Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

Date: Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Limestone Pie
Tenwhinney Tower

Limestone communicated with Starlight for as long as possible after departing, telling her every detail she could about her surroundings. She didn’t know how much she got before the PCB lost contact or Starlight got too distracted by her abuse. Limestone hoped Starlight was rescued, as she wouldn’t wish that on anypony. The others would likely save her, though not in time to save her further loss of dignity.

For now, she had to put that out of her mind as she noted everything.

There was a security checkpoint at the outer perimeter which allowed them to pass through the shield. The gap could only be opened from the inside, so wouldn’t be of use without someone on the inside. From the look of the shield and the frequency of the buzzing, it was powerful, as close to Canterlot’s shield as one could get without a CME system powering it, more than she would’ve expected for a place like this.

There were half a dozen security personnel in front wearing metal armor and carrying ballistic weapons. They didn’t take much note of the prisoners carried in, closing the shield behind them and seeming very casual. She doubted they dealt with much trouble from the outside, and probably trusted their shield 100%. If that failed, they would panic quickly.

The tower itself was much the same as long ago. There was a large lobby with a chandelier, paintings, and gothic columns at the front, which was converted into a marketplace. They had a fondness for flowers, which seemed to decorate everywhere. Elevators led to higher floors where the rooms would be. Limestone assumed that the leader lived in the penthouse at the top while most residents occupied the other guest rooms.

All the citizens she saw were unicorns or earth ponies. They were at the former location of Las Pegasus, so there would have been many pegasi here on the final day, which meant whoever assumed initial control was pro-Canterlot. In the lobby was a large painting of the owners from back in Limestone’s time, a pair of yellow unicorns with red and white hair, Flim and Flam. Considering they also ran Stable-Tec, it wasn’t surprising this place had been left with good magitech.

There were families with foals, which looked upon Limestone and Dinky with fear or disdain. She didn’t suppose many could help it since they’d been raised to not know otherwise.

The guards took Limestone and Dinky behind the lobby into what was once a convention center. They passed through what looked to be an empty swimming pool surrounded with stadium-like seating, probably added later. Limestone assumed that was what they were using for an arena.

They carried the two ghouls to the back of the arena. There, in a poorly lit room, was an iron cage full of feral ghouls, all of which had their hooves tied in a similar fashion to Limestone and Dinky. The guards climbed to the top and opened a hatch, casually dumping Limestone and Dinky in with the others. They hit the cement floor like sacks of meat and Limestone cracked her head, the cage spiraling around her.

When she recovered from her dizziness, the guards had left, leaving the supplies they’d picked up by the cage to retrieve later. Limestone rolled over to check on Dinky first, who was stirring herself.

There were ferals all around them, mostly unicorns and earth ponies, though there were a few pegasi with their wings removed. Some looked at the newcomers, but seemed neutral about their existence.

“Dinky?” Limestone nuzzled the little ghoul on her head as she lay there.

“I’m still animate,” Dinky sighed. “For all the good it does.”

“Don’t worry,” Limestone said. “I’m already working on an idea, but first we need to get the bonds off.”

“Can we get their bonds off too?” Dinky asked. “These poor ponies must be terrified inside.”

“Given the choice, I’d put them out of their misery,” said Limestone. “But that wouldn’t help anything yet.”

Limestone edged her way closer to Dinky. Dinky sighed and held out her front hooves, and Limestone tore at the ropes with her teeth. It took a while, but they had plenty of time. Soon Dinky was free and the two of them gnawed off Limestone’s bonds.

“Are you scared of ceasing?” Dinky asked a bit randomly as she tore off several more threads.

“I’m scared of continuing,” Limestone admitted. “But I’ll never willingly leave when there are ponies to protect.”

“I thought I wanted to stop for a long time,” said Dinky. “But now that I’m faced with it… I’m scared.”

“Hold on to that feeling,” Limestone said. “It’s proof you’re still saner than me.”

“You really got a plan?” Dinky asked as she tugged away the last of Limestone’s hind leg bonds.

