Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

POV: Mercury Shine
Date: Sunday 11/6/2287

Nothing went wrong for a few days, but after the trip, it seemed like too little happened now. There were things to do in town, but most were too busy to do them. Since she wanted to give Crimson and Tranquil time to reconnect on their own, Mercury was left with no one she knew well that didn’t have specific duties. She’d have chatted with Tranquil over the PCB, but as feared, it didn’t seem to work for her.

Mercury felt that her own naivety was hanging by a thread with the knowledge that two of her best friends had been psycho killers. She didn’t want to lose it, though, or become used to horrible things, even if it got in the way. Besides, Crimson had shown an unusual change when she didn’t kill Cola even when they deserved it.

Granted, Starlight had Cola executed anyway; Mercury was pretty sure she had it done for spite too. Not everything had happy endings, which was something Mercury was learning.

Once there was no more extra work at the hospital, Mercury tried to spend time with Xander for mentoring. However, even after Cola’s mistakes having gone wrong, the zebra was more obsessed with finding changelings than helping her, and it became more and more obvious that he resented the idea of zebras losing their unique edge by sharing knowledge.

She realized soon that their knowledge was mostly on par, and she’d really only needed him to decipher some ethnic symbols in Zecora’s journal that she hadn’t seen before. Once she knew what they equated to, she could figure out the recipes fine.

So she spent a lot of time working in Stable 11’s lab on her own trying out the mixtures she could. Most of the telesyringer ammo had recipes in the journal, so she made sure she had full stocks of what she needed, and concocted an additional syringe of ‘berserker’ since the recipe was there. It was made to make enemies attack one another, but she wondered to herself if her being willing to make it meant she’d changed for the worse.

When not doing this, Mercury spent time with Custard in the Pie Museum. The filly had more to process than a filly should, though Maud’s actions didn’t decrease her love of the Pie sisters. It seemed that most of the Pie family expected Dyo to get himself killed. Mercury wondered if their ignoring of him as a whole was what sent him down the path some assumed he’d take.

Custard enjoyed showing Mercury exhibits and talking about history, which got her mind off less pleasant things and gave Mercury more respect for the nut-ball Pie worshippers. As crazed as they were, it inspired her to hear how their determination to keep Equestria alive brought them through difficult times.

When Solar finished the pulse barding on Sunday, Mercury knew immediately. She was trying to eat breakfast in Stable 11’s cafeteria when Solar came storming in from the direction of the research lab, seeing Mercury and squeeing all the way to her table. She didn’t stop in time, tripping and slamming her face on the table before tumbling to the floor.

Mercury had seen Solar run into things enough to not be worried, and most other creatures there didn’t care if a pegasus hurt herself, so Mercury let her get up on her own. She pushed the rest of her nutrient paste over to Solar’s seat though, knowing the mare probably hadn’t eaten properly.

When Solar dragged herself into the seat, she immediately picked up the bowl in both hooves and scarfed down a few gulps as if just remembering that she hadn’t eaten in a day. When she was done, she spoke with bits dribbling from her muzzle.

“So, instead of trying to separate the enchantments into layers,” Solar started without Mercury needing to ask. “I combined them into one, each running at different temporal frequencies so that neither enchantment even knows the other is there! And the chance of the vibrations causing microfractures in the wearer’s bones is less than 5%!”

“Well, it will help that the wearer is Maud, I’m sure,” smiled Mercury. “But do be certain. Maybe I can mix up some potions for bone strengtheners just to be sure.”

“It’s like our stable suits too,” said Solar. “So it sizes itself to the wearer, even if it only fits an earther. She’s gonna look super hot in that tight-fitted chain mesh!”

“Too bad her enemies won’t see her in it, I guess,” Mercury chuckled awkwardly as Solar scarfed down another few gulps and belched loudly.

“Yeah that’s actually a problem,” Solar seemed awkward for a moment. “You won’t be able to see each other within the suit’s stealth field, so she’ll have to lead you around by leashes. Kinky, though, right?”

“I… okay,” Mercury thought better than to comment.

“Anyway, they’re getting ready to go soon,” said Solar. “So they sent me…” she paused and grinned at a passing zebra stallion. “Hey big guy, is every part of you striped?”

The zebra rolled his eyes and continued passing them. Solar sighed a bit sadly; it seemed her efforts weren’t having the same results here as at Midnight Castle, and they’d only given her one freebie at the PUB like everyone else.

“You were saying?” Mercury gently got her back on track.

“Oh right!” Solar said, eyeing one of the giant fish people from town. “They said to come get you. You know where to meet right?” She scrunched her face up. “I wanted to come and protect you!... but they wouldn’t let me. They said I’d be a distraction!” As if it was the most unreasonable thing ever.

Solar then seemed to put her focus on eating, passing gas shamelessly as she took another scoop of food. A moment later, she looked into Mercury’s eyes with shock, like she’d done it on impulse without thought for where she was. Solar quickly went back to eating, as if to pretend it didn’t happen.

Mercury played along for Solar’s sake, and focused on one of Solar’s eyelid muscles spasming rapidly, which she knew was a classic indicator of lack of sleep. No wonder Solar was acting a bit more impulsive than normal.

