Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

Wednesday, 10/26/2287
POV: Dinky Doo
Cloudsdale

Dinky knew it wasn’t Mercury’s fault, but didn’t think she’d forgive her. She figured Mercury knew that, since she looked at Dinky like she was sick with herself. Thankfully she looked at Dinky less once they got to Cloudsdale since there was more to distract her.

Cloudsdale wasn’t much of a ruin, just collapsed rubble. Most of it tumbled to the mountain’s base, but some was strewn down the path from Canterlot. Sometimes the path was blocked, but together Starlight and Dinky could lift the wagon over the rough spots.

Solar couldn’t pull the wagon like a pegasus chariot because she could barely fly; the most she learned in the stable was awkward hovering, and apparently pulling a heavy wagon in flight took a certain amount of prowess if they didn’t want to dump everything out. Worse, the outside heat was clearly much more than she was used to, having lived her entire life in an air-conditioned bunker. Dinky envied her for being that sheltered.

The alicorn tried as well, but couldn't either thanks to vertigo from her recent horn injury. They were grounded for the time.

The rubble wasn’t the worst of it though because not all the cloud dissipated when hit by the mega-spell. The spells had an odd effect on cloud structures, condensing globs into glowing red and green swirled goo on the ground. Even after so long, the bits were too radioactive for a breather to touch with bare skin.

Dinky spent so long wanting to find living ponies, but now that she had, she felt self-conscious around them. Not only that, but now that she knew ferals attacked breathers, she feared becoming one even more. So she sat with Limestone, quiet as she was. She was the one that understood Dinky’s plight the most, and since she was Mommy’s friend, she was the closest thing to family Dinky had.

“Can we listen to Best Friend Cozy now?” Crimson asked seemingly at random.

“Sorry, Crimson,” said Starlight. “We already voted on New Equestria Radio.”

“Radio?” asked Dinky, glancing back.

“On the radio,” answered Limestone before pausing. “Sorry, I guess you can’t hear it since it’s over the PCB.”

Limestone clicked on the radio on her pipbuck. She turned it barely loud enough for Dinky to hear, and it stunned Dinky that it wasn’t a propaganda broadcast. Dinky hadn’t listened to a radio in decades, not imagining there would be something new.

On the broadcast, a techno beat ended and the DJ spoke.

“Got lots of stuff goin’ down in Post Apocalyptia these days,” said the stallion’s voice. “Here’s some of the latest news:”

“According to reports from the ever so hoity toity Tenwhinny Tower, a group of displaced ghouls have been trying to gain entrance, hoping that the new leader, Jacob Atticus, is less of a moron than the former head Allimare Tenwhinny. Turns out he’s worse, opening fire on docile ghouls as if they were ferals. The poor ghouls don’t have a lot of options since the only other settlement nearby is Holder. They’re decent folks, on a good day at least, but I know I couldn’t stomach living next to an unexploded megaspell atop an ancient megaspell silo. That’s just askin’ for trouble!”

“Holder,” Limestone repeated. “That’s home; I’m sure of it. And it sounds like it’s still inhabited.”

“Pinkie bet a pony 100 bits it would not explode,” Pinkie said. “Pinkie will make their descendants pay with interest! Yes… Pinkie’s knee is pinchy!”

Dinky did not understand why Pinkie blurted out that last bit, but the others took it seriously. The Pies, Starlight, and Twilight all scanned the area worriedly.

“Incoming,” Maud said. “I count eight. One glowing.”

Maud spoke with such calmness that it took a few seconds to register that she was describing an attack. She pointed to the sky at a flock of pegasus in the distance, one that was quickly closing their distance.

Horse apples! Dinky had forgotten about the pegasi because she hadn’t dealt with them for so long. Shooing them off wouldn’t be as easy as taking off military gear if they’d always attack breathers.

“Ferals can’t use guns, so they won't attack until they're close,” Limestone kept her head and looked around. She was right; even the ones that still carried them never used them. “There.”

Limestone pointed to a cave along the cliff wall to one side. They left the wagon where it was with the assumption the ghouls wouldn’t mess with it and headed towards that, Starlight carrying Kamikaze with her magic. The cave was barely deep enough for them all to fit, but the mouth was narrow enough that the ghouls would have to attack single file.