Limestone had already finished her front ones and was looking around the room again. Her eyes fell on the glow of the Glimmer Cola Quantums in the pile of supplies they’d sat beside the cage.

“I’m weak, barely glowing,” said Limestone. “I need a radiation source. Doesn’t even have to be a lot if I can build on it.”

“That'd probably do it,” Dinky said as she glanced at the quantum too, then moved to the nearest stallion, who grunted as Dinky tore at his bonds.

Limestone trotted over to the edge of the cage and eyed the quantum. She saw posters advertising when the arena match was that they would be in, but it wasn’t for some days and Limestone wanted the boost right before the match. There was no way they would leave this within their reach for long, but where to hide it?

“This will be gross,” Limestone sighed. “Sorry in advance.”

Limestone reached through the cage bars and pulled the six-pack through it. She twisted the first bottle from the plastic that held them together and opened her muzzle wide. Without opening the bottle, she forced it into her throat, gagging as she pushed the whole thing down her dry esophagus. It was far more lewd-sounding than she intended.

“Damn, mare,” Dinky commented. “You could fellate a rabid hydra with skills like that.”

“Shut it,” Limestone whispered after forcing the first one down and grabbing another.

“I don’t think you’ll fit all those in your stomach,” Dinky commented. “You’re not gonna ask me to eat one are you?”

“No,” said Limestone. “I need them inside me to charge my radiation attack over the next few days. I know they won’t all fit in my stomach, but I have other cavities I’m not using.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said it’d be gross,” Dinky looked away and continued working on the ropes. “Will I need to assist in shoving them in the other cavities? I’d rather just eat one.”

“Sorry,” Limestone apologized again.

As Limestone rammed the second one down her throat, she thought about what strategy her friends would use to rescue her. It was a good distraction because for a ghoul that never ate, ramming large objects down her throat probably stung worse than it would for a live pony; this would be an unpleasant wait.

There were only two ways to get into Tenwhinney Tower, Limestone figured. They either had to use bypass armor to get through the shield, or access it through the subway in the basement. The chance of them navigating to that subway terminal was unlikely, and it would be sealed off anyway to avoid the potential of attack from underground.

They had Kamikaze’s bypass armor, and Limestone remembered pulse armor at the Holder silo they might have finished after this long. She doubted they had the resources to make another, so at best they had two sets of bypass armor, one with potential stealth capabilities. While either could expand its extrapolation field to get multiple ponies through the shield, they'd only send one to reduce the chance of detection.

Maud would be that one. Whether they had the pulse barding or not, she’d have the best chance to avoid detection. They could try to disable the force field generator, but that would be a task as the locals would protect the vital components. Maud wouldn’t know how to turn the control panel off, and just shooting it wouldn’t do as much good as one might imagine.

She would have to think about this. Oh well, time for a third bottle down the hatch.

Limestone needed more information regardless. She assumed that guards would check on them, so maybe she could get something from them. They’d be questioning her when they noticed the Glimmer Cola Quantum disappeared, so she’d use that as an opportunity to get them talking. Anything and everything would help.

The third bottle went down easier with her throat stretched out from the first two, but ended up lodged just above her stomach rather than in it. She pulled the fourth one off the plastic and sighed. She leaned against the side of the cage, loosening the bottom of her uniform to use alternate hiding places.

“Dinky?” Limestone sighed. “Sorry again, but I’ll need your help with these.”

“Fine,” groaned Dinky. “Just don’t expect me to be as good at it as your sisters.”

Date: Monday 11/7/2287

They never figured out what happened to the quantum, and her uniform hid the unsightly bulges in her body well enough. It was doubtful they’d want them even if they figured out where they were now.

Still, the missing items perturbed them enough that they stationed guards at the cage 24/7, which was a boon for Limestone. Even when they were told to stop talking to her, they talked to each other, and Limestone got much of the information she needed.

The basic plan for the event was first they’d bring the ferals out, who would be slaughtered for amusement by the lucky winners of some market raffle. They’d have armor and melee weapons, which would be plenty to beat down ferals.

