and cleared his throat. “You do know that it was friendship that defeated Nightmare Moon and turned her back to Luna, right?”

“Yes, great point Mr. Midnight. And said Luna turned Equestria into a fucking ass wasteland.” She scoffs. “Face it Midnight, Friendship is not magic. It’s dead!”

Midnight scoffed and stomped his hoof himself. “Then why do you help Key? Why do all this stuff for Shibboleth?”

Fade opened her mouth for a reply, yet stopped herself last second. Instead she sighed and rubbed her face with her hooves. “Alright… Okay… If, and that is a big if here, you say the burger freak is not actually our cannibal, then tell me exactly why.”

“Well… okay, I don’t have proof that it isn’t him. Quite the opposite actually.” Midnight began to explain, much to Fade’s surprise. ”Rats alone can’t feed so many ponies and he doesn’t seem to buy them from the traders here. Not just that but the Vanhoover region was more focused on heavy industry. Mining in Edmareton, manufacturing here, bio-technology in Vanhoover. There were not many deer and cattle to survive the bombs in the first place.”

“And the rest is probably eaten by now,” Fade said.

“See? I am not as stupid as you call me all the time.”

“Maybe you are,” Fade smirked. “However, didn’t this Endeavor hire you because of a dead ghoul? Why would he mix ghoul meat into the burgers?”

Midnight thought about it for a moment when he suddenly remembered the feeling of being sick. “Dry aged…”

Fade made sure they both remained hidden, while they waited for the burger cook to finally depart. To their dismay this took quite a few more hours than expected. Midnight quickly regretted having put Fade on his heels with even more enthusiasm. On his way out he gave the unicorn who maintained an elevator a tiny snack and even gave Praise some leftovers as usual.

After he finally left the mall, Fade and Midnight followed him by flying and leaping from roof to roof. It didn’t take long until they were annoyed by the constant rattling of the food cart as it was pulled over the rough roads underneath. The cook happily greeted the ponies he encountered along the way. But as he progressed onwards fewer and fewer ponies would cross his path. Eventually he was completely alone on the road.

“I have a bad feeling, Fade.” Midnight whispered, waiting on a moldy roof nearby for the cook to continue. Both were laying close to the edge, barely daring to lift their heads high enough and risk being discovered. “What if he is the wrong one?”

“Really? Heh, you named all the reasons why he is the right one, now you are having doubts?”

“I mean, those were just assumptions. It’s basically the same Everlast did in Stable Fifty-Four.”

“Hey! Do not compare us to that asshole,” Fade hissed.

Midnight sighed, his breath rattling. Then he heard a strange growl from the street below. He lifted his head a bit more to look down. “Fade! I think our friend may have gotten himself into some trouble.”

When Fade looked as well, she immediately recognized the upright walking creatures. “Diamond dogs…” She mumbled. They must have stumbled into their territory without even noticing. A small pack of these doglike creatures was stomping out from the ruins, their fur the same colors as the dirt and debris around them. They didn’t cover their bodies against the cold as ponies would. Their rabid barks and growls were echoing up to the roofs and reminded Fade and Midnight that these creatures grew only more feral since the bombs fell. The biggest one of the pack calmly approached the lonely pony, one bulky energy rifle in one massive claw, a dirty sack in the other.

“What is this?” The cook asked with a harsh and cold voice, devoid of the bubbly personality he used to carry. “Did you kill a stallion?”

“Two…” The leader of the pack growled.

“I told you only one every three days or so. Why two?”

“Home.”

The cook shook his head. “I still haven’t found a way into the Hub’s center.”

“I said home!” The leader roared. “We promise meat. You promise safe home.”

The cook sighed but nodded. “I appreciate your gift, but keep it. If you want me to go faster, get me E.M.P. weapons or a Stealth Buck.”

“We don’t have Stealth Buck!”

The cook stomped both his hooves on the ground. “You are sitting in a Stable-Tec production facility. If somepony has Stealth Bucks then it’s you! Fucking hobo bitches…”

The pack leader bared his teeth and growled.

“Don’t even dare to grunt at me! Without me, you won’t get home.” He reminded the diamond dog and stepped forward. He grabbed the dirty sack and emptied the bloody chunks on the floor. Fade held her breath when she recognized the colorful fur of a pony. “I ordered one pony, not two. I don’t have fingers like you and even I can count to two.” He kicked one of the body parts. “Ugh… See this as payment for a Stealth Buck.” He returned to his cart and dumped the sack inside it, ignoring the angry growls of the pack as he simply walked past them. But soon the pack was more occupied in picking up the meat.

Midnight and Fade moved quieter and avoided longer instances of flight as the chase continued. Slowly but surely their target would lead them to a huge production complex at the edge of downtown. Countless storage and fabrication halls surrounded a large office complex with the Stable-Tec spire in its center.

“This is the last chance, Midnight. Better you take him out now.”

Midnight nodded and took place a few feet away from Fade. With his rifle in his hooves he briefly looked around, making sure that none of the few scavenging diamond dogs would see him on the rooftop. He took aim and aligned the iron sights with his target, carefully steadying the rifle for the shot, however he suddenly hesitated. “Fade…?”

“Is there a problem?” She crawled to the ledge to take a closer look as well.

“You surely want to take back your apology for calling me stupid earlier, but I think we should follow him.”

“Don’t worry, the apology is already taken back,” she grumbled. “Why though?”

“Well, If I shoot him right here and now, we can’t get any proof for Endeavor. More importantly is the food he has. Bread, flour and canned vegetables are still good for you to eat.”

Fade grew quiet for a moment as she watched the cannibal approaching the factory halls. “Say, how far is it to Stalliongrad?”

“About a week’s worth of constant walking. You know what? Make that two weeks, in case of very bad snowfall, which is very likely this time of year.”

Fade realized that the clothes Midnight supposedly acquired wouldn’t be enough to supply them with enough protection, yet alone buy the needed food for the journey. “Fuck… Alright, let’s follow him then.” Fade glanced over the ledge. She saw two diamond dogs arguing about something they had found. Be it a dead animal or some sparkly trinket, it didn’t matter as long as it kept them distracted long enough. She couldn't make out any words in the growling and barking anyway. Sadly another one was waiting at the entrance the mad cook was heading towards, making their plan of following him more complicated. Her skin crawled at the sight of the large guardian. Calling it a dog would have been a compliment at that point, given its grotesque physique and size, a terrible mix of both worlds.

“Any idea how to get inside?” Midnight asked her.

“We wait until the streets and yards are clear, then we rush in.”

Time passed on, Fade and Midnight landed on the roof of the factory hall the cook entered a few hours ago. They quickly realized that following him through the hall itself was out of the question. The pack of diamond dogs made the hall their home, working on all kinds of devices, mostly weapons made from the tools and scrap they had found. Despite the stench and the constant growling and barking, Fade was surprised to see a few older dogs taking care of the younger ones.

They searched for a different entrance up on the roof. Midnight noticed some open cargo lifts nearby, but he didn’t want to move underground where there could be even more dogs on guard or taking a nap. They kept searching until they finally found their way in, a badly damaged tile on the roof. Parts of it were sunken in and allowed dirty water to gather in deep puddles, other parts around it had already collapsed years ago. Even though they found a way in, they had certainly lost their target by now.

Without another choice, they squeezed through the broken opening and finally figured out what the hall was used for originally. A storage for Stable-Tec’s massive, gear shaped doors. Row upon row they were lining up in an upright position to be rolled away by heavy transporters, carefully parked at the sides. Without any new Stables ever to be built, the storage hall appeared more like a massive, strange graveyard.

Even though it was rather dark, Fade and Midnight decided not to turn on their lights, in case someone was nearby. They quickly and silently moved through more dimly lit factory halls, each one supposed to build another monolithic device for the stables. It was quiet and Fade barely dared to breathe, afraid it could alert the diamond dogs in the other halls.

Eventually they reached a maintenance hall. Dozens of workbenches were cluttered with broken PipBucks and tools, as well as boxes containing even more. Countless more crates were stacked up in a nearby room, almost reaching the ceiling. Searching for anything valuable, ponies and diamond dogs tore open the crates and spilled the useless devices into the hall. Midnight examined the workstations with the terminals, but without any power they were of no use.

Suddenly Fade stopped in her tracks when she stepped onto something hidden under the dust. She leaned forward and brushed the thick layer of dirt aside.

“Fair Pay and Stable-Access!”

Looking at the heaps of hundreds of busted PipBucks, she wasn’t surprised anymore that Key’s Stable broke down that easily. “Real professionals…” She mumbled.

Midnight waved his wing in order to catch her attention, his eyes locked on the neighboring storage hall. Fade walked up to him and listened in, soon enough she picked up a faint buzz. A noise neither Fade nor Midnight heard for years and only through its absence they found the hum of a fridge rather intrusive. The noise brought another sensation with it; Hunger. Even Midnight remembered the feeling of appetite.

Following the noise they soon found the emptied out cart next to a cargo lift and a stairwell to the basement. The buzzing definitely originated from below, accompanied by a sickly smell that quickly replaced Fade’s hunger with the icky feeling of entering the bowels of a beast.

Fade bit down onto the leathery grip of her Dagger while she took the lead through the facilities’ underbelly. It only took a minute before she yearned for the ashen air of the wasteland to replace the musty basement scent. Only very few lamps with dim lights burned inside, their only guides through the labyrinth of shelves and corridors. It was too dark to make out any details of their surroundings, yet still too bright for them to hide in the shadows.

Following the ever growing buzz, they eventually had to turn into a much more narrow corridor. The noise grew louder and an unsteady rattling joined, which also grew louder with every step. The walls were covered in wires and pipes, only interrupted by maintenance doors, or other narrow hallways or crawl spaces. It was as if they were moving through the rotting carcass or a machine, but somehow its heart was still frantically beating.

Midnight held his rifle tightly. He was looking over his shoulder, checking the path from which they came, stopping and blinking every time he thought he saw a shadow rush by. Midnight was never sure if it was his own, somepony else’s or simply the flicker of one of the lights.

Fade had to pull her cape over her nose once the smell of rotten meat grew too much for her to bear. The noise began to hurt her ears and she began to hesitate to continue onwards. But soon they reached the room containing the source of the noise and stench. She braced herself and took the last few steps.

And with that, the heart of the cook’s operation was presented in front of their very eyes. The steady rattle came from a huge industrial freezer, too old to function properly, but being kept alive by a few magic spark batteries. Without any detergents available for maintenance, everything was covered in a thick layer of grime and dust. Piles of old or leaking batteries were piled up in the corners of the room. The oven and stove were fueled and heated by an industrial machine, with some of its components glowing in the colors of a rainbow; Having it glow and dip everything into a twisted fever dream. A gaunt rat was lured in by the smell of fresh bread, but ended up trapped in a snare. It was still breathing, while the two heads of a mutated roach were gnawing at its body.

“He’s not here.” Fade whispered through her knife. “Hide and wait for him! His food seems to be almost done.” She hid next to the door, trying not to step into the gunk covering the floor.

Midnight couldn’t shake off the memories of vomit when he first entered the room. Looking for a distraction he spotted the rat, reminding him of feral ghouls, trapped under rubble and eaten equally indifferent by roaches.

Eventually the rainbow colored glow briefly caught his attention. “He uses the rainbow plasma from the cutting bench to heat the oven.”

“That’s too much information, Midnight.”

Suddenly the light turned off and only the glow from the workbench remained. Too dark for Fade and Midnight to see anything except the constantly shifting color. The freezer’s compressor was slowing down and eventually dying. There was no noise left except an occasional squeak by the rat.

“A power outage?” Midnight whispered.

“Don’t know. Hey, can you make that thing glow brighter?”

“Nope, I only know how to make it explode,” He replied with a smirk.

“Not helpful—” Fade ducked down when she saw something rushing past her.

Midnight suddenly felt a heavy blade digging into his left foreleg. He was confused by the lack of pain and didn’t understand what was happening at first until when a kick drove the blade deeper into his bone, making it snap. His leg gave way, making him tumble to the ground.

Fade stormed at the dark silhouette in front of her, only to feel a cut slash across nose. She shook her head, ignoring the pain when the same blade pierced the side of her muzzle only seconds later. The impact of cold metal scraping over her nostril bone stunned her for a brief moment. In her desperation she threw her body forward, ramming into somepony in front of her and began to keep pushing; pushing and praying the blade wouldn’t strike again.

Both of them soon bumped against the still searing hot oven. Dishes and kitchen utensils fell and shattered on the floor. Fade heard a loud clang in the oven and realized the scent of burned bread. Then suddenly the smell changed to seared fur and screams. An ear piercing cry of pain was echoing through the basement.

With a mad and desperate cry he lunged his head forward and rammed his teeth into Fade’s nose. Blood filled her already injured nostrils as they sank deeper into her skin and down into her bones. She groaned in pain and jerked her head around, feeling her blade cutting into something, warm blood flinging into her face moments before she was pushed back.

Then, a sudden flash of light illuminated the area followed by a loud bang from Midnight’s heavy rifle. She gasped and covered her head in an attempt to shield herself from any potential stray bullets, only catching a glimpse of the cook’s green coat and red mane. Neither she nor Midnight knew if the shot hit or missed entirely. He fired again and again, each time the muzzle flash gave him barely enough light to adjust and shoot again until Midnight could no longer spot his target.

Fade rolled onto her belly and groaned, blood dripping out of her nose. The smell of blood and the stinging burning pain caused a deep urge to gag. She forced herself back onto her hooves, her legs shaking. She knew they needed light. She stumbled to the oven and frantically searched and turned every dial she could find. “Come on damn it!” She growled, almost burning her hooves when small, but super-heated rainbow colored flames erupted from the cooktop. It wasn’t as much light as she would have wished for, but she could see a whole lot better at least. Midnight used the rifle to pull himself back up, aiming it at the door just in case. He found a cleaver still stuck in his foreleg, almost severing it completely.

“This fucker…” Fade hissed through her teeth, spitting some blood onto the ground. Her entire muzzle was aching, yet she wouldn’t dare let go of her weapon. “I’m going to fucking blow this entire shithole sky high!”

“W-wait, are you sure?” He had to yell over the noises of the oven.

“Shut—” Fade stopped herself and exhaled sharply. “Tell me, can you run?”

“Well…” He took a look at his leg. “N-no? Barely. But uh, it’s not far so… I can make it if you want to detonate the workbench that badly.”

Fade only nodded, speaking posed too much pain for her. At least they had enough light so that Midnight could shoot whenever he saw something by the door.

“Flip the switches on the right, then turn the red valve. The bench will start to leak pressurized plasma. It will melt through the floor and superheat the air. We have less than a minute.”

Fade wanted him to be quiet, but she didn’t want to reply simply because she gave up caring at this point. Instead she just did what he said, flipping the switches, searching for the valve and turning it until her hooves couldn’t move it anymore. ”Done!” She shouted and noticed that the rainbow glow was getting brighter and brighter. “Let’s book it!” She yelled and started to dash away from the contraption. They started running, rushing down the tunnel they came from, wanting to smell the wet and ashen wasteland air again. Midnight lagged behind, his damaged hoof flopping uselessly, while he limped forward as fast as he could.

A violent hiss started to grow louder behind them. Fade looked back to check the source of the noises, spotting the streams of colorful fire erupting into the hallway behind Midnight. It plastered the walls like glue and made them turn bright red through the heat. An old pipe got hit and exploded into a cloud of steam when the plasma heated up the stagnant water inside of it.

Midnight wasn’t fast enough however, even Fade was starting to grow unsure if she could reach the elevator. Her sides were burning from the lack of air as the heat vaporized any moisture that could have been around them. While frantically looking around she noticed one of the doors she just passed.

She turned around, rushing back into Midnight’s direction in a desperate attempt to open the door with a strong enough ram of her body. She growled and leaped the rest of the distance, using her momentum and weight to throw herself against the metal door. Luckily for them it gave in with a loud metallic bang. Midnight caught up just in time. They felt the air on this side growing slightly colder and fresher.

“Quick!” She got up and waited for Midnight to pass through before throwing the door shut as the building started to rumble and shake. Dust was raining from the ceiling, coating Midnight’s eyes and clogging Fade’s nose even more. They rushed through the long tunnel, Fade scouting ahead for Midnight in search of an exit.

The door they just passed began to glow behind them and the noises of screeching metal echoed through the room. The heat of the plasma began to catch up quickly. In her mind, Fade knew what plasma could do to a pony, expecting the door to follow the same fate very soon.

“Fade! Cargo lift!” Midnight suddenly shouted, his voice muffled in Fade’s ears.

The lift itself was not too hard to spot, and seemingly not blocked either. Two old crates were still on the loading bed. Fade climbed on top of them and forced her body against the rusty hatch, until she heard the joints slowly squeak and bend; Or at least she thought so. Midnight crawled onto the crates shortly after Fade and added his meager strength to their attempt of opening the old hatch. The air began to sear, even the sweat on Fade’s forehead felt hot as precious seconds ticked away.

“Fade! On Three!” He strained his voice and began to count. Together and with a quick last push of their combined strength, the hatch finally broke open, allowing them through and out of the building. The sudden light blinded them as they slowly tried to get back onto their hooves.

“Fade… Don’t stop!” Midnight groaned. She heard concern and even a hint of panic in his voice. But they escaped! Looking around she noticed the source of Midnight’s fear. Everlast’s white hellhound stood further in the distance, surrounded by even more diamond dogs. All their attention was drawn to the erupting maintenance hall. Fade huffed and flapped her wings, praying that Maverick didn’t see them. Midnight and Fade didn’t know why they were here, but they knew that they must leave the city now.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Vigilant - Midnight’s Perception counts one point higher when noticing hidden attackers.

New Perk: Always Alert - Hidden attackers do not get an attack bonus against Fade. However, they still get the first attack.

Chapter 5: Tunnels

“We seek shelter to find hope. But what were they seeking in this place?”

“Shib, this is enough.” Fade turned her face away, but Shibboleth used her magic to pull Fade’s muzzle back to clean the wound. “We have to pack and leave!” Fade protested.

“Key and Feather are doing fine packing our things. Not just that, but we have to wait for Midnight anyways.” Shibboleth was cleaning Fade’s injured wound with barely filtered water. At least it was boiled and came with the cleanest cloth they could find on a quick notice. The warm light of her horn gently illuminated the small room, constantly applying a spell to Fade’s muzzle dulling the pain.

Fade was quiet and looked over to her mother who was checking every small speck of food they had, just in case it was too spoiled to eat.

“I didn’t know you were able to use healing spells.” Fade said eventually. “Could have been useful for my leg.”

“Sadly my first aid training didn’t involve radiation burns.”

“What kind of radio operator knows first aid anyway? Yet alone healing spells.”

Shibboleth sighed. “Fade, would you please shut up and let me do my work if I tell you?” But Shibboleth noticed the curiosity in Fade’s eyes and sighed again. “Counter-Espionage. Radio division.”

“Wait, you were a counterspy?” Fade’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Didn’t we agree on you shutting up?”

Fade grumbled but was quickly distracted when Key entered the room. She was straining her magic by levitating bundles of various things for the journey. “Mom? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, sweetie.” Shib mumbled.

“Do you think Dad worked at that Shadowbolt Hub, we are going to?”

“We don’t know if Dad really is a Shadowbolt.”

“I heard him say it at least,” Fade added.

Her comment drew a stern look from Shibboleth. “Surely he just said it, because that’s what Everlast wanted to hear. Now drop it already, alright? Is this everything we need to carry?”

Before Key could answer, the door to Feather’s school opened once more and Midnight limped inside. He carried a big bundle of small bags and linen sacks on his back, but what immediately caught Fade’s attention was the disappointment and frustration in his eyes.

“Not enough evidence!” Midnight grumbled before anypony could even ask. “A cleaver wouldn’t withstand a court, they said.” He dropped the bundles and sat down in a corner, flicking a dirty cloth out of his jacket and began cleaning his rifle.

“But you’ve got something as a reward, no?” Fade said, wincing as the numbing spell began to wear off.

“Oh yeah, he gave me five messy suits and a splint for the effort. Better you stay away from me, I had to rub in some irradiated ash.”

“What happened to your leg?” Key asked.

“Almost got chopped off, but with some luck it might just grow back together,” Midnight huffed, unable to bring himself to sound calm and collected.

Feather headed to the door to examine the bundle and ignored Midnight’s warning. “Only five suits? With my own suit, it makes six.” She thought for a moment and shook her head. “We sell half of them and use the rest to improve what we lack right now.”

“And where do we trade?” Shibboleth asked, her voice growing more tense. “If Everlast is in the city already, then it’s very likely his lackeys are already on the market as well.”

“Then we just trade with whoever we find!” Feather tore the bundle open and threw Shibboleth some of the suits. She wrinkled her nose when she noticed the ghoulish odor sticking to the fabric. “Now pack up, we have to get as far away as possible before it gets dark.”

The group ran out of food on the first day of their journey. Feather’s supplies didn’t even make it to the next morning. As much as the map on Key’s PipBuck helped them travel north without too many problems, they still had to stop at every ruin, every broken down cart or any corpse they’ve encountered, to find something useful or edible.

On the second day Midnight decided to head out to hunt, only to return with a cat. The scrawny and tough meat had no taste and all but Key managed to force it down. The next day, they gathered dead grass and tree bark. They gave up on luck, but remained hopeful, knowing that they made it past Edmareton and had to endure only three or four more days.

The next night they had to huddle together next to a fallen tree to ward off the cold. All but Midnight remained close under a blanket of cloth and warm breath. He kept his distance, his winter suit tightly wrapped around him. Midnight held his damaged hoof to his chest, hoping the radiation from the crater’s dust would help him fight the frost that settled on his body.

Their journey continued and the mountain to the east began fading away just like their last chance to get to Priob. Going east would take them as long as reaching Stalliongrad. The weather was kind and during the brightest hours of the day, they could even see the mountains to the north. However, the pure sight of the snow covered peaks alone made them shiver.

Snow was soon falling in thick flakes. The ground didn’t thaw from the freezing nights and while they wandered through the bleak landscape, the finer details were soon covered by a layer of white and gray. If it wasn’t for the gnawing hunger, they could have thought to wander during a clouded, but still idyllic winter day.

After a while they arrived at an abandoned village, seemingly too small for the zebras to even care about bombing it. The group became much more aware how close they were to Stalliongrad and its almost perpetual winter. Even the chance to take rest in a proper shelter for the rest of the day didn’t lift their spirits all too much, knowing they had to face even colder days.

Key’s E.F.S. didn’t show any signals of living or hostile creatures. Midnight decided to investigate the nearby houses anyway, just in case the device couldn’t pick up a hibernating ghoul. The houses were all empty, showing signs of a quick and unprepared evacuation. Everything that wasn’t immediately helping to survive the balefire winter was looted over the past twenty years. Only a very few specks of dried out food and dirty clothes were left. All of the other homes were like that as well, except one. There, Midnight found the remains of a family of six, huddled up in the corner, seemingly spending the last moments of their life together in a tight embrace.

Heavy-hearted he moved on. Eventually they settled in a house with a large fireplace. Finally a very uplifting discovery. The house was well insulated and the fireplace was able to effortlessly spread its warmth throughout the entire room. Midnight explained that the carpets on the wall were not only just for decoration.

While the fire was burning, Shibboleth brought the biggest pot she could find and briefly checked the canned food they found, pouring everything that would go together into it. She grabbed some snow from outside to further fill up the pot and thickened the broth with the stale oats they’ve gathered.

It was the first real meal in days, yet it was enjoyed in silence. Shibboleth gave half of her meal to Key. Even though there was a spark of guilt in her eyes, Key ate without protesting. Fade wanted to share her portion with her mother and Shibboleth, but both shook their heads. Even if the food was the biggest meal they’ve shared in weeks, it was still not enough to fully satisfy their hunger. Hot water had to do as well, since they didn’t find any crumbs of tea.

Shibboleth got up first. During their search for food she found a thick roll of colorful yarn and some needles. The group was expecting her to repair their clothes but instead she sat down a few feet away from Midnight. Her magic tugged at his damaged leg. Midnight knew what she was trying to do as she threaded the needle and let her proceed without protest.

“What will you do with Killjoy?” Key asked as she rested her body on a thick pillow in front of the fireplace, her legs hurting too much to simply sit.

“Helping Equestria,” Feather said. “With Killjoy we can open the Ministry Hubs and get access to the same vaults The Mandate has. Then we can fight him back, plus with the resources inside the Hubs we can easily rebuild Equestria.”

“All of it?”

“Most at least. We will also take control over the weather and open the clouds. We can rebuild the farms, factories and houses. The Stables can open and with both their resources and everything from inside the Ministries we definitely stand a chance.”

“Will you go home to Tall Tale afterwards?”

“Key,” Shibboleth interrupted. “It was a long day. Maybe you want to sleep a bit.”

“It’s okay, let her ask,” Midnight said. “It’s the first time in days that we get the chance to talk and not be on the run or busy surviving.”

Shibboleth only shook her head.

But Key smiled and turned around. “What do you want to do with Killjoy, Midnight?” She asked.

“Oh… I don’t want to search for Killjoy. I am bringing you to Stalliongrad because I am looking for a friend.”

“Don’t you want to help Equestria?”

“I tried to help Equestria once,” Midnight said. “It didn’t work out as planned, but I figured I can help a few ponies here and there. Killjoy is… too big for me, but getting you to Stalliongrad is just within my reach.”

“Admit it,” Fade chuckled. “You are just scared to dive into the taint flooded salt mine.”

“It is certainly a stupid idea and yes, I am afraid of it and so should you,” Midnight said.

“As long as it helps defeat the Enclave, I am not that scared and certainly willing to risk it.”

“Is the Enclave always the reason for you to do anything?” Midnight asked.

Fade rolled her eyes. “Rainbow Dash once fought against the Enclave.” She remembered the toy in her pocket and took it out.

“Is it true that ponies had funerals before the bombs fell?” Kay got more curious.

Fade, Feather and Midnight exchanged looks of confusion.

“Ponies in the Stable,” Shibboleth began to explain. “Get recycled.”

Fade’s body shivered when she realized the implications.

“Yes, he had a funeral.” Feather told her. “Two even. Fade was too young but… I had to attend a public and a private one only for us.”

“When… When we get Killjoy and restore Equestria, can we bury Dad too?” Key asked hesitantly, hugging herself tightly.

“Of course.” Midnight smiled, earning a stern glance from Shibboleth. “By that time recyclers won’t be needed anymore, so everyone can get a funeral.”

It was a peaceful and silent night. Even Midnight allowed himself to just close his eyes to remember the feeling of falling asleep. None of them even noticed the gentle snowfall and the next morning the group found the land covered in a thick blanket.

They searched the house for the last time and picked up a few things, all of them pretty but utterly useless. They hoped after one or two more days without food they could at least sell the trinkets for something to eat, once they reached Stalliongrad.

Midnight took the lead, trampling down the snow as much as his frail body allowed. He wasn’t suffering from fatigue like the others and led them steadily north towards his old home.

The closer they got to the heavily urbanized Stalliongrad area the more the cold air began to burn in their noses and throats. Every time they rested they tried to warm their bodies one way or another. Even Midnight found himself repeating the now useless ritual of breathing against his hooves, or keeping his legs tightly against his body.

With every hour the snow grew deeper, slowing them down until Midnight had to lead them to the next highway. The entire area told them of panic, caused by the sirens, that led to a selfish exodus. Ponies tried to escape, knowing full well that the heavily industrialized area would be one of the primary targets for the zebra’s balefire weapons. Even though the snow wasn’t much of an obstacle on the highway, it was blocked by countless vehicles and only narrow paths remained. Eventually they passed by a truck, which tried to push through the smaller vehicles in front, crushing them underneath its huge wheels, until it finally came to a halt.

“That will be our resting place,” Midnight said with a raspy voice, the frost setting in his throat. He looked up and saw the skyline of Stalliongrad very far in the distance, only briefly lit by the light of the setting sun.

Fade tried to open the tailgate only to get showered by snow. “Aw! Fuck it!”

Key chuckled at the sight of Fade and then she noticed letters she couldn’t read. “Midnight? What does this say?”

“Perekrestrot. Oh! Maybe we are lucky and there is some food left inside.”

“Food?” Key stepped closer.

“Yes. Perekrestrot is… I mean it was one of the biggest supermarket chains in Stalliongrad. They had everything.”

“Yeah. Cool.” Fade growled. “Also, maybe you want to help me?” She made some room for him.

Together and with some help of Key’s magic the door finally sprang open. The transporter was filled with broken crates and glass. Key lit up her horn, but unfortunately and less surprising, the transporter was looted a long time ago.

Shibboleth was surprised to see how much Key helped remove the broken glass to turn the transporter into a temporary shelter. The others searched the debris for food. At the very front of the trailer they found some flour. Most of it was destroyed by moisture and mold, but they scrounged enough together to shape a tough dough and roast it over a small fire.

“How far is it still?” Key asked after taking a bite of the bland food.

“Tomorrow we go underground.” Midnight replied, his throat slowly thawing thanks to the fire. “The surface is highly irradiated but the metro is deep enough to give shelter from it and the cold too. We have to get to one of the safer metro lines and then it’s only a matter of hours.”

“That sounds good. I really need a bath,” Key said, clearly with optimism in her voice but also weak from days without proper food and rest.

“You don’t even know what a bath is,” Shibboleth said. She tried to give her lump of dough to Key.

She just shook her head. “Just because we don’t have them in a Stable, doesn’t mean I don’t know what they are.”

“Wait, the Stables don’t have baths?” Midnight wondered.

“Only showers,” Shibboleth said. “Baths were too luxurious for sure. Given the insane prices for a ticket, it does feel like a rip-off that they didn’t have at least one.”

“Clean water is very valuable in the wasteland,” Feather said. “Hot water is a luxury as well.”

“A proper road would be a luxury.” Key stretched her hurting legs.

Midnight smiled. “The highways are still better and safer. You have no idea what lies under all that snow. One wrong step and your hoof could end up in the ribcage of a frozen ghoul.”

“Yuck…” Key groaned. “Are there… wild ghouls in the tunnels, too?”

“In some there are, yes. But I will bring you to the safer tunnels, remember?” Midnight explained. “There are not many entries to them, but the few there are, lay outside the heavily irradiated zone.”

“And food?” Key asked. “Do they have that in Stalliongrad?”

“They hav,” Midnight nodded. “And since you already know a few things about terminals, I could teach you one or two things and then you can work for food.”

Key smiled for a brief moment but then frowned. “Probably, but I think… Uhm… shouldn’t I learn how to use a gun instead?”

“No,” Shibboleth replied harshly. “As long as you are with us, we will protect you.” She briefly looked at Midnight and he decided it was best to stay quiet.

The snow grew colder, harsher, almost feeling like sharp glass with every gust that blew into their faces. What began as a calm day quickly turned into a dire storm, eventually turning thicker, to a point they couldn’t see lightning in the sky anymore. Only the thunder was noticeable as it rumbled through the clouds above, briefly drowning out the howling winds.

Midnight was only one or two feet in front of the others and even then they lost sight of him every other moment. Key pressed her shivering body against her mother and even Fade and Feather sought shelter by staying close.

With every minute the temperature seemed to drop further and the snow grew more painful. Even Midnight couldn’t face the wind anymore. When he briefly stopped to rub the ice from his face, he felt how fast the snow was building up against his body.

“How far is it?” Fade shouted through the storm, but she couldn’t hear her own voice. After another few attempts she gave up and forced one hoof in front of another.

Midnight suddenly stopped. Something felt wrong. Amidst the wind and show he felt a warmth as if through a miracle the clouds broke open to reveal the blazing sun. He glanced up briefly but found himself surrounded by dark, gray snow. Yet the feeling of sitting too close to a fire remained.

He turned around and rushed to the others. “Key! Your PipBuck!” Even with his voice coarse and brittle, the fear was still recognizable.

Key pushed the sleeve of her suit away to reveal her PipBuck. While the wind was too loud to hear the radiation warning, the rainbow shaped indicator showed red.

“Move! We have to move!” Midnight yelled the moment he saw the red color. He stomped forward, not waiting for the others. He needed to keep them walking, moving, raging through the snow in the hope to escape the radiation.

He suddenly felt a magical tug on his tail. Looking back he saw Key struggling to reach him. Shibboleth was right behind but Fade and Feather were only visible as silhouettes.

Midnight heard Key’s voice but her words were carried away by the storm and drowned out by the thunder. She just lifted her leg to get his attention to the PipBuck again, this time showing a map. The green lines were indicating a railway, hidden deep beneath the snow. But only a few dozen feet away the map revealed a tunnel.

Midnight hesitated. The PipBuck wasn’t showing a station name. It was one of the industrial routes; mile long tunnels without light and any stations. Midnight remembered ponies venturing into these tunnels when the metro stations were overfilled with irradiated corpses. All that went into them were never to be seen again.

But the radiation didn’t give him a choice. He gave Key a brief nod and followed the direction of the PipBuck. He moved fast , fighting his way up the snowy slope. The tunnel was close, he knew about that. They just had to keep climbing and they would see it. When he reached the top he realized that the entrance was buried under snow.

“What now?” He heard Shibboleth calling over the howling wind, trying to shield her daughter with her shivering body. Midnight knew she must already feel the burning sensation of irradiated snow on her exposed cheeks by now.

Without much time to decide, Midnight started digging. His weak hooves pushed the snow away, but the wind quickly brought in more. He felt the warmth of the balefire radiation every time he forced his legs into the snow.

Fade suddenly appeared next to him, starting to dig as well. Shibboleth’s magic pushed the snow away, focusing at the spot where Midnight tried to find a way underground. Everything around them quickly lost all its meaning. The storm, the snow, even their hunger. The only important thing was to dig. And dig. Minutes, which felt like hours later, a narrow but black maw opened up under their hooves, leading deep down into the tunnels below.

Fade went in first with her knife in her muzzle. Key followed quickly after, turning on both the PipBuck’s flashlight and E.F.S. The moment the spell enhanced her perception, she aimed the light at the signals and stirred up several huge roaches. Some of them were longer than a pony, yet they managed to hastily escape into crevices not wider than a hoof.

The others followed quickly. Midnight took his rifle and aimed down the wide tunnel. He pointed his weapon at any of the corpses illuminated by Key’s light. Each time he noticed that it was nothing more than a skeleton covered in dirt and old rags, he aimed at a different one. “Be quiet and keep your weapons ready. There might be wild ghouls.”

Feather readied her energy rifle as well, adding a steady hum, their ragged breaths and the frantic clicking of Key’s PipBuck, which appeared to be deafeningly loud in their ears.

“Okay, go!” Midnight slid down the snowy slope from which they emerged and down into the tunnel. Reaching the bottom his body bumped against a dry corpse, his rifle still aiming. He heard the clicking of insect legs in the darkness and strange hissing noises from the cracks in the walls.

“Any red signals, Key?”

“No…” Her voice quivered. “But a lot more regular signals.”

“Radiation?”

Key responded slowly. “Orange.”

Fade took her own flashlight and tied it to her head, adding more light to keep the roaches away. Luckily, nothing else stirred in the darkness ahead of them.

“We have to move.” Midnight stood up and took a big step over the corpse. He still tried to ignore the dozens upon dozens of skeletons and how their clothes were torn open by roach bites. “And make sure to shake the snow off your clothes.”

Shibboleth kept her daughter close, her pistol floating nearby in the grasp of her magic. Key pressed her body against her, afraid of the sight corpses. It wasn't only ponies. She saw the cannibalized remains of roaches and even the little bones of rats, sometimes piling up at the walls.

The further they went the more the PipBuck calmed down. As they followed the rails the sight repeated again and again. The remains of ponies who just sat down to die became as normal as the pipes lining the walls. The hungry vermin have pulled the corpses of foals away from their parents a long time ago.

“Can we rest a moment?” Shibboleth asked when the PipBuck’s clicks disappeared among the hoof steps of the group. “It is really hot down here.”

Alarmed by her words, Fade looked at Shibboleth and saw the sweat running over her forehead. Her legs were shaking. She hurried to help her sit down. Once she did, Shibboleth began to tug at the clothes.

“No. Keep them on. It is freezing down here,” Fade stopped her.

“Is Mom alright?” Key asked.

Fade nodded. “Yes, she… she is alright.”

“No, she isn’t!” Key stepped closer, not buying into Fade’s desperate lie. “I’m not a stupid kid. What’s wrong with her?”

“Look, given the circumstances she is fine,” Midnight tried to calm her down. “We just went through a heavily irradiated snowstorm, but we got out in time.” A look into Fade’s eyes made Midnight realize that she saw through his lie as well.

Fade turned around and stomped to the closest cadaver and began to dig in the pocket, looking for anything that could help.

“Fade, we won’t have time for that,” Midnight said. “We have to get to the settlement.”

“How far is it away?” She asked as she continued digging through the old belongings.

“Well, if we would travel on the surface—”

“How far?” She raised her voice.

Midnight hesitated. “I… I don’t know about the industrial tunnels. The longest metro line in Stalliongrad is longer than thirty miles—”

“Yeah, okay… I got it Midnight. I got it.” Fade looked at the dead bodies, strewn around her. She looked at three skeletons, still huddled together in a fragile embrace. She sighed. “What do I have to look out for to get to the settlement, Midnight?”

“Anything that leads us deeper. Stairs, maintenance shafts, literally anything. Look for rails of a different width. Oh, or look out for train carts made for ponies. But most importantly, tell me when you notice that corpses are… missing.”

Miles upon miles they wandered along the twisting tunnels. Key and Feather were helping Shibboleth walk, while her body grew weaker with every hour. Soon they had to ration the remaining water as Shibboleth felt more and more thirsty. Midnight was listening and watching for any sign of danger. The frustration grew in him when he still heard the roaches skittering around.

Fade was hurrying to any spot that appeared promising to hold medicine; Groups of ponies, boxes on the walls, a lost crate or briefcase. She found a dusty gun, next to a dead body. The magazin was missing only one single round. She huffed as she looked at the scene in front of her. The gun still had a certain worth to it. She picked it up and brought the weapon to Key. “Here. That’s yours.”

“No! Key won’t get a gun.” Shibboleth was breathing heavily from speaking up so suddenly.

“It’s for her own protection, Shib.” Fade replied.

Shibboleth shook her head. “Her PipBuck is protection enough, It has E.F.S.”

“Yes and it also has S.A.T.S.! Right?” Fade made sure the weapon was secure and operational, then pushed into one of Key’s pockets.

“What is S.A.T.S.?” Key asked.

Fade looked up and glared at Shibboleth. “Are you fucking—You didn’t teach her about S.A.T.S.? I don’t have a PipBuck and I know about it!”

“Only Stable security needs to know about it!”

“Yeah, okay! Then it’s time that I will teach her.”

“No you won’t!” Shibboleth mustered the strength and stomped her hoof onto the ground.

Fade glared at her once more. “You know how dangerous the wasteland is and you didn’t teach your daughter how to defend herself? I have seen six year old foals who can handle a firearm! And Key doesn’t even know about S.A.T.S.! What’s your fucking problem?”

“Key will not kill ponies!”

Fade stomped her own hoof and growled. “She doesn’t need to kill a pony, but S.A.T.S. can help her by poking a stick into somepony’s eye, so she can run away. Or fuck do I know! Shoot them in the leg! Are you so narrow minded that you can’t think further than kill?”

“Don’t give her any ideas! She can learn how to handle a weapon when she is old enough!”

“Oh is that so?” Fade spat. “It’s always ‘Old enough’! Either that or until you’re fucking dead!”

Feather hit Fade’s head with her wing. “I told you to never say these words ever again!” She yelled at Fade.

“That was twenty-five years ago!” Fade protested.

“Shut up!” Feather shouted and turned away quickly. She put a wing on Shibboleth’s back, forcing herself to speak much more quietly. “Let’s go. Let her keep it, just in case something really bad happens.”

Shibboleth pushed Feather’s wing away with her magic. “I know how to raise my daughter myself.” She continued walking, no longer accepting help from the other.

A hole in the ceiling made the group stop. The collapsed brickwork formed an unsteady ramp up into the hole. Some restroom fixture was hanging from the broken ceiling, covered in long icicles.

“What does your PipBuck say, Key?” Midnight whispered.

“Green. It doesn’t really click anymore.”

“Let's take a look.” Midnight flew up on the cargo train and turned on his light to examine the hole. “It’s a public restroom.”

“Why is it broken? Was that a bomb?” Key asked.

“No,” Feather said. “The cold made the water in the pipes freeze and that made them burst. The rest was just waiting to thaw and freezing until everything collapsed.”

“Always a teacher.” Fade couldn’t resist a small smile and she flew up as well. She helped the others climb onto the train, while Midnight briefly checked if the damaged section was able to carry their weight.

Key’s E.F.S. didn’t detect anything, but when Fade went first she still had her knife ready. With her light she found a big public bathroom and even more dead ponies. She was used to sights like this and just examined the restroom. Half of the sinks and stalls were still intact. Her eyes fell on the already plundered first aid box. Everything but a few bandaids were taken. “It’s safe.”

Climbing out and standing in the bathroom her eyes locked on her image shown in a cracked and stained mirror. Fade noticed that something was off. She stepped closer and rubbed over her swollen cheek. She winced but noticed a reddish tint under her fur. Frowning was all she could do.

While the others climbed through the hole, she continued her exploration. Upon leaving the stall she found herself in a huge waiting hall. It had enough seats and free room to easily give shelter to more than a hundred ponies and it certainly did. Blankets, clothes, bags and stuffed animals were strewn among a terrifyingly small amount of corpses.

Looking up at the big glass facade of the shelter made her feel exposed. A sliding door was forced open. She turned off the light and slowly stepped backwards. The quiet crunching noise of dirt under her hooves made her wince. “Midnight,” she whispered. “There are too few corpses.”

Midnight was checking the stalls for anything useful, while trying to avoid the gross stains, caused by ponies dying of radiation sickness. He stopped his search, turned off his own light and took a look as well. “Can you close the door?” He asked after a minute. He turned to the others, who were helping Shibboleth to sit down. “Quiet now.”

Both sneaked into the waiting hall, carefully avoiding any of the items, walking on the dirty blankets and rags to quieten their steps. Fade made her way to the door. With only a little bit of light from Key’s PipBuck she forced the door shut. She looked out into the dark, but couldn’t see anything.

Midnight approached the security office. He slowly nudged the door open with his rifle, stopping at any time he heard the hinges creak. “Fade. I need more light here.”

She joined him and covered her light with a wing before turning it on. Carefully both spied into the room, finding terminals, filing cabinets and two more dead ponies. One was lying curled up on the floor, the other slumped over a terminal. Its panel was still covered by the sticky residue of flesh molten by radiation.

“Midnight look. I think there is a map.” Fade pulled his attention away from the corpses and shone the light at the wall. Both studied the map briefly. Fade wasn’t able to read any of the words, written in the local print. She grew impatient while Midnight traced the lines with the tip of his wing.

“We are halfway there. One of the safe lines is nearby.”

“Finally some good fucking news… What direction?”

“I… I don’t know yet.” Instead of answering her, Midnight took his rifle off his shoulder and gave it to Fade.

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“I’ll fly to the next station and see what direction we need to head. If the ghouls wake up, use it. It’s better than your knife.”

Fade raised her brow. “Uhm, I can kill a ghoul with a knife, pretty confidently so.”

“I know, but I don’t want to know the details,” Midnight said and left the security room. Fade followed him, holding the rifle awkwardly with a wing of hers, while both returned quietly to the door.

“Use a rifle, it’s better than a knife… yeah right, that thing is so damn cumbersome and heavy.” She grumbled to herself.

“If I am not back in an hour, try to get to Komsomareskaya Station.”

“Komso—The fuck did you just say to me? Midnight, I can’t read those letters! Why is the damn R backwards?”

“Just look for Komso on the map but the s is a c. You also have Key’s PipBuck and your mother can surely help. Also, that R isn’t—”

“Whatever Mr. Ghoul, just do your thing. By the way my mother doesn’t even speak Stalliongrad, so…”

“She doesn’t?” Midnight wondered. “Well, looks like I am the only one who can speak to the locals.”

Fade groaned. “Just fuck off already, this thing is heavy and you didn’t lie when you told Key it’s covered in your slobber. And don’t bring back any hordes!”

“Don’t worry. Ghouls don’t attack ghouls.”

Fade and Midnight pushed the door open just enough for him to slip out. He wandered into the darkness and when he was far away enough from the door, he turned on the light. Fade watched him following the rails until his flashlight revealed a massive blast door. With no other choice, Midnight turned around and took off.

Fade sat down when she couldn’t see the lightcone anymore. Only now she realized how much her legs were hurting. Since they entered the tunnels they were walking without a break. Fade didn’t even want to loot the bodies and luggage for medicine anymore. She saw enough corpses today and didn’t want to be reminded of how fragile families were in the wasteland.

Suddenly she heard a few hoofsteps. Midnight was already returning and just landed a few feet away. His eyes were locked to the ground for a brief moment. Fade let him in. “What’s wrong?”

“I… found the dead ponies.”

From a small window in the security office, Fade caught a small glimpse at them. Five feet high they were piled up against another blast gate. These bodies still had their flesh. They were too radiated for the rats to devour and by this time too dry and leathery for the roaches. Fade had no idea what drove the ghouls to go there of all the places.

Shibboleth was brought into the security office, after Key and Feather removed the two dead ponies. Midnight was already working at the terminal and tried to get it running. His hope was that the station had an emergency generator somewhere and that the thick cables would lead him to it.

Key carefully and quietly opened one of the filing cabinets and took out one of the thick folders. She flicked through the pages and was surprised to find photos and detailed profiles of ponies and zebras alike. “Was this a police station of some kind?” She asked when she read the lists of felonies under each picture.

“Why do you ask?” Fade wondered and took a peek at the file herself. “Heh… Stalliongrad had a lot of criminals.” The size of the folder amused her.

“Shelters like these often have such a file, so they could arrest ponies on sight,” Midnight said. With a sudden and loud clang Midnight managed to force open a tiny hatch and found a bunch of energy cells. He smiled. “Feather, can you check if they are still charged?”

Feather sat down nearby and tested them by plugging the cells into her rifle. Even though there was no gauge or anything, the buzzing noise of it charging up was enough. Fade and Key kept flipping through the pages. Key eventually chuckled. “Being seen with a zebra in public was a felony?”

“Yes. That’s why we kissed them.” Midnight told her with a proud smile.

Key turned over the page and her smile disappeared when she recognized the gray coat and blue mane. Fade recognized the eyes as well, but the ones on the photo appeared as if they were from a stranger. The picture of his cutie mark just made it more difficult for Fade to believe what she saw. “Midnight? Here is a picture of you. And your… secret name? Black King.”

“Of course there is. Every pony who didn’t blindly follow the narrative was considered a criminal.”

“I know that, but… this profile says a lot worse things than just kissing zebras in public.” Fade read over the rich list of crimes.

“Oh ignore those, they are all lies. They just make it look worse than it actually is.”

“Worse?” Fade took the file and began to read. “Armed insurgency and ambush on members of the police, military and steel rangers. Midnight, what can be worse than that?”

Midnight grabbed the file and flicked the pages, almost tearing some out. “If you want to see something bad, look for Blue Sky. He was our leader. His list of felonies will surely contain nonsense like planned assassination of the princesses or some shit.”

“But the file says you were the leader and not him,” Fade said.

“Drop that.” Feather grabbed the file with her wing. “These two are still working. Can you get the blast doors open with that?” She shoved the spark batteries back to Midnight.

With a grumble he put the cells back and the terminal sprung to life with a small beep, loud enough to startle them, but too quiet to alert anything else. Key didn’t even dare to take another file from the cabinet.

After a while the terminal offered Midnight a few options. One was to open the blast doors, even though a warning was pointing out that the last maintenance check was twenty years overdue. But he found another option.

“Unseal Emergency Exit (Warning! High Radiation Detected!)”

Midnight however picked the option anyway. From the corner of his eyes and through the security window he saw an orange light flickering up. It was next to the blast door and the emergency gate was hidden behind the bodies. After a few more flickers, the lamp busted. He remained quiet, watching if the corpses would react and move.

Luckily for them they didn’t and Midnight was hopeful enough that they may have been frozen solid, even though the temperature wasn’t nearly as cold as on the surface. “Just in case these corpses can still move… turn off the lights,” Midnight told them. “I will open the gates.”

One keystroke was enough to set the shelter alive. Deep rumbles and vibrations wandered through the ground. More lights at the gate came to life, tinting everything in orange. A loud siren suddenly erupted only to crackle like breaking bones and die. The massive blast gate shook and dust was raining from the ceiling. The machinery inside the walls began to screech loud enough that they had to cover their ears. A sudden burst of fire erupted from between the loose plates next to the gate, followed by the lights flickering and dying down. A last surge of energy rushed through the system and the terminal in the security office shut off.

The quiet that followed was soon pierced by a long wail. It came from the pile of corpses, deep and dull. And then the wail was answered.

Only Key’s E.F.S. and the permanent wailing outside the shelter told them how close the undead ponies were. Shibboleth held her daughter tightly in her forelegs, trying to soothe her, while Key’s eyes followed the many signals only visible to her.

They remained still in the darkness, knowing that even the tiniest glimpse of light could draw their attention, now that they were aggravated. They wouldn’t get to rest any time soon, as each of their howls enraged them even further. Under any other circumstance they would sit it out, but Shibboleth’s worsening state didn’t give them that choice. Her breath already began to sound wet and slimy from the mucus collecting in her throat.

“Mom? They are coming inside.”

“They aren’t,” Fade said, still listening in.

“But I have a signal in the next room,” Key said, her voice quivering. “And there are more coming… what do we do?”

“This is impossible. We would have heard them breaking through,” Fade slowly went to the door and listened. She couldn’t hear anything inside the room. “There is nothing there.”

“Below us,” Feather said. “Like rats.”

“Below? Will they come through the bathroom?” Key spoke out what they all dreaded.

“Listen up,” Midnight said. “I get out and distract them with one or two gunshots. Cover the window and find a tool to remove it. Then you go to the emergency exit and follow it to the next station.”

“We can go back through the tunnel,” Shibboleth said. “I’ll be fine.”

Fade and Midnight knew that wasn’t an option. At least it wasn’t an option for Shibboleth.

“Block the door.” Midnight left the room quietly, not giving Shibboleth a chance to argue. After he closed the door, the others got up, moving slowly through the dark and finding hold on the cabinet. Then they waited and listened. At times they didn’t dare to breathe when a ghoul was just wandering by the window.

The sudden and loud crack of Midnight’s rifle made them flinch. The ghouls outside answered with a chorus of dry and broken voices all joining in unison.

“Now,” Fade whispered and pressed her body against the cabinet. They moved it slowly and the groan of metal on metal ringed painfully in their ears. Even the noise when it reached the door felt like a shockwave.

Midnight turned on the flashlight to save his limited ammo. He turned it on and off, luring the ghouls to the other blast gate. The pale light showed the leathery bodies of the undead ponies, the flesh burned by the freezing cold and balefire radiation alike. As one after another stumbled past the window, they couldn’t recognize them as ponies anymore. They couldn’t even recognize faces, where flesh no longer held to bone.

Midnight’s plan wasn’t working as he hoped. Some ghouls didn’t show any interest in the gunshot or the light and were instead stumbling aimlessly between the security station and the emergency exit. In his desperation, Midnight fired a second shot, but to no avail.

Fade took the map off the wall and pressed it against the small window. “Key, use your magic to remove the screws! Quick!” She kept trying to cover the whole window, but the map wouldn’t fit.

But before Key could even begin to search for the fixture, a loud wail echoed through the shelter. It was followed by the sound of something stumbling over chairs and bodies. One really made it through the hole in the bath and its angry shouts just lured in more. Midnight fired a third shot to keep the horde around him, but one after another followed the wail inside the shelter.

When Midnight held his light to the room he saw that it was not only one ghoul, but a second was already leaving the bathroom. Midnight checked the magazin in his rifle and counted the bullets. He took aim, made sure to hover steadily in the air. He had to clear the path for them and fired.

Fade saw just past the edges of the map, that one of the ghouls got struck down by a bullet to the head. A second fell a moment later. “Midnight frees the way for us,” she warned the others. “Get your guns. You too, Key! Mom, can you melt the window with your rifle?”

“This will draw them to us,” Feather protested.

“They are already on us!” Fade paused when she heard more wails from the next room. “Just do it, please!”

Feather took the two spark batteries from the terminal. She activated the energy rifle, stepped next to the window and pressed the glowing tip against the frame. When she pulled the trigger, the room was filled with a bright flash pink, followed by a thick plume of smoke and pink dust floating, as the magic dissolved parts of the window. They held their breaths and tried not to cough.

A ghoul, angered by the sudden flash of light, threw its body against the window. The head collided violently with the armored glass, cracking the skull open and leaving a stain of half rotten, half liquified meat behind. As they gasped from the shock, they began coughing. Key screamed when the face returned, pressing the broken muzzle against the glass, smearing more of the putrid fluid over it. Its hooves hammered violently against it.

“Feather! Hurry!” Fade turned on her light and pushed another cabinet against the door. Just a brief moment later, one of the ghouls, already inside the shelter, threw its body against it and made the door shake. The loud crash and the noise of cracking bones was soon drawn out by a permanent roar when the horde was drawn to them.

Feather fired the second shot, sending another blinding wave of smoke into the room. The window soon began to budge from the attacks of the ghoul outside as well as destructive magic. The window frame finally burst when another ghoul jumped against it. The small window was pushed inside and the ghoul was snarling like a rabid animal. Feather fired out of reflex, hitting the head and slowly burned the creature into pink dust. Midnight fired again to kill the other.

Fade headed for the window, but when she looked back, she just stared at the door in horror. Not only bare hooves, but flickering magic tore at it. Heads shattering against the metal and then the first muzzle, missing skin and teeth, forced its way inside. Fade rushed the door instead and tried to keep it shut. “Mom! Get Shib and Key out!”

Feather hurried through the window, guarded by Midnight who had to shoot down another ghoul.

“I have three rounds left!” He shouted.

Shibboleth urged Key to follow her, while she held her own weapon in a weakening magic glow. Sweat was dripping from her muzzle, but she still helped her daughter to climb through the window. For a brief moment the entire horde was focused on the waiting room.

“Fade! You next!” Shibboleth started to cough harder.

“No way, you first! Move your sick ass you stupid bitch!” Fade yelled and she felt her hooves slowly slipping over the floor. The noise on the other side of the door grew in intensity. The wave of rotting bodies rushed inside, heading right for the small security room. Fade was almost thrown away when the mass of flesh crashed into the door. A brief look showed that Shibboleth was struggling. The radiation weakened her body too much.

“Fuck it!” Fade ran to the window and pushed Shibboleth through it, moments before the door burst open behind her and the first ghouls were trampled under the wave that followed. She hurried to climb through the window and felt the muzzle of a ghoul, snapping for her tail. “Always the fucking tail!” Fade yelled and kicked the rotten muzzle. She pushed herself through it and fell on her rump on the other side.

Feather pulled her up, not giving her even a second to rest. She was already dragging to the exit. Fade looked back briefly and the first ghoul managed its way through the small window. She couldn’t see the muzzle anymore.

“Move!” Feather yelled in Fade’s ear. A hasty glance told her that other ghouls were surrounding the shelter instead of fighting their way inside. At first there were only a few, then dozens and then she couldn’t believe how many. They were snarling, wailing, yelling as they galloped madly towards them.

Feather aimed at and fired. The shot dissolved the knee, severing off the leg and made the ghoul fall over. The ones behind couldn’t react and stumbled over it, but soon the other just jumped over the pile or swerved around, not giving them any second in return.

“It’s stuck!” Key yelled, as she struggled with the neglected door. Shibboleth tried to help but couldn’t muster the strength anymore. Midnight had to shoot down another ghoul to slow the horde for a brief moment. Fade charged at the door and screamed when she threw her body against it. The door, luckily, burst open but the pain in her shoulder pierced through her body. She curled up, unable to stand or take note of the cold and narrow emergency corridor she was in. She only heard how the others were ushering each other in and soon Key zoomed past her. A last shot rang from Midnight’s rifle before Feather and Shibboleth closed the door.

“Fade! Get up!” Midnight yelled. “The lock is broken!”

Key suddenly screamed. Midnight turned around and saw a ghoul jumping at her. Both rolled over the floor and the ghoul pinned Key underneath. Midnight shot at it but the bullet tore only a part of the skull away. Fade tried to stand up, but the pain in her shoulder made her flinch and stumble. Key yelled in pain when the ghoul bit her mane and pulled at it until some of the skin gave away, blood began to flow over her face.

Key grabbed the pistol in her jacket with her magic and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The shots went wild, one bullet however finally struck the ghoul’s head. The ghoul collapsed on top of her and convulsed, as the failing brain couldn’t coordinate the body anymore.

Fade closed the distance despite the pain and pulled the ghoul off her. “Get up, we have to move!” She pulled her up onto her hooves and pushed her along. Midnight was already rushing ahead and Feather was forcing Shibboleth forward as well. The door to the corridor was pushed open by the horde. Fade looked back and saw how the ghouls were crushing and trampling each other when dozens upon dozens forced their way into the way too narrow corridor.

They ran as fast as their tired legs let them and after they rounded a corner, Midnight abruptly stopped. Down the corridor he saw even more ghouls, enraged by the noise already charging at them.

“Midnight! Left!” Fade called out.

At first he had problems figuring out what she had meant, until he noticed the door. He rushed forward to take position between them and the ghouls. The others followed Fade as she stormed to the room she had just discovered. With the roaring noise of the horde behind them, they ran inside. Midnight followed closely behind and Feather quickly closed the door. Not even a split second later, the first ghoul rammed its body against it.

Trapped. There was no other word to describe the situation they found themselves in. They were trapped in a small and bare shelter, with nothing else than a few metal benches and a tiny bathroom chamber. Fade and Feather were pushing the benched in front of the door, all while the ghouls were crushing each other's bones to reach them. Midnight pushed his frail body against the benches just like Feather and Fade. Together they managed to keep the ghouls outside.

Key was crying and shivering, her head still bleeding from the bite. Shibboleth tried to soothe her, but was always on the brink of passing out herself.

“Mom…?”

“I’m here sweetie. We will get out of here somehow, don’t worry,” Shibboleth whispered, too weak to speak any louder.

“Theoretically, if we are quiet enough… They may lose interest.” Fade suggested.

Midnight shook his head. “I doubt it, they may go on like this for days.”

“My PipBuck says the radiation is on the yellow level.” Key said.

They were quiet. The only noise was the ghouls.

“Fade? How long will it take you to dig through the floor in the bathroom with your knife?” Midnight asked.

“What the—” Fade let out a chuckle, which almost turned into a sob. “You are a fucking idiot, Midnight. Digging with a knife…” She shook her head. “But maybe… Mom? Do you still have the energy cells?”

“I do. But I don’t know if they have enough charge?”

“What are you talking about?” Midnight asked.

Fade smirked. “I take it back. You are a genius, Midnight! Key, can you get up and see if your PipBuck detects a crawl space under us?”

“I don’t see how energy cells help us here,” Midnight said.

Fade looked at him. “You were a terrorist and don’t know how to turn energy cells into makeshift bombs?”

“I was not a terrorist!” Midnight yelled.

“Okay. Sorry! But do you know how?”

Midnight nodded briefly and only with hesitation.

“Good. Key. Is there anything?” Fade asked.

Key nodded only briefly and her attention went back to Shibboleth who fell asleep. It dampened Fade’s sudden enthusiasm.

“Okay. Midnight! Listen to me… I want you to connect the cells and build a small bomb. Can you do that?”

“I… I guess I can? Can you two keep the door shut?” Midnight whispered.

“Much better than you. I am not going to die in this shitehole you call home.”

Midnight grinded his teeth and left the barricade to fetch the spark batteries from Feather. With tense steps he entered the bathroom, examining it briefly before tearing the toilet seat out to get access to the pipe. “Key! I need you here. I don’t have tools.” He tried his best to keep his voice calm and collected.

“It’s okay, Key. I will take care of your mother.” Fade encouraged her.

Key tried to hold back her tears when Shibboleth didn’t react to her getting up. She joined Midnight and she followed his instructions until they had a ragged chaos of wires connecting the energy cells.

“Listen, you need to use your magic and push it as deep into the pipes as you can,” Midnight said. “When I turn on the switch you have only a few seconds.”

Key nodded quietly, rubbing a tear away.

“Hey… When we are in Stalliongrad, I will do everything to make sure your mom gets the medicine she needs. I promise. Pinkie Promise, even. Like they taught us in the Shattered Hoof.”

Key nodded again.

“Good. You better take cover.”

Both positioned themselves just next to the bathroom door. The bomb was shaking in Key’s magic.

“On three! One… Two… Three!”

A loud bang echoed through the small room, dust and dirt was whirled up into the air, making the entire room shake.

Fade groaned from the lingering ache in her shoulder as she carried Shibboleth through the hole. Key was worried about Midnight. He stood behind to hold the bathroom door shut. Outside the ghouls were still raging, the door shaking whenever they pushed against it. All Midnight could do was hoping that the dust would cover their tracks. That the door would hold long enough. He hoped that they were fast enough to save Shibboleth.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting for him, he let go of the door handle, hoping and even wishing that the others were far away enough. The door was still shaking, creaking, the sound of muffled groans still clearly audible. He sighed and followed the others through the hole and once he arrived in the crawlspace he saw Fade waiting for him some distance away. With his head low he approached her, her eyes looking tired and exhausted. Among the dust he saw a red stain on her nose.

“Two… maybe three hours and we can rest,” he said.

“Does Shib have three hours?”

Midnight didn’t want to answer. He remembered vividly the tiredness that overcame him when he died from the radiation. “Let’s go.” He walked past her and decided to ignore Fade’s angry scoff.

Further down the way, Feather and Key had to take a short rest in the maintenance tunnel, which hopefully would bring them to the safer lines.

“Why are you waiting?” Fade asked, already rushing to Shibboleth, fearing the worst.

“I have signals on my E.F.S.” Key answered. The blood on her face was caked and dried by dust and dirt.

“How many?”

“Two. But… They seem friendly!”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Magical Demolition Expert - Midnight gets + 10% to Traps when building bombs using magical energy components.

New Perk: Tunnel Rat - Fade has a 5% higher chance for critical hits when she is underground.

Chapter 6: Refractions

“As a former employee of the Ministry of Morale I can assure you that the three most important things that define you are your cutie mark, the memories you hold dear and the lies we make you believe.”

The two signals Key detected turned out to be Steel Rangers, out on a far patrol on the less safe metro lines. After they learned about their encounter with the ghouls and Shibboleth’s sickness, one of them carried her to the nearby settlement. Key tried to hold back her tears, when the Ranger eventually disappeared into the dark tunnels.

The other escorted them, every so often checking if something was following them. Fade couldn’t stop herself from looking at the weapons strapped to his saddle. It was an uneasy feeling, as if every time she was not keeping an eye on them, the missile launcher and flak cannon would spring to life and unload onto the group. Like she saw it happen many times before.

Midnight felt a strange dread coming from them, reminded by his brother’s words that the Rangers were not all too keen of ghouls. Eventually he asked him something in their local tongue.

“What?” The Steel Ranger answered, not understanding a single word.

“Nevermind. I’m sorry,” Midnight said. The Ranger’s answer was all he needed to know to confirm he was not a local.

When they finally arrived at the settlement, they didn’t care about the marble walls, the bright lights shining from the chandeliers or the paintings on the wall. Great portraits and marvelous depictions of landscapes were brought down here from the surface to preserve them from the balefire. The paintings were soon abandoned and used by children and juvenile ponies to sketch on or repaint them in the image of the wasteland. Depictions of crudely drawn ponies getting killed, eaten, dying, starving; Alternating with obscene pictures, at times involving the princesses and a recurring line among them.

“You fucked us! We’ll fuck you!”

Feather stopped at sight of the pictures, showing a familiar trace of sadness in her eyes, which Fade recognized immediately. The last time she saw her mother looking at pictures like these, was when Fade drew a heroic picture of ponies fighting zebras. “Dad” was written on one of the soldier’s, sporting the blue and yellow suit of a prestigious Wonderbolt.

