Fallout: Equestria - Echoes of War

“It’s useful that you happened by…”

“Here you go,” Coconut said, setting my modified stable barding on the ground before me, “Some stable barding that will protect you until you can get your hooves on something better. It’s not the best, but it should get you to Destroyer Stadium. You’ll be able to find sompony selling better armor there.”

“Thank you, Coconut,” I said with a smile.

The mare shook her head, “No thanks needed, it's the least I can do for you. We owe you our lives; I wish there were more that I could do.”

“Listen, you may feel like you owe me for saving your tails back there, but you don’t. I just did what any decent pony should have done. Now, if there's anything I can do for you, just say the word.”

She looked at me for a moment, thinking. “Well… there is one thing that you can do. Put on your barding then meet me by my wagon, I’ve got something you might be able to help me with.”

She left and I put on the barding. It felt tighter, but not too tight. I didn’t notice much of a difference with the weight. I did feel protected wearing this; luckily I wasn’t shot somewhere serious while battling the Hunters. That would’ve spelled a quick end to my rescue attempt. Coconut watched me as I walked up to her.

“How’s it feel?” She asked, eyeing my barding.

“Pretty good,” I said, stopping beside the wagon. The contents were hidden beneath a beige blanket that looked desperate to be cleaned. “What do you need help with?”

Coconut bit down on a part of the blanket. “Wif Thith.” She said around the cloth, she pulled on it and the fabric moved easily; what it covered was an old-looking set of power armor.

“Where’d you find that?” I gasped.

“Here and there, I’ve been collecting parts and jerry-rigging this for a couple of years now. All the parts are accounted for, according to a manual I found. The only issue now is the spellmatrix. The manual doesn’t say how to get it going and I didn’t get a chance to look into it before we were chased out of Prancey.” She looked me in the eye for the briefest moment before looking away. “It’d mean a lot if you found a way to get its spell matrix going. You can use it when it’s ready if you want. I don’t plan to travel much; it’ll be wasted if I keep it to myself.”

I smiled, “Sure, I’ll see what I can find out. Maybe somepony in Destroyer Stadium will know.”

“Forget it, if it becomes too much trouble, but thank you. Are you heading out now?” I nodded, “Then I hope you have a safe journey. I’ll listen for news of you on the radio.”

I tilted my head to the side, “Why would you do that?”

“Oh, I guess you haven’t tuned into the radio, being new to the wasteland and all. DJ Pon3 reports on what’s going on across the Equestrian Wasteland; whether it’s good news or bad; I’m not sure how he gets her information, but he’d recently mentioned another stable mare that freed raider prisoners over in Ponyville. If I were a betting mare, I’d say you’ll end up on the radio, at least once.”

“I doubt it. I don’t think he’ll consider anything I’m doing to be newsworthy.”

“Oh? What about saving a group of strangers from a ruthless gang of cannibals? That's pretty newsworthy if you ask me.”

“Point taken,” I said with a smile. There was no way that DJ Pon3 would report on anything I was doing. How would he know? Watcher came to mind, he’d talked to me through a sprite-bot; maybe the DJ had a similar way of gathering information to report on. Maybe Watcher was DJ Pon3; I’d ask him if we ever spoke again.

Shit! I thought. Being on the radio was the last thing I needed right now. There was a chance the patchwork unicorn would hear about me and be alerted to my newfound freedom from the ice-box she’d left me in. She’d have time to prepare, time to run, and time to hide. The last thing I need is for her to know I’m coming. That would make getting revenge more difficult than I wanted it to be.

I thanked Coconut again for the barding before leaving her and heading down the road.

“Winter!” Somepony called behind me. Turning I saw Whitehooves galloping at me.

“What?” I asked, worried that something had happened. “Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine.” She said between breaths. “Grandmare had another small vision that she thought you should know about.

“How I thought the mentals had run their course.”

“They have, but she occasionally has visions that come to her naturally. While you were with Coconut she had one. She said that it was important that I tell you what it was.”

“Ok, what did she see?”