Afterwards they planned to bring out first Dinky and then Limestone. They expected Limestone to put up a fight, so would equip those fighters better. However, they were planning to torture Dinky to her end for more fun. To them, even the docile ghouls were just monsters who deserved such a fate.

Dinky was terrified, especially when the guards taunted her with what they planned, but Limestone assured her she wouldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t tell Dinky her whole plan either though, lest the guards heard it. It would change as it progressed, but with any luck, Dinky’s main task would be to stand back.

Limestone worried though. She had told only Starlight the time of the arena match. If her sisters and friends rescued Starlight, there was still no guarantee Starlight would tell the others correct information. Starlight’s decision would depend on whether her fear of Limestone’s sisters or her thirst to remain in charge was greater.

She couldn’t have been more relieved when she felt a burst of static in her head and realized the PCB was in range.

‘Limestone?’ Maud’s voice spoke in Limestone’s head. ‘Are you there? Dinky too?’

‘We’re both okay,’ Limestone answered. ‘What about Starlight and Kamikaze?’ They would need Starlight’s pipbuck to communicate like this, but that was no guarantee that she was okay.

‘We’re okay,’ Starlight’s voice interjected. ‘We’re here to get you.’

‘You’re coming in clear, does that mean you’re inside the shield?’ Limestone asked.

‘Negative,’ Maud stayed official but her relief was apparent to Limestone at least. ‘Solar finished the pulse barding from the armory, but it was damaged from heat exposure. Right now it’s letting us dilute the shield in one spot enough to get a signal to you. We hope Solar can get it fully repaired before tomorrow.’

‘Maud?’ Limestone delayed asking, hoping Pinkie would speak up and she wouldn't have to, but now she feared the worst. ‘Is Pinkie okay?’

‘I am sorry,’ Maud said. ‘I failed to protect her.’

‘Her soul gem?’ Limestone asked, her whole body tightening at the news.

‘It is whole and in my possession,’ Maud answered.

‘Then we haven’t failed her yet,’ Limestone said. ‘Tell me what the plan is quickly so you can disconnect and let Solar work on fixing it.’

‘I will sneak in with the pulse barding,’ Maud said. ‘I will open the gate to the subway beneath, where ferals will be released into the building.’

‘Who’s plan was that?’ Limestone asked. She figured they’d do something similar, but using ferals caught her off guard. It wouldn’t be Maud’s plan if it endangered even asshole civilians, she’d be too afraid of what Limestone would think of her.

‘Gilda has a ghoul colony in the subway,’ Starlight interjected, likely keen to communicate that it wasn’t her idea. ‘That’s the help she agreed to give, and we didn’t think of any alternatives. So that’s what we’re doing. Sorry.’

Starlight was insincere, but now was not the time to call her on it.

‘That hen always was a mean bitch,’ Limestone said. ‘It can’t be helped then. I’ll stall them as long as I can. Disconnect and work on the suit. But Maud…’

‘Sister?’ Maud listened.

‘If I do not survive,’ Limestone said. ‘Know I do not blame you, not even in the slightest, so do not blame yourself. If I do not survive and Dinky does, I promised I would take care of her, so you keep that promise for me. Understand?’

‘I understand,’ said Maud. ‘But I do not like that you feel the need to say that.’

‘Don’t think like that,’ said Limestone. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you, sis.’

‘Love you too, sis,’ Maud replied. ‘We will get you out sister. I will not lose you.’

Limestone hoped she was wrong about what Maud would do if Limestone died during this. How to make sure Maud kept what little was left of her sanity? She hoped having her promise to protect Dinky would help give her sanity something to latch onto.

“Dinky,” Limestone whispered and prodded the little one curled up next to her.

Dinky perked her ears and looked up to Limestone. Limestone knew these could be her last words to the little one, so didn’t want to just give her directions, and also hoped she could be the one to bring Maud back from the brink if needed.

“If you get out without me, I want you to take care of my sisters,” Limestone said. She didn't want to say 'sister' lest she have to answer questions about Pinkie's fate.