“You’re right, I can take some out before they get close,” Limestone said, standing outside the cave and raising a gauss rifle, speaking as if the gun just gave the suggestion. “Damn. I’m used to having plenty of time to target.”

“Pinkie doesn’t take the time to target,” Pinkie said. “She fires enough bullets that one of them will hit.”

“Hold off on that,” Limestone said. “Pinkie Die is low on ammo.”

Limestone fired several shots and managed to down one as the others charged fearlessly onward. From what Dinky saw, most of them continued to fly straight on despite the incoming fire, but the glowing one flew evasive maneuvers to avoid the shots. Dinky knew that one well even if they’d only spoken once.

“What the buck?” Limestone said when the one started evasive maneuvers.

“I think that’s… I forgot her name,” Dinky called out. “But she has metal wings and a positronic brain. Her cybernetics are probably reacting to danger automagically.”

“Is she feral?” Limestone asked. “If not, we can reason with her.”

“She’s feral,” said Dinky. “But conscious. She can communicate through her cranial speaker but still can’t control what she’s doing.”

“My Celestia, that’s terrible,” Twilight sounded hollow. “But if she’s conscious, doesn’t that make her innocent? We can’t just kill her…”

“They’re all innocent,” Starlight said. “But if Dinky didn’t figure out how to undo it in 200 years, we won’t in the next five minutes.” She looked at Kamikaze. “Kamikaze, does another pony with metal wings sound familiar?”

“Yeah it does,” groaned Kamikaze. “My second-in-command, Spitfire. We’re damn lucky if she can’t use guns anymore. She got very... Pinkie Pie during firefights.”

“Is there no chance you can save her?” Mercury asked Dinky, jerking as Limestone took several more shots to down a second one.

“No chance,” said Dinky, but even if she could, she wouldn’t. The pegasus deserved release from her misery, but nothing more. She was still an invader.

“If you manage not to damage her wings too much, we could put them on Kamikaze,” Solar suggested. “Though most cybernetics are created specifically for the user’s brain. You know how to get around that?”

“I have theories,” Dinky said. “Don’t bet on me fixing one of the worst war criminals in history though.”

Kamikaze perked her ears hopefully at Solar’s statement, but then her whole form twitched as if Dinky's verbal jab was physically painful. Dinky hoped it was, but gave her credit for not denying it at least.

“Closing in,” Limestone backed into the cave. “Spitfire is behind the others, I suspect she can resist enough to delay herself. Me and Maud will take out the others close up to save on ammo, then Pinkie can briefly fire on Spitfire’s torso and legs. Try to keep from damaging the metal in case we can use it. I’m going to tackle her, at which point Starlight needs to put a shield over the two of us that will resist an extreme blast of radiation from the inside.”

Spitfire continued to linger near the back of the ferals. Maybe she’d been practicing for the last century. Given enough centuries, she may have gotten control of herself, but Dinky doubted she wanted to wait that long.

It felt better than it should to watch Maud and Limestone crack the heads of the ferals that galloped into the cave ahead of Spitfire. It was late justice for Dinky’s friends.

Both earth ponies hit hard, but despite the disadvantage of being alive, Maud’s melee skills left Limestone’s in the dust. Not having room in the cave to swing her hammer, Maud fought with her hooves, shattering the head of the first ghoul that came through as she spun head over hoof and laid a kick atop its cranium. Had Dinky found the ghoul afterward, she’d have thought someone shot it in the head.

Spitfire resisted for a moment outside, but after seeing how easily the other ghouls were put down, she charged in as if hoping to be put to rest, excitedly announcing “I’m coming in!” to prepare them. In response, Maud and Limestone stepped back and Pinkie opened up with her minigun. She hit Spitfire square in the chest, sending bone and flesh flying, then swept beneath her, taking out all four of her legs and sending her face-first into the ground.

The feral flapped her metal wings as they took her legs off, but Limestone tackled her, pinning her down onto the ground.