“The clinic is there.” The amplified metallic voice of the Ranger boomed through their helmet. “The city has a policy of treatment first, payment later. You!” He pointed at Key. “You can pay your debts in our camp. The Rangers adhere to the policy and our technicians can utilize your PipBuck diagnostic tools.”

Midnight sighed in relief as the Ranger left. “Go, get in there.” He nodded to the clinic. “I will try to organize some food.”

“Come. Let’s see how your mother is doing,” Feather put a wing over Key’s back as she slowly trudged into the clinic. At first Fade didn’t want to follow them into the clinic, yet whenever she sniffled she had that metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She grimaced and felt sick from it. “Damn it…” She mumbled and followed shortly after.

The clinic was kept dark to provide rest to the sick and injured ponies around. Deeper inside of what used to be a shop for dresses in the past, they heard the collective coughing and crying of ponies. After a short period a nurse emerged from the hallways and greeted them with a light yet exhausted smile. After a brief chat they learned where Shibboleth was located.

Key darted down the narrow corridors without a warning.

“Hey! Key, wait!” Fade called out, ready to chase after, but Feather held her back last second.

“We are not above the clouds anymore, Fade. Take it slow.”

With a frustrated sigh, Fade followed her mother to where Shibboleth was kept. Key was already on her hindlegs and her mother’s weak embrace, quietly crying and sobbing into her chest. Shibboleth slowly rubbed Key’s back to comfort her a little, while she also made sure that the IV in her foreleg wasn’t stinging her too much.

“How are you doing?” Feather said, sitting down on a small chair near the bed. “I am sorry that I dragged you here…”

Shibboleth smiled lightly. It was clear to Fade that Shibboleth realized that the apology was simply out of courtesy. “The doctor said I will get through. All I need is a good diet of orange stuff and healing potions.”

Fade sat down next to the door when she noticed a bucket filled with red slimy substances inside. In a moment of disgust she quickly shimmied away from it and shuddered.

“We can rest here for a few days,” Feather whispered. “Don’t worry, you are safe.”

Shibboleth just nodded and still tried to comfort her daughter.

Fade’s ears flicked when she heard steps approaching the room. The strange pattern told her that it couldn’t be hooves. She peeked out into the hallway and her hunch turned out to be true. A tall griffon was heading towards them, dressed in a dirty and bright yellow lab coat. His claws were clicking on the hard floor. The pink butterfly at the collar didn’t fit his scruff and ragged appearance, yet told Fade everything she needed to know about him at first glance.

“A pegasus?” He seemed surprised when he saw Fade. His beak slowly grew into a smile. “Don’t tell me the Enclave wants their griffons back.”

“Do I fucking look like Enclave trash to you, asshole?”

“Calm down lady. It was just a joke.” He stepped into the ward and examined both Shibboleth and the contents of the bucket. “The moment the Enclave learned that we wanted food instead of worthless money, they simply ditched us, you know.”

“That’s great, but don’t compare me to them.”

“Apologies.” The griffon sighed. “Well, do you know what happened after we were gone? Including the doctors?”

“They forcefully conscripted all civilian doctors,” Feather replied.

“Thank you.” The griffon sat down and put some disinfection agent on his claws. ”Alright let’s see… You don’t look in too bad shape. So a triage won't be necessary here. Hm, young Miss, you go first.”

“Why?” Key held tighter onto her mother, glaring at the griffon.

“It’s okay, sweety.” Shibboleth whispered. “Please forgive her, she never saw a griffon before.”

The doctor chuckled. “Don’t worry. Griffons don’t bite, unlike the ghoul who attacked you.”

“How do you know it was a ghoul?” Key skeptically raised an eyebrow.

“I have seen my fair share of ghoul bites. I know all the grizzly details and I promise you, I will make it better.”

Fade got up and sat down in front of the griffon, still glaring at him.

“My, my. What a brave pony.”

Key’s expression soured, even though the griffon was smiling.

“Hmm… Your father was a soldier, I assume?” He said.

“Uhm, how do you know that?” The question did not just stir up confusion in Key but the others as well.

“My parents were soldiers too. Growing up under warrior parents, it gives your eyes a certain look to them. When I look into your eyes, I see the same ones I would when looking into a mirror.” While he talked he carefully brushed Key’s mane aside to check the wound. “May I ask what your father does specifically? Medic, infantry, guard?”

“He was a Shadowbolt.”

“A Shadowbolt?” The griffon tilted his head. “So… your father is a pegasus? What a surprise indeed.”

“I said ‘He was a Shadowbolt.’”

“Key…” Shibboleth tried to sit up. “Your father is still alive.”

“Then why aren’t we making plans to save him?” Key turned her head, looking at her mother.

“We do, it’s just—”

“No, we aren’t! We make plans to go to Tall Tale, to go to Stalliongrad and whatever other stupid place, but we never talk about saving Dad! We barely even mention him!”

“Coming here is part of saving him…”

“That’s bullshit, Mom! We only talk about saving him, when you are around. The moment you are away, we don’t even mention Stable Fifty-Four!”

“Young Miss, please calm down,” the griffon said.

“Stop treating me like a child, you wanker!”

“Key!” Shibboleth winced and coughed when she had to raise her voice. “You will apologize to the doctor, right now!”

“Only when you accept that Dad got killed!”

Fade reached out with her hooves to calm her down. “Key, please stop!”

“You are not my sister, you fucking cunt!”

“You stop this in an instant!” Shibboleth yelled. “Your father is alive and he was not a Shadowbolt!”

“What is your fucking problem!” Key shouted. “Which letters of K.I.A. you don’t want to understand?” Her voice was cracking and tears were forming in her green eyes, so familiar to Fade. Before anyone could do anything, Key was already stomping out of the ward, leaving the clinic.

Fade rushed after her, out of the clinic and back into the wide and cold hallways. Key didn’t get far, only rushed down the hallway closest to them before stopping to rub her eyes. Fade galopped after her, even if her legs still hurt with every stride. “Key, come back! You need your medicine!” She tried to reason at first.

The young pony turned around, tears and rage in her eyes. “Stop pretending you would care about me!”

“I am not pretending! Just—Please come back.”

“Not pretending? The same way how Mom pretends that Dad is still alive?” Key’s voice shook and quivered.

“I know, but—”

“You know nothing! You just pretend to know, because you grew up without your father!” Her strained voice briefly caught the attention of ponies passing by.

“Don’t say such things, Key.”

“But Mom is allowed to say such things? Mom… Mom is allowed to lie to me?” Key rubbed her eyes again. “You know what? Fuck her! Dad wouldn’t have lied to me.”

“Key—”

“Shut up!” Key pushed her away, glaring at Fade with a deep rage in her green eyes. Her breath shook at the sight, almost as if she was gazing into a mirror of her own past self.

Key turned away from her to leave, only managing to walk a few more steps before stumbling and leaning against a nearby wall. Her body quivered and shook more when Key could no longer control her sobbing. She fell on her haunches and covered her face with her hooves.

Fade lowered her ears and sat down next to her in silence, simply putting a hoof on Key’s back. She didn’t say anything, afraid that she would hurt not only Key but herself as well. Key wept for a quite a while, until she suddenly turned to grab Fade for a tight hug. Her head sank into Fade’s lightly patted barding on her chest, unable to keep quiet. Fade, shocked by the sudden embrace, didn't know what to do. Even though Key’s embrace tightened, her body felt numb and heavy. Only after a long moment, Fade wrapped a wing around Key, just like Feather used to do with Fade in the past.

“I… I just want to bury him…” Key muttered silently.

Midnight slowly wandered through the many hallways of the underground shopping center. He forgot how huge the entire complex was and how many ponies it sheltered, but he didn’t recognize any of the faces around him and neither did they see him as a pony from Stalliongrad. For them he was just another stranger.

He ignored them and continued his search for food and a place to rest. He still remembered the halls being filled with the scent of tea and the sound of music. He still remembered how the ponies were talking to each other in a language, albeit familiar, felt so strange to him.

He didn’t really know where his hooves carried him until he found himself on a train platform, surrounded by high arches and marble walls. The golden light, he remembered so vividly, turned into a much more dull orange devoid of the warmth it once spread. He looked up at the cathedral-like ceiling, with its stucco and paintings of old monarchs. Their faces once filled with pride and regality were now pale and showed an expression of mockery; That the ponies below, with all their intellect, reason and arrogance ultimately failed. And so did he.

The only solace he found was a very faint glimpse of candle light at the end of the platform. There he found a golden mosaic of Princess Celestia, surrounded by an aura of pure sunlight made out of shimmering golden pieces. A banner was waving around her, reading:

“Mir I Garmoniya.”

“I tried. I really tried,” he whispered. He looked at the gentle face of the princess. He smiled but at the same time felt his body tensing up until he could no longer bear to even look at her.

He noticed many letters, photos and gifts forming a small shrine in front of the mosaic. The pictures were old, brittle and bleached out. The texts were barely readable and the few he could decipher were obituaries and wishes of dying ponies to join Celestia, wherever she went.

One specific letter caught his attention in particular. There was a picture of a chess piece. A black king, written underneath the pale words of “Vmeste Za Mir”.

Midnight quietly repeated these words. “Together For Peace.” Echoed in his mind. He smiled when the memories returned. Memories of peaceful protests. Memories of throwing black and white confetti all over the streets, of overpainting depictions of evil zebras with messages for love and friendship, of kissing zebras in public…

Of the smell of blood and fire.

“No…” Midnight had to remind himself. “Vmeste Za Mir.”

“Midnight?” Feather’s voice pulled him out of trance. “I thought I might find you here.”

Midnight shook his head. “What? I mean… What is with the others?”

Feather came a bit closer. “Let’s say you did a really good job getting us out of the snow.”

“Thanks…” He looked back at the note containing the chess piece, until Feather noticed it as well. “Oh, you found it.”

“You know about this?” His voice was a dreadful whisper.

Feather nodded. “You know… When I was here last time, I accidentally learned about this… entire thing. I didn’t think too much about it back then, but then we found the file in the security station—”

“The ponies here know about me?”

Feather shook her head. “Not quite. They know about your activist group and they told me a story. Did you know that a few hours before the bombs fell, the Shadowbolts shut down the entire line for an operation?”

“No? Why would the Shadowbolts come for my group?”

“I don’t know, but if you want to find something out and maybe finding a clue about Blue Sky—”

“Wait… I thought you didn't know him.”

“You know…” She briefly shook her head. “I don’t actually know him, but I remember that you asked. I thought that even though we are looking for different things… It seems that as long as you help us to find Killjoy, you may have a good chance of finding something about Blue Sky and the Shadowbolts and whatever happened here.”

“What do you mean with ‘here’?” Midnight inquired.

“You know… The locals told me where your hideout is. I can bring you there, but the sight of it… won’t be pretty. What do you say?”

Feather pointed Midnight to a narrow maintenance tunnel. The batteries in his flashlight were growing weaker but luckily it was still enough light to scare the rats away. The tunnel Fade led him through was well hidden, but there was no doubt that they were already discovered by the locals.

Midnight stopped when he noticed the signs of a battle. Scorched walls, bullet holes and not much later, pink dust. Not even the roaches wanted to eat the remains of a magically disintegrated pony. “Are you sure these were Shadowbolts?”

“Only Shadowbolts would use energy weapons against ponies.”

Midnight entered a small room. Its original purpose, if it ever had one, was lost. But it was clear that ponies lived here at one point in time. A corner draped with colorful pillows and blankets. A table for eating small meals and snacks. A radio, broken, but in the dust Midnight saw confetti and streamers. Amidst all of it, pink dust and skeletons with cut open skulls and rib cages, surrounded by black stains.

“Midnight?”

“What!” He replied harshly.

“I… I found something.”

He no longer treaded lightly, his steps were growing heavy; Almost violent. He ignored the wary look in Feather’s eyes and focused on what she held to him in her wing instead. A small dusty audio recorder. He frowned and grabbed the small device, immediately pressing the play button and awaiting its message.

“This is a message for White King... Everything prepared,” the voice of a young mare sounded from the tiny device. The voice was dull, ridden with static but Midnight still recognized the sound and sat down. “The bombs are primed and we will leave for— Wait, something is wrong!”

“Who goes there?” A voice further away spoke up and was answered with the garbled noise of an energy weapon. Shouting and gunshots flared up, followed by cries of panic and pain. A dull thud and the fight grew only in intensity until the recorder’s microphone could only record unintelligible noises.

Midnight froze in place, staring down at the device in silence as it finally turned off.

“I knew her…” He mumbled after what felt like an eternity. “She was only seventeen.” His head turned deeper into the hideout, his light brightening more rooms, senselessly built to expand the Stalliongrad metro system.

“You know… You don’t have to go any further,” Feather said.

Midnight huffed in response and got up, his hooves stomping further, whirling up gray and pink dust alike.

“Midnight!”

He turned around and, for the first time during their journey together, glared at her with anger in his eyes. Feather backed away and quietly remained in the darkness.

He continued his mad exploration and his hoof bumped against a metallic box. He looked down and found it surrounded by strange colorful gem dust. Unsure of what to think of it he simply kicked it away and continued onward. Even while looking around frantically he noticed the discolorations of plasma fire at the walls. A half molten skeleton laid in the corner, surrounded by the sludge of a destroyed rifle.

He stepped into one of the side rooms, where he found nothing else than the burned out remains of a dormitory. He couldn’t say how many ponies were in this room, yet alone tell apart bone shards from metal pieces.

He turned and found a plundered storage room. Inside was nothing but a cracked open skull, cut open from the skullcap to the muzzle, teeth simply scattered next to it.

Anger was slowly overwhelming him. He stormed into the last room and stopped when his heavy steps whirled up more pink dust that settled on his clothes as well as his coat. He saw it dancing in his light. He tried to remember the names, assigning some kind of identity to the disintegrated bodies. But he wasn’t able to conjure anything more than a vague color or the rough tone of a voice.

The dust was everywhere in this room. On the beds, the desk, the floor, the shelves… even the walls. This was when Midnight stopped his anger fueled rush and just stared in shock.

Pictures. Dozens, if not hundreds of photos and pictures were hanging on the wall. Cutouts from newspapers and polaroids alike, a triumphant gallery. Amidst the carnage that he witnessed, ever since he entered this place, he finally seemed to have found at least some good memories of the past and he remembered how it felt to smile.

The pictures however didn’t show what he believed or even wanted to find. They showed the same chaos, present all around him. Victorious and cheerful ponies posed in front of burning buildings, collapsed bridges and destroyed trains. He saw his old friends but could no longer assign names. And he couldn’t find the ponies from which he believed to still remember their names. But he saw the young mare, when she was no older than Key, maintaining a pistol with her magic.

Then he noticed himself. His coat was a deep gray, not dulled out by dust. His mane was a strong, dark blue, like the night sky. A wide smile with white and healthy teeth. His eyes looked so familiar, yet he didn’t recognize himself inside of them.

One picture caught his attention. The hillscape nearby Edmareton and a burning industrial complex in the background. In front was him, wearing his thick hat, so common in Stalliongrad. A modern rifle resting on his shoulder, just like the zebras would do. He smiled, almost as if he was actually happy.

Midnight hugged himself, his eyes starting to focus on the picture. No doubt if he still had the need to breathe it would have stopped at this very moment simply in pure shock, building rage. He was no longer able to hold back the anger growing inside of him, fueled by the rising confusion spearheaded by his discoveries. “This is not like me… It’s not like me!” He tore the pictures off the wall, his movements growing unsteady and wilder, not caring if he ripped and destroyed the last proof of his former friends or his past life.

“This is not like me!” He gasped again, growling loudly as his rampage continued throughout the room. Blinded and entranced by everything he had seen, he completely overheard Feather’s energy rifle buzzing as she charged it up. She watched him in this frantic state, ripping and tearing through the articles and photographs with both hooves and teeth, yet his anger wasn’t satisfied. He was lost in it and without anything else to lash out on he eventually stormed to the beds nearby, throwing them over and stomping down onto the frames until they broke. The pink dust was whirled up, almost blinding him when it settled down on his eyes, he didn’t even close anymore. All he could do was to let the feeling of violence control his body.

He turned to one of the many shelves lining the walls, still filled with books, plans, maps and documents, detailing all their operations, toppling them over with one with what little strength his body was able to give. Splinters tore into his legs as he trampled the files and documents as well as the remains of the wooden shelves. When there was nothing left he hurled the remains against the walls themselves. He stumbled back against one of the metal cabinets and gasped as he felt the suture in his leg tearing.

Midnight lost his balance and collapsed against the wall, forcing air into his body to push out one last cry, but all it did was to make his body convulse and shake like a seizure. He didn’t want to feel only violence anymore. He wanted to feel sadness, to feel alive… To be tired again. Suddenly he desired all the things he lost, things he thought he made peace with losing.

“This is not like me…” he whimpered and finally sank to the floor.

His body was shaking when the pink dust settled on him, slowly covering the gray and blue of his coat and mane. In front of him the dust was slowly covering a picture of both him, his friends and even a few zebras. He reached out and picked it up.

Something was wrong about it. It wasn’t his presence but rather an absence. Only now Midnight realized that a key component was missing in all the pictures.

“There… is no photo of Blue sky.”

Chapter 7: Gateways

“Every locked door leads to a terrible secret. And every terrible secret leads to more doors.”

When Fade began to smell and taste blood again, she brought Key back to the clinic. Staying away from Shibboleth, they let the doctor treat their radiation sickness. Fade saw in the griffon’s eyes that he expected an apology. But she didn’t want to apologize for something that she found was Shibboleth’s fault. After the doctor finished his work, they had to wait for the infusion to clean their body from the radiation. Fade looked at the package with the happy filly on it until she fell asleep.

A few hours later a nurse woke them up, when the infusion was needed elsewhere. They were ushered out to make room for other patients. They had to find a place to sleep elsewhere.

Fade didn’t feel like squatting down next to the ponies who were just sleeping in the hallways. With all the bodies wrapped in thick clothes and resting against the marble walls and stucco, she felt as if she was in a morgue. The undead ghouls, guarding the sleeping ponies, were watching her with cautious eyes.

“Eh… Let’s get away from here. It’s depressing,” Fade said and tried to urge Key to move along.

Key only let out an indifferent hum.

“What about… we go to the Steel Rangers? Maybe they will give you some food?”

“I guess?” Key huffed.

Fade sighed in annoyance. “Maybe they have ice cream.”

“Seriously? Are you trying to pretend to be my mother as well? Isn’t it enough that you already treat me like a bratty little sister?”

“If you don’t want to be treated like a bratty child, you should stop behaving like one. I thought you may like idea of working for some fucking ice cream instead of just given some.”

Key sat down. “I don’t like ice cream.”

“What?” Fade sat down next to her. “You are the first kid I’ve met who doesn’t like ice cream.”

“What’s the deal with it? It is finely pureed hay mush with glucose syrup.”

“Huh… What about cake?” Fade’s voice was calm.

“Cake is just dense, pureed hay mush with glucose syrup and some stiff apple frosting… also with extra glucose syrup.”

Fade grimaced. “Sounds fucked up.”

Key nodded. “How was cake before the war? I mean… before the bombs fell.”

Fade remembered cakes. The Ministry of Morale provided her a cake for each birthday. She always ate them alone with her mother, as both couldn’t bear the presence of children who still had both their parents. “I don’t remember. I haven't had a proper cake in twenty years.”

Fade sighed when she recognized the purple coat and white blaze on the nose. She watched him for a moment setting up his shop among the other stalls. His rummaging while he took things off his wagon was one of the very few sounds, while most of Stalliongrad was still asleep. “Key. I know where we can get something to eat.”

Tomcat already noticed her approach. He leaned on his table with that wide smile on his face, which made Fade’s jaw tense up. “My, my! We truly meet at the most unexpected places.”

“Yeh… How did you get here so fast with all that junk?” She asked after approaching his shop. Key was already looking over the many different things Tomcat offered.

“The magical Antigravitalizer Six-Thousand you brought me has its perks.” Tomcat purred.

“Yeah, anyway. We need food and maybe a place to sleep. I hope it is part of our deal.”

He grinned. “Tomcat never forgets a deal. Tomcat would be a very bad trader if his customers won’t come back.” He grinned even wider. “Seeing you back here tells Tomcat he is indeed a good trader.”

“We are not here because you are a good trader. We are here, because we are hungry and tired. Speaking of which… why aren’t you tired?”

Tomcat opened his jacket and revealed a set of small inhalators. Fade rolled her eyes when she recognized the drugs, but Tomcat just kept smiling. “They are quite expensive—”

“Shut up. You know what we want?”

Key looked into a box with a few dozen holodisks. “What's wrong with these?” She suddenly asked.

“They, my new little customer, are all encrypted and locked. Until Tomcat finds a pony who could wipe them, they are quite useless.”

Key levitated a few out. “They look like standard issue. I can crack them open.”

“You can do this?” Fade wondered.

“Of course I can. It was my stupid job in the Stable, because all the ponies were too dumb to remember their passwords, which was more often than not their cutie marks.”

“Huh… Tomcat, is this something for you?” Fade turned back to the grinning trader.

“Tomcat has to consider carefully how much worth—”

“What about you just cut the bullshit? From what I can say they are utterly worthless to you.” Fade grabbed the box. “You certainly don’t mind if we take them and when we know what they are, you may want to reconsider your statement about not being an info broker. Right Key?”

Tomcat was still grinning, but Fade saw a glint of frustration in his eyes. “How much food do you need?”

Fade was not pleased when Tomcat gave them army rations issued by the Royal Equestrian Army. She opened them for Key and gave her the sealed oats and hard nutrition bars. By that point neither Fade nor Key mind how hard and bland they tasted. After a few bites Key already fell asleep in Tomcat’s stuffed wagon.

While Fade ate some dried oats with barely any appetite she looked around at what Tomcat had in store. She couldn’t say which of the items were his personal belongings and which ones weren’t. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that the trader placed a jar of honey deliberately to advertise it to her. She felt a tingle on her tongue, a tightening of her jaw when the memories of honey were about an overwhelming sweetness.

But then her eyes fell on a huge and bulky machine, Tomcat could have never been transported without the magical device she brought him. It was bigger than a pony and when she realized what it was, she left the wagon.

“Tomcat! Are you trading with the Enclave?”

“No. Tomcat doesn’t trade with the Enclave.” He looked up from sorting tools he displayed on his table. “Tomcat is not a liar. Why do you look at Tomcat like he is?”

“If you don’t trade with the Enclave, why do you have a Vertibuck engine?”

“Tomcat would be stupid to leave such a thing behind. After all they can be repurposed as power generators or water filtration systems. I brought it here, because Stalliongrad is in need of both.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Do you see Tomcat asking questions all the time? Instead of asking me questions, my favorite customer, you should ask yourself if you need a Vertibuck engine.”

Fade scoffed. “Do I look like I have a Vertibuck?”

“Of course not. But you look like you know very well that Equestria has no lack of Vertibucks, but a lack of pegasi to fly them.”

“Why are you trying to sell me an engine?” Fade sat down next to the wagon.

Tomcat sat down too and he took something from his stash to eat. “Tomcat may need a flier to get something of equal worth.” He offered her some dried meat from a plastic package showing a happy griffon.

She shook her head. “Fuck off. I am not going to steal something from the Enclave. You are eighteen years too late. By now the Enclave observes all of their major locations.”

“No. Tomcat doesn’t need something from the Enclave. Tomcat needs a PipBuck.”

Fade gestured to him to continue.

“The PipBuck belonged to one of the three Stable-Tec heads. If a new PipBuck model gets released, the old PipBucks always get disassembled for security reasons. That usually happened in Tall Tale—”

“But Tall Tale had problems with some protests, right?” Fade asked.

“Exactly. And this is why I need a flier to get the PipBuck from Orlov.”

Fade glared at him. He looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn’t joking. Fade stood up and without saying anything she returned into the wagon.

“This one looks promising,” Key said and studied the data she found on the encrypted holodisk. “Easily worth four days of food.”

Tomcat frowned. “We agreed that promising information is worth three days of food.”

“This one is about a military depot and considering it is very close, it surely didn’t get plundered by The Mandate.”

“Four days it is,” Tomcat agreed and took a few more packs out of a crate.

Fade smiled at the trader’s demise. She knew that with the information Key extracted from the holodisks, he would find much more food than he was willing to give them. As much as they needed the food, Fade was glad that for once Tomcat didn’t have the upper hoof.

“Instead of grinning like that…” Tomcat turned to Fade and dropped a crate next to her, filled with colorful and sparkling orbs, all of them roughly the size of a hoof. “You could look through these.”

She looked at the memory orbs and shook her head. “Do I look like a unicorn to you, smartass?”

“That’s why Tomcat has a recollector.” He reached into another crate and took out a bulky looking helmet, with an inlay for the orbs where usually a unicorn’s horn would be.

“Forget it. Just because I don’t let you fuck with me by going to Orlov, I won’t let you fuck my mind with these!” She leaned against Tomcat’s wagon and took a small bite from the military ration.

“Can’t be worse than what I have seen here,” Key said and then sighed. “And I am not looking at that one either. That’s another day of food.” Key ejected the holodisk from her PipBuck and put it next to a few others. “Who puts that shit on Holodisks in the first place?”

“Language, Key,” Fade said and turned her attention back to Tomcat. “Unfiltered memories of other ponies just fuck your mind up. I don’t want to risk any of us to get through an hours-long Ministry of Morale torture session. Having one of their victims around is already enough.”

“I could still look at them,” Key offered.

“No!” Fade protested. “It’s already bad enough with what you find on those disks. You don’t need that being fed right into your brain.”

“I don’t mind offering some more food in advance,” Tomcat said. “After all, this is our new reality.”

Fade threw the rest of her food at Tomcat. “Fuck off with your ‘new reality’!” She yelled, not caring that some early ponies were staring at her outburst. “And no, Key. Once you are in a memory orb, you won’t get out until it is over.”

“No reason to waste food,” Tomcat said, picking up what Fade threw at him.

“Keep your hooves off. That is mine after all!” Fade knelt down to pick up her food, cursing that she wasted some of her meal. From the corner eye she noticed Feather approaching Tomcat’s stall.

“Here you are,” Feather said. “What are you doing here?” She asked Key.

“Uhm… working?”

“Work?” Feather looked at the holodisks in the box. Curious, she rummaged in them until she took out one in a good condition. She frowned and dropped it back into the box. “Does he pay you well for… whatever you are doing?”

“Tomcat always pays well. And Tomcat is also very happy to reunite families.”

“If I want to do business with you, I'll let you know,” Feather said and returned her attention back to Key. “How much food did you get?”

“We have about three days now? It depends on what's on the disks.”

Feather nodded. “Fade? Pack up two days worth of food for all of us but Shib. We have to leave and I will bring Shib her rations.”

“Leave?” Fade jumped up. “Already? We didn’t have—”

“I know, Fade. I know. But we have a problem with Midnight.”

“But what about Mom? Won’t she come with us?” Key spoke up.

Feather shook her head. “You know… I talked with your mother. I told her that Midnight… is in a bad state.”

“What happened to him?” Fade asked.

“He found out that the Shadowbolts killed his friends from his… group. He is not taking it well and wants to know why. I’m afraid if we delay our trip to the Ministry of Awesome hub he could lose it.”

“Midnight losing his marbles? You are kidding us,” Fade said.

“No. I am serious. If he has to be taken down, then we lost our only guide. Key can work for the Rangers but what about us? We don’t even speak the language.”

“What about Mom?” Key asked.

Feather sat down. “You know… I already talked with her. I told her about the situation and promised her that we will protect you. And I am sure some distance will also help you as well.”

Key looked at Fade. She only shrugged and was already stuffing the military rations into her and Key’s bags.

“Listen, Key.” Feather put a hoof on her shoulder. “You said you don’t want to be treated like a child anymore, right?”

Key sighed and nodded eventually. “Let me finish this here and then we can go.”

Midnight waited for them at the entrance to the metro tunnels leading northeast. While he stood there a big group of ponies walked past him, burdened with heavy bags, tools and equipment to survive the cold nights. He knew that they were heading for the mountains, a last, desperate attempt to find valuable machines and raw material from the abandoned mines there, before the winter sealed Stalliongrad. Midnight wished he didn’t know the desperation and could dwell in the memories when he was just trying to return peace to Equestria. But now they were saturated with bitterness.

When Feather and the others arrived, he didn’t smile as he usually did. The warmth of seeing his friends was simply gone. He couldn’t say if his body forgot the feeling or his mind during the rage in the old hideout.

“Are you alright, Midnight?” Key asked when she helped to distribute their meager belongings.

“It’s okay.” Midnight sat down and kept packing his bag. “I am sure something just went wrong after I got arrested. There is an explanation for it. I was a good pony.” He forced more things into his bag, even if it was already full. “It’s surely some Shadowbolt conspiracy to frame me as the bad one.” Midnight suddenly stomped his hooves into the bag.

“Midnight. I'll take that.” Fade reached into his bag to take a few things back out to make him stop. Her hoof was shaking when she reached for squashed food.

Midnight got up. “I’d better go first.” he said and took the lead, while also keeping a bigger distance to them as usual.

After they wandered northeast for about an hour, they were no longer able to see Stalliongrad behind them. The weather was calm, but the harsh winds were whirling up sharp snow. The cold air burned in their noses. Fade wore a scarf over her muzzle but still felt a nosebleed from the freezing temperature.

The land around them was barren; A graveyard of corpses and collapsed houses buried under several feet of snow. The metallic skeletons of radio towers and advertisement boards were the only thing left to indicate some form of significance to the ponies of the past. But now their only importance was that Feather could still use them as landmarks to lead the way to the Ministry hub.

Midnight was still moving ahead of them and turned around occasionally to make sure he was following Feather’s direction. Fade noticed that each time he turned around, Key came a little bit closer to her.

In the afternoon they took a small rest next to an old radar dish. Midnight didn’t seek shelter like the others. The presence of the Ministry’s early warning system didn’t lift his mood either.

The clouds above them were growing thicker and not an hour later they found themselves in a gray and entirely featureless landscape. The bleak light made the color of their coats and manes disappear. Only the painfully cold wind and stinging snow remained.

Midnight suddenly stopped. He only stood there and stared into the gray nothingness. When Fade and the others approached they noticed something dark peeling out from the snowdrift. Even with its shape still hidden it felt like a scar. As they stepped closer its menacing presence was only amplified by the heavily armored facade, built to withstand heavy artillery fire. But neither Fade nor Midnight could understand why this monolith required such heavy protection being so far up in the north and away from the front lines.

Feather was the first to approach the building and the others felt forced to follow suit. The building wanted to be left alone. It wanted to keep its secrets. As hostile as the Ministry hub appeared, Fade and Midnight couldn’t shake off the feeling it did so for their own sake.

Feather led them alongside the massive building. Its size suggested something more than just a command post for the Shadowbolts. When the snow cleared up, Fade could see the upper ledges and the barrels of air defense cannons. It filled her with a hint of pride to know that Rainbow Dash built these structures, capable of withstanding the perpetual winter of the northern wasteland.

“Over here!” Feather called them. She knelt down and began to push snow away until a strange, red glow emanated from the small hole. The others hesitated but Feather kept digging.

“Mom. Are you sure it is safe?” Fade asked, approaching the entrance with sudden hesitation.

“It is. Last time I was here the defense systems were already destroyed.”

Fade groaned and turned to Key. “Does your E.F.S. pick anything up?”

Key checked her PipBuck and furrowed her brows. Her magic worked at the dials and buttons until she shook her head. “Something blocks my E.F.S. and the mapping spell is blocked too.”

Fade sighed. “Mom! There is still—”

“Just help me dig! Everything that can shoot at us is destroyed.”

“Fuck…” Feather stomped through the high snow and almost pushed her mother away. Looking through the gap she found the source of the red glow.

The snow piled up high enough to have buried the entrance into the hub. A ramp of wet snow was leading down into a recessed entrance. The square shaped section was tinted in the red light of a magical barrier. The metal walls were blackened from heavy weaponry and the embedments for automatic turrets were torn into equally metallic wounds. At the bottom, pink dust and clumps were floating in a deep puddle of molten snow.

“You are not going to send her down there,” Fade said.

“Of course not. We let her levitate a strand of her mane first. If it vaporizes we leave.”

Fade looked at her mother. “Are you seriously telling me that Rainbow Dash was so stupid and allowed that to work?”

“And risk that ponies would die from a faulty barrier? Ponies are not stupid, Fade.”

“Have you looked at the wasteland?” Fade said.

“The wasteland is Luna’s and Celestia’s fault.”

“Whatever you say.” Fade stood up. When she turned around she noticed a gray box falling into the snow with a soft thud.

Midnight’s ear flicked when he heard it as well. He recognized it immediately. “Take cover!” Midnight shouted and threw his body to the ground.

Fade immediately rushed to Key but before she could reach her a blinding flash erupted from the box, accompanied by a loud static noise. Deaf and blind Fade felt how her body impacted with Key and then the ground. Both were squirming to protect their eyes and ears from the ongoing barrage of rainbow colored light and screeching sound. Even with their eyes closed they saw the light flashes piercing through their eyelids.

She tried to crawl to the hole or at least where she thought it would be. But every time she didn’t press her hooves against her eyes and ears she thought her skull would burst. Fade searched any point to orient herself but she couldn’t even find Key anymore. All of the sudden she felt a metallic leg wrapping around her neck, pulling her violently away from wherever she was.

“Where is Fade?” Midnight shouted after he made it to the entrance. He didn’t suffer the same pain and confusion like the others but he noticed that he couldn’t hear his voice. His sight was blurry but he found Feather and Key cradling at the bottom of the wet, snowy ramp. Feather was the only one who could still see and she typed something onto Key’s PipBuck.

Midnight slid down and took his rifle to aim it at the small entrance. But he suddenly heard Key yell in pain. Feather bit her mane and tore out a few strands, the wound from the ghoul starting to bleed again.

“What are you doing?” He didn’t know if he even made a sound.

Feather spat the hair against the barrier and Midnight also noticed that they were passing through. Key was still crying and rubbing her eyes and ears, but Feather grabbed her and pushed her through the barrier. Before Midnight could react, Key was already on the other side. Unharmed.

Everlast was right.

Midnight couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Key lying in the puddle of molten snow, the pink dust layer on it now sticking to Key’s clothes and face. Only when he noticed the bright glow of Feather’s energy rifle flaring up, he turned his attention back to the hole, aiming his rifle at it and ready to shoot at anypony. Even though Fade was still out there, his hoof was tightly holding the trigger of his rifle.

He almost pulled it when the red light from the energy field suddenly disappeared. Despite all the pain, Key deactivated the barrier. Feather rushed inside and Midnight followed. But he looked back at the entrance, hoping that Fade would appear. Instead something was lobbed through it. He couldn’t see the shape but the rainbow colored glow of plasma beginning to chain react caught his attention.

He yelled a warning but couldn’t even understand his own voice. It was barely enough to catch their attention and just enough for Feather to push Key away from the terminal right next to the entrance gate. The detonation engulfed the gate’s alcove and several feet beyond it in fire. Midnight jumped, even flapping his wings in the futile attempt to escape the flames. But his clothes and back were caught in the fire and he already feels small parts of his flesh exploding from the intense heat.

The facility's sprinkler systems activated and rained cold water from the ceiling as well as generating rain clouds for a more sustained coverage. Vapor from melting snow and boiling water filled the hall with a dense fog. Midnight didn’t have any time to seek cover. He pushed the burning clothes off his body and singed his hooves in the process. A terror his body could no longer mirror filled his mind when he saw that the plasma’s heat dug holes down to the bones of his hindleg.

“Back from the entrance!” Feather shouted. At least Midnight thought so.

He followed Feather’s vague silhouette through the fog, limping and lagging behind due to his damaged legs. When they finally escaped it, Midnight found himself in a massive hangar. It was empty but a few crates, transport vehicles, work benches and one small Vertibuck in the far corner. A few other red barriers blocked the paths to other halls. But Midnight noticed something else, a tiny glimmer of hope. The ceiling still bore the heavy defensive turrets, all primed at the entrance but inactive.

He rushed to Key and Feather who took shelter behind some of the crates. “Key! You must activate the defensive systems!” He shouted. He got her attention but she still didn’t hear him. He pointed to the turrets and then at one of the rooms where he thought some terminal screens were idly blinking behind the red energy field. He hoped this was the command center and Key struggled with her balance when she ran to it, hesitating briefly before stepping through the barrier.

“Midnight!” Feather called his name. She signaled to the entrance and there he saw how a pegasus, clad in black armor was using Fade as a living shield, a foreleg wrapped around her neck.

“One wrong move and I crush her throat!” His metallic and amplified voice pierced into their heads. “Put down your weapons and identify the pony who put the facility out of lockdown!”

Two more pegasi in black armor stepped out of the fog, looking carefully to detect any threat hidden in the huge hall. Midnight noticed another soldier seeking cover among the girders at the ceilings. He saw them only moving as rough shapes. “Enough to hit them…” he thought.

“Where is the pony who can open this facility?” the metallic voice roared up again. The leg around Fade’s throat grabbed her tighter. With his attention still primed at Midnight and Feather, he didn’t notice how Fade reached with her wing for one of the plasma grenades attached to his suit. But he did notice when Fade pulled the pin from the apple shaped explosive.

In a rush of panic he pushed Fade away and the enhanced strength of the power armor made her roll over the floor. She curled up, covering her head to protect herself from the explosion that will follow at any moment. The detonation was just another dull roar of noise, but the amplified screams of the Shadowbolt weren’t, when the plasma fire cooked him alive in the armor.

Magical energy lances erupted from around her when Feather took the opportunity to fire at the two remaining soldiers on the floor, but had to duck into cover when she got attacked by the one at the ceiling. Midnight escaped to the closest cover he could find. He threw his body flat on the wet ground behind a warehouse trolley, only to find its contents burst open from the rapid energy blast and covering him with slimy soap and bleach.

The warped cries of the burning Shadowbolt made Fade look up. He was struggling and failing to get out of his armor. Elated by the sight, she forced her body up, fighting her dulled senses and ultimately rushing at her closest enemy.

The Shadowbolt didn’t hear her and Fade’s body crashed into the soldier. Her aim was thrown off, freeing Midnight from the ongoing barrage. Fade didn’t pause and struck the muzzle of the helmet again and again. The mare behind the mask groaned and pushed Fade away. It made her tumble and she almost fell.

Squinting her eyes, Fade realized that the Shadowbolt was now struggling with the dislodged rebreather. She attacked again, this time aiming to get a hold of the soldier’s knife. A swift motion and she grabbed it from the sheath, but her vision swam, her head still dizzy from the assault on her senses. The soldier pulled the muzzle piece from her helmet, able to breathe again. Fade struck and pierced the jaw, pushing the sharp point up into the nose. Her teeth grated over the handle and she didn’t stop pushing, even while tasting the blood entering her mouth.

But one strike from the power armor to her chest made her lose the grip. She felt something crack and tried to get up but the searing pain forced her to remain in the puddle of cold and ashen water. She could only watch how the injured soldier pulled the knife out, dropped it and fled. The last remaining soldier took off and flew a wide berth to flank Feather.

She was cowering behind the crates and could return fire at the pony at the ceiling only during the briefest moments. The crates were already disintegrating from the ongoing impacts of the destructive magical bolts. The shots from her own, much weaker rifle didn’t even leave a scratch on the girder the Shadowbolt took as cover. The only times Feather could retreat into better cover was when Midnight fired his rifle. But none of them could say if he even hit. He took aim, squinted his eyes and fired again. His rifle clicked empty.

Pink energy bolts rushed over Midnight’s head and he curled up behind the remains of the trolley. Recognizing the weaker glow of the bullets he followed them and saw one of the pegasi seeking cover behind the Vertibuck. Most of the projectiles hit the vehicle, while Feather tried to pin the Shadowbolt down with a barrage from her weapon.

In the brief moment he had available he rushed to Feather, not only for better cover but to search the crates for ammo. His search was immediately interrupted when the Shadowbolt at the ceiling opened fire again, moving along the ceiling from cover to cover to get better firing angles. Feather returned fire but Midnight had to yank her into cover when the flanking soldier fired at them as well. Something in the crates reacted with the energy bolts and erupted into bright sparks, blinding Midnight and Feather. It gave the two remaining Shadowbolts only more time to maneuver.

But Fade snuck up to the soldier next to the Vertibuck. Jumping on the Shadowbolt she hacked with the knife onto the energy rifles, mounted to the armor and managed to destroy one. The mare under her kicked back and tried to shake Fade off. She held tight until the pain from her cracked ribs were too much. The Shadowbolt pushed her off and Fade lost the grip on the knife. It slid over the floor and ended up just before one of the red barriers.

Even though she tasted bile on her tongue, Fade rushed to regain her weapon, but the Shadowbolt was faster. Fade cried out in pain when her opponent crashed into her side. The soldier pushed Fade effortlessly against the wall, one hoof pushing her up the cold metal until her hindlegs didn’t reach the floor anymore, the other landing one blow to her muzzle, cracking one tooth out.

Fade went limp, tears running over her cheek and thick blood dripping from her muzzle. Fade heard the thin buzz of the barrier next to her and only caught a blurry image of the knife just out of her reach. She glared at the Shadowbolt, unable to see the eyes behind the mask, covered in countless, colorless sensors and eyepieces. Fade spat blood at her.

The soldier yelled, blinded while the eyepieces glowed from a magic cleaning spell. In her anger she hurled Fade against the red barrier. The static buzz droned in Fade’s ears as she passed through the barrier, followed by a hard impact on the cold floor. She tried to understand what happened and why she was still alive. The barrier should have dissolved her.

She groaned and rolled on her side, slowly getting up. Blinking the tears away she found herself in a storage room. She leaned against the lockers to get up but something caught her attention. A name tag was attached to a locker and read an oddly familiar name. Brave Heart.

“Dad?” Fade’s voice was cracking.

“You are calling for your father?” The Shadowbolt on the other side of the barrier said in a mocking tone. “I wonder what he would think to see you like this. A stupid little brat, trying to duke it out with a pony in power armor. What did you expect? If your father would have been a proper Shadowbolt like us, he wouldn’t have died like a grunt at the front!”

A salvo of pink energy bolts suddenly impacted into the side of the mare. The first bullets turned the armor plates to dust. The third evaporated the skin, bones and muscles. The mare collapsed when her intestines spilled out.

Fade ignored the cries of the young mare as she tried to push her organs back in. She only went for the shelves, searching for bullets and found a pack, hoping they were the right caliber for Midnight’s rifle. The battle between Feather and the last Shadowbolt was still going on, the sound of energy rifles exchanging more deadly fire droned out the wails of the injured Shadowbolt.

While Feather used up her last energy cell to keep the soldier behind cover, Fade used her last strength to get to Midnight. She noticed a brief smile and he quickly reloaded his rifle. The Shadowbolt didn’t move enough and Midnight took aim. He fired, then again and a third shot. Blood was dripping from the ceiling. Midnight and Fade didn’t know which shot killed him, but the spell to keep his armor at the ceiling remained intact.

After the last shot was fired a deep rumble shook the building.

“What is that?” Feather asked who was holding some wet cloth against Fade’s muzzle to soothe the pain.

“I don’t know, but I will check in a moment.” Midnight finished loading his rifle and went to the injured Shadowbolt. She was still lying where Feather shot her, crying as she held her intestines and blood was spreading around her.

He wouldn’t let her suffer but on the way there Fade got up and followed to stop him. “Midnight! No! Don’t waste your bullets on her.”

Midnight only shook his head, not hearing how Fade’s hoofsteps grew sharper. When he was close enough to train his rifle on the soldier, Fade pushed the barrel away. “I said ‘No’!”

“What are you doing?” Midnight had to shout to make sure Fade heard him.

“She’s Enclave. Let her die. They deserve it.”

“They deserve nothing like this!” Midnight tried to raise his rifle again, but Fade kept her hoof on it.

“When I say they deserve it, then I mean it. You know how they treated us!”

“I know the stories and I won’t let a pony die like this,” Midnight said.

“You won’t but they did! They fired fragmentation grenades into crowds of pegasi, burning them alive with plasma and then letting them rot until the corpses fell through the clouds! There is nothing to justify mercy to them, you self-righteous prick!”

“Mercy doesn’t need any justification.” Midnight pushed Fade away.

“Does that count for the ponies who killed your friends in the hideout too?”

Midnight raised his rifle but not to aim at the wounded soldier. “Leave my friends out of this.” His voice fell to a threatening growl.

“Of course. We have to show mercy but you don’t have to. It’s really great how you were not caring about how I feel, how my mother feels or how Key feels. But now that you can pretend to be Pinkie Pie’s moronic fuck-boy, you are suddenly caring about some stranger-ass bitch, because she is crying and yapping for her daddy! If you could enact revenge on the ponies who killed your friends, you wouldn’t be such a pussy right now!”

“There is a big difference between revenge and needless cruelty!”

“As if you know the difference. I saw how the Enclave killed thousands. You didn’t even see your friends die!”

“And you wanting them to suffer the same way, makes you more Enclave than you are willing to admit!”

Fade slapped him. “Don’t you ever compare me to that scum!” She yelled, her voice cracking.

Midnight stared at Fade and he felt the urge for violence returning. His jaw tensed up but he took a deep breath, as if forcing his body to feel alive would make the urge go away. He pushed his rifle into fade’s forelegs. “I don’t have to…” He turned away, searching for Key instead. Focusing on keeping his mind clear he didn’t notice that the injured mare already died.

Key sat behind the energy barrier and rubbed her nose, while she tried to hold her tears back. “I really tried to activate the defensive systems. But… I activated the wrong ones. They shot something down. I don’t know what it was, but they shot at something.”

“It’s okay.” Midnight’s voice was calm. He remained on the other side of the barrier and tried to comfort her. It helped him to calm down as well, but he wasn’t sure if he did it only to prove Fade wrong. “They are gone. It’s over.”

“You killed them, didn’t you?”

Midnight answered with a hesitant nod.

“I… I killed somepony too, didn’t I?”

He thought about what to answer and after a long while he nodded again. “It feels bad, doesn’t it?”

“Why are you not feeling bad?” Key asked.

“I…” Midnight began but couldn’t get past the first word. He couldn’t say that he felt bad, because he was a good pony after all. “It is not all about feeling bad. It is about being a good pony and staying a good pony. The wasteland is a bad place but it is important to be a good pony.” He chuckled but the smile disappeared from his face when he noticed the doubt in Key’s eyes. He frowned, feeling like a failure. A disappointment. “Anyway… Can you open the barriers? I think Fade found a storage room. There could be something you need and… I will take care of the terminals. But don’t look around too much. There are some horrible sights out there.”

Key turned off the energy fields in less than a minute. When Midnight entered the control center he kept his distance from Key, especially when she looked at the scorch marks on his fur and the wounds at his hindlegs.

“It’s okay. I will take over from here,” he said. “Just be careful out there.”

Key nodded and left the control room.

After she was gone he sat down at one of the terminals. Key’s permissions were limited. He couldn’t even close the barriers again and his own knowledge didn’t help him much to gain more access to the facility. At least he was able to browse through the Ministry’s file system and activating the security systems was immediately forgotten. The last twenty years were filled with nothing but log files but just a few hours before the bombs fell, he found the last reports.

“We got a reliable hint that a terror cell in Stalliongrad obtained non megaspell level balefire bombs. We assume the hint was given by an insider. The pony gave us detailed intel where to find the base, but remained anonymous. We dispatch two wings. Their objectives are to eliminate every terrorist and secure the balefire bombs for transport to Shadowbolt Vault Eight.

Update: The strike team successfully dispatched the terrorists and extracted the bombs. No casualties were reported and a few light injuries were treated on site before departure.

Update: On the way to Shadowbolt Vault Eight, the strike team was intercepted by an O.I.A. transport. The O.I.A. agent showed a waiver, which demanded the transfer of the bombs to the O.I.A.

See addendum for further details.”

Midnight furrowed his brows. He located the addendum and kept reading.

“The strike team arrived in Shadowbolt Vault Eight and committed the waiver for further inspection. A forgery expert of the Ministry of Awesome examined the waiver and falsified its authenticity. A civil air traffic query showed that the bombs were en route to Vanhoover.

However, royal order and the rise of an omega threat alert

Celestia, save us all.”

He felt empty. All the trouble for nothing, even though he felt that the timing of the O.I.A. was too peculiar. He entered a search command: Blue Sky.

“Data Archived in Shadowbolt Vault Eight.”

When Fade returned with her mother to the locker, the pain in her muzzle was forgotten. She didn’t even notice how blurry her vision was and how dull her hoofsteps sounded on the metal.

“Did Dad ever mention this place?” She asked her mother.

“No.”

“And he never said he was a Shadowbolt?”

“Your dad was not a Shadowbolt.”

Fade sighed. “Then why does he have a locker here?”

“What do I know?” Feather began pacing. “Maybe he was a janitor.”

“A fucking janitor?” Fade laughed. “A janitor? Hero of Orlov? Getting killed at the front lines? You’re not believing it yourself.”

“Your dad was not a Shadowbolt,” Feather hissed.

“Then how did the dead bitch know that Dad was a Shadowbolt? I don’t know how they figured that out, but even the most stupid Enclave idiot can read a file!”

Feather stomped. “Your dad must not be a Shadowbolt!” She shouted, her angry outburst echoing through the hangar.

Fade just nodded. “Oh, I see. I get it now. It sucks when ponies lie to you, doesn’t it?”

“Do whatever you want! I don’t care.” Feather scoffed and went deeper into the storage area. “I’m going to get what we came here for.”

Fade sat down and rubbed her eye. She winced when even that made her muzzle hurt. When she opened her eyes again she saw Key sitting at the entrance. “Hey. Sorry about that.”

“Hm…” Fade rubbed her foreleg. “Do you think Dad was stationed here?”

“Only one way to find out. Just look if you find his locker.” She looked along the row. There were just about two dozen lockers. All were closed, showing a red seal on the touchpads.

“Don’t you want to know what’s in yours?”

Fade took a deep breath. “I don’t know. But that’s the only chance, right?” She stood up, her steps feeling heavier than ever before. She placed her hoof on the touchpad and the red seal turned into a green symbol. The locker opened.

Only after some hesitation did she open it fully. Inside she found only a uniform, wrapped in plastic. She nudged it briefly and saw his name and cutie mark stitched on the chest. Fade kept looking for anything else. Nothing was there, except something that was lost and forgotten in the barely lit corner of the locker. Fade carefully picked it up and blew away the thin layer of dust.

The photo felt brittle in her hoof, thin creases showing that it was kept in a way too small of a pocket. On it she saw herself and her parents. She was too young to understand the purpose of the camera. Her mother to the left, smiling and wearing a suit so common for teachers back then. Her father had a stoic expression, only the hint of a smile visible on his lips. His green eyes were exactly like hers.

Fade sniffed and sat down. “I don’t remember this.” Her voice and breath were shaking.

“It was the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot.” Feather returned, her voice now soft. “Six days later he was dead.” She fell on her haunches when the memories overwhelmed her.

Their argument was forgotten and Fade comforted her mother with an embrace. They allowed themselves to mourn, something Fade felt they should have done many years ago.

Key returned to Midnight and he saw in her eyes how uncomfortable she felt.

“Is something wrong?” He stopped working on the terminal to gain more access and maybe find a way to reseal the facility.

“Fade found the locker of her dad. I think it’s better to leave them alone for a while.”

“He was stationed here?”

Key only nodded.

“Hey… maybe you want to help me? I am stuck.”

“Uhm… can I ask for something else?” She waited for Midnight’s answer and he gave her a brief nod. “Can… we look in the file system if there is something about Dad?”

“Of course. Valiant, right?”

“Valiant Love is his full name.” Key came a bit closer and sat down, so that she could see the screen, but her vision was still too blurry.

Midnight shook his head. “No files. I’m sorry. He surely wasn’t stationed here then.”

“It’s alright. What about Brave?”

“Sure. Why not?” He entered his name and two files appeared. Everything else, for some reason, was also archived in Shadowbolt Vault Eight. He opened the first file.

“Regarding the memory wipe of Special Operations Team Diffraction; We interviewed Captain Brave Heart but he was not able to recall any details of the O.I.A. instructed mission. I apologize for getting personal here, but who in his right mind dares to memory wipe our Shadowbolts? Or to be more precise, who in the O.I.A. thinks they stand above the Ministry to do that? Anyway, Team Diffraction doesn’t show any ill effects of the memory removal or any other signs that the mission caused any physical or mental compromises. Captain Brave Heart and his team are free to leave for the celebrational ceremony in Orlov.”

Midnight stared at the text for far longer than he wanted to admit. His eyes locked to the words ‘memory wipe’. “Why should they?” He thought. “I was a good pony.”

He just opened the other file, pretending the first file didn’t exist, even though Key was trying to read the entry herself from a few feet away.

“Special Operations Team Diffraction got compromised. Sunset Protocol will be enacted on Captain Brave Heart and his wing. Sunset Protocol will be enacted at Shadowbolt Vault Eight.”

He read the short text to her. “Everything points to that stupid vault?” He returned to the terminal’s menu and searched for it. He got the location and breathed out what was left in his lungs in a long sigh. “It’s in Galloping Gorge. Of course they hide there.”

Fade was looking through the storage shelves and was still wiping tears from her eyes when she heard Midnight’s stern voice.

“Feather! I need to talk to you.”

Her mother left the storage quickly. “What is it?”

“I found some… disconcerting information about the O.I.A. on the terminals here. It may be a strange coincidence but for some reason, an O.I.A. agent intercepted the Shadowbolts, which killed my friends. I want to know why and I want you to help me find that out.”

“I can’t promise that, but I will certainly try. After all, I wasn't a high ranking agent.”

“But they still entrusted you with a very important holodisk. Feather, if you know something, you should tell me now.”

Fade stopped searching and snuck closer to them.

“You know… I have no idea what happened in Stalliongrad. I don’t know if I can help you with that, but if an opportunity occurs, I can try.”

“There is an opportunity, Feather. A very clear one and it may also be in your interest.”

“What can be more interesting than Killjoy?” Feather asked with a tense tone in her voice.

“A Shadowbolt vault. The terminal here tells me that a lot of data is archived in one. Data about Blue Sky but also about Brave. So, if you want to find something out about him, we should go there.”

“And where?”

“Galloping Gorge. It’s three days away from here. I’ll help you get Killjoy but then we go to the vault.”

“That’s out of question,” Feather said. “Killjoy is more important than the secret life of my husband. And not only that, the Enclave is on our tails, the Mandate is hunting us and… Killjoy still has the potential to help Equestria. Didn’t you want to make Equestria a better place?”

“I tried, Feather. I really tried. I figured I am better at helping a few ponies at a time instead of trying to fix the world.”

“You know that you have a good chance to try again,” Feather’s voice carried the smug tone Fade only knew from Tomcat.

“You know that you have a chance to… let’s say… pay me back. After all, I am helping you on your silly mission. I have no problem with the Enclave or Everlast. I only came back here to the region to find out what happened to Blue Sky. I finally have a clue. Your little O.I.A. is somehow involved in the murder of my friends and Fade is maybe needed to open the vault. I say a three-day detour is a very fair compensation for my skills.”

“No.”

“Then I return to Stalliongrad.”

Fade heard how he already turned to leave.

“Wait, Midnight. Maybe you should see it from a different point.”

He stopped.

“Have you considered that Blue Sky was an agent of the O.I.A.?”

“Do you know him?” His voice was quiet but there was a threatening tone.

“No. But think about it. There was not one picture of him in your hideout. You were very well equipped with countless weapons and even balefire eggs. Such resources don’t come from nowhere. And for some strange reason, the O.I.A. was at the right place at the right time to intercept the Shadowbolts. From my point of view, he may have orchestrated—”

“He did not kill my friends!” Midnight shouted. “Don’t dare try to drag him into your… strange, little organization!”

“Are you sure?”

Midnight remained quiet.

“Thought so… As you said, I am an agent of the O.I.A. If you want to have any tiny chance to find out the truth about Blue Sky, you better stay with us.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Power Armor Puncturing - Midnight’s attacks with projectile weapons ignore the Damage Threshold of power armor.

New Perk: Bonus Melee Damage - Fade deals +2 points of damage with melee attacks.

Chapter 8: Silence

“Most ponies think that being quiet is to protect yourself. In reality it is a weapon. The zebras learned it during the war. Ponies are learning it now.”

Fade tried to avoid Midnight while they were searching the storage hall. It was reaching deep into the complex and made it difficult for them to truly grasp the intricacy of the installation. With every shelf it became clearer that during the last moments before the bombs fell the Hub was emptied of everything that was necessary for short- and long term survival. The best Fade found was some food bars; hard, stale and most importantly, practical.

With the frustration growing, so too did the pain in Fade’s muzzle. She stopped and let the others search for the needed suits and anything useful that was left behind in the hurry. Fade went to the hygiene section, searching for some medicine to dull the pain. She only found weak painkillers that would help her headache and took two. She drenched a towel in brown, but at least cold water from the tap and pressed it against the side of her face.

She contemplated taking a third pill when she finally noticed her reflection in the mirror. Fade couldn’t recall the last time when she saw her face that vividly. One half was swollen, her nose and lips covered in blood. She could barely make out the color of her coat and mane from all the dirt and grime in it. Fade asked herself why all of this had happened to her of all ponies.

A noise turned her attention away from the mirror. It was Key, who was now looting soap and toothpaste from the shelves.

“Don’t take this,” Fade said. “Look for healing potions and other things.”

Key nodded briefly and went to another shelf to keep searching with much less enthusiasm.

Fade left the bath, unable to bear her reflection. She only stopped and peeked inside to make sure Key was searching for proper medicine. Instead she found that Key was just filling her own pockets with toothpaste and other things. Fade didn’t stop her and thought to herself that ponies Key’s age were supposed to steal chocolate bars. It was one of the few pleasures Fade enjoyed until the bombs took that away too.

“Why are we not using that?” Key pointed to the Vertibuck. “I thought it could fly.”

Feather looked up from the heavy bags with the needed suits. They were nothing more than a plastic overall, probably worn under power armor. At least the bags weren’t too heavy. “No. It’s broken.”

“How do you know that?” Key asked.

“You know… One of the Shadowbolts was firing at Fade and hit the Vertibuck and destroyed the engine.”

Fade looked up as well. “I don’t recall anypony shooting at me. These fuckers wanted me alive. Won’t make any sense to dust me.” She looked at Feather and thought she saw something in her eyes. Something familiar like every time when she said her father would return soon. “You… hit it by accident, didn’t you?”

“No.”

“She did.” Midnight said. He just finished preparing his gear. The bag with the suit was weighing heavily on him. “Doesn’t matter anyway. We should leave before the Enclave returns and look for a shelter for the night on the way to the mine.” He didn’t wait for any answer and trudged through the dirty water to the entrance. Fade sighed and groaned when her tired body protested against the weight of her luggage.

“What about Tomcat’s engine?” Key asked.

“What engine?” Feather said.

Fade only shook her head. “We are not going to Orlov.”

“Is it because Brave was there?” Key asked. “I mean… Was he involved in what made Orlov so dangerous?”

“Of course not,” Feather said. “You know… After all, it is not known what caused the final destruction of Orlov. It got hit by a bomb, but that wasn’t what killed the city.”

“The terminals say that Brave was involved in a Shadowbolt operation, ordered by the O.I.A.—”

“Brave was not a Shadowbolt!”

“But—”

“No, Key.” Feather’s voice was stern. “The ponies were so paranoid of the zebras, that they obfuscated their own records to lead zebras on the wrong track! Anyway… Midnight is right. We have to leave.”

They left in silence. A small storm had picked up during the time they were scavenging the Hub. They all adjusted their clothes, yet Fade was both glad and worried about the weather. For one part, the Enclave won’t follow, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling of pegasi causing the weather on purpose to trap them inside.

But soon she worried more about Midnight. He was walking much faster and didn’t wait as often. At times he disappeared amidst the cold snow. He only let them catch up if he wanted to consult Key’s PipBuck.

The storm got worse with every hour and soon the darkness of the night made it impossible for them to wander any further. Only through sheer luck they found an abandoned carriage. Feather checked the content on the loading bed, but only briefly. A soft shake of her head told them there was nothing desirable to be found.

“Push some snow together to build walls,” Midnight said, quite absently. “That will be our shelter for tonight.”

Fade and Key helped Midnight to turn the carriage into a provisoric shelter. Feather hesitated and looked back at what she found on the cart. Key crawled under the cart to dig a small pit for them to have more room. After some time the shelter was finished and the cold along with exhaustion took their toll.

They crawled into the narrow shelter and stood together to share the meager warmth. Only Midnight remained distant from them. He wrapped his clothes around his body and soon retreated into his mind to wait out the cold night. Key gave Fade a wary glance at Midnight’s quiet behavior, but all Fade could do was to give her a hug and help adjusting the bags, so she didn’t have to rest her head in the cold snow.

After they settled down, Feather tinkered with an energy cell.

“Where did you find that?” Fade asked. “Shouldn’t you keep these for your rifle?”

“The rifle is trash. It’s a miracle the shot made it through the armor. Here.” Feather gave Fade the energy cell, which radiated some heat now. Then she prepared a second one. “Midnight. Take this.”

“I’m fine.” He turned away and rested his body against the snow.

Feather just kept the cell and turned her back to Fade and Key.

Fade was slowly turning the cube shaped cell in her hooves. “Did you get them from the Enclave?”

“Yes. And enough plasma grenades to kill a dragon.”

Fade turned to Key so she could keep the cell between them, sharing the warmth. “And their armor was sealed as usual?”

“Yes. Sleep now.”

Hours before dawn they gave up on sleep. The storm calmed down, but they didn’t dare go out into the darkness. Fade was too concerned that Key’s flashlight could be seen by the Enclave. Like this they waited around the warm energy cells and took a few bites from the cold military rations. It was more the boredom than appetite, which made them snack every once in a while. None of them talked. Neither Fade nor Midnight knew what to say without causing an argument. The more both were trapped with nothing but their thoughts, the more they wondered why Feather brought them to this forsaken place.

Fade glanced over to Midnight who was covered in a thin layer of frost. He hadn’t moved one inch since he set down to rest. She wanted to know what he read on these terminals about her father and why her mother didn’t want to find out more. Fade didn’t even think to ask. The way Feather was looking at the energy cell told her she wasn’t bored. She was waiting. Waiting like they did in the pegasi camps; Watching and listening to pick out an Enclave loyalist or collaborateur who would snitch for food.

It was that watchful promise of violence Fade saw not only in Feather’s but Midnight’s eyes as well. She decided to stay quiet.

At dawn they left their shelter.

The clouds were still covering the sky and inked the snowy landscape in gray but the slight snowfall was a welcome change to the stormy weather of the last days. The wind was calm and for once they didn’t need to pull their clothes tighter to feel the illusion of warmth.

It was almost serene. The northern mountains were just visible in the far distance. Anything that reminded one of the wartime industry was covered in snow. The machines were quiet and for them it almost felt like this was what Equestria was supposed to be. Quiet and serene.

Soon Midnight forced his way through the snow to aim for a nearby highway. Like a scar it wound its way through the round and soft landscape. Even the wide roads between Stalliongrad and the heavy industry areas were elevated, to not lose valuable soil to grow potatoes. Fade wondered if there were still frozen potatoes worth digging for.

“Not there, Midnight!” Feather called. “The snow is not deep enough.”

He turned around, not hiding the annoyance in his eyes.

“It’s the corpses,” Feather said. “Above us was a settlement… The Enclave didn’t pick up the corpses.”

Midnight continued his way, but did no longer head for the next driveway.

“What’s wrong?” Key whispered to Fade. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Fade said. She didn’t want to think of the times when she saw a dead pegasus slowly slipping through the clouds.

Key looked at her PipBuck and in fact it marked down a city. “Yakutograd,” she whispered. “How many ponies lived up there?”

“Too many for us to survive.”

“Do you hear that?” Fade asked and her ears were twitching. At first she thought it was her rattling breath but now she was sure that it was water. She trampled through the snow, away from the group to cross a small hill. When she reached the top, she stopped and her body froze like the first time she saw the wasteland with her own eyes.