“I think it’d be the other way around,” chuckled Dinky. “I’m next to useless compared to you mares.”

“Don’t think that about yourself,” said Limestone. “Your genius can bring a lot of light to the wasteland. Besides, I mean emotionally. They’re more fragile than they seem; they’ll need somepony to lean on if I’m gone. Someone to tame that rage inside, and I think you can do that.”

“I’m sure you’ll get out,” shrugged Dinky. “But if you don’t, I promise. So, what’s the plan?” She was perceptive; she knew Limestone wouldn’t say profound things if she didn’t have one.

“I’ll do something unpredictable that these ponies will react predictably to,” Limestone said. “All I need you to do is trust me and stay in this cage until me or our friends come back for you. Or when it's safe to do so, run and find Maud.”

She wanted to tell Dinky she had contact from outside, but couldn’t chance guards overhearing that, nor could she take time to answer the questions that would result. Dinky was bright, so she probably understood.

“Though,” said Limestone. “I need you to do one thing before all that starts.”

“What do I do?” Dinky asked, complete trust in her voice.

“I need privacy,” Limestone whispered. “We need the guards to look away from the cage… for a long while.”

“What,” Dinky dead-panned.

“They think we’re disgusting,” said Limestone. “So we should be disgusting…”

“You mean like kiss or something?” Dinky’s eyes darted about a bit, and would likely blush if she could. “Well I guess if I made an exception for a mare, it’d probably be you… don’t get any ideas later though.”

Though the suggestion wasn’t surprising, the manner of wording was, so Limestone might have blushed back if she could. Thinking about it though, establishing to the guards that they kiss might actually help later on.

Limestone rationalized it was for the plan, but Dinky didn’t hesitate much to sit up on her haunches and go for it. Even though Dinky was an adult, it still felt a little wrong with her small size, but Limestone tugged her close. She sat up on her haunches as well, lifting Dinky’s hind hooves off the floor in the process as they slurped muzzles together, making it as loud as they could.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” one of the guards grumbled.

“The dociles are even grosser than the ferals,” grunted another.

Limestone glanced over to them, and two had looked away, but one of them was still keeping a notably reluctant eye on the cage. As Limestone thought, this wouldn’t be enough to get them to face away.

“I think we might need more,” muttered Limestone quietly between kisses. “Something that will really make them look away, maybe something more inline with your preferences?”

“Oh? Ooooh” Dinky clicked, glancing at some of the other ferals. “Fine, I got it. Would have probably done it already if you weren’t here to be embarrassed in front of.”

Limestone figured as much, so she didn’t feel too bad asking for it. Dinky rose to her hooves, trotting across the cage to the side with the guards. She grabbed one of the stallion ferals, tripping him onto his back and climbing atop him.

“Time for one last ride, stud!” Dinky shouted far too loud. “Hey guards! Have some free underage zombie porn, ya foalaphiles.”

“What the?... Oh, that is bucking sick!” the final guard said and quickly turned away. Thankfully, the guards didn’t include any that were perverted in that way.

With eyes off the cage, Limestone went to work. First, she pulled a cloak off another of the ferals to hide herself as much as possible. Squeezing and gagging out the Glimmer Cola Quantum wasn’t a quick task, but she managed, and luckily the sound mixed with that of Dinky's distraction.

She then turned them up one at a time, guzzling five full bottles and a half of the last one. Limestone couldn’t imagine how living ponies drank these horse apples, but it left her feeling more charged than when she left Canterlot.

Leaving one half bottle beneath the cloak to hide the glow, Limestone tried to slosh as little sound as possible as she slipped off her general outfit. She dressed the feral that she had taken the cloak from in her uniform. She glanced to be sure the guards were still turned away, then used the last bottle to pour into the feral’s mane and over her face. Now the feral glowed almost as much as Limestone, and it would last at least until the morning match. Even if it was the wrong color, it’d be enough for these slackers to be fooled.