“I’m sorry Solar,” smiled Mercury. “But you need to get some sleep. I know you’re riding high now, but when that lack of sleep hits, it’ll hit hard. After you’ve had your fill, promise me you’ll go to bed immediately. Alone. Oh, and try to eat slower.”

“Yea, I also need to sleep if I ever want to catch Kamikaze,” Solar sighed. “I keep trying to put some prosthetic legs on her from the stable, but she says they’re too nerdy or something… You sure I shouldn’t ask to come again? We need somepony to flirt with that Gilda ghoul when we get there right?”

“I don’t see why that would be required,” sighed Mercury, rising from her seat and ruffling Solar’s mane before turning to leave. “Go to sleep.”

When Mercury arrived, Custard was helping Maud put on the pulse barding. Maud needed no help, but Custard looked incredibly proud to be doing it. Mercury wondered if Maud had taken to Custard so much due to missing her own daughter.

The barding was fully body-covering as Solar indicated. The only visible break in the black metallic mesh was the circles for her eyes, covered with more transparent material. It was thin and flush to her face so it didn’t obstruct her peripheral vision, the only bulge being underneath where the stealth and power systems were located around her midsection.

Aside from that, Maud carried Mite, Ashmaker, and a rock pouch made from reinforced ballistic fiber. Inside the pouch she kept Boulder, Pinkie’s soul gem, and the shards of Marble’s soul gem.

Kyo was there as well, though she mostly stared at the rest of the group, still looking hollow inside. Maud had trouble looking at both her and Custard, though Mercury heard Custard whisper to Maud that it was okay a few times, as if the perceptive little one noticed.

“Ah, Mercury,” Starlight, the only other one there at the gate, said as she approached. “Good, we definitely need our medic. Also, Kyo says that Gilda complained about chemicals leaking out of a train near their settlement. They have testing equipment down there, but don’t know how to use it, so she thought you might be able to help to win favor.”

“Right…” Kyo agreed, but didn’t seem very enthused.

“Of course,” Mercury smiled.

“Let’s go, then,” Starlight said. “We will return before evening. We have to act fast because that will barely give us enough time to get to Tenwhinney in time. In the meantime, Custard, make sure everyone is ready to leave when we get back.”

“Everything will be ready, Empress!” Custard saluted. “We won’t let you down!”

“Be careful, too, sweetheart,” Kyo’s face softened as she ruffled Custard’s mane. “The city will need you if something happens to me.”

“Nothing will happen to you…” Custard pouted. “Maud will protect you, right Maud?”

“I will do what is necessary to preserve Equestria,” Maud said.

It was a specific and evasive answer for a pony like Maud. It seemed to satisfy Custard, as she smiled, but Mercury noticed that Maud had increasing trouble making eye contact with the little one.

“I’m sure she’ll protect us all,” Mercury forced a smile for the sake of the little one, but worried about Maud as well.

“Citizens of Equestria,” Skyla’s voice played over the radio as she started another speech.

Mercury didn’t favor this station, but Starlight was taking a ‘know your enemy’ approach. They alternated between listening to Crystal Radio and Radio Gollytopia. At least the latter was humorous in a dark way, while Skyla just droned on.

“I read many history books,” Skyla said as she continued. “Do you, my dear Equestrians?... oh... They are in short supply, so many do not remember the peaceful past. Before the Ceaseless Conflict, Equestria lived in peace for a millennium. Unlike now, dying of natural causes was the rule, not the exception as in today’s decadent world. Where did these days go, Equestria? Where did the love go?”

“More importantly, what if I told you I could bring it back?” Skyla continued. “Mmmph.”

“Long ago,” Skyla said. “A relic existed in the Crystal Empire named the Crystal Heart, and it could beam love across the land. Can you imagine? Even at a fraction of its former power, it could improve Equestria dramatically.”

“This is a legend she often speaks of,” sighed Kyo as the group continued. “It’s one of the less believable things she talks about.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Starlight said as she continued to listen.

“Unfortunately,” Skyla continued. “This relic was destroyed during the Breaking. However… we gained information on a potential replacement.”

“This part is new…” Kyo quirked her ear and paid more attention.

“My scouts discovered information in the ruins of a secret Ministry of Magitech bunker,” Skyla continued. “About a prototype replacement for the Heart. Our information indicates that it was almost finished.”

“I beg of you, Equestria,” Skyla pleaded. “Any information on its location, even guesses or rumor, could help all of Equestria. While I cannot reveal my location for security reasons, you may contact me from any working sprite-bot communication tower. As of now, we only know that the Trinity does not have it. If she did, she would have certainly used it for evil.”

She continued after a thoughtful pause and a few grunts. “That is my request, Equestria. I know that somepony out there has the information I need. Please… do not keep to yourself what could save us all.”

Once again, the speech faded out, and the Crystal anthem played.

“She’s gone insane,” Kyo sighed.

“No, she hasn’t in this case,” Starlight said.

“Come again?” Kyo blinked.

“We started it in hopes of stopping Sombra’s influence, but I decided to use it as a psionic power source,” said Starlight. “We were years from getting it operational, and I doubt anyone else fixed it, but still…”

“Do you know where it was?” asked Mercury.