Starlight put a shield over the two, and just as expected, Spitfire's glow intensified, the shield shimmering as it was battered from within by a radiation blast. Spitfire's severed limbs slowly grew back as they watched, her own blast of radiation empowering her, but she was still out of commission for the moment. They gave Spitfire a few moments to waste all her charge on irradiating the inside of Starlight's shield before Limestone motioned for her to drop it.

It took Dinky a moment to realize why they didn’t just destroy Spitfire’s head. Rather than just kill her, Maud pinned her head down with one hoof. Starlight came forward, casting an x-ray spell that showed the cybernetic components inside. Her horn charged up, apparently intending to put her down while making sure the components they might need stayed intact.

“Wait,” Spitfire spoke through her radio, but Starlight didn’t pause, powering up her horn.

“Wait,” Twilight repeated and put a hoof in front of Starlight. “Let her have some final words at least, please.”

“Really?” Starlight arched an eyebrow, but paused. “She’s regenerating as we speak.”

“Take off the head,” Dinky said. “A glowing one shouldn’t die if the head is removed fully intact.” She hoped they didn’t ask how she knew.

The earth ponies paused, holding Spitfire's wings down as her body still tried to get up. When Dinky made the suggestion, Maud wrenched Spitfire’s head from her body, having to strain even with her strength to twist it off, yanking it free with a bit of spine still attached.

Spitfire grimaced, but her head still looked aware when separated. Her body convulsed before collapsing and growing still, the glow slowly dying as it did. Even as a head, they could see her neck filling out as if her whole body might have regenerated given the time.

“Is that Kamikaze? You look like horse apples,” Spitfire’s speakers said as Maud held her head up.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Kamikaze said as Maud casually faced her in that direction, but turned to not look Spitfire in her undead face.

“At least you’re… symmetrical,” Spitfire chuckled over her radio as her muzzle made snarling motions without sound. “How many things have you jumped into since I saw you?”

“Just one, I think,” Kamikaze laughed nervously.

“Still that makes what… eight?” Spitfire’s ‘voice’ slowly gained static. “Your friends have pipbucks… plug one into my head and I’ll transfer the encryption key for my wings.”

“Whoa, thanks,” Kamikaze said. “But sorry we had to do this.”

“I’m not,” Spitfire said. “I’d have offed myself ages ago if I’d been able to.” She shifted one cybernetic eye to Dinky. “Pretty sure I remember you. I’m really sorry. I never forgave myself for that... never forgave myself for being a part of this... never forgave myself for a lot of things.”

“I forgive you then,” Dinky lied, but she couldn’t bring herself to say otherwise to a re-dying head.

"Thanks," Spitfire said, followed by a long pause as if that only increased her guilt. "I guess you'll have to atone for the both of us, Kami."

"I will," promised Kamikaze. For a moment, she made full eye contact with Spitfire, nodding seriously.

Solar came forward, plugging her pipbuck into Spitfire’s head slot. Dinky saw authorization text reflecting on Spitfire’s eyes as she gave access.

“Got it,” Solar said a few moments later. She tried to subdue her excitement given the situation, but it was still apparent in her voice.

“Finish it…” Spitfire said, then went silent.

Starlight seemed awkward about doing it after the poignant conversation, but stepped forward again. A thin beam shot from her horn, drilling Spitfire through the forehead, hitting a precision blow. Her eyes ceased darting about and the glow died from her head as well as she ceased with a slight smile on her face.

“I gotta admit,” said Solar, sounding self-conscious. “I’m not sure how to use this encryption key yet. It’ll take a while to figure out since I never dealt with this type of cybernetics first-hoof.”

“I have magitech books I got from the library, if those help,” offered Twilight.

“I know how,” said Dinky. She spoke between clenched teeth. “I’ll go over it with you on the way.”

Had she had that key and Spitfire’s magitech components before, she might have been able to save at least part of Mommy. Or maybe that was wishful thinking; she’d become good at that.

Dinky didn’t want to help Kamikaze but couldn’t bring herself to refuse anymore. After all, the best way to honor Mommy was to use the knowledge gained to help somepony like Mommy would have. She had always been so forgiving; even as Cloudsdale bore down on the city, she'd never held it against them.

“Thanks for helping,” Kamikaze said. “I wouldn’t help me in your place.”