“She said that you need to find shelter before dusk. You must. She didn’t say anything else; she passed out after that and I wasn’t able to wake her.”

“Hmm, I'll keep that in mind.” I looked up at the clouds wishing I could see where the sun was in the sky. “I don’t know how much time that will give me, but I’ll be sure to heed her warning. Thanks for relaying the warning, Whitehooves.”

“It’s no problem, friend.” She looked at me as silence filled the air, “I wish you’d accept the Position as General. We could have a huge impact on the lives of innocent ponies all across the wasteland if we had the right leader; I honestly feel that you are the pony for the job. Please just.”

“I’m not comfortable being in a leadership position!” I blurted out, interrupting her. Her eyes widened as she took a step back.

“I–I’m sorry,” she said, hears folding back, “I just… I don’t want to make you do something you’re not comfortable doing.”

“Hey,” I trotted to her side then put my hoof on her shoulder, hopefully assuming the mare that everything was ok. “I understand that you want the Minutmares to succeed, I want the same thing. In the end, I might be the best candidate to be the new General, but we need to be sure that there isn’t somepony out there that’s a better fit. I promise that, no matter what, the Minutemares will rebuild and aid the ponies out there that just want to survive. Ok?”

Whitehooves nodded. “Please hurry. I’m sorry for trying to force you to take the position; I just have a bad feeling and I guess I’m panicking.”

“There's no need to panic; this will take some time, but the minutemares will be back in business before you know it. For now, just focus on helping these ponies turn this place into a new home. I’ll send ponies here that need a new home on my travels.”

“Ok, but I don’t doubt my gut feeling about you, but I guess we’ll see what happens.” She smiled.

“That’s all I ask, Whitehooves.” we shared a smile, “If nopony better than me shows up then I’ll, hopefully, have been given enough time to prepare myself to take on a leadership role… again.” an uneasy chuckle slipped out before I had a chance to stifle it.

“Thank you, Winter. I won’t hold you up any longer. You need to get going if you’re going to find some shelter before dusk. Be careful out there.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. When I return we can focus on rebuilding the minutemares. I’ll be back before you know it!”

The last of the Minuremares nodded her thanks, I turned and trotted down along the road, I stopped when I reached the bridge, and turning I saw Whitehooves still watching. She waved at me; I waved back. She believed in me, I prayed to whoever was listening that I wouldn’t let her down.

…

I shivered as a cold wind blew on me from the north. Though I knew I’d been frozen for around two hundred years, I wasn’t certain what time of year it was exactly; my best guess was that it was the middle of fall, winter coming sooner rather than later. In old Equestria, I’d be excited by Winter being around the corner. The heat was something that I wasn’t much of a fan of, I’d spent many summers before going to war indoors, reading. That was all lost to me now. Winter would be difficult to live through without the amenities I’d grown accustomed to. For the first time in my life, I wished that it was still summer.

I followed the road north, keeping in mind that I needed to find shelter before the sun went down. A thought pierced my mind: What happened to the princesses? Surely they were powerful enough to survive the blast from the balefire bombs. Why couldn’t the thought have come to mind while I was talking to Whitehooves? She’d have been able to tell me if I’d remembered to ask—honestly, I have the memory of a goldfish; I’d forget the most important things if I weren’t actively thinking about them—about something as important as the fates of the princesses. A notebook was something that I needed to consider keeping on me, lest I forget something extremely important. It was too late to turn back now, night would fall before I reached Harmony Hills; I’d have to ask the next friendly pony I met what happened to the princesses. That being said, I also wondered what happened to the Crystal Empire. Cadence had tried her best to keep her kingdom out of the war, but the war eventually came to her doorstep when the zebras struck a deal with the Yaks in Yakyakistan.

All this worrying gave me a headache. I wish that I’d find Dewdrop in the next hour and save here so I could bring her home before getting some normal rest. Waking up from that cryo-pod made me feel as exhausted as I normally was while deployed. Some good old-fashioned rest sounded really nice right about now. All I had to do was rescue my niece from a grotesque unicorn with cutiemarks stitched to her hide then get her safely back to Harmony Hills. It sounds easy as pie, I know.