“It was in a secure transport going from Manehattan to Fillidephia,” said Starlight. “It could have ended up in either city or in between. If it was significantly within a blast radius, it could have been destroyed.”

“I see,” Mercury sighed. It was a small blessing that Trinity didn’t have it at least. “Could it have really spread love over Equestria?”

“I doubt that,” Starlight said. “Legends twist events in poetic manners. Spreading love was probably a metaphor.”

“Are you going to inform Skyla?” asked Mercury. “It would narrow down her search.”

“That’s true,” Starlight sounded thoughtful. “It’s token information that wouldn’t be of much use to her, but just providing it might keep her from seeing us as a threat yet.”

Yet? Mercury dropped the conversation rather than ask what that meant. There wasn’t time, anyway.

“Stop,” Maud’s bland voice ordered from ahead of them. She held up a hoof for them to pause.

Maud pulled Ashmaker from her back and looked through the scope. Mercury saw what she was scouting: the ruin of a building nestled against a cliff side. It didn’t look large, but was built into a cliffside so may have gone deep inside. There were loading docks in front with several landing platforms.

Mercury could see small figures around it. It wasn’t hard to tell they were ferals; the way they stood around and occasionally shambled to a new location made it clear. Some still walked rounds as they probably had been for centuries.

“I remember this place,” said Starlight. “It was a secret supply pickup that leads into the subway. At the time, it had generators that both shielded and cloaked it. It’s amazing how quickly we drilled out so many subways, but I guess war necessitates incredible feats. We were… determined.”

“Determined to build, or to destroy?” Kyo muttered.

“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Starlight peered at Kyo. “I suppose you would have stopped a half-dozen invading nations by being friends at them? You sound like Twilight.”

And Starlight sounded like Crimson. Mercury didn’t dare say it aloud though, instead trotting over to pat Kyo’s shoulder.

“All we can do is learn from the past,” Mercury smiled.

“There are about two dozen ferals around the entrance,” Maud said as she continued to scout. “There's a few winged, but I see none in flight. We have no means to clear them now, so we should cloak here.”

“As I thought, we must go slow,” Kyo said. “It will be about two hours one way to Railway.”

“We will make it,” Maud said. “Put on your leashes.”

Starlight grumbled as she slipped on her own leash, no doubt a ding to her ego to wear one. Mercury had no such compunctions though as she pulled her own leash out of her saddleback and clasped it around her own neck. Kyo did the same, and they took up positions around Maud as she attached the leashes to a collar around her own neck.

A short time later, she activated the pulse barding's stealth field. It was effective, only making the ponies and their things invisible, not affecting the ground or inanimate objects around them. Mercury wondered if the spell would see a feral as someone to cloak or an inanimate object.

Mercury squeaked as her leash was yanked, trotting to keep up with Maud’s swift movements. Maud probably thought she was moving at a reasonable speed, but Mercury hoped Maud didn’t intend to go that reasonable speed the entire way.

It was nerve-wracking to approach the station. Mercury wasn’t sure it would work until they entered the mine-field of ferals with none taking note. Mercury had to stay sharp on her hooves as Maud often zig-zagged to keep from getting too close to any of them. Some looked their way when they passed as if hearing them, but they lacked the perception to put two and two together.

A surprising number of the ferals were diamond dogs. Mercury wondered if they were extra muscles working within the subways. Olivia had said her hometown Ramble was underground, so maybe they had knowledge of digging tunnels.

There wasn’t a lot to note outside, everything of use having been salvaged, though Mercury wasn’t sure how the salvagers avoided the ferals. She supposed dociles could make a lot of money salvaging places that others couldn’t safely. Soon enough they arrived at the large steel doors. It seemed Maud knew her way aside from Kyo’s directions, probably having been here before.

They paused at the door. Maud, Mercury assumed, kicked a stone across the yard to distract a nearby ghoul. She opened the door when the undead looked in another direction. Maud yanked them through before it slammed behind them.

The insides were pitch-black darkness. While Maud’s armor had night-vision, the others were not so lucky. The darkness became more oppressive as they left the door.

Mercury heard movement nearby. She wished she could see her pipbuck so she’d at least know how many bright red signals were in their vicinity. It was all she could do to keep her breathing steady. Not knowing was more terrifying than seeing something horrible with them.

From the way Maud’s path curved around the large entrance hall, Mercury could only assume there were many enemies to avoid. Several times she heard Maud kick rocks to draw the attention of ferals before passing them, careful even if the ferals couldn’t see them either.

Mercury wondered if Gilda had imported ferals from elsewhere. This place wasn’t even close to a blast zone, yet the feral population seemed denser than Canterlot, both in and outside. Mercury trusted Solar’s work, but couldn’t help but worry about if things went out.

‘Steps down,’ Maud said over the PCB, which Kyo was on as well, before they went down cement steps. They found their way to a subway track, which Maud followed.

The tracks guided them, but the tighter spaces must have made avoiding ferals more of an issue. Several times they paused before Mercury heard the sound of Maud’s hammer crushing a rotten skull as discreetly as possible.

Kyo said two hours, but it felt like all day. Every second was an eternity with the constant threat of undead and collapsing tunnels. The only sign they were getting closer was when a new foul odor filled the tunnels.