A thin brook was squirming through the snow; The colors of a sick and infested rainbow permeating not only the liquid it was made of, but also spreading into the snow around them. It was nothing more than a trickle but its effect on the surroundings was repulsive. Fade returned to the others who were waiting.

“Nothing.” It was all she said. It was all she wished for.

But not too much later the others realized what Fade saw. They all slowed down at the sight of colorful veins, as if the snow wanted to become flesh. They remained as far away as they could, not sure what was hidden under the treacherous snow. But their path led them into rocky terrain and between high reaching ruins of long abandoned factories. Even with the chimneys no longer spewing smoke into the air, a rotten smell was permeating through it.

Feather soon took the lead, able to navigate them through the maze of factory halls. Even she stopped or slowed down when she noticed discolorations on the metal walls, which she couldn’t recall from an earlier visit. Key remained close to Fade and Midnight had his rifle ready, eyeing each crevice with worry.

After another hour, Feather stopped at the sight of a festering wound in the landscape. A massive pit stretched out in front of them, surrounded by rusty husks of factories. But not one single construction was at the bottom. None wanted to reclaim the land, even though an old advertisement board promised a bright future if one would buy.

The only future the pit promised was decay. Not even snow and ice was able to settle in the old mining pit. Instead of rock and frost, a sick lichen was covering every inch of naked rock. Any trace of liquid appeared to be soaked up by the tainted ground and replaced with a slowly swirling ooze. None of them could say if the constant movement was real or a trick of their eyes.

“This is the place?” Midnight asked. Even he wasn’t able to hide the worries in his voice. Fade found a trace of life returning to his eyes at the sight of the danger.

Feather only nodded. “Find a clean building to get into the suits.”

It was an order.

The suit was too tight to wear anything more than thin clothes to shield from the cold. Their only purpose was to be worn under power armor in case the Shadowbolts had to embark on a mission involving any kind of chemical or biological warfare. None of them knew under which category taint would fall.

All but Key were struggling to get into them for their trip down into the salt mine. Their bodies were already shivering from the ambient cold, making them feel exposed and naked. The suits took away their ability to fly without the lift of power armor to compensate for the heavy plastic. Key helped with her magic to seal the strange plastic zippers and helped tighten the straps of their masks. They tied their flashlights on their heads, certainly for the last time; There would be no decontaminating them from the taint.

When Fade took her mask, she found a plastic tag attached to it.

“Contaminants: Insecticides, Morphocide, Thaumacide; Cleansed.

Suit obsolete; Reason: No Balefire Radiation Protection.”

She removed it and found herself hoping that Princess Celestia would help.

“Are you alright, Fade?” Key asked, trying to swallow the worry.

“Yes.” Fade lied. “Be careful and try to find some wood to make a fire.” She put on the mask, biting on the rebreather, containing the magic air filtration talisman. She winced from the plastic taste and smell.

Feather gave her a pat on the shoulder. Fade only saw the eyes of a stranger. A brief glance to Midnight and she saw concern in his eyes as well. She took a deep breath, but found her breathing hindered by the filter. Feather was already on her way out, driven by something not even Midnight and Fade could guess.

“E.F.S.,” Fade mumbled to Key around the rebreather. She was the last to leave their small outpost. Midnight waited and gave Key a small nod, before both followed Feather.

Feather poked her hoof briefly into the discolored snow. She waited, observed the thin plastic for a whole minute. Only when she was sure the toxic colors wouldn’t stick or penetrate the thin skin, she tried a second time. Then she took the first step into the strangely warm snow. Waiting… waiting…

Only then Fade and Midnight came closer. Both couldn’t hide the fear in their eyes. Midnight remembered the ghouls from Hippocratic Research. The cancerous growth took away their ability to walk. He didn’t want to imagine what the taint did with their internal organs.

While they hesitated, Feather kept walking slowly to the pit. Like a mouth it opened from the ground, ready to swallow them.

“Wait!” Midnight tried to shout through his mask. Luckily, it made Feather stop. Midnight began to search in the untainted healthy snow, looking into some of the closest buildings for rebar, wood or anything they could use to test the ground. But he only found a metal rod, covered in rust and one end terrifyingly sharp.

Feather took it anyway, balancing it awkwardly with her wrapped up wing and foreleg. She was the first to approach the wide ramps down into the hole. Their hooves were sinking into the rock, like it was a rubbery organ. Rainbow colored ooze pooled around the hooves, the warmth of bile. All around them was the sick swirling pattern of colors, making it impossible to guess the structure of the rocky walls.

At the bottom, Feather probed the knee high sludge with the pole. Only when she was sure that nothing was there, she stepped in. Moving one foot took them minutes. They couldn’t allow a mistake or an oversight. Even the smallest damage to their suit and they would suffer something they couldn’t even imagine.

Fade observed the small ripples of each and every one of their movements, holding her breath and tensing up whenever she saw an irregularity in the patterns. But with three ponies slowly wading, everything became irregular. Every other second she moved a hoof to where she would normally carry her knife. Even Midnight was restless, unable to focus, unable to say where danger could come from… unable to tell what was dangerous at all.

But Feather kept going and soon they reached the entrance to the cave.

“I lead…” Midnight mumbled. He turned on the flashlight and took the metal rod to step in first. Even though his lamp was growing weaker it was bright enough to reveal the interior of the cave.

The walls were covered in a growth of unknown color, sprinkled with organs of unknown purpose. A feverish warmth breathed out of the cavern. The consistency of the liquid became more like mud and reached up to their bellies by now.

As Midnight stepped in, he probed the ground just like Feather did. His eyes fell on metal barrels and crates, torn open by something and now covered with a thin layer of flesh, with teeth growing on it like tiny flowers.

“Feather! You sure?”

“Keep going.”

“Are you sure the disk is intact?” Midnight asked, fighting with the rebreather in his mouth.

“Keep going.”

“It eats metal!”

“Keep going or I go first!”

Midnight glared into Feather’s eyes. “Okay…” he whispered and continued. Slowly but surely they inched their way forward. They all warned each other of anything that looked sharp enough to damage the suits. They all stood away from the teeth. Even the filtered air began to stink and Fade realized that she was sweating. She already found it pooling around her hooves.

A path was splitting off to their right. Barrels, crates and more slimy growth made it almost impassable.

“Forward.” Feather said.

Midnight nodded and looked down the tunnel. The head of a dog, hairless with bulging eyes, was embedded in the growth. He noticed a hoof wrapped around the neck, choking the cadaver. But Midnight couldn’t find the pony it belonged to.

“Midnight?” Fade asked, worried why he stopped.

“Just a corpse.” He continued, prodding the way and piercing countless ulcers, which bled more unpleasant colors into the ooze. When Fade passed the tunnel, she looked down but couldn’t see what Midnight found.

Soon the tunnel widened, splitting up to the left and right. The ceiling was terrifyingly low, the ooze reaching up their chests. The tunnel to the left was almost fully flooded.

“Fade. Your light.” Feather demanded and stepped closer. With the slimy hooves she took the light away, making sure to not spread any filth on the lamp. After Feather mounted the light on her head, she headed to the left tunnel.

“Wait. Quiet!” Midnight said and raised the pole to reveal the sharp end.

When they looked in the same direction, they saw something breaking the liquid’s surface. Ears. They were nothing but hairless, skinny flaps, growing small tendrils and more teeth.

“It was twitching… When Feather moved,” Midnight barely dared to whisper.

“The disk is less than a few feet away,” Feather said, her body tensing up for a final rush.

“Mom! Wait!”

Feather didn’t wait. The moment she forced her way through the liquid, the strange ears were twitching again before erupting into an equally mad dash to her. Faster than they could ever move it slithered through the water, body already rising to reveal the head of a dog and a mare.

Midnight raised his makeshift spear, blocking its path. The creature, already in front of him, raised up to tower above him. The dog’s head was halfway devoured by the side of the mare’s face, which turned into a grotesque mouth, while leaving the muzzle intact and with a satisfied smile on her lips. The seam where the body of the dog and mare merged together, opened like a slit shaped pupil to reveal dozens upon dozens of tendrils and egg sacks. It leaned forward, Midnight tried to jump back, but his weak body couldn’t fight against the sludge. All he could do was pray when the creature pushed him down.

Fade couldn’t hear his screams but she knew he did.

She couldn’t see the struggle unfolding just a few steps away from her. The frantic squirming made the water boil and splash, but Midnight’s flashlight was now lost in the water.

“Mom!” Fade yelled, fighting with the rebreather to get her voice heard. She saw a tiny glimpse of light down one tunnel, but she couldn’t leave Midnight behind like this. Turning left and right, not knowing where to go, she had to decide. Fade decided to face the darkness. Stumbling towards the noise, she searched for the pole. There was nothing else she could do.

In her frantic search her hoof bumped against the sharp edge. She froze, stopped breathing, she couldn’t even hear her heartbeat anymore. The icky warmth made it impossible for Fade to know if the suit got pierced. There was no pain. No squirming feeling. She didn’t know if ponies felt anything at all.

A flash of light drew her attention back to the struggle. Feather was returning.

“Mom!” Fade yelled and picked up the pole. She sought help but her mother just… kept walking. Ignoring the creature, ignoring Midnight, ignoring her. “Mom!” She was leaving them. Leaving her. She couldn’t even shape her thoughts into words.

As the threat of being left behind in the dark became more apparent to her, Fade turned around. Midnight’s light was the only thing that would allow her to escape. She needed to save him. After all, he knew what was written on the terminals about Brave. After all, he saved her from the monster in Tall Tale.

Fade turned around, realizing she was already next to the monster. In the fading light she saw the bulging eyes of the dog’s head. Carried by the sludge, she reared up, holding the pole with her forelegs and a wing to align the tip with her target.

A sudden push forward, pressing her entire body’s weight into the thrust, the spear pierced the eye. She fell against the spongy body of the monster, driving the pole deeper into it.

The monster suddenly squirmed and yanked its body around, hitting Fade’s head with the metal rod. She slipped away and fell into the water, darkness surrounding her. She felt something wet and warm spreading all around her muzzle. She could barely tell the ground apart from the slimy water. She couldn’t breathe; The mask was filled with sweat and now blood.

Suddenly she felt hooves around her chest, pulling her up. She felt her head break through the surface, but she couldn’t see nor breathe. The sludge was blocking the mask’s intake and every attempt to take a breath was punished with slimy blood rushing down her throat. The hooves kept tugging. She heard Midnight’s voice faintly between the drumming of her heart.

He helped her get out. That’s all her mind could conjure up; A plea to not get lost in the darkness. She wished it was Feather’s hoof. Like twenty years ago when she led her out of that dark room in a house above the clouds, where they waited for the balefire storm to end.

But she knew it wasn’t Feather.

Midnight had to stop Fade from tearing the mask off her face. Her chest was hurting from the lack of air. All she managed to breathe in was the stench inside the suit. Key used her magic to clean the mask and suit with snow. The cold was piercing through Fade’s sweaty coat.

“I think it’s clean enough,” Key eventually said.

Fade tore the mask off her face, taking a greedy gasp for air, only to cough the blood and snot into the snow. Her throat protested from the cold air, still saturated with the smell from the salt mine.

“Fade?” Key was worried and stepped closer.

Midnight signaled her to stay away. “We are still covered in taint. Keep your distance.”

Still worried, Key moved away, while Midnight took up the task to clean Fade’s suit with snow. She began to shiver, first from the cold but then from something else when she saw Feather cleaning herself not too far away.

Fade growled and made her way to Feather with furious steps. “Mom!” She yelled. “Why the fuck did you abandon us?”

Feather gave her daughter a dismissive look and removed the mask. “Have you forgotten what I taught you about being quiet? Or do you want to lure in what lives here on purpose?”

Fade’s body shook more. She wanted to hit something. “Stop this bullshit, Mom! We needed you back in there!”

“There was nothing I could have done. I didn’t have any weapons.”

“You had the fucking light!”

Feather glared at Fade and without answering she continued cleaning the suit with snow.

Fade didn’t know what to say about Feather’s indifference. “You… you could at least apologize.”

“For what? Doing the smart thing?”

“Smart? What is smart about leaving your own daughter behind?”

“I didn’t say it’s right.”

Again, Fade was silent. She looked at Midnight who was now taking care of his own suit. Key was sitting nearby, being lost while Fade and Feather were arguing.

Fade sighed until her chest heaved and she coughed again. “So… you got the disk?”

Feather nodded and clumsily opened her wing. The disk was covered in thick sludge. “Key? Can you clean this for us? But don’t put it into your PipBuck. There could be a protective spell on it.”

From the distance she took the disk with her levitation magic. “Feels strangely heavy…”

“So… this is Killjoy?” Fade asked after her coughing stopped.

Feather shook her head. “You know… It’s only the coordinates where Killjoy is located.”

Fade’s glare returned. Even Midnight stopped cleaning and his eyes pierced Feather.

“Beg pardon? What did you say?” Fade asked.

“I said it’s the coordinates where Killjoy is located.”

“Coordinates…” Fade whispered. “For a fucking set of longitudes and latitudes you were willing to let us die in a shitehole?” Her voice raised again, echoing from the dead factory buildings. “They could have told you! Simply, fucking told you!”

“And risk it being discovered? Ask Midnight how great his brain feels years after the Ministry was done with him.”

“Midnight is not even involved in Killjoy!” Feather yelled back.

“But I am! One wrong word, one slip up and Pinkie’s ponies would go through my mind. And maybe check yours after they didn’t find anything in mine!”

“You were a courier, for fuck’s sake! You can’t be that involved in Killjoy, can you?”

Feather was quiet and only looked at the ground.

“Mom! Were you part of Killjoy?”

Feather looked at Midnight, studying his eyes for a long while. She nodded. “Yes. I was a significant part of Killjoy.”

“When did you plan to tell us that?”

“About now…”

“About now?” Fade yelled and stomped the ground. “Why didn’t you tell us about it in Tall Tale? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me after the stupid bombs fell? Any other time but now!”

“And jeopardize everything? Do you think Shib would have come with us, if she knew I am the top priority pony on Everlast’s list?”

Midnight removed his mask. “Everlast is searching for you?”

“Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t. We have no idea from where he learned about Killjoy. If he got it from an O.I.A. source, it may contain my name.”

“He would be stupid searching for a pony, who died most likely twenty years ago,” Midnight said.

“Like you?” Feather answered.

Midnight huffed and made his way back to their shelter. When he walked past Fade, she saw the disgust in his eyes.

“You are stupid, Mom. Fucking stupid.” Fade sighed. “Did you keep Dad’s identity secret as well? For some stupid Killjoy reason?”

“Leave Brave out of this,” Feather growled.

“Oh… Is that so? What about Key and Shib? Do they have to die before they get to be left out of this?” Fade didn’t wait for a response. “Key, let’s go back. It’s too cold here.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Name - Midnight gets 2 additional Armor Class for every unused Action Point when he is in melee combat with a ranged weapon.

New Perk: Seen The Ghastly II - Fade no longer loses any Action Points from the fear effects of nightmarish creatures.

Chapter 9: Gears

“The complexity of a weapon mirrors the complexity of the society that built them. The power armor with all its components showed how interwoven pony society was. Today the ramshackle rifles show how interwoven wasteland society still is.”

Freezing, shivering and exhausted they reached Stalliongrad hours after sunset. They contemplated resting in the tunnels instead of wandering for another few hours to reach the settlement. But Key didn’t want to let her mother wait.

When they arrived at the station, they all noticed a strange unease among the locals. Something was aloof. Something had happened that kept them awake. Fade eventually noticed concern in Midnight’s eyes, when his ears picked up the conversations.

“What is it?” Fade asked.

“They’re talking about war.” Midnight said quietly.

“Can you be a bit more precise?” Fade checked if her knife was still there.

Midnight sighed and trotted toward a few ghouls. The others waited impatiently while Midnight talked in the local language.

“Spasiba.” He returned to the others, slowly shaking his head. “The Enclave attacked Edmareton.”

“Eh… Told you.” Fade said and caught an angry glance from Midnight.

“My brother was there.”

“You there!” A unicorn in a ragged frontline barding approached them. Despite its age it still showed the emblem made of gears and a sword; A Steel Ranger. The unicorn was too young to have ever worn the uniform in the actual war. His eyes fell on Key. “It’s good that you are finally back. It’s about your mother—”

“Is she alright?” Key stepped forward, already worried.

“She is. She’s doing great actually, currently working with us to pay off her debts at the hospital. Also… you all look very cold.” He addressed the entire group now. “We have some tea and you can rest with us.”

Feather didn’t let the others speak up and agreed to join the Rangers. Fade was wary of the Ranger’s sudden hospitality and stood close to Key. Midnight was uncertain as well and kept his distance from them. After they arrived in the old hardware store, which the Steel Rangers had made their base, he always had a hoof on his rifle. He eyed the place skeptically. Something was amiss. No ponies in power armor. The beds in the far corner were empty and there was no buzz of ponies cooking a meal around a fire.

“Where are they?” He asked.

“Priob. The contingent was called as reinforcement. The remainder of the Edmareton contingent is there too or is about to arrive,” the engineer told them, then offered them some bitter tea.

But before he could give the first cup to Key, her mother stepped into the wide hall of the former store. “Key…” With the argument from a few days forgotten, she rushed to her daughter. Disregarding how much her body was still weak from the sickness, she hugged her daughter tightly, holding back tears. But her eyes were already fixated on Feather, and Fade could already see that Shibboleth would not be able to hold back her anger.

“Where did you take them!?” Shibboleth shouted, holding Key as if Feather was a monster from the wasteland. “Where!?”

Feather remained cold and didn’t even meet Shibboleth’s glare. “Key. Show her.”

It took her a brief moment to realize she had been addressed, but she took out the pristine holodisk with her magic. Shibboleth’s eyes opened wide when she saw the disk floating in front of her.

Feather suddenly snatched the holodisk with a wing. “Fade… You tell her what happened. I will take the disk to a terminal. You know… we have to know where Killjoy is located to plan our next step.”

“Our next step is—” Fade stopped herself, looking at the Steel Ranger. “Can we talk alone for a moment?”

He shook his head. “I think before you plan what to do next, you have to deal with the debts. Mrs. Shibboleth helped us quite well with the radio equipment, but since the Rangers have disembarked, we can’t offer any other work.”

“So, why do you want to talk with us?” Fade asked, not hiding her annoyance.

“The Steel Rangers have offered to settle the debts, if the young pony with the PipBuck joins us for the duration of the conflict.”

“No!” Shibboleth held her daughter tighter, looking back and forth as if she was surrounded by enemies.

“Don’t worry. She won’t see the front lines. She will remain in the engineer camps. Her PipBuck could prove useful for repairing power armor. It’ll be only for a few weeks.”

“This is the same story we heard during the war, kid.” Shibboleth growled.

“Shib…” Feather stood up, ready to leave. “Think this through. The Steel Rangers can protect you well and maybe—”

“Mom! What the fuck?” Fade interrupted her. “Are you going to ditch them, now that they’re of no use to you anymore?”

“No. I just want to give them the choice.”

Key freed herself from her mother. With her magic, she took her bags and stomped out.

Fade sighed and shook her head. “Great. You two should marry,” she said to Feather and the Steel Ranger before she followed Key.

“Is this enough?” Key demanded from the griffon doctor after she emptied out what she took from the Ministry hub.

The doctor’s eyes were shining when he examined the dozen tubes of toothpaste and still packed up brushes. He looked at the mouth wash and for a moment there was a longing for the old times on his face.

“This and… an apology,” Key said.

“I appreciate the apology, but it can’t pay for the medicine I need,” The griffon said, his rough voice comforting.

“Is it enough though?”

He looked at the toothpaste and slowly shook his head.

“What about her mother’s work, before the Rangers left?” Fade stepped forward. “That should add up, right?”

“Well… These won’t help with the rampant dental issues ponies have these days. You are better off with these yourself, because you still have good and healthy teeth.”

Fade sighed and began to dig in her bags. She took out two, then a third of the military rations. “Is this enough?”

“But that’s all you’ve got!” Key protested.

Fade didn’t answer. She let the griffon take the boxes and let him examine them. After reading the nutrition facts he nodded. Briefly, but he nodded.

The next morning Midnight noticed that Feather and Shibboleth no longer shared food with each other. Shibboleth only gave her food to Key and offered some to Fade.

However, Fade only shook her head. “Nah… I’m not used to eating big meals anymore. I’ll snack from my rations on the way,” she said.

Eventually Midnight couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “I would like to talk about where we will go next.”

“I can tell you,” Feather said quickly. “I was able to read the holodisk and our next goal is the Smokey Mountains.”

The others were looking at her, but Feather focused on bundling up the remainder of her food.

“Are you serious, Mom?” Fade asked. “You want us to go south, the entire way we came? Back to fucking Tall Tale and then another day?”

“With the exception that we won’t stop by in Tall Tale.”

Fade slammed her hooves on the table. “Of course we won’t stop in Tall Tale! Or White Horse, Edmareton, fuck we can’t even be sure Priob is safe! How do we get food? How do we get water? We almost starved on the way here!”

“I don’t think this is much of a problem. We both know how to survive on the bare minimum. Shib and Key can join the Rangers.”

“Excuse me?” Shibboleth raised her voice as well. “Are you that hell-bent on getting rid of us?”

“No. It is the most logical thing for you to do.”

“The most logical thing? You’re saying that it is best to go with the ones who want to conscript my teenage daughter to fight in a war?”

“You have very useful skills for them. They will feed you, shelter you… you may even be able to live with them in Stable Fifty-Six.”

Shibboleth glared at her. “You self-righteous, self-centered bitch!“

“Self-centered?” Feather stood up. “Which of us is self-centered? You didn’t want to tell Key that Valiant died for some self-centered reasons!”

“Oh, so I’m the bad mother here? You told your child for over a decade her dad would be back for Hearth's Warming Eve!”

“She was two years old! She doesn’t even remember the funeral…and the stupid rain! Of all the days, it had to have been that one!” Her voice cracked. “Do you know how much it hurt when there was another bombing drill in the night and Fade cried for her father? Do you know how lucky you are, that the wasteland waited sixteen years to come for you? You can go out there and take revenge, with or without the Steel Rangers. But I can’t! The ones who killed my Brave are dead and weren’t held responsible. The only gratification I’ve got is the knowledge that they painfully suffocated to death, when the Pink Cloud slowly turned their lungs into scar tissue! And you dare to call me self-centered, because Killjoy is the only thing the war left me with?”

Shibboleth was quiet and the anger in her eyes was replaced by sorrow. “You still have your daughter.”

Fade looked at her mother, but Feather was only looking at the table, sitting down again. Fade didn’t know if Shibboleth heard about what happened in the mine. She was too afraid to bring it up.

Midnight eventually broke the silence. “I know it is a bad time, but we really have to talk about—”

Feather stomped her hooves on the table. “Then we go to your stupid vault! Happy?”

“Feather…”

“Happy?”

Midnight nodded.

Feather got up and in an angry rush took her bags and headed out to leave the city.

Midnight was the only one who looked back. Stalliongrad’s skyline was disappearing in yet another snow storm. The city was lost, Midnight no longer had any doubt about it. Maybe this was its final winter. Maybe the next. “Forgetting doesn’t seem that bad,” he thought. “Maybe it is better if the world forgets as well.”

After his farewell to the city he took the lead again. With his knowledge about the treacherous winds, they crossed long distances with relative ease. But none of them were looking forward to the next part of their journey. Nobody dared to speak, but all of them dreaded the silence as well. They kept wandering, none of them complaining if they didn’t stop to rest their tired and aching legs.

The same afternoon they saw the northernmost parts of the Unicorn Range. It promised an early arrival in Priob. Maybe they made it before sunset. But the mountains also reminded them of their ultimate destination. Winding south past Edmareton and Whitehorse, it was only a short trek from the southern foothills to the Smokey Mountains.

After a few more hours they had to climb the first set of hills. They already reached the highlands and somewhere among them was Priob. Eventually they noticed more ruins around them. They passed by small, abandoned settlements, industrial parks built for the low property prices and sometimes even a mansion. The ponies hoped to survive the balefire in them and far outside the cities they did. But they succumbed, like the conifers, to the fallout and balefire radiation that blanketed the land.

When Priob came into sight, Fade and Key were astonished to see the many lights in the still distant town. A few smokestacks rose to the sky before they were blown away by the wind. Even though the city was big, only a small part was surrounded by fortifications, creating a small village among the ruins.

“Maybe Feather is right and the Rangers can help us…” Shibboleth said and took a few deep breaths. Her body was healing, but Fade and Midnight were impressed how well Shibboleth was doing. “I mean… Key and I can work for them.”

“Don’t you think they have enough radio operators?” Fade wondered.

“Probably. But they certainly need a pony who can decrypt Enclave communications.”

“You can do that?”

Shibboleth nodded. “Counterspy. I know all the common encryption methods. Sometimes the zebras used them to disappear in the airwaves. Sometimes ponies used them as well.”

The last stage of their journey led the group through the outskirts of Priob. The houses were only skeletal remains, after they fell victim to the balefire. Everything felt strangely sterile. Every building was looted; Every corpse buried. A remnant of hope that the wasteland would actually heal.

When they arrived at the door, the militia and the Steel Rangers were distracted by a group of hunters, who had brought back a huge, mutated boar. They were bickering with the soldier in the power armor to help them pull the cart to the marketplace.

Even though there was laughter and banter in the air, Fade quickly took one of her rags to hide Midnight’s wings. With the word of a successful hunt, the guards didn’t give them much attention. For them, they were just travelers, like everypony else. Inside the village walls, ponies were already rushing in, offering various things to get a piece of the food. Fade hurried the others forward before the crowd grew too big. As they followed the brittle tarmac road, they noticed that the village woke up. Traders opened up their booths again, hoping to get a fair share of the meat.

“I will look for a shelter.” Feather said with a stern tone in her voice. “You get us more food, work or whatever… We’ll meet back here when the market closes,” she said and left them, disappearing into some alley between the hastily refurbished ruins.

Fade sighed. Instead of protesting, she just took the opportunity to briefly discuss with the others what to do. For the first time she didn’t feel hunted. Midnight smiled as he heard the ponies barter in the local tongue. Even Key showed a tiny bit of curiosity of how life was outside the Stable.

After everything was said, they split up. Shibboleth and Key visited the radio station. Fade would look for food and Midnight wanted to learn from the locals and maybe look for work as a night guard, like he always did.

As Midnight followed the road he passed by many booths. Some were selling gnarly roots. Others were offering weapons. He eyed the ones with suspicion, who were selling equipment used by the Royal Equestrian Army. Midnight noticed a stray dog, looking for a chance to steal some food from a trader.

Even though it still saddened Midnight to know that Stalliongrad was losing its importance to the wasteland, it made him happy to see Priob prospering.

“Midnight!” A familiar and friendly voice spoke up from behind. For a brief moment he thought it was Blue Sky, but the voice told him that it was his brother. The cheerful tone and the way he greeted him by just calling his name filled him with dread. He forced a smile on his face, before turning around.

“Bolt?”

“What a big surprise to see you here! How are you doing?”

“Fine…” Midnight couldn’t hide his confusion. “How did you—”

“Edmareton?”

Midnight nodded.

“So you heard about it already. Don’t worry. There was a small skirmish outside the town. A stray missile hit the wall, but otherwise the city is alright.”

“Casualties?” Midnight forced himself to ask.

Thunderbolt had to steady himself. “Let’s say it was a fair trade. But I have no information about the other places.”

“Other places?”

He just shrugged. “Mostly Edmareton. Some places between Quebit and Fifty-Six. Let’s not talk about this. How are the others doing?”

Midnight shook his head. “Why are you so friendly all of the sudden?”

“It’s simple… All it needs is a crazy strafing run by a Vertibuck and you suddenly remember one or two words about… leaving the past behind.”

Midnight remembered the feeling of a tightness in his chest, clenching around his heart. It felt wrong. He felt wrong. “That’s very kind.”

“And I would like to show some kindness too. Your friend… What was her name? Shibboleth? She helped us out with her skills and the Rangers want to show some gratitude. So… is there anything you need?”

“I’m fine,” Midnight said.

“You are fine. As a ghoul you have it somewhat easier. But what about the others? The little one or… what about Swift?”

Midnight tilted his head. “Who?”

“Swift. Your pegasus friend. The one who took the food from the Enclave.”

“Her name is not Swift.”

“Your radio operator friend told us,” Thunderbolt said.

“No.” Fade appeared from the shadow between the booths. “She didn’t.”

Midnight and Thunderbolt were looking at her. Even though she remained mostly in the darkness, her knife was visible.

“Listen… There is no need to argue about a name. Shibboleth just… heard it somehow.”

“Bullshit. I am sure that the only one who heard my name was that Enclave bitch. There is no fucking way that anypony else but that cunt heard my name among the hailstorm and the thunders.”

Thunderbolt was quiet. His face hardened and Midnight took a step away when the all too familiar disdain returned to his eyes. His gaze was fixated on Midnight and Fade. He gave a barely noticeable nod and the heavy stomps of the Steel Ranger approached them. Midnight briefly looked over his shoulder and saw how the power armor’s massive minigun was primed at him. Slowly, Midnight reached for his rifle. The ponies around them went quiet when they noticed the tension.

“Why did she tell you my name?” Fade asked, quietly but with a threatening tone she had used so many times against Enclave loyalists before.

“It was just an idle chat, to defuse the situation.”

“Idle?” Fade asked and chuckled. “Are you trying to say that the Enclave who ambushed us at the Ministry Hub were just idling there?”

“Now I get it…” Midnight’s voice was filled with a growl. “You spied on us for them. What was the deal?”

Thunderbolt scoffed. “You and your ridiculous conspiracies, Midnight! You were always suspecting your friends to be your foes and then you allied with the enemy. There is absolutely no way of knowing why the Enclave thought you would go to the Ministry of Awesome Hub.”

Fade laughed. “Even the feather brains of the Enclave can add up two numbers and are right occasionally. Midnight. Get the others. We will leave.”

Midnight retreated slowly, ready to draw his weapon at any moment. He focused on the Ranger in the power armor.

“Midnight! Wait. We can protect you from the Enclave. All of you are safe with us.”

Midnight didn’t wait and disappeared between the booths.

“You would make a very good Enclave bitch, you know?” Fade chuckled. “Being so stupid as to believe we would trust you, after you tried to sell us to the Enclave.”

“Be very careful what you say, Swift. If we won’t get you, we will make sure that the Enclave won’t get you either.”

“You want to start a shootout in a crowded place like this?”

“Don’t worry… Unlike your Enclave friends, I won’t start a firefight in a crowded area.”

“And what about him?” Fade briefly nodded to the soldier.

Thunderbolt glanced over at the other Ranger. When he looked back, Fade already snuck away.

The Steel Ranger was chasing Fade, but she knew how to disappear in the sea of E.F.S. signals. While the initial escape was easy, it took her a terribly long time to find the others. The word of the stand-off made its round through the city and soon even the militia was alerted. Escaping through the gates was impossible by then.

After they regrouped, they tried to make sense of the situation. Midnight was brooding. His body was tense and a stern expression on his face. Fade saw something in his eyes; Something violent and he held his rifle tighter than usual. Fade eventually avoided looking at him and tried to figure out the deal between the Rangers and the Enclave.

“How much food do we have left?” Feather asked after they sat down in an alley for a brief moment. “Let’s try to bribe one of the locals to get us out.”

“Two packs each.” Shibboleth said. “That’s enough for two days, maybe four.”

Feather nodded. “Good. Fade? Your rations should be enough.”

“Mine?”

Feather nodded again. “You want to go to Galloping Gorge and Midnight doesn’t need food. I am only tagging along and I don’t want Shib and Key to give up theirs.”

“You can’t be serious,” Shibboleth seethed.

“This is the wasteland, Shib. If you want to chase some silly dream, then you pay for it yourself.”

“Oh really?” Shibboleth said. “Let’s see what you have donated to follow your silly dream. You donated our food, our resources and our lives—”

“I’m doing it for the betterment of Equestria—”

“Shut up!” Fade had enough. “Both of you. I don’t have my food anymore. I needed it to pay the griffon.”

Feather sighed. “We could have just left the city…”

“And have us make more enemies?” Fade said. “Right now I don’t see one single fucker who would help us. Paying that stupid griffon bought us at least his trust.”

“Yeah… Until somebody pays him more.”

“That’s still more trust than I’m currently receiving from you!”

“Stop it!” Key suddenly spoke up. “The food is all mine. I worked for it!”

Fade and Feather couldn’t continue their argument, even though Key was taking two military rations from her bag.

“Midnight? You know the ponies here better than us. Can you buy us a way out?”

It was difficult for Midnight to keep his composure and his voice soft when he talked to a member of the militia. The others stood nearby and couldn’t understand a word, but they heard that the negotiation was not going well.

He wanted twice as much. Feather paid the difference.

The guard let them escape over the wall. Shibboleth and Key needed to be briefly carried by Fade and Feather, but then they escaped into the dark ruins around the village.

Only when they arrived at the ashen buildings, they sought shelter. They found a room in an old apartment building without skeletons. Key’s PipBuck was constantly registering signals of vermin searching for food. They barricaded the door and Midnight took watch at the window. It didn’t take long for the Rangers to search the perimeter around the village. He held his rifle close to his body and felt the urge to aim the barrel at them.

Midnight wished he had a visor on his rifle, a bit like the weapon he held in the photos. But at the same time he was glad that he only had his Cicada, no matter how primitive it appeared when compared to the shiny weapon from the pictures.

Even though he couldn’t make out the details, he wondered why they were searching the eastern part of the city. Midnight couldn’t say if they deployed a detection spell or if they simply concluded that going eastwards was the most reasonable direction to take. Everlast, The Enclave and now the Rangers were hunting them. There was no other place to go. All they needed was a rough direction.

Midnight put the rifle away and his forelegs cramped tightly around his stomach. His body felt numb but his mind was flooded with memories of nausea and pain. He remembered the feeling of his coat sticking to his sweaty skin. He didn’t understand why his brother was so obsessed about hunting them. Midnight asked himself again and again if Thunderbolt wanted to see the others dead just for revenge.

Looking outside he saw the Rangers patrolling and searching like hounds. Their hasty escape let them smell a weakness and their masters were hungry.

The taste of the bark from the conifers wasn’t as terrible as Fade expected. But gnawing on them, to not rely on the meager amount left of the military rations, made her teeth hurt. She wondered if chewing the bark would be easier, if she could still brush her teeth.

For two days Fade and Feather didn’t eat anything else but branches, dead grass, moss or whatever root they found in loose dirt. Even Shibboleth converted to those, so that her daughter had the last pack of rations. Even though Key tried to share, they all shook their heads. But where Shibboleth and Fade were smiling, Feather couldn’t hide the frustration in her eyes.

They desperately wanted to search the buildings for food, but the Rangers were always close. Fade soon didn’t want to eat anything they found, as she was sure that the Rangers followed the plucked grass or peeled tree barks.

Midnight remained further behind, flying up on the trees or the few ruins to observe the Rangers. More than once each day he saw the soldiers in power armor sprinting over the hills and plains. They even drew heavy metal carts; Probably transports for engineers, food, ammo and tools. They were certainly equipped for a long chase. But when Midnight saw them setting up camp, he was torn between going to the others or to sneak up on the Rangers and kill one.

Fade chewed down the piece of bark. “How far is it, Key? Do you think we will arrive today or tomorrow?”

“Another mile?” She guessed while looking at her PipBuck. “Yeah… we are about there.”

“Really?” A small glint of hope could be heard in Fade’s voice. Together with Key both took the lead. The pain in their legs was forgotten when they kept wandering through the dead forest. In the distance they already saw the trees clearing. More of the dull light shone and Key couldn’t resist the urge to trot and then gallop to cross the remaining distance.

When she passed by the last line of trees she gasped and stumbled backwards. Fade, shaken by it, rushed forward, ready to draw the knife at whatever monster Key just saw. When she arrived at the rocky edges of Galloping Gorge she saw what scared her. Skulls… Massive skulls.

Fade and Midnight were hit by a cold gust of wind, while they looked down at the grave. The gorge was filled with the colossal skeletons of eel-like creatures. Their skulls, each bigger than a pony, were either scattered in the valley or resting at the entrances of holes in the cliff sides. Some skulls were broken and punctured, their ribs along the massive spines cracked open. Not by weapons, but by teeth.

“They weren’t that much different from us, were they?” Fade asked quietly.

“Monsters?” Midnight asked.

But Fade shook her head. “Starving.”

Both were quiet for a while.

“Do you think they are extinct by now?” Midnight wondered.

“They better be. It makes our search easier.”

Midnight furrowed his brows. “Are you glad that they are dead?”

“I am just glad that they don’t have stomach pain anymore.” Fade pushed her clothes away and stretched her wings. She didn’t like the look of her feathers after she had kept them covered for days.

“You are not planning on going down there,” Midnight said. “What if one is still alive?”

“Does that valley look in any way alive to you, idiot?”

Midnight sighed, grabbing his rifle tighter. But then he sat down. “Can we talk without calling each other idiots?”

Fade didn’t hide when she rolled her eyes and nodded.

“I would suggest we make sure there is no one left. If so, we turn around and leave.”

Fade shook her head. “What the fuck are you talking about? You were whining for the last week to come here or otherwise you would fuck off without us.”

Midnight glared at her. “Were you eavesdropping on Feather and me?”

“No. I was attentive. It would be nice if you would make up your mind. One day you are all in for Killjoy. Another day, you only care about Sky Blue—”

“Blue Sky.”

“Whatever. One day you are grumpy, one day you pretend nothing is wrong and on yet another day you pretend you have no emotions at all. You are worse than a mare in heat.”

“Fuck you, Fade! Have you thought that when I don’t talk, that I am thinking and trying to make sense out of this mess?”

Fade looked at Midnight and searched for that violent anger in his eyes. But there wasn’t any of it. Only a glint of frustration. She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. “Okay… What do you think?”

Midnight looked to the others. Shibboleth was observing them, but tried to comfort her daughter. The sight of the huge skeletons shook Key more than any of them would have thought. Feather was a bit further away, eating some of the dry branches they found.

“I thought about what Feather said about how others shouldn’t pay for your little dreams.”

“Why?” Fade shook her head. “I want to come here as well.”

“But Shib, Key and Feather don’t. They only tag along, because they have no other choice.”

“Key may want to find out something about Valiant. He was a Shadowbolt as well,” Fade whispered.

“But Key won’t ask us to fight a quarray eel.”

“Unlike Feather,” Fade growled.

Midnight sighed and got up. “This is not about Feather. If there is any trouble we will leave.”

Fade rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Midnight. Why the fuck…” She began.

“Hmm?” Midnight stopped.

“Nothing. Just ask Mom for the plasma grenades. In case one of these things is still alive.”

Midnight and Fade were slowly walking through the gorge, searching for any sign of a hidden Shadowbolt base. But they stopped at a skull almost five times as high as a pony. Teeth had carved deep furrows into the bone. It made Fade remember how pegasi were talking about drinking bone marrow. She kept away from the giant skulls after the memory reappeared.

Midnight stopped and his ears flicked and twitched as he listened. He only heard Key and the others following them up on the cliff. But there weren’t any other sounds but the cold wind. No birds. No rodents. No insects. He held his rifle tighter and searched every cave dug into the walls.

As cautious as Fade was, her focus was to find the vault. She tried to wrap her mind around the idea of why they placed the vault in this forsaken valley. She couldn’t believe that the Shadowbolts put their base here only to keep it secret from the zebras. A vault like this can only be accessed by pegasi and most of them wouldn’t be able to make it past the eels.

Fade was giving a wide berth around another skull when Key suddenly shouted with fear in her voice. “Fade! Stop!”

Just when Fade and Midnight looked up they saw a massive head darting out from a cave only a few dozen feet away from Key. The creature’s neck twisted up, the maw open and baring hundreds of yellowed teeth to snap for the pony just standing on the edge of the cliff. The purple head crashed into the side of the cliff, whirling up dust and rocks. The ground was shaking from the impact.

Fade’s body was locked in place at the sight of the gigantic monster. It looked bigger than all the other skulls they had passed. Midnight however, didn’t hesitate. He raised his rifle, aimed and fired. The bullet uselessly glanced off the thick scales.

The loud crack of the rifle made the head twist around. Its eyes were barely moving in the sockets. The maw was oozing a sickening amount of slimy saliva. The stench from its maw was stinging in their noses already. When it furled the dry lips Midnight and Fade turned and ran to the next cave, tightly following the cracked spine.

With a loud roar the eel’s head darted forward, crashing into the skeleton. Fade and Midnight were knocked to the floor, scrambling to get up, while the eel was gnashing on a few ribs. Fade reached the cave, but Midnight tried to find his rifle. When he heard the monster crushing the brittle bones he only had enough time left to flee.

Just behind Midnight the massive head of the eel crashes against the mouth of the cave. It forced its snout into the small cavern, crushing the remainder of the spine and breaking a few rocks loose. The head blocked out the light and its foul breath made Fade gag in the far corner of the cave. Without a weapon or light, all they could do was to wait for the monster to stop grinding its teeth over the rock.

Minutes passed. After what felt like an eternity it finally retreated. But neither Fade nor Midnight dared to move. They didn’t need to see it to know it was just waiting. Soon Fade became restless. She got up and started pacing, worried about Key. Her mind was unable to focus on how to escape.

Midnight was equally restless. He saw his rifle just a few feet away from the entrance to the cave. He tried to think about how to reach it, but his mind was flooded with memories of fear gripping his body tightly. Fade’s pacing was distracting him and slowly he remembered the tense feeling of muscles wanting to lash out. “I told you to check the valley first!” He suddenly yelled at her. “Every time we end up in a shitty situation like this, it’s because of you!”

Fade stopped her pacing at Midnight’s outburst. “What?”

“‘I need to find my mom! I need to get Killjoy! I need to find out what happened to Dad!’ When does this stop?”

Fade glared at Midnight. “Do you want me to fucking apologise, because I have my priorities in order? I didn’t force you to come down here with me! Or the infested facility in Tall Tale or the fucking salt mine! But you forced me to go back to Stable Fifty-Four by dangling your Ministry of Morale good pony cuck boy shit in front of me! Or were you just hyped up for some good old anti-establishment terrorist action?”

“I was not a terrorist!” Midnight’s voice cracked. “Stop dragging me into your stupid conspiracy theory!”

“Well fuck, I don’t have to. Feather did that already for me. You took quite a liking to what Feather whispered to you about your peace activity group being an O.I.A. operation, didn’t you?”

“That’s wrong! I don’t care what Feather says about me or Blue Sky.”

“For not caring about what she says, you are really good at flipping your outlook every time she opens her mouth! You were so eager to come here until she said that you shouldn’t drag others into your stupid dreams.”

“Because it’s reasonable!”

“Was the Ministry of Morale reasonable to you, when they fucked your mind so hard, that you forgot your terrorist past? And now it looks like Feather has found a lot of room between the rest of your brain and the pink colored Ministry dick to turn you into her lapdog now!” She then chuckled. “Maybe your Blue Sky left some peace activist zebra dick as well!”

“Shut up, bitch!” Midnight roared and took off his bag and threw it at her with enough force that Fade wasn’t able to catch it. “Shut up and go out there! If you want to take on a quarray eel head to head, I won’t stop you. Pull the pin and go out in blaze of glory like all your little pegasus friends the Enclave killed.”

Fade tried to ignore him and checked the bags instead and found the plasma grenades. “You know what… Maybe that’s a fucking good idea, you prick!” Fade emptied everything from Midnight’s bag she didn’t need. With the bag only filled with about a dozen grenades, Fade stomped and then galloped to the entrance.

“Fade?” Midnight’s anger was forgotten when she rushed out, the bag held with a wing, a grenade’s pin in reach of her muzzle.

“Hey! Fuckface!” She yelled as loud as her lungs allowed.

The beast answered by rushing out of its cave again. Fade lunged forward to hide under the skull. She just reached it at the last moment when the teeth of the eel sunk into the brittle bone. The skull slid over the rocky floor and made Fade fall and she lost the bag. Among the dust, gravel and bone fragments she couldn’t find it anymore.

As the skull was slowly cracking under the force of the jaw, Fade realized she needed to get away. Looking for a way to escape she found the bag only a few feet away from her. She hesitated and the joint of the skeletal jaw burst. Fade took the bag, pulled the pin and hurled it into the maw, hoping it would get stuck between the teeth.

The skull ruptured and Fade had only seconds left before the eel would crush the huge fragments and her with them. Her heart stopped.

Midnight’s rifle cracked and the quarray eel screeched in pain. It swung its head violently. Fade ran while the bone fragments rained down on her. Looking back she saw a trail of blood running out of the eel’s eye. Then the grenades exploded and engulfed the head in rainbow colored fire.

Liquid plasma ran out of the eel’s maw as it kept screeching until Fade’s ears began to hurt. Still shaking its head, splattering plasma everywhere the creature tried to retreat back into its cave. In its desperate attempts the damaged tongue was torn and hurled out into the gorge. The blood was boiling and sizzling when it came into contact with the plasma. After the creature disappeared back into its nest, Fade and Midnight tried to ignore the dying screeches.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: See Through the Facade - Midnight’s Intelligence counts one point higher if some pony is lying to him.

New Perk: Stalker - Fade gets + 10% to Sneak against all kinds of beasts no matter if natural, magical or artificial.

Chapter 10: Connections

“I keep opening these doors to these terrible secrets. I am unable to close them. Instead I continue opening them unwillingly.”

Key’s PipBuck registered the quarray eel as a harmless, yellow signal. Even as the wind picked up and brought some snow from the north, they didn’t seek shelter in one of the many caves. Midnight, Key and Shibboleth were quietly sitting among the trees. Fade had left to search for the vault alone. Feather returned only briefly, alarmed by the battle and left to patrol the area to see if the Steel Rangers heard the battle as well. Midnight was worried about Feather’s indifference, but shook his head to chase the thought away. He didn’t want to waste his time caring about ponies who didn’t care about him.

He felt like he was being used as a pawn in a game he didn’t understand.

He didn’t understand the rules.

He didn’t know whose turn would dictate where he’d go next.

He didn’t know how to leave the game. His brother forced him to stay and for the first time he didn’t only feel the urge of violence for him, but for Key as well. He looked away, making sure she wouldn’t be scared by the expression filling his eyes.

After many hours Fade returned. Her wings were cold and hurting, the feathers so frail, that Midnight even compared them with his own. “What was this journey doing to us?” He wondered.

Fade sat down, her tired wings hanging weakly. Her body was drenched in sweat and shivering as her clothes were no longer able to protect her from the cold. “I found it.”

Before they could go to the Shadowbolt vault, Midnight wanted to talk with Fade and Feather. When Midnight was sure that Key and Shibboleth weren’t listening, he spoke. “I want you two to leave.”

Fade and Feather stared at him, unable to believe what they had just heard.

“What the fuck are you talking about, you brainrotten idiot?” Fade eventually said.

“I am talking about exactly that!” Midnight’s voice was terse. “Every time I have a slightly different idea from what you are thinking you either insult me.”

Fade sighed and shook her head. “I don’t mean it that way—”

“You don’t mean it? Do I have to assume you didn’t mean it when you called me a Ministry of Morale cuck boy? And I also assume you didn’t mean it when you suggested I am Feather’s cuck boy?”

“Midnight, stop with this petty fucking logic. We only had an argument!”

“And maybe you should stop trying to avoid taking responsibility with your perfect logic and consider apologizing for once.”

Fade scoffed. “Why do you try to put the blame on me anyway? Have you thought about what happens to Shib and Key when we are gone?”

Midnight shrugged. “Why do you care? Feather tried to ditch them in Stalliongrad and you only care about your father.”

“I care for them, you dirty little bastard. You didn’t—”

“Quiet!” Feather interrupted them and took a deep breath. “Midnight… Have you considered that if there is no clue about Blue Sky and that vault, that you will never find out about him and your friends?”

Midnight just shrugged again. “You should tell me why you are so dead set on having me stay instead of coercing me with yet another promise.”

Feather sighed in frustration. “Okay. On that night when the war ended I was on stand-by. If the bombs hadn’t been dropped that morning, I may have been directly involved in what happened in Stalliongrad. Operation Killjoy could be connected to—”

“And when did you plan to tell me that?” Midnight struggled to keep his voice low.

“I have no idea if these two things are connected. Do you want me to rely on speculation and conspiracies?” Feather asked.

“Yes. Like you did in the Ministry hub. You are desperate enough to have me around, for some reason, that you start to make up some nonsensical connections between my life and your shady O.I.A. business. Now, answer me…” His voice grew darker. “Why do you want me to stick around?”

“You know…” Feather tried to find the right words. “I feel safer with you around.”

Midnight huffed. “That’s it?”

“Yes. Sometimes it is as simple as that. So… At least stick with us until we have visited the vault. Don’t do this for us, but at least for Shib and Key.”

Midnight begrudgingly accepted Feather’s request to wait. He couldn’t shake off the thought that Feather was merely playing for time. When they returned to Shibboleth and Key, he was sure both had noticed that something was wrong. Both remained quiet and he swore he could see the worry in Key’s eyes that any word could start another argument.

Fade was leading the way and she dreaded what they may find more than anything else. Her stomach cramped and she wished the vault would only provide them with old and stale food. It took her half an hour to bring them to a cave, which looked exactly like the other holes where the eels had made their nests. However, it was the only one without a skeleton inside or nearby.

After Fade and Feather carried Shibboleth and Key to the entrance, Fade told the others to wait. “There are some turrets. I don’t know if they will open fire on you. They certainly didn’t attack me.”

The double barreled turrets were aiming at her as she approached a thick steel door. Only the light of a wall-mounted terminal allowed her to see the heavily armored defenses. She approached the terminal, unsure if touching it would alert the turrets. With her heart beating so much that her head started to ache, she placed her hoof on the display.

Nothing happened at first but then a tiny noise made Fade move her hoof away.

“Swift Wings - Access Granted”

The door slid upwards and Fade took a deep and shaky breath. The light in the facility flickered and came to life. The first thing she saw was a skeleton on the floor. The bones still bore the mummified remnants of flesh, dried skin, fur and feathers. A black stain covered the floor around it and dead insects and maggots were scattered nearby.

Fade took a big step over it. She moved through a short hallway, followed by a room with more turrets and barriers with ingrained gems for protective spells. A security station was adjacent to it. She headed there, past a few weapon racks, terminals and monitoring screens. Unfamiliar with the system and her limited authorizations, it took her a while to deactivate the turrets.

“You can come in.” The speakers were still intact.

Neither Fade nor the others knew where to go in this deep complex. It felt bereft of any purpose. None of them knew what to look for. It was the uncertainty that eventually forced Fade deeper into the complex, while it made the others hesitate and wait.

Eventually Fade wandered into the storage room. The shelves were still filled with valuable equipment. She didn’t feel elated or happy. The sight of weapons, ammunition, rations and even healing potions only left a dull feeling. It didn’t catch her attention at all.

Instead she headed for another room, filled with huge metallic cabinets. Each one was easily seven feet high and wide. Every one of them showed a small screen, waiting for input. Fade wandered along these and read the names on them. They were all unfamiliar except one.

“Shadowbolt #165 - Brave Heart.”

Fade stared at the name for a long time. She was convinced that her father was a Shadowbolt ever since she found his locker in the Ministry hub. Seeing his name again in the confines of the vault, made her feel a betrayal reaching even deeper than her mother’s lies that he would be back for her birthday.

She heard Feather’s careful hoofsteps. Looking at her, she saw the horror and tears in her mother’s eyes. A horror she had never seen before, not even when the bombs fell. Before Fade could ask anything, her mother turned to leave.

In the silent room, Fade’s attention was ultimately drawn back to the screen. She placed her shaking hoof on it until another short signal told her to move it away.

“Swift Wings - Ancestry Timeout Protocol Enacted

Do you want to inherit permissions formerly issued to Shadowbolt #165 and become an official member of the Ministry of Awesome and of the Shadowbolts? Tap the field to confirm.”

Fade stared at the message for a long time. Like in a trance she confirmed.

“Congratulations. You are now registered as Shadowbolt #165-B. You have inherited all permissions and can fully access the installation.”

A hissing noise opened the seal and the cabinet slid open. Inside she found the various components of the black and dark purple Shadowbolt power armor. All of them meticulously arranged on the backside of the shelf, alongside a Ripper knife and two magic energy rifles. Everything was in a pristine condition. There was not one single personal item. The only thing that appeared out of place was a folder, labeled Sunset Protocol.

Not knowing what it meant she picked it up and sat down to read. It didn’t feel like a choice, but a motion she felt obliged to follow. She hoped to find something to fill the void in her past.

“Sunset Protocol - Regarding Shadowbolt #165 - Brave Heart

The purpose of this protocol is to prevent any further physical, mental or emotional damage to the aforementioned Shadowbolt and any member of their wing. To ensure this, a complete identity overhaul and relocation have to be enacted upon the protocol’s activation.

The following exploits have to be mitigated:

Feather Swirl - Wife

Swift Wings - Daughter

Coat - Purple

Mane - Dark Red

Eyes - Green

Cutie Mark - Winged Heart

Name - Brave Heart

Species - Pegasus

Sex - Male

Age - Twenty-Two (22)

Occupation - Royal Equestrian Air Force

The following steps will be enacted to mitigate the exploits:
Family - A fake K.I.A. letter, dispatched as an emotionally intrusive, formal letter was issued to be written by Everlast, Ministry of Image, Canterlot.

The following Official Identity Documents will be issued to the Royal Equestrian Registry in Stalliongrad:

Coat - Dark Gray

Mane - Black

Cutie Mark - Shield with Heart Emblem

Name - Valiant Heart

Age - 24

Occupation - Unemployed

Addendum:

Shadowbolt #165 was successfully evacuated into Stable Fifty-Four.

Fade dropped the folder. Her body felt weak and frail. She heard somepony calling her name and when she looked up she saw Key standing at the door to the locker room. She looked at her; Looked into Key’s eyes. Those familiar green eyes.

Rage.

Rage was all she felt. She lashed out at the cabinets, the screens and the walls until a stinging pain in her foreleg forced her to stop. Key was staring at her and Fade covered her eyes with a wing in a failing attempt to hide that she was crying.

She fled the room, the storage, the hallways, the turrets and sought refuge in the cold cavern. Her legs were no longer able to carry her. She leaned against a wall and then sank to the ground. With a shaky breath and a burning throat she forced herself to stay quiet. She hid her face behind her hooves, hoping the others wouldn’t find her like that.

She heard a few voices and then steps. Fade recognized them.

“Leave me alone, Midnight.”

“Fade. It will be—”

“I said to ‘Leave me alone’!” Fade threw her knife at him and the blade missed him by a good length. “Fuck off Midnight! Fuck off, like you wanted to! Just fuck off and leave me alone!” She curled up, hiding her face behind her wings. “You don’t care anyway…”

The silence was only broken by gasps for air, as Fade failed to keep quiet. Eventually she heard other steps carefully approaching. Key was sitting down next to her, carefully rubbing her back. Fade looked up and saw Key’s teary eyes. She began to understand why each look into Key’s eyes was so frighteningly familiar.

Key didn’t say a word. They weren’t needed. Fade pulled her into a tight hug. She hoped to forget the pain. She hoped to forget the missed opportunities to be a child. And she hoped to forget what happened so many days ago in Stable Fifty-Four.

Hours passed.

Fade felt numb. Nothing mattered anymore. The cold, the exhaustion, the burning sensation in her eyes. She couldn’t even cry anymore and she didn’t want to. All she did was to hold Key. They both sought shelter and they found it with each other. When Fade looked into her sister’s eyes, she began to feel restless.

Her gaze returned to the vault. The turrets stood vigilant as ever, the light from the hallway shining into the cave. She rubbed her eyes one last time and stood up.

“Fade?” Key’s voice was weak and quiet.

Her eyes were fixated on the vault, filling with a violent resolve. “I will kill Everlast.”

Fade went back into the vault. Midnight was guarding the hallway and trying to attach a scope he found. He stopped when Fade passed by him. He was scared of the violence promised by her gaze and determined steps. He simply let her pass.

In the main hall she found her mother. “You didn’t know,” Fade said.

Feather looked up but instead of sadness, Fade only saw the eyes of a stranger staring back at her. She didn’t get an answer. She didn’t really care.

When Fade passed by Shibboleth, a small glimpse was enough and she understood what Fade was going to do. She didn’t stop her.

As she passed through the storage room, she took a healing potion and drank it on her empty stomach. The pain in her muzzle began to ebb away. Fade didn’t care for it or the hunger or even the thirst. Returning to the locker room, she pushed the dirty clothes off her body. She briefly examined the ghostly mirror image on the metallic cabinets; Seeing nothing but the emaciated shell of a pony.

Fade took the leg brace with the armor’s computer. She wrapped it tightly around her right leg. It booted up automatically and displayed instructions on how to put on the armor. Fade followed them, step by step. With each brace and armor plate the colors of her purple coat were covered in the same black the Enclave wore.

Only one last piece was missing. Fade sat down and looked at the black helmet with the chaotic array of dark purple and insectoid looking eyes. She didn’t want to wear it. She wanted Everlast to see and recognize her. She wanted him to see her eyes. She wanted him to see her father’s eyes.

She took the Ripper knife and inspected it. The magical blade was charged and still working. The magical glow was barely noticeable. She wasn’t surprised when she discovered the enchantment, which allowed her to flick the knife with her hooves, as if she had claws like a griffon. It elated her. It made her imagine how it would feel to cut off Everlast’s head, while she kept glaring into his eyes. He won’t be able to stop her. Maverick would not stop her. She decided that nothing would stop her.

Shibboleth was on edge and gasped when Fade entered the quarters in her armor. Key was sleeping in one of the many bunk beds but Fade didn’t feel like resting. She sat down on a bed across. “I will hunt Everlast,” she whispered. “I will kill him.”

Shibboleth couldn’t bear to look for too long into Fade’s eyes. She sighed and rubbed her nose. “My poor thing. Why do we deserve to go through this?”

Fade was quiet, indifferent to whatever the answer may be.

“Is there anything… Anything I can do to stop you?” Shibboleth asked. “So that Key doesn’t have to lose anypony else?”

Fade shook her head.

Her answer made Shibboleth tense up, but then her body appeared to lose every bit of strength she had left. She suddenly looked tired, unable to argue back. She took the remaining crumbs from the rations out of her bag and gave them to Fade. “At least eat.”

Fade took them and chewed on the food without any appetite. Eating didn’t feel like something for survival or something to enjoy anymore. It was only a process necessary to achieve her goal.

“Fade?” Midnight asked quietly from the door. “I know you don’t want me to be around. But I owe you something. If… if I would have shot at Everlast’s horn, Brave could still be alive.”

Fade looked only briefly at him, before she gulped down another crumb of the stale food. “Next time you’ll do. And I will fight Maverick.”

With Key asleep, Shibboleth was strangely concerned about Fade’s wellbeing. She urged her to eat more, take a shower and sleep. Before Fade did any of that, she activated the terminals for Midnight and granted him full access to the Shadowbolt files.

Afterwards, Midnight found himself alone in the security station. He didn’t know where Feather was but heard Fade and Shibboleth searching the storage room. They barely spoke. Nobody did. Not even a tiny ‘thanks’ when they helped each other.

The first thing he did was to reactivate the shields of the Ministry hub near Stalliongrad. Then he searched for any information about the Shadowbolt raid. He found all the files quickly but hesitated to read them. He only stared at the file names. Inventory. Injuries. Treatments. Dispatches. Collateral. No. He didn’t want to read them.

Instead he searched for something else. Blue Sky.

This time, various files appeared. The most recent one was only a few hours before the bombs fell.

“Investigation Report of Transportation Waiver

The waiver to transport the Balefire Eggs was issued by Blue Sky and acknowledged by a royal official. A royal confirmation was required due to the nature of the acquired weapons. The format, names and signatures on the waiver appear correct and withstand a first review.

However, since the latest developments regarding the O.I.A. Princess Luna conducted a hearing of Blue Sky to assess his loyalty. Princess Luna found that Blue Sky was to be trusted, but that he was involved in personal projects of questionable nature.

Due to this finding, Princess Luna issued a royal decree to forbid delivery of any assets to Blue Sky. This would have prevented any acknowledgement of any waiver issued by Blue Sky.

We sent a request to the Royal Equestrian Security Service in Canterlot to get a transcript of the hearing. This information will help us to find out what kind of project Blue Sky was working on, which would require the illegal acquisition of Balefire Eggs.

Lastly we want to suggest the positioning of one or two Raptors in Vanhoover or the Royal Equestrian Air Base in Quebit. A transport of Balefire Eggs to Vanhoover could anger the local dragon Pyroclast. Should the dragon go into a frenzy through noticing them in any way, we have to be prepared to dispatch the dragon.”

Midnight continued reading through the other files. The ones dating only a few days back were nothing more than brief notes about Blue Sky being auditioned by Princess Luna. When he opened the folder for the oldest files, something immediately caught his attention.

“Regarding Memory Removal of Shadowbolt #165 Issued by Blue Sky”

“Bingo.”

“The removed memories span a time of 70 hours. From what we can say, the removal contained a briefing, an operation, debriefing and return to base. None of the Shadowbolts show any ill effects. Each member of Team Diffraction was aware of the removal before the briefing and got to choose whether or not to execute the operation. However, without the actual memories it is not possible to determine if the promise was true.

The actual removal was handled by Blue Sky. It is not known who performed the removal. There were only clues that the Ministry of Image was involved in the actual process. Blue Sky has connections to the Ministry of Image (and other Ministries) but so do all high ranked members of the O.I.A. Observing Blue Sky is possible but not advised due to the O.I.A. having a concerningly deep reach into the Ministries to find out about any investigation carried out against them.

A week after the memory removal, a celebration was held in Orlov to honor Brave Heart. A member of the Shadowbolts was dispatched to join the celebration to show support of the Ministry of Awesome. His actual task was to observe the ceremony for any kind of clues and stay among the guests of honor and overhear their conversations.

The agent noticed one particular pony. Dr. Skreŝivatel was among the guests of honor. Currently Dr. Skreŝivatel is the head of the research clinic in Orlov. After the formal ceremony she approached both Blue Sky and Brave Heart for a few talks. She congratulated Brave Heart for his service and how his mission will help her research. Talks with Blue Sky regarded the support of the O.I.A. and that Blue Sky will do his best to connect her with other researchers currently working for the Office.

The conclusion of this event is that Blue Sky was only an intermediary but not responsible for the decision to remove the memories of the Shadowbolts.”

Midnight closed the file and decided not to tell Fade about it.

“Guys! Come quick!” The next morning Shibboleth brought the Shadowbolt radio equipment to life. “I am listening to the Enclave!”

They all rushed to her. None but Shibboleth understood the multitude of devices to receive radio signals and decrypt them in real time. She pressed a few buttons and the Enclave chatter was played back via the speakers.

“...report - no signs of Steel Ranger activity. Continue patrol. Over.”

“Confirmed. Raptor Cirrocumulus, adjust direction by uh… twenty and stand by. Over.”

“Raptor Cirrocumulus, confirmed.”

“I know that voice,” Fade said. “That’s Colloquy. The Enclave bitch from Edmareton.”

“The one who gave you slimy cubed?” Key asked.

“No.” Midnight answered. “The one who struck the deal with my brother to spy on us.”

Shibboleth worked on a few other dials and read some numbers on a display. “I still have to finetune the tracker, but apparently she is only a few miles south of Priob.”

“That is good.” Feather’s voice appeared distant and cold. While all of them were huddled quite closely around Shibboleth, Feather remained at the door. “That means we can travel south to the Smokey Mountains.”

“Are you still obsessed about that thing?” Fade asked.

“I am offering it. Right now we have a free route as long as we stay east of the Unicorn Range.”

“And then?” Fade was not convinced.

“If we have Killjoy… You know… It can help you with anything. The Rangers. The Enclave… Everlast. And not only that.” Her attention went to Midnight. “You know about Lunaland, don’t you?”

“Barely?”