“Glad you understand that,” Dinky said. “But I’m only helping you because Mommy would. And you better keep that promise you made to your friend, to make up for what you both did.”

Dinky turned to the mouth of the cave, stepping over the finished ghouls and heading back out to the wagon, ignoring any response from Kamikaze.

POV: Mercury Shine

Even though she knew it was merciful, it was never easy for Mercury to watch them kill ferals. The soldiers did it with such coldness, but after her own experience with Muffins, Mercury couldn’t stop thinking about the families of these ponies, about the lives they once had.

Watching Spitfire’s last conversation was heart-wrenching. To imagine living 200 years, watching your body doing such things and wanting nothing more than to die. It made her sick to think about it. Almost as sick as it made her when Solar and Dinky started poking at Spitfire’s head like it was just another technological toy. Starlight preserved it magically, but they’d have to wait until they had proper equipment to dig the components out intact.

She distracted herself with de facto duty as the team nurse just to try to get it out of her mind. Solar had stomach issues, most likely from the stressful desertlike conditions rather than a bad ration, and Kamikaze was a bit bruised from the bumpy wagon ride. She bruised more easily with her fur padding mostly burned off. Sometimes she quietly asked Mercury to scratch her face, but only when the others weren’t looking as if it embarrassed her to have another pony do it.

Still, the whole thing made Mercury curious, so she had to ask, “How did you two get the positronic brains?”

“I was there when Eris wrecked the Grand Galloping Gala,” Kamikaze said. “That was when Eris became Eris, actually. Anyway, she invaded Spitfire’s mind, but unlike most others mind-bucked that night, Spitfire survived long enough and was important enough to fix. Celestia herself only avoided damage because I leaped in front of her; that's how my head got messed up too.”

“So, about Eris,” Twilight asked as if dreading the answer. “I saw her in one of the stained-glass windows and she was familiar. Was her original name Fluttershy?”

“Yes,” said Starlight. “She was the Minister of Psionics until she cracked. We based the SHIE AI on her... um...”

“Research,” Crimson finished for her, being a good propaganda mare now it seemed.

“What made her crack?” asked Twilight, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Being a ministry mare is stressful,” Starlight said evasively. “We should get going now.”

Crimson started to speak but chuckled instead as Starlight glared at her. “Yeah, it is stressful. Let’s blame my mental condition on that too.”

“Seriously, we’re burning daylight,” Starlight said sternly. “If everypony’s done taking a leak or whatever, I want to put as much distance between us and this hellhole as we can before nightfall.”

Thankfully there wasn’t a lot of Cloudsdale left to trek through. According to the Pies, they’d passed caves on their way into the city that might work for a campsite, and Twilight confirmed that she and Kamikaze stopped there on their way in. Afterward, they’d be heading into the Ashlands, where there wasn’t even a ruin for miles.

Mercury hoped there were still things to look at out there, like propaganda posters, which fascinated Mercury since it’d been Crimson’s job during the war. They saw a few intact propaganda posters in Cloudsdale, and it was interesting to see how each demonized the other.

Another interesting difference was how they perceived other mutual enemies, particularly crystal ponies. Canterlot depicted them as unfortunates needing to be put out of their misery, while Cloudsdale depicted them as simply evil.

There was a little good news though, in that Maud found tracks that were likely from Tranquil, meaning she got this far without the pegaghouls or other monsters spotting her. Maud also noticed a spot where it looked like she had hidden under an overhang for a while, so perhaps she’d seen the pegasi at a distance and avoided detection. Limestone said she'd given Tranquil a good many radaway potions, so she should have been fine getting out.

Once there wasn’t as much cloud sludge around, the path was easier for Maud to follow. Tranquil made it to the base of the mountain, at least, as her trail led right into the same caves they were planning on stopping at. Another set led out of the cave, so she’d already left.

As much as Mercury wanted to continue after Tranquil, they were exhausted. They didn’t dare head into the Ashlands without rest. Once they did, they’d have to keep moving to get through the dust-storm as quickly as possible. They’d have to take shifts pulling the wagon, and the ones in said wagon wouldn’t get any good rest with it bumping around.