Mercury assumed this was the chemical problem they’d mentioned, especially when their pipbucks beeped in warning from the fumes. They had brought gas masks, which Mercury slipped over her head now, but that wouldn’t help them if the chemical ignited.

‘It smells flammable,’ Mercury sent warning to the others so they’d know not to chance the wrong magic or weapon.

‘We’re close,’ Kyo whispered. ‘Around this corner and another hundred hoof steps. Don’t drop the stealth until I’ve knocked. I’ll go ahead and talk to them so they aren’t startled.’

As they moved down the passage, Maud suddenly gave an extra yank to Mercury’s collar. At first, Mercury thought she wanted to say something to her as an aside, and she felt Maud next to her as the other two fell behind slightly, but she said nothing.

Mercury glanced back instinctively, wondering how far the others were behind them, when there was a shimmering light from above them. Glancing up, Mercury barely had time to identify the magic color as Starlight’s as it yanked several stones free from the roofing and cracked one of the rafters.

The ceiling came down suddenly behind them, Mercury instinctively leaping forward out of the way. Much of the debris was caught in Starlight’s magic before it hit the ground, but further back it had collapsed entirely.

Maud dropped the stealth field immediately. They could see Starlight beneath the rubble, holding up enough that her upper body hadn’t been crushed, but her hind legs were locked beneath a large chunk of concrete.

“Maud!” Starlight called out, panic filling her face as she strained to concentrate on her magic, but it probably wasn’t easy with shattered hind legs.

Mercury started to run in, but Maud yanked her back, going in first. She slipped in beneath, grasping the large chunk of concrete on Starlight’s hind legs. Starlight’s magic helped, but Maud probably didn’t need it as she heaved the large chunk off the floor.

“Get her,” Maud told Mercury.

Mercury clambered in after her, grasping Starlight with her sticky hooves and magic to pull her out from underneath it. She was about to ask if Kyo was okay, but she saw her further back once Maud had lifted the boulder. Only her head was visible beneath other rubble, bent at a grotesque angle from the rest of her body as her vacant eyes stared. There was no saving her, but at least it’d been fast.

Maud darted out from beneath, Starlight holding the other rubble up barely long enough for her to get out.

“White Heart mother of Crimson,” Mercury slipped back into a Stable 27 swear in her panic. “Kyo! I saw Kyo! She’s dead!”

“Mercury,” Maud said firmly, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “You still have a living patient.”

“R-right, right,” Mercury tried to pull herself together, opening her saddle bags and moving to Starlight.

Taking a look at her legs, they were clearly both broken at the knee, but Starlight had managed to keep enough pressure off of them with her magic to keep them from being smashed beyond repair. Mercury put a potion to Starlight’s muzzle and then began to pull the knee joints carefully into place to be bandaged.

However as she worked and Maud guarded against the chance of other ferals showing up, Mercury’s mind began to put things together. Starlight had grabbed some of the collapse to keep herself from being crushed, but her magic had caused the collapse to begin with; Mercury had seen it.

“Damn, this will be hard to explain,” groaned Starlight, taking a chance to let her horn light up the full passage.

“Gilda should still remember us,” said Maud. “I don’t think she’ll have a problem believing.”

“Um,” Mercury paused for a moment as she pulled out a roll of bandage, looking carefully at the other two.

“Yes?” Starlight asked, peering at her, and for a moment, Mercury wasn’t sure if she should ask.

“Nevermind,” Mercury forced a smile and continued working.

“You can tell others what happened, yes?” Starlight asked. “Your word may mean more to certain members of our group, and to the hive who may blame us.”

“Well it’s just…” Mercury stammered.

“Speak,” Maud’s single word felt like a threat.

“I thought I saw your magic,” Mercury said quietly. “Before the cave in, like you… yanked on some things. Can I ask why you did that?”

“I see,” Starlight grunted, her demeanor changing slightly, just a little more testing. “I’m sure you saw wrong, but just to know, what are you implying?”

Mercury’s hooves shivered as she finished bandaging one leg and moved to the other. She looked back at her work, regretting her decision to mention it and hoping they’d end it there.

“Should I put her down?” Maud asked as if it was the most normal thing ever.

“W-what?!” Mercury shrieked, dropping the bandage before Starlight’s magic clamped her muzzle shut.

“I don’t think that will be needed, yet,” sighed Starlight. “But explain, Maud. Otherwise, she’ll make the wrong assumptions.”

“We discovered information,” said Maud. “Kyo is planning to rally Gilda against us rather than aiding us to rescue Limestone, and has attempted to plot against us with Statera, though they declined. If we allowed her to make it to Railway, it would be a problem. They may hold us hostage instead of helping if Kyo tells them of our truce with Midnight and blows it out of proportion.”

“Why would she do that?” Mercury said as Starlight released her muzzle, but grew more confused. “Surely there’s some misunderstanding…”

Starlight’s magic hovered the bandage back in the air too, so Mercury took it and continued patching up the second leg. Still, she seemed to want Maud to do the talking. Mercury wasn’t sure if it was because Starlight thought Mercury would trust Maud more, or if it was just because Maud was intimidating.