“I don’t fully know how the Ministry of Morale operates, but Lunaland being the biggest hub in the Vanhoover and Stalliongrad region, I assume your arrest and transfer to Shattered Hoof was processed there. With Killjoy we can access that data and furthermore… Its radio tower should be strong enough to link into the Equestria-wide broadcasting system.”

“The M.A.S.E.B.S.,” Shibboleth said, with quite some excitement in her eyes.

“Yes. That,” Fade confirmed. “With that we can access any surviving O.I.A. office remotely and you can find out anything about Blue Sky that you want to know.”

“Are you coercing us into Killjoy again?” Midnight couldn’t hide the anger flaring up in his voice.

“You know… Even with all this equipment here, five ponies are not enough to take on three armies. You need any help you can get. Tell me when you are ready to go.” Feather left the room.

With Killjoy’s presence lingering in the air, none of them said anything.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Digital Detective - Midnight Gets +10% to Science when he performs research and investigations on terminals.

Quest Perk: Shadowbolt - Fade is now authorized to access the resources of the Shadowbolt Department and is now an associate of the Ministry of Awesome.

Chapter 11: Standstill

“Timing is key. If you hesitate, you will find yourself being engulfed in balefire. If you rush it, you will find yourself ill prepared and also engulfed in balefire.”

At noon they left Galloping Gorge. They were packed with food, ammo and medicine and they were glad to swap their old clothes, bags and weapons with new ones. Only Midnight kept his old rifle. He didn’t want to part with his Cicada. Key asked for a weapon as well, but Shibboleth forbade it. Fade secretly took an extra one.

Fade didn’t feel the additional weight of another gun. She was amazed at how easy it was to move with power armor. She no longer felt the weight of her bags pulling down and offered the others to carry more. She asked Shibboleth with the most insistence as she was burdened with a wide array of devices for radio transmission, decryption and electronic warfare. But she only shook her head.

In the late afternoon they reached a wide river. Even though they were constantly traveling south, the sight of the river let them forget their uncertain destination. Fade trotted to the river, impressed by its size and how clean the water looked.

“This water doesn’t smell funny. Does it mean you can drink it?” Key asked.

“Better we filter it first,” Shibboleth said with a calm voice.

“Was all of Equestria like this?” Key’s gaze wandered along the river bank, where the water foamed from the strong current. Here and there she found a few plants growing, which even showed a small hint of green. Small insects were crawling over the wet rocks.

“Better.” Midnight joined a few feet away and dipped a hoof into the water. He missed the numbness and even the stinging pain of cold water. “Everything around us would have been covered in short grass and in summer there would have been flowers too. The air was so clear, you could see the mountains to the north.”

“Midnight?” Key asked him with a careful tone in her voice. “How did you become a ghoul?”

Shibboleth was already stepping in, but Fade gently stopped her.

Midnight looked down at the water. “I was a few miles outside Stalliongrad. I was used to the sound of the sirens from the regular drills but on that day… It was like the air was carrying the sirens from all over Equestria. You heard the sirens from Priob, Orlov, Quebit… Vanhoover. Everypony stopped and looked at each other. We all knew that… the day had come.”

Key and the others were listening quietly. Even Feather stopped.

“It wasn’t one bomb. I…” He remembered how he counted the missile trails. How he lost track when Stalliongrad’s defenses tried to intercept them. How blazing lights erupted from and around the city when the hidden megaspell sites returned fire. How their light blinded him. “One bomb struck far outside the city, but close enough that we got hit by the shockwave.”

“Why didn’t you fly up to the sky?” Key wondered.

“It didn’t matter. I knew I was a good pony.” He tried to see his smile on the mirror image in the water, but the ripples only let him see a vague silhouette of who he was. “That was all I was thinking until the first missile struck. All I saw was that… ugly green sky and an ugly green snow falling down on me. It wasn’t cold. It was warm as if you were sitting next to a campfire. It slowly covered me like a blanket. The last thing I felt was… that I was tired. Like when you were lying in your bed and… slowly… slowly falling asleep.”

“Did it hurt?”

He shook his head. “No. I was only tired and knew that I was a good pony.” His body quivered and he looked away from the others. “When I woke up, I was like this. I miss being tired. I wish I could feel tired again.”

“Did… all the ponies fall asleep like you?”

He hesitated. “Yes. They did.”

For a moment Fade wished that she let Shibboleth step in. But now Key and Midnight were talking. He answered all of Key’s questions about the past, like she never learned it from her parents. Fade wondered if Midnight tried to prove her wrong. She couldn’t tell which Midnight was talking to Key, until he started to talk about his peace activists. Then she was sure it was the Ministry of Morale-Midnight talking.

They followed the river to enjoy the tranquility of the sound of flowing water. The day passed by and when the sun was setting, the gray cloud cover was tinted in dirty orange. But even that was a welcome splash of color. In the far distance they saw a bridge, a massive train station built on one end. Old gantry cranes were towering over cargo containers and trains. Some of the trains were so long that they couldn’t see the ends of them. A narrow bridge, only wide enough for two trains, was the only way over the river. It was hastily built and rust was already eating away the supports.

“That’s a maze,” Fade said. “Key, better turn on your PipBuck.”

“Doesn’t your armor have an E.F.S.?” Key asked.

“Yeah… You are right.” Fade reached for her luggage and took the helmet. Even though she didn’t want to wear it, she couldn’t leave her father’s helmet behind. “How do I even turn it on?”

While Fade was searching for a button or dial on the helmet, Key was already checking the nearby train carts with Midnight.

“I have a yellow signal,” Key said and looked at the long train, which snaked over the bridge and off into the distance.

Fade prioritized the signal and followed Key’s directions. At first she looked below the train cart but couldn’t find anything. Fade told Key to stay back and warn her if the signal turned red. She knocked at the door and pulled it open with ease. The door screeched loudly and she winced. With a sudden hiss a roach as huge as a pony jumped at Fade. She screamed and fell back on haunches, scrambling away and kicking after the insect. With its clicking legs it skittered over the ground, ran in a circle and rushed for Key. She yelped when the scared insect crawled over her before taking a turn and lastly fled under the bridge.

Midnight chuckled. “Are you alright?”

“It’s not funny!” Fade got up, a bit ashamed.

“It had sticky feet,” Key said, her mother already approaching to comfort her.

Suddenly another loud hiss erupted from the train station. A missile arced through the air and crashed into a wagon close to the bridge. The blast was deafening and they all threw their bodies to the ground. Without even knowing who was firing at them, they crawled under the train for cover.

Only Midnight was daring enough to search for the attackers and in the far distance, approaching from the north, he saw the heavy armor of Steel Rangers glistening in the light of the setting sun. “Rangers!” He shouted and urged them to move.

They followed the train, crawling slowly over the trackbed. They didn’t even get a few feet before a second missile rushed past them and impacted with a wagon in front of them. Smoke and dust made them cough. With the wagon set ablaze, they felt the heat of the fire reaching for them while the Ranger kept approaching from behind.

“I'll give you cover!” Midnight shouted and took position behind a wheel to aim. With his scope he aimed at the visor of a Steel Ranger. The missile launcher on the back was already aligning to fire another one.

Midnight shot first. The bullet merely cracked the visor and made the Ranger flinch. Even though the Cicada was not strong enough to penetrate even the weakest part of the Ranger armor, it at least staggered them. He fired again and tried to force the soldier into cover.

In his focus, Midnight didn’t notice when another Ranger opened fire. Dozens upon dozens of tiny bullets shredded into the side of the wagon, slowly tearing apart and chipping away the metallic case of the train car. Fragments of trackbed pierced Midnight’s body like ricocheting bullets. The others curled up and Fade opened her wings to protect the others with her armor. Her wings began to hurt from each impact on the metal plates and soon it felt as if they were torn out.

Shibboleth’s equipment suddenly emitted a screeching sound. She winced and quickly turned it off. A brief moment later, the storm of bullets stopped. “Now!” Shibboleth yelled and pushed her daughter. “To the other train, while they are jammed!”

Midnight took position again. The Steel Ranger with the minigun was pressing their metal clad hooves against the helmet. He shot at the visor, forcing them to retreat into cover and causing more panic. “Run!” He yelled. “They are retreating!”

Fade pushed Key and Shibboleth over the bridge, running just behind them to give them cover while they tried to gain as much ground as possible. Midnight and Feather were following close behind.

They were halfway across the bridge when new bullets whizzed past them. Fade warned them to take cover but too late. A bullet struck her hindleg and threw her off balance, even though it didn’t pierce. More bullets tore into the ground around her and she curled up, covering her head with her forelegs.

A magic aura wrapped around her body and both Shibboleth and Key pulled her under the train.

“It fucking hurts!” Fade examined her leg and wings. She groaned and felt like every bone in her body was shattered.

The unmistakable hiss and whistle of another missile made them all curl up. Only Midnight saw the missile curve in the air and lose control thanks to Shibboleth’s jammers. He could only watch in horror when the missile lost altitude and corrected its path just enough to crash into the rusty metalwork of the bridge.

The metal cried out when the bridge began to tilt. Concrete splintered and collapsed into the river below. The burning cargo wagon was torn in half by the weight of the other carts crashing down.

The bridge was still tilting and Fade realized her mother didn’t make it nearly as far as them. “Mom!” She rushed to her but the bending metal groaned louder and a shockwave moved through the bridge. It threw Fade off her legs and made the train cars jump off the rails. Midnight had to flee into the open to avoid being crushed. When they crashed down the rails were springing free, one hitting the side of Key’s head.

When Fade heard Shibboleth’s desperate cries she found Key unconscious. Blood was pouring from her temple. Fade crawled to them, tears already burning in her eyes. “I’m here! I'll get you out!” Fade grabbed her sister, forcing her way forward, while Shibboleth was still trying to stop the bleeding.

The bridge shook again, making them fall once more. She still had Key tight in her embrace but the concrete broke and toppled. She tried to find something to grab onto but then the cold water was grabbing her. She gasped for air and felt her legs and chest cramping before disappearing completely into the foaming water.

Midnight arrived just a second too late. All he found was Shibboleth, panicking and leaving her cover. “Run! Run and follow the river! I will keep them at bay!” Midnight shouted and took aim at the Rangers. When the dust settled he counted two, three, no, four ponies in power armor. Among them, half a dozen engineers, trying to shield and stabilize their systems with counter spells to Shibboleth’s jammers.

His rifle was not able to penetrate the power armor, but he could kill the engineers instead. He took aim at the first, ready to pull the trigger.

It was his brother.

He kept the rifle primed at his horn and slowly lowered the rifle directly at Thunderbolt’s face. One shot and the engineers would scatter into cover. One shot and they were saved. One shot and he would kill his brother.

The minigun opened fire again. Midnight felt the tiny bullet piercing through his body, shattering bones, tearing apart muscles, ripping the skin from his body; Pulling the rifle away. He fell to the ground and could no longer move his legs. They were twisted and bent into strange angles. All he could do was stare at the sky. The dull, gray sky. There was no snow. No warmth from the balefire. No feeling of being tired. Just gray clouds and smoke wafting by.

A magic aura surrounded him, while bullets were still flying past, occasionally hitting his body.

He didn’t understand why he was still alive.

He didn’t understand why a stranger saved him.

He didn’t understand why his brother tried to kill him.

Fade found herself in cold pain.

“Don’t let go of Key,” was all she thought.

The armor was dragging her down and the currents were pulling her away.

“Don’t let go.”

She didn’t know where the surface was and her chest began to ache.

Don’t let go.

She opened her eyes but around her was only gray water, cloudy from concrete dust and mud.

Don’t let go.

She grabbed Key and pressed her against her chest.

Don’t let go. Swim!

The lack of air filled Fade’s mind with the urge to just survive. She moved her wings, hoping they would carry her upwards. The armor carried her as much as it pulled her down. The muscles in her wings began to cramp from the cold but Fade kept moving them. She fought against the water and her mind sang the cruel song to save only herself.

Don’t let go.

Fade burst through the surface and she took a deep breath. A wave hit her, pushed her down and filled her nose, mouth and lungs with water. Her body felt heavy, ready to sink back into the numbing cold water. Pain spread from her chest into her head as if something tried to gouge her eyes out from the inside.

Suddenly she felt a pull. Something was with her in the cold rapids. She grabbed it, tried to hold onto it, while she still tried to hold Key.

Don’t let go.

In a last attempt she flapped her wings and struggled towards the surface. Finally she breached the water and wanted to breathe but all her body did was retch and cough. The pull was still there, too weak to move her but enough to give her a vague direction.

Fade felt sand and rocks under her hooves. Sand that carried her weight and allowed her to stay afloat. A pony grabbed and dragged her out of the water. Fade coughed again and again. Every attempt to breathe filled her with pain. Was she crying? She didn’t know. All she did was try to escape the river. Only when she felt grass against her hooves was she able to breathe again. Her body ached and the water felt like slime.

“Key…” she croaked and found her still in her embrace. Blood was flowing from her head, coloring the beige coat in red. Key was pale and Fade’s attention was drawn to her PipBuck, which was flashing a critical warning.

“Apply CPR”

The screen on the PipBuck changed.

“Press”

Fade saw the instruction.

“Press”

She placed her forelegs on Key’s chest and pushed. She heard a cracking noise.

“Press”

The PipBuck began to show a rhythm and Fade tried to follow it. Slimy, foamy water ran out of Key’s mouth. Fade kept pressing and when she saw blood running out of Key’s nose and Fade’s vision blurred from tears.

A cold wind picked up, accompanied by a mechanical whirr and the sound of beating wings clad in power armor. Fade didn’t stop, not even when she saw the black armor of an Enclave soldier next to her.

“Stop!” The soldier ordered and aimed his magical energy weapon at her head. But Fade kept going.

“I said stop!” he shouted and hit her head.

“No!” Feather yelled and coughed. Snot was running from her nose. “She’s the pony you need to open the ministries!”

The soldier stared at Feather and back at Key. “Medic!”

Immediately one pony in a yellow flight suit galloped to Key. The pink butterflies on the uniform and first aid boxes made Fade recognize her as a doctor. She fell back and the medic injected some medicine into Key. Fade watched in horror when the doctor pushed a thick tube down Key’s windpipe to rebreathe her.

“Well,” the arrogant voice of a pegasus mare chimed with glee. “When our sensors registered explosions, I wasn’t expecting to find the Steel Rangers shooting at you.” Colloquy’s voice carried a mocking tone and Fade’s body tensed up. “I can understand that the Steel Rangers would rather kill you than allow us to catch you. But I didn’t expect them to use heavy artillery.”

Fade wasn’t paying attention. She stared at the dreadful treatment to save Key’s life. She began to cough and more foam and slimy water ran out of her muzzle.

“Will she survive?” Colloquy asked.

“Barely. The drugs will keep her body going. After that she has to stay in IC.”

The wind grew stronger when the huge Raptor cloudship hovered not far above them. Fade looked around. Feather was guarded by one soldier and Colloquy was escorted by two bodyguards in black armor as well.

Even with her chest still hurting and her body shivering madly from the cold, she knew that her father’s Ripper knife could pierce a visor. She would kill the soldier next to her first. Her hoof slowly moved to the knife, as she planned how—

Two shots erupted and threw Fade back to the ground. There wasn’t any pain at first, but then the heat set in and the smell of burned fur and flesh hit her nostrils. Hot plasma was heating up Fade’s power armor to the point that it burned her shoulders and back.

She cried and screamed as she felt the hot armor melting together with her skin. She pulled at the armor with shaking hooves but didn’t even have the strength to loosen it by the tiniest bit. Her strength faltered and in her desperation she tried to crawl away from the searing pain.

“Are we playing Shadowbolt?” Colloquy stepped next to her. “Some see it as a design flaw, that power armor heats up from constant contact with plasma. But we can both agree that heavy burns are better than plasma melting its way into the body.”

Fade growled and tried to stand up, but she collapsed and couldn’t even crawl anymore.

“You should have read the manual, Swift. Do you know that every Power Armor has an emergency removal feature?” Colloquy spoke slowly. “I am sure you left the armor on factory settings you ignorant brat. Just pat the left leg’s armor plate. Just below the service screen.”

Fade did. But the armor didn’t open.

“Three times.”

Fade’s hoof struck the plate again. Immediately she felt the armor loosen up. In a rush Fade threw off every armor piece until she was able to brush off the heavy plates on her back, peeling the skin with it. The armor was glowing from the heat. She saw smoke rising from her back and the stench of burned flesh made her choke.

“This feature was installed so that medics can easily treat an injured soldier. Since you were able to take the armor off yourself, you clearly don’t need one.”

Fade was lying on the ground. The exhaustion was too much for her. She tried to get up one last time, but she collapsed and passed out.

The sun began to set behind the mountains. Shibboleth brought Midnight into a small roadside diner. She was shivering and sweating. Her last effort was to get Midnight and herself into a small office room. She turned on the tiny screen on the listening device. It gave just enough light that both were able to see rough silhouettes of each other and the furniture in the room.

Midnight tried to speak, but his lungs couldn’t hold any air. He was sure she didn’t even want to talk. Instead of searching for food, she was already working on the radio equipment. It was so quiet that Midnight could hear the sound from her headphones.

“...priority. Please inform General Lightning Dust that we have captured the objectives.” Midnight recognized Colloquy’s voice.

There was a pause.

“Can you confirm? You captured the wanted pony?”

“I have confirmed it myself. We captured three prisoners. Two of them are the primary objectives and we are on our way to Quebit. ETA… In about twelve hours.”

“I will forward it to General Lightning Dust immediately. Anything you want for breakfast tomorrow?”

Early and before sunrise Shibboleth got up. With nothing other than a pistol and a flashlight she left the tiny office room. Soon Midnight heard her rummaging through the kitchen of the diner. He winced when she knocked over a few pans by accident.

He envied her at that moment. Shibboleth’s world was clear and simple. She only needed to save her daughter. But for him, he could no longer tell friend and foe apart. He wished he could sleep.

Midnight didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually Shibboleth was loading him and the radio equipment onto an old and rusty cart. It was still dark when they embarked. They were wandering towards the mountains. Midnight realized that she wanted to go to Quebit. Following the roads through Unicorn Range, past by Lunaland and finally Edmareton. From there just west until Quebit. But he didn’t understand why she took him with her. Why was she treating him like an object?

Towards the evening Midnight felt the warmth of balefire radiation. At first he thought it was just some of the ambient radiation they had to pass through. But it got stronger. Midnight tried to stir and warn Shibboleth but he only managed to make a few dry noises. She didn’t pay him any attention and continued.

Eventually Shibboleth stopped. She hurled Midnight with her weak magic off of the wagon and hid his broken body next to a rock and dead bushes. After she took her equipment, she turned the cart over with her magic and what was left of her strength. She groaned but managed to hide Midnight under the cart and it whirled up irradiated dust. He was worried about how much she was breathing in.

For two days Midnight felt nothing but fear, then anger and soon violence. He was glad about every time he could lash out at any mutated roach, which wanted to eat him. One morning Shibboleth returned and was glad to see that the radiation knitted his muscles back together.

“Shib…” Midnight croaked weekly. His lungs were punctured and filled with dirt, but he could utter short words.

But Shibboleth ignored him. She dumped a bunch of wood and short metal pieces on the floor. Her magic yanked at his limbs, not in the careful way like she tugged at his leg to sew it. He realized that for her he was just there to fulfill a purpose. He was quiet while Shibboleth put his limbs into splints.

“In this direction is a leaking warhead. Go there and I'll see you tomorrow.”

She got up to not risk any more exposure in the irradiated area.

“Shib… What’s your plan?”

“I don’t know. But you are a pegasus. You can fly and you will bring me to their fucking cloud fortress.”

When Shibboleth left, Midnight didn’t stop her. But he felt the urge for violence returning. First for the Ministry… then Feather… and now Shibboleth too. When would they finally see him as something else than a pawn?

Chapter 12: Obsession

“What is it that you love so much, that you are willing to kill and kill and kill?”

Fade woke up with a cold pain in her back. Bare of her clothes, she was shivering in a still uncomfortably warm room. Her coat was covered in sweat and her muscles were sore from the metal floor. Nothing else but dark and naked metal along with thick pipes were surrounding her. It smelled like vomit and not too far away Fade found Key. She was laying on her side, coughing and spitting out more bile, too weak to scramble away from it.

Fade tried to crawl to her, but she found her hooves cuffed and the searing pain in her back only made her whimper.

“Stop moving.” Feather’s voice came from behind and was of little to no comfort.

It even filled her with anger. “Don’t you see that Key is laying in her own vomit?”

Feather didn’t answer. Albeit she was only a few feet away, Feather was strangely distant.

Suddenly the door to the small chamber was kicked open. Fade glanced up and found Colloquy entering the room, chewing on one of these gross sandwiches. She gulped it down and grimaced. “What is that reek? Do I look like I would allow such behavior on my ship?” She yelled at the doctor following her while pointing a wing at Key.

“I thought since you denied them bedding, you wouldn’t mind them puking on your floor.”

Colloquy glared at the doctor. “Didn’t you get the update from the Committee of Nutrition? An overabundance of calories leads to… brattish behavior. When was the last time you checked your calorie intake?” She took a bite from her sandwich and stepped to Fade, lowering her head with that arrogant grin. “Like this one here. Very bratty.”

Fade spit at her face.

Colloquy grimaced and spit the chewed sandwich at her in response. “If you want to eat anything other than what I just gave you, you should stop angering your food distributor.” She wiped her face with a tissue.

When her eyes fell on Key she sighed. “Do something! I need her to be able to walk and think clearly by noon.”

“No way. As a doctor I must insist, that she needs at least a month—”

“Doctor Pokey… You are a Ministry of Peace pony right? Do you believe in Fluttershy?”

“I swore an oath to her.”

“Then start behaving like that piss-colored pushover and do your thing!”

The doctor left in a hurry.

“And about you…” Colloquy pushed her hoof on Fade’s face and pressed her muzzle against the floor. “Just because we give you medicine doesn’t mean that you mean anything to us. You are a maintenance heavy asset. If you cause any maintenance overhead by even looking at me the wrong way, I will reduce the maintenance costs and kill the unicorn. Instructions clear?”

Fade growled, her chest heaving. She glared at her, staring right into her eyes. Fade hoped to find something sadistic, but all she saw was a cold rationality in Colloquy’s eyes.

“Glad you got it.”

When the massive gates to the hangar opened, it was flooded by the blinding light of the rising sun. The cold wind made Fade shiver and it felt like icicles being pushed into her back. She got enough painkillers so she could walk, but not enough to forget about her injury.

Key was standing closer to the hatch, accompanied by Colloquy. The doctor pumped her full with healing potions and more drugs to make her ignore the pain and exhaustion.

“Behold. This could be your home!” Colloquy said over the rushing winds.

Even though Key saw the sky for the first time, she looked away.

“I could give you a good life up here. You won’t need to meddle with politicians. You would only need to be loyal to the ponies and help us open the Ministries. Maybe… our cooperation will bring us enough prestige that you can live up here together with your parents. Hm?”

Key looked up at her briefly and Fade saw scorn in her eyes. Ignoring the sky with its soft blue and yellow, she refused to answer Colloquy.

“You are probably cold. How disrespectful of me to not provide you proper clothes.” Colloquy took off her thick jacket with the furred collar and placed it over Key’s back. “There. Much better, isn’t it?”

“I’m neither a child nor an asset you sick cunt.”

Colloquy tried to hide her anger and stomped away after a brief moment. She approached the doctor, not too far away from Fade. “Make her talk. I don’t care what drugs you need to give her, but make her like you.” Not waiting for an answer, her attention fell on Fade. “Are you grinning? Does that amuse you?”

“No.” Fade’s voice was weak, her throat itching from a cold. “I am disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”

“Yeah… That I didn’t teach her worse words than cunt.”

Colloquy laughed. “Maybe you should have a look too.” Ignoring Fade’s injury, Colloquy placed a wing on her back and guided her to the hangar gates.

When the ship turned so slightly, a monstrous structure of metal came into view. The flying fortress was embedded into a nest of clouds so thick and dense that they shaped a perpetual thunderstorm. Massive turrets to shell cities, landing platforms to unleash swarms of Vertibucks, bombing chariots and Raptor frigates, enough space to house a flying army. Massive scaffolds all over the ship showed that the repairs from the war were still going on. The fortress was absorbing direly needed resources and it was still hungry.

“Ever seen a Thunderhead? That’s the Victorious. Enjoy the sight. If the general deems you… disposable, I will let you starve in a tiny room with a screen and let you watch the canteen.”

Fade scoffed and looked away. “You want to enter the Ministry hubs?”

“Getting cooperative?”

“Not really. Your breath stinks five miles against the wind and I just happen to know where you can find toothpaste.”

Colloquy scoffed and stomped away. “Prepare for landing! We don’t want to let the general wait.”

Fade looked over at Key and saw a small smile on her muzzle.

“Raptor Cirrocumulus! Salute!”

Two squares of young recruits were stomping once and then saluting with a wing to their forehead. Colloquy left her ship and smiled.

“Welcome back, Captain Colloquy and congratulations on your accomplishment of finding the VIPs,” a stallion in a black uniform, wearing countless plastic medals on his chest greeted her.

“Thank you. Your cadets look great. How old are they?”

“Sixteen. Two more years and their training is complete.”

“A promising generation. When will General Lightning Dust arrive?”

“In a minute, Captain. But we all know, it will likely take five.” He chuckled.

“Five?” Colloquy turned to the stallion. The fake smile suddenly disappeared. “Are you suggesting that my general is… slow?”

He shook his head. “No. Of course not. I… Uhm… I rather want to suggest that… as… to celebrate your achievement, I would offer you a banquet.”

“A banquet? How quaint.” Colloquy answered with a patronizing smile. “Apology accepted. To the hangar! It is a very fresh morning.”

“Move!” One of the guards behind Fade bellowed. With a harsh kick, Fade stumbled forward. She groaned from the pain and moved alongside Key and Feather, who were ushered to the outside as well.

Fade’s attention fell on the countless ponies without uniforms and clad in dirty clothes. Drafted engineers and construction workers. If anyone could help them to get out, it was them.

The lack of Vertibucks and other vehicles made it appear empty. Fade only counted two other cloudships. Instead there were a wide variety of carts, filled with tools and replacement parts.

It took them a while to cross the massive flight deck. Fade was glad to finally get out of the cold wind. The hangar itself was a busy mess. The interior was still under repair and the smell of fresh paint mixed with the scent of welded iron. Around them, engineers, both Enclave loyalists and draftees were repairing Vertibucks or even disassembling them when their parts were needed elsewhere. At times some of the civilians were looking up, pity visible in their eyes.

“General on deck!”

On the far side of the hangar a wide door slid open and out stepped an old mare, wearing Enclave power armor. Even from the distance it was clear that she had trouble moving. The armor’s strength enhancements could only do so much. Her mane had lost all color and even her coat was only a dull shade of the once strong turquoise. Her yellow eyes were condescending and lacked any kind of humility.

Colloquy’s salute lasted the longest. Her narcissism was gone, now replaced with blind adoration.

“They look pitiful.” The general stepped closer to the three. Her voice was rough but still strong. “And they smell pitiful as well. How were they able to defeat our Shadowbolts?” She began to cough and took an inhalator from her armor to regain her breath.

“A good general knows not to put teenagers into power armor and call them soldiers.” Fade croaked.

“Very funny, Swift. From what I heard you behaved like one, before Colloquy disabled you. Is it true that you carried a Rainbow Dash toy with you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Aren’t you too old for toys?” She coughed and took another breath from the inhalator. “Who is this?” Lightning Dust pointed to Feather.

“That? Her name is Feather Swirl. She is Swift’s mother.”

“Is she a Shadowbolt?”

“No. She was only married to one.”

“So she is useless?”

“Affirmative.”

“Kill her.” Lightning Dust ordered.

Colloquy gave a nod to a soldier. The shock of the general’s order made Fade rush to the soldier charging his energy rifle. But another Enclave soldier slammed into her, pushing her to the ground until her back was pressed against the cold metal floor. Her skin cracked and began to bleed and she yelled in pain.

Key tried to race to her, but she got grabbed and her muzzle held shut.

“Wait!” Her voice was shaking. “She is a high ranking agent of the O.I.A.! She has access to their hubs!”

“Fade! Be quiet!” Feather yelled. Another soldier quickly pushed her to the floor to quieten her.

“This is simply a lie to keep her mother alive,” Colloquy said through the erupting chaos.

“No!” Fade groaned. The soldier pushed a hoof on her throat, choking her. “The holodisk!”

“That’s enough! Kill her!” Colloquy raised her voice to repeat the general’s order.

But the general raised her hoof. The signal immediately made the soldiers stop.

“O.I.A. you said?” Lightning Dust approached Fade. “Tell me more.”

“The holodisk—”

“Shut up, Fade! Just shut the fuck up!”

A tiny nod by the general and one soldier kicked her in the side. Feather collapsed, coughing and struggling to breath.

“Please. Continue,” the general said calmly and it allowed her actual voice to be heard.

“The disk… it has position data to something called Killjoy. Only my mother can access the facility. All the other O.I.A. agents are likely dead. Just like the Shadowbolts you need her to access the O.I.A. hubs.”

The general was quiet for a long time. “Colloquy. At eight hundred tomorrow you will bring them to Quebit. You know where to go. And find some of these… O.I.A. offices. I am sure there is something in the archives.”

They spent the night isolated from each other and the next morning they were brought onto a transport vessel. Their hooves were cuffed and their wings tied against their bodies. Inside, Colloquy already waited for them. She was wearing Fade’s armor and smiled when Fade’s eyes filled with anger.

Cramped onto the seats between two dozen soldiers, Fade noticed how the closest ones were disgusted by their smell.

“Cap!” One of them spoke up. “Didn’t we have a spare cloud for them to wash?”

“Nah!” Another one answered in Colloquy’s stead. “They would only clog up the filter with all the shit and radiation in their fur!”

The Enclave soldiers laughed but Colloquy lifted a hoof. The laughter died quickly.

“The traitors perhaps. But not the unicorn.”

“Cap, with all due respect, why the unicorn out of all of them?”

The transport vessel was banking massively but Colloquy stood up and moved to Key. “Because she is young and doesn’t know better. It is not her fault that her brain couldn’t fully develop. That’s the fault of the nutrition systems of the Stables.” Colloquy put a hoof on her shoulder. “But since she is still growing, we can feed her and she may become a proper unicorn. A proper Enclave unicorn!”

Key pushed the hoof away. “Don’t touch me with that. I don’t want to know how deep you pushed that into your general’s ass.”

Colloquy couldn’t hide her anger but after taking a deep breath she cleaned her face. “You should know why we like the general. Most of the ponies here are alive only because of her.”

“Yeah. Until she sends them out as cannon fodder,” Key replied.

“Would that make her worse than Princess Luna? Did they tell you in the Stable that the casualties of the pegasi were more than fifty percent higher than earth ponies and unicorns combined?”

Colloquy waited and looked at Key with a piercing gaze. She shook her head.

“General Lightning Dust was just a normal pegasus during the war, but one of the greatest supporters of the Enclave. She convinced thousands of ponies to join the Enclave who later became parents. Our parents. All the ponies you see here, live because of her.”

“And what did it cost?” Fade spoke up. “Letting millions starve above the clouds and hundreds of thousands more below.”

Colloquy smiled. “How would you solve it?”

“Solve what?”

“The famine. How?”

“Certainly not by closing up the sky!”

Colloquy didn’t say anything. With a simple nod she signaled Fade to continue. But Fade didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to prevent the famine.

“See? It isn’t some Enclave propaganda. It is only the realization that what the Enclave did, was the right thing.”

“Raining plasma on hungry ponies could never be the right thing!” Fade yelled.

“What should we have done instead? It is not a question about them or us. If we would have let them take over the food storages, they would have lived a week longer.” Colloquy turned back to Key. “You surely understand the choice we had to make. By securing our food, we now have happy families, living, working and protecting each other. Young ponies of your age are alive, because General Lightning Dust did what she had to do.”

After the transporter landed, the soldiers rushed out to secure the area. Not a minute later, Fade and the others were chased out and found themselves back in the cold wasteland. The light was dim from the thick clouds high above the city. Every minute a lightning bolt flashed deep inside them. Even down here the presence of the Thunderhead was noticeable.

Around her, the pegasi were securing the ruins of the city. A wet and slimy smell lingered in the air. Fade thought that, in the distance, toxic fumes were rising from the polluted rivers. Between the ruins, Fade saw a few ponies in dirty rags, which couldn’t hide the halfway starved shapes underneath. Some of them were watching, waiting and hoping that the Enclave would give them food.

Fade examined her surroundings to search for an escape route, but the soldiers pushed her and the others to a building in a much better shape. Except for the dirt and ash it was as good as new. Among the other buildings it would have looked like an unremarkable one, but its stability spoke for itself.

“Key, my dear. Listen.” Colloquy sat down in front of her. “I know that you don’t like me, but you would make this job much easier for us. Be so kind and look at Doctor Pokey.”

Key did.

“Her allegiance forbids her from being part of the Enclave. But she saved your life and she is hungry. If you can open the hub behind me, we can give her the food stored in there.”

“What about Swift?”

“If you apologize for what you said about the general, she can get some food too.”

“And med—” Key looked to the side, her eyes tracking something only she could see.

“Medicine? Do you mean medicine?” Colloquy tried to get Key’s attention back to her.

“Swift?” Key’s eyes wandered to the ground. “There is something moving in the ground.”

“Don’t worry dear,” Colloquy gently turned Key’s face back to her. “Your E.F.S. picked up some rats. And yes, I know about your PipBuck. You are very smart to have it active.”

“These are red signals.”

Key got Colloquy’s attention. There was a hint of concern in her eyes and she stood up.

“Squad Leaders! Sweep and—”

The ground under a soldier next to Fade broke open and a massive creature emerged from it. The huge maw of a deformed head snapped around the pony’s hip. Massive claws grabbed the upper body and tore the pony apart. The scream stopped as quick as it began and it threw the torn body at another Enclave pony.

The creature turned its head, still covered in blood and intestines, to Fade. One eye focused on her, the other two misshapen and halfway merged eyes weren’t moving in their sockets and didn’t even react to the blood dripping into them.

“Shoot you idiots!” Colloquy yelled and the order drew the hellhound’s attention to her. With a roar it climbed out of the hole, revealing an armor made of thick steel plates. Magic energy bolts were fired from the Enclave soldiers at it, but the bolts evaporated against a magic shield.

Fade tried to escape the barrage of magic fire as fast as the cuffs allowed her. Looking briefly at the hellhound she found him beheading another pony with its massive claws.

With the hellhound being distracted by the soldiers, Colloquy grabbed Key and pushed her to the transport ship. Fade turned immediately and tried to rush at her, but the ground between them exploded and some of the canine creatures she saw in Tall Tale emerged. They immediately opened fire at the pegasi with their wide array of weapons. Colloquy fired her plasma pistol at the dogs, igniting the dirty fur of one and making the meat pop when it exploded from the plasma’s heat.

With the frantic fight erupting and more diamond dogs appearing everywhere, Fade cowered down and tried to find some cover. The hull was already under a barrage of bullets, the turret on top firing into the ruins and turning both diamond dogs and unlucky ponies into pink dust. She ignored all that, her only goal was to reach the cloudship before Colloquy did.

“It’s below us!” Fade heard Key’s voice among the cacophony of explosions and gunfire. “Colloquy! Below us!”

Fade turned and saw Colloquy looking at the ground. Key struck her muzzle with her hooves as hard as possible. It staggered her but only briefly. Colloquy wrapped the armored foreleg around Key’s neck. “Stupid brat!”

Fade used the distraction and rushed forward, but Colloquy noticed her and aimed her pistol at her. Fade stopped instinctively but noticed something behind her enemy. A diamond dog was aiming a missile launcher at them.

“Missile! Behind you!” Fade yelled and dropped to the ground. It was warning enough for Colloquy to look over her shoulder. The panic overtook her. She dropped Key and with a strong flap of her wings, she swung herself into the air. The missile hit the cloudship’s turret and fire was bursting into the passenger compartment, taking away the direly needed cover for Fade and Key. From inside Key heard the pilot, trapped in the flight harness, shrieking.

Fade didn’t wait until the rain of burning debris stopped. She picked up Key who was retching from the smell of burning flesh. They barely managed to move forward with the cuffs hindering them and didn’t know where to go until Fade found Feather. She was already darting from whatever tiny bit of cover she could find to the next. Around her, pegasi and diamond dogs fought in melee combat, ripping each other apart with claws and knives. Feather didn’t bother to look for them. She only tried to save herself.

When they reached her, Feather whirled around and almost tried to crush Fade’s skull with a rock. She stopped only at the last moment, a hint of shock in her eyes. She dropped it and in the short moment where the diamond dogs fired at the pegasi in the sky, they left their cover to reach an alleyway.

Key shrieked when she stepped on the entrails of a dead soldier.

“Mom! Get Key away from here!” But Feather was already hobbling down the alley. “Key! Get into cover!” Fade held her breath as she approached the soldier to search for a Ripper knife. Her eyes were locked on the spilled intestines. Even after seeing countless corpses, her stomach still revolted at such sights. She found a Ripper and grimaced before picking it up with her muzzle.

“Swift! Run!” Key yelled and pulled at Fade’s foreleg.

Fade’s eyes went wide when Maverick snarled at them. A magic spark drew her attention back to the corpse. She recognized the bright shine of Key’s magic when she pulled the pins from the dead soldier’s plasma grenades.

Fade ran, following Key who was only a few feet before her. She forgot about her aching back. When the grenades erupted into a bright flash of various colors, she felt the heat wash over her and expected her coat to be set ablaze. But she just made it.

Key took the knife with her magic and activated the magic blade. She was about to cut through the metal wire connecting the cuffs, when Feather grabbed her. “Quick! Cut them open.”

Key struggled to hold the knife in her magic, while she cut the cuffs and the rope that bound Feather’s wings. The moment she was free, Feather fled.

“You first Key!” Fade said, ignoring that her mother left them alone.

Key hurried with her own cuffs and continued with Fades, but before she could free Fade’s wings, she looked at the wall behind her sister. Fade recognized the look in Key’s eyes whenever she followed the E.F.S. signal. No word was needed and both rushed down the alley.

Behind them, Maverick dug through the wall like an unstoppable force and continued his chase. Through the alley and across a street, they tried to follow Feather into a ruin. A huge explosion made them fall, hitting her chin on the hard asphalt road. She heard how the massive hellhound was thrown to the ground as well.

Before Fade could realize what caused the massive shockwave, an unbearable pain suddenly spread in her hindleg. Maverick was just in reach and bore one of his massive claws into her leg. She screamed and could only stare at the blood gushing out of her leg, already building a puddle.

The Ripper knife whizzed past Fade’s head and cut into Maverick’s face, barely missing the mutated eye. The pain getting more unbearable, Fade began kicking the hellhound with her uninjured leg until her hoof struck the eye Key just missed. The beast yowled and covered his face. Fade tried to pull her leg free, but the claws just cut it more open and dug deeper furrows into the bone.

Key yelled and rammed the knife into Maverick’s right arm, just under a PipBuck. Fade briefly saw that Key recognized it. The monster growled and let go of Fade’s leg. Finally free, Fade pushed through the pain and escaped into the house.

The massive horn of a cloudship rolled over the city, followed by the deafening bellow of one of its turrets. Fade just saw a pink blast piercing through the air before detonating into a massive, pink explosion. Fade felt the ground quake from the impact and soon a cloud of dust and debris swallowed everything around her.

Maverick fled. There were still fights going on and the diamond dogs were forced into small skirmishes with the Enclave. With the pegasi controlling the air and the diamond dogs moving through the earth, no side could gain the significant advantage. Amidst the noise, Fade heard her mother shouting from somewhere above.

Key helped Fade up a flight of stairs and into a room, where a medic was trying to protect an injured soldier from Feather. She aimed a sidearm at him but the medic was shielding him. The soldier was groaning in pain. A grazing shot removed parts of her face down to the bone.

When the doctor saw Fade stumbling into the room, bleeding heavily from her leg, the medic’s eyes filled with anger. “Put that weapon away or your daughter will bleed out!”

She already felt dizzy and collapsed on the dirty and moldy carpet. “Mom… please!” She looked at the medic, recognizing Doctor Pokey.

“Go away!” Feather yelled and struck the doctor’s face with her hoof. In the brief moment Pokey stumbled aside, Feather aimed the gun and shot the injured soldier, vaporizing the rest of his face. Then she aimed it at the medic. “Give us all your fucking medicine, Enclave bitch!”

“I’m not Enclave, you shite-hawk! Put that thing away!”

The energy pistol in Feather’s muzzle was wrapped in a magic glow, clicked and the ammunition box fell out. She turned around to see Key pointing the Ripper at her. The hellhound’s blood was still dripping from it.

“You don’t have the guts to kill me,” Feather said.

“Step away from the doctor.” Key levitated the knife closer.

Feather did and Pokey rushed to Fade. She took out a healing potion and poured it over the leg to quickly stop the bleeding.

“Is it bad?” Fade asked.

“No. Here, take this for the pain.” She produced a syringe from her medic bags.

Fade rammed it into her foreleg without hesitation and she immediately felt the pain in her entire body ebb away.

“I can’t do any more than this. I need the medicine for the others.”

“The fucking Enclave? Don’t you see how they treat you?” Fade asked.

Doctor Pokey shrugged. “I swore an oath and I don’t differentiate between a pony, zebra, diamond dog or shite-hawk.”

“Doc? Where should we go?” Fade asked.

“I don’t care. But I can send the Enclave on the wrong track.”

“Tell them we’re going South,” Fade planned, while her mind was swimming from the painkiller.

Pokey finished wrapping a bandage around the leg and poured more of the healing potion over it. “That’s all.” Pokey took something from her pocket and returned the Rainbow Dash toy pack to Fade. It left Fade speechless and without another word, Pokey jumped out the window and flew back into the battle outside.

Under the cover of the smoke and dust they managed to escape. Feather led them North. Fade didn’t question it and Key was busy helping her sister walk. Only after a few hours when they wandered through the outskirts of Quebit, Fade sat down.

“Mom… Where are you bringing us?”

“And why did you kill her?” Key shouted.

Feather stopped and glared at them. “Is that all you can offer? Stupid questions?”

“She was wounded! Why did you kill her?”

“Because these bastards let foals your age starve to death, because they weren’t useful enough to keep them alive!”

“I’m not a foal! Have you ever asked yourself how many foals you have killed by taking the food they needed? Or were you just telling yourself, they wouldn’t have survived anyway?”

Feather stomped to Key. “Listen! You grew up sheltered in a Stable. You don’t know anything about the wasteland out here! If I have to kill a pony to make Equestria a better place, then I will!”

“Including us?”

“Key. That’s enough.” Fade patted her back and she took deep breaths. “Mom… Why do we go north?”

“Because you, in your infinite wisdom, made us need to go to Orlov!” Feather’s eyes were filled with wrath.

Fade only shook her head. “Orlov? Mom, we are not going to Orlov.”

“But we have to. Because thanks to you, the Enclave will now keep my holodisk in a very secure place. We need a Vertibuck and enough crazy ponies and firepower to get it back!”

“Thanks to me? I tried to save your life, Mom!” Fade raised her voice, even though she was short of breath. “You said we have the coordinates for Killjoy!”

Feather stomped her hoof. “I told you to shut up, but you kept happily telling them that the disk is important! And instead of throwing it into the junk, the Enclave is now in possession of Killjoy!”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend to be stupid! The holodisk doesn’t lead to Killjoy! The holodisk is Killjoy!”

“Why didn’t you tell us!” Fade stood up, enraged. “You are so stupid, why didn’t you tell us?” Fade was close to tears. “Why are you not trusting us? What did we do to you that you didn’t tell us!”

“I have my reasons, but it doesn’t matter, because you just delivered the most powerful spell in Equestria to the Enclave! And now we need to go that forsaken place to find that PipBuck your trader friend wants—”

“What are your fucking reasons!?” Fade yelled, not caring if the Enclave could hear them.

“What difference would it make? It doesn’t make a difference now and it wouldn't have made a difference back then!”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference?” Fade’s voice grew dark. “I think I am beginning to understand. It wouldn’t have made a difference, like so many other things. Like it wouldn’t have made a difference if you would have told me that you are an O.I.A. agent twenty years ago. It wouldn’t have changed my decision to stay above the clouds and keep fighting. It wouldn’t have changed that I didn’t see you for twenty years!” Fade’s voice grew louder. “And it surely wouldn’t have changed a damn thing if Dad would have told us that he was a Shadowbolt!”

“Shut up!” Feather shouted and her voice cracked. “It is your fault that the Enclave has Killjoy now. If you would have kept your mouth shut, they would have only seen a scrambled mess of data and may have put it into some unguarded archive. But no. You are incapable of considering the big picture. Instead of thinking for the whole of Equestria you prefer to save your little sister that you don’t even know!”

“Oh, is this where we are now? Sacrificing our family to save Equestria?”

“Sometimes you have to sacrifice things to make the world a better place!”

“Did Dad tell you that?”

Feather remained quiet. Fade noticed Key in the corner of her eyes, who was sitting nearby. She sniffed and tried to hold back her tears. Fade sighed. “Good… I will help you to get the spell back. Not because I am okay with what you did. I am only helping you because I don’t want the Enclave to have Killjoy.”

Fade returned to Key and rubbed her back with a wing, even though the pain was slowly creeping back. “I’m sorry.”

Key nodded.

“Hey… Do you remember when you said that I am not your big sister?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know. But if you want me to be, you can still call me Swift.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Image of the Enemy - Fade gets + 20% to Speech when she talks with the Enclave.

Chapter 13: Unseen

“A hundred little lies are easier to believe than the obvious, world shattering truth.”

Every moment they weren’t walking west, Shibboleth sat down and listened to the Enclave. Midnight didn’t know what she learned. He didn’t want to ask. Every time he thought about her, his mind urged him to disengage. Not because of the irradiated metal splints. He thought himself of being a greater threat.

At times he looked at the murky reflection on the metal pieces he took from the warhead. He hoped to find his face. Instead he only saw the hole in his cheek and shattered teeth behind.. Sometimes he held the splints against his cheek and hoped they would grow together again. He hated the feeling that his appearance was finally catching up to how weak and frail his body felt.

As they followed the road they often came across points where old vehicles blocked the road. The hills and roads became steeper and steeper and sometimes it was easier to walk farther off of the highway. Skeletons were littering the roadside and the pink pony on the advertisement billboards for Lunaland looked as if she was amused by them.

After miles of wandering on the highway, Midnight stopped at the exit leading to Lunaland. It was clogged with so many vehicles that he couldn’t see the road anymore. The indoor amusement park promised protection. But for Midnight it promised answers.

“Edmareton is this way,” Shibboleth said after she realized that he had stopped.

“I know.”

“We have to get to Edmareton.”

He shook his head. “You want to get to Edmareton.”

Shibboleth turned around. “Beg pardon?”

“We will go to Lunaland.”

“Lunaland? My daughter is in danger and all you can think about is a carousel ride?” She shouted. “I didn’t drag you to that irradiated spot just so you can go to an amusement park!”

“I am not your fucking chess piece!”

Shibboleth stepped back, fear in her eyes. The rest of the air in Midnight’s lungs escaped his throat like a long growl. He turned down the highway to Lunaland and began climbing over the vehicles.

Midnight stomped ahead even though his damaged legs made it difficult to keep his balance on the uneven ground. Shibboleth was lagging behind, freezing from the cutting winds, which rushed through the valleys the highway was snaking through. Midnight didn’t mind them. All he was thinking about was to find something in Lunaland, even though he didn’t know what he was supposed to find.

He suddenly stopped. After he climbed on top of another cart, the road was descending into a dark tunnel. The entrance still bore the welcoming decoration of balloons, streamers and pictures of happy ponies. Their colors were slowly bleeding off, giving the impression of tears on the ponies’ faces. Above all of it, a billboard showed the pink colored Ministry Mare. Her appearance was mocked by wind and weather. Her smile was discolored by a yellow and green patina and her eyes were missing.

Midnight couldn’t shake off the feeling that the pink pony was still watching to make sure he was still a good pony. A good pony who was supposed to save others. When he looked back at Shibboleth to reconsider going to Lunaland, he only remembered how his body was tensing up from an urge of violence.

Midnight traveled into the dark tunnel. He was surprised to see the lights still working. Despite that, the tunnel was freezing and he felt the cold creeping into his body. The radiation from his splints did little to shake off the feeling. The pictures at the tunnel walls showed dozens of ponies enjoying candy, cold drinks and exciting rides. All of them were smiling like Midnight did. All of them were good ponies. All of them were fake.

A low rumbling noise suddenly echoed through the tunnel. They stopped and not too much later they heard cracking noises as well. They recognized them as gunfire, interrupted by a rare explosion. Lunaland was supposed to be abandoned. The carriages and skeletons reinforced that fact, but somepony was digging among the bones and woke something up.

Midnight continued on his way. When he moved around a long curve he saw the huge entrance to Lunaland. The gates, high enough that pegasi could fly in, were opened only partially. But the light from the park cut through the darkness like a knife. Through it Midnight saw the massive pink rocket, which he was sure was the actual Ministry hub.

In front of the door were three ponies. Midnight could only see their silhouettes, but he saw that they were armed.

It smelled like smoke. The sounds of the battle came from the park. Midnight crouched closer to the entrance and hid between the hundreds of vehicles occupying the huge parking lot around the hub. More often than not he found the remains of families cuddled up under blankets. “Dying peacefully and quietly. Not making any noise. Just like good ponies were supposed to do,” Midnight thought, remembering a sick feeling.

As he crouched closer, he eventually recognized their assault rifles and combat bardings. Dirty, but in a good shape. The Mandate was already here and Midnight asked himself what required Everlast’s army to fight here. But he forgot about his worries when he recognized one of the three soldiers. He still remembered the scruffy fur of Everlast’s little spy. Midnight wanted to have his rifle.

“You stay here.” Midnight whispered to Shibboleth.

“You are not going to go in there…?” She hissed, a warning clearly noticeable in her voice.

“Shut up.” He didn’t have time to argue with her.

“How do you even plan to get past three ponies without a weapon?”

“I will just do what Fade does.” He looked around, his attention going everywhere but the main entrance.

“How is that going to help?”

“By shutting up, being quiet and not being discovered!” Midnight hissed. “Make yourself useful and listen to Everlast’s radio.”

Midnight left her at the spot, slowly and carefully sneaking along the walls, looking for a different entrance. He remembered vaguely how the cannibal from Tall Tale talked about some logistic tunnels. At least Midnight didn’t have to fear him this time.

Amidst the public parking lot Midnight found a big area occupied by countless trucks and heavy transport carts. As he wandered among the looted trucks he came across a destroyed robot. It looked like a few rocks stacked on top of each other, propelled by sturdy tracks. But what bothered Midnight the most was that the top rock was bashed open and revealed a rotten brain inside. Not even the insects wanted to eat it.

He passed by the robotic corpse and soon Midnight found the entrance to the logistics tunnels. When he arrived at the first junction he knew he could never navigate the maze without a map. Occasional bursts of gunfire made him refrain from exploring the tunnels any further. The moment he found a set of stairs leading upwards, he decided to leave the tunnels before getting hopelessly lost in them.

He suddenly heard hooves behind him. Turning around quickly he expected Shibboleth, but no one was there. It made him leave the tunnels even faster. Climbing up the stairs he quickly found himself in a diner. The storage room and kitchen were plundered, but clean. It looked like they were never used. In the dining hall the menu still showed all kinds of hearty dishes, but every ingredient was replaced with candy. He moved through the room and found it in the same pristine shape as the kitchen. The only thing that surprised him were the shattered windows, but there was no glass on the floor.

Feverish colors were flooding into the store from outside the diner. Midnight got used to only seeing dull grays. Even his memories felt devoid of color, but now his senses were assaulted with bright colors and the constant noise of battle all around the park.

Something loud clattered back in the storage room. Midnight looked back, over the counters, and spied into the kitchen. Nothing was there but he knew something was toppling over dishes. He slowly backed out of the store, not letting the kitchen out of his sight. He noticed too late how close he was to the huge entrance to the park. In the corner of his eyes he noticed that the scruffy pony was staring at him.

“It’s the ghoul!” He yelled, alarming his companions.

Cursing his stupidity, Midnight ran back into the diner, jumping over the counter and searching for a different exit. Fleeing back into the maze of tunnels was no option. He needed to find a back door. Rushing through the kitchen, he fell over something, crashing muzzle-first against a shelf. He couldn’t see what he stumbled over, but he had no time to wonder about it. The three soldiers were already rushing into the building. He scrambled up onto his hooves, keeping his head low to not be seen, but his hoof steps on the naked tiles alerted them.

Just as Midnight rushed into the back rooms in the hopes of finding another exit he skittered to a halt. A robot, shaped like a huge sack of flour, wheeled out from another room. The decorative fabric was torn and revealed a tiny window to the robot’s interior. Inside was a brain, swimming in a white milk.

Midnight’s attention was quickly drawn to one of the many manipulator arms when it ignited a pilot flame. “Pinkie Pie will recognize me as the greatest of all friends, once I have dispatched these pesky… five… intruders!”

Bumping against the walls, the robot drove down the hallway and Midnight could only turn around to run back into the kitchen. One of the three ponies immediately opened fire at him. Midnight ducked into cover while the bullets pinged around him. Pans and other dishes were shattering to the floor and he found himself pinned.

The flour bot was approaching fast. “Die, naughty zebra scum!” The robot’s voice growled and it pointed its flame thrower at him.

“No! Wait!” Midnight shouted. “I was in Shattered Hoof. My arrest was processed here. Midnight Gambit! I’m a good pony!”

The robot stopped immediately and a tiny light blinked a few times. “Oh no!” The robot’s voice was calmer now. “Pinkie Pie would have been very sad if I—”

The ponies opened fire at the robot and it began to scream in rage. “You are bad ponies!” It shouted and turned to rush down between the isles of the kitchen. The pilot flame flickered and a massive billow of fire and hot vegetable oil sprayed into the dining room.

Midnight curled up briefly and he heard the three ponies shout and yell in panic. He didn’t look and just ran to finally get out of the diner. Rushing through the back rooms again, he finally found a door with a pink exit sign above.

Midnight rammed the door open and was blinded by the bright colors. He was in a small backyard, painted in glaring colors to make it look nice from the roller coaster overhead. In the middle and only a few feet away from Midnight was a spider-like robot, vacuuming the intestines out of a dead pony and polishing the bones.

“Good gracious, how many more corpses does a knight like me have to clean to make Pinkie Pie recognize me as the best friend!” The robot hollered and turned to Midnight. Without warning, the many appendages, armed with sharp cleaning implements, whizzed forward.

Midnight fell backwards, trying to crawl away and kicking the malfunctioning robot while its arms were cutting into Midnight’s dead flash and tearing at his meager clothes.

“You will no longer sully my park with your filth!” The round and plush covered chassis turned to Midnight, to bring the vacuum closer. Intestines were dangling from it.

“No! My name is Midnight Gambit! I was arrested here!”

“Filth can’t talk!” The robot brough the vacuum closer like it was a hungry maw.

Midnight growled when the urge for violence overcame him and he began kicking at the vacuum opening. After a few hits the robot backed off, blubbering strange noises. “Oh no. Pinkie Pie won’t be happy about yet another malfunction.”

In the brief moment, Midnight turned around and escaped back into the diner. Smoke was filling the kitchen and he stopped when he felt the heat from the grease fire. Behind him he heard the robot ordering him to stop, but Midnight slammed the door shut. Quickly the robot pulled and tore at it. The hinges squeaked and Midnight stared with fear in his eyes at the robot’s relentlessness. Without a weapon he’d rather face the fire and Everlast’s ponies.

As he rushed into the kitchen he heard the bot chasing him eerily fast on its thin legs. He felt the heat of the smoke surrounding him, singing his skin, but he didn’t stop. He searched for a place to hide in the kitchen, but the robot was just crawling over the aisles, always a few feet away and ultimately cornering him.

“Sir Lintsalot has truly never seen moving filth. But no matter what locomotion drives you forward, witness how I strike down—”

The robot began to shudder and a plush covered metal plate was torn off its hull.

“Only deceptive zebra scum shuns an honorable fight! Show y—”

The robot’s voice turned into garbled beeping noises when something tore at the brain inside. The white fluid was splashing out of the container as the robot shook, twisted and turned uncontrollably. Before it died, the vacuum reversed and blew the clogged up organs back into the kitchen. Midnight found himself covered in the gore when the robot came to a stop.

Above it the brain floated in the air, the white liquid running down a stump. A hoof.

“Look what you've done,” a voice said and Midnight pressed himself against the kitchen cabinets. The hoof threw the brain between Midnight’s legs. His mind could no longer conjure up any words as it was flooded with memories of repulsion and vomiting.

“They were happy!” The pony jumped off the robot and some magic flickered to adjust for the filth covering parts of the body. “I did something great in Tall Tale. They loved my food! They were happy!” He said. “And then you took it away!”

A knife was hurled into Midnight’s face, digging deep into his mouth, jaw and skull. Not feeling any pain, Midnight did the only thing he could imagine; He jumped away from the voice, hoping he wouldn’t crash into another knife.

A second blade glanced off the metal plates on his legs, but the force and momentum of his own body made him fall. Another hit cut open his back, almost severing the wing. He kicked backwards but hit nothing until he saw no other choice but to bite the brain and whirl it around in hopes the white milk would reveal his attacker.

It tasted like bile but Midnight saw a few white specks in the air. He hurled the lumpy piece of meat at it and the mad cook retreated to dodge it. In that brief Midnight got up, rushing through the kitchen and the smoke into the still burning dining room.

Before he could turn to the broken windows, a strong current of cold foam erupted into the diner and made him fall into the soot. Beneath the loud hissing noise of a huge fire extinguisher he heard another voice shouting praises to Pinkie. But he didn’t care. He wanted to get away, wanted to leave this madness.

Midnight tried to crawl out, slipping on the wet floor and foam dripping from his body. He eventually managed to emerge from the diner. He couldn’t see any of Everlast’s soldiers and his mind felt sluggish from the aggressive colors, constant gunshots all over the park and the smell of fire.

And in front of him one of the robots shaped like a pile of rocks was trying its best to extinguish the burning diner. It was cheering at its own attempt to save the building. Midnight was ready to leave but hesitated when he saw something in the air. A flying robot, shaped like a pink turnip, was approaching fast.

Without a warning it fired two darts into the other machine. The thick cables connected to the darts pulled tight. “Do not resist,” the turnip shaped robot said slowly. “You are under arrest for not being Pinkie’s best friend.”

“Don’t you see that I have fun fire fighting? I am Pinkie’s best friend!”

“She always liked me more than you!” The flying robot beeped and suddenly bright sparks erupted from the hooks.

The robot screamed and its arms were flailing wildly, spraying foam everywhere. The entire body twitched and contorted like it was a living creature being electrocuted. A loud pop made the top most rock burst and the brain alongside the boiling white liquid splattered out and over the path.

The flying bot detached the hooks and turned to Midnight. “Welcome back, Midnight Gambit. Your belongings are still held in our storage.” Without another word the robot floated away, soon curving when somepony opened fire at it.

“The old ghoul permitted me to kill you. He even asked for it.”

Midnight turned around. He searched for the cannibal, but couldn’t find him. The spell kept him invisible.

“But it looks like you have… some unexpected purpose. Now that we have to become friends, tell me… why is the old ghoul so… nostalgic about you?”

Midnight didn’t care to answer him. Instead he just rushed to the destroyed bot, surrounded by a thick layer of foam. His legs didn’t carry him as fast as he wished. Just when he wanted to climb on top of the robot, something heavy hit him and threw him right into the slippery foam. He looked to his hip and saw the hatchet deeply embedded into his side, splitting the cutie mark in two.

“Do you really think I am that stupid and would step into that sludge? You look really helpless without that sneaky bitch.” He laughed. “Tell me… what is her best part? Does her rump make a good steak? Or is she only good enough to be fucked?”

The cook stormed forward. Midnight only saw the foam parting from the heavy steps and then he felt the invisible force pushing him against the destroyed robot. A long blade cut into Midnight’s neck and he felt the tip grating over his spine.

In a violent urge, Midnight snapped madly, ignoring that the knife was cutting deeper into his cheek. He bit until his teeth got hold of an ear. The cannibal cried in pain, pushing the knife through Midnight’s flesh, while Midnight tore at the ear like a starving animal.

The ear became visible in Midnight’s mouth. The blood gushing from the cannibal’s wound allowed Midnight to briefly see his face. The cook couldn’t decide if he should hold the stump or wipe the blood from his face. Midnight pulled the knife from his muzzle, rushed forward and rammed the knife into the cannibal’s eye for the first time, a second time… a third time.

The urge for violence only grew until Midnight realized the taste of blood and sweaty fur on his tongue. “This is not like me.” He spat the ear out, his body shaking and he collapsed into the dirt and blood. He stared at the imprint of the invisible body in the foam. “This is not like me.”

Midnight retreated into the ruined kitchen and curled up on top of the demolished spider bot. He remained behind the cage of metallic legs and arms until the gunshots quietened down a bit.

He didn’t know when his mind was finally able to ignore the icky taste on his tongue. Thoughts about survival were slowly creeping back and made him believe he was actually alive. He realized that the three ponies didn’t return. Midnight was sure they were about to warn Everlast. However, he didn’t care. Instead his thought gravitated to the garish, pink rocket in the center of Lunaland.

He left the diner through the back exit, ignoring the carnage around him. He tried to move like Fade. Listening, hiding, waiting… waiting for an opportunity for violence. When he realized he was waiting to ambush a lone soldier who got lost in the chaos, Midnight retreated back into a small hiding spot.

He would no longer move like Fade. After all he was a good pony and the pink space rocket would prove it. After all, the turnip robot welcomed him. He must be a good pony. He knew it.

“Vmeste Za Mir,” he remembered. Like he remembered the protests, the confetti, pink cake, pink parties, pink streamers, pink overalls, pink hoof cuffs… the smell of blood and fire. Midnight shook his head. He would prove them wrong. He would prove Fade wrong. He was a good pony after all. Wasn’t he?

Eventually he arrived at the rocket. He couldn’t see the top of it and he didn’t want to try with the huge gash in his neck. Instead he just approached the wide, pink door. A pink terminal was embedded in the wall next to it. Its watchful sensors recognized Midnight from a few feet away. “Welcome back, Midnight Gambit! You have been a good pony for… error… days! Your personal belongings are still in the super-duper-securely-secure storage room! Follow the magenta line and you will also find a surprise!”

Midnight smiled. He wondered what the surprise was.

The door opened and invited him into the welcomingly pink interior of the Ministry Hub. Every shape he saw was round, inviting, comforting and was promising a fun filled future. He felt happy. True happiness, even though the ticklish feeling in his stomach was missing. It was true happiness nonetheless. Even the sight of the bones inside the entrance hall, scattered on the soft couches and pillows didn’t hamper the impression.

He ignored them and went straight to a vending machine, where he pressed the button to receive Pinkie Pie’s favorite drink. He waited but nothing happened. He pressed the button again and only realized now that the machine was empty. Midnight noticed a whirring noise behind him. Turning around he saw a small, flat robot cleaning the floor and polishing a skull. A small brain, suspended in white milk, was controlling it.

The happiness immediately disappeared.

“This is not like me.”

Following the magenta line he left behind the doll-house-like entrance hall. Below he found only pragmatic, rectangular shapes, but everything was covered in these gaudy pink colors. The walls were pink, bearing huge numbers and letters in a slightly darker pink to help navigate the immense storage hall. Shelves, lockers, boxes, crates and plastic bags bore variations of pinks and made the entire hall look like it was covered in confetti. Even the terminal, telling Midnight where to find his locker, had a pink screen.

He had to move to the E-File of shelves and wandered down the numbered rows until he reached Row 8. Each container was marked with a cutie mark, topped with a big red stamp saying Shattered Hoof. Some crates didn’t have a cutie mark. Only the stamp. He stopped by a plastic bag, containing nothing more than a zebra doll.

“Shattered Hoof was a good place,” Midnight lied to himself.