Inside, the cave was full of stalactites and stalagmites, which Mercury had previously only seen in books. Twilight said it had been a makeshift hospital during the Breaking, that Kamikaze had taken her here when she passed out shortly after their first meeting. Scavengers had apparently cleaned it out since then. It was rough, with few flat surfaces to sprawl on, but it had a single entrance to defend, and it didn’t seem like anything lived or unlived there.

“She was here,” Maud said as they entered the cave, pointing her hoof around. “She slept there next to the dolomite rocks. Also: a bandage.”

Maud watched with disinterest as Crimson trotted up and picked up the bloody bandage, licking it.

“Yep, that’s Tranquil’s blood,” Crimson confirmed. “Surprised she made it this far on her own.”

Mercury wished Crimson acted like she cared if they found Tranquil alive or not. It hurt her already dismal outlook to see Crimson like this.

“It couldn’t have been comfortable,” sighed Mercury. “Sleeping scrunched up between stalactites.”

“The ones on the floor are stalagmites, not stalactites,” Maud narrowed her eyes at Mercury as if she’d made an unforgivable mistake.

“S-sorry,” Mercury squeaked and stepped back.

“Are you bleeding, Maud?” Starlight asked, thankfully distracting Maud.

“Oh, that,” Maud said, looking at the wound on her leg. “That is just a ghoul bite. It’s healing.”

It was in fact, even if not nearly as fast as a glowing ghoul.

“Lucky you,” commented Kamikaze. “My healer mechanites got fried during my trip through the reactor.”

“So that’s how you healed so quickly,” Twilight sounded like she’d wondered it before. “Is that a rare technology too? Like the soul gems?”

“Rarer,” said Crimson. “I wasn't important enough to get it.”

“The Pies were the first volunteers to test it in the field,” said Starlight. “I had it too, but I didn’t get them replenished after I… died in an experiment.”

“Uh, you won’t turn into a ghoul, will you?” Mercury asked, then turned aside to Dinky and Limestone. “Um, sorry if this sounds rude, but do you know if ghoul bites turn other ponies into ghouls?”

“Yeah, that does sound rude,” growled Dinky.

“Sorry,” Mercury squeaked and stepped back again. She needed to watch what she said.

“I haven’t bitten any breathers to see if it’s contagious.” Limestone added, seeming to have picked up Dinky’s word, or perhaps slur, for living ponies. “But I doubt it.”

“Still,” Starlight chuckled awkwardly. “Let us know if you feel queasy or anything, Maud. Just in case.”

“Or if you feel tempted to murder any of us,” Crimson added.

“I'm always tempted to murder you,” Maud stared at Crimson. Though calm, the words sounded strangely seductive.

“Such a flirt,” smiled Crimson. “And right in front of your lover too.”

“Pinkie gave permission,” Pinkie said. “Because Maud gave Pinkie permission to perform perverse acts with the sexy pegacorn! Yes.”

“Wait, what?” asked Twilight.

“Pinkie will seduce the pegacorn later,” Pinkie said, trotting to Limestone’s side and peering at her. “For now, we should test if Pinkie’s Sister Superior’s condition is a sexually transmitted disease! For the science. Yes.”

“I agree,” said Maud, moving to Limestone’s other side and peering.

Limestone glanced back and forth at her sisters and quirked an eyebrow. “Appreciated but… you know I’m dead and radioactive, right?”

“Well you’re not very radioactive,” said Solar to Limestone, looking at her pipbuck. “The level is low in here.”

“Low?” asked Limestone, checking her own pipbuck. “I suppose it died down over the years. I was a little worried it wouldn’t, so that’s good.”

“Think we can strip off our radiation barding for the night?” Twilight asked. “I feel like I’m drowning in my sweat… though Celestia help us, I’m sure we all stink.”

The only time they’d been allowed to take off even the back parts was during potty breaks, and Limestone insisted they put them right back on while in the city, so they hadn’t really been able to let much sweat out.

“It would help keep us hydrated. I’m worried more of you might get sick,” Mercury added.

“Go ahead,” said Starlight, seeming happy to strip out of her own. “Strip or whatever you need to do to relax, but tie up Crimson first. And keep any bucking quiet and away from me. If I hear or see it…I’ll make damn sure it stops, forcefully.”