“There is no misunderstanding,” said Maud. “Crimson scryed a message she wrote and confirmed. Kyo was angry that Starlight has more control in her town than she does, and that was before Dyo’s death and her blaming us for the theft of her defensive device. There is no doubt she was moving against us.”

“I won’t tell,” Mercury teared up as she gave up using her shaking hooves entirely, just using her magic to bandage the second leg. “But I feel like there was another way.”

“If there was another way, I would take it,” said Maud. “Do you think I wish to face Custard when we return and tell her I failed to protect her mother? I hate this, but it is for the good of Holder and my family. They deserve a better leader.”

“Little Custard Pie can be that leader,” added Starlight. “If guided properly.”

“I’ll support your story,” said Mercury. “I believe you I just… I don’t feel good about it.”

She said she believed them, but honestly, at that point, she wasn’t sure if she did, or if she’d stay quiet.

“You will cooperate, understand?” Starlight made it clear. It became increasingly obvious that she only let herself be injured to make it more believable.

“I understand,” Mercury whimpered as she finished the second leg. “I’m not sure what Gilda will think, though.”

“The fact that she told us the way should help,” said Starlight. “And you will seem rattled enough to convince them you witnessed her tragic death on the way, not to mention my injury.”

“They will also be familiar with us,” Maud said. “While I was not friends with her, we were on amicable terms. It is better than having them turn on us if Kyo had gone in with us, and they have no reason to believe we would be on anything but good terms with Holder.”

“Okay,” Mercury didn’t dare say more.

“Good,” Maud said. “Thank you for not making me kill you.”

Maud had become more unhinged than Mercury had realized; she had been ready to crush Mercury if Starlight had ordered it. Time spent with none of her sisters to level her had taken its toll, as if all their various madnesses counter-balanced one another. Maud seemed to sincerely not want to harm Mercury, but she would do anything and kill anyone if she thought it'd save her last sister.

And was any of that true? Mercury had trouble believing Kyo would pull something like this. She had a whole hive in Holder and enough citizens still loyal to her that she could have arranged an accident for Maud and Starlight instead of attempting a complicated rebellion. On top of that, could they trust Crimson’s word about what she scryed?

“I’m sure you’ll keep this quiet,” Starlight added unnecessarily as Mercury helped her onto Maud’s back. “I would hate to have to upset your friends. Crimson and Tranquil seem to get along better with the group now, and it'd be a shame to lose a pony as talented as Solar.”

Mercury felt a sudden chill, even more caught off guard at Starlight threatening her friends. She couldn't do anything about it though.

“I believe she understands, Empress,” said Maud, perhaps considering the added threat unnecessary, but not outwardly scolding Starlight either. “I’ll carry you.”

“Damn this hurts,” Starlight finally dropped her persona to show a bit of pain on her face, then continued on as if everything was peachy. “Go into stealth again, Maud. We have to avoid the ferals they probably have outside the gate. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Mercury didn’t register they were moving until they had gone back into stealth and she felt her leash tugged. She almost tripped, but followed along, trying not to think about anything.

Just like that it was gone. For the first time in her life, Mercury felt like what little faith she still had in the world had been stamped out. This was the despair she had tried so hard to avoid, why she’d clung to her faith in ponykind so desperately. This would never stop happening. It would never end.

As they moved through the darkened passage, Mercury heard the sound of ghoulish hooves shuffling towards the sounds where the group had just been. They were frightening before, but now they were terrifying. Before, Mercury felt like she was in danger, but had ponies that would protect her. Now she was with ponies that she felt might use her as bait to save themselves.

Around the corner there was an open area with another rail and dim lights. A train was still on the tracks and the only way to the opposite side was walking through it. There wasn’t room to walk between cars, and only one entrance seemed workable, so that’s where they headed.

A thick, viscous chemical covered the floor, no doubt the source of the smell. It looked to have leaked out recently when a tank on the nearby train rusted open. There was no doubt it was flammable. Depending on if it had certain enchantments, it might be more flammable now than it was two-hundred years ago.

A lot of it had vaporized and lingered in the air, but the gas was heavy. It was thick enough near the floor to color the air a greenish hue, then faded to clarity at about the height of the train.

“Yeah, we should move Zane further down the tunnel until we get this cleaned up,” a female voice from the other side of the train was speaking. It was rough and dry, like how Limestone and Dinky talked. “If he uses a radiation attack on an intruder, it could blow this shit.”

“Didn’t Kyo say she’d look into something to neutralize it at the last contact?” asked another grating but more masculine voice.

“Yeah but we won't contact her again for a week,” said the first voice. “I’ll take him past the spill and be right back. Until someone fixes this, we’ll use the secondary entrance to get inside. I need to check and see what that rumbling noise was too, there might have been a collapse.”

“Sure thing, Gilda,” the second voice said, sounding more distant as if leaving.

‘Approaching Gilda now would be unwise,’ Maud said on the PCB.

‘Let her lead whatever she’s leading to wherever it needs to be,’ said Starlight. ‘We’ll talk to her when she returns.”

That was best. They mentioned a radiation attack, which implied a glowing one. The group moved to the side and waited as the sound of feet got closer, followed by the creek of metal as they walked through the train. Starlight turned off her own meager light, which was replaced as the two in question emerged from the train.