She used another feral’s helmet to hide the empty cola bottles, grabbing one of the ropes that littered the cage floor. She tied the now-glowing feral's hind leg to the bars near where Limestone had stood. She covered herself in the cloak and took the feral’s place, hoping Dinky got the idea.

Dinky, either dedicated or pent up, had it out with two ferals before Limestone finished. Limestone was rather glad Dinky was into feral play, as it would’ve been hard to go through with this plan with most ponies.

Dinky realized Limestone had finished, so staggered back to Limestone’s corner. She peered at the ghoul that had taken Limestone’s place, then glanced to Limestone. She nodded in understanding and stood next to the other ghoul.

Date: Tuesday 11/08/2287

Dinky did a good job of pretending the feral was Limestone, spending much of the night whispering to or hugging her. The feral hugged back on instinct, so Limestone hoped the mind-trapped mare got comfort from the experience. Dinky also kissed the feral whenever she noticed a guard glancing over, ensuring they wouldn’t get a good look at its face even if they wanted to, so none of them had noticed the switch.

Limestone heard the sound of a crowd grow outside in the pool arena as they pushed a small covered wagon to the cage. They opened the cage door and the back of the wagon, a projection of a living pony taunting them playing inside the wagon. The other ferals shambled towards it hoping to take out their undead rage on a pony that dared to still live, and Limestone followed along with them.

Dinky did a good job of distracting the other feral and kept her from fussing too much, covering her eyes so she wouldn't see the projection. The rope tying her leg to the bar kept her from shambling after the others on instinct and the wagon closed to leave Dinky and the fake Limestone in the cage. Dinky looked after Limestone with worry, but nodded to show her trust.

When they brought the cart into the pool arena, Limestone got a better look. There were maybe sixty onlookers, which didn’t fill the stands. Tenwhinney could house many more, which meant most of the population didn’t come to this barbaric display. Maybe there were more decent ponies here than she assumed.

In the center of the stands was who Limestone assumed was the oddly named Jacob Timothy Atticus. He looked average aside from the fancy red suit and bow tie, an earth pony with a tan coat and a brown mane. Limestone contained her ire for him, not letting it distract her.

There were four living participants in the arena, all wearing sturdy metal form-covering armor. They wielded medieval style long swords, like they thought they were valiant knights. As one raised the face of his helmet and waved to Jacob, Limestone noticed the similar colors and the perverse pride that showed in Jacob’s face. That one also had the best armor of the living participants, so Limestone marked him down as related to Jacob. That could be useful.

A setup like this would have a backup plan for ferals getting the upper hoof, especially if they intended to fight Limestone. A quick scan found two snipers on either side of Jacob wielding plasma rifles. Those things would outdo Ashmaker’s damage on a solid hit, yet were less deadly for other reasons.

Limestone wasn’t sure where they got plasma hardware, but they were idiots as far as making use of them. They’d nailed unenchanted scopes on the rifles, but plasma was so inaccurate at this distance they may as well have been dildos for all the use they’d be. She suspected they were more for looks. Jacob had fancy guns and wanted to be seen protected by them because of his own self-importance.

None of these morons had seen real combat. They were soft, and it made it almost a boring challenge.

‘Sister?’ Maud’s voice faded into existence over the PCB.

‘I’m still here,’ Limestone replied. ‘You got timing. I’m entering the arena to fight.’

‘Where?’ Maud’s thoughts sounded panicked.

‘Don’t worry,’ Limestone assured. ‘I tricked them into putting themselves at a grave disadvantage. Just get the gate open and head to the back of the first floor, past the old convention center to the former pool area. That’s where they set up the arena. Keep your head down though. There are at least two ponies with advanced, if inaccurate, plasma rifles. Careful getting too close to them.’

‘I will not fail you, sister,’ Maud replied, going silent then as if to let her concentrate.

“I’m so sorry this happened to all of you,” Limestone said aloud, knowing the ferals understood her, even if they were helpless to show it. “It isn’t much comfort, but me and my friends will make these silver-shoed pricks pay. Go to your rest knowing that.”