“I get the distinct feeling you’re not comfortable around me,” Crimson smirked. “Come on. I’m a ministry mare.”

“All the more reason,” said Dinky. “Sociopathy may as well have been a requirement for government positions.”

“Good point,” agreed Crimson. “We should tie up Starlight too.”

Crimson had told Mercury that citizens loved their rulers back then. Based on Dinky’s attitude, she wasn’t sure if that was more misinformation, or if Dinky was just especially bitter due to her experiences.

Mercury was glad to get out of her barding too, but Twilight was right about the stench. Two-hundred-year-old corpses had nothing on living ponies that hadn’t bathed in a few days, especially when trapped in a small cave together. Even Limestone and Dinky seemed taken aback when they got a whiff, but lucky for them they only had to smell it when they breathed in to speak.

Maud tied up Crimson, pulling her front legs behind her tightly. Crimson moaned at the violence and Maud nipped at her ear in an unusual show of playfulness. It even looked like Maud got a grope in, but then she shoved Crimson into a corner as hard as she could without breaking her.

“Why is your ear nicked?” Maud asked when she noticed a tip missing from Crimson’s left ear.

“I re-cut it every new body,” said Crimson after recovering from her head slamming against the rocks.

“Where did you get it initially?” asked Twilight.

“I got sucked through a turbine at the weather factory while trying to stop Winter,” claimed Crimson.

“Don’t bother asking,” Starlight told Twilight. “Her answer is different every time somepony asks her.”

Mercury didn’t realize Crimson started that so long ago that Starlight would know. She always figured it was something traumatizing Crimson didn’t want to talk about, but now it seemed equally likely she did it for fun.

“Limestone, Dinky?” Starlight asked. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you require sleep? If you can stay up without discomfort, can you stand watch at night?”

“Understood, Empress,” Limestone said.

“As long as it doesn’t require standing all night,” said Dinky. “Maybe I’ll tinker with Spitfire's head.”

“I’d work on attaching the wings, but no equipment here,” said Solar. “Sorry, Kami… we could look at the magazine they found with you in it?”

“Is that the only way you know to cheer ponies up?” asked Kamikaze, sounding bitter, but then relented. “Oh fine, go ahead.”

“Too bad we don’t have a real stallion instead,” Solar commented.

“Then I’d just feel like a fleshlight,” sighed Kamikaze.

Mercury thought it’d be too bad for the stallion to be trapped in a cave full of pent-up, unstable, and stinking mares. He might not survive.

“Sounds like a plan!” Solar said, turning to Dinky. “Gonna share yours?”

“May as well,” agreed Dinky. “You know where they are.”

Dinky rolled her eyes as Solar bounced outside to get them. The little ghoul didn't seem enthusiastic about anything, but also didn’t turn down social activity. She took trauma pretty well, though probably only because she'd had so much of it.

Starlight unhitched Crimson’s horn restraint for long enough for her to pull some of Twilight’s books from her Crimoire. They brought out a set of magitech encyclopedias and Twilight borrowed the parts from Spitfire to find what the various components were. The severed head clearly disgusted her, but she was probably desperate to make herself useful.

Starlight assisted Twilight, with Crimson included in the conversation. Crimson cared little about the subject and was usually nonconstructive, but Twilight still worked near her. Twilight said she didn’t want Crimson to be lonely, which showed how kind the alicorn was. Mercury would have paid Crimson attention too and felt bad for not doing so, but she knew Solar would bring the magazines over to wherever Mercury was and Crimson didn’t want to see that.

“Here we go!” Solar announced as she dropped a stack of her and Dinky’s magazines in front of Mercury.

They all gathered around where Mercury was, Solar bringing Kamikaze over to enjoy a peek whether she wanted to or not.

“This isn’t porn,” Dinky commented as she tugged the Journal of Magitech out of the stack.

“Says you!” Solar put it back.

The magazine she opened first though was one of Dinky’s ‘Horngasm’ magazines. It had an image of a white unicorn mare on front with a punkish green and purple mane and a cropped tail. A blue stallion was with her, putting his horn somewhere that horns probably shouldn't go. It said ‘Minister of Morale Rarity shows the colts how it’s done’.