Mercury assumed the first to emerge was Gilda. Mercury might not have identified her as a griffon had Kyo not already told them she was one. Most of her beak was chipped off, only a few shards remaining over the rest of her bare mouth. She didn’t have a single feather left to speak of, either on her head or her wings. Similar to a pegasus ghoul, her wings looked like plucked chicken wings, but had atrophied more than Mercury remembered on many Canterlot pegaghouls. Maybe without pegasi levels of magic, she couldn’t use them to fly at all. She wore a tattered combat uniform of a high-ranking Wonderbolt.

The focus moved from her though to what she was leading by a leash. A staggering figure with a rainbow glow over his body trailed behind her. He stopped every few steps as if forgetting he was being led only to be yanked along again. The striped pattern of what remained of his fur identified him as a zebra.

Now Mercury knew ghouls had been ‘imported’. From what Mercury knew, one could tell what megaspell formed a glowing feral by the color of their glow. This ghoul glowed rainbow, and there was only one city destroyed by a sonic radboom. This ghoul must be from Canterlot, which made sense if Gilda was at Canterlot’s destruction.

‘A zebra,’ Maud said over the PCB as if the species was significant. ‘If it charges, I may need to drop you and engage it. If that happens, teleport away quickly.’

‘Wait,’ Mercury said. ‘Wouldn’t attacking their pet feral be a bad idea when we’re about to try to make friends?’

‘Even among zebras, the training to see through stealth is rare,’ Starlight said to Maud as if Mercury’s input wasn't important enough to acknowledge.

‘It is a Canterlot ghoul though,’ Maud pointed out. ‘The Zebra Kingdom sent their most elite guard to defend Canterlot, and many had trained rare abilities.’

‘I don’t think that would carry over once they went feral.’ Starlight said.

Though perhaps it was wishful thinking. Pegasus ghouls kept the ability to fly and unicorn ghouls sometimes kept their telekinesis. It seemed logical to assume that passive magical abilities might remain.

“We need more technical types down here,” Gilda talked to Zane even if he would never respond. “The last thing I want is to rely on a bunch of surface-dwelling smooth-flanks for shit like this. The whole idea is to prove we can live on our…”

But Gilda went silent when Zane turned towards the group and shambled towards them. Gilda grunted and yanked the leash only to have Zane snarl and keep moving in their direction.

“What the fuck, Zane?” Gilda asked as she pulled with all her might, but the glowing one dragged her instead. “What’s gotten into you?”

And so they settled the debate; the zebra could see them. Mercury fumbled for her telesyringer, but then remembered that she only had an explosive gas dart loaded, which now she felt stupid for. She clenched her teeth and put the telesyringer back onto her back, since loading a new one would take too long. It seemed like she’d be an extra target at best, and she hoped Starlight or Maud didn’t throw her at it for that purpose.

They might have tried talking to Gilda, but as the leash slipped from Gilda's grasp and Zane charged at them full speed, there was no longer time. The zebra snarled, glow brightening as he charged up his attack, and all Mercury could do was stare.

They had no way to prevent an attack that would ignite the room, so instead Starlight opted to take a defensive route. Unfortunately for Mercury, her assumption that Starlight would teleport Mercury with her was yet more naivety. There was a whoosh nearby as Starlight teleported away, appearing beside Gilda and erecting a shield around the two.

It didn’t take long for Mercury to realize that Starlight had just left her to die. Perhaps Starlight considered Gilda a higher priority since protecting her would create a more favorable diplomatic situation, but she could have teleported Mercury with her. Since her plan to keep Mercury in the dark had failed, Starlight seemed to have decided to get rid of the witness after all.

It was a good thing for Mercury that Maud had more scruples, at least when not directly ordered to murder someone. Her stealth field faded, and she charged the monster. She screeched to a halt when she processed what had happened and instead turned to grasp hold of Mercury.

Before Mercury knew what was going on, Maud flung her up into the air above where the heavy gas had settled. An instant later the world beneath her ignited in a torrent of flames, heat singing her fur as she reached for anything she could grab.

Mercury grasped hold of a ceiling girder and clung to it with the help of her magic. The steel creaked and shifted from the added weight, as the heat boiled beneath her. She looked down into the chaos.

She could see the shimmer of Starlight’s dome shield beneath the flames, protecting Starlight and Gilda. Maud must have avoided the attack because she still stood, and her armor provided enough protection that she could charge the glowing one through the fire and came down hard upon its head with Mite. The creature slammed into the ground and staggered back up.

Maud didn’t stop. She swung hard half a dozen times, impacts like gunshots even through the roaring flames. Even under that assault, Zane's head didn’t give. Before it could be crushed enough to keep the ghoul still, Zane's neck snapped, the head rolling across the floor as the body collapsed. Even as his head rolled, he was snapping his muzzle at them, only stopping after being fully engulfed.

The girder Mercury clung to shifted again, tilting and seconds from giving out. She strained to shift it one direction with her magic, then released, allowing herself to swing and hoping to land atop the train cars nearby.