In reality, I expected considerable effort to be required to find Dewdrop. I had no idea what was to be found out in the wasteland; the survival guide that Whitehooves had given me would give me tell me what to expect, but I didn’t expect it to tell me about every horror that waited for me out here.

The constant clouds above bothered me. Where were the pegasi? Shouldn’t they be doing their best to clear the sky of these clouds? Where is there any Pegasi left? I shook my head, thinking that one of the three pony races being extinct was the last thing I wanted to think about right now. Unicorns and Earth-ponies made up all the ponies I’d met so far, it would be absurd for there to be no pegasi out here, but looking up at the oppressing layer of clouds made me wonder…

I trotted along the road for what felt like an hour and a half. I passed vehicles occupied by skeletons that had rusted over the years. The road beneath my hooves had large cracks that ran through it. The trees were leafless, either from the season or from being dead, I wasn’t able to tell. A cold wind blew past me as I traveled, ruffling my mane and making me shiver; I’d need to find something warmer to wear before it got colder. The only sounds I heard came from my hoofs and the rustling from the foliage that danced in the wind. Other noises came infrequently, the sounds of some animal off in the distance a distant gunshot, and the occasional breaking of a twig; they were not as infrequent as the other sounds, it made me feel like I was being followed.

Was I followed by what? I asked myself, stopping to scan my surroundings. All I found was a street light, trees, and the mangled corpse of some animal I couldn’t recognize. Shrugging I continued on, only for another snapped branch to make me freeze. Something was following me. What was it? The first thought that came to mind was one of the many creatures that were said to inhabit the forest around the outskirts of Delamare. The most famous of them being: The Mothmare. Ridiculous right? Back in the day, I’d laugh if somepony told me they believed in their existence. It didn’t feel ridiculous now though, out here in the wasteland, alone. Anything could be out there, who knows what had happened to the wildlife of Equestria. “Get a hold of yourself!” I said allowed, then gave my head a little shake before venturing onward.

There were no more sounds that worried me. Either the past snapping branches had been a coincidence, or whatever was following me was putting more effort into not being detected. I chose to believe in the latter.

A gunshot brought me out of my thoughts about cryptids. It came from up ahead, along the road that led north. Maybe somepony were in trouble. I waited for a second shot to ring out. When it remained silent I trotted on, curious what lay ahead. One shot either meant that somepony had to defend themselves against something and only needed one bullet to do so; the other option that comes to mind is that somepony wanted attention on them, using the gunfire to do so. A diner came into view in a clearing ahead of me, I could just make out two unicorns standing in front of it, each of them floating what looked like Pipe-pistols from where I stood.

I left the road and trekked along until I reached some bushes close enough for me to listen to what one of the unicorns was shouting at whoever was in the diner. I crouched low, making sure not to rustle the bush and give away my presence.

“Listen, lady,” The taller of the two—a brown stallion with a very dark yellow mane—shouted pointing his weapon at one of the windows. Looking at the dinner, I didn’t see anypony, but that wasn’t much of a surprise; any pony without a death wish would be hiding if they were caught in a situation like this. The stallion continued, “Your son owes Wolfgang a lotta caps. Now, you’d best be handing over the caps or your boy.” the other unicorn chuckled, “I reckon things will get… nasty if you don't. Understand?”

They waited for a response, but they didn’t get one. “I’mma give you till the count o’ three, bitch.” the other stallion said, he was considerably smaller than his partner in crime, though he looked to be about the same age. “Afta that we’re gonna start blastin'!”

“Please!” called a mare from within the dinner, “Don’t take my son; he’s the only family I have left. Just give us some more time, we’ll get Wolfgang the caps, w-with interest!”

“He’s already been given enough time to pay off his debt.” The smaller stallion said, “If you don’t have tha caps then we’re taking him.”

“This is your last chance,” The larger stallion added, “We ain't gonna ask again.”

The stallions waited for a response; more silence from the ponies in the dinner. The small Unicorn began to count down, slowly.