Eventually he stopped by a locker. It showed his cutie mark; A pawn surrounded by stars. The red stamp looked like a scar on it.

Midnight opened the locker but then he hesitated. He wanted to take a deep breath but couldn’t. He was unable to say if he only remembered the tightening sensation around his chest or if he really felt it. He didn’t know what to expect. Didn’t know if he wanted to know. He didn’t even know if he was in control when he opened the locker.

Inside he found stillness. Keys to a ruined house, spare change for vending machines and the wallet of a pony who wasn’t even alive anymore. Everything was wrapped in thin sheets of pink plastic. But in the back corner of the locker, he found a familiar shape, hidden in a massive plastic bag. Midnight recognized the familiar shape of a rifle. The proportions were always the same. He could even sense the weight of the handle and the barrel, understanding how this rifle must have felt off-balance for ponies unfamiliar with the zebra’s way of handling them.

The urge to hold something familiar made him take the bag. Attached to it, he found a waiver.

“By order of the O.I.A., this high caliber rifle has to be stored alongside the possessions of Midnight Gambit.”

He unwrapped the weapon and when his hooves brushed over the metal and hard synthetics, he recognized the feeling all too well. He turned the rifle and looked at the stock. It greeted him with a name he wished to never see again; Cicada.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Last Resort - Midnight Gets +20% on Melee when the situation forces him to use a knife.

Chapter 14: Rot

“A survivor told me that in the back of the mind resides what the world should not see. In the earth resides what was brought forth from these recesses. And all we can do to survive is to dig in the dirt.”

Orlov loomed in the distance. A sign was ordering ponies to turn around. It worried Fade that even the wasteland was warning them.

One day after their escape from Quebit, Fade and the others arrived in Orlov. They wanted to wait until the next morning but were forced to enter the city for supplies. They didn’t have any food and their clothes were nothing more than ragged sheets of cloth they found in the trash on their way out of the city. They didn’t know how Maverick was able to find them, but his presence made it clear that Everlast was hunting them. Orlov was probably the only place in Equestria where the hellhound wouldn’t chase them.

They ignored the warning signs. They had to.

“Let’s focus on the PipBuck for your trader friend,” Feather said and kept walking.

“Mom… We need to rest and find food. We haven’t eaten anything since—”

“We don’t have time for that, Fade. It’s your fault that the Enclave has Killjoy.”

“We can’t get Killjoy if we freeze or starve to death!” Fade pulled Key closer, who was shivering. The weather was calm but freezing. The setting sun in the west was painting Orlov in a serene, yellow light, but made its skyline appear like jagged teeth. “We are not alone, Mom. Key is with us.”

“Then find her a place to stay, while we go into the city.”

“You don’t mean that.” Fade’s voice went weak. “Are you so obsessed with Killjoy that you are willing to sacrifice Dad’s daughter to whatever killed Orlov?”

Feather glared at Fade and she immediately knew her mother’s answer.

“You have become disgusting.” Fade said. She kept Key close, closer than ever before.

Fade’s uneasiness grew with every house they were passing. The snow and shadows were hiding what happened in Orlov and what was still residing here. Every building around her was a black cutout, either scorched by balefire or drowned in the long shadows of the setting sun. The only color was the snow, drenched in a muddy yellow and burying the city under several feet of what felt like cold sand. Every aspect of the city shouted to leave and Fade wanted to.

But Feather was venturing deeper into the city, aiming for a crooked radio tower in the distance. Fade didn’t know how to stop her. Feather was ignoring fear, hunger and how the snow stung like needles against their hooves.

When nothing but a grayish blue remained of the sunset’s light, they arrived at a wide plaza with the crooked tower looming over them. The place was surrounded by buildings, both modern and old, unscathed by the weather and war. Only the most important buildings still retained their roofs, windows and decorative stucco. It was like they were frozen in time, covered only by snow and ash. The only trace that balefire raged in Orlov was the molten elephant statue with its trunk warped into a gross feeder organ.

Key moved closer to Fade, her eyes locked on the statue as if it could wake up at any moment, like the city around them. Fade wrapped a wing tightly around her sister’s back.

“Mom. Let us leave,” Fade said. “Please.”

“We are halfway through.”

“Please…”

Feather ignored her. “Stable-Tec is over there.”

Fade just held her sister and watched as her mother approached what looked like an office building. The Stable-Tec logo fell from the facade and was halfway buried in the snow; The signature shapes were still recognizable. The building’s main floor was buried in snow and Feather was searching for the entrance. Fade couldn’t find a window to climb into. All of them were sealed with metal shutters and steel bars.

The building next to it was even more so. Every window was welded shut with thick and ugly metal plates. Fade didn’t know its purpose, but she was sure it lost it during the war. It stuck out like a sore among the other buildings.

“Mom…” Fade said quietly. Too quiet for her mother to pick it up.

Feather stopped a few feet away from the massive sign. She waved them closer. “Here is an entrance. Turn on your E.F.S.”

Fade looked at the sun, just about to disappear behind the buildings.

Something dug a hole into the snow. A narrow pathway between the wall and the logo led down to the otherwise buried entrance. Key’s PipBuck didn’t detect any signals.

Fade gave her mother a final pleading look. Her body was shivering and she couldn’t say if it was the cold or fear. But Feather only looked down the pit, the dying sunlight too weak to illuminate it.

“You first,” Feather said to her.

Fade took the knife, activating the magic blade.

“No. You.” Feather nodded to Key.

Fade glared at her mother. She shook her head slowly and simply continued. Her body was pressed against the cold wall to crawl down into the pit. “Stay close and warn me,” Fade said and looked at her sister. Behind she saw the misshapen elephant statue, still guarding the plaza.

She slid down, and waited at the door… waiting for Key to say something. The silence forced her to creep into the darkness. The floor was sticky and the air smelled wet, like from a drowned animal. That moment the sun disappeared and left Fade in complete darkness. “K… Key?”

Fade felt her heart stopping when Key turned on the flashlight. She dialed it down to the lowest level. It wasn’t stronger than a small candle, emitting only a faint, white light, easy to snuff out. It barely pierced the darkness.

It was just enough light to reveal signs of a battle. The walls next to Fade were torn down to their steel plates by massive gunfire. A few feet away, two dead sentry turrets were still primed at the entrance. There were no corpses. Not even blood. Only bullet casings and a cold, greenish substance covering everything.

Key activated the mapping spell on her PipBuck, but to no avail. She stared at the display until Fade noticed it. The PipBuck just said that no data was available. Without any idea where to go, they entered the complex, past crushed furniture and through doors pushed open by a violent force. All around them on the floor, the walls and the debris they saw that pale, green film.

Key stopped and nudged Fade to get her attention. A notification was visible on the PipBuck’s display and it even showed hallways and rooms up to a few tens of feet away from them. All of them were behind a wall and belonged to a building marked as ‘Dr. Skreŝivatel Research And Student’s Hospital’. Fade wondered if that was the locked up building. She long lost the orientation in the dark corridors.

Feather didn’t give them time to contemplate their finding. She was sneaking down the hallway, picked by chance like all the others they took. At times they came across places where a battle took place. A few bullet holes in the wall, a mostly empty gun, but no sign of any pony getting injured or killed.

Eventually they reached a stairwell. A sign next to it explained what would be found on each level, but none of them could read the local language. There weren’t even symbols to help them navigate.

Feather carefully opened the door, making sure the hinges made not one single sound. The smell of wet fur began to spread, emanating from the darkness below. The concrete stairs were glistening from the strange substance. The smears were leading downwards.

Fade took a step away, slowly shaking her head. Feather sat down to grab Key’s foreleg. She worked on the PipBuck to write a note. “Workshops downstairs. Makes more sense.”

Fade shook her head again, pulling Key closer. Her eyes were pleading but Feather’s were that of a stranger.

Slowly but surely Feather was pushing Key to the stairwell. Fade couldn’t bear it. She moved past both, stepping into a thick layer of the cold secretion, feeling how it was squirming around her hoof. She looked back at Feather, this time, eyes no longer pleading. They were filled with violence and only her mind stopped her from lashing out.

Key’s light threw discomforting shadows on the walls. The pipes and cables at the walls and ceiling created impressions of thick webs. Fade looked back at the way they came, but there was only darkness. There was no noise. No signals. Nothing but creeping shadows.

Soon the hallways were cluttered with metal crates. Some thrown around. Some scattered and damaged, spilling PipBucks everywhere. It took Key minutes to carefully move them away with her magic to create a path. Each time her magic glowed, they thought they saw eyes in the distance, only to realize it was light reflected by the thin layer of ooze.

Behind their obstacle they found the wide doors to the storage room. They almost missed it. A sign, hastily written and glued to the wall, was made for the couriers from Tall Tale. Fade tried to ignore the memories of the cannibal.

Feather urged them forward again. Fade had the knife ready, but Key suddenly started clinging tightly to her, staring at something only visible to her E.F.S. Fade backed away from the door, but was stopped by Feather. She found the small energy pistol in reach of Feather’s muzzle and knew she would not let them leave.

“How far?” Fade whispered close to Key’s ear.

“At the edge. To the left.”

Fade could only nod and reached for the door handle.

“It’s big,” Key said.

Taking a deep breath, Fade pressed down the slimy handle, her ears twitching nervously at the slightest sound. With a click the door opened and the stench of wet corpses only grew. Her body tensed up and her throat began to hurt when she tried not to retch.

After Fade regained her composure, she asked for Key’s light. Together they slowly opened the door, shining the weak light to the left. All they found was a small room, the door to it closed and covered in a layer of sludge. Key was staring at it, trembling.

Fade stepped in further, listening for any sign of something moving. Sweat was running down her body, pulling the cold air into her coat. But whatever was in that tiny room, it was not moving.

Fade signaled Key and Feather to follow, guiding them slowly into the dark room. It was a huge hall, concealed by darkness. Key’s light revealed an office desk and behind it high shelves. Feather’s attention wandered to the folders and papers on the desk. When she couldn’t read them, she turned to the terminal next to them.

It took Fade a moment to realize what Feather planned when she took out the energy cell and knelt down to work on the terminal. Feather called Key closer to help her with the magic. The room around Fade grew dark when Key’s dim light disappeared behind the desk. Every time Fade heard the tiniest amount of noise, even the barely audible grating of the screw, she stared at that small room.

Minutes went by and eventually Feather covered the screen with her clothes. The terminal came to life. The gentle hum of the computer’s magical components was barely noticeable. She was sure that whatever was in the room won’t hear it.

The terminal emitted a small beep.

The silence that followed was quickly broken by something stirring in the small room. The door rattled and when Key’s light shone at it, the handle was slowly turning. Only when it snapped back, Fade went into motion. She crossed the short distance with silent but shaky steps. She held her breath and when the handle turned again, she pressed her hoof against it to stop it. But the force working on the handle pushed her hoof down.

Fade pushed her body against the door, her shoulder now blocking the handle, preventing the door from opening. The cold metal was pressed against the bones, pain flaring up. She heard the door creak, followed by a sudden bang against the door. She pressed her back against it, tears running down her cheeks as she desperately tried not to cry out in pain.

A sudden shock went through the door and the pressure on the door handle and Fade’s shoulder disappeared in an instant. Fade was shivering, not daring to look. She realized that the door was still closed, but like a frightened child she didn’t want to open her eyes. She only wished that Brave was here.

Something was squirming and stirring behind the door. Slowly she crawled away, each step more careful than the last. Her entire body was sweating in the cold basement and the clothes on her back were sticking to the flaked skin. Fade still heard the wet noises from the room when she reached the desk. Feather was already working on the terminal and the result of her search appeared after a moment.

“PipBuck - Scootaloo - ряд E, полка 1”

Key lifted her PipBuck to read a sign at the closest shelf. It read E8 and she looked down the tunnel made out of metal shelves and a devouring darkness. Feather removed the energy cell and began walking down the rank. Her careful and steady steps were another order for Key and Fade to follow.

The numbers of the shelving units trickled down one by one. Fade got dragged along, forced to follow Key’s light. There was no possibility to diverge from the march down the aisle. Only forward.

When they finally reached the last shelf, they began searching for the PipBuck. The urge to leave the place made them all let their guard down. Not too much longer and they would get what they need. And not too much longer they found it. Fade pulled the box out of the shelf, looking at it as if it would save their lives.

A loud clunk from where they came echoed through the hall and reverberated between the shelves and walls. All their eyes returned to the small room, now fully hidden in the darkness. They only heard the infernal noise when it broke through the door, followed by something spilling into the hall. Key’s light, too weak and faint to reach, was a glaring fire for whatever was down here with them.

When the stench of drowned corpses hit their noses and they heard the flood of shifting flesh rushing to them, they ran. They ran past the last shelving units and quickly reached a heavy steel door. Fade threw her weakened body against it to push it open. The hinges screamed, briefly drowning out the noise of something getting closer. They slipped inside and all of them pushed the door shut.

A short moment later something massive collided with the door. Fade pushed a nearby desk in front of the door. Tools and other things were falling from it, only enraging what was behind the door.

Feather and Key pushed a second workbench in front of the door. Another loud bang made them step away, ready to turn around and flee deeper into the complex. The thing on the other side tried the door handle and they all stared at the display of an uncanny intelligence.

Key turned up the light on her PipBuck. There was no need for hiding anymore and they heard the deep rumbles of other such things moving through the building. They were coming, drawn in by the noise.

They looked around and found themselves trapped. The metal door was the only entry. Searching for any exit they found the ceiling covered in pipes, cables and narrow ventilation shafts. Without a functioning mapping tool, they would only get lost in the labyrinth of these. The map!

“Key! Try to find an exit with your PipBuck. The sewers must be below us, just like in Stalliongrad!”

Key was shivering, unable to hold back tears, but she nodded and used her fickle magic to bring up the map. She stared at it, disbelief in her eyes and then at a wall. “The hospital is there!”

“That’s a very bad idea, Key!” Feather yelled and strained her body to hurl crates onto the desks. A massive bang against the steel door made the workbenches shift a few inches away. Feather struggled to push them back.

Fade tried to reinforce the barricades by grabbing onto another workbench. But she stopped when she noticed it had a similar appearance to something she saw in Tall Tale. Hope flared up in her eyes. A second bang made her hurry. She grabbed the plasma cutting workstation and pushed it towards the wall, no matter how much Feather protested.

“Mom! Shut up and give me your energy cell!” Fade kept pulling until the thick power cord was torn out of the workbench. Key joined her, straining her magic to reduce the weight of the plasma cutter as much as she could.

“Mom! The cell!” Fade shouted.

“No.”

“Give me the fucking cell!”

“Fade… Trust me, at least about this one. Any other path but that.”

Another attack of the thing made the entire hall shake. Key’s head darted around when her E.F.S. picked up a new signal for a brief second. With shivering wings Feather pulled the energy cell out of her rags. Fade quickly installed it and the workbench came to life, slowly heating up.

“You know what to do, right?” Key asked.

Fade shook her head. “Midnight only told me how to make it explode. There are a few valves we shouldn’t touch. That I remember.”

A more powerful attack pushed the door open by a few inches and the wet stench flooded the room. Feather tried to shut the door again, but she couldn’t move the workbenches on her own anymore.

Key grabbed a few tools with her magic and frantically began working on the machine, trying to free some kind of nozzle. “Turn on that valve!”

Fade crawled under the workbench, hesitating when she noticed that everything was labeled in the local language. She found a valve, looking similar to the one she saw in Tall Tale. She turned it only a few times, hoping it would create a steady stream of hot plasma instead of a violent explosion.

The machine came to life and Key yelped when the colorful gas sprayed out of the nozzle. For a brief moment she struggled to keep it under control with her magic and liquid plasma settled down on nearby desks. She aimed it at the wall to the hospital, causing the concrete to bubble violently. They held their breath when smoke filled with the room.

The old sprinkler system became active, showering them with cold and stagnant water. The rain was washing the smoke out of the air, but replacing it with hot steam where it hit the plasma. They couldn’t breathe.

With burning eyes, noses and mouths they escaped the heat. Fade felt her skin peeling from her back, merging with the damp fabric. She was sweating and freezing at the same time. Feather had to sacrifice her clothes to cover the hot concrete.

On the other side they had to stop. They were coughing, groaning, crying and retching from the gross smell all around them. They no longer cared about the sticky substance covering the floor inches deep. It was the smell that made them feel like drowning all over again.

Fade noticed huge glass cylinders around them, but there was no time to investigate. The plasma cutter was still spraying its contents and smoke began to billow from the hole. All she could do was grab Key and help her out of the room. The heat was becoming unbearable already.

They hurried out into a cold hallway. Feather closed the door to that strange room behind them, giving them a brief moment to rest. They sat down, not caring for the dry ooze covering the floor. Not even Feather urged them to move anymore. All she did was tightly hug the PipBuck.

It was quiet. They didn’t move until they heard the faint rummaging of these things out there.

Head Researcher
Management
Dr. Skreŝivatel

They didn’t know where to go. They followed the underground hallways, searching for stairs or anything that would lead them up and out of this place.

“Any signals?” Fade asked and Key shook her head. “Let’s take a peek. Maybe we need some keys or we can find a complete map.”

Feather tried to disagree, but Fade just entered the room, making sure the hinges wouldn’t make a noise. The inside of the office was ravaged. A thin layer of the substance told Fade that the creatures were in here too, knocking shelves over and pushing the desk against the wall. The only thing that survived its rage were the pictures on the wall.

They were showing various ponies in business suits. The only ones she recognized were two yellow stallions in blue and white striped suits. The owners of Hippocratic Research, even though she didn’t know their names. But all pictures featured the same mare. She assumed that it was the head researcher. Her lack of knowledge made her wonder how Feather was able to navigate all of this as an agent of the O.I.A.

“Is this Dad?” Key asked and levitated a picture in her magic.

Fade took the picture and sat down, examining it. It was him. The same familiar green eyes, filled with pride and bewilderment. He tried to hide his discomfort with a silly smile. “Where did you find it?”

“It was hidden in the desk.”

Fade noticed the same mare here too, but then her focus shifted to somepony else. Another stallion was to the right of her father. His coat was white, but with dark blue stripes. “He’s not a zebra. Mom, is this Blue Sky?”

“Yes. It’s him,” she said, grief in her voice.

Fade was disgusted by it. “You know him?” She was trying to hold back yet another wave of anger.

“No.”

“But you recognize him.”

“I don’t know him personally,” Feather turned away, pretending to search for things among the trashed furniture. “Why does it even matter to you?”

“It matters because you lied to Midnight.”

“What do you think would have happened if I told you everything in Tall Tale?” Feather said after a moment. “Don’t you think Midnight may have joined Everlast if he knew about a vague connection between the O.I.A., Killjoy and Blue Sky?”

“Shut up. He tried to kill Everlast.”

Feather stepped closer to Fade. “Midnight is grasping for straws to find Blue Sky. He is only with us to find him. He doesn’t care about us or Key. If Everlast is a greater promise—”

“Shut up. He’s not a traitor.”

“He isn’t? He betrayed Equestria once. And did you already forget that he told us to leave? You know very well that I did the right thing by keeping all of this a secret from him.”

“You are just cruel…”

“But it’s necessary.”

Feather urged them to keep going. The smell of smoke was slowly permeating the air and made the wet stench of carcass even more pungent. The hallways between laboratories and study rooms were a maze. Eventually they decided to follow pipes and cables along the ceiling until they found their way blocked by a thick blast door. The huge gate was plastered with warning signs, written in multiple languages, even zebra glyphs. The door was heavily smothered in the sticky substance, so much that dried ichor was hanging as thick strings from the spoke wheel to unlock the door.

“We’ll leave,” Feather said.

Fade didn’t listen to her. She approached the door, her mind focused on finding out what her father’s role was in this. There must be a reason why he was in the photo with that researcher. A reason for why he was celebrated as the Hero of Orlov. A reason why he never disclosed his true identity to her. And yet she was scared of what she would find. Fade looked back at Key and found the same dreadful expression in her tired eyes.

Without any help, Fade fought the old mechanism and slowly unsealed the massive door. Each turn made it squeal and the blast door opened inch by inch. A foul smell hit Fade’s nose. It was the sweet odor of death, but it burned like bleach.

The light of Key’s PipBuck shining into the room was reflected by dozens upon dozens of colored spheres. The shelves lining the sides looked like galaxies when the tiny stars inside the spheres began to sparkle. They looked like tiny souls, starved for attention.

But their attention was quickly drawn to something at the end of the room. A glass chamber, like the ones Fade saw earlier, was embedded between a cruel machine. The pod was filled with murky water and inside swam a creature. The sight filled them with horror, followed by pity when they realized that the creature inside didn’t deserve that.

The black carapace was no longer able to hold the shape in place. Over the years the stasis liquid turned sour and infected the remains of the creature. The mouth was wide agape when the bloated tongue and internal organs tried to escape through it. The chitin around the abdomen cracked open and was frozen in an explosion of intestines wrapped around an extraction machine. Fade couldn’t take her eyes off the stumps where thin wings once were. The horn was cut off and replaced with a memory recollector. Fade recognized the device, followed the cables and tubes leading to the shelves next to them.

They turned away in disgust. There was no comfort to be found. Their eyes fell on the labels on the shelves. The orbs were sorted into various categories. Other than Stable-Tec, the hospital offered translations, to accommodate for researchers from all over Equestria.

Fade rather wished there weren’t any translations. ‘Friendship, Love, Longing, Passion, Erotic, Teasing, Sex…’ Fade felt sick when she found a nutrition table referring to these categories.

“Is… this the queen of the changelings from our history books?” Key asked.

“No.” Fade lied.

“Did Dad capture her?”

“No.” Fade lied again and choked up. She wanted comfort, but Key couldn’t provide and Feather didn’t want to. The lie was the only comfort she could find, even if it meant lying to herself.

“Swift? This memory orb is different. It has a balloon imprint.” Key wrapped her magic around it. “Feels strangely heavy…”

The sudden dull thud of a memory orb falling on the concrete floor alerted Fade. When she turned around, she just saw Key collapsed on the floor, the magic of her horn still wrapped around a dark gray orb with a deep blue swirl inside.

Fade rushed to her, shaking her to make her wake up. “Fuck…” She picked up the orb and saw the Ministry of Morale’s stamp as well. She noticed how that one was almost opaque, compared to the more translucent orbs around her. Its colors appeared oddly familiar to her.

“Stupid brat.” Feather rushed to her.

“It was an accident. She never used one before.”

“I know… Just watch her and make sure she stays quiet.”

Fade noticed a sudden acrid smell in the air. She looked up and noticed plumes of smoke slowly drifting in the air. “Mom. We have to leave.”

“You carry her.” Feather stood up and made sure the PipBuck was secured to her clothes. “Move!”

Fade put the orb away and hurled Key onto her back, unable to ignore the pain. She groaned and whimpered with every breath and every step she took. The smokey air burned in her throat. They passed by a ventilation shaft and embers were drifting out of it. The noise of sprinkler systems activating in the distance echoed through the halls.

“Run!” Feather suddenly yelled.

Fade tried her best to keep up, but could not follow Feather’s mad gallop into the darkness. She didn’t understand why Feather would leave her behind. Then the smell of wet corpses hit her nose and the noise of bodies tumbling over each other filled her ears.

The pain in her body was forgotten. Fade didn’t look back. All she focused on was following Feather, rushing through the shaky light and chasing her through hot and foggy corridors. The air was burning in her throat and Fade struggled to breath. But she had to ignore it. She had to focus on running, chasing and flying!

Soon she was rushing through pools of cold water and through the rain from the sprinklers. They made the sound of the wet carcasses behind her appear louder. Feather suddenly banked hard right. She found a way up and out of the basement. Fade almost fell when she tried to get into the stairwell too.

Feather was already closing the door and Fade pushed through it at the last moment. The door shook when the thing collided against it. The handle began to move.

“Fade! Your knife!” Feather shouted and Fade gave it to her. She activated the blade and rammed it through the mechanism for the door. Something screeched on the other side; A noise that must not exist.

They rushed up the stairs. Every step to fight gravity made Fade’s legs hurt more, but each step filled her with hope. Up and up, higher like Feather told her minutes before the bombs fell. She ran past the first floor, water pooling from under the door. Past the second floor, the door glowing from the inferno behind. When they reached the third floor, the door to the basement burst open. A flood of wet flesh was crawling up the stairs, starving to swallow them.

They kept climbing, rising, yearning for an exit. Feather reached the last door, already cut open and removed from the hinges. Fade felt the rush of cold air choking her worn throat. When she exited the building on the roof, the snow stung like knives into her hooves. Her entire body began to shiver when the cold pierced through her wet coat.

She couldn’t find Feather anymore. She looked in every direction but all she saw was darkness or the glaring light of the fire. The Stable-Tec office was ablaze from the colorful plasma flames and it was spreading over to the hospital.

Fade tried to take off but the pain in her back and Key’s weight was too much for her body. Before long she realized she was trapped on the roof and then she heard a long screech from the stairwell.

She ran away from the fire and the writhing shape pouring through the door. Fade noticed the crooked radio tower in front of her. Just up… just higher, like the days when the bombs fell. She wouldn’t need to fly, only glide on the thermic updraft, like she did when Equestria still knew a sun.

When Fade reached the tower, the plasma fire was already gnawing on its foundation. The heat was waving up at her, threatening but promising escape. The tower swayed and made every step upwards more difficult. Key felt heavier with every second and soon Fade collapsed. The cold metal burned into her barely healed skin. Her back was covered in sweat and blood. She felt it trickling down her sides.

One more flight. Just one. With a last effort, she forced her tired legs up a few more steps. She stepped on the edge of the platform and spread her wings, balanced Key and her body. She waited for the hot winds to hit her and jumped.

The pain was immense. She felt her flight waver, but all she needed to do was to endure for only a few seconds. She only needed to get away from the building and over the sea of shapes rushing towards the fire. These things were squirming like maggots, yearning for the warmth of the fire, while the ones trapped in the building were pouring out like blood clots from windows and roofs. She couldn’t say if the colors came from the fire or from fur.

The seconds passed and for a brief moment Fade closed her eyes and allowed the wind to cool her body. Only for Key to open hers. Her sister began to scream and kick around in panic. Fade flapped her wings, only for her back to erupt in pain.

“Key! Stop! It’s me!”

Key already fell from Fade’s back.

In a split second everything was forgotten.

Orlov. Forgotten.

Her parents. Forgotten.

The pain. Forgotten.

She folded her wings, forelegs closed to her body, taking the shape of a tear. Fade barely saw her sister, but the silhouette and frantic light of the still shining PipBuck were enough. Fade got closer but approached the snowy roof below her. She wasn’t able to tell if she was still high enough. Key got closer. To her. To the ground.

She reached out, feeling Key’s tail, her hoof and then their bodies collided. She opened her wings, both tumbling down and down. Slower and slower but uncontrolled. Key and Fade were both fighting against the panic, one to gain control back over her body, the other to keep it.

The snow was rushing towards them and Fade closed her eyes, pressing Key against her. The impact was sudden, short and numb. There was no cold or warmth. Only a small light and a weak body breathing against hers. A weak body, whimpering, choking, crying. Fade couldn’t do anything else.

They survived.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Tenacious - Fade has to spend 50% fewer Action Points for moving with crippled limbs.

Chapter 15: Priorities

“The line between friendship and family becomes blurry when you have fought each other’s enemies.”

The small cleaning robot found its way to the storage hall and began to clean the dirty hoofprints Midnight left behind. A small display showed a happy smiley face. A perfect little pawn, believing itself to be a good robot. Midnight felt… no, he remembered disgust and hatred. He wanted his body to cramp up.

After what felt like hours he got up and explored the Ministry hub. He stopped by the kitchen. For a moment he wished he could still taste sugar and chocolate like before. He didn’t remember the taste, only that it was sweet. He only took flour from the pantry. In the security office he found a map of the logistics tunnels. Before he left the hub through them he looked back at the buzzing robot. He wished it good luck and left.

It took Midnight some time until he met with Shibboleth. She hid far away between a few carriage and observed the entrance. His mind was still trying to untangle what happened in Lunaland. He briefly looked at Shibboleth and saw the anger from being abandoned in her eyes. He sat down and unpacked the food. Shibboleth’s expression softened. She gave him a nod. No apology. No words to reconcile. Just a silent acknowledgement that their journey continues.

When they arrived in Edmareton a day later, snow and rain was wrapping them in a wet and freezing cold. Midnight’s damp clothes began to feel like rotten skin he wanted to tear off, hoping he would find himself underneath.

They approached the small town from the hills and hid among the scavenged ruins. Through the scope on his new rifle Midnight saw that Edmareton had suffered from a recent fight. The wall was breached and a few homes were destroyed. He believed he could smell the scent of plasma fire lingering in the air. However, Edmareton was preparing for the night as usual. Fires were kindled to shed light and provide the ability to cook meager food.

He searched for the Steel Rangers or the Enclave, but couldn’t find either of them. Instead he noticed that the local militia had new weapons. Assault rifles, heavy machine guns and he saw one soldier cleaning a rocket launcher. He didn’t see any of The Mandate’s troops, but he was sure they traded with them.

Carefully they approached the town, trying to mingle into a small group of scavengers. Midnight made sure that his wings weren’t visible. He pulled his clothing tightly around his muzzle to look like just another pony fighting off the cold. At least the weather would cover his smell.

In the town they were wary about anypony they saw. They quickly moved to the radio station and came by countless signs of the battle. Scorched and pierced sheet metal, dried blood gathering in corners the rain didn’t reach. Some buildings were completely destroyed. A wider spot was turned into a mass grave. Slimy worms were escaping the muddy ground, waiting until the rain was over to continue their feast.

When they reached the radio station, light was still shining through the many cracks in its walls. Shibboleth was excited to meet Phones again and trotted to the door. She knocked and waited.

The door opened and a confused, wary stallion looked at them. “Isn’t it a bit late to ask for service at the radio station?”

With their faces covered against the cold, the stranger didn’t recognize them. But Midnight did. He recognized Everlast’s advisor and felt the urge to grab his rifle.

“Is something wrong?” The advisor asked.

“No. We had a very long journey.” Midnight already stepped closer. “We have an urgent message. It would be kind if you let two strangers in.”

Shibboleth was perplexed by his sudden invasiveness.

Even the advisor was unsettled. “What is this message about? Who is it for?”

“It is for…” Midnight looked at him and pretended to think. “Do I know you by chance? Not personally, but… are you Vigil? You are Everlast’s guy, aren’t you?”

“How do you know that?”

“Whitehorse. I overheard it in Whitehorse. I was there when you arrived. My message is for Everlast. Maybe I should give it to you personally.”

“Don’t.” Shibboleth whispered, the realization of danger apparent in her eyes.

“Can we discuss this inside?” Midnight ignored her.

Vigil nodded and stepped aside. When Midnight entered the small shack he was at ease and feeling in charge, until he noticed that two ponies were staring at him from the radio room. One was Shibboleth’s friend. The other, Everlast’s scruffy spy.

“Your message must be of a very sensitive nature. Otherwise you would have radioed it.” Vigil gave a small nod to Shibboleth’s equipment. “Let’s take a seat and discuss this in private.” He opened the door to Phone’s quarters.

Midnight noticed that the spy was already tensing up and looking for his assault rifle. He remembered when fear tied up his throat. Slowly and while suppressing the urge to attack Vigil right now, he stepped into the room and sat down at the small table. He held his rifle close to his chest, the barrel resting at his shoulder.

Vigil took his place on the other seat. He revealed the shoulder holster with the pistol to Midnight. “You almost got me.”

“Beg pardon?”

“Gray coat, blue tail and a rifle.”

“I can’t follow. There are a lot of gray and blue ponies with a rifle.”

“Also with those eyes? How many of them are ghouls?” Vigil smiled. “And if you are going to say that this is just a very unfortunate circumstance, then explain to me why your companion carries radio equipment. I recommend that you cooperate.”

Midnight leaned towards Vigil. “I recommend you consider that my rifle is silenced.”

“And? How do you plan to shoot it without a harness?”

“Don’t underestimate me. There are many ways I can make you shut up.”

“No. Don’t underestimate me.” Vigil retorted. “We knew that you would come here. Our little spy hurried to arrive on time. Right now, my soldiers have surrounded the house and are ready to capture both of you.”

Midnight scoffed. “You could have never guessed that we would come here.”

“Then why did my guards let you into the village?”

Midnight didn’t know the answer.

Vigil smiled. “I am sure there is a tattered pair of wings under all these rags. If you don’t want me to cut them off, you really should cooperate.”

“Why should I?”

“You should know that I am not a pony who kills others easily. Everlast on the other hoof is much more… determined. And looking at your weapon, it was you who shot at Everlast, didn’t you?”

“I don’t see how that is relevant.”

Vigil rolled his eyes. “Well, if you surrender and let us take you and Shibboleth prisoner, I will guarantee that Everlast won’t kill you, like he did with the Shadowbolt.”

Midnight shrugged.

“We will treat you well. Also… Did you know that PipBucks work on hellhounds? The old geezer’s PipBuck still had the little one’s tag. If you want to see them again, surrender and just wait. Maverick is currently retrieving them.” Vigil chuckled when he saw Midnight’s eyes flaring up with worry.

Midnight leaned back and sighed. Slowly, he shook his head. “Huh… You’ve got me.” Midnight unveiled his face. Vigil wasn’t able to hide his repulsion when he saw the hole in Midnight’s cheek. He loosened his clothes to reveal his wings as well. Midnight then took the rifle and gave it to him. “As a sign of my surrender, I give this up. Take it.”

Vigil’s took the heavy rifle and he examined it. “It’s heavy. You shot with this? This rifle should have turned Everlast’s head into paste.”

Suddenly, Midnight jumped off his seat and rammed his body into Vigil. Both tumbled backwards, the mattress absorbing the noise of the impact. Midnight didn’t give him any chance to call for help and smashed his hoof on Vigil’s throat.

Vigil was gasping for air and trying to reach the gun with his muzzle. But Midnight drew the cannibal’s knife and pushed it into Vigil’s muzzle until the tip scraped over his throat.

“I told you I know more ways to shut you up.” Midnight said. “Listen closely, I know very well that not one of your soldiers is nearby. Only your little spy is in the other room and Shibboleth has more than enough reasons to finish what the robots in Lunaland weren’t able to do. So, do I have your attention?”

Vigil nodded, tears streaming from his eyes.

“If you don’t want me to cut off your legs, you should cooperate. Understood?”

Vigil nodded again and coughed up tiny splatters of blood.

“Then you should answer my questions.” Midnight pulled the knife out.

Vigil coughed, spitting and drooling blood onto the bed.

“Is it true what you said about Maverick? If you can track her, where is she now?”

“North!” Vigil groaned, fighting with the pain and blood in his throat. “They went north.”

“Bullshit. Where are they!” Midnight raised the knife again.

“It’s true! They went to Orlov for some reason. Don’t know if they entered, but Maverick is sure as heck not going there!” He spat more blood.

Midnight’s mind raced but he couldn’t find a reason. He looked at Vigil, who was still retching. He was worried the spy would hear them. “Next question. How does Everlast know about Operation Killjoy?”

“Killjoy?”

Midnight placed the blade’s edge on Vigil’s shoulder. “Listen. I never planned to come here and threaten you that way. But then you decided to play smart ass on me. The only reason why you are still alive is that I am a good pony… If you want me to stay one, stop pretending that I stuttered.”

“No! No need for that. I… I heard you clearly.”

“Then answer.”

Vigil briefly nodded and had to suppress another cough. “Everlast told me he learned about Killjoy from a memory orb. He found it in Canterlot and it was a hearing between some stallion and Princess Luna.”

“What stallion?”

“Some O.I.A. mongrel.” Vigil looked at the knife. “I don’t remember the name, but Everlast told me he had blue stripes. That guy told Princess Luna about some… Shadowbolt stuff.”

“Shadowbolt stuff?”

“Some investigations in Stalliongrad and Orlov. From what I know the Shadowbolts were all over the place when some O.I.A. ponies got arrested. Apparently somepony wanted to kill the princesses.”

“And Killjoy?” His voice grew dark.

“Killing the princesses is Killjoy, you idiot! That guy only got caught up in it because he did the paperwork for the arrested ponies. He said he found out afterwards, while the Shadowbolts were still investigating elsewhere. They made the arrests and got the evidence.”

“That doesn’t explain why you are looking for it. You just told me about a coup.”

“When the princesses are dead, Equestrian command would have gone elsewhere. Killjoy was to bypass that. Everlast looks for that.”

“How did it lead you to Stable Fifty-Four?”

“Because the Shadowbolts gathered the evidence, you idiot! It’s probably in some bunker, gathering dust because the zebras finished the job before the Shadowbolts could.”

Midnight lost focus when he tried to make sense of this. He had no doubts that the advisor was telling the truth. His version differed greatly from what Feather told them. Blue Sky wouldn’t tell a lie to the princess. He remembered anger when he realized that Feather was lying.

Midnight didn’t notice that the advisor was still coughing up blood. “That’s all I know. Will… will you let me live?”

Fade kept Key under her wing and both were only walking. They were silent; their hunger and the cold forgotten. But they couldn’t forget the noises. The horrible noises from those creatures, reminding Fade that they were once ponies. Like insects, those things were drawn to the light. But Fade was drawn into the cold, dark night. When they reached the outskirts, she still kept walking.

Feather found them eventually. She led them to a safe spot to sleep, but none of them were thinking about it. Instead they sat down in the cold, waiting for the sunrise. Fade was holding Key to keep her warm, while Feather kept the recovered PipBuck close to her chest.

As the time passed by, Key curled up more and more. She pressed her body against Fade, crying, covering her head with her forelegs. Fade wanted to comfort Key, but didn’t know how. Her wings didn’t want to move anymore. Her forelegs were covered in the stinking remains from Orlov.

She wished she knew how Key felt; How it was to be afraid of monsters and of the nightmares they would bring. But Fade’s nightmares were of necks being cut open. Of cradling wings going limp. Of hooves reaching out for mercy. “Why now?” Fade thought. “Why do they have to return now?”

The next morning, Feather led them southeast. Away from Orlov, away from Quebit, away from the cold. They didn’t know where to go and soon it no longer mattered. Dark snow storms were soon raging over the landscape. Stalliongrad’s winter grew harsher with every passing day.

Traveling without proper gear was impossible by noon. Whenever they stumbled across a ruin, they searched for anything that would protect them. Clothes and blankets were long gone. Fade gathered plastic bags and filled them with paper torn from books. She stopped when she came across a children’s book. “Daddy Guards The Starry Sky” it read. She looked at the pegasus soldier, drawn with crayons and standing on bright stars, looking down at sleeping foals at home. She couldn’t bring herself to tear it apart. She hid it from Feather, who was tearing up books herself. There was no need to burden her with memories.

At night Key screamed in terror. It tore Fade out of her own nightmares, always drawing her knife to fight what was attacking her sister. But it was only a nightmare. Every time she found Key curling up and covering her head with her forelegs. After a few hours passed Key turned on her PipBuck to study old maps and logs instead of sleeping.

At day they were surrounded by nothing but piercing snow. Fade and Feather had to gather around Key to follow the compass. Without it, they would simply disappear. They took small rests at any kind of shelter they found. They ate every morsel of food they got, even scratching the frozen remains out of empty cans. Fade wished they would come across a tree. The thought of a piece of bark made her stomach growl.

Fade didn’t know if it was the second or the third day, when she stopped at a speck of green amidst the gray snow. Squinting her eyes, she recognized the letters and smiled.

“Key. Look over there. Maybe there is something to eat.”

“Hm?” Key was absent, her eyes reddened by the lack of sleep.

“There. Do you remember the letters? Pere-something.” She pointed to the truck. “Let’s take a look.”

They all went to the truck, buried deep in the snow. It looked almost like a small hill. Together, they began to dig and it took them an hour until they were able to pull the cargo doors open. Fade wrinkled her nose from the smell of cold and rotten food. But the transporter was filled to the brim. For the first time since they fled from Orlov, Fade saw a tiny smile on Key’s muzzle.

Fade forced her way into the transporter, helping Key and Feather on top of the crates. They all rummaged through the boxes and pushed everything which was no longer edible out. They didn’t care about the cold sweeping into the truck. The moment they found the first can, the cold, the hunger and the nightmares were forgotten.

They had to bash open the cans with blunt force and shatter the frozen content into bite sized chunks. It didn’t help the hunger and the pieces were painfully cold, but they all smiled from the sweet and metallic taste in their mouths. Even Feather couldn’t hide her joy. They closed the door and took a long rest.

“Swift? What is this?” Key asked. She was distracting herself by examining all the rotten food. Feather was asleep, curled up and had covered herself from head to hoof in plastic wrap to stay warm.

“Hm? That’s… That looks like a kiwifruit.” Fade wanted Key to sleep, but she’d rather see her curious about rotten fruit than screaming in fear. “Better you put it away. It looks moldy.”

“What is a kiwifruit?”

Fade sat down. “It has a brown peel and green inside. It tastes… kind of sour.”

“And… what is this?” Key took another fruit, which was rock hard.

“Could be a lemon. Or a lime.” Fade wasn’t able to tell from the discolorations.

“How do they taste?”

“Extremely sour.”

“And this?” Key found a long and straight fruit. “What fruit is this?”

“That’s not a fruit. That’s a vegetable called a cucumber. It tastes… kind of sour?”

“I’ve never heard of these fruits. Our books in the Stable were only about apples and carrots. Why did ponies eat so many sour fruits?”

“They don’t only taste sour.” Fade’s voice dropped. “It’s… It’s that I haven’t eaten any of them in twenty years and I… kind of forgot how they taste, except sour.”

“I wouldn’t mind forgetting…”

“Forgetting what?”

Key didn’t answer and just looked at the box she was sitting on.

“Orlov?” Fade asked.

Key shook her head.

“Maverick?”

Again she shook her head.

“Is it about Dad?”

“No…”

Fade sighed. “You really need to sleep,” Fade tried to say with a calm voice, but she felt a raspy dryness in her throat. She recognized the signs of yet another sickness and tried to pull the rags closer around her neck. Her hoof bounced against the familiar weight of the memory orb from the hospital.

She took it out and looked at the dark blue swirl inside the gray sphere. Key was looking at the orb as well and Fade saw her shivering. The fear from the nightmare returned into Key’s eyes. There was a desperate urge to escape the memory orb.

Fade felt the same despair. She could protect Key from everything. From Everlast, Maverick and even Orlov. But she couldn’t protect her sister from something small like a memory.

A fever was weakening Fade’s body. Every breath was painful, no matter how many clothes she wrapped in front of her muzzle. On the third day they finally got out of the storm ridden areas of Equestria’s north. But the wind was still cold and every breath felt like a knife in Fade’s throat. Even eating was becoming too painful.

Around noon they turned to follow the old roads east. Edmareton was the only destination they could think of. When the snowfall cleared they found themselves exposed to a wide and open landscape. With nothing more than rusty pipes as weapons they felt vulnerable and naked. Should they ever encounter Maverick again, Fade’s only hope was that Key remembered the targeting spell on her PipBuck and was able to gouge an eye out.

When they were looking for a shelter to rest, they found a faint light in the distance. None of them wanted to approach at first, but they needed medicine. Every step made Fade sweat and Key struggled to read the display on the PipBuck. Fade wanted to sneak up on the traveler at first, but she had to stop when a coughing fit made it feel like her throat was being torn apart.

“Wait here,” Feather said. Fade thought she saw a hint of worry in her eyes before she left.

Feather returned a while later and gave them a small nod. It was safe.

Fade hated his smile. Not even in this dire situation had Tomcat dropped his obnoxious smile. And yet she felt thankful that Tomcat invited them into his small cart. The tarp kept most of the cold out and a spark battery was powering a heater. There wasn’t much room and Fade didn’t want to be so close to Feather and him. Key was leaning against her, struggling to stay awake in the tiny, but cozy shelter.

“Isn’t it dangerous to show your presence with a lantern?”

“Isn’t it a bit risky to attack ponies who show their presence with a lantern?” He laughed and placed their frozen cans on the heater.

“Not in my world.”

“But in Tomcat’s world it brings customers. It even brings his favorite customers. What happened to you? You look a bit… underequipped.”

Feather took out the PipBuck from Orlov. Tomcat recognized immediately that it was different from others. “Is this what Tomcat thinks it is? Can Tomcat see?”

Feather gave him the device and Tomcat examined it, turning it in his hooves and was already estimating the value of it. His smile grew with every second. “Tomcat sees what happened to you. Do you still want the engine?”

“Yes.” Fade nodded. “And we want you to bring it—”

“No.” Feather stopped her. ”We carry it ourselves.”

“Are you sure? Tomcat’s transportation fee may be high but thanks to the Antigravitalizer Tomcat can offer a discount.”

“You still owe me my fair share for delivering the thing to you,” Fade reminded him.

“We will not hire you to transport the engine!” Feather disagreed.

“Then take the engine and fuck off!” Fade yelled at her and coughed. Tomcat stopped smiling and only the hum of the radiator broke the silence. “He will transport the engine, no matter if you want it or not! I’m sick of your shit and your damn secretiveness. He is not our enemy.”

“How can we be sure that he won’t trade with the Enclave?” Feather said. “Do you think it is an accident that he is two, maybe three days away from Quebit? By now all of Equestria must have heard of the recent battle.”

“Smart as always,” Tomcat said. “Yes, Tomcat wanted to sell medicine in Quebit.”

“The Enclave too?” Feather asked.

“Tomcat is a trader.” Was all he said.

“Fuck it…” Fade grunted after she got her coughing back under control. “Tomcat, you need to bring the engine to a Ministry of Awesome hub nearby Stalliongrad.”

Feather glared at Fade. “Why did you tell him?”

“So you finally stop bitching about everything I do!”

“Fade, I just want you to think more about the future.”

“Then be a damn example and do it first!” Fade said and was already prepared for an argument. But all she got was a glimpse of doubt and… regret in Feather’s eyes. Fade sighed. “Tomcat… You owe us for the Anti… gravity device. That will pay for food, medicine, weapons and clothes for all three of us. Getting you the damn ShitBuck should pay for the transport.”

“Tomcat is not sure if the PipBuck covers the costs. Tomcat just left Stalliongrad and doubts that it makes up for the loss. Quebit needs a lot of medicine and Tomcat has a lot of medicine.”

Fade sighed. “I hate to say it but… the Ministry hub is untouched. From what we can tell the staff took what they could carry and fucked off before the bombs dropped. Is this enough?”

“How can you guarantee that?”

Fade sighed. Of course he was skeptical. To her surprise Key sat up and showed him the PipBuck. The map showed the location and the route they took from Stalliongrad. “Is this proof enough?”

“It is also sealed,” Fade said. “You not only get anything in the hub, but a few dead Shadowbolts as well. Heck, they even have toothpaste. Can we get some fucking medicine now?”

Tomcat’s cart was shaking and swaying all the way back to Stalliongrad. Fade’s sickness got worse with every day. But she didn’t take any of Tomcat’s expensive medicine so Key could get more of his sedatives. She slept, but even under the influence of the mind numbing drugs she squirmed and whimpered in her sleep.

When the cart came to a halt for the night, Fade only found herself in a dreamless and feverish sleep. Her new clothes were sweaty and she had lost track if they were ever changed or washed. In the same way she didn’t know for how many days they had been traveling. She couldn’t even tell dreams, memories and the present apart. It was like her body was caving in to the strain of the last weeks.

“A taser is all you’ll give me?” Fade felt she remembered her mother saying one evening.

“With all the medicine you need each day, Tomcat simply can’t give you a brand new energy rifle.”

“And it works against ghouls too?”

Fade opened her eyes. They felt like they were covered in slime. “Why do we need a taser?”

“Go back to sleep, Fade.”

“Is it about Midnight?”

“Of course not, Fade. Now go back to sleep.”

Fade believed she heard genuine care in her mother’s voice, yet she wished Shibboleth was here. Fade didn’t remember why she woke up in the first place. When Fade asked Feather about the taser the next morning, Feather answered that she must have dreamed it.

Days later they arrived at the Ministry Hub. The dark monolith was barely visible in the snow fall. Only Tomcat smiled at the sight of the riches it promised to him. But for Fade it was the promise that her long rest was over. She already felt Feather’s impatient eyes on her.

Fade’s head was spinning when she jumped out of the cart. She hurried through the snow and into the hub to open it up for the others. All she wanted was to sleep in a bed for once. Maybe it would also help Key to sleep. Last night Key didn’t want to take the sedatives anymore. She still remembered the nightmares.

Wandering through the installation she gave a wide berth around the pool that formed under the soldier hanging from the ceiling. Fade was disgusted that in the few days the Enclave had time, they hadn’t come back to recover the corpses. But she stopped when she came across the mare she fought. She looked at the corpse for a long time. Some hardy insects laid eggs in the spilled intestines. “Was this the day we grew apart?”

Fade had troubles focusing. It took her a long time to open the hangar gate to let Tomcat’s cart in. She took the extra time to turn on the heater in the small barracks and the water boiler for the showers.

Back in the hangar room, Fade found Feather and Tomcat discussing. She knew it was about the engine, but she didn’t care. She took Key and brought her to the barracks. The bunk beds were still cold and hard, but the air was slowly warming up. They were sitting down quietly, doing nothing but seeking comfort. Fade wanted to stay awake for Key, but the sickness was soon draining the last reserves of energy from her body. She was too tired to take a shower… she even forgot how it felt.

After Fade fell asleep, Key’s pained screams woke her up not even an hour later.

Fade felt hollow when she tried to comfort Key. For days she tried to calm her down and take the night terrors away, but in the end it was as pointless as hating the Enclave. No matter how many Fade killed, the Enclave persisted. No matter how often she hugged her sister, the nightmares returned.

In the green glow of the PipBuck Key looked barely alive. She was staring at the small screen, not caring about the information it displayed. Only a distraction and a desperate attempt to not fall asleep again.

It took Fade her best efforts to convince her sister to take a hot shower. They found towels and soap and Key found herself following the routine she knew from the Stable. Fade left her alone and took a shower herself. She tried to stay quiet and not whimper when she peeled off the cloth sticking to her back. Even under the shower and with the soap she smelled the stench of puss and dead skin.

After Fade plundered the baths for any kind of medicine to disinfect and bandage her back, she brought Key to the barracks. “Stay up for a while.” She hugged and wrapped a few blankets around her. “I need to get something from Tomcat.”

Tired and exhausted she visited him in the hangar. She found him looting and storing the corpses in a dry corner of the hangar. She saw in his eyes that he was guessing the value of every tiny piece of metal, every single tool and every cable inside the walls.

“Tomcat? Can we talk?” Her voice was rough but the hot shower helped her to regain a bit of it.

“Tomcat is always available for a little chat with his favorite customer.”

“Yeah…” Fade tried to hold back another cough. “Do you still have the… memory device?”

“The recollector? I have it. Do I need to remind you that even though the usefulness of a collector is limited, it certainly has its worth?”

“I brought you that… Anti-Thing.”

“The Antigravitalizer.” Tomcat said with a purr as if he enjoyed saying that word. “That is correct, but Tomcat already equipped all of you. There is nothing left for the memory recollector.”

“Actually, I don’t need to buy it. Can I borrow it?”

“Borrow? Tomcat has always had a distaste for credit givers and pawn brokers.”

“Listen. I brought you a lot of very valuable things. I risked my life for each of them. We even had to fight for this Hub.” She nodded to the dead Shadowbolts. “You can’t tell me that borrowing the Recollector would be too expensive.”

Tomcat frowned. “Are you saying Tomcat is unfair?”

“Yes. I am saying you are unfair. And you don’t want your favorite customer to feel unfairly treated, do you?”

Tomcat grinned and returned to his cart. He gave her the ugly device and Fade retreated into a corner of the hangar and put it on her head. When she took the gray and blue memory orb, she looked at the familiar colors and wondered why this one had such an intricate swirling pattern. All the others were like stars, but this one contained a galaxy made of silk.

The collector began to buzz and Fade prepared herself for what she may find. She was sure it was the memories of the changeling queen, drowning again and again in the stasis tank. Whatever it was, it must have been horrible. Her head began to hurt again when the buzzing noise felt like it was cracking open her skull to make reality swim away.

The smell of bleach and chlorine penetrated her clogged nose and made her head sting. Fade wasn’t sure if she was in a memory or not. She couldn’t say if the smell of day old sweat and grime was hers or from… whoever she was inside. Her eyes felt heavy, just like they felt in the real, waking world.

There was pain from the metallic table she was strapped on. The plastic binders were tight and forbade the tiniest movement of the legs. She wanted to look around but the pony’s gaze was locked at the ceiling and the dark spots on it. What happened in this room? What sick memory was this?

In the hope of finding comfort for the strained neck, her head lifted. She saw the body. A stallion. Gray fur and a pink suit. It was already losing its color from countless washing cycles. It was sticking to her coat like plastic skin. Was this Shattered Hoof?

She realized how the body was stricken by hunger and exhaustion. But her host met all of it with indifference. Fade wanted to get up, scream and get out of the memory before she had to live through every rumor she heard about Shattered Hoof. And these dark stains on the ceiling…

The door opened with screeching hinges. From the outside she heard the voices of other inmates, yelling and crying. A stallion entered the room. White fur and blue stripes were visible where the white suit didn’t cover his body. She recognized him.

“Blue?”

Fade’s mind stopped when she recognized Midnight’s voice. This wasn’t just any memory. It was his. Gray fur. Pink Suit. Shattered Hoof. Her mind cycled through the same words again and again.

“What are you doing here? Are you getting me out?” Midnight pleaded and hope filled his chest with a warmth, Fade hadn’t felt for a very long time.

A sad expression wandered over Blue Sky’s face, but was replaced by a resolute harshness in his eyes. A glimpse of victory fighting against compassion and regret.

“Yes.” He answered. “In six weeks you will be out.” The voice was deep and calming. He placed a hoof on Midnight’s.

“Why are you waiting that long? Why not now?” Midnight said.

Blue Sky didn’t answer. Instead two more ponies entered the room, their bodies hidden under white robes. One was small and stout, each movement sharp and penetrating. The other one, lanky, moved slowly, drawing out every motion.

“Who are they?”

Midnight didn’t get an answer. His heart was racing and his chest was tightening up. Blue Sky opened a small bag and took two items out. A memory orb, showing the three balloons of the Ministry or Morale and a holodisk in pristine condition. Fade recognized it as the same one they got from the salt mine.

“Blue? What is happening?”

“Please go outside and get familiar with these items. I need a word with him.” Blue ordered them. They left the room and even after they closed the door their presence was still there; Cutting… Patient…

“Blue. I thought you would get me out?”

“I will. But it won’t be as easy as signing a waiver.” Both of his hooves rested on Midnight’s foreleg. “I’ll get you out of here. But to do that, one thing must be done.”

“Who are these two?”

“Magicians. They work for the Ministry of Image and listen directly to the Ministry Mare. They are schooled in a kind of magic unlike any other.” Blue Sky’s words were heavy. “The procedure will be very painful. There will be no drugs or spells to reduce the pain. These two ponies will remove parts of your soul and imbue the items I gave them.”

“You are joking.”

Blue Sky shook his head. “Do you remember when I told you that when the war is over we will just be two friends like before?”

“Of course I do. That is why we tried to end the war. Our protests. Our fights. We are good ponies, no matter what they say. We are good ponies.” Fade felt fear but she didn’t know if it was Midnight’s or hers.

“Midnight…” Blue Sky turned his head and the compassion in his eyes was gone. Every worry, every hint of sadness and regret was replaced by a cold and calculating mechanism. “It was all a lie. What we fought for… it was never meant to end the war.”

“But so many of us were murdered.”

“And I gave the orders to murder them. Every setback was only there to turn you into… this. I didn’t make you a freedom fighter. I made you a terrorist. I made you kill ponies. I made you get arrested. I told them you were brainwashed by zebras and the Ministry took you in with glee to see if they could brainwash you again.”

“Stop saying this…”

“I will remove all these memories and hide them in a place where nopony will ever go. I will give them a blank slate, so they can turn you into a truly good pony.”

“Stop saying these things.” Midnight’s voice broke.

“You will move among them as my agent. They will believe you will be a good pony, but they will never realize that you are my pawn.”

“Stop saying these things…”

“I used you Midnight.”

“Stop! Stop saying these things!” Midnight shouted, his lungs and throat hurting.

Blue Sky jumped away from the outburst that made the operation table rattle. The binders cut deep into the flesh.

“This will be our winning streak, Midnight. You will forget everything I told you. And then we will be friends again.”

“You are not my friend. You are not my friend!” Midnight shouted, again and again and each time more of Blue Sky’s facade broke. Midnight fought against the table and tried to tear his hooves free. The plastic binders felt warm and slimy from blood. “You are not my friend!”

Blue Sky opened the door to the cell. “Come in. Begin with the procedure.”

“You are not my friend!” Midnight shouted until his throat burned and spittle ran over his lips.

“What have you done with him?” The smaller pony asked.

“He gave him something to hate,” the other one said slowly. “This will ease our work considerably.”

The memory orb and the holodisk were held in a magic field above Midnight, but his rage was directed at Blue Sky. He shouted again, his voice cracking and failing. Tears and snot running over his muzzle.

“He’s already bare.”

Magic began to weave around Midnight’s head and he simply froze. A tendril dug into him; Not into his body or mind. It exposed him… touched him… violated him. It wormed into Fade as well. She wanted to get out of this memory. She wanted to relive the first time she killed a pony. She wanted to relive the moment when she was a child and blamed her mother for her father’s death. She wanted to drown as the Changeling Queen in the murky solution in Orlov. Fade wanted to die instead of living through one more second of being touched like that.

A needle was inserted… shaping into a blade to cut… cut… and cut…

Chapter 17: Purpose

“At one point zebras and ponies were no longer able to function without each other. War became coexistence. Megaspells were the only way out of it.”

The flight was quiet. The humming engine helped Midnight to find a treacherous calmness. Feather was sitting only a few feet away at the hatch. He noticed that Feather had a new weapon. It was the first thing he noticed.

Shibboleth and Key were quiet as well. Key was sleeping. It was impossible to not notice how haggard she looked. Feather didn’t look much better but she was still somewhat steadfast.

Midnight’s biggest concern was about Fade. She was strapped tightly in a harness, which forwarded every one of her flaps, banks and motions to the Vertibuck. He never saw Fade fly a machine like this but it was clear how easy and intuitive it must be for her. But Fade was coughing every other moment and she couldn’t wear her thick clothes in order to fit into the harness. It was rather cold in the Vertibuck and Midnight remembered the scratching feeling of cold air in a sore throat.

Eventually Fade looked back into the passenger compartment. Midnight expected to see a glimmer of hope in her eyes. But the way she looked at him in particular… It worried him. Midnight saw a fear in her eyes, she had never shown before; Not in Tall Tale, Stalliongrad or even the saltmine. His urge to ask Feather about the photos was gone. Midnight decided to close his eyes and listen to nothing but the drone of the Vertibuck’s engine.

After two hours Fade landed the Vertibuck. It was on a clearing in the midst of a dead forest. Only a very few conifers managed to cling to life. Tall Tale was no longer visible. To the south, the cold Smokey Mountains were rising until their highest spires pierced through the thick cloud cover.

Fade coughed and remained in the harness for a while. Her body shivered and her throat burned with every breath. She heard the others getting up, stepping out of the Vertibuck to escape its tight confinements.

Fade looked out of the cockpit and guessed that it would take one more hour of flight to reach the point Feather wanted them to go. She hoped it was worth it and whatever they found there would help them with all of their problems. Or at least with making sense out of everything.

After a long moment Fade left the harness to leave the Vertibuck. Shibboleth sat with Key nearby the hatch. She wrapped most of her clothes around Key and tried to comfort her. When Shibboleth looked up, Fade saw in her eyes that she was holding them responsible for the hell Key was exposed to.

Fade didn’t know what to say and quietly left the Vertibuck. Feather was sitting at the cloud ship and Midnight stood some feet away. She realized how weak and broken his body appeared. She saw the bullet holes in his clothes, body and the metal splints around his legs. The piece of flesh torn out from his cheek and the huge gash in his cutie mark.

Midnight noticed her. Looking back his eyes were filled with dread, his face frozen from worry and an underlying rage. “Are you alright?” Midnight asked with a weak voice.

Fade looked at Feather who didn’t give them any attention. “No…” She took a deep breath, coughing and rubbing some snot from her nose. “I’m worried… scared of what comes next.”

“Why?”

Fade couldn’t answer. She heard Key sobbing. Shibboleth didn’t know what was wrong and Fade found her as lost as she was.

“Fade?”

She hesitated. “We… We found a memory orb.” Fade whispered. “It was… about Blue Sky. And you. He… did something terrifying.” Fade rubbed the tears away. She reached for her bags and took out the gray memory orb with the blue swirl. Midnight recognized the colors of his coat and mane from a time when there was still color in the world.

Midnight raged. He tore the recollector from his head and threw it away. Key hid behind Shibboleth. Fade was uncertain about why Feather had her rifle charged and after seeing Midnight’s fury she reached for her knife.

Midnight tore the bags off his body. It scared her how he dug into them, pulling out folders, opening them and pulling out the plastic pages with the photos. He tore them apart, scattering the shreds over the dead earth. But it didn’t help. He took a knife and stabbed what was left of them, until he collapsed over them, curling up into the shape of a broken pony. His body shook while his dry throat tried to wail, his lungs devoid of air.

Eventually Midnight reached for one picture. His head turned to Feather and his body was trembling, barely able to control the urge of violence. Fade didn’t recognize his eyes anymore. With his glare fixated on Feather he stood up and with a fast stride Midnight stomped towards her. When he crossed half the distance Feather planted her hooves firmly on the ground and aimed her rifle at him.

“Mom!” Fade yelled and rushed to grab the rifle and pull it away.

“Get off me!” Feather fought back while Midnight walked faster and faster until he ran. Seconds later he grabbed Feather by the collar and pushed her against the Vertibuck.

“Why didn’t you tell me!” He shouted into her face, his voice sounding like a raging animal. “Tell me!”

Fade tried to get between them, pushing Midnight away. She never thought that his body could unleash such strength.

“Tell me you fucking bitch!” Midnight pulled his hoof back, ready to strike… to crush Feather’s skull.

At that moment Fade wrapped her forelegs around Midnight’s neck. It took all her strength to pull him away. He fought back, even when they fell to the ground, but his rage was still directed at Feather.

In a sudden all motion came to a halt when Feather pointed her rifle at Midnight’s forehead. “You stop right there and don’t move one inch or I will shoot.”

He glared at Feather, ignoring the buzzing tip of the rifle. His body was still quivering, yet he found enough control to open his wing and drop the picture.

Fade immediately noticed the splash of purple and blue color. She recognized herself. And then she realized who was carrying her. “This can’t be. Mom? What does this mean?”

Feather was still aiming at Midnight. It was as if she was waiting for something.

“Mom! What is this?” Fade picked the picture up and showed it to Feather. “What is this? Why am I in this picture?”

“Answer or I’ll drag you to Shattered Hoof and take a look for myself!” Midnight shouted.

“Shut up!” Feather yelled. “I’ll answer, but only if Midnight gets away from me. Now!”

“Why should I?”

“Get away or I will shoot.” The energy rifle crackled around the tip.

“You better not even think about it.” Fade reached for her knife.

“I have a very valid reason to be concerned about my security around Midnight. Step away and I will explain.”

Midnight glared at Feather and ultimately stepped away. It took him everything to keep calm, but his eyes were still filled with violence. “Talk.”

Feather kept her rifle primed at him. “The reason why I didn’t tell you anything about my relation towards the O.I.A. and its agents is that Midnight may be a sleeper agent, programmed by the Ministry of Morale.”

Fade scoffed. “Do you really believe we would buy that bullshit? After all the other crap you told us?”

“Look at him!” Feather shouted. “A terrorist who can’t even accept the truth when it’s right in front of him? Always talking about how good of a pony he is, how good the Ministry of Morale was! Do you think that is normal?”

“Stop this crap! Why? Out of all the millions of ponies, why is Midnight a sleeper agent? Do you think we are that stupid?”