The door on the carriage door unlatched and the ones that opened it fled the arena. The confident looking participants strolled towards the door as the first feral pushed against it, eyes locking on the breathers about twenty hoofsteps from them.

As much as Limestone would love to let ferals tear them apart, her plan wouldn’t work if they lived long enough to attack her soon-to-be hostage. She remained at the back of the crowd of undeath staggering towards the monsters set to fight them, keeping her cloak covering her whole form.

The armored ponies laughed as they laid into the defenseless ferals, and Limestone let them enjoy a few seconds of wicked mirth. The ponies backed up as they hacked away, not letting their enemies get too close.

As the last of the ferals fell, Limestone hefted up one of the bodies, charging forward and using it as a shield. The participants, stunned when an enemy showed strategy, were easily panicked. Limestone slammed into the group and grabbed the one she identified as Jacob’s favorite, yanking him away from the group by his neck as he dropped his sword and shrieked like a filly. The cloak fluttered to the ground from the quick movement, revealing Limestone fully.

An instant later, she charged her radiation burst, aiming it at the other participants. Their screams filled the arena, at least until their tongues swelled from the heat and cut off their cries of agony. Their flesh boiled beneath the sudden burst of energy, bodies steaming through boiling hot metal armor as they fell to the floor convulsing.

She only had the energy for one of those, but she made it count, and it was immensely satisfying to see them flail and die. She hoped these other saps didn’t realize she could only do that once, but they didn’t strike her as interested in outside knowledge.

The entire arena fell in an uproar, but as the snipers raised their rifles, Jacob’s voice rang above it all.

“No!” he yelled. “You’ll hit Jacob the Second!”

It figured he named his son after himself, and that he was pretentious enough to say ‘the Second’ instead of junior.

As predictable as these morons were, Limestone didn’t need to do much else, just stall until Maud had completed her task. The delay ensured that they wouldn’t have time to bring Dinky out and slaughter her, so she had protected the little one.

As most of the audience flooded from the arena, Jacob looked down on Limestone with rage in his eyes.

“Let my son go, you monster!” Jacob shouted.

“Daybreaker save me!” screamed Jacob Jr. “The monster has me Daddy!”

“I’m the only one here that isn’t a monster!” laughed Limestone in return.

Jacob grabbed a rifle from one of his guards as they looked on in confusion. He took a few steps towards the edge of the area.

“Take another step, I dare you,” Limestone screamed, pressing a hoof against the son’s head. “This pansy-ass bitch will be hard-boiled before he hits the floor!”

“What do you expect to accomplish?” Jacob shouted. “You will die no matter how this is resolved, what do you gain by slaughtering innocents?”

“Innocents?” laughed Limestone. “I’m not sure you know what that word means.” She wasn't one to laugh during such situations, but she knew it'd increase the panic of her opponents.

‘Opening the gate now,’ Maud’s voice rang in the back of Limestone’s mind.

“And what I hope to accomplish?” asked Limestone. “Nothing. I’m just distracting your security so they don’t notice the horde of ferals being let in through your basement entrance.”

“W-what?” Jacob paused as if having trouble processing that.

As if on cue, screams erupted from the convention center outside the pool. Ponies came streaming back in, seeking cover beneath the stands or anywhere else they found.

“Ferals!” shouted a guard as he burst in with the others. “Jacob, they're everywhere, coming faster than we can shoot them all!”

“What?!” Jacob’s shriek put Limestone’s ghoulish roars to shame.

Limestone moved forward, dragging Jacob Jr with her. She pushed him up the steps on the side of the pool towards the latched gate on the side.

“Open it or die screaming like your buddies in the arena,” Limestone said, holding her hoof more firmly against his head.

Limestone felt like a foal pretending to have a gun, but the look in Jacob Jr's eyes showed he thought she could melt him at will. He fumbled at the gate to unlatch it.

“No!” Jacob’s voice rang out behind Limestone as she dragged his son out of the pool and into the convention area.

“We need to get you to shield control in the basement,” Maud’s relieved voice said. “You should be able to turn off the shield. I won’t know how to.”

It wasn’t in Limestone’s head this time. Her stealthy sister was close.