Crouching down, I kept out from the bush that concealed me, making my way around so I could approach the two unicorns from behind. I didn’t know what the situation was, but I knew that these two were bad ponies; something needed to be done about them, the wasteland would be better with their absence, I was sure about that.

“Two!” the pint-sized stallion called out with no response came from the dinner. They hadn’t noticed me as I wound my way behind them. All that was left was to reach them and take one out—the big one first—before the little guy reached zero “One and a half!” He was enjoying this; he probably thought the ponies in the dinner were sweating bullets and at his mercy. They may be at his mercy, but he had no idea that he was at mine, and I can be a lot scarier than he thought he was…

He opened his mouth to continue the countdown but froze when I lunged at the bigger stallion. I unsheathed my blade and drove it into the back of his skull; the magic surrounding the pistol evaporated the moment my blade introduced itself to his brain. The little unicorn turned to me, eyes widening in fear as I let my first kill fall to the ground. He brought his gun around as I galloped at him, I swatted it away with my cybernetic then leaped forward, grabbing his head in my front hooves. He urinated as I twisted his head to the left until there was a crack. His gun fell to the ground alongside his corpse, lying in the yellow puddle of his own creation.

Hoovesteps sounded as somepony galloped away, I turned and saw a third pony—who’d been hiding— galloping away from the dinner. I thought of shooting them, but I let it pass. She’d already gotten out of my comfortable range and besides, I wasn’t a ruthless killer. She’d decided not to fight me, so I let her go with her life.

“It’s safe to come out now!” I called out when the mare had galloped out of sight. “These two won’t bother you anymore.”

The sound of a bottle being kicked, followed by some cursing came from the dinner; a moment later an older mare slowly came into view behind one of the windows. “Are they gone?” I nodded. “T–thank you. They’ve been harassing us for days now.” Her eyes fell on me, “Come inside, dear. I should have something here to repay you.”

“Sorry,” I said, “I really need to be going.”

“Oh, come now. At least let me give you some food or ammo. You saved my son’s life, I can't let you go without giving you something to repay your kindness.”

My stomach growled at the mention of food. I realized I hadn’t eaten since the morning that I’d entered Stable Zero. Two hundred years was a long time to go without a hayburger or something. It wouldn’t hurt to stay long enough to eat, it’d give me time to figure out what her son had gotten into and maybe find out if she’d seen the patchwork unicorn.

“Ok, It has been a while since I ate, Thank you.”

“When did you last eat?” she asked as I approached.

“Oh… about two hundred years ago.” The mare stammered as I passed. She stood there for a moment before entering the dinner. She didn’t ask for clarification so I didn’t explain my situation to her. Not having to explain what had happened to me was nice; I expected that it was something that I’d have to recant to most ponies that I came across.

“So… what are you craving after, umm, two hundred years.”

“I’m not too picky, whatever you have will be good.” Truthfully, I’d kill for a hayburger. It’d already been too long since I had one before the bombs fell; adding two hundred years to the wait made it something I’d beg to have. There was no chance she’d had one, but maybe I’d find one somewhere in the wasteland. A mare can dream, can’t she?

“We’ll most of what I have is Iguana on a stick. Is that all right for you? I can see if I can rustle up something else.”

I wasn’t sure what an Iguana was, they must have been some new creature created by the magical radiation that was in abundance. Meat was something that I’d never tried before, but I decided to give it a try. “That will be fine,” I answered with a smile, taking a seat at one of the stools in front of the counter the cash register sat on. “What is an Iguana anyway? They didn’t exist back then.”

She eyed me for a moment, probably wondering If I really was a mare that lived before the war or was just some nut that had arrived in the nick of time to save them. “I’ve never seen one. This is something that traders employed by the Gourmare sell. I don’t know what animal an Iguana is, but I do know that the meat is tasty. You’ll like it.” She smiled before turning and trotting through a door that led to a kitchen.