She barely made the jump, landing on the edge, flames licking at her as she pulled herself atop the car. She patted herself out with magic, but then realized that the roof of the train was like a broiler plate under the heat.

Maud leaped up atop the train car beside Mercury, but she couldn’t do a lot to help her. Maud’s own armor was boiling hot, and Mercury couldn’t imagine standing atop her would be any better than the train. From how Maud staggered, the armor had reached the limits of its heat dissipation.

There was another blinding flash of light as Starlight teleported herself and Gilda next to them and recast the dome shield. Starlight unleashed a blast of cold to cool the train beneath her as well as those inside the shield.

“What kind of asshole are you?” Gilda was screaming at Starlight. “Leaving your friends standing in flames?”

“I couldn't teleport her when she was cloaked!” Starlight backtracked.

“I'm not stupid, smooth-flank,” grunted Gilda. “Though apparently you are if you’re powerful enough for this shield but can’t do area teleports!”

It seemed Starlight’s ‘heroic’ action hadn’t had the effect she hoped due to the General being familiar with magic commonly used in combat. Even with that, Mercury was certain Starlight only saved her atop the train because Maud was standing next to her.

“Maud!” Mercury shouted as Maud collapsed next to them, gagging.

Mercury peeled Maud's half-melted gas mask off, though she wasn’t sure what to do about the pulse barding. The barding responded to Maud's wish and opened the face for her to get more air, even if the air around the flaming section was barely breathable.

Starlight leaned to check on Maud, not even looking at Mercury. Maud pulled the armor helmet fully off, a blast of steam escaping from inside even after being cooled off by Starlight’s magic. If it were anypony but Maud, she might be near death, but Maud was only half-way at worst.

“Who the flying fuck are you?” Gilda screamed as the flames died down around them.

“Eh he…” Starlight took a deep breath and turned back to him. “I’m sorry. We wanted to wait until you took your feral off and speak to you when you returned, but didn’t count on it seeing us.”

“His name was Zane,” Gilda was so enraged at the feral’s death, Mercury wondered if it had been a friend in life. “And you didn’t answer my question! My guys will rush out here as soon as these flames die, so you better give me a reason not to order them to kill you!”

“I’m Starlight Glimmer,” Starlight replied, taking off her gas mask and seeming to attempt a more commanding voice. “Former Minister of Magic, now Empress of New Equestria. This is General Maud Pie and alchemist Mercury Shine.” At least she remembered Mercury was a thing.

The names must have meant something to Gilda as her face morphed from rage to ‘what?’.

“Huh?” Gilda leaned close enough that Starlight could probably smell the dusty air from her lungs. For a moment Gilda examined Starlight as if she might be counterfeit, then reached around to feel for and tap against the soul gem in the back of Starlight’s neck..

“Gilda!” a frantic voice came from below them.

As the fires died, a dozen figures rushed out of the gate behind the train. Starlight dropped the shield, which might have been a mistake as it dissipated the little oxygen that hadn’t burned in the flames. Mercury felt dizzier.

“Hold your fire,” Gilda said as Mercury tried to keep her balance.

The whole experience was too much for her nerves, and Mercury couldn’t hold herself upright. Someone caught her as she tumbled forward, and from the icy cold feel against her, she assumed it was Gilda.

Gilda draped her over her back, which felt creepy and stiff, like rotted rubber stretched thinly over a skeleton. Mercury appreciated the effort though; it was more than Starlight put forward.

It was time for a nap. She’d worry about whether or not she survived this later.

POV: Maud Pie

Maud could feel herself becoming unhinged, a creeping insanity in the back of her mind. The longer she was without her sisters, the more unbalanced she felt.

In her desperation to save Limestone, she'd done things she would always regret. She still didn't know how she would face little Custard and lie to her about how Kyo died. Maud could care for Custard, but there was nothing she could do to atone for killing the filly’s mother, regardless of how necessary it was.

'Pinkie's favorite sister acted dishonorably!' Pinkie's soul gem said from her rock pouch. 'She threatened a civilian and only saved her when Pinkie demanded it! Yes.'

'I know you're between a rock and a hard place,' observed Boulder. 'But this is when you should stand firm.'

“I have nothing to stand firm upon,” Maud shook her head, not caring who heard her one-sided conversation. Her friends were used to it, and the others hardly mattered to her at the moment. “You were my foundation, Pinkie.”

'Do not say 'were' as if Pinkie is gone forever!' Pinkie's gem said. 'You swore the sacred oath of pinkness to return life to Pinkie!'

'And when you do,' said Boulder. 'You want to look her in the eyes without shame.'

Despite every muscle aching and her energy drained from the heat, Maud tried to stay aware of her surroundings. The 'settlement' of Railway wasn't a lot different from the subway tunnels they'd traveled through so far. The only main difference was it was cleaner.

There were no sleeping quarters or dining facilities one might see in a normal settlement. None of the residents needed to sleep or eat, after all. There were old utility rooms used for storage, while most of the main area contained things of entertainment value. No doubt they'd get bored shambling around down here otherwise. There was a pool table and other games, a lounge area with random furnishings, books, and an area with targets and dummies meant for training. That was entertainment too as far as Maud was concerned.