Mercury had to wonder how many Ministers made it to the cover of these magazines. She supposed it was a good way to get funding once they got desperate. From the text, it looked like this was a special issue meant to help fund the opening of a new Ministry of Morale headquarters in New Manehattan.

Still too self-conscious to pay a lot of attention to porn involving stallions, Mercury looked to see how the Pies were faring instead. Pinkie and Maud were behind some rocks having more sisterly time together. Limestone sat near them, staring as if not sure what to do about it, at least until Maud and Pinkie reached for her.

“Are you sure?” asked Limestone in a whisper, then got yanked behind the rocks with the other Pies.

Maud reached out to grab Mite too, dragging the hammer back there with them. Mercury feared what they needed that for.

It was nice to see them getting along at least, and they were quiet with their affections aside from the occasional slurp. Solar tried to inch over towards them at one point but backed off after a threat or two from Maud.

“By Prose, I’m getting tired,” Mercury admitted after an hour of watching everypony else relax in… various ways.

“Well if I accomplished nothing else in life,” Crimson smirked. “At least I became a swear.”

Mercury sighed, only getting more tired and noting to herself to try to avoid using Stable 27 swears in the future.

“Anypony wanna buck before we sleep?” asked Solar as expected.

“Don’t touch me,” said Dinky sharply when Solar looked at her.

“Eh, sure,” Kamikaze said, but sounded more monotone than enthused. “I can’t be picky in my condition, and even without limbs I’m used to Midnight’s affinity for face-sitting. Just zip us up in a sleeping bag first and don’t expect much. Treat me like a cheap whore so I won’t feel self-conscious about my ability.”

While the ghouls stayed out to keep watch, the living ponies got into sleeping bags, pairing off for warmth in the chilly cave, though only Solar's appeared to involve some...late night fun. With the mages, living Pies, and living pegasi paired, that left Mercury and Crimson, the two magic-restrained unicorns, to share the last.

Once, Mercury would have been comfortable in a bag with Crimson, but now that she knew more, it felt unsafe, even with Crimson’s hooves bound.

“Enjoy your magazines?” asked Crimson after Mercury zipped up the bag. It sounded like an accusation.

“They were okay,” Mercury blushed. That was so much more than she’d have admitted days earlier.

“Want to know how I actually nicked my ear?” Crimson asked. “It’s one reason I hate stallions.”

“I… only if you want to?” Mercury wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, or if Crimson was serious about telling the real story.

“When I was almost ten, my father caught me making out with two filly friends,” said Crimson. “He dragged them to our basement, where he forced me to defile and murder them. I was sloppy and one of them grabbed a knife and swiped at me, slicing my ear. I remake the cut every new body so I remember to despise myself whenever I look in a mirror.”

It was such a horrible story, but she spit it out so quickly, and her voice was far more monotone than was typical.

“Are you serious?” Mercury stammered after a few moments of stunned silence. Crimson had told many stories, but never one like that. She’d never even admitted to having a real stallion as a father before.

“You never know,” shrugged Crimson. “But as much as I hate colts, would it be any wonder?”

Mercury wasn’t sure, but there was something in Crimson’s voice she hadn’t heard since they left Stable 27: a serious tone.

“Well if that happened, I’m sorry to hear it,” Mercury sighed.

“Oh, don’t do that,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “That’s one reason I don’t tell anypony, because I hate the ‘I’m so sorry for you’ spiel. I’ve done enough in my life to deserve it retroactively.”

“But you wouldn’t be like that,” Mercury said. “If those things didn’t happen to you. I’m certain.” She was a little happy to have a new way to rationalize that Crimson wasn’t so bad.

“No, I’m pretty sure I would,” shrugged Crimson. “If I were in charge of this group, most of you would be dead, and I would be laughing and posing the corpses lewdly, if not worse.”

“I guess your father would be proud then,” Mercury said.

Mercury didn’t mean it to be such a poignant statement, but for a split second, Crimson’s face looked sincerely hurt. A moment later, she re-adopted her smirk and turned to face away.

“Goodnight, Mercury.”