The dinner was a mess, old leaves had blown in through the the frames where windows used to be, covering the tables and most of the cracked black and white tile floor. Empty cobwebs festones the ceiling in spots and there were undisturbed layers of dust on tables that were mostly free of leaves. In two of the booths were the skeletons of ponies, who had been waiting for their meal for over two centuries now. A red buck with an unkempt brown mane and tail sat on the floor at the opposite end of the dinner from the counter. He sat there, body shaking while he licked his lips and his eyes darted around. It was clear how he came to be in debt to this Wolfgang character. He looked like he still had hard times ahead of him before he started feeling better.

“Here you go hun,” Turning away from the buck I saw the food the old mare had placed before me. It was five chunks of meat pierced by a stick. The scent of the warm food flooded my nose, causing my mouth to water and my stomach to grumble in anticipation. I leaned down and took a small bite then chewed. It was delicious. I quickly finished off the rest of the meat.

“That was pretty good,” I said, the old mare smiled.

“I have more if you’d like another plate.

I waved my hoof. “I’ll be good for now, but I’ll take some to-go if you have enough to spare.”

“Sure thing, Hun.”

She went to the back room and returned a couple of moments later with a paper bag, she placed it on the table in front of me.

“So, who is Wolfgang?”

“You haven’t heard of him before?”

“No, I come from the south. I’m afraid that I don’t know much about what going on north of here. I was given a survival guide earlier today, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and read it.”

“I’ve heard about those, Ponies who’ve read them say they’re very informative. Why haven’t you read it yet?”

“I’m in a hurry, but I’ll read it tonight when I find somewhere to settle in for the night.”

“I know a place that you can stay,” The mare said with a smile, “If you follow the road north you’ll find some signs pointing to a settlement called: The Hub. It’s a small settlement mainly used by traders and caravaners. You should reach it just before Nightfall, there should be some open rooms there. I’d offer you a place here, but we’ve only just moved in and the dinner is still very dirty, as you can see.”

“I’ll check it out, thanks for telling me about it, miss…”

“Berry Punch and that's my son, Red Wind over there.”

“You can call me Winter Storm, now. You were going to tell me about Wolfgang before we go off subject.”

“Oh, right.” she took a breath, “Wolfgang is the leader of a gang that's based in Goodneigh; They sell chems and loan caps to ponies looking to gamble while they’re there. You’d be wise to avoid that place altogether; you’ll only find gangers, chem addicts, and ponies down on their luck. Not a very safe place to be, trust me.”

I did trust her; judging by the condition Red Wind was in, but something had to be done about Wolfgang. I couldn’t have him threatening ponies that I sent to Harmony Hills. “Well, I can’t do something about Wolfgang without stepping hoof into Goodneigh, so I’ll just have to be careful.”

Berry Punch’s eyes widened. “You don’t need to go after Wolfgang on our behalf. He’s a very dangerous pony, most of the ponies at Goodneigh are bought and paid for by him. It’d be suicide to go after him. Please, I don’t want anypony to get hurt trying to help us. We’ll find a way to manage.”

“Don’t sweat it, I’ve been hurt plenty of times now. I’m not afraid of him. Once I finish my current quest I’ll see what I can do about him. That reminds me; have you by chance seen a Unicorn with cutiemarks stitched to her hide?”

Berry Punch shook her head, “Sorry, can’t say that I have.”

“That’s all right, I’ll find her eventually.” I sat there for a moment, “Oh before I forget, do you know what happened to Celestian and Luna when the bombs fell?”

She nodded. “I don’t know all the details, but I know that they were killed in Canterlot.”

“How?” I asked.

“I’ve heard stories about some kind of poison that Canterlot is filled with. The princesses haven’t been seen since the Mega-spells. Everypony agrees that they are dead, if they survived then they are in hiding.”

“Wow, they held so much power; It’s hard to believe they’re gone. What about—”

“I’m c-c-cold, mama.” Red Wind interrupted before I could ask about Cadance and Flurry Heart. Maybe they survived.

“I’m coming, sweetie.” She called to her son, “Sorry, I hate to cut the conversation short, but I’d better see to my son. Red Wind’s gone a couple of days without Dash; hopefully, he pulls through soon.”