“Yes! You are that stupid! Midnight is part of Killjoy!” Feather adjusted her stance, making sure her weapon was still aimed at Midnight. “And I do know Blue Sky.”

Midnight and Fade were staring at her, unable to believe it. Her eyes were fixated on Midnight, showing that she would shoot without hesitation.

“I tried to hint at it. I tried to find out if that programming was there,” Feather said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Fade asked.

“Because there was the risk that he may try to kill you as well.”

“Why do you believe I am a sleeper agent?” Midnight asked, his voice still shaking from the anger he tried to suppress.

“We waited for your release. But… you didn’t act as planned. You didn’t return to Lunaland to get your things. Your rifle. Instead you… went to the next Ministry of Wartime Hub and applied for a job as a Terminal technician. The risk was too high.”

“Why was Blue Sky in Shattered Hoof?”

“You know… All he told me was that he would get you out. I don’t even know what’s on that memory orb.”

“Well, I'll tell you, Mom. Your fucking O.I.A. friend tore Midnight’s soul out!”

“Shut up, Fade! I don’t know all the details! You know… I don’t even know what the side hustle with Stalliongrad was about.”

“He killed my friends and you call it a side hustle?” Midnight’s voice grew louder.

“I don’t know! You know… He kept things secret from me as well! Don’t even ask about the balefire eggs or how they are related to Killjoy, if at all!”

“Then why did you show me the hideout?”

“As I said… I needed to find out if the programming was there. Your reaction wasn’t very encouraging to tell you the truth.”

Midnight could no longer stand. His legs gave way and he sank to the floor, pressing his forelegs against his head. “Why? What for?”

“Yes. What is the fucking plan!” Fade said.

“Blue Sky wanted to use the spell through a Crusader Maneframe. It would have opened every seal in Equestria. Including… Megaspells. We wouldn’t have done anything else. In that chaos, Blue Sky would have approached the Princesses and would inform them what he found out. He would make it clear that this spell was just a test and that the true threat would be if the zebras manage to turn a simple lockpicking spell into… a killing agent.”

“Why?” Fade asked.

“To make them surrender.”

“And what if they would have decided to perform the first strike as an answer?”

“Then, Blue Sky would have told the truth.”

Midnight sat up. “So, where is Killjoy? Smokey Mountains?”

“No… The Crusader Maneframe is in the Smokey Mountains. Killjoy… Fade lost Killjoy to the Enclave.”

“What do you mean?” Midnight tried to understand.

“When the Enclave captured us, they got the holodisk and now we need to get it back… And I already have a plan.” Feather began to explain. “You know… I don’t know what the full purpose of your peace activist group was. I can only guess that Blue Sky used your friends as a way to smuggle zebra weapons into Equestria, including balefire bombs. I am sure they are still in his office in Vanhoover. After he stole them from the Shadowbolts, they didn’t have enough time to retrieve them.”

“You want us to fly to Vanhoover?” Fade asked.

“If we have to attack the Enclave, we need all the firepower we can get. I know Blue Sky was in his office when the bombs fell. With the Vertibuck we may get to the office and if there is one place that knows everything about Killjoy, it is there.”

A few minutes later they were back in the air. Fade saw that Key was asleep and she wondered if it was thanks to her mother’s comfort or that she simply got used to the nightmares. Much like Fade got used to the violence and the killing.

When she looked back, she found Midnight was sitting at the hatch. He held the rifle close in his hooves the same way a zebra would. She no longer saw the idealistic and patient ghoul. No. She only saw a pony who was made to get used to violence and killing. Feather sat across from him, a mirror image of Midnight. Fade wondered when she got used to the killing.

After an hour, the flight began to take a toll on Fade. The mountains kept rising and Fade had to flap harder to gain altitude. The jagged mountains below were bare of life. The balefire winter killed off conifer forests surrounding the Smokey Mountain range. The peaks were covered in thick snow and Fade thought that it had a sickly sheen of radiation.

“The ragged mountain there. That’s our goal.” Feather said and pointed to a massive mountain with its peak piercing through the clouds. “Try to find a place to land below the cover.”

When Fade reached the mountain she felt feverish. Her head began to hurt as she fought to keep up the altitude. It required heavy wing beats for Fade to reach a plateau, rather close to the clouds. The landing was harsh and when Fade could finally rest her aching wings she realized that she was sweating.

Midnight opened the hatch and together they disembarked onto the pathway to the peak. The wind was tearing at their clothes. Shibboleth put her thick jacket over Key and tried to shield her daughter with her body. Feather was struggling with the cold as well, but she kept going and eventually walked at the front. Fade wondered what it was that kept her mother going.

Following the path, they soon moved through the clouds. Fade soon felt too weak to push them aside. The dark gray clouds took all visibility. It required Feather’s lead along the ragged rock to get them through. The vapor from the clouds drenched their clothes. Midnight felt frost forming on his body.

After they moved past the cloud layer, the blue sky was blinding. The sun was standing high and they felt its warmth on their coats.

“Look, Key. The sky.” Shibboleth smiled, even though the bright light hurt her eyes.

“I know,” Key answered. “I have seen it already.”

Shibboleth had no time to react to her daughter’s indifference. Feather was urging them to keep going. The path was curving around the cliff. Passing by another bend, they found themselves in front of a massive cave entrance. Fade and Midnight dreaded the secrets it may hold.

But Feather already stepped forward. “Key. I would prefer to have your E.F.S. with me.”

“Are you expecting something in there?” Shibboleth asked.

“You know… I just want to be sure.”

“I’ll take the lead then.” Fade made sure she could grab her knife quickly and carefully took the first steps into the cave. Key turned on both the flashlight and the E.F.S. Shibboleth remained at her side. Midnight and Feather went last with their rifles ready.

Fade walked quietly, even though she heard the hoof steps of her friends. The air in the cave was cold but at least they were now protected from the wind. The path through the cave was more akin to the wide hallways of a majestic palace and their steps echoed through the darkness.

Key suddenly stopped. “There is something there.”

A long growl resounded from the darkness. “You were not invited. Leave.”

Shibboleth pulled Key against her, already taking steps backward. Fade stood nearby, ready to draw her knife and Midnight held the rifle in his hooves.

But Feather stepped forward. “We are looking for something!”

“I said leave!” The voice boomed, followed by a gush of blindingly bright, green fire.

Shibboleth pulled Key behind her. “Feather! Let us not anger the dragon!”

“Mom! Wait!” Key protested. “He’s yellow. He’s yellow on my E.F.S.!”

From the cave came a long and deep sigh and growl. “I hate E.F.S. What are you doing here?”

“We are looking for a Crusader Maneframe.” Feather said.

“There is no Maneframe here.”

“I have very reliable information that there is one here.”

A small green flame erupted and its light revealed a scaly snout. “Your… information is not reliable in that case. I have lived here for a long time and if there was a Maneframe, I would know about it.”

“Maybe there is another cave,” Fade said quietly.

“No. It is here. I am sure of it.”

“How can you be sure?” Fade whispered.

“What are you whispering about?” The dragon asked.

“I’m trying to convince her to stop bothering you.” Fade answered and tugged at Feather’s clothes. “Let’s go. It’s not worth annoying a dragon.”

“Fade, stop it!” Feather pulled away. “Listen, dragon! I know for certain that there is a Crusader Maneframe in this cave. We need access to it. We know about a Megaspell which can unlock every Ministry hub, every military vault, every building and every crate somehow related to the government. We can even gain access to the weather control towers and open the sky after twenty years of Enclave mismanagement!”

They were all silent while the dragon contemplated her words. Eventually he stepped out of the darkness. He towered many feet above Maverick, yet he appeared small in the massive cave. His purple scales appeared as ragged as the rock around him and certainly as hard. “I can assure you, there is no Maneframe here. It may be somewhere else in these mountains. We can talk about it, but I want this thing to leave my cave first.” He said and nodded to Midnight. “I can’t bear its stench.”

“His name is Midnight,” Fade said. “And it is not his fault that he became a ghoul.”

“I don’t blame it for existing. But I will blame all of you if you won’t respect my wish to no longer have that constant reminder around me of what the zebras did. You should be smart enough to understand that the reek of corrupted dragon fire is something I don’t want in my cave. Now make it leave!”

“His name is still Midnight, dragon,” Fade said.

“And my name is not ‘dragon’.”

“I understand,” Midnight interrupted. “We didn’t know you were living here.” He turned around and retreated to the entrance of the cave.

“Can we talk about the Maneframe?” Feather grew impatient.

“No. There is no Maneframe here and I don’t want to discuss this any further. I like that you are trying to achieve something good, but this is not the right place.”

“Why are you trying to hide it?”

“Mom. Stop.” Fade stepped in front of her. “Let me try to talk to him. Please.”

Feather sighed and gave her only a brief nod.

“Mr. Dragon… We will not bother you about the Maneframe anymore. But we really need to find it for the sake of Equestria. Can we ask for something else?”

The dragon nodded.

“We… We are hungry, sick and lack clothes. Our current shelter is a small Vertibuck. We can’t cook, or properly sleep in it. Heck, we can’t even take proper care of ourselves. Can we use the cave as a base while we search for the Maneframe?”

“You will find better shelter at the foot of the mountains. There is an old hut in the forest not too far away. It could still be intact.”

“Maybe there is something we can help you with in exchange to stay here?” Fade tried her best to convince the dragon. “We really need a safe place to rest and a point from where we could search for the Maneframe without climbing the mountains all the time.”

The dragon thought about it. “Does somepony among you know, by chance, how to maintain a terminal?”

Midnight slowly raised his hoof.

“Well then…” the dragon grumbled.

The dragon certainly wasn’t happy that Midnight worked on the Terminal. He brought the device to the entrance just to make sure that Midnight stood there. In return he allowed the others to seek shelter a bit further inside.

After the others put down their gear, Fade wrapped her clothes tighter to head down to the Vertibuck. On the way out, she got stopped by Shibboleth. “Where are you going?”

“Getting a few things to make a fire. Food and some more blankets.”

“No. You stay up here. Watch over Key and take some rest.”

“It is just a short walk, Shib.”

“A short walk, after you already flew from Stalliongrad, to Tall Tale and up the mountain only to discuss with a dragon? You did enough for today.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“No. You look horrible. You are deprived of sleep, malnourished and I spent enough winters in this area to know what pneumonia looks like.”

“I don’t have pneumonia.”

“Maybe not yet and I am not taking the risk. You stay up here. No back talk!”

Fade sighed. “Alright, ‘Mom’.”

“Now go to Key.”

Fade smiled about the small small distraction. It lasted only until she noticed how Key curled up against the cold cave wall. She sat down next to her and allowed Key to seek some warmth and comfort.

Fade kept her sister in a warm hug. She tried to stay awake but her eyes felt heavy. She watched the activities of the others. Shibboleth and her mother left the cave for the Vertibuck and Midnight inspected the terminal in the light of the sun.

Even though he was deep in his work, Fade noticed that something was missing in his eyes. Something that made him look alive. She closed her eyes to not trouble her mind with anything else. The burning feeling in her chest was worrying her. She knew that Shibboleth was right.

Midnight didn’t pay any attention to the stars above him. He was focused on the memory orb in his hooves. It felt strangely heavy in them and somehow familiar. Most of his past was locked up in it. The only remaining things he knew for a fact was his name and his cutie mark. He forgot how he gained it. Everything was taken or warped by Blue Sky and the Ministry of Morale. He wasn’t even sure how much Feather and Fade changed him. He wasn’t sure if he was a good pony or if he ever could be one.

“We have a problem!” Shibboleth suddenly called from the cave. Midnight turned around and she was working on her radio equipment. The others woke up, nervous and scared. Slowly gathering around her. “Everlast is on the way here. He even ordered reinforcement from Whitehorse.”

“What? Do we have to leave?” Fade asked.

“If we leave, then to Vanhoover,” Feather said. “We must not leave Killjoy in the Enclave’s hooves.”

Fade shook her head. “No. We can’t take Shibboleth and Key to that place.”

“Then they stay here and we pick them up after we return.”

Fade shook her head. “No, Mom. What if something worse happens. We can not ask the dragon to protect them.” Fade coughed and felt how the sudden urgency wasn’t doing her fever any good.

“Then they have to go south.”

“And how far south? Maverick has Brave’s PipBuck,” Midnight said. “They can track her anywhere she goes. We have to find a safe place for Key and then… then we can take care of Killjoy.”

Feather groaned. “Why are you all making it so difficult?”

“Why? You want to know why?” Fade spoke up, even if her throat hurt more. “Because Key and Shib are our family. They are everything that Dad left us.”

“They are your family, Fade. My family ends with Brave and you.” Feather sighed. “Fade, sometimes you have to make a sacrifice for the betterment of Equestria.”

“Oh… Is that something you learned from Blue Sky?” Midnight felt an urge of violence stirring in him.

Feather nodded. “Yes and he is right! Even though—”

Midnight’s throat let out a feral growl when he suddenly stormed at Feather. His frail body crashed into her side and she fell to the ground. Midnight reared up, ready to bring his hooves down on her face.

Shibboleth’s magic aura wrapped around Midnight’s neck and pulled him away. Fade stormed at him and forced her weakened body through the pain to grab Midnight to bring him to the floor.

“Fucking bitch!” He yelled and fought against Fade’s grip. “After all… after all he did to me.. you still defend him?” He was barely able to contain his anger. His body was shaking and his legs twitched as if he lost control. “Where was the betterment of Equestria in killing my friends? Where was it better for Equestria to dump me into Shattered hoof? Answer me!”

“Quiet!” The dragon roared up, his voice now carrying a threatening tone. “You leave my cave!” He pointed his sharp claw at Midnight. “Now!”

Midnight fought himself free from Fade’s weak grip. He growled at the dragon before he turned around to leave.

“And for the rest of you… You stop this right now and you will find a way to make sure that this Everlast won’t come to this place. If I hear you arguing one more time, you all will go!”

After hours of discussion Fade went to Midnight. She saw rage in his eyes. Fade hesitated to approach him on the last feet. He often sat alone to look into the distance or maintain his equipment. He always looked alive, reacting to the tiny motions and sounds around him. But now he appeared indifferent and motionless.

“Midnight?” Fade whispered. After hours of talking her voice had completely disappeared. He didn’t react. “Can I… tell you what we found out.”

“Yes.” The brief answer was only a noise. Fade regretted having shown the memory orb to him. It was as if the memory took the rest of his soul.

“Everlast will probably need two days here. We… We talked about every possibility but… didn’t find a solution. Do you have any ideas?”

Midnight remained still. “The dragon mentioned a cabin.” He said after a while of thinking. “Shibboleth can call the Steel Rangers and say we are there.”

“The Rangers? Why?”

“They will take care of Everlast.”

Fade noticed something in Midnight’s eyes. A vivid mindfulness as if he was moving mental figures over a board. “What about your brother?”

“Don’t worry about my brother. He is only a pawn. One of us will die first.”

“How can you say that?”

“He tried to kill me. He knew I was on the bridge and he didn’t tell his Rangers to stop. He wanted to see me dead. There is no way to… for us to heal.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Frenzy - Midnight deals +2 Damage for every spent Action Point.

New Perk: Common Cause - Fade gets +20% on Speech when she tries to convince others to help her.

Chapter 18: Escalation

“What we can learn from the war is that eventually ponies and zebras worked together to end it.”

Shibboleth sent the message to the Steel Rangers. Their concerns were about the time and not that they lured Midnight’s brother into a trap. Feather wanted to embark immediately, but Shibboleth disagreed until they were arguing again. Fade didn’t know what they were fighting about and Midnight didn’t care. He was only staring at the memory orb. The dragon’s angry growl eventually made Shibboleth and Feather stop fighting.

At the end, they decided to rest for one more day. The flight to Vanhoover, followed by Quebit and the return to the Smokey Mountains would take less than a day. They needed Fade to be able to fly. Shibboleth, most of all, insisted for her to rest.

When Midnight managed to pull his mind free of the memory orb, he worked on the dragon’s terminal. Key only dared to maintain it when Midnight wasn’t nearby. Feather found solace in harvesting clouds for the Vertibuck’s water reservoir. Shibboleth was listening to the radio, obsessing about what would happen at the foothills of the Smokey Mountains when Everlast’s ponies meet head on with the Steel Rangers.

But Fade wasn’t able to focus on any of it. In her fever stricken dreams she remembered the game of chess she played so long ago with Midnight. In her mind she played it again and again. How Midnight moved the king only for her to promote a pawn to a queen. Each time she played the game, she was facing a different opponent. Midnight, Everlast, Colloquy and Blue Sky. Sometimes she was winning, sometimes they were. Every time her king was defeated or she had to promote the pawn, the figure was always one of her friends. Always.

On the morning of the second day, Shibboleth confirmed that both Everlast and the Rangers would arrive this evening. They got up early, hours before the sun crept above the clouds. They didn’t eat much. Soon they had packed their things and Key wrapped up warm bread in a piece of cloth, baked from the flour Shibboleth was able to save from Everlast’s onslaught on the museum. It would be their only solace during the day. It also meant they had to leave.

Fade’s chest rattled with every breath. The day of rest helped, but only the last remainder of Tomcat’s medicine allowed her to ignore the pain. Fade kept his drugs close to her heart and hoped she wouldn't need them. Six doses. One was enough to make her survive. One was enough to strain her body too much and kill her.

Key grabbed Fade tightly into a hug. Sudden Lost in thought she didn’t notice her sister approaching.

“Promise me to come back.”

“I’ll try.”

“No. You must promise.”

Fade sat down and brushed the unkempt mane out of Key’s face. She struggled to recognize her. In a few months, Key would be seventeen, but in the few weeks they traveled together, she looked like she had aged by years.

“Only if you promise me to always use S.A.T.S.”

Key nodded and Fade embraced her sister for a final hug. Fade didn’t promise and proceeded to the Vertibuck. She tied herself to the harness, not looking out the windshield to see Key holding back tears. Midnight and Feather entered the vehicle as well. Midnight took his place close to the cockpit. Feather sat down at the hatch; The furthest place away from them.

Fade looked back one more time before Shibboleth and Key had to step away from the Vertibuck. In utter silence Fade activated the engine and let the Vertibuck produce the thick clouds to lift the metallic vehicle. She spread her wings in anticipation for the levitation magic to reduce the ship’s weight. When the magic reached its peak and she felt the updrift of the clouds against the harness, she flapped her wings to take off.

Their journey to the burning city began.

What would have usually taken a week by hoof was a frighteningly short flight of not much more than an hour. Down on the ground the wasteland was a cold and desolate place. But from above Fade saw the sickly traces of how and where the balefire had spread over the land. Every crater was a wound, festering with balefire radiation and surrounded by a growth of black ash, crippled trees and skeletal homes.

Her route took them west to the ocean. The dark gray sea water crashed without mercy against the rocky banks and cliffs of Vanhoover’s coastline. Irradiated seafoam was piling up on beaches and left behind mutated algae and sludge on the rocks. Ships were washed ashore, rusting and bleeding fuel and toxic waste. Old coastal villages and towns were reclaimed by the oily sea.

Fade banked north and in the far distance, miles upon miles away, she already saw Vanhoover. Neither buildings nor fire could be seen, but the black plume of smoke was rising up into the air to scratch at the Enclave’s cloud cover. Around the monstrous column was a veil of rain, slowly shifting in the cold winds of the ocean.

With every mile they got closer, Fade asked herself why the zebras hated Vanhoover that much. What did they create in that city, that total destruction was the only answer? And now Fade saw nothing but destruction waiting for them.

“The air is irradiated,” Midnight said.

“Badly?”

“Not yet.” He looked out through the cockpit. The balefire smoke was filling the entire view. The black, wavering clouds above and the green hue of the inferno, spreading out into the ocean below. “It will be very bad down there. I am sure of it.”

“How bad is very bad?” She asked and felt the updrift of the heat tugging at the cloudship.

“The irradiated snowstorm in Stalliongrad was harmless compared to this.”

Fade shook her head. “Then we can’t do this.”

“No. I got medicine.” Feather stood up. She held a blister pack with green pills in her hoof. “We take two now. Two more when we arrive. And then we take whatever we find in the office.”

“Where did you get these?” Fade asked.

“Tomcat.”

“Is that all?”

Feather nodded and Fade couldn’t hide her frustration. “Give the pills and tell me where in this mess is your stupid office.”

“It’s in the harbor district. Look for the Ministry of Arcane Science spire. From there, go east until we find a small building.”

Fade took two pills, biting on them and swallowing them dry. “Hold on tight. I’ll go in.”

The Vertibuck banked to follow Fade’s instinctual flight, it shook and rattled when it hit the first instance of turbulence where hot air collided with the cold ocean winds. Down and down she flew, gliding on the vague thermal updrift and approaching the restless sea.

Another turn and they were heading towards the city. The devastated harbor with its skeletal cranes formed a wall to separate the city and the sea. Ruined buildings were peeking out of the water where the balefire bombs destroyed the foundation and the ocean took the rest. The inferno wasn’t able to take hold here but behind, the city was still convulsing from the fire.

As Fade approached, a dark ooze was raining on the windshield. The water below was thick from the ash that was washed out into the sea. When she passed by rows of destroyed container cranes and halfway sunken ships the ocean was nothing more than black mud. Rivulets of green-glowing water made it boil. Shapes of ponies drifting like maggots in the sea. The fire and radiation killed off anything that could decompose the bodies. Some of the slowly deteriorating carcasses were still moving on their own.

The heat pushed the Vertibuck up and made it shake when Fade had to fight against the updrift. She slowed down when the wall of smoke came closer and closer. The heat of the inferno was radiating out and they felt its stranglehold through the Vertibuck’s hull.

Already sweating, Fade forced the Vertibuck into the smoke. It was impossible to see. Fade slowed down even more, hoping that she had flown higher than the ruins. She tried to feel the wind as it weaved around barely visible buildings. Fade held her breath and tried to listen, but all she heard was the shaking of the Vertibuck as if it was afraid of the city too.

Finally, and to their horror, they broke through the wall. They couldn’t see much further than a few blocks. Wafts of smoke, black and green, were pushed around by the heated winds. Plazas were covered in green fire, greedily reaching for oxygen. Fiery swirls were playing on the streets, indifferent to the charred remains of ponies, sunken deep into the molten asphalt. Sometimes undead eyes were looking up, staring at the intruding Vertibuck. Life was not welcome here; The radiation being the vaccine to ensure that this place would stay forever dead.

“Can you see the Ministry, Feather?” Midnight asked. His voice was raspy but Fade noticed that it sounded somehow stronger. When she glanced at him, she found his posture more vigorous, his eyes more determined… more violent.

“No. But I see one of the city highways. Follow it.”

Fade gently turned the Vertibuck to follow it. Most of the highways collapsed and only concrete pillars remained, like broken ribs protruding from the ground.

“Is there anything else that could help us find the office?” Fade asked.

“It has a tiny yard around it.”

“Very helpful…” Fade wasn’t able to hide her frustration.

Feather joined her in the cockpit and peered out the window to find a familiar sight. Fade and Midnight didn’t recognize anything either. Every structure was charred, the floor a sea of ash and debris and in the fire, the city appeared in constant motion.

The heat inside the vehicle increased and Fade didn’t know if it was the radiation, fever or the fire that heated her body. The instruments in the cockpit warned her that the clouds were dissipating fast and the water reserves were quickly dwindling.

“There!” Feather pressed further into the cockpit. “ Turn left. There’s a highrise.”

Fade banked left. The smoke became denser. They couldn’t see the building Feather pointed out. But then the smoke lifted and they all saw a building piercing upwards, higher than the smoke allowed them to see. Deep pools of irradiated water gathered in the huge courtyard around it. Any detail of the building was long covered up by the wet ash.

“Is this the O.I.A. hub?” Fade asked at the sight of the yard.

“No.” Feather said. “But fly upwards and see if it has an antenna. Big hubs of Arcane Science have emergency broadcast systems.”

Fade flapped her wings, ascending along the walls. They felt as if they were flying up a colossal bone, covered in burned muscles and flesh. The building was covered in such a thick layer of mud and ash that the walls weren’t visible anymore. Neither did they know if anything in there was alive, nor could they imagine it. Rising up made them feel elated, particularly when the building kept tapering. They knew that the antenna must appear any moment now.

Instead, a black tumor was enthroned atop the highest roof. It appeared to mold with the girders of the radio tower. Thick, muddy droplets were hanging from it and gluelike strings had been shaped between the growth and the building.

“What is that?” Fade asked but her mind didn’t want to know what horrific manifestation was creeping out of the Ministry’s building. The growth was easily three or four times bigger than the Vertibuck. Instinctively Fade distanced them from it.

An eye opened; too small, fully green and glowing with mindless rage. The entire growth started to shift and shake; a pair of wings slowly emerging from a cocoon of irradiated mud.

Their hearts stopped when the city gave birth to a creature only balefire could dream up. With every motion of the creature, more of the mud cracked open, revealing claws, teeth and scales. Liquid Balefire was flowing out of its gigantic snout, filled with crooked teeth. The jaw was hanging open, the rotten tongue loosened and slid out.

“Run… Fade Run!” Midnight screamed.

Fade closed her wings and sent the Vertibuck into a dive back to the city’s surface. Fire, ash and radiation were forgotten when the creature above let out a piercing and gurgling shriek no living being could ever produce.

Feather and Midnight held tight on the sharp interior of the vehicle to not stumble during the weightless nosedive. Fade counted in her head. Two… Three… Four! She spread her wings, pain of the sudden stop rushing through her bones and weakened muscles. She flapped her wings, gaining speed to flee in any direction as long as it brought them further away from what they had awoken.

Midnight rushed, stumbled and ran to the hatch. He looked out the tiny window and tried to see anything. Smoke was waving behind them, blocking the sight and yet he saw a wisp of green glow behind them. It grew in size and intensity and Midnight recognized the draconic head, the jawbone gaping open, wider than it was ever supposed to be.

“Fade! Faster!” Midnight warned her.

Fade didn’t know where to fly. All she saw rushing by were buildings. She dodged a few only at the last moment, sending the Vertibuck careening through the air before her wings caught and stabilized it again.

Behind, the creature’s body crashed into the ruins, toppling them over and spilling its liquified organs from its bloated, torn open belly.

A flash of green filled Midnight’s mind with the same fear when balefire rained down on Stalliongrad. “Fade! Down!”

She forced the Vertibuck down. Gravity ceased to exist only to return with greater force when the vehicle crashed into the softened asphalt of the road. The Vertibuck slid through the slimy substance until it came to halt. Feather and Midnight were thrown to the floor and Fade winced when her body was painfully pushed into the flight harness.

Balefire washed over them like a tidal wave and set the ruins along with the road ablaze. Blinding green light filled the interior of the vehicle and even Midnight closed his eyes. When he looked up he saw Feather crawling away from the cockpit. She held her head with a hoof and blood was dripping on the floor. Fade hung motionless in the harness. The only sign she was still alive was her body convulsing from painful coughs.

While his companions struggled with the heat and the impact, Midnight felt how the radiation gave him a similar feeling of when he was truly alive. He stood up and rushed into the cockpit. “Fade. Get up. We—”

Midnight stopped when he saw the massive creature trampling over the ruins. In the blinding light he only saw the silhouette of it. It stumbled over the broken buildings, its head swaying left and right, searching for what disturbed its hibernation.

“Fade… We have to go.” He said and shook her. She groaned, coughing again and again until a thick strand of spittle hung from her mouth. “Fade. You have to get up.”

She groaned and forced her hooves against the floor to regain her balance. Sweat was stinging in her eyes and her thick clothes stuck like tape against her fur. When Midnight saw that she was slowly fighting to get back up, he turned his attention to the cockpit’s instruments. The terminals alerted him that clouds were destroyed by the fire.

He pushed his body next to Fade, his mind racing as he tried to understand the computer system. He navigated through menus, turned off fail safes and locks to make the Vertibuck ignore the heat, damage and immense radiation. He forced the cloud generators into overdrive. “Fade. Can you take off?”

She shook her head. “Where are they?” She searched in her pockets for the drugs. “Midnight. Have you seen the inhalator?”

He didn’t ask. He looked around and found them just out of Fade’s reach. He picked them up and realized the nature of the drugs. “Fade?”

“Not now…” She took the inhalator, tearing the package of one, dropping the rest. Her hooves shook from the rising pain in her chest. She pressed the inhalator against her lips, pressed the button and after a whizz she took a painful breath.

It tasted like betrayal. The drug promised great things for Equestria, great enough to ignore the costs. A shiver ran over her body, amplifying the cold feeling of the sweat to block out the balefire’s heat. Only the burning fever remained and swelled in intensity until she no longer knew the cold. Everything that would hinder her was insignificant!

With strong flaps she forced the Vertibuck to rise as her chariot of war. The vehicle’s vibrations made her body shake in excitement. As the cloudship rose above the smoke the glowing shape of the undead dragon appeared. It was crawling over the ruins, its claws digging deep into the remaining walls. Its body was torn at places, showing the bones like crude cutouts in front of bright, green fire. The leathery skin under the scales was boiling and through a huge gash from the belly to the tail, it dragged what remained of its intestines behind. The dragon was already turning its head back to them.

“Hold tight!” Fade’s wings moved fast, faster than they should. She felt her body protesting, but slowing down was no option. She flew right at the dragon, already banking and tilting the Vertibuck to dodge if it should try to snap after them.

“What are you doing!” Midnight yelled.

“Pissing it off!” Fade replied with glee.

The dragon glared at the approaching Vertibuck, the dislodged jaw hanging wide open. Balefire was oozing out of its throat and nostrils. The head rushed forward and Fade quickly leaned her body into the bearings and forced the Vertibuck to roll. Gravity played with Midnight and Feather as they desperately tried to hold on tight to walls and benches. The few things they stowed away were being hurled around. Vanhoover was swirling in front of Midnight’s eyes and Fade cheered during the entire maneuver.

The beast was spreading its massive wings, whirling up green embers and fire as it prepared to take off.

“Looks like I got its attention.” Fade sounded happy.

“No Fade! We don’t want its attention!”

Fade laughed. “I know. But do you know who else doesn’t want its attention? The fucking Enclave!”

Midnight stared at Fade, scared by the mad expression in her eyes.

“We don’t even have to get to the O.I.A. anymore!” Fade said. “We take the dragon instead of the balefire eggs. Much more effective if you ask me. Midnight, is the dragon following us?”

Midnight shook his head. He had to get Fade back under control. “No! Listen… We have to find the Office.”

“We are not going to search for a building while we are being chased by that thing!”

“We are already here. We have found the Ministry. Don’t you want to know about Blue Sky?” Midnight asked.

“An argument just like Galloping Gorge but with swapped places?”

“This is not what I wanted to say. All I want to say is…” He hesitated. He heard the wet and throaty roar of the dragon echoing through the city as it gave chase. Midnight realized that Fade was right. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

“Fuck you Midnight! We stay!” Fade yelled in a sudden anger and the Vertibuck tilted again. “Stupid, fucking cocksucker of an eel! Midnight, you have about thirty seconds to find out how to get past the dragon. If you still have no clue by then, we will go to Quebit with that bitch on our asses!”

“Fade! What’s going on?”

“You have maybe twenty seconds left to prove to me that you are not an idiot!” She forced the Vertibuck past the dragon, dodging another one of its bites at the last moment.

“We… we may be able to sneak past the dragon.” Midnight tried to keep his balance through Fade’s insane maneuvers. “When we crashed, the dragon just walked past us.”

“It wasn’t a crash!” Fade yelled back.

“Can you do that?”

“Well fuck it, of course I can!”

Midnight rushed to the hatch and found Feather struggling to wrap a bandage around her head. Midnight couldn’t give her any attention as a green flare in the distance already warned him. “It’s breathing fire!”

Fade pushed the Vertibuck down. The ground was rushing close but this time Fade’s wings were stronger. The green inferno was rushing past them, missing them only by a few feet. The heat was intense and the air inside the Vertibuck became difficult to breathe.

Fade opened her wings mere feet above the ground. Even under the effect of the drugs, she felt the pain when the Vertibuck’s harness tore at her body. The vehicle landed heavily on the smoldering remnants of a building and sank into the debris.

Fade looked up at the balefire waving back and forth above her. She was sure that amidst all the fire her quick descent was hidden and it gave her an opportunity to admire the beautiful aurora. The fire was swirling when the dragon flew past them.

“Midnight. Look at this.” Fade’s voice was filled with awe.

He turned around, a strange exhaustion building up in his body, when he walked to the cockpit. Not too far away the dragon landed on a building. The damaged floors were breaking from its massive weight. Fade was amazed by the embers and fires being whirled up when the building collapsed but the dragon stood unimpressed. It just shifted its massive body, searching for its prey. When the head stopped turning, Fade and Midnight realized that it found them. Balefire dripped like saliva from its maw.

“Midnight, you said it wouldn’t see us!” Fade yelled and took off. Her eyes widened when the dragon’s body convulsed and its throat began to glow brighter and brighter. Tears and cracks in the dragon’s skin became visible and even the ribcage could be seen when the balefire heated up for another irradiated breath.

Fade pivoted so fast that Midnight and Feather lost their grip and fell back on the floor. Midnight’s body was pushed violently against the bulkhead to the cockpit and he felt his ribs crack. Fade forced the ship up and away from the fire, but she was too slow. A glaring warning tone alerted Fade that the clouds were torn away.

“Midnight! We have a problem!” She shouted and spread her wings, forcing the Vertibuck into a glide. “Something is wrong with the clouds.”

Midnight scrambled up on his hooves and felt the bones shifting in his body, while the immense radiation tried to reknit them back into place. He rushed to the terminal, ordering a diagnostic report.

“What is the problem?”

Midnight had to wait and stared at the loading bar in disbelief. The message appeared. “The water is empty!”

“Empty? Mom! I thought you refilled the tanks?” Feather didn’t answer, wincing from the pain in her head and still trying to stop the bleeding. “Mom!”

Midnight worked on the terminal. “Keep us in the air.”

The dragon shrieked and blind to where it was Fade forced the Vertibuck into a nosedive to gain speed. Midnight clumped against the terminal and had trouble typing while fighting against the vertigo. After mere seconds, Fade opened her wings and forced the vehicle to raise up on thermic updrift and speed alone.

Midnight held tight to the terminal and it began to print the content of the black box onto the display faster than he could read it. But he found the information he was looking for. “Tanks are more than half full,” he shouted.

“Half full? Mom, where is the fucking dragon?” Fade had to turn left and right to find more updrift to keep the Vertibuck not only high enough, but also fast enough.

“The sensor is broken. That happens when you fly such a piece of hobbyist shit into a warzone!”

Fade felt how the Vertibuck got slower with every moment. She scanned the ruins for any patch of fire that could give the Vertibuck a little extra speed. “Where is the dragon?”

A sudden colossal impact sent the Vertibuck spinning. Feather and Midnight were pushed against the hull plating, when Fade lost control over the machine. She tried to stabilize it but even with the drugs she was not able to overcome the forces tearing at her body. Vanhoover turned into a black and green maelstrom. The terminal was blaring collision alerts. The last sensation Fade felt before the impact was the green hue of balefire swallowing them.

Midnight felt the heat in the Vertibuck increasing with every second. Feather was next to him on the floor and groaned. Fade was stirring in the harness and blood was running down her legs where it cut into her.

He jumped up and rushed to the cockpit. “Fade… Fade, are you alright?”

She groaned. “It hurts. Pretty bad.”

“Where is your medicine?” He asked and looked on the floor for them.

“No… It feels quite cool,” Fade said and chuckled. “Where is the dragon? I guess it fucked us up really bad.”

Midnight looked out the cockpit. The glass was cracked but still intact. The bright flames tinted everything in a sick green. Midnight felt the radiation caressing his damaged body. Everything past the flames was black ash and smoke. “No idea. We can’t stay here. Feather! Find the medicine while I repair the sensor.”

Being the only one able to walk, he hurried back and forth to grab the scattered tools. He laid down on the hot floor and removed the panels.

“Midnight?” Fade said weakly. “I see it. It is right above us.”

Midnight ignored her. He found the water reservoir and opened to find it filled with warm water. He remembered the feeling of elation.

“What is the dragon doing?” Midnight asked and dove into the container to search for the sensor.

“It’s looking directly at us,” Fade said.

“That’s bad.” Midnight fished in the tank and he found something. He pulled at the small device and noticed that only a few cables were loose. Midnight pushed the first cable back into the sensor and hesitated with the second. He realized that the moment the Vertibuck would come back to life, the dragon would see them. “Is it gone?”

“No. It’s still there.”

Midnight felt the heat increasing and he also felt the radiation flooding the Vertibuck. “Feather, get the medicine against the radiation. Things are getting really bad.”

“Yes. There are only two pills left,” Feather said.

“Take one each.” Midnight ordered. “And help Fade. She’s bleeding”

“I’m fine. I feel the blood drying up in the heat.”

“Remain still, watch the dragon.”

The crinkling of the package was the only noise aside the dulled roar from the flames outside. Every second Midnight had to wait was like an eternity. The air felt like a sponge drenched in sweat and rot. The heat in the Vertibuck grew more and more. Its metal was heating up and Midnight was sure that Feather would feel the pain under her hooves very soon.

The green flames all around the cockpit were suddenly pushed away for a brief moment only to rapture to even greater heights. “It’s gone!” Fade shouted and a wide smile spread across her face.

Midnight tried pushing the last cable back into the sensor. It took him a few attempts and his hooves began to shake from impatience. The pumps and machinery below him sprang to life. Water was splashing out of the tank. Midnight remained still and didn’t dare to move an inch, afraid that the cables would come loose again.

“It works!” Fade cheered. “It works and it hurts so damn much!”

Fade flapped her wings again and the Vertibuck was moving. Slowly at first but with each second it raised further above the flames until the green light faded away.

“It was the fire.” Midnight realized. The balefire that gave him an extended life when the war ended. And it was the balefire again, that hid them from the dragon and allowed him to live a bit longer.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Sentry - Every Action Point Midnight is not using also increases the AC of all his nearby allies.

New Perk: Devastation Navigator - Fade gets +10% on Outdoorspony to navigate ruined areas.

Chapter 19: Abandon

“And behind the last door I found an equally terrible purpose.”

Up. Following the smoke and ash, they flew up until they found respite in the thick cloud layer. The damp air of the cloud pearled on the cracked windshield, cleaning it of the grime. Feather opened the hatch to let the cold air in. They were freezing but being able to breathe was a more than welcome change.

Midnight took his place at the terminal and used the data from the black box to trace their route and estimate where to go next. He hurried as every minute he spent guessing their next step was a minute less in which Fade would be able function under the influence of the drugs.

In those brief minutes they allowed themselves some rest and Feather replenished the water for the cloud generator. She gathered some more for Fade and herself to drink. The cold water stung in their throats and reminded them of how parched their bodies were after their dive into Vanhoover.

“I have a route for us,” Midnight finally said.

Fade took one last cold breath and sighed. The euphoria from the drugs was slowly fading away. “Then let’s go.”

She relaxed her wings and gently tilted the Vertibuck to let it slip out of the clouds and back into the inferno below. The switch from gray clouds to black smoke was almost instant. Ashen rain coated the Vertibuck in fresh mud. Fade saved her stamina and slowly spiraled down.

Close to the roofs of the destroyed city, Fade stopped their descent. Feather helped Fade navigate but none of them were sure they were at the right place. Carefully they moved between the higher ruins and tried to stay away from the raging fires. The smoke was blocking their sights and they hoped that it would hide them from the dragon.

“Over there looks promising” Feather’s signal was careful and hesitant. She pointed to a small building, surrounded by a field of sparsely strewn debris. Fade approached the place and realized that a big part of the yard around it sunk halfway into the river. Sometimes green flames erupted from the mud. Fade inched the Vertibuck closer. The building was caked in thick layers of ash and mud from whenever the rain managed to find its way down here. Piles of soot were amassed at the walls. It looked like nothing more than a small store or workshop. But now it was this innocence that made the building stand out. It should have been torn apart by the bombs and the fire. Instead it remained there, ignorant of the city’s fate.

“Land on the other side. The entrance is towards the right.”

Fade followed her mother’s instructions. A tension was stirring in her and even Midnight felt an old anxiety returning. Through the hatch he saw the building appear. The wall was completely black. No windows were visible and Midnight couldn’t say if the building had any to begin with. But he saw the entrance. The ash and mud was blocking it chest high.

A sudden small bump told Midnight that the Vertibuck landed. They arrived.

Fade grimaced when she got out of the harness. The drug was wearing off faster than she would have liked. She checked her injuries and tightened the bandages. She wrapped layers of clothes and blankets around her body and muzzle. It was the only protection that could be brought against the hot and toxic air.

Feather approached Midnight, breathing heavily. “The terminal will ask for a password.”

“Do you know it?”

She nodded. “It’s a chess annotation. He was obsessed with the game. It starts with ‘King on E8’.”

“Followed by a promotion on D8?”

Feather nodded.

“Of course it is…” Midnight felt anger in his chest. Even out here he still had to embarrass him with that one game. He looked at Fade, remembering how his first question was if she knew Blue Sky. It was all caused by that strange constellation of chess pieces on the board. White king takes black knight. Black pawn promoted to queen. White king escapes. The black queen moves. Checkmate. “I'm going out.”

Feather and Fade tightened the clothes around their muzzles and retreated back into the cockpit. The moment Midnight unsealed and opened the hatch the infernal heat was rushing in. Midnight stormed out and quickly forced the hatch shut behind him.

He turned to fully face the inferno of Vanhoover for the first time. The heat was already drying his skin. Moving felt more difficult but the radiation wormed its way through his body to keep muscles and tendons intact.

A first step towards the entrance and his hooves sank deep into the ash. Below the layer he felt the slimy mud where the ash mixed with the irradiated water. It took him all his might to pull his frail hooves out of the soot and inching his way forward.

At the entrance he had to dig through the hot ash to find the terminal. He found it and it was impossible for him to clean the keys and the screen. The terminal wasn’t giving any information. Just a blinking cursor. Slowly he entered Feather’s password. Escape. Promotion. Protection. Checkmate.

It didn’t work. He must have made a mistake. He tried to clean the keys more and entered the password a second time. Again it was denied. Feather was so sure. He was so sure! He wiped the display again and even tried to spit on it for a smidge of moisture to clean it. He began to enter the password a third time. “White King on E8…”

His ears twitched when he heard how the old machinery in the walls was suddenly waking up. After twenty years the doors to Blue Sky’s last known position opened.

The heat and radiation didn’t allow them any hesitation. Fade and Feather had to rush into the building. They flew the scant few feet over the hot ash. It wasn’t anything further than a long jump but Fade felt a burning sensation when her wings were exposed to the air. Midnight hurried to close the Vertibuck’s hatch behind them. When he joined them in the hallway he closed the door and they were surrounded by a repulsing yellow light.

Fade and Feather retched when they breathed in the putrid scent of rotting corpses. In their hurry to get inside they almost tripped over the dried out husk of a dead pony. All around it laid bags, jackets, shoes and suit cases. Some were still neatly stacked against the wall, waiting to be picked up by their owners.

The flickering lights drew them in closer. Midnight went first into a big office room. A conference room was separated by a glass panel. Above it was the director’s office and stairs along the wall were leading up to it. A small window allowed the director to oversee the office below, without allowing the employees to know if they were being watched.

Desks and chairs were spread all over the room. Some were turned over to build small shelters to die in. The conference room had been repurposed as a morgue. The tables have been pushed aside to give room to neatly lined up dead ponies. The carpet below them was stained by a gross puddle created by rotting organs, partially dissolved by the radiation.

Midnight approached the conference room to look for Blue Sky but he couldn’t find him. The sickly light and the discolorations made it difficult for him to tell the bodies apart. Instead he noticed that some ponies had bullet wounds in their head. He hoped it was to spare them a slow death.

“There is something there.” Fade said and pointed to the windows of the director’s office. A weak green glow was slowly moving behind the toned glass. It was gradually approaching the door at the top of the stairs. Midnight stepped away and took his rifle. Even Feather readied her energy weapon and took place next to Fade.

The door opened. Slowly and carefully a dark silhouette stepped onto the landing. The fur matted and dirtied by dried blood that congealed through a mummified and porose skin. His clothes were discolored and ragged. He openly wore a revolver in pristine condition. It was decorated with blue gems, which displayed more life and soul than his bleak and sunken eyes. The lips were dried out, crumbling and unable to hide the rotten teeth. And yet, when Midnight looked into the dead eyes, he recognized him.

Blue Sky let his gaze wander over them, his eyes showing a vicious intellect. Midnight and Fade felt exposed to something calculating in his eyes. They felt as if he was thinking about how to position them on the playfield of the world.

He smiled when he looked at Fade. “Swift… It’s been such a long time.” His voice was dry, barely audible. “You were so little.” He lifted a hoof, estimating her size when she was just a young filly.

Fade felt sick when he called her name. Her eyes didn’t hide how eager she was to ram her knife through his eye.

Blue Sky descended the stairs, looking at Midnight. “Old friend…”

“I am not your friend.” Midnight growled, barely able to contain his rage.

“Midnight. Don’t you remember me?”

“I remember very well.” His voice shook. “I watched the memory orb.”

“You were in Orlov.” He concluded and sighed. “Are those things still trapped?”

“No.” Fade said, losing nothing of the anger building up.

“I understand.” He turned his attention to Feather. “I suppose you are here to pick up a few things.”

“Yes,” Feather replied. “Do you still have medicine left?”

“I do…” His gaze turned to the conference room, staring at one empty spot. “We didn’t take it. We didn’t want to elongate our suffering.”

“Suffering.” Midnight spat. “As if you know anything about suffering!”

“I know much more about suffering than you do, Midnight.” His voice was stern and he glared at his old friend. “Enough to take any suffering away from you. I gave you a gift and you should be thankful.”

“Gift? You took my soul apart!” Midnight yelled.

“I went through the same procedure myself, Midnight, and I do not have the luxury of simply forgetting it. In fact I possess a memory orb like yours. You don’t know how paranoid the higher-ups of the O.I.A. were.”

“Quit stalling!”

Blue Sky sighed. “I know that you are angry, Midnight. I don’t blame you for that. But I thought that you, as a proficient chess player, would understand the bigger picture.”

“What ‘bigger picture’?” Midnight glared at him. “There is no excuse… no justification for killing my friends only to open up a few sealed doors!”

“Sealed doors?” Blue Sky turned his attention to Feather. “You didn’t tell them?”

“No. There were complications. With Brave,” she said, looking away.

“With Dad?” Fade asked. “Was Dad involved in Killjoy?”

“No. Swift. He was not part of Killjoy,” Blue Sky answered in Feather’s stead.

“But he was the hero of Orlov?”

“This was just a cover up… Not even Feather knew about the details. What happened in Orlov was orchestrated by much more powerful ponies than me. I was a mere supervisor.”

“I don’t care about that shit! What is Killjoy?” Midnight was losing his patience.

“A megaspell. Not a brutish bomb. Instead it is a finely adjusted killing agent. Recursive in nature and entailed with a rehashing spell to trick Equestria’s command protocols. Or in other words… It kills the Princesses… The Ministry Mares… and every pony eligible to take control over Equestria.”

“And the rehashing spell would give… control to you?” Midnight finished.

“Correct.”

“That’s absurd,” Midnight said. “A megaspell can’t be cast from a terminal, not even a Crusader Maneframe!”

“Unless the spell is imbued with a soul,” Blue Sky corrected him.

Midnight shook his head. “But why?” His voice was a faint whisper.

“You saw the Changeling Queen. It was only a prelude of what was to come. Feather… You were a teacher. How about you give them a history lesson? Tell her what Doctor Skreŝivatel told me.”

Feather was silent and took a deep breath. “The changeling hive was destroyed in less than two hours. Hundreds of changelings were killed by chemical agents, plasma and energy rifles. Doctor Skreŝivatel examined the destructive capacities of ponies and concluded… She concluded that in about twenty years, both zebras and ponies would render the world inhospitable in an attempt of mutual annihilation. The war… needed to be stopped before that point was reached.”

“And we had almost reached it.” Blue Sky added. “We have passed the point where the environmental damage was already irreversible, unless Killjoy’s purpose proves to be of a greater advantage here. It is… good to know that the zebras already did the killing. That makes it easier for us to save and restore Equestria.”

“The recursive nature of the spell…” Midnight realized something and looked at Fade. “Didn’t Rainbow Dash pick each Shadowbolt herself? The most loyal ponies… If something would have happened to her, she would entrust the Shadowbolts with her Ministry.”

“That would have made Dad a target…” Fade said. “And me…” She looked at her mother. “You… You did know that Dad was a Shadowbolt. You lied to me!”

“No.” Blue Sky answered. “I kept it a secret from her.”

“But when you learned that at the Shadowbolt Vault, Mom… when you learned that Dad was a Shadowbolt, you could have told me. Why didn’t you tell me about Killjoy?” Fade didn’t get an answer and slowly the truth became more and more apparent to her. “You wanted to kill me.” The heaving in Fade’s chest was replaced by a tremble that soon shook her body and voice. “You wanted to kill me! To fulfill your fucking mission!”

“When a pawn gets promoted to a queen,” Blue Sky said. “They often forget that they were pawns. It is necessary for achieving victory.”

Fade stormed at her mother. She threw all her weight against her and both of them tumbled to the ground. Driven by rage, Fade hit Feather’s face again and again. Feather only raised her forelegs to block each of the painful blows, but Fade’s hooves connected with her muzzle again and again.

“Stop this, right this instant!” Blue Sky drew the revolver, an enchantment allowing him to levitate the weapon like a unicorn and aiming it at Fade.

She stopped, looking down at her mother. “What difference does it make if you or she kills me?”

“You are right, Swift. It doesn’t make a difference. But it makes a difference if I kill him.” Blue Sky aimed the weapon at Midnight. “Originally, he was a failsafe in case Feather went rogue after she activated Killjoy. Now, he is a failsafe to ensure that she can activate Killjoy. I am proud to see that Feather understands her place on the board.”

Fade saw her mother’s swollen eye and bleeding nose. She noticed blood on her hoof. “You made me do this… You made me do this!” She drew her knife and stormed at Blue Sky with the same hatred she felt for the Enclave.

Fade impaled Blue Sky’s heart with the blade. He ignored the wound and in a quick turn, his hooves lashed out and hit Fade's throat. She felt something shift and couldn’t breathe anymore. Blue Sky’s foreleg wrapped around her neck, pulling her into a chokehold against his irradiated body. He yanked her around so her hooves could no longer find hold on the floor.

“Feather! Get upstairs and grab your equipment.” Blue Sky ordered and pressed the gun against Fade’s head. “And you, Midnight. You stay right there.”

Midnight’s body trembled. He wanted to raise his rifle and shoot. He saw sweat rolling over Fade’s forehead and an expression of stinging pain in her eyes. The radiation was burning her and he saw how the coat around her neck loosened from her struggles to get free. Midnight stared into Blue Sky’s dead and soulless eyes. There was nothing left of his old friend. Nothing that would stop Midnight from killing him.

“No, Midnight.” Blue Sky saw the urge for violence in Midnight’s eyes. “You stay there. You know your place on the board. Like your cutie mark always told you, you are just a pawn.”

Midnight could no longer control the violence. It took over and forced his frail body forward. A low growl raised to a ferocious roar. Blue Sky’s magic whirled the revolver around. He fired once, tearing apart an ear. A second shot tore through Midnight’s cheek and shattered bones.

The wounds were immediately forgotten.

Vanhoover, forgotten.

Fade, forgotten.

Even himself, forgotten.

Midnight crashed into Blue Sky and hurled their bodies back. They broke into the conference room, glass shattering and piercing their dry skins. Blue Sky landed on his back between the corpses, losing the magic grip on his weapon.

Midnight was towering above him. Blue Sky struck Midnight’s throat and tried to force him off. But it would not work against Midnight’s rage and undead body. Midnight grabbed the knife in Blue Sky’s chest. Holding it tight in both hooves he brought it down on his old friend. The blade pierced his eye. The second stab pierced the muzzle. He forced all his weight into each stab and he felt bone cracking.

Midnight didn’t feel Blue Sky’s hooves pushing against his chest. At first with aggression, then desperation and soon his attempts grew weaker. Every stab destroyed more of Blue Sky’s skull. His legs were only twitching, weaker… and slower… and eventually they stopped moving at all.

But Midnight kept stabbing. The blade cut, cut and cut.

It cut until Blue Sky’s face was no longer recognizable.

Chapter 20: Remorse

“Not even the end of the world hurts as much as the betrayal of the ones you considered your friends.”

There was no time to rest. The radiation forced them to keep moving.

Fade struggled to take medicine against the radiation to fight off the poisoning she suffered from Blue Sky’s touch. Even after she drank a sachet of the orange bile, her body was still squirming and feverish.

Feather gathered the weapons required for their attack on the Thunderhead Frigate. She found the balefire eggs and the weapon to fire them. The monstrous launcher didn’t fill them with any kind of hope, rather, it was a reminder of what the ponies had lost to the balefire and how much Feather was willing to continue the past’s insanity.

Midnight found ammo for his rifle. His body moved like a machine to reload his rifle and prepare the next steps of their journey. His eyes were empty and devoid of thought.

Solemnly they returned to the Vertibuck and flew back into the cold wasteland. They left the city behind, but they had the feeling it would stay with them forever like a scar.

Necessity was the only reason why Feather was still with them. After they landed, Midnight sent her far enough away from the Vertibuck to be of no concern. Neither he nor Fade cared that Feather had to sit alone on a freezing hill and endure the cold alone.

Fade was shaking and sweating. Her body convulsed from the sickness and radiation. Bile and blood were dripping from both her nose and mouth.

“You must drink,” Midnight said. He stood away from her, his body was softly glowing from Vanhoover’s radiation.

Fade nodded, barely able to breathe. The drugs had worn off and left her body in a weakened state. She was barely able to hold herself up, struggling to keep her body from dropping into the gross puddle. Fade grabbed the plastic vial in which she had mixed the healing potion with the radiation medicine to dull the horrid taste. The potion brought relief for a brief moment, before her stomach began to revulse and force the liquid out again.

“Keep it down, Fade.” Midnight tried his best to hide the numbness in his voice.

Fade held her breath and clenched her teary eyes shut. Another rush of slimy blood and the acrid taste of the medicine flooded her mouth and nose.

“You must drink.” Midnight repeated the words. Each time Fade retched, it was less blood. Less pain. Less radiation. Less of what remained of Blue Sky.

Eventually Fade’s body accepted the medicine. The taste and smell of the last hour were still lingering in her mouth and nose. Breathing was difficult and her sweat drenched clothes could no longer protect her from the cold winds. She and Midnight took a rest away from the Vertibuck. Feather was collecting clouds to let them rain on the vehicle, cleaning off as much irradiated ash as possible.

Midnight watched Feather to make sure she wouldn’t and couldn’t sabotage the Vertibuck. He wanted her to be gone. He even wanted to ditch the entire plan to retrieve Killjoy. But Fade’s life was threatened by the Enclave. And now they needed Feather.

“I’m finished.” Feather returned, shivering from the freezing air. “Can I help you with anything? I could bring you some of the remaining Rad-Away.”

Fade growled. “What about I help you out by not drinking any more of it? Then you don’t have to kill me to activate Killjoy.”

“Quiet.” Midnight stopped her before turning to Feather. “Good. We have to leave soon. Check the damage where the dragon hit us.”

“What about the balefire launcher?”

“Do you know how to use it?” Midnight asked.

Feather hesitated but nodded.

“You will tell me how it works on the way to Quebit. That’s all.”

Feather understood from Midnight’s stern words that she had to leave them alone.

“I can’t believe you are trusting her with the Vertibuck,” Fade said.

“She won’t do anything that would stop her from acquiring Killjoy.”

“Yeah… And she won’t stop at anything to get it.”

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?” Fade scoffed. “Why are you still… still thinking that she is on our side?”

“Because of Blue Sky.”

“Blue Sky? Fuck off!”

“Don’t you see it?” Midnight tensed up. “Don’t you realize that what you just said to your mother is Blue Sky clawing his way out of his grave?”

Fade turned away.

Midnight sighed when the silence became too unbearable. “I’m sorry, Fade.”

Fade glanced at him briefly. “What for?”

“Galloping Gorge.”

“It’s fine.”

They sat there in silence for a while. Fade looked out into the distance. Her attention was drawn to Midnight when he pushed something over the ground, using his rifle, to keep his distance.

“What is this?” She asked.

“Bread. Eat something.”

“Not hungry.”

“Eat.”

Fade sighed and placed the bread on her lap. When she bit into it from time to time, it was chewy and the lack of salt made it taste bland. “What about Quebit? Any ideas?”

“No.”

“I know I was high but… we could lure the dragon to Quebit, couldn’t we? We have enough medicine for the radiation left, don’t we?”

Locating the dragon took them more time than anticipated, but getting its attention and luring it out of the city was simple. Fade was able to fly much faster than the beast, but the radiation keeping the dragon’s body alive made it much faster than any of them were expecting.

Everything about the plan worked well until Fade began to sweat. The radiation worsened her sickness and left Fade short of breath paired with a piercing headache.

Midnight observed the dragon through the hatch. He told Fade every other moment to keep it steady. But the cold air just below the cloud cover required her to flap her wings every so often. The stress of not being able to take a break along the route only made it worse. The trip from Vanhoover to Quebit was supposed to be a leisure flight for Fade, but with the dragon at their tail, Fade had to endure a full sprint for far longer than her body could.

In the distance Fade saw the heavy thunderclouds above the city carrying the flying fortress. The city itself was barely visible but Fade was more concerned about keeping altitude and speed. The exhaustion had crept up on her and at times she had troubles keeping her eyes open. Her hoof wandered to the pocket where she kept the inhalator. But she was afraid that she couldn’t get through another high.

An alert blared in the cockpit.

“They are shooting at us!” Fade was back to her senses. She saw a yellow line racing from the city towards them, passing them and exploding somewhere in the clouds. Fade began to sway the Vertibuck left and right when a second round was whizzing through the air.

“Fade! The dragon is getting closer,” Midnight shouted.

A third round exploded nearby; closer but still out of reach of the flak’s shrapnel.

“We have to get over the clouds!” Fade shouted and flapped her wings harder. She didn’t want the dragon to attack the city. “Hold tight. Things will get really bad now.”

The Vertibuck entered the clouds and was shaken by turbulence. The cannons on the ground kept firing. Midnight tried to ignore the worry of being torn to pieces by a direct hit of the flak cannon and kept observing the dragon. Sometimes he noticed a green glow in the clouds but more often than not he only saw yellow flashes of exploding anti air rounds.

Fade finally pushed the Vertibuck through the cloud cover, closely chased by the dragon. The steady activity around the Victorious turned into a mad frenzy. Every civilian cloudship took off and was escaping in seemingly random directions. Only two Vertibucks turned to intercept them and from a few hundred yards away they opened fire.

“Hold tight!” Only mad dashes and turns allowed Fade to dodge the incoming fire as well as not crash into the Enclave’s Vertibucks when they rushed past them.

Midnight suddenly felt the warm tingle of radiation weaving around the Vertibuck. “Down!” Midnight yelled when he realized the dragon was about to collide with them.

Fade dived down. The Vertibuck was shaken when its belly brushed over the dense clouds. The dragon’s head snapped and barely missed them. Fade banked away to escape from the reach of the monster.

Fade only noticed at that moment how close they were to the Thunderhead frigate and that they were moving way too fast. She saw pegasi take off and try to escape an impending collision.

Fade swore as she turned her body and opened her wings to slow down. The abrupt drop of speed felt as if the Vertibuck was tearing Fade’s wings out. Pulling the nose up made Midnight and Feather lose grip and they could only curl up when gravity threw them toward the hatch. And yet the vehicle was still too fast and was not climbing quick enough.

Fade groaned and her only chance to prevent crashing into the armored front was to twist and bank the Vertibuck into the frigate’s hangar. She pressed her sore body into the harness as the collision alert rang frantically and a few seconds later the cloudship scraped against the upper frame of the hangar bay. Fade fought to keep control, but she lost it when the vehicle careened into a large skytank. Spinning madly, the Vertibuck skidded over the floor, metal screeching along metal. It came to a stop when it crashed into a parked scout ship.

Everything felt quiet. Even the blaring collision alert was a whisper after the cacophony. But then a massive quake shook the Victorious. The dragon made it to the hangar. Its massive body was too huge for it. Its throat began to glow, the jaw dislodged even further when the balefire erupted from its body and flooded the hangar.

Midnight felt the radiation before the fire reached them. The fire snaked its way around the Skyships and engulfed the Vertibuck. The heat was unbearable in an instant and Fade felt her lungs burn when the radiation tore open the recently healed flesh.

The fire was extinguished quickly when the hangar’s sprinklers exploded into action. The burning balefire sludge was washed away. Thick clouds were coalescing to form a wet foam to suffocate any flame. They were soon wrapped in a thick fog of clouds, steam and the green glow of floating balefire.

“Get up!” Midnight shouted. “We have to get out of the hangar.” The radiation made him fear for Fade. Without any medicine left, they didn’t have the same protection against the radiation like in Vanhoover. He hurried to get his rifle and the balefire egg launcher to prevent it getting taken while they were away.

Feather groaned in pain. Her wing got mangled in the crash. She forced it against her side, crying in pain. Fade wasn’t much better. She hung in the straps of the harness, retching and coughing. She fought to get free from the contraption that was choking her.

Midnight forced the hatch open and immediately alerts pierced his ears. Seeing was impossible in the chaotic and irradiated fog. He guarded the Vertibuck while Feather and Fade needed more time to recover from the crash.

Once Fade was out of the harness, she collapsed. Her hooves were scrounging for the drugs. The pain made it impossible to breathe. With shaking hooves she got an inhalator to her muzzle. One deep breath made her vision swim from the pain, but the moment the chemicals entered her lungs it slowly morphed into an ecstatic haze. Fade calmed down at first, but then she drew her knife, getting ready to kill. She quickly joined Midnight, searching for any Enclave soldiers.

“Quiet!” Midnight said and pushed Fade back into the Vertibuck.

“Soldiers?” Fade asked with glee.

Midnight didn’t know the answer, but a group of ponies was rushing by. Some wore the yellow medic bardings, others wore heavy bags filled with tools. They were accompanied by an Enclave soldier who didn’t have the time to put on his armor.

Fade rushed forward. Before the Enclave mare could even cry out, Fade’s knife already tore through the neck, multiple times. While panic erupted between the engineers, she pulled the knife one last time, the mare almost decapitated and rammed the blade into her skull.

Midnight grabbed Fade and pulled her away from the dead soldier. “Fade! Stop it! We have to stay hidden.”

“It’s the Enclave!” She tried to wrestle free but stopped when she noticed Pokey among the medics. “Midnight. That’s a friend there.”

Midnight couldn’t answer as Feather started to yell at the engineers. She aimed her weapon at them and forced them to lie down and to not move. Feather stepped forward and hit Pokey on the back of her head. “I said down!”

“Are you two completely insane?” Midnight pushed Feather away and helped the medic up. She coughed from the dirty water she swallowed. “Put the gun down!” Midnight shouted at Feather. Some of the engineers took advantage of the distraction and fled.

“Great. Now we are busted,” Midnight growled.

“No problem, Midnight.” Fade was amused as she helped Pokey up. “Her name is Pokey. She’s a friend.”

“I’d rather not,” Pokey said and coughed again. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Killing Enclave!” Fade proclaimed.

“Ignore her.” Midnight positioned himself between Fade and Pokey. “Is it true? Do you know her?”

Pokey nodded. “I do. Was that really necessary?” She asked and pointed with a wing at the dead soldier.

“It wasn’t. Listen, Fade can only move because of some drugs. Do you have some spare medicine?”

“Not anymore,” Pokey said. “Did you bring the dragon here?”

“Unwillingly,” Midnight said. “We need to get something. A Holodisk. Do you know anything about it?”

“Of course she does!” Fade said. “She was there with us in the hangar.”

“This is not the best place to talk,” Feather said and approached the medic. “You know… I’m sorry. Can you get us to a safer place?”

“Only if you stop killing any Enclave you come across. Some of them are just trying not to starve.”