There was a decent variety of ghouls, griffons, zebras, and a unicorn that wore Equestrian military gear. Maud assumed those came from Canterlot with Gilda. The few diamond dogs likely came from the subway crews. There was even a bat and pegasus, wearing their old NLR and Enclave uniforms. They seemed to have put aside a lot of their old hatreds, but kept their uniforms, perhaps to remind them that they were all wrong in the end.

They didn't have a location for living ponies to get medical attention, so they deposited Mercury on a ragged couch. Maud sat next to the equally ragged alchemist to check how she was doing as Starlight took a seat by herself with her bandaged legs propped up.

“You know I never cared much for her, but she sure as hell didn't deserve to go out like that,” Gilda said after having been told the story by Starlight. “Fucking embarrassing. What the fuck was she thinking bringing you down here? It better be good since the first thing you did was kill my old war buddy.”

“No, she didn't deserve it,” Starlight sighed, always good at pretending. “And she brought us because she felt that you could help us rescue General Limestone, who is held by Tenwhinney Tower and slated for their arena. We didn't have time to wait for your scheduled meeting.”

“Another ghoul friend, Dinky, has also been captured,” said Maud. She worried most about her sister, but wouldn’t do Dinky disservice by not mentioning her.

“Yeah, I remember the General,” nodded Gilda. “She was pretty cool I guess. Hatched a few awesome plans I got to take part in. She became a ghoul? Good for her, and I’d rescue her and the other if I could, but what did you think we were gonna do about it?” She glanced at Maud. “And what's with the sweet armor? If I didn't remember you, I'd have killed you for it.”

“It is experimental pulse barding,” explained Maud. “With it we can both achieve stealth and bypass powerful shields. Or could. I fear the heat may have damaged it, so I hope Solar can repair it quickly.”

“Bypass armor,” the pegasus ghoul commented. “Like we used at Canterlot. Pretty advanced stuff, but putting stealth on there too is nuts.”

Maud peered at the pegasus that stood nearby. She was surprised she'd comment on such things when most of the ghouls here appeared to have fought for Canterlot. Starlight seemed confused as well.

“Surprised we let Cloud Chaser stay?” chuckled Gilda. “Well I used to say a good pegasus is a dead pegasus, so I guess that makes her good, right?”

“We don't care about those horse apples here,” Cloud shrugged. “We're all outcasts. And buck off, Gilda.”

“You ponies and your weird slang,” Gilda rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you just say fuck? Whatever. I'm down for giving those Tenwhinney pricks grief if you have a plan I can help with without dying again, so what do ya got?”

“Kyo said you know the subways better than anyone,” said Starlight. “And that you might know a path to the station beneath Tenwhinney. If Maud got through the shield and opened the door to the subway from the inside, we could rush in.”

“Cute,” Gilda tapped what was left of her beak as she thought. “We could have ferals waiting to flood the tower.”

“Would that not result in civilian casualties?” asked Maud. She needed to minimize that to minimize her guilt at the end.

“Who cares about those uptight assholes?” asked Gilda. “The ferals won't attack the ghouls we're rescuing. They won't see you stealthed either so long as I don't send in glowers, since apparently they can see through it. That’s good to know. Wish I was one now.”

“I think it was being a powerful zebra that let him see us,” said Starlight. “But with Tenwhinney, a surgical strike might take out their leadership and allow us a hoofhold there.”

“It's not like it'll kill them all,” shrugged Gilda. “Most of them will flee to their rooms and shut the doors, allowing you to freely move around the building. Most of those killed will be security personnel. If Maud deactivates the shields when security is distracted, you can have your guys storm the place and 'save' them from the evil ferals. If you can take out the leader and security so they can't say different, you can claim it's their fault, that they opened the subway entrance wanting to find ferals from there and a large number stormed in. They never have to know it was intentional.”

“You are not bad at this,” commented Maud. “You smoothed out our plan quickly.”

“I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to slaughter those bastards,” Gilda admitted. “So don't be too impressed.”

“This could work,” Starlight said. “Quite well. They wouldn’t realize you were involved either. They’d only know we were planning a rescue of our comrades and ran in to save them.”

“Hell, maybe you can get them to let us live there,” smirked Gilda. “Wouldn’t mind trading this hideout for that bunker, and they’ll definitely have a few free rooms after the attack.”

“This seems a little...” Mercury stirred, having gotten part of the conversation. She became quiet again though when Maud looked at her. The unicorn looked back at Maud with terror in her eyes, tearing up before she looked away. “Never mind.”

Maud was used to ponies fearing her, but it felt rawer when it was somepony like Mercury. No matter; she'd have plenty of time to make up once they succeeded.

“Either way, we don't have a lot of time,” said Starlight. “They slated the match for Tuesday.”

“Let's get you to the surface, then,” said Gilda. “No problem if your stealth gear's damaged. We'll just put you in body bags and drape you over our backs to carry you out the alternate way. It won't be comfortable for you fragile smooth-flanks, but the guards won't bother you if they only see us.”

“I'm just glad Clover isn't here to hear this plan,” smiled Starlight.

Maud wondered if Starlight realized how quickly she would wipe that smile off her face if Limestone ordered it. Or if Limestone couldn’t be saved.