“Before I leave, there's a new settlement to the south of here. A group just got there earlier today and has started building it up. You and your son are welcome to live there if you want to. There’s a Minutemare there that will protect you if any more of Wolfgang’s goons show up.”

“We’d love to go, but I thought the minutemares were gone.”

“They hit a rough patch, but they’re rebuilding. I’m seeing to that. You’ll be safe there I promise. Just follow the road south to Maneford then follow the road signs to Harmony Hills. When you get there ask for Whitehooves; tell her that Winter sent you.”

“Ok, yeah.” Berry Punch said, glancing at her son, “We’ll head there, first thing tomorrow. My son needs to rest; the journey might be too much for him right now.”

I tucked the bag into my saddle bags before thanking Berry Punch and leaving the diner. I looked at the two corpses in front of the dinner and decided to see what they had on them. They wouldn’t need it anymore.

Searching their bodies I found tow pipe-pistols along with a couple of rounds of ammo for them. There was also a Healing potion and a dash inhaler. I took everything useful that I came across, even the dash inhaler. If Red Wind happened to see it when they left the dinner tomorrow morning he’d relapse. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, I’ll probably end up throwing it away later on.

…

Dusk was setting in as I approached Niptin. Smoke rose from behind witing the town, It smelt like they were having some kind of bonfire and were cooking up some meat. Shadows from the decrepit buildings stretched toward me as the sun fell behind them. Again, I wondered how the sun and the moon moved without Celestia and Luna to guide them. Did new alicorns take up the mantle of raising and lowering them? If so, why haven't ponies powerful enough to move the sun and the moon started rebuilding Equestria? Maybe the sun and moon moved on their own, after all, ponies lived long before Celestia and Luna were born. Are Cadence and Flurry Heart the ones moving the sun and moon? They’re both alicorns, surely their magic would be strong enough to get the job done.

Galloping hooves brought me out of my train of thought. A hunter was galloping toward me, a massive grin on his face. That didn’t look good. It only took a moment for me to get my pistol and put a bullet between the Hunter’s eyes. His head snapped back from the impact before falling face-first to the ground. His corpse rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop on the side of the road. I returned the pistol to its holster before continuing toward Niptin. The thought of checking him for anything valuable crossed my mind, but it would be dark soon and Grandmare had warned me that I needed to find shelter before nightfall.

Thunder rumbled off in the distance followed by strong gusts of wind that blew my mane around. It was a good thing that Niptin was close, it looked like a storm was coming.

The smell of meat flooded my nose as I trotted into town. I didn’t see anypony around, everypony must be at the bonfire, though there should be some ponies standing guard. It must be an important celebration going on if no guards were posted. I looked up at the smoke rising toward the overcast sky. The bonfire looked to be toward the center of the town. Niptin didn’t look that big of a settlement. I’d passed many piles of debris that were once buildings. The structures that were left overlooked are hanging on by a thread, they’d probably collapse in the next couple of years if somepony didn’t see to repairing them.

Making my way through the town I began to hear the fire, not much farther now. Ahead of me was a sign that read: MAIN STREET. Chatter from ponies told me that the bonfire and residents were just around the corner. I yawned before following the sidewalk onto Main Street.

Ahead of me at the end of Main Street was the bonfire, a group of ponies in robes standing around it, chanting something I couldn’t make out. It blazed brightly in front of what used to be a city hall, along the street crosses lined the road on either side. I looked on in horror at the squirming ponies nailed to them.

I took a step back, eyes wide, mouth open. What had happened here?

“Hold it!” a mare said behind me, followed by the click of a revolver. I started to turn my head. “Eyes forward!” My head whipped back around. “Walk.” I did what I was told.

As I walked toward the bonfire at the end of the street some of the ponies on the crosses begged for help, others begged to be let down. Most begged for death. All of them were stallions. Each of the ponies dripped blood from where the nail had been driven into their leg, through the bone; skin and muscle wouldn’t be enough to support their weight on the cross long before it ripped and they fell. Vomit rose in my mouth, holding and then swallowing it was tough, but I didn’t want to test the patience of the pony pointing a revolver at me.