“You better run with me if you want to avoid all these scary monsters,” Limestone growled to Jacob Jr. “Lead the way, Sister.”

“We do not have time to drag a hostage,” Maud said. “Kill it and come with me.”

“I’ll injure ‘it’,” said Limestone, but not from any kind of altruism. “Injured ponies distract additional resources that might otherwise come after us.”

Limestone twisted one of Jacob Jr’s legs at the shoulder. The satisfaction of feeling him twitch in her grasp as he squealed was a guilty pleasure, but she could only enjoy it for a few seconds. She shoved him away and he immediately limped towards the arena again, frantically running for Daddy only to be tackled by a feral on the way. She didn’t bother looking to see what happened next.

Limestone felt Maud closer. There was an affectionate kiss on her muzzle, and then a collar slipped around her neck. Limestone’s form disappeared into the field as the magic registered her lifeless form as an object Maud was carrying via the leash.

Maud tugged the leash, leading Limestone to where she'd need to go. She didn't look back as she heard Jacob's wail of despair at finding his dying son, but it made Limestone smile more than it should have.

Out in the main foyer, shot ferals and dead residents littered the floor, but there were far more of the latter. It looked like most of the security force had died or fled. A few ponies too stupid to take the stairs crowded at the elevator but were torn apart by ferals. Their horrified screams and gurgles died behind Limestone as she continued to follow Maud.

“Is Dinky okay?” Maud asked over the screams.

“She’s safe,” Limestone said. “I left her in the back of the arena to wait for us.”

Maud led her from the center and towards the stairs downward. It appeared they had set up their shield control in the basement itself, far too close to the underground entrance. Someone had to be brilliant to get this working, but they were no tactician.

The guards at the control panel had been the first to die, torn apart by the sudden torrent of undeath. There was a docile griffon ghoul standing at the panels and staring at the blinking lights, clueless. Limestone barely recognized her through all the rot, but figured she'd be here. Gilda twitched as Limestone stepped away from Maud and tugged off her leash, appearing beside the griffon.

“Well look who it is,” Gilda smirked after jumping a bit at the sudden appearance. “They didn’t tell me you were a glower, General, lucky bitch. I wouldn’t mind a piece of your plot later if your smoothflank sister is okay with being left out.”

“I will end you, Gilda,” Maud’s voice grunted from behind them. She seemed in no mood for Gilda’s jabs, or for sharing.

“Fine,” Gilda rolled her eyes. “Party pooper. Anyway, I think I figured this out. The oscillator relay is here.” She tapped several switches on one side. “I flipped them off, but they charged back up and turned on again.”

“You’re impatient,” Limestone said. “Give each stage enough time to charge down before flipping the next one off or it just reverses the polarity.” Limestone flicked the first of the three switches off then watched the gauge above it as the power level decreased.

“Oh,” Gilda sounded sheepish, but smirked. “Well, not the first time someone called me an impatient bitch. You sure you don’t want to get busy later?”

“Gilda,” Maud warned again.

“Calm down, sis,” chuckled Limestone as she flicked off the second switch. “She’s only bucking with us figuratively.”

“Calm your tits, Maud,” Gilda smirked. “This is just like old times, yeah? There weren’t many old times between the three of us, but this is still like them. I’m nostalgic as shit right now.”

“I’m just glad this is over,” Limestone grumbled. She reached for the third switch and…

There was an instant of searing pain in her rear that she recognized as the feel of a plasma shot, but more intense than ever before, as if it was buttfucking her all the way to the stomach. She felt it radiate out and start to eat up her body from inside, realizing there was no way for Maud to save her, as her neck would be dissolving within seconds.

She turned and looked at Maud one last time with an apologetic expression, and let it happen, intentionally letting herself slump so Maud would be down low and harder to hit while dealing with her death. Sure enough, she felt her soul crystal yanked out amid the pain just as it reached her neck, giving her one last hopeful feeling; pre-death her might still help this world and Maud. She closed her eyes. Within a moment, she felt peace at last.