Fade rushed next to the medic. “Listen. I… I… I know what to do. You bring Midnight and Feather to a safe spot, so they can get Killjoy. And I… Where is my power armor?”

“Fade, we don’t have time for that,” Feather said.

“It’s Dad’s armor. If that cunt took it for herself, I can’t guarantee that I'll follow Pokey’s condition. Plus… I may need it to fly us back.”

Midnight turned to Pokey. “You take me and Feather to Killjoy and I will make sure that no other soldier gets killed. And you Fade, you get your armor. No killing.”

“No killing.”

Pokey looked at the dead soldier.

“Was she one of them?” Midnight asked, trying to give Pokey a brief moment of comfort. “Who just tried to survive?”

Pokey didn’t answer him. Instead she turned away from the corpse and hurried them to the maintenance deck.

The frigate shook each time one of the huge cannons were firing. Deep inside the veins of maintenance tunnels, the battle between the dragon and the Enclave seemed far away. Pokey strode down the hallways and each time other engineers and personnel were stopping at the sight of them, she told them they were friends. Locked away from the loyal crew, the draftees were forced to navigate the Frigate in the dimly lit corridors. Fade grinned about how the ignorance of the Enclave gave them a bigger advantage then she could have ever hoped for.

Pokey brought them to a small room, the walls clad with pipes. It was used by the draftees to avoid the watchful eyes of the Enclave’s coordinators and to take short breaks.

“The Enclave has a terminal room five decks lower. When you are there, follow the green line” Pokey told them. “Colloquy’s quarters are two decks up. It is very close to the bridge and the canteen.”

“How do I get in?”

“The officers have the rooms permanently locked.” Pokey says. “Only way in is with their keycard or a medical emergency. The latter requires permission by the bridge crew.”

“Sounds like a big security risk,” Midnight remarked.

“It is. But General Lightning Dust thinks differently after suffering a cardiac arrest a few months ago.”

Fade smiled. “So all I need to do is to torture an Enclave cunt to make them open the door?”

“Fade!” Midnight snapped. “Is it possible to send out that order from the terminal room?”

“No clue. I’m a doctor. But that signal alerts the entire medical personnel on the ship. Including the loyalists.”

Midnight nodded. “What is the fastest way back to the hangar?”

“Through the canteen, back into the maintenance corridors and then you follow the radiation alerts.” Pokey said. “I need to go now to clean up your mess.”

“Do you have some medicine left?” Fade asked.

Pokey stopped at the door and sighed. “I said it earlier and I’ll say it again. Not anymore.”

Midnight and Feather rushed down the stairs until they reached the right deck. The roar of cannons was still echoing down to this level. Midnight listened before leaving the stairwell. He heard hoof steps in every corridor but it was quiet compared to the activity many decks above them. Midnight and Fade followed the green markings on the wall. Any time they heard steps they hid behind a corner. It was always an engineer rushing to solve yet another problem.

They finally arrived at the terminal room. The door was closed. There was no way for them to sneak in. “At my signal.” Midnight said. He waited for Feather to get into position. A brief nod and he pressed the button to open the door. When it slid open Feather rushed in and pointed her rifle at a stallion in Enclave uniform.

“On the ground! Now!” She shouted.

Midnight rushed in and aimed in the rough direction of two ponies who sought cover behind a workbench. “Feather. Round them up.”

She stepped forward and tried to hide the pain in her wing. She kicked the pony to make him move, while Midnight went through the room to look for any pony hiding among the rows of terminals, desks and shelves. “It’s clear!”

“Midnight!” Feather called him. She was guarding the only three ponies they had found. “There it is.”

Midnight followed the brief nod and he found a complex terminal setup with a pristine Holodisk plugged into it. Midnight recognized it and the sense of familiarity made him feel sick.

“Go. Get it!” Feather said. “I’ll take care of them.”

Confused, he yanked the holodisk out. Only one thing left. He looked at the other terminals but none of them gave him any idea about their purpose. He headed back to the workers. “Which one controls the doors?” He shouted at them.

“Why should we tell you?”

Feather shot him. The stallion’s head turned into dust and the magic was eating its way through the rest of the body until only the uniform remained.

“We agreed to not—”

“We have no time for that. He wore a uniform. These two aren’t. I just removed the witness.” Feather said. “Open the doors. Every single one via medical emergency protocol.”

Under the influence of the drugs it was almost impossible for Fade to remain hidden in the shadows. “Why should I stay in the dark and miss all of the bright contrasts?” Fade thought. She already began to miss the vibrations and droning from the cannons. Fade couldn’t say for sure if the dragon was winning or if the combined firepower of the Enclave tore the undead beast apart. Whatever the case was, she hoped the dragon could kill a lot of them. It soured her mood that she couldn’t rush out of her hiding spot and slice open any Enclave loyalist that crossed her path.

Lost in thoughts of grandeur she almost forgot why she was here. Fade waited a moment until the constant noise of hasty hoof steps died down. She stepped out into the brightly lit corridors. “How easy it would have been to pretend to be a loyal Enclave bitch.” Fade’s mind drew elaborate plans. “How many more of them could she have killed from the inside? She could have been the balefire, eating them up from the inside.”

Fade rushed along the corridors and past the vacant canteen. It smelled like warm food but with no particular aroma of any kind. Pale, bland food. Sterile and lifeless like wide ranges of the wasteland. Fade turned around a corner, followed another hallway and found herself in a much quieter part of the deck. There was even a carpet covering the metallic floor. She moved past the doors of the officers’ quarters, until she stopped at one.

“Colloquy.” Fade whispered. A small glance left and right and she pressed a key on the terminal to open it. Denied. “Shit… too early.” Fade looked around. There was no place to hide. She heard somepony in power armor getting closer. In a desperate attempt she remained at the terminal and pressed random keys.

“Hey!” A young pegasus noticed her. “What are you doing fiddling around there?” He already activated his weapon.

“Software error!” Fade shouted and she tried to sound like Midnight when he talked about terminals. “Something is… uh… flooding the system with medical emergency messages.”

“I have never seen you here before. You look like a filthy mud pony.”

Fade flapped her wings and hovered in the air, saluting to the soldier. “Draftee Swift. It’s my first day here and oh boy! Do you always fight dragons?”

“No. We don’t. Your ID card!” The soldier bellowed.

“My ID card?” Fade landed again and trotted to the soldier, searching with her wings in her pockets. “It has to be somewhere. Say… is it true what the Enclave says?”

“True what?”

“That the Enclave stallions are the most handsome?”

“I asked for your ID card! Back off!”

But Fade stepped closer and reached with a hoof for his left foreleg. “Tell me! There must be a cute rookie under that armor.” Fade began to pat and cradle his armor.

“Fuck off bitch! You reek like shit!” The pony primed his weapon, ready to shoot. But after three taps of Fade’s hoof his armor loosened and the armor plates opened up. “What the fuck!”

Fade quickly drew her knife. She cut through the exposed neck and didn’t give the stallion a chance to cry out for help. He pushed his hooves against his neck to stop the bleeding. His coughs and gurgles filled Fade with joy when she realized that her idea to infiltrate the Enclave would have worked.

The door to Colloquy’s quarters opened. “Finally.” Fade turned away from the dying stallion and rushed inside.

A desk to the left, some terminals to the right. A small table surrounded by colorful pillows to sit down. But no armor. The walls were decorated with pictures of Colloquy and Lightning Dust.

“Rotten bitch.” Fade commented, when she saw portraits of Lightning Dust among the photos on the desk. She moved into the next room. A bed with clean sheets and a blanket. It was a real bedroom with a dresser, a wardrobe and night table. The furniture was ordinary at best, but luxury compared to the thousands of ponies who had to sleep on dirty rocks.

But she found what she was searching for. Her father’s armor. Fade hurried to put on the heavy armor. She started with the legs. The small computer at the foreleg began the booting process. With ease she put on the plating to protect her torso and felt how every component enhanced her strength. At last she put on the helmet and smiled when her senses were enhanced by the built-in E.F.S. Finally, she was complete.

She realized that Midnight and Feather must have gotten Killjoy from the terminal room. She was ready to rush out and get back into the Vertibuck, but she noticed something. One of the terminals was showing a blinking alert message. “Killjoy!”

Fade stepped closer. A set of numbers displayed the relative position to the Holodisk. It was moving. The altitude of it was increasing slowly. The Enclave tagged the Holodisk.

“Fuck…” Fade took the Ripper and destroyed the terminal’s display. With the Enclave stalled, Fade wanted to rush out. But her E.F.S. was registering red signals. Enclave soldiers were rushing into the hallway and took position.

She retreated to the bedroom just in time. They already threw a grenade into the room. A brief look told Fade that it was a flash grenade. She ducked behind cover and closed her eyes. The loud static and flashes were canceled out by the armor. It caught Fade off-guard that the armor protected her against this as well. But she knew she could use this to her advantage. She cowered on the floor and observed two red E.F.S. signals getting closer. Fade knew from their movement that they knew exactly where she was and that her urge to kill them let her appear as a red spot on their E.F.S. as well. “So be it!”

When the first soldier was close enough, Fade left the cover. The drug combined with the enhanced strength and speed of the armor made her feel invincible. The Ripper blade cut off half the mare’s nose, through the visor and into her eye.

The E.F.S. signal turned yellow and Fade stormed at the remaining red signal. Her knife was about to pierce the armored neck when the soldier fired at her. The magic bullet hit her chest. The heavy armor protected her but the impact and heat made her stumble and fall. The knife just cut through the plates, but didn’t pierce the flesh.

Fade forced herself up, yearning for violence! She tilted her head to ram the knife into the soldier. But an armored hoof hit her muzzle. She dropped the knife and tasted blood. Before she could turn to take the knife, the soldier pressed his hoof on her neck, pinning her to the floor.

His armored hoof pushed down on her throat and Fade felt how the plates struggled against the ever increasing force. Fade tried to hit his muzzle, but her opponent was bigger. She reached for the ripper but the soldier flicked it away with a wing.

Fade had only seconds left before the soldier’s power armor cracked the plating at her throat. She noticed the armor’s computer on the leg and hit the spot below three times. Nothing happened and the soldier let out a dirty laugh.

The armor was tightening around her throat. Instead of desperation Fade only felt the thrill. She realized the gash at the neck’s armor and hit it with all her force. The damaged armor plate gave way so that the stallion struggled to breath. His grip loosened just enough for Fade to twist her head and slip away.

Fade rolled and grabbed her knife, remembering that she could hold the weapon with her hooves. The soldier regained his breath and followed her. He raised a leg to stomp her face, but Fade pushed the knife into his hoof.

The soldier cried out in pain and Fade pulled at the knife to make him fall. She rammed the knife through the armor plates at the stomach, ripping the knife up. Blood was gushing over the carpet while the armor kept the intestines inside. Fade realized more dots on her E.F.S., about a dozen.

When she got up to face the next, a loud crack echoed through the corridor and into the room. One of the signals turned yellow. The others were scattering, some entering the room to find cover. A second shot felled another soldier, the red signal immediately disappearing.

“Retreat!”

Fade recognized Colloquy’s voice and smiled. “Finally!”

Magic energy lances pierced the walls next to Midnight. He had to duck back behind the corner. After the surprise of the moment was over, one of the many soldiers returned fire.

More bursts of magic dissolved parts of the wall and the pink dust covered Midnight’s face. He waited for a moment to take another shot, but the soldier didn’t give him any opportunity.

“Midnight! Three down the hallway!” Feather alerted him.

He aimed his rifle and fired at the foremost soldier. The hasty shot made the bullet pierce through the leg. The high caliber tore flesh and bones apart. The mare fell and the leg was only held in place by her armor. The other two soldiers took cover at the door frames.

“Run!” Midnight shouted and fired again to give Feather enough time to retreat into the canteen. With reinforcements arriving from every direction it was impossible for them to return to the narrow maintenance halls.

In the canteen, Midnight and Feather jumped behind the food counter. Midnight used the brief moment to reload. Feather took a better firing position some distance away from Midnight.

The first group of soldiers were rushing in, already opening fire at the counter. The magic shots pierced through thin sheet metal and tore apart food trays and heating units. White and gray mush, pink dust and small metal specks rained down on them. Feather returned fire but was blinded by the flashing lights and dirt in the air.

Midnight didn’t have any chance to align his rifle. In his desperation he grabbed a fire extinguisher and threw it over the counter. While some of the Enclave ponies took cover, another shot at it. The cylinder exploded from the intense heat of the plasma bolt and fire foam covered the walls and floor.

That brief moment gave Midnight time to take two and even a third shot at the attackers. Together with Feather they managed to kill two and pin down the rest of the squad.

More soldiers appeared at a different entrance and started to shoot at them.

“Feather! Keep them down!” Midnight shouted over the noise. He used the angle of the cover to line another shot and fired. The bullet tore through the wall. Blood spurted on the floor and the pony behind fell lifelessly to the ground. The other moved away from the doorframe to avoid the same fate.

Midnight knew they could cover two entrances, but the canteen had four. The moment another group joined their enemies, they were certainly trapped.

Fade quickly and quietly killed the two soldiers in the room. Both were young, certainly not much older than the Shadowbolts she fought in the Ministry.

She noticed how Colloquy’s squad retreated. They left the detection radius of her E.F.S., but she soon heard shots from the direction they went. A brief look into the hallway showed her two more dead ponies. Both were killed by a clean shot; one into the head, the other into the side. The weapon tore through their armor as if it was paper.

She ran down the hallway, searching for Midnight. Getting closer to the canteen, she noticed four soldiers blocking one entrance. Colloquy was not among them. Pink energy bolts flew past them and Fade knew they had pinned down Midnight and Feather.

She was ready to ambush them. But she heard the noise of countless ponies getting closer. A group of almost a dozen heavily armed soldiers ran and flew along the hallway to, almost certainly, block another entrance to the canteen. Behind them Fade saw General Lightning Dust, escorted by a few bodyguards.

Her smile grew even wider. At the sight of a much more desirable goal. She galloped past the pinned down group, pretending her presence was normal. Passing by, she noticed when a magical energy minigun began firing and tore apart what was left of the counter. Even the metal panels behind them began to evaporate. Two squads of soldiers stormed into the canteen, toppling over tables to take firing positions. They all waited for the minigun’s fire to die down to deliver the killing blow.

Fade couldn’t blindly attack them. These ponies didn’t move or act like the rookies all over the place. These were probably veterans from the war. As much as she wanted to, violence and bloodshed wouldn’t help them.

“Kill them.” She heard Lightning Dust shout, followed by a cough.

“No!” She called.

Lightning Dust looked at her. “Identify!” the general shouted. Her voice was croaking but still carried arrogance and authority.

“Shadowbolt Brave!” Fade hovered and saluted. “I am part of a hunter-seeker group, sent out to retrieve valuable assets.” Fade had no idea how the Shadowbolts talked. She only tried to think of what her Dad would say.

“What assets?”

“Two ponies. Asset Swift Wings and Asset Key. The ponies in there are relatives of Swift.”

“Is that so?”

“Affirmative. They lured the dragon to this place as a distraction to infiltrate the Victorious and get back an artifact called Killjoy. I suggest capturing them and taking them hostage to force Swift or Key to surrender.”

“Good. You heard her.” Lightning Dust grinned and took a communicator. “Colloquy. Prepare a beachhead and start negotiations.”

“Stay down!” The moment the minigun’s fire died down, the soldiers didn’t press any further. “The general wants to talk to you.”

Midnight realized the strangeness of the situation. All the Enclave needed was a charge or a few grenades to finish them. Midnight feared they captured Fade. “What is it?” He shouted from behind the cover.

Midnight had to wait for a long time before he heard the raspy voice of the general. “If you surrender we will let you go free in exchange for Swift. Tell us her position and we will escort you two back to the surface.”

Midnight looked over the remnants of the counter. General Lightning Dust was in the canteen, surrounded by soldiers and protected behind a shield spell. Colloquy’s group entered the canteen and prepared to flank them if necessary. They were outnumbered.

“What if we refuse?” Midnight tried to stall. He disappeared back into the cover and looked to see if there was a way out in the tiny, automated kitchen. The robot installed to produce the food was destroyed, the brain leaking out from the dome.

“If you refuse, we will take this chance to execute you. Maybe then this Swift will leave her hiding spot.”

“We can still fight!” Midnight tried to stall for time.

“I discourage you from doing that. I heard that both burning by plasma and slow disintegration by magic are very painful. But I wonder which one is worse.”

Suddenly, one soldier next to Lightning Dust drew a Ripper knife. Fade grabbed the elderly general and held the blade at her throat.

“What about slowly bleeding out, bitch?” The soldiers around her aimed their weapons at her. “Colloquy, you stupid cunt! Tell your cronies to put down the weapons or I will kill your general before the next cardiac arrest does!”

Colloquy rushed into the canteen. Upon seeing General Lightning Dust in peril she stopped cold in her tracks. “You heard her! Weapons down!”

“Good girl,” Fade mocked her. “You will get your wannabe general back after we have left the Victorious. You will escort us back to our ship, let us board and go. Understood?”

“Yes. There is no need for further bloodshed!”

Fade grinned and looked at the soldiers. “Are you stupid? Fuck off already!” She pushed the knife more against Lightning Dust’s throat. The soldiers were retreating and Colloquy yelled at them to hurry up.

Fade moved Lightning Dust closer to the counter. Midnight and Feather were slowly leaving their cover. Midnight had his rifle ready, balancing on his hindlegs like a zebra would while keeping his rifle primed at Colloquy. Feather observed every door. The peak of her rifle was buzzing with energy, ready to be fired at any moment.

Slowly they made it back to the hangar. Colloquy informed every squad nearby to not engage. Fade savored the look of fear on her face. When they arrived at the Vertibuck Midnight and Feather went in first.

“Feather. Take over,” Fade said, as she had to get into the harness.

“Down!” Feather shouted and Lightning Dust, shivering and whimpering, lay down on the ramp of the Vertibuck. Feather pushed the hot, glowing tip against Lightning Dust’s head.

“Midnight. Keep Colloquy in check. If she does anything stupid, kill her.”

He only nodded and took the place next to Feather, aiming his rifle right at Colloquy’s head.

“What about the general?” Feather whispered, while Fade was preparing the Vertibuck to start.

“What I said. When we are outside the hangar, let her go.”

The seconds crawled by like minutes. Fade hurried. She was glad that, despite all the crashes, that all the ship's systems were still working. The Vertibuck started. Fade had to move slowly and carefully to make sure that Colloquy was always in Midnight’s sight.

Even with the drugs, Fade felt the stress and anxiety. The sweat was burning in her eyes. Her body was tense. The moment Lightning Dust left the Vertibuck, she would have to fly faster than ever before. Thankfully she had the power armor of her father and she already felt how much the mechanical wings helped her.

Colloquy jumped on a nearby Skytank. She was too worried for Lightning Dust’s security to care for her own. Midnight had her head right in his crosshair. He wouldn’t miss the shot.

At the hangar gate, Fade lowered the Vertibuck to let Lightning Dust step off the ramp.

“Let her go,” Fade said.

“You heard it. Get up.” Feather said and kept aiming her weapon at her head.

Midnight’s body froze. He was still aiming at Colloquy and believed he understood Fade’s plan. Showing mercy would leave them confused and incapable of chasing them. It would give them time.

Feather fired. Lightning Dust’s head evaporated into pink dust. Her corpse tumbled off the ramp and fell into the open sky below. A pink trail was all that could be seen, before the empty armor fell through the clouds.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Sniper - Midnight’s ranged attacks have a much higher chance to score a critical hit.

New Perk: Master Assassin - Fade’s attacks deal double damage while she is sneaking.

Chapter 21: Conviction

“They will indeed go very far if you ask them nicely. But they will stop at nothing if you make them believe it is the right thing to do.”

Midnight sat next to the cockpit, his rifle pointed at Feather. As much as the killing of General Lightning Dust shocked the Enclave and gave them a head start, it showed Midnight how unreliable she was. Midnight made sure that everything of importance was near him, while also protecting Fade. Feather barely moved. She only wrapped her legs and hooves into clothes to fight off the cold, which was penetrating the damaged hull.

Midnight knew that Fade had to focus on the flight. The effects of the drugs were dwindling fast and Fade felt the shortness of breath burning in her chest. Thankfully her armor supported her greatly. She barely felt the strain on her wings. It helped her to calm down and get used to the shallow breathing she needed to avoid the pain in her chest. But each time she coughed, she tasted blood.

Some time after their escape from the frigate they were followed by a scout ship. No matter how fast Fade flew, she couldn’t get rid of the ship. Feather had peeked out of the hatch’s window and warned them early on of their pursuer. Without weapons they couldn’t do anything about it.

In the distance Fade saw the flashes of occasional explosions in the dead forest at the foot of the Smokey Mountain. The Steel Rangers and Everlast were already fighting. They were both early and it was only luck that Fade and Midnight had returned in time.

Suddenly the shrill beeps alerted Fade that they were under fire by an air defense cannon. Yellow streaks of anti air rounds rushed from the ground at them.

“Fuck, not again!” Fade yelled and turned the Vertibuck to evade the incoming bullets. Swaying the Vertibuck left and right, diving and ascending quickly, she tried everything to confuse the gunner. The Vertibuck rattled loudly and reminded Fade of the lightly damaged hull and how much suffering the vehicle had to endure.

A second alarm blared up.

“Locked on!” Fade shouted and in front of her she saw a missile ascending from the forest. She tore the Vertibuck around at the last moment in an attempt to confuse the missile. It detonated behind them, the shockwave enough to make Fade lose control.

Alarms of a hull breach and a damaged cloud generator were numbing Fade’s ears while she fought with the centrifugal forces tearing at her body. Midnight and Fade were pressed against the hull. The sky around her got peppered with smoke clouds and shrapnel crashed into the Vertibuck. The windshield shattered after the abuse and freezing winds rushed into the vehicle. It took all of Fade’s will and stamina to stabilize the Vertibuck and keep it just above the treetops.

“Midnight! Are you alright?” she shouted in a feeble attempt to be heard over the rushing wind.

“Yes! Feather too.” Midnight held the Cicada and the balefire egg launcher tightly. The rear hatch was shaking violently. Midnight noticed a tear at the spot where they crashed into the hangar bay. “Fade! The Vertibuck won’t make it much longer. Get us to the mountain!”

When Midnight got his balance back, Feather was pointing a small pistol at him.

“Feather?”

The darts of the taser tore into Midnight’s weak flesh. There was no pain but the electric surge made his muscles spasm uncontrollably. He tried to fight it but he wasn’t even able to focus his eyes on Feathers.

Fade looked back and saw how Feather quickly approached Midnight. She grabbed her rifle and shouldered the launcher. She quickly turned to Midnight and pressed his twitching body to the floor. She grabbed a balefire egg from his bag and lastly tore his clothes aside to take Killjoy.

Before the taser emptied its batteries, Feather opened the hatch. The wind tore the hatch out and the Vertibuck shook even more. Fade had to fight against the winds and each wave of turbulence pushed the Vertibuck off course. There was no way for her to stop Feather. With the hatch wide open, she didn’t dare make any maneuver for the fear that Midnight may fall out.

Feather spread her wings under great pain and jumped.

“Midnight! Feather took Killjoy!”

“I know…” Midnight growled. He tore the taser darts out of his body, his muscles still cramping. “I’ll try to stop her. Warn the others!”

“I will.” Fade looked back for a moment before Midnight jumped out as well.

Fade arrived with aching wings at the plateau just under the cloud cover. She had lost track of the scout and didn’t want to draw any of the Enclave’s attention by landing right in front of the lair. The landing gear wasn’t deploying properly and the Vertibuck crashed heavily onto the rock.

Fade tore herself from the harness and rushed out. She stopped when she saw a massive Raptor cloudship, escorted by four Vertibucks and two scout ships descending from the clouds. Fade believed she could recognize the ribcage drawn on the Raptor’s belly.

She ran. The armor gave her a speed she thought impossible in her state. Her entire body was hurting. She was used to it but the pain was stretching out into her skull.

“Shib! Key!” She shouted upon arrival at the huge cave.

Key was rushing to her and grabbed her for a tight hug.

“It’s okay. I’m here. Where is the dragon?” Fade didn’t have much time to comfort her sister.

“What’s going on?” The dragon’s voice growled when he emerged from the depths of his cave. “I can hear the explosions up here!”

“We have a problem. Killjoy… Feather got Killjoy. She has a balefire egg launcher and is on the way here.”

“To do what?”

“To kill you and activate Killjoy.”

Green flames burst from his nose. “I should have never trusted you!”

“It’s not my fault that she is convinced you have that stupid computer!” Fade was shaken by heavy coughs. She tasted blood and spit it out. “Listen… If you have any medicine, I will find Feather and stop her. Midnight is already searching for her in the forest. Her wing is broken.” Fade wanted to say more but the sickness was taking its toll on her.

The dragon growled in anger. He stomped away to fetch a strong healing potion for Fade. She drank the liquid hastily. It burned in her throat and she felt something shifting and moving in her lungs. The pain subsided but she knew one potion was not enough and certainly not able to heal the disease.

She turned to Shibboleth. “The Enclave is here too. They followed us. So no radio contact with us.”

“Okay.” She turned to the dragon. “Do you have anything to give my equipment more power? I can jam their communications and sensors. That should help to keep your cave hidden.”

“I’ll get you a cable,” the dragon said, more concerned about his own safety than theirs. “And you!” He turned to Fade. “You will fix this.”

Fade gave him a brief nod. “I promise.” She turned around to leave in a rush.

Key stopped her at the entrance. “Don’t go.” Key grabbed her.

Fade held her sister in a close hug. “Listen… I must.. I have to go.”

Key shook her head, her cheeks dampening from tears.

“Key. You need to be my Shadowbolt. You need to be my hero. Remember… Use S.A.T.S. Okay?” Fade hugged her sister tightly.

“It’s not okay.”

“But it has to be okay.” Fade searched in her clothes and found the Rainbow Dash figurine to give it to her. She couldn’t lose any more seconds. Fade broke the embrace and rushed out of the cave. She jumped over the cliff and spread her wings to dive through the clouds.

Fade landed briefly on a plateau to observe the battle. The Enclave ships were hovering high above and bombarded the forest with its missiles and cannons. Fires broke out where the explosives set the dead trees ablaze. Missiles and flak fire was returned at them, one Vertibuck was already damaged and had to retreat back over the clouds.

Fade opened the visor and had to rub the tears away. She didn’t want to go. Fade checked if her remaining four doses of drugs were still there. Taking a deep breath, she put on the rebreather mask and dived into the battle below.

Midnight sought cover and shelter under the husk of dead trees. The Enclave bombardement was inaccurate and indifferent to Steel Rangers and Everlast’s troops alike. On his frantic search he came across the mangled remains of ponies who had gotten hit by the missiles. All around him the forest was filled with explosions, heavy gunfire and smoke. The red hue of fire was spreading far away. He had no idea how to find Feather in this chaos.

He saw the Raptor drifting slowly overhead. The tracker… The only thing he knew the Enclave had to retrieve Killjoy was the tracker. He followed the Raptor and hoped it would lead him to Feather. He saw missiles being fired at the huge Cloud Ship. They were moving erratically and missed the behemoth. The dragon killer cannons returned fire but didn’t even come close to hitting their attackers.

He just ran as fast as his legs allowed him. The smoke was darkening the light of the setting sun. He had trouble seeing the floor and stumbled over rocks and debris.

Not far away he saw streaks of bullets tearing through the forest. He recognized the loud drone of a Steel Ranger’s minigun. The fire was returned by brightly colored energy bolts from the air. The Enclave deployed its pegasi and they began strafing runs. The Steel Rangers had massive weapons to return fire, but with the targeting systems jammed they barely hit the fast fliers.

A few yards away he saw energy bolts crashing into a rock, just big enough for three ponies to take cover. One of them was trying to repair the damaged Power Armor of a fallen Ranger, while the other two fought off the approaching Enclave soldiers.

Midnight had no time to give them any more attention but was stopped when a bright orange flare was set ablaze nearby them. “Move!” He heard one of the technicians shouting. They abandoned the armor and ran, blindly firing their meager energy pistols at the Enclave. A brief moment later heavy bolts of burning plasma rained down on their position when a Vertibuck rushed by above the treetops.

The plasma fire added a chaotic display of rainbow colors to the dead gray forest. Midnight jumped behind a fallen tree and curled up. Looking over his cover he saw the technicians tending to one of their wounded. He was too slow and the plasma fire reached his hindleg. Most of the flesh was torn when the hot plasma boiled the blood.

“Over here!” He called them. “Get into cover!”

The two dragged their comrade to the tree. They didn’t dare to use their magic to prevent the Enclave noticing the glow of their horns. Despite their precaution, the Enclave squad was already rounding the plasma fire and shot at the Rangers again.

Midnight followed the bolts to their origin. He used the fallen tree to stabilize the gun, aimed, and fired every time an energy weapon was flaring up.

The technicians made it over the tree. The colors of their coats were unrecognizable from the ash and dirt. The third was screaming and crying in pain. The flesh was still boiling even though the plasma fire was gone.

“Anesthetics spell! Quick!” It was Thunderbolt. Of all the ponies he could have encountered it was him.

The other unicorn covered his horn with a foreleg to keep the magic glow hidden. Thunderbolt was shielding the destroyed leg, looking around at the same time. Only now he realized that he wasn’t helped by another Ranger.

“Midnight… You bastard, did you lure us in here?”

What should he answer? He couldn’t think as the Enclave kept firing at them. He remained quiet, focused and shot. Midnight barely saw a silhouette falling to the ground after he fired. The shooting stopped.

He sank back behind the cover and looked at Thunderbolt. “Yes. It was us.”

Thunderbolt levitated his gun against Midnight’s forehead.

“Bolt! Listen… We told you about Everlast. We gave you the choice.”

“And the Enclave?”

“Bolt, if I wanted to see you dead, I would have killed you already.”

His brother hesitated.

“Listen, the Enclave being here was not part of the plan. We… we were betrayed by one of our members.”

“Why should I even believe you?”

Midnight dug a hoof into his clothes and took the memory orb. “On this is a confession by somepony named Blue Sky. He tricked me into… whatever I did in the past. He… did even worse things than that. Be careful if you look in that.”

They ducked when a burning Vertibuck was crashing through the treetops above them. They covered their heads to protect themselves from the branches and debris. Trees were breaking like dry bones when the Vertibuck crashed into the ground not too far away.

”Bolt! I don’t care if you forgive me or not, but… I am no longer letting Blue Sky dictate who my enemies are!” Midnight pushed the orb into Thunderbolt’s hooves. “Do you have a broadcaster?”

“What for? Why am I even asking, it’s not working!” Thunderbolt shouted.

“That’s our jammer. Try a civilian channel or a Shadowbolt frequency. Use a simple encryption and send a message to Shibboleth. Send her your targeting and communication frequencies so she can exclude them.”

“Again, why?”

“Do you really think I gave you a memory orb only to let you die here? I want you to get out. I want a second chance. And we need somepony to take down these cloud ships.”

Thunderbolt grabbed the radio equipment from the injured technician. He was only whimpering when the spell dulled the pain. Thunderbolt put on the headphones and worked to write and encrypt the message. Midnight guarded them. He looked over the tree. The fire was spreading rapidly. Explosions and gunfire were bleeding into a constant noise.

His brother tapped his shoulder and Midnight sat down again. “Communications work again. We got a regroup order.”

Thunderbolt combined his magic with the other technician to levitate their injured friend onto his back. He glared at Midnight, his eyes showing the deep rooted conflict between them. Midnight covered their retreat. It was now on his brother to shake off Blue Sky’s influence over them.

Fade’s flight down the mountain was a treacherous ordeal. Stray flak fire exploded so close that she thought somepony was firing directly at her. Missiles spiraled without any control through the air. Steel Rangers and Everlast’s scattered soldiers were firing at Enclave squads. The combat stretched so far out that her E.F.S. was useless. The visor tried its best to dim down the bright flashes of explosions and flares. Her rebreather protected her from the smoke, but the steadily spreading forest fire caused rogue winds and updrafts in places she didn’t anticipate.

It was impossible to find Feather amidst the chaos. Fade’s mother was no amateur in staying hidden either. She flew deeper, close to the treetops. Below her, Everlast’s soldiers were rapidly advancing to the mountains. Small groups of ponies were scouting ahead to ensure a free path to the dragon’s lair. She tried to find Everlast or Maverick. Instead she only found diamond dogs escorting ponies or rapidly digging trenches when Steel Rangers or the Enclave were approaching.

A lucky missile crashed into a Vertibuck. Its heavy plasma turrets exploded in a colorful fireball. Spinning around its own axis as it crashed into the trees.

Flapping her tired wings faster she realized that the healing potion would dampen the pain only for so long. She already felt her chest aching. It was still bearable but the moment the pain returned she had to take yet another dose of her drugs. She already forgot how the previous high felt. And her mind was already screaming for the next dose. She ignored it.

Above the treetops she immediately noticed a sudden change in the battle’s dynamics. A scout had troubles dodging the incoming fire from a minigun. The bullets eventually tore through the thin armor. Fade saw the windshield shatter and the scout was tumbling into the burning inferno below.

She circled in the air and used the turbulent updrift to save energy. When she found the Raptor, it was carpet bombing a wide area with a barrage of small rockets. If one pony had a tracker for Killjoy it must be Colloquy. The Raptor was the only ship she could be on. Fade let herself carry a bit higher from the fires and rushed to the Raptor only a few hundred yards away. She didn’t know why and how but the Steel Rangers must have managed to repair or adjust their targeting systems. Several groups of Steel Rangers fired their heavy weapons at the huge Raptor.

Just when it was about to retreat, a barrage of missiles crashed into its side. A bright explosion and smoke was erupting from one of its cloud generators. Like a leaking battleship it began to tilt. Fade flew faster. This was her only chance. Pegasi were already evacuating the ship. She saw ponies in power armor fleeing as well as draftees without any necessary protection.

Low caliber bullets crashed into Fade’s armor and threw her flight off balance. Her body tumbled and only violent flaps helped her to slow down. Just above the treetops she caught her fall. She didn’t see who attacked her, but with the battle focusing on the raptor she saw herself forced to land.

After Fade landed she felt a stinging pain in her side. She felt with her hoof at the places where she got hit. Only small indentures. The bullets didn’t penetrate the armor but the bruise was painful. Breathing hurt and she worried that her ribs may be cracked.

She didn’t have any more time to examine her injury when the Raptor came crashing down. It threw up a massive cloud of dust, which mixed into the heavy smoke. Behind her she heard chaotic gunfire. A series of small explosions told her the Steel Rangers fought with someone, but she couldn’t say who.

Fade ran, but the pain in her side was spreading into her entire chest. She groaned and had to stop. She leaned against a tree and felt sweat under the armor. “Already?” The piercing headache returned and the air began to burn. She tried to ignore it but she almost collapsed after a few more steps. She coughed and tasted blood again.

“This is bad… Really bad.” Fade lifted the rebreather and spit out the bloody slime. She needed that tracker. She couldn’t rest now. Fade took the third inhalator. The motion felt like it was ingrained into her brain. Bite, press, breathe. Joy.

Fade put the rebreather back on. The chemicals quickly flooded her body. Fade expected the drugs to increase her call to destroy the Enclave. But this time the drug only heightened the urgency to find Feather.

She crossed the remaining distance in no time. The Enclave soldiers weren’t reacting to her. For them she was just another soldier to help them survive. Medics and soldiers were dragging injured ponies out of the wreckage. The water reservoirs for the cloud generator were torn open and turned the ground into mud. The few soldiers who were able to fight were already engaged with Everlast’s soldiers. They were not even a hundred feet away and heavily disorganized. It was a group of more than a dozen ponies. They must have fled a battle with the Rangers and ended up here. Fade searched for a way into the Raptor. Her E.F.S. was showing all the pegasi as yellow signals.

“You and you! Cover that side!” Colloquy was hunkered down next to a broken turret, surrounded by two soldiers. Colloquy didn’t wear any armor. Just a thick jacket and a breathing mask against the smoke. The two soldiers rushed to reinforce the others. Everlast’s troops were outnumbering them. Most of the ponies around were draftees and not trained to fight. Pokey was among them.

Fade wished to not find Pokey amidst the chaos and rushed to Colloquy.

“Shadowbolt? What are you doing here?” Colloquy said but then her eyes flooded with fury when she recognized Brave’s armor. “You. Soldiers!”

“No. Feather betrayed us! She killed Lightning Dust.”

A whistle alerted Fade of a mortar shell. Colloquy and the other ponies covered their heads. Fade even found herself shielding Colloquy. The shell hit the Raptor directly and debris of the damaged armor rained down on them.

“Colloquy! I wanted to fulfill the deal.”

“Fuck off, bitch! Soldiers!”

“Colloquy! Listen! I need your help to find Feather. If you want revenge for General Lightning Dust, I need to find her. Give me the tracker for the holodisk and I will tell the Rangers to let you retreat!”

“The Great Pegasus Enclave never retreats!”

“Most of your soldiers are wounded or dead. If you want them to survive, get me a radio and the tracker!”

“Since when do you care for us? You are nothing more than a murderous, treacherous bitch!”

“I am not doing it for your sorry ass. I am doing it to give the draftees a chance! But if you expect me to be a murderous bitch, I can start right here with you!”

Colloquy tried to keep her rage under control. Her eyes were filled with doubt. “You!” She called for one of the engineers. ”Give that cunt the tracker and a radio!”

The engineers rushed to them. His clothes were drenched in blood from his attempts to save the injured. Fade grabbed the radio and looked at how to use it.

“I am glad you are not part of us,” Colloquy said and attached the Broadcaster to a utility mount at her chest. “Too stupid to even get the basics right.”

The armor connected to the Broadcaster. She put the knife away and used the dial on the Broadcaster to switch to a frequency where she hoped Shibboleth would hear her.

“Shib! Can you hear me?” No answer. “Shib. Please.”

“Trackers,” was the only word Shibboleth dared to say.

Fade was elated, the drugs amplifying the relief to an ecstatic rush.

“Shibboleth. Tell the Rangers to let the Enclave go. They are retreating.”

“How?”

“I got the tracker to find Feather, but I promised them that they could retreat. Now tell the Rangers!” Fade couldn’t hold back her frustration.

“On it.”

“Good. It’s done! Now give me the tracker.”

Colloquy hesitated but gave Fade a small device she wore on her foreleg. Fade grabbed it and read the numbers. Fade couldn’t guess how far away Feather was, but her altitude was above her own. She was already climbing the mountain.

“The Rangers are falling back!” one soldier reported to Colloquy.

“Do not shoot at them! We retreat. Focus on these other mud ponies!” Colloquy kept giving orders. When she looked for Fade, she had already disappeared into the smoke.

Chapter 22: Endure

“The moment you and your opponent start to exchange pieces all you can do is wait and see if there is anything left to work with. At the end we exchanged cities.”

Midnight’s search for Feather became more and more frantic. He had to stay hidden. The Rangers would not be able to recognize him and would think he was one of Everlast’s ponies or the Enclave if they saw his wings.

The red glow of the burning forest was spreading faster. Thick smoke was drifting from the north and pushed Everlast’s troops south, the same direction Midnight also traveled. Without any trace of Feather, all he could hope for was to be faster than her. The wind carried the embers, the ash and the heat to him. It wouldn’t be long before the Steel Rangers and Everlast had to put their priorities on escaping the flames.

The fire would drive Everlast’s soldiers ever closer to the dragon’s lair. Even if they needed hours to climb the mountain, their sheer numbers would overwhelm the dragon with ease. The fact that Everlast knew Key’s position was only one more reason for him to lead his troops up the mountain.

Midnight had to warn them. He wasn’t sure if he should risk a flight. The battle between the Rangers and the Enclave died down after the massive cloudship was destroyed. He hadn’t seen any other Vertibucks or any pegasi since. Maybe the Rangers were able to fight them off for good.

But with Everlast approaching the mountain, there was no time. Midnight spread his ragged wings. He hated flying. It would never give him the same satisfaction as it had when he was alive. His wing beats were slow and he didn’t gain much height until his wings caught upon the winds from the fire.

Flapping and sailing in the updrafts he made his way up the mountain. The smoke rose so high it blocked out the setting sun at times. The growing shadows would soon turn the forest into a red hellscape.

Minutes later he found their Vertibuck. An idea struck Midnight. He rushed to the vehicle and galloped inside. He remembered that Feather left in a hurry. If he was lucky, maybe one of the balefire eggs was still around. Emptying one of his saddlebags, one of the twisted gems fell to the floor.

He grabbed it and pushed it into his vest. Maybe it will help him with Everlast’s soldiers. He had no idea how, but at least he had an option. He didn’t waste much more time in the Vertibuck and ran the remaining distance up to the cave.

When he finally arrived, Shibboleth had her equipment set up at the cave’s entrance. The dragon was not very far away and guarded the cave together with Key.

“Everlast is about to climb the mountain.” Midnight began to explain, his voice weak. “I can’t say exactly how many but… it looks like dozens of his ponies are still alive.”

He turned to Shibboleth. The words he had to say weighed heavy on his mind. “I… We have to take Key out of here.”

“No. She is safe up here,” Shibboleth said.

“Yes, but the Rangers are retreating. They won’t help us defeat his army.”

Shibboleth shook her head, unable to accept what needed to be done.

“I found one of the balefire eggs,” Midnight said. “If we can lure Everlast’s soldiers into a trap—”

“You won’t use my daughter as a lure.”

“Mom.” Key spoke up. “What if there is really no other way?”

Shibboleth turned her anger to the dragon. “What is so damn important, that your cave has to stay secret?”

“Mom, please. It’s not about you and me anymore. We promised him!”

Shibboleth’s voice quivered. “I know dear, but I don’t want to lose you too.” She grabbed her daughter into a tight embrace.

“Shibboleth,” Midnight said. “Feather is likely on the way here. She is injured and weak. Everlast’s ponies are tired by now, but if they reach Feather, she may team up with them. We can’t risk this. We must divert them away from here.”

“But how do you want to get us past them? There is only one way down this mountain.”

“The updrift is very strong. I think I can fly her down.”

Shibboleth hugged her daughter, her eyes closed and her body tense. She sighed. “You know what Fade said all the time?”

“Remember to use S.A.T.S.”

Shibboleth nodded. “Okay… I will stay here and try to stop Feather. Midnight… Please take good care of my daughter.”

“I will.” Midnight turned to the dragon. “You… mentioned a cabin. Where is it?”

“A quarter mile away. From the entrance a bit to the right. You may be able to see it from above.”

“Thank you. Good luck.”

Key climbed on Midnight’s back. The weight was strenuous for his body.

“This won’t be an easy ride down.” Midnight said and a moment later he jumped.

Both were falling through the cloud cover. Key held tight and was more scared of the fall than Midnight’s damaged and rotten body. Their fall lasted for seconds before the wind caught them and let them slow down. Not much later the burning winds were whipping against Midnight’s and Key’s face. His tattered wings were capturing less air than he thought and their descent was fast. Midnight couldn’t tell if Everlast’s troops were changing direction. He was too focused on finding the cabin. The fire was spreading rapidly. Some of the flames flickered in a wide array of colors where the Enclave’s plasma weapons struck the ground.

He found the cabin but the flames were very close and so were Everlast’s soldiers. Midnight descended faster and faster. The cabin was his only chance to lure them into a trap.

His landing was rough and both rolled over the floor, whirling up a cloud of ash. Key coughed but still tried to help Midnight to get up. They hurried through the forest, the red glow not far away and the heat was already unbearable.

When they reached the cabin Midnight broke the door open and looked around. It was in disrepair. The wooden floor was creaking with each step and there was the pungent smell of mold.

“Key, see if you can find anything to wrap around your muzzle.”

They both rummaged through the cupboards of an old kitchen and bedroom. The cabin didn’t even have a proper bath. From the kitchen Midnight noticed movement between the trees. In front of the red haze, ponies were approaching the cabin. He noticed the wide selection of weapons held and levitated and the irregular shapes of their uniforms. Behind he saw the towering shapes of diamond dogs.

“Key… Run.”

The wind was carrying Fade upwards. She was constantly looking at the tracker. Feather was climbing up the mountain but hadn’t progressed very far. A deep fear was pushing away the euphoria of the drug.

Fade landed on a plateau. The tracker told her she was only thirty feet above Feather. Fade stood close to the rock, hidden in the darkness caused by the smoke and the setting sun.

“It would be easy.” Fade thought to herself. “A swift strike and another dose could make her forget that she had to kill…” She hated the thought. She hated that she couldn’t tell if that was her own thought or caused by the drugs.

Feather was slowly climbing up the mountain. Her broken wing hung at her side, the rifle on the other and the balefire launcher tied on her back. Her entire body was covered in ash and dust.

Fade drew her knife and held the blade low. The Ripper would cut easily through the skull and into her brain. Feather wouldn’t feel any pain. Fade stepped out of the shadow. The gravel crunched under her armored hooves. Feather stopped and looked up. Slowly, Fade took the helmet off. She didn’t want to be a Shadowbolt like her father. She couldn’t be one. Not now.

Feather’s eyes were tired and empty. Ash was falling like snow between them, covering the ground in a thin, gray blanket. Explosions and gunshots were distant and irrelevant. The Enclave, Steel Rangers, Everlast; Everything was forgotten.

Feather activated her rifle. The tip glowed and buzzed. Fade knew that Feather would require a full charge to pierce through the armor. She, in return, activated the magic blade of her knife. She only needed to rush forward. One or two feet to the right and Feather would miss the shot. Striking with the knife would be easy, carried by the momentum of her movement.

Fade gripped the handle of the knife tighter. She felt her jaw tensing up, anticipating, waiting… hesitating. Fade looked at the gently glowing blade. Her jaw relaxed and Fade threw the knife away. That was not her. She would not follow that path.

The buzzing and crackling noise of Feather’s rifle didn’t die down. With heavy steps, Feather moved forward, one step at a time, wariness in her eyes. When she tried to move past her daughter, Fade stood in her way. Feather turned and tried again, only to find Fade blocking her path again.

“Go away,” Feather said quietly.

But Fade blocked a third attempt.

“Go away.” Feather’s voice tensed up.

Fade didn’t move.

“Go away!” Feather shouted and tried to push her daughter away. Her weak legs were no match for Fade’s armor. Feather pushed all her weight against her, shouting and yelling again to go away. In her frustration Feather hit Fade’s cheek. It barely hurt, but Fade could no longer bear her stoic expression.

“Go away!” Feather hit her daughter again. A third time. Four. Each hit was weaker but more tearful than the last.

“Go away…” Feather’s voice broke into sobs.

She collapsed, her head against Fade’s chest. Fade couldn’t hold back her tears at the sight of her broken and exhausted mother. She wailed. Years of hope and grief. A life, ruined by a few in power, could only be expressed in tears.

Fade, as much as she wanted to, couldn’t comfort her mother. She stood there, helpless, unable to express any feeling. Only the harsh wind of the inferno below was whispering.

Eventually Feather took the launcher and gave it to Fade, followed by the holodisk. Fade strapped the weapon on her back and secured Killjoy in her armor. There was nothing to be said. Fade turned around, spread her wings and flew away.

Chapter 23: Connected

“In your eyes every friend can be seen in the shape of a tiny star.”

The bullet tore half of the diamond dog’s head away. The body slumped to the ground and the ponies next to it sought cover behind the dead trees. Midnight aligned his rifle and fired again. The shot pierced the weak wood and killed the pony behind it.

“Run!” Midnight shouted again when he noticed that Key was still in the kitchen.

“What about you?”

“I can’t set the trap with you around. Run south and stay away from the fire! Run to the mountains!”

Bullets tore the wood of the cabin apart. Some stray shots were enough to make some of the cupboards fall. Midnight ducked briefly, changed to the other side of the window and fired again. He saw how flesh was torn out of the body when the bullet fully pierced through the gunner’s body.

“Run, while they are not shooting! I’ll cover you!”

Key finally galloped to the entrance. Midnight shot the Cicada again at any shape he saw moving. He felt a rush in his body that he hadn’t felt in decades. He shot, a neck torn open. Another, a leg ripped off. A weapon made to kill Steel Rangers in full armor pierced through flesh and made Everlast’s advance stop. The last shot felled another dog.

Midnight had to reload. He ducked and rushed to the bedroom, while Everlast’s soldiers returned fire. The first salvos were blind suppression fire, followed by aimed shots at the window. A grenade brought the kitchen to collapse.

He changed the magazine of his rifle and took position at the bedroom window.

Everlast’s ponies were still hesitant. Midnight aimed at a pony’s head and fired. The helmet wasn’t able to protect the wearer. A group of ponies returned fire immediately. The bullets tore through the wooden wall and into Midnight’s body. He felt his muscles torn and bones cracking. He had to seek cover behind the bed.

Below him he heard a deep rumble in the ground. A clawed hand broke through the wood. Midnight grabbed his knife and impaled the claw. The diamond dog whined in pain. Midnight took the rifle, aimed it at the ground and fired. The claw stopped moving.

More bullets peppered the cabin and Midnight felt some digging into his back. A glimpse out the window told him they were surrounding the house. He had to flee now. He left the bedroom and crawled along the floor to have cover from the collapsed kitchen.

Midnight heard another dog digging through the floor. He quickly shot at the creature. The bullet tore the muzzle and parts of the skull away. The body bent backwards and remained in that undignified position.

Midnight fled through the entrance and placed the balefire egg on a windowsill. Another grenade shook the cabin and the egg fell. He put it back and noticed two ponies slowly rounding the cabin.

He fired at the first and hit the rump. The mare didn’t even have a chance to cry out in pain when the bullets made her lungs collapse. He had maybe one or two shots left. Shooting again was too risky. He ran. The other pony was firing with its heavy assault rifle at him. Midnight felt the impacts but he couldn’t stop.

The soldier called out to the others that Midnight was fleeing. The chase began. He ran and ran. Hooves and bullets were whirling up ash and dirt all around him. The mad escape through the trees and smoke gave him cover, leaving only a few lucky shots to pierce him.

He finally jumped behind a fallen tree, turned around and took aim. He hoped he was far away enough. He fired at the balefire egg and prayed that it would explode. The corrupted gem splintered and released the necrotic magic in a huge fiery blast.

The sight of the green fireball rapidly expanding filled Midnight with a fear long forgotten. He was not far away enough. He tried to duck but the shockwave already caught his frail body and hurled him away. He lost his orientation of what was up and down, his body nothing more than a puppet. Heat burned his clothes and fur away. When he finally hit the ground the warm radiation was laying on him like a blanket. The smoke filling the sky glowed green from the flames and drowned out the red haze from the forest fire.

When the rush of the explosion ended, green embers and burning debris were raining down on him. He couldn’t move. He felt the ashen snow landing on his eyes. He blinked. His eyes felt tired. He felt that the ground was soft beneath him. The radiation reminded him of a warm home.

For the first time in decades, Midnight felt truly tired.

Fade hadn’t arrived at the peak when she saw the green fireball. Her thoughts were immediately with Midnight. She couldn’t remember if Midnight took a balefire egg.

She noticed a pony on the path, staring at the green fireball below. She folded her wings and went into a nose dive to gain speed and quickly reach her. Fade landed harshly and skidded over the gravel. “Shibboleth!”

She rushed to Fade. “Midnight took Key to lure Everlast away!”

“Fuck.” Fade dropped the launcher and gave Shibboleth the Holodisk. “Take this and go back to the cave!”

“What about Feather?”

Fade was already heading for the cliff but stopped briefly. “She… She is okay.”

Fade jumped and spread her aching and tired wings. She rushed down the mountain. The forest fire created such a heavy updraft of wind that Fade felt like she was flying against a storm. She tried to see anything but the smoke was drifting south and made it impossible to discern any details.

Fade circled above the green flames where the explosion occurred. She saw burning bodies all around it, some twitching from the necromantic effects of balefire. She couldn’t see Midnight or Key. She flew low over the treetops, hoping to find her sister or her friend.

“Help!”

The auditory systems of the helmet filtered out enough of the noise that Fade heard something. She stopped, flapping her aching wings.

“Swift! Midnight!”

It was Key. She hurried but the exhaustion was already returning and her chest burned. The effects of the drug were getting shorter. The irradiated smoke from the balefire explosion surely made things worse.

At first she saw a yellow signal on her E.F.S. She found Key, but then a second signal appeared. It was red.

Maverick was already running at her. Before Key could turn the beast grabbed her in its massive claws.

Fade yanked the rebreather off her face, took another dose of the drug and followed the routine ingrained in her mind. She didn’t wait for the chemicals to kick in and flood her body. Fade took the Ripper knife into her muzzle. She wanted to taste the foul blood. She wanted to tear that beast out of Everlast’s life! If that ghoul feels anything for that monster, she wanted him to feel the loss.

She closed her wings, sped up and rammed her armored body into the massive creature. The momentum and the weight of the armor threw Maverick off his feet. Fade rolled over the ground. Her legs were shivering when she got up, indifferent to whether the impact had broken any of her bones.

Maverick got up. He was covered in grime and ash. He stretched his body to his full size and let out a harrowing roar that echoed off the mountains.

The hellhound charged at Fade. She grabbed the Ripper tighter in her mouth and ran at him. Maverick raised his claw and Fade jumped aside at the last moment. She slashed the knife into its leg and felt how the mutated skin was capable of withstanding the blade.

Maverick turned around, faster than this massive creature had any right to be and lashed out for Fade. She barely dodged and stood her ground with a firm stance. A murderous rage was in his eyes but so it was also in Fade’s.

She waited for the right moment and it came fast. Maverick stomped forward and reached with its claws for Fade. She jumped up, flapped her wings and let the armor carry her many feet into the air. Another swift move and Fade was rushing down towards Maverick’s back. She hacked the knife into the leathery skin. The hellhound yowled in pain and flailed its claws to grab her.

Fade jumped away, barely escaping him. Maverick reached for the wound and looked at the blood on his claws. It enraged the creature even more. Fade anticipated an attack and focused on the movement of his arms.

But Maverick leapt forward. Caught off-guard by this, Fade got hit by the massive body and was knocked aside, the force of which made her lose the Ripper. Maverick didn’t stop for a second. Fade wasn’t able to get up in time. The claw aimed for her face. She tried to protect herself with the armored wing. The claws pierced through it and tore her wing apart.

Even the drugs couldn’t dull the pain anymore. A quick glance showed her the mangled, bleeding feathers. It didn’t matter to her. All that mattered was getting the knife back. Fade tried to keep her distance to the hellhound. Maverick was hunting her, tearing trees apart when one got into its way.

Slowly, painfully slowly, she circled around the beast until she could pick up the Ripper from the ash covered floor. The dry taste only increased her anticipation to strike the monster again.

Maverick charged at her again. This time she dodged aside and let Maverick stumble. She grinned, proud to not have fallen for the same trick twice. While the beast was still huddled over, Fade jumped on its back and rammed the knife deep into its shoulder.

The hellhound roared again. It reached back and picked Fade off his back before she could jump away, not falling for the same trick either. Fade lost hold of the knife and Maverick held her tight, pressing his claws through the armor plates on her back.

He dug deep into her flesh. The pain was unbearable and Fade cried out in agony, a noise that made Maverick grin. Its healthy eye glared at her with sadistic glee, while the mutated eye was staring blankly into the void. The colossal monster hurled Fade several feet before slamming against a tree. The impact took all the breath out of her lungs. She tried to breathe but couldn’t. The ash on the ground was covering her mouth and nose. She tried to move but her body could no longer listen.

Key rushed to Fade, tears streaming down her cheeks. She pushed Fade on her back so she could breathe again. Fade gasped and coughed. Bloody spit ran over her muzzle as her body fought with the sickness, radiation and her injuries.

Key heard the dull footsteps of Maverick approaching. She turned around and his bloodstained claw already picked her up by the neck. She choked and wrestled with her hooves at the massive claws to no avail.

Fade tried to move. Not even her hooves were reacting to her wish anymore. All she could do was watch how Maverick grinned at finally obtaining the desired price.

Suddenly Key’s expression went blank. Her horn and PipBuck glowed. The Ripper was surrounded by Key’s magic and tore itself out of Mavericks shoulder. The knife aligned itself and cut once, twice and a third time into Maverick’s deformed eye. The magic glowed a bit brighter and twisted the blade to cut deep into Maverick’s brain.

His muscles grew weak and the monster fell to the ground. Fade felt it shake from the impact. Blood dripped from the pierced eyes into the ash.

Fade focused on breathing. Each attempt was filling her with more pain and she wanted to stop. But she couldn’t. Not now. Not when they were so close.

Key stood up. Her breath was shaky and her body covered in ash. “Fade… Are you okay?”

Key heard the pained breath and saw the blood spreading in the ash. She turned to Maverick and searched for anything. A healing potion, bandages, anything.

But she couldn’t continue her search. Everlast was only a few feet away, staring at the dead hellhound. He too was covered in the dirt from the battle. His pink eyes were locked upon Maverick’s body.

When Key noticed him she trembled in fear. She tore the knife out of Maverick’s eye socket and held it in front of her. The blade was shaking. The Ghoul didn’t show any sign of interest. He drew his revolver, the weapon that killed their father.

He was heading for Fade. His eyes were now locked onto hers.

Key stood her ground. She placed herself between her sister and the ghoul.

Everlast only tilted his head as if Key was nothing but a curiosity. His pink magic quickly raised the revolver and crushed it down on Key’s horn. She cried in pain, but Everlast didn’t stop until it began bleeding and Key fell to the floor. The Ripper dropped into the ash. Everlast levitated it away and proceeded to Fade.

He held the revolver at her face.

With a groan Fade lifted a hoof, placed it on the muzzle and pushed it away.

Everlast let her until her hoof fell back. He aimed the revolver at her again, no expression on his face. Fade cried and lifted her hoof again.

A loud thunder cracked and Everlast’s horn splintered. The ghoul looked around, confused by what was happening. A second shot tore into the back of Everlast’s head and tore its brain out through an eye socket. When he turned around, the third round destroyed what remained of his skull down to the muzzle. The Ghoul collapsed on the dead hellhound, the limbs still twitching.

Midnight emerged from the treeline. Every few steps he stopped to make sure that the Ghoul wouldn’t get up again. He kept the rifle primed at the twitching corpse.

“Is he dead?” Key asked, shaking from pain and fear.

“No. But the fire will make sure of it,” Midnight said.

He turned his attention to Fade and Key noticed the worry in his eyes.

“Will she survive?”

“We’d better make sure.” Midnight turned and looked in Everlast’s bags and suit for anything. He found an old parchment scroll and gave it to Key. “Keep this.”

Key couldn’t use her magic and she shoved the scroll into her clothes. She helped Midnight with searching and they found a healing potion in Everlast’s jacket. Midnight helped her drink, so she could breathe again.

“Her back.” Key said and she tried to move Fade, but the armor was too heavy.

“Three… pats…” Fade croaked and tried to move one hoof to the other. “Below screen.”

Midnight tapped the spot three times and the armor loosened and opened up. Together with Key they pulled Fade’s weak, sweaty body out of the armor. Midnight held her while Key poured the healing potion on her back to close the wounds as much as possible.

That was all they could do. Midnight lifted Fade onto his back and stood up. “We have to hurry. It’s a long way up.”

“Will she make it?”

Midnight nodded. “Tell her about your father. She surely wants to know who he was.”

Shibboleth was walking up and down for hours. The sun had already set and each passing minute made the wait more unbearable. When Shibboleth looked down the path she saw them. Slowly and carefully Midnight put one hoof in front of the other. His body appeared weaker than ever before. Key was at his side and tried with what was left of her meager strength to share the burden.

“Key… They are back!” Shibboleth rushed at them and when she saw Fade her worries grew. “Dragon! We need medicine!”

When the dragon arrived and saw Fade’s body, he took her from Midnight’s back and carried her inside. He put her down inside the cave and brought any medicine he had left.

When Midnight and Key made it inside they found Shibboleth and the dragon trying their best to treat Fade’s injuries. Key sat down a few feet away and leaned against a wall. She was about to fall asleep.

Midnight laid down on the cold floor. He closed his eyes for a short moment and enjoyed the dizziness. He blinked a few times and looked at Fade again. The dragon was getting water for her. In the brief moment Fade looked at him, Midnight glimpsed a spark of victory in her eyes.

Epilogue

“And I saw the most beautiful constellation.”

Six months have passed since the Battle of Smokey Mountains. Everlast’s army dissolved quickly after they heard of his death and the loss of the Mandate. The Enclave hasn't returned since. The destruction of a valuable Raptor alongside multiple cloudships was enough to keep them to their own affairs.

Midnight finished his work on the terminals in the Overmare’s office of Stable Fifty-Four. He was sure that this time he had gotten rid of all the software Stable-Tec intentionally installed to make the Stable fail again and again. It was a mystery to him why Stable-Tec had done that, but he accepted that the wasteland was filled with secrets. After everything, he would be glad if they remained undiscovered.

He headed outside and passed the two Steel Ranger recruits who were guarding the Stable’s entrance. The Rangers were willing to help in chasing away the few disorganized remnants of Everlast’s army. Their firepower was a welcome addition to the Stable’s security and their technical expertise helped them to run the Stable at full capacity.

When Midnight stepped out into the cold snow, he wrapped his scarves around his head. His journey left his face disfigured and the younger ponies felt more comfortable around him if they only saw his eyes.

A snowball hit Midnight’s head.

“Gotcha!” Key enjoyed the winter maybe a bit too much. No matter how often it snowed she could never stop starting a snowball fight.

“I told you to stop! You are not a child anymore!” Fade said, appearing from nowhere to pick up some snow and hurl it at her sister. Key was laughing. With her magic she had a big advantage over Fade. They had a short battle before Fade gave up.

Even some simple fun in the snow was too much for her body to keep up with. The disease and the radiation caused an untreatable injury to her lungs. What ultimately saved her was trading the Mandate with Tomcat who organized everything necessary to keep her alive.

Midnight continued his stroll to the barricades. He climbed the tower at the entrance and joined his brother who was on guard duty. Thunderbolt examined the memory orb. Every new memory he uncovered showed how much Midnight was manipulated by Blue Sky. In the same way it helped him understand how much the wartime propaganda manipulated him as well. The past couldn’t be erased but he was willing to give what was left of his family another chance.

“Anything?” Midnight asked.

“No. It’s calm. And a bit too cold for spring.”

“Funny you say that after growing up in Stalliongrad.”

They laughed but Thunderbolt sighed and frowned.

“You okay?” Midnight asked.

Thunderbolt looked at the foggy and cold wasteland.

“I guess. It’s… Sometimes I wish the war would come back.”

“Why’s that?”

“Wars… wars end. But this?” He was motioning to the wasteland. “This will never end. This will never heal.”

Midnight sighed and he looked back at the Stable village. Fade and Key were chatting with Shibboleth. The door to the canteen opened and Feather stepped out. She had brought them hot drinks. Fade took a cup but could only frown. She wasn’t able to smile when Feather was around.

But they were together. And he was together with his brother.

Midnight looked back out towards the wasteland.

“It will heal,” he said. “It will.”

Chapter 1: Premonition

“A good friend once said to me, ‘Fighting a war is like playing chess. Unless you have megaspells. Then it’s a game of who will flip the table first.’”

Midnight Gambit was pondering about the strange positions of the chess pieces on the board. It was not that he was losing, but rather the strange constellation of pieces on the board itself. It was almost like a game he played before the bombs fell. He had to take the black knight with his king, otherwise he would lose the next turn. All he could do was to hope that he was lucky enough and that his opponent made a mistake.

Unfortunately, chess didn’t work that way, likewise did the war between the ponies and the zebras. He didn’t know if the exchange of megaspells was planned or simply caused by an oversight. Twenty years ago, when Balefire burned Equestria, Midnight himself felt like a pawn in a game he couldn’t understand. He didn’t mind though, since his cutie mark was a pawn surrounded by stars. All he needed to do was to be a good pony and to be at the right time at the right place.

His opponent moved a black pawn forward and promoted it to a queen. It was a quick and snappy motion; a stark contrast to her stillness. Her hunt for his king was methodical and obsessive. Of course, Midnight wouldn't have any luck with such an opponent. Soon enough the game was coming to an end. He retreated his king to a safe field only for the queen to move and finally set him checkmate.

When Midnight looked up he saw a spark of victory in his opponent’s eyes. He didn’t resign so she could enjoy the triumph. After all, not many ponies were willing to spend time with ghouls such as him. Midnight died many years ago when his home, Stalliongrad, was destroyed by the balefire bombs. It marked the last time he would ever feel tired. The radiation made him slowly drift away. When he awoke an unknown number of days later, the land he once knew was sterilized. His world was gone alongside hunger and pain. He still remembered these feelings and he realized he was neither alive or dead.

Snapped back to the here and now he wondered what made that mare seek his company in the first place. She wore her clothes tightly as if she tried to protect herself from more than just the cold. Her vigilant green eyes were cautiously observing the inn both were visiting. It was part of a small settlement, built around a failing Stable.

“You play well,” Midnight said. “Where did you learn to play like that?”

Her attention fell back on Midnight. “My mother taught me. She was a teacher.” Her eyes lingered for a moment on Midnight’s gray and gaunt wings. “Aren’t you afraid of showing these?”

“My wings? Because of the cloud cover?”

She nodded.

“No,” Midnight said. “They don’t blame me for being a pegasus. They already blame me for being dead.”

“These guys here don’t seem to mind you, except maybe that one.” She nodded to one young and scruffy looking traveler. He was very talkative and looked at them quite often.

Midnight didn’t mind however. “There are a lot of ghouls in this region. They are in Tall Tale and many more in Stalliongrad. Well… since we are kinda speaking of it… Where do you come from?”

“I have no home. I'm a vagrant.”

“Just like me then.” Midnight smiled and looked at the chess board in front of him. “Uhm… The question may be a bit weird but… have you ever met somepony named Blue Sky? He is a half-pony half-zebra and has blue stripes.”

She shook her head. “No? Why do you ask?”

“Blue Sky won his first session against me like you did. Forcing me to take a knight and checkmate me with a queen.”

“No clue.” She was still observing the young pony who wandered around the inn and talking to strangers about things that were happening nearby.

“Say… Do you know if “The Mandate” is active around here?” The mare then asked.

“Certainly not in Priob, but I heard they got Whitehorse,” Midnight said. “Do you have problems with them?”

She shook her head. “I am not in the mood for problems or trouble with oppressive regimes. Where is this Priob though?”

“North of here, one day south of Stalliongrad. I came here from Manehattan and actually passed through Priob. What about you?”

“I was recently in Whitehorse. When the Mandate arrived they just gave up. I mean, heh, not much you can do against their firepower” she said.

“And the Hellhound!” The scruffy looking stallion suddenly added. He sat down next to them at the table and looked at the chessboard in confusion.

“Were you eavesdropping? Fuck off!” The mare hissed and moved her forelegs to reveal the handle of a knife.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I am just attentive! Big difference. I heard you were talking about The Mandate.”

“Attentive? If you were attentive you would have heard that I said ‘Fuck off.’” She slowly unsheathed the knife. “If you keep sniffing around like a rat, I’ll mince and eat you like one.”

“Okay, calm! Stupid bitch.” The young stallion went away.

“That was harsh,” Midnight commented.

“Harsh? Well, maybe.” She sighed and sheathed the knife. “I don’t like the young ponies. They hear one thing and behave as if they are kings and queens of the world. It’s like… they are better because they grew up after the bombs.”

“Well, you don’t look that old yourself.”

“Me? Am halfway to my fourtees. I was sixteen when the bombs fell.”

“I was thirty. How did you survive?” Midnight asked.

She looked around for a short moment, then replied in a more silent manner. “Let me say it like this. You are a ghoul and that’s why ponies don’t mind you being a pegasus, but obviously I am not a ghoul.”

“You are a pegasus too?” Midnight asked in surprise and looked for potential outlines of wings under her cape. “Why are you down here?”

She frowned. “I disagreed with the Grand Pegasus Enclave,” She said. “But they disagreed more with me and I had to flee. Things were… fine until The Mandate showed up. Now I have to flee again from such idiots.”

“Don’t worry.” Midnight reached for the rifle at his side. “Ponies like The Mandate are on my hitlist.”

“Hitlist?” She looked at his barding. It was cobbled together from pieces of the Manehattan and Stalliongrad police. “Are you some sort of bounty hunter?”

“I prefer security for hire. By the way, my name is Midnight Gambit, but everypony just calls me Midnight.”

She nodded and replied with a single word. “Fade.”

When the door to the inn swung open, the guests pulled their clothes tighter together to combat the cold autumn air rushing in. Fade cut a look at the newcomer and his appearance kept her attention. Another pegasus entered the inn.

“Oh great.” Fade grumbled silently to herself, tensing up as she looked around. “I haven't seen pegasi for weeks on end and now there are two.”

Fade was ready to leave in a hurry but noticed that this other pegasus was not alone. He was accompanied by a young unicorn. Both wore the blue and yellow jumpsuits issued by the local Stable. A small embroidery on the collar indicated the Stable’s number “Fifty-Four”. Each one of them wore a strange, small computer on their right forelegs, known as PipBucks. Every pony living in a Stable got one issued to them.

Fade knew that this specific pegasus was no danger. The Enclave however, was hostile to all ponies who lived in the wasteland. Yet she found his gray coat and black mane were clashing with the bright colors of the suit, making him appear fake and wrong.

“Good evening,” He said with a little smile. “My name is… Valiant. I’m the head of the Stable’s security and I welcome the newcomers to our village. Our Stable has some leftover food and we are willing to share it in exchange for work. We need ponies for a patrol outside to look for wild animals. We also need engineers to help maintain the walls. The first report to me, the latter to my daughter.”

The young unicorn was unable to hide her annoyance. Fade was glad that there was no need to deal with a teenage pony, but she was surprised when Midnight suddenly packed up his chess game.

“Are you leaving?” Fade asked.

“Nope, I’m getting a job.”

“What for? You don’t need food.”

“That’s correct. I also don't need sleep. Sitting around and doing nothing all night is extremely boring.”

Fade sighed and nodded. “See you later, I guess.”

None of the other ponies looked eager for a job, except for Midnight and the scruffy pony from earlier.

“Patrol or maintenance?” Valiant asked.

“Patrol.” Midnight answered confidently and the other pony noddedas well.

“Good. You two have to check the west—.” Valiant began to explain when the scruffy pony already interrupted him.

“I work alone.”

“No.” Valiant disagreed. “I don’t want to send you out alone. One of our lumberjacks found some strange footprints today. It could be something big and I won’t let out a single pony only to have them mauled to death by whatever is out there.”

“Can I do the maintenance job alone?” The other pony asked.

Valiant nodded. “Key? Can you show him?”

“Yeah… whatever.”

“Key? I thought you wanted a job.” Valiant said.

“I told you I wanted to do something relevant. This is not what I had in mind.”

“But what you are doing is relevant.”

“Unlocking Terminals because some idiot forgot their password and showing strangers around?”

“Key…”

“You know what… forget it.” Key scoffed and turned to the scruff pony. “I’ll show you around.” Then she left the inn.

Valiant sighed. “You know how teenagers are. If one thing stays the same then it’s their attitude. Anyway, you heard me: No solo sortie. If you find a pony who wants to go on patrol, you can have the job.”

“Well…” Midnight nodded to Fade. “Can she get my meal?”

“Certainly.”

Midnight waved to Fade, having her get up and slowly join them. “What is it?”

Valiant stepped forward. “This pony offers you his payment.”

“That’s… nice. But don’t you have any spare ponies for a patrol?” Fade asked.

“With the Mandate in the area, I would prefer my security ponies to stay in here. I know it's getting dark, but I would still like to have a report so I may plan the shifts for tomorrow.”

“Hm… For two meals, you say?”

“I could offer you a free quarter in the Stable for tonight.”

“Nah, but since you are offering… What about three meals? Dinner, breakfast and one to go.”

“Alright… and you?” Valiant turned to Midnight. “I can offer you some ammunition for your rifle.”

“That would be great.”

“Good. I’ll tell my daughter to fetch you some and meet you at the radio station on the hill. Dismissed.”

“Dismissed?” Fade inquired, slightly offended by his tone.

“Oh. Apologies. I was a soldier during the war and you’ll never get rid of this behavior.” Valiant said with a light smile, looking at Fade with his green eyes.

She noticed the gaze and raised an eyebrow at him. “Something wrong?”

He quickly shook his head. “No… Nothing. You just reminded me of some ponies I have lost… That's all.”

“We all have lost ponies. Let’s go Midnight.” She said and hurried to leave.

Midnight enjoyed the short stroll through the village. The center was surrounded by various buildings. It was a busy place, dozens of ponies were getting various things before trotting to the Stable under a nearby hill. The entrance itself looked like the passage to a gigantic underground morgue. When the bombs fell, ponies were evacuated deep into these underground bunkers, the so-called Stables. They were supposed to wait until a later generation could repopulate what was left of Equestria. At the end it was a decision if one died outside or confined in a Stable.

Fade was looking at the diverse selection of trade carts around the place, many carrying winter clothes and other equipment. Many traders took a rest stop at Stable Fifty-Four when traveling between Tall Tale and other towns further north. Fade already planned to continue her journey on one of these carts very soon.

“Hey. You are the ghoul and the earth pony, right?” Valiant’s daughter approached them.

“Yes, we are,” Fade said.

“Dad sent me a message on my PipBuck to bring you this.” Her horn began glowing in the same beige colors of her coat and levitated a few things out of her bag. The light emitted from her horn illuminated and showed her red mane, a color very welcome in contrast to the dull wasteland.

“Here’s your bullets. And some flashlights.”

“Here are your bullets,” Midnight corrected her.

Fade couldn't help but be amused by the annoyance reflecting in Key’s green eyes.

“As if anypony cares! Aren’t you old geezers not realizing that proper grammar is the last thing you need to survive in the wasteland?”

“But… You live in a Stable,” Midnight said.

“And now guess why the Stable is open.”

“A malfunction?”

“Exactly. That stupid thing is dying.” Key was clearly frustrated at this point.

“A Stable is still better than living out there. And I am not an old geezer, I was only thirty when I died and I haven't aged since then.”

Key just shrugged. “That makes you still fifty and I’m still sixteen. So you are old for me.”

“Your Dad looks older than me.” He added teasingly.

“That makes him even more stubborn. I tell him all the time he should teach me what he learned in the army. Like… shooting a rifle instead of just hauling ammo around.”

“Shooting is not a skill you should be proud of,” Midnight explained. “You know, my brother was a Steel Ranger and he never talked well about the war.”

“I am not talking about war. I am talking about survival. I’m simply fucked when the Stable breaks down!”

“Language.”

Fade rolled her eyes, having enough of those two. “Midnight, it’s fine. We have work to do alright?”

The walk through the sparse forest west of the village turned out rather boring for the two. Remnants of trees, rocks and old wooden constructions were lining the wasteland around them as they continued on.

Midnight eventually broke the silence. “So… Why did you come here?”

Fades ear twitched by his sudden voice. Her gaze shifted over to him, accidentally blinding him with the flashlight attached to the side of her head.

“Sorry, you are very talkative for a ghoul.”

“Why, thank you. A lot of ponies think I appear very alive for a ghoul actually. I am sure it’s because I still have most of my coat and even my mane didn’t lose much of its blue color. Maybe the necromantic magic in balefire radiation conserved my body very well. I’d recommend it, your coat looks a bit pale.”

Fade rolled her eyes. “My coat is not pale for your information, it's bright purple.” She looked back at him and continued. “You are also oddly cheerful for a ghoul.”

“And I know exactly why.” Midnight smiled, silently waiting for Fade to ask ‘why’.

She eventually sighed and gave him his desired questions. “Why?”

“Glad you ask - I was in Shattered Hoof you see. They showed me how to be a good pony and how to find inner peace and happiness with myself.”

Fade stopped for a moment and frowned. “Shattered Hoof? You mean you were in that… forced labor torture camp?”

“It wasn’t torture. It was… sleeping as long as you want. Cake and parties every day. It was to remind us that war was only temporary.”

“Nah. I don’t believe that. It was all about brainwashing in there.”

“No, it’s not brainwashing. It’s a Re-Education! They make you ‘re-member’ what it means to be a pony.”

“Yeah… right.” Fade focused on the dead conifers around them, spotting a huge, mutated insect quickly escaping their light. Fade found them ugly and they tasted equally bad.

“What about you? What’s your story, Fade?”

“I thought the pony in the inn was nosy as hell…”

“I’m not nosy, I’m trying to be fair here. I tell you a few things about me and you tell me some things about you.”

Fade glanced at him, he was still smiling but she easily noticed that it was just a facade. “I already told you. Troubles with the Enclave.”

“Huh… You did. So I guess it is my turn to answer, right?”

Fade was annoyed, but she would rather have Midnight talking right now instead of aimlessly wandering through the remains of the forest. Except for the bugs, there were no animals to make any noises.

“Okay. Uhm… Why did you end up in Shattered Hoof?” Fade asked.

“Oh, nothing bad. I was demonstrating for peace between the ponies and zebras. We even had zebras on our side, but the authorities in Stalliongrad didn’t like that and shipped me off to Shattered Hoof.”

“And then what?”

“Afterwards I continued my work as a Terminal technician… until the bombs made that obsolete,” he said.

“So… if you can repair Terminals, why did you become a bounty hunter?”

“Security for hire,” He corrected her. “I just found out that I am really talented with a rifle. I can even shoot it with hooves only.”

“With hooves?” Fade wondered about it. Usually ponies required a harness or magic to wield rifles of such size. “Isn’t that the way zebras fight?”

“Yes… Why?”

“Don’t you find it a bit strange that you were part of a zebra peace activity group and know how to hold a rifle in your hooves?”

Midnight thought about it for a moment. “Hmm… Guess I must be very talented then.”

Fade decided not to question him any further. The Ministry of Morale must have indoctrinated him very well, almost like the Enclave indoctrinates the younger generation. Fade looked around and noticed huge scratch marks high up in a dead tree. “Midnight? What is that up there?”

Midnight had to rear up to take a closer look. “That’s not a wolf that's for sure, it's way too big.”

Fade checked the ground and quickly noticed some footprints. They were bigger than the head of a pony. Much bigger. “Midnight… What did the nosey pony say about The Mandate?”

His eyes filled with worry when he realized what they had found. “A hellhound…”

They rushed back to the town, taking off into the dark sky as fast as they could. Midnight’s tattered wings slowed him down a good chunk. The town wasn’t too far away. Its lights shone peacefully in the dark of the night. It almost appeared tranquil.

All of the sudden, piercing muzzle flashes lit up from the walls and the darkness around the village. The sound of gunfire followed shortly after. They didn’t even have a chance to warn them.

Automatic gunfire was met with pistols and rifles. The walls gave the defenders hope until a watchtower began to creak, tilt and ultimately collapse. A dark cloud of dust was whirling up and in the chaos, a large explosion. The Stable stood no chance against The Mandate.

“It’s no use.” Fade stopped. She could only watch how the inn was set ablaze by a gigantic flame. The battle ended as quickly as it began, only the voices of the invaders, panicking ponies and the wounded remained. Occasional fights erupted every other moment, but were over quickly. Often, one single shot followed.

“Fade. Over there!” Midnight pointed out a single cone of light moving hastily away from the city. One pony got out somehow. An explosion drew their attention back to the village, smoke was rising from the entrance to the Stable.

Trying to concentrate on the survivors, they hurried to the pony that got away and landed nearby. Fade gave Midnight a sign and snuck up on the pony. She expected a trap until she recognized the pony, it was Valiant’s daughter.

“H- hey! It's us from the inn.” Fade slowly approached her. “Turn off the light.”

Key was out of breath, fighting both her tears and exhaustion from the hasty escape. “Mom and Dad are still in there!” Eventually tears ran down her cheeks, her voice began to waver and break.

“I know, but you must turn off the light.” Fade replied silently, eventually Midnight joined the two.

“Where exactly are they?” He asked.

Fade looked at him in disbelief. “You want to go in there?”

“What else should we do? Leave her alone and her parents in the town?”

“Of course not! But shouldn’t we get her to a safe place instead?”

“And then?”

“What do I know?” She paced up and down and was struggling with the familiarity of what Key may have to face if she doesn’t help. “What I mean is… How would we get them out?”

“The wall.” Key’s weak voice croaked. “I know where the hole is.”

Midnight sat down a few feet away, his gaze aimed at Key. “Okay. Listen Key. We need you to be a hero for a moment. Do you think you can go back and get us in?”

Key rubbed her eyes and nodded silently.

Fade was leading them through the darkness, always on the lookout for potential patrols. With Key’s help they quickly reached the hidden hatch in the wall. The smell of ash from inside the village was stinging inside their noses. “Your PipBuck. They have that thing… E.F.S. You know that?” Fade whispered to Key.

“Y-yes…”

“Good, you will turn it on, now. Then you follow my lead and warn me whenever you have a signal approaching us. Do you understand?”

“She should stay outside.” Midnight whispered. “ Why don't you just fly over the wall?”

“The village is very bright you idiot! Even if they don’t see me flying, they will see me landing. Any better ideas?”

“Anything that doesn’t require us to bring Key inside. She is only sixteen!” Midnight huffed.

“I was her age during the famine. Trust me Midnight, she’ll be fine.”

“And what if something happens?”

“Then you get her out and run away.” Fade whispered, then she turned to Key. “What does your mother even look like?”

“Pretty much like me… yellow fur and a red mane.”

With her new goal in mind, Fade pushed the hatch aside for them to slip into the narrow tunnel. It looked like a rat's nest, making her remember everything her mother once drilled into her head, simple tricks to survive the famine. She kept crawling through the tunnel and emerged on the other side. Fade gave Midnight a sign once it was clear of any threats.

On the other side of the wall they were still clad in deep darkness, making It pretty easy for them to traverse the town unseen. Fade stopped abruptly and turned her head towards the two, telling them to wait while she crouched closer to the main road. She observed the ponies wandering back and forth from the Stable and village center. A few were ponies from the Stable, dirty and injured from the fight, escorted by some sort of soldiers. Their equipment was composed of Bulletproof bardings with gray camouflage pattern, automatic rifles attached to combat harnesses, utility belts with grenades and knives. It was as if Equestria’s royal army completely forgot who the real foe was.

A quiet noise emerging from behind her caught Fade’s attention. Key crawled closer and pointed at her PipBuck. The dim, green light from its display showed a short message.

“Go to Edmareton. Meet Phones. See you there. - Mom”

There was hope…

“Ask where she is,” Fade whispered.

“I don’t have a broadcaster… I can only receive messages.”

“What about the tagging system?” Midnight joined, his rifle tightly held in his forelegs. “Can’t you detect her PipBuck?”

“Mom doesn’t have one, so she must be at the radio station.”

A sigh of relief escaped Fade, knowing she didn’t need to sneak deeper into the village or even the Stable itself. “Good. Let’s go there and hope she is alright.”

“Wait, your Dad has a PipBuck!” Midnight said. “Do you have his tag?”

Key gave a brief nod and checked the device around her foreleg. “He’s in the Stable.”

Fade nodded. “Key, bring Midnight to a spot where you can observe the Stable, okay? I will find your mother. What’s her name?”

“Shibboleth.”

Without any further words, Fade split from the group and disappeared into the darkness.

The radio tower was very close to the brightly lit Stable entrance, yet it was easy for her to stay within the shadows nearby. The uneven terrain of the hill next to it only allowed for a meager radio tower and a small shack around it. Only a small path led up to it however the area around it was wide open.

“Maverick!” A shout suddenly interrupted the silence. A pink and gaunt unicorn was trotting to the Stable. The color of his coat and mane was sickly looking and uneven. He wore an almost clean white suit, pristine even, as if he tried to hide the fact that he was long dead. His eyes were turned into two bright pink spheres void of any life or emotion.

“Maverick!” He called out again, his voice dry and scratchy.

After his attempt, the ponies near the entrance stopped and backed away. Only the unicorn remained calm when a colossal monster stepped out of the large entrance of the stable. Fade wasn’t nearby, but she still cowered away when she recognized the enormous hellhound. Even with its hunched over walk to squeeze out from the low ceiling of the tunnel, it easily reached twice the height of a pony. Its leathery skin was covered in soot and dirt, its massive claws were holding a flamethrower. Drool was dripping from its cleft lips. It turned its large head, revealing a blinded eye caused by a gross mutation on his forehead, merging it with a smaller eye growing right next to it.

“Maverick… are you injured?” The pink unicorn’s attention was quickly drawn to the creature’s bleeding leg. “Who did this?”

“Pegasus.” The creature replied in a deep growl.

The unicorn’s horn lit up, releasing an equally sick pink tone of magic, similar to the rest of his body, to take out a small, red potion from his suit. “Drink this.”

Maverick grabbed the small plastic bottle and squirted the liquid into its misshapen maw. The potion was working immediately and the wound at Maverick’s leg began to heal.

“Is the pegasus still alive, like I ordered?”

“Yes.” Maverick replied.

The unicorn drew a revolver and checked its chambers. “Wait here… You will get a meal soon.” He said and entered the Stable with some of his soldiers.

Fade crouched away slowly, scared that even the tiniest of noises could alert the hellhound to her presence. Until now she only knew them through rumors and stories, always imagining them as dumb and murderous beasts. However the glimpse of intelligence in Maverick’s functioning eye made her shake in fear.

The light of the small shack nearby was no longer just a beacon, but the way out of this situation. The faster she would reach Shibboleth, the faster she could escape Maverick. Getting closer she saw two ponies sitting next to the open door, flipping the pages of an old book, seemingly searching for pictures instead of actually reading it. The way they spoke gave away that they must have been born after the bombs fell. Threat or not, she still circled around them in a wide arch.

A subtle glim of magic revealed the presence of a pony near the backside of the hut. A unicorn was leaning against the dirty scrap metal wall. She peeked through the nearest window and once the unicorn was sure enough no one was watching, her magic began operating some of the radio equipment inside. The subtle glow of her magic revealed a red mane in the same shade as Key’s.

“This must be her…” Fade thought. She slowly approached the distracted unicorn from behind and began to whisper. “Shibboleth!”

The magic abruptly stopped and the mare ducked away. She drew her pistol at Fade using her magic, but couldn’t see here in the darkness.

“Key sent me here.” Fade continued silently.

“And who are you?” The unicorn replied hastily, trying to follow Fade’s voice.

“Look, Valiant hired us for a patrol, we were in the forest when the attack happened and—”

“He told me about you… Where is Key?”

“She is with the ghoul, Midnight. I’ll bring you to them, okay? Then we can see how we get Valiant out of here as well.”

Midnight and Key observed the Stable. They tried their best to remain in the darkness and as far away from the dangerous center as they possibly could. The hellhound was waiting patiently outside the Stable as ordered by its master. The sheer sight of the creature made Midnight remember the feeling of fear firmly grabbing a hold of his chest, making breathing near impossible.

“Dad is moving…” Key whispered, her eyes fixated on the pipbuck.

A few minutes later the pink unicorn reappeared from the Stable, and was studying a thick file in one of his hooves. He was soon followed by an earth pony who carried even more files on his back. While that one was much younger he made a way more sophisticated appearance than most ponies of his age and generation.

Finally, the last one to exit the underbelly of the city, was Valiant, held at gunpoint by three of The Mandate’s soldiers.

“Vigil.” The pale pink unicorn turned to the young pony with the remaining files. “Get me your broadcaster and connect it to the Stable’s PA system.”

Vigil configured a hoof sized device before giving it to the unicorn. “Anything else?”

“No. That’s all for now.” The ghoul directed his gaze to the behemoth next to him. “Maverick, please bring this pegasus to the village center… and be careful!”

The hellhound grabbed Valiant and lifted him with his enormous strength, but also with a disturbing precision and finesse not to injure him with its massive claws.

“What are they doing with Dad?” Key watched in fear until he disappeared out of sight.

“I don’t know… but I will stop them! I promise.” Shouldering his rifle and getting ready to go, he would turn to Key one more time with a warm smile. “You better return to the wall and wait for Fade.”

“But what about Dad?”

“I can take better care of him, when I know you are safe. That’s your job now. You understand? Its going to be alright.”

Key rubbed her nose, unable to hold back more of her tears. After a slow nod she returned to the wall. After she left Midnight leaped onto the next building, quickly yet carefully treading the sheet metal roofs not to draw the attention of the ponies inside the buildings. He had to wait painfully long and move increasingly slower the closer he got without being seen by the enemies. Finally he reached a good spot overlooking the village center. He readied his rifle and took aim at the pale unicorn in the white suit.

Fade quickly led Shibboleth to the secret entrance near the outer wall of the town when Key noticed them. She got up and ran to her mother and both tightly hugged each other. Fade smiled a little seeing the two, but she quickly noticed that somepony was missing from the group.

“Hang on, where is Midnight?”

“He tries to save Dad. The hellhound took him to the town center.”

“Fucking hell… alright look, you two leave the village, now. Midnight and I will take care of it and find you later.”

Fade rushed away, not allowing them any chance for discussion. Time was of the essence Key would only hold her back. She quickly traversed the dark paths between the buildings until she was only a single corner of the village’s warehouse away from the town plaza.

Peeking around she saw about a dozen of unarmed ponies sitting on the cold ground, all of them seemingly from the Stable. Most of them were injured, one badly enough that he couldn’t even sit upright. The veteran soldiers were watching them carefully, while the younger ones were more curious about Valiant who was sitting in front of the pink unicorn himself.

Maverick towered next to him, his paw probably mighty enough to simply crush his head should he try to flee. Fade needed a way to distract the beast long enough for Valiant to escape. She drew her knife and held it tightly in her muzzle, growling slightly, her gaze wandering hastily through the area to analyze her options, but she was unable to conjure a plan.

“The Overmare is willing to negotiate.” The unicorn began to speak in a loud and clear voice. ”But there is one more thing I would like to discuss first, particularly with you, pegasus. Now tell me… What is Operation Killjoy?”

Valian’s ears twitch, however he remained calm, not giving a single word in response.

“Oh… I understand.” The ghoul muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat and lifted his head. “Guards! Ready your weapons.”

Fade tensed up when the soldiers raised their weapons, aiming their guns at the captives in front of them.

Valiant glared at the pale ghoul. “I have no idea what you want from me…”

“I am sure you know very well… Shadowbolt.”

Valiant however shook his head. “I’m not a Shadowbolt.”

“Don’t fool me! I worked for the Ministry of Image and I wrote the fake death certificate to your family. You are a Shadowbolt.” He stepped closer, looking down and directly into Valiants eyes. “Look at this coat, look into my eyes… I survived Canterlot. I studied its secrets and I found very strong evidence that you were involved in Killjoy.”

Silence took hold of the situation, then finally, Valiant rose his head to meet the gaze of the pale ghoul. He began to stand up, groaning due to his own injuries. “Listen… I—” He was not for long as Maverick stomped his huge paw down onto Valiant’s back, pushing him back down into the dirt.

“Don’t move!” It growled.

“One wrong move and we will kill you. I know what you Shadowbolts are capable of,” The ghoul added. “What is it you want to say?”

“You may be right about… the Shadowbolt thing, but not about Killjoy. I never heard of that.” He groans in pain as the paw pressed down harder onto his back. Fade wanted to rush forward, but she couldn’t. It would just be suicide.

“You may not know about Killjoy, but the Ministry of Awesome Hubs and Shadowbolt Vaults still contain the information. Alas, the emergency protocols sealed them all. But I know for certain that Shadowbolts can still access them. Which leads us to another thing…”

The unicorn took the broadcaster from his suit pocket and turned it on.

“Here speaks Everlast.” His voice now amplified and played back over the speakers in the village. “Please… tell us your name.” He continued in a calm manner.

Valiant didn’t want to answer, but a slight glance from Everlast at the captured ponies made him eventually speak up.

“You have a daughter, her name is Key and funnily enough, she doesn’t look anything like you. Red mane, bright yellow coat… Thanks to the inheritance protocols, she has limited access to the Ministry of Awesome, too… Would you tell her to come out? Pretty please?” The smile would grow on his leathery face, however Valiant shook his head once more, much to the ghouls dismay

“Call her,” Everlast said calmly, his patience slowly running thinner.

Fade knew this soothing tone, she heard it way too often from the Enclave. Words filled with nothing but empty promises to starving pegasi, right before they killed them anyway. If it wouldn’t have been for Maverick, it would have been easy to save Valiant, however one wrong move and the hellhound would simply crush him and Fade as well.

“Call her!” Everlast shouted, making the ponies in the town flinch. “Or do I need to kill your friends first?”

“They have nothing to do with this!” Valiant shouted back with what strength he could bear.

“They have nothing to do with this? Well… If this is the case, we have to try something else.” Everlast drew his heavy revolver and held it at the broadcaster, the unmistakable click of the hammer being pulled back echoed through the loudspeakers. Slowly but surely, he lowered the cold muzzle of his gun downwards against Valiant’s head. For a moment time stood still.

The loud bang of a rifle tore through the silence of the night as Midnight decided to make his move, his bullet tearing through Everlast’s eye. Strands of the destroyed organ as well as thick pink ooze spread over his face. The impact sent his body into a short stumble, he quickly recovered from. Midnight used the opportunity to retreat immediately, but Fade stood and watched. Maverick rushed to the pale ghoul, shielding him with his large paw. The ghoul himself took a moment and sighed, running his hoof over his face to examine the damage as if it was just a minor nuisance.

“Hah… Find the shooter!” Everlast simply wiped the ooze off with his hoof. He aimed his gun back at Valiant’s head and fired without the slightest hesitation.
Fade’s eyes widened when she had to watch Valiants head sinking to the floor; bone, hair and blood scattered over Maverick’s paw and Everlast’s white suit.

Everlast looked around as if he was waiting for something. “Well… She isn’t here. How very unfortunate.”

“Damn it…” Fade gasped as she saw Everlast’s troops scatter to search the surrounding area for the shooter. She heard shouts and orders throughout the village, no doubt it was time to leave this instant. She hurried back to the tunnel as fast as she could and simply slid through using the momentum of her sprint. When she arrived, Midnight was already through the tunnel. Without wasting a single word they quickly fled the village. They ran as fast and far as they could, until they deemed it a safe enough distanceto take a breather.

“What… what happened?” Midnight asked. After a short while Fade finally spoke up.

“He killed Valiant,” She said eventually, her breath heavy.

Midnight’s eyes widened, his head snapped to Fade in disbelief. “What? But I shot him right in the head!”

“I know but… Look, we have to find Key and Shibboleth, okay? Just… let's go.” She had to find Key and Shiboleth and tell them… that she failed.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Relentless Markspony - When Midnight’s first shot doesn’t kill, he deals 10% more damage with his second attack.

New Perk: Seen The Ghastly - Fade loses 50% percent less Action Points from the fear effects of nightmarish creatures.

Chapter 16: Interlinked

“And now I am standing at the crossroad between my life and yours, but I don’t see you.”

Fade didn’t know when she left the orb. The world around her was foggy and blurred. Her thoughts wandered along a map of childhood memories. None of them had any purpose or meaning except to keep her distracted from what was now ingrained in her. She was tired but now she feared sleep as well.

Fade stood up slowly. She was still confused by the impressions of being in a different body. She forced one hoof in front of the other to return to her sister. She had to be strong, even though she didn’t know how.

When Fade returned to the small bedroom, Key was sitting on the bed, still staring at the PipBuck. She never felt so helpless. When she saw the world burn in balefire, it was enough to simply escape above the clouds. When Key wanted to bury her father, it was enough to hug and comfort her. But now, nothing will ever be enough.

Fade sat down next to Key's bed. She didn’t notice the tears running over her own face. “I can’t fix it.” Fade tried to reach out for an embrace. Her breath shook. Her head sank against Key’s chest, crying helplessly. “I can’t fix it.”

Fade didn’t know if she ever fell asleep. The last few hours felt like she was trapped in a darkness, filled with foggy images and muffled noises. She didn’t know what was a dream, a memory or a waking moment. Key was sleeping next to her, sweating and her face contorted by whatever dream lingered on her mind.

The sight alone made Fade sob and her chest heave. “Not now…” She sniffed a few times and rubbed her nose. Crying only made her sickness worse. Her nose was clogged and her throat felt dry like sand. She couldn’t endure staying here any longer. She slid out of the bed and made her way to the hangar.

Tomcat was next to his cart, cooking something on a portable stove. “Tomcat’s favorite customer looks like she needs some medicine.”

“I don’t need medicine.”

“Tomcat understands. You probably need this.” He reached into his winter jacket and produced a rainbow colored inhaler.

“I don’t want drugs either.”

“Tomcat never said that you want something. Tomcat said that you need something.”

“Fuck off with that. And I know your prices.”

He chuckled and put the inhalers away. “You are right. What do you need from Tomcat? Tomcat sees from your frown that you were not coming here for company.”

Before Fade said anything else, she looked around. “Is Feather here?”

“No. She went to the tower to play with the radio. Tomcat didn’t bother asking her why.”

Fade nodded. “I… want to buy the recollector,” Fade said quietly.

“The recollector is very expensive. That’s outside of what Tomcat owes you.”

“But you offer me a dose of a very potent drug?”

Tomcat grinned. “It is worth a lot considering what ponies left behind on those memory orbs.”

“I know…” Fade groaned. “Porn and secrets.”

“Exactly. Secrets. Each one a fragment of a treasure map to more secrets.”

“I don’t want secrets. They never harbor anything good. Just tell me what you want for it.”

Tomcat took a spoon and stirred his soup, turning it into something that looked like spoiled milk. “I assume you still have troubles with that… Everlast. Right?”

Fade looked up, not understanding what he wanted.

“You get the recollector upfront and whatever you need…” Tomcat purred. “If you bring me the Mandate.”

“You want his skeleton key and all I get is a recollector and a promise?”

“Two promises.” Tomcat talked quieter. “One is my promise that you will get anything you need. The other promise is a chance to kill Everlast.”

Fade looked away, afraid that Tomcat saw an urge of revenge in her eyes. But he was right. She could get revenge. For herself. For Key. Even for her parents. They could have been a family.

“And you get these for a one hundred percent discount.” Tomcat added and put a box with six inhalators into her hooves.

“Deal.”

Midnight didn’t clean the blood off the Cicada. He justified the surge of violence with the necessity to keep Phones safe. “Tell them I followed the spy.” Midnight didn’t know if they listened. He didn’t know if they were scared of him, with blood still dripping from his face. He didn’t really care.

His decision to go to Tall Tale wasn’t met with any resistance. Shibboleth remained as far away from Midnight as the small rooms allowed her to. Something in his eyes scared her. Something he usually kept hidden from them. Midnight didn’t enjoy the sight, but as long as it prevented her from seeing him as a pawn, he was willing to endure it.

“Phones. You need to tell Feather that we’re going to Tall Tale. Endeavor has things that belong to me,” he said. “And Everlast may be there too. If anyone knows where Maverick is, then it’s him.”

He stowed the Cicada away and left into the cold, dark night. He looked back to make sure that Shibboleth was following. She did, albeit unwillingly.

They heard the sound of battle before they saw the plumes of smoke. East Tall Tale was under attack and heavy battles were fought somewhere between downtown and the industrial district.

Shibboleth took to her radio equipment. “Tall Tale is calling for help. Endeavor is attacking the city.”

Midnight tried to make sense of it. He knew that Endeavor was ambitious but he didn’t expect him to start an assault. He had seen his ponies. It wasn't nearly enough to start a war with the entire city. Even if the feral Ghouls would join him, the gangs, diamond dogs and every pony tough enough to survive the wasteland would be able to fight back.

He spread his wings. “Go to the mall and find a pony named Praise. She has an old museum and can give you shelter there.”

“Where are you going?”

He didn’t answer. He was running and flapping his wings hard to take off. Endeavor just gave the entire city a reason to remove him from the picture. And with him they will destroy the answers he was seeking. He could not let this happen.

When he arrived at the outskirts, the battle had moved deeper into the city. It was like a wave of violence was rushing through the city and was met with fire and explosions. The sound of automatic gunfire and snarling feral ghouls was echoing up to him.

Banking towards the east he tried to avoid the combat zones. Behind the quickly shifting frontlines he saw how ghouls were herding the feral ones around the fires. Midnight lost track of how many there were, but it looked like Endeavor used every trick to enrage the ghouls around the crater.

Two loud explosions only a block away made Midnight dive for cover. Below him, the ghouls were sent into disarray. Endeavor’s soldiers were taking cover, losing control over their mindless companions. The ferals were rushing towards the detonations and consequently, into a massive inferno.

Short and controlled salvos of assault rifle fire brought down every ghoul who made it through the flames. Everlast was fighting on Tall Tale’s side against Endeavor and Midnight realized he had to hurry even more.

When Midnight stormed past the ruins of the industrial district he could no longer say which ghoul belonged to Everlast or which one was just caught up in the indifferent killing of Everlast’s troops. Midnight didn’t know how Everlast managed to get an incursion that deep into Endeavor’s territory. The explosions far behind him sounded like an artillery barrage, drawing feral ghouls out of every dark corner. The firefights in this place were quiet in comparison.

From above he saw Everlast’s rapid advance. Diamond dogs and ponies with heavy weapons carved a trail through the ruins. Mortars and grenade launchers were deployed if they met heavy resistance. Skirmishers were securing the lines, killing everything that moved.

Midnight was only a few minutes of flight away from the Ministry hub. At this speed, Everlast’s soldiers would begin their assault in less than an hour. Midnight saw hectic motion around the hub as the ghouls there prepared a hasty defense. Their offensive was already turning into a defensive. Everlast’s superiority turned it into a fight for survival.

Midnight flew low and landed nearby the Ministry building. He raised a hoof to get the attention of ponies on the roof. “I’m a friend of Endeavor. I was here about a month ago!” He was barely able to make his call heard over the noise of the nearby battles.

Just when he got the attention of the faceless ghoul, a shrieking noise made them all jump into cover. A detonation wrapped the ghouls on the roof in a dense smoke. Debris and rotten body parts rained down on Midnight and a second explosion followed to clear the roof. Some of Endeavor’s ghouls jumped off the building in sheer panic and tried to crawl into the Ministry hub on broken legs.

Everlast was already preparing for the assault and the few soldiers in front of the Ministry already retreated inside. Midnight had no time anymore. He dove from the roof and let gravity take hold of his body. His frail wings barely slowed his descent. The harsh landing scraped open exposed skin and Midnight ran into the building just before the doors closed.

An explosion shook the doors and more plaster was falling from the ceiling.

“Who are you?” A ghoul was shouting at him, pointing his rifle at Midnight.

“A friend! I was here a month ago and helped Endeavor solve a murder case!”

“The cannibal?”

Midnight nodded and looked around. The lobby was filled with injured and mangled ghouls. Everlast’s assault drove many ghouls here who were seeking shelter. Little did they know that they were now trapped. “Where is Endeavor?”

“He led the northern assault but we lost contact the moment Everlast’s soldiers turned on us.”

“Turned on us?”

“Yes. His troops were supposed to take the mall. But when the attack began, he turned around and started marching against us. Without the skirmishers between us and him… you see how it’s going.”

Another explosion rattled the doors and the building was shaking when more mortar shells dropped on it.

“I know what Everlast wants,” Midnight lied. “I need access to the archives.”

“Mom?” Midnight heard a young ghoul among the many in the lobby. “Are we safe here?”

“What are they doing here?” Midnight asked.

“Refugees. They didn’t know where to go.”

Midnight sighed and he felt the urge of violence returning when the building shook again. “Where are the terminals? I can seal the hub.”

“In the basement… Endeavor’s office is to the right.”

“Got it. Do you have some ammo? Just in case?”

“Ms. Buttercup has some, but be careful—”

“I know,” Midnight said. “She is a very delicate flower.”

Midnight got a pack of ammo for his rifle. It wasn’t the armor-piercing caliber he hoped for, but he was glad that Ms. Buttercup was very cooperative after he lied to her about a zebra incursion. She was the only one who held her position behind the desk when Everlast’s troops fired another explosive against the door.

The constant assault made Midnight hurry. He flew down the stairs, almost falling. Approaching the basement he already felt an unnatural warmth. Something irradiated must have leaked into the basement.

The light was dim and flickered from Everlast’s constant barrage. It was just enough to allow Midnight to grasp the massive size of the archives. The huge halls of the basement must stretch on far beyond the walls of the building above. He saw preserved copies of each newspaper and magazine produced in the Hub and by its subsidiaries. He would never find what he was searching for in time.

Realizing that his priorities were shifting. He needed access to Endeavor’s terminals to find the archived photos. He followed the other ghoul’s direction but instead of finding an office, he only found the boiler room. Hoping to find either a secret exit or a better hiding spot, he looked inside.

Thick and dusty pipes made it almost impossible to see the walls. But then he noticed the furniture. He found a mattress with thick blankets. Cables were torn out of the generator to build makeshift power outlets for a fridge, a small radio and a terminal. The latter was idly buzzing and the screen flickered with warnings of the attack and jammed communications. Above the terminal hung a picture, which reminded him of Fade. It showed Endeavor in a pristine white uniform, accompanied by a mare and a foal too young to understand what a camera was.

Midnight turned it around and began working on the terminal. It was well secured and Midnight only managed to grant himself basic access. He used that to search the database for Featherweight. His name appeared hundreds of times and it took him valuable minutes to reduce the results and pinpoint where his original photos were stored. When he narrowed the results to Stalliongrad, he found a note in the terminal’s system.

“O.I.A. Decree 10332

To ensure Equestria’s security and minimize the risk of zebra spies recruiting collaborateurs among the ponies, the Ministry of Image Hub in Tall Tale is ordered to never release or re-release any pictures made by Featherweight in connection to the activities of zebra sympathizers in Stalliongrad.

Respectfully, Blue Sky”

Feather was right. He was really an O.I.A. agent. Why did Feather never tell him? Why did Blue Sky never tell him? The answer must have been simple. Midnight was sure of it. Blue Sky wanted to protect him and there was certainly an answer about his involvement in the attack on his friends in Stalliongrad. Feather must be wrong to suggest that Blue Sky was behind the attack. He wanted peace after all.

Gunfire suddenly echoed down into the basement. Everlast began his frontal assault. Midnight read where the photos were stored and rushed out of the boiler room. When he heard how Everlast’s ghouls were trying to evacuate the refugees deeper into the facility, Midnight hesitated and he looked back to the office.

No! He had only limited time. He had to get the photos and get out before Everlast’s soldiers fortified their position. There was no time to seal the Hub. He rushed into the archive. “File E, rank one…” he repeated to himself again and again. He came across damaged shelves, as if a massive animal had been raging here. He ignored it when the firefights upstairs grew in intensity. “File E, rank one.”

Midnight arrived at the massive shelf and found it damaged as well. He grabbed the files scattered over the floor, opened them and flicked through the pages. The pictures were in pristine condition and still depicted the strong colors of a time before the bombs. Midnight threw them aside. His gaze only lingered on the pictures when he recognized buildings from Stalliongrad, pictures of protests or of the sheer brutality between Ministry of Morale officers and misguided ponies.

Explosions told him that he didn’t have the time to carefully parse the files. He shoved every picture into his bags and underneath his clothes, not caring if they were damaged in the process.

Another explosion made something stir not too far away from Midnight. something was squirming in the dark and Midnight heard chains rattling. Tendrils were writhing in the dark and an eyeless face turned its attention to him. He stepped away when he realized he was next to the monstrous creature from the Hippocratic Research facility. It was irritated by the battle, but didn’t show any awareness of him.

Midnight had a way out.

The explosions were luring the creature outside. Midnight had trouble chasing the monster when it sought out the source of its anger. To him it felt like the creature was made for that sole purpose; of lashing out in violence.

Midnight didn’t witness how the creature pushed back the last attack. When he arrived all he found were ponies with their limbs mangled and twisted. Some were alive, slowly suffocating or drowning in their own blood. Their flesh where the creature touched them was melting off, reminding Midnight of how lucky he was when he succumbed to the balefire.

Outside, the creature was chasing Everlast’s soldiers. The panic among his troops made them forget about the ministry hub. Their weapons proved too weak; even their armor piercing rifles didn’t cause any damage to the oily skin.

Midnight spread his wings, ready to take off, but a bullet whizzed past his head. He scrambled into cover, hiding behind a makeshift barrier. He tried to find the pony firing at him, but more bullets tore into the debris and forced him back into cover.

More gunfire erupted from the doors. The other ghouls tried to break out as well. Midnight he didn’t seal the Ministry and breaking through the siege was their only hope. He took his rifle and brought himself into position. He quickly found a few ponies with their weapons trained at the Ministry. He fired once, twice, even a third time. When he looked again all he saw was a splatter of blood next to where Everlast soldiers were.

With the monster raging among Everlast’s lines, the ghouls only had to cover a few angles. Midnight used the opportunity to fly up on a roof, opening fire, quickly switching position to fire again to help the ghouls escape. His Cicada was singing. He was a good pony.

It took The Mandate several grueling minutes to deploy its heavy weapons against the raging monster. In that time, Midnight and the other ghouls caused enough havoc among Everlast’s soldiers to allow most of the stranded ghouls to flee. But eventually Midnight had to retreat as well and the Ministry hub was finally conquered.

Midnight didn’t know if there were further firefights inside.

The battles in the industrial district died down quickly. Only a few skirmishes closer to the mall and downtown lasted for a bit longer. Midnight heard weapons of all types fired. Each time the gunfights were shorter and eventually it was only single shots.

It took Midnight until the evening to find the museum. He didn’t want to risk asking Everlast’s ponies by accident. Instead he had to rely on his luck to find an old map, which showed the location of the Featherweight Memorial Museum.

When he finally arrived, Tall Tale was quiet. Not even the scavengers were fighting each other for food and scrap. The memorial appeared peaceful in the serene silence. The pitched roofs and artful decoration made it look like a relic between the abandoned apartment buildings. A small light was glowing behind the boarded up windows.

Midnight found the lobby tidy and the exhibits lined up nicely. Many items were crammed into the few glass boxes which survived the bombs. Nopony looted this place. As valuable as an old camera would have been prior to or during the war time, none of it was of any interest for ponies now. He didn’t pay them much attention and slowly walked deeper inside. Midnight stopped when he noticed Praise standing at the door to a neighboring room. She looked to be having trouble wielding the wooden club in her muzzle.

He looked at her, remembering what she asked him to do. He remembered the pictures in his bags. And he remembered how he broke the promise to seal the hub. No… There was no time left. He helped them escape out of the hub. He was a good pony.

“Midnight?” Praise asked and lowered the weapon.

Midnight noticed concern in her eyes. “I… got the pictures you asked for.” His voice was coarse and quiet. He took them out of his bags and pockets, just piling them up in front of him. “You can have them.”

“Don’t you want to look at them?”

“No. I don’t want them anymore.” He stood up and searched for a place to retreat into.

“Your friend is here. We got some clean water and she is making dumplings.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I know. But you can still join us.”

“Oh really?” Midnight asked sarcastically.

Praise didn’t ask any further and suddenly Shibboleth was calling. “Praise! Everlast is talking!”

Midnight’s ear twitched. Praise was already rushing to the radio. He remained at the door to the room where Shibboleth prepared the food.

“...and all the other rumors.” Everlast’s voice sounded from the speakers. “But today we showed every pony here in Tall Tale that The Mandate aims to restore Equestria. Thanks to our resources and the brave soldiers who are still fighting, we were able to fend off the cowardly attack of the ghouls.”

“Is he giving a speech?” Midnight asked.

Shibboleth hushed him down.

“We do not ask for anything in return. We don’t want money. We don’t want weapons or food. We have plenty of both. Yet I wish you could welcome our troops into your city and give them a warm place to rest. They earned it. But now we have to come to the important part. We still have to uphold Equestria’s laws. Our institutions may have been burned down by the zebras, but our minds and hearts still know what is right and just. For we have decided to judge Endeavor, former chairpony of the Tall Tale Ministry of Image Hub, to be guilty of high treason. The sentence will be death as it was last executed twenty years ago. Maverick!”

There was a short moment of silence.

“Burn him.”

Shibboleth turned the radio off and sighed.

Midnight found a few books to distract himself. It turned out Praise was not only hoarding anything regarding Featherweight, but a wide selection of books as well. Luckily one was an Atlas and Midnight studied the maps of the Vanhoover- and Stalliongrad region to estimate where Fade and the others could be. But the Equestria he knew looked so twisted and different from what the maps suggested.

After dinner Shibboleth stirred flour in the water she cooked the dumplings in to let it ferment overnight. A stale bread with a slightly yeasty flavor was a luxury. Praise sat down nearby to study the pictures Midnight brought.

He listened to what the two mares had to say. How they were talking about the past, about Tall Tale and how much they missed bright colors.

“Who is this?” Praise asked pointing at one picture.

Shibboleth took the picture in her magic and furrowed her brows. “Midnight? Isn’t this the pony you are searching for?” She levitated it to him.

When he took the picture he immediately recognized Blue Sky. He was protecting his head from a bottle thrown at him. “That’s him.” Midnight sat down a bit closer, but still kept his distance. He looked at the other pictures and found a few more of the same scene. In one picture a police officer had to step in, when a stallion tried to get on the podium. “I forgot how much they hated zebras.”

“It’s not the zebras,” Shibboleth said. “That was a protest. Ponies got wind that Vanhoover was creating bioweapons and a new railroad was built to transport them right through Tall Tale. It was very close towards the end of the war.”

“Like the monster that lived here?” Praise asked.

“Perhaps.” Shibboleth answered. “I wasn’t involved in the investigation of who leaked that information, but some coworkers were.”

Midnight grabbed the pile of pictures and folders, looking at the story unfolding, how the ponies were getting increasingly violent against his friend. “Ponies are stupid. He was born in Equestria but because of his stripes, no pony trusted him. I think… he always took it with… dignity. He just knew it better than them.”

“Knew better?” Praise asked.

“To… to be a good pony. To choose peace. He convinced me to start the peace activist group in Stalliongrad. But… you know how that went. I am sure Featherweight’s pictures show the truth that we were peaceful and the Shadowbolts… that they were wrong!”

He grabbed a folder and found pictures of Stalliongrad. Midnight was smiling when he recognized the colors of his home. He quickly came across the photos of his peace activist group and his smile quickly disappeared. Seeing him and his friends shouting at other ponies and being hosed down by water guns filled him with dread. This time the feeling wasn’t a memory.

He flicked through more pages. One of his friends, whose name he forgot, was threatening another pony with a gun. Another scene showed Midnight bleeding from a wound on his head. A unicorn was hurling bricks at them with her magic. An open fight with Stalliongrad’s police, which escalated to a Steel Ranger stomping off the hindleg of one of his friends. The eviscerated corpse of a young stallion, leaning against a wall. “Die Zebra Fucker!” was written above him. A picture of Midnight, glaring at the camera, Cicada loaded and ready to kill.

Midnight closed the folder. His body was quivering. He started to pack up pictures at random. “I’m sorry, Praise. I must have taken the wrong pictures. These are horrible pictures and you don’t want to see them. All lies. Terrible lies.” He rubbed his nose, remembering tears. “I was a good pony.”

Praise took the bundle out of his hooves. “I will sort them for you. I will take the bad ones out.”

Midnight looked at her. She turned around to not have to see the violence in his eyes and began to quietly sort the pictures.

The next morning Praise and Shibboleth were setting up a stove to bake. While Shibboleth handled the dough with her magic, Praise dusted an old cooking pot with flour until she had to sneeze. Midnight observed them from his resting place. Staying in the corner of the room Praise made her home, he felt like vermin. Eventually he didn’t want to lay there any longer and joined them, even though he didn’t know what to do or to say. When Shibboleth looked at him, he still thought he could see reluctance in her eyes.

His attention was quickly drawn to the sorted pictures. The folders were nicely stacked. He briefly looked at the atlas in the corner, before reaching for the photos instead.

The first set of pictures were taken during an early autumn storm. It was a funeral and Midnight wondered why Featherweight took photos of them. Only a mare, fully covered in black clothes and a heavy raincoat against the storm. Nearby under a plastic umbrella was a white stallion, wearing a black suit. Midnight squinted his eyes and he noticed the blue mane and blue stripes.

Midnight no longer wondered why Featherweight was disrupting a funeral. He wondered why he was so obsessed with Blue Sky. The next photo was a close up of him. Midnight didn’t need to know what was said. Blue Sky’s eyes clearly said that the photographer was not welcome. His mane and suit were drenched, but he was holding the umbrella in an odd angle. Blue Sky’s intention was not about shielding himself from the rain, but the small filly on his back. He wondered who the young pony was. The pale purple coat and the blue, braided mane looked familiar. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see better.

“Shib? Can you take a look at this?”

“What?” She sighed, clearly annoyed. She hastily took the picture with her magic. Her stern expression softened when she noticed the young pony. “Is this Fade? No, it can’t be.”

“That bitch lied to me!” Midnight suddenly yelled and kicked the files away. “She fucking lied to me!”

“Midnight… Calm down! They just look similar,” Shibboleth said but was keeping her distance from him. Her eyes briefly darted to her gun. “If it’s Fade, she won’t remember.”

“Not Fade!” Midnight began to pace. “Feather! I mean Feather! Would you entrust Key to a stranger at a fucking funeral?”

“The color could still be a coincidence.”

“Coincidence? Shibboleth, since I left Stable Fifty-Four with you, I stepped from one coincidence into the next!”

“It is not even clear if these pictures are related to Feather at all. Please calm down, you make me… nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” Midnight turned towards her. “My life gets disassembled with every step I take! I get disassembled like I am a fucking brain-bot and you are concerned about just being nervous! All you need to be nervous about is your daughter!”

“Please don’t drag my daughter into this.”

“Of course. I am not allowed to mention your daughter! You dropped me in the dirt so I can heal to save your daughter! ‘Don’t go to Lunaland, because my daughter. Don’t kill Everlast’s ponies, because my daughter. Don’t go to the Ministry, because my daughter.’”

“That’s enough Midnight!” Shibboleth yelled.

“No. It is not enough. I am sick of this shit! Since I arrived in this fucking city, everything stinks like Killjoy, Blue Sky and Feather. Don’t you see that I want fucking answers!”

Midnight’s mind was racing but he wasn’t able to grasp a clear thought. He couldn’t even control his body anymore; Pacing, moving, turning and pacing again. Every other time his eyes fixated on the rifle.

“Praise!” The call was long, drawn out. The raspy voice was still clearly recognizable. Everlast awaited them.

“Stay here and be quiet. Pack your things,” Praise said, suddenly torn away from the heated argument to a new threat. She took a few blankets to protect herself against the cold morning air and went outside.

“Praise!” Everlast called again.

Midnight grabbed his rifle and rushed through the hallways to find a way up on the roof. In the hurry he climbed up narrow stairs and reached the attic. He quickly ran to a small window facing toward the museum’s front. It was broken and Midnight took place next to it.

Outside he saw that Everlast brought a lot of his soldiers. He was accompanied by two dozen soldiers. He thought he saw a sniper in one of the nearby windows. But what worried him most was Maverick towering next to Everlast, the pilot flame of his weapon already ignited.

Midnight aimed his rifle, making sure that the barrel was not visible.

“I don’t know if you heard, but somewhere in this town is a very peculiar pony,” Everlast said. “He was first seen in Lunaland, where he killed my adjutant. Not much later he was in Edmareton, where he killed my advisor. And yesterday my troops saw him at the Ministry of Image, fighting for Endeavor. The ponies here in the town say you know him.”

“That is horrible, but I don’t know who you mean.”

“A pegasus-ghoul, Praise. You can’t tell me you would forget about such a… as I said… peculiar pony.”

“Maybe?”

“Listen, Praise. I know that you got caught up in a game that is too big for you to understand. But the ponies here in Tall Tale say that you are a trustworthy one. Some ponies say that you are naive, because you are living in poverty even for today’s standards, just so you can keep an old heritage alive. To do that, you want access to the Ministry Hub, which is mine now. I know how much you adore Featherweight and because of that, I can offer you the chance to work at the Hub. All you need to do is tell me everything you know about the ghoul, the kid and her mother.”

“Mister Everlast… your offer is very generous.” Praise said and Everlast smiled. “But I can’t help you. I met this ghoul briefly. He left the city as fast as he arrived. All I know since then are the rumors that he killed a cannibal.”

“That’s a pity, Miss Praise.” Everlast sighed. “In this case, there is nothing we can do. But allow me one more question.”

“Yes?”

“Please correct me if I am wrong… Miss Praise. The last time any wheat was harvested in this area was twenty years ago. It’s usually processed into flour. The few bags of it that survived the bombs were quickly consumed by the survivors. It is quite rare these days. The only place left, which has flour in abundance is Lunaland. The only pony who was there and also knows you was the ghoul. Or… did you suddenly get rich enough to spill it all over your muzzle?”

Midnight shot. The bullet pierced through Maverick’s fuel tank. The loud hiss of pressurized flaming gel sent Everlast’s soldiers into panic. In a hurry they escaped from the Hellhound as fast as they could, while Maverick struggled to get the damaged fuel tank off his back.

The gel was raining down on Maverick’s thick skin and some dripped down on the pilot flame. A sudden bright glare blinded Midnight and even next to the window he felt the heat washing over him. A huge fireball flared up with a violent roar, rising up and up until it was visible in the entire city.

Midnight heard screams. Everlast’s ponies, who couldn’t escape in time, were rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames. The burning gel stuck to their coats, reigniting every time a flame was put out. He saw Maverick getting up, not minding how the burning fuel was running down his body. With a vicious snarl the Hellhound charged forward with long and heavy strides.

Midnight got up to bring his rifle into position. He felt the building shaking when the massive body leaped at the facade, digging the claws deep to climb up the museum.

Midnight retreated, taking position nearby the stairs to the attic, aiming at the window. When the massive claws dug into the window frame Midnight fired. A finger was torn off, but it didn’t slow the hellhound down. Maverick was already tearing at the old wood, widening the entrance to push his massive frame through it.

Midnight had to choose between firing another shot or running. The split second he tried to aim for the eye, Maverick was already forcing his body through the window. He was shaking his head like a rabid beast, saliva dripping from his cleft lips. Midnight fired but missed the eye.

The hellhound broke through the window, running at Midnight faster than a creature of its size should. He lashed out and Midnight only dodged the attack with a desperate jump down the stairs. He fell and thought he heard a crack when his head collided with the wall. A brief glimpse let him see Maverick struggling to squeeze his body through the attic’s hatch made for ponies much smaller than him.

Midnight ran down the remaining flights of stairs, calling for Shibboleth to run. He heard the heavy stomps and raging growls of the creature chasing him. His only hope was to be able to hide in the exhibition hall and get enough time to line up another shot.

His hope was shattered when he realized how close Maverick already was. His claws were reaching out for Midnight. He remembered true fear and tried to run faster than his broken body allowed.

But suddenly, Maverick roared out in pain and pressed his massive claws against his head, drawing blood. The hellhound squirmed on the floor, raging against whatever caused his pain.

Midnight kept running, not trying his luck in the narrow stairwell. He met the others downstairs. “The hellhound is sick!” He shouted.

“I know!” Shibboleth answered and finished packing up her radio equipment. Midnight thought he heard a barely audible whistling noise, but his attention fell on the photos with Blue Sky. He grabbed as many as he could, forcing them into his bag.

The sound of splintering wood and breaking glass erupted all around them when bullets suddenly pierced into the museum. Midnight and Shibboleth jumped into cover, while debris and splinters rained down on them. The sound of the museum being destroyed drowned out Midnight’s thoughts.

“Praise!” He called when the barrage finally stopped. Most of the soldiers outside had to either reload or were, more likely, preparing to storm inside. Midnight couldn’t find her at first, but saw her taking position next to the door. “Praise, we have to leave!”

A magic surge tore the heavy doors out of the hinges and hurled them into the museum. Midnight crouched down, aiming his rifle at the entrance and fired when the first pony tried to rush inside. He hit the chest and the pony collapsed, coughing and trying to crawl away.

Another pony opened fire with a levitated assault rifle. Midnight had to dive back into cover when he heard bullets whizzing past his head. He had to retreat further back when the constant firing tore big holes into the thin walls.

Suppressed by the fire Midnight could only occasionally watch. Another pony was pushing forward. Praise left her hiding spot and smashed a wooden plank right on his nose. He stumbled backwards, a second blow blocked by his helmet. Purple suddenly magic wrapped around the plank. Before Praise realized what was happening, Everlast stepped into the museum and fired his revolver into her eye.

Everlast didn’t pay her collapsing body any more attention. He found Midnight and fired his revolver again. The rounds pierced violently through the wall and dug deep into Midnight’s body.

“Up!” He shouted over the noise. “We have to get upstairs!”

Shibboleth found a chance to shoot her pistol back. It drove Everlast into cover and his own shots went wild, hitting nothing but the small stove. With Everlast and his soldiers briefly being pinned down at the door, Midnight noticed how another squad was making their way through the boarded up windows. He aimed through the huge holes in the wall and his shot tore open one soldier’s artery.

“Now!” Midnight shouted and jumped up, rushing to the stairs. Shibboleth fired her shots into the exhibition hall until the pistol only clicked when her magazine ran dry.

Everlast came out of the cover, the revolver reloaded and ready. The first bullet shredded one of Shibboleth’s radio devices and the second one pierced her hindleg. She screamed when she fell and Midnight had to turn around to help her back up. She winced in pain and both of them were slowly ascending the stairs.

“We will try to get away from the roof. It is not too high,” Midnight said. When he arrived at the attic, he threw the hatch shut and pushed some heavy boxes on top of it. Shibboleth sat down and pulled some cloth from her back to wrap it around the wound. The fabric was immediately drenched in blood.

Sooner than Midnight thought, somepony was emptying half a magazine into the closed hatch. They crawled far enough away to make sure not to be hit by ricochet.

“How many rounds do you have left?” Midnight asked.

She reloaded her pistol. “Fifteen. Sixteen shots? And you?”

“Two.”

An angry growl made them realize that Maverick was returning. With Shibboleth’s radio broken, the piercing noise was no longer keeping the monster away. Maverick was creeping back through the window. The Hellhound growled, blood running from his temples when he clawed his own skull. Midnight aimed, taking a second longer to train the rifle on his mutated eye and fired. Click. He fired again, but the rifle only clicked.

He quickly checked his rifle and found the magazine empty. When another magic surge hurled the hatch open and the boxes away, Midnight knew he had no time to reload. He drew his knife and the pair were retreating into the far corner of the attic.

Everlast was the first to enter and Shibboleth immediately started firing at him. The low caliber bullets tore into Everlast’s singed skin without any effect. He aimed his revolver and… hesitated. “Maverick! Get off! Enclave!” He suddenly shouted at the hellhound.

“Shibboleth! Run! This is our chance!” Midnight said, pushing her to the closest window, while Everlast and Maverick retreated.

“Where?”

“Anywhere!”

When he looked outside he saw a cloud ship approaching. It was only a small Vertibuck. No frigate and no escort. He squinted his eyes and couldn’t believe his eyes when he recognized the makeshift Vertibuck from the Ministry hub.

He hung out the window and waved, trying desperately to get their attention. Orlov! Now he knew why they went to Orlov! A salvo of heavy bullets dug into his torso. He felt his ribs scatter and he retreated back into the attic to escape the sniper’s fire.

“It’s Fade!” He croaked, his lungs punctured.

The confusion and worry about the Enclave stopped Everlast just long enough for Shibboleth to turn on her radio and send a tracking signal out. She didn’t care who heard it, as long as Fade noticed it.

A strong and powerful wind rushed over the roof and into the attic, drowning out every noise inside. The hatch to the Vertibuck’s back opened and Feather waved them inside. “Get in! Quick!” She commanded.

Shibboleth reacted first, but Midnight only stared at her, his body trembling from memories of rage.

“Get in you idiot!” Feather shouted.

He followed with a jump and his frail body was pressed on the floor when the Vertibuck quickly gained altitude. He saw Fade’s pale purple wings beat quickly to force the machine up into the air. Feather closed the hatch and when the wind was finally quietened all that remained was the buzzing engine and after a moment of disbelief the joyful sobs of mother and daughter reunited.