I was close enough now to see what the bonfire was made of. A pile of ponies had been set ablaze. There were mares along with colts and fillies. The smell hit my nose and caused me to hold in more vomit. Eyes watering, I forced it back down.

Looking away from the roasting corpses six unicorn ghouls stood around the fire, chanting.

“Bale. We burn these ponies so that you might ward off the Burnt Mare.” They said in unison, “Hear our plea, let this fire keep her at bay.”

A tall pony was standing behind the chanting ghouls, watching them.

“Dogma,” The mare behind me said, The tall pony turned toward us. He wasn’t a ghoul, He was bone white with a long black mane. On his head were three horns, one in the middle was long, almost as long as that of an alicorn. The two smaller horns sat side-by-side behind the longer one.

“What have we here?” He asked, his amber eyes burrowing into me. A shiver ran through my spine, and my organic legs began to shake, hopefully not to a noticeable degree.

“Found her at the end of the road. I was gonna shoot her and then throw her on the pile, but I figured you might have something in mind for her.”

“Hmm, let me see…” His eyes seemed to glow as he stared at me, he came closer unblinking. I meet his gaze, trying to show I wasn’t afraid.

I looked away.

“It would seem that Bale wants this one alive, strange. He’s never asked that a non-believer be spared before.” Dogma’s voice was slow, oily, and confident if somewhat nasally. He knelt to look me in the eyes. This time I couldn’t bring myself to look away. “You must be part of Bale’s grand design. Why else would he ask that you be spared.” He smiled. “What is your name, mare?” I stammered, unable to respond. “Speak when I ask you a question, mare!”

“W–winter,” I said, fear washing over me. Never before had I felt fear like this, I couldn’t understand it. He cut right through the persona that was Winter Storm and reached to my innermost self; the pony that I’d created the persona to protect when I was at war. The fear he gave me reached down to Winter Breeze, the version I hadn’t allowed myself to be since I’d lost my leg. Something about Dogma made me want to find a safe place to hide so I could curl up on the floor and cry.

“Ah yes, Winter. It’s your lucky day, Winter. Bale himself has deemed you worthy of being spared. Though I do not understand his reasoning, I’m not one to question the word of God; I must obey his wishes. Never before has this happened, I doubt it will ever occur again. You will be allowed to leave.

“However, there is one condition that I shall add to your freedom. Tell others what you witnessed here. Let them know what happens to those who choose to oppose the Children of Bale. And, should you seek enlightenment, head north; search for the holy land where Bale’s fire spread to cleanse this cursed land that once was Equestria. There, you will become more than just a simple mare. Do you understand?”

I nodded.
“Will you spread the word of the Judgment bestowed upon Niptin?”
I nodded again.

Dogma gestured for the mare behind me to join the others in their chant. “You may depart, Winter.” He turned to the fire.

I stood there, sweating, my heart felt close to beating through my chest.

Dogma had his back to me, and all his ponies—I hoped—were in front of him. I could shoot him now before, there was no pony around watching me. Trembling lowered my mouth to my pistol, keeping my eyes on the tall stallion.

I froze for a moment, then turned and galloped away. Tears fell from my eyes; I failed to kill the Tricorn responsible for the atrocities I’d just witnessed. How could I protect Dewdrop if I was too weak to kill a monster like Dogma?

I ran, as fast as my hooves could carry me.

With all my might, I ran. Galloping fastener than at any time in my recent memory. I didn’t look back. I didn’t stop. I just galloped; hoping that Dogma didn’t change his mind about letting me go and deciding to chase me down himself. My eyes were closed most of the time, trying to push the image of the chard foals within the blaze. Though my eyes were closed I could still see the blacked little bodies that lay within the bonfire. Taken from this world while they were young; too innocent to ever earn such a fate. Again, I admonished myself for not killing that vile piece of shit while his back was turned. When I was in the military I vowed I’d protect the citizens of Equestria. Even if Equestria was no more, I felt obligated to protect the innocent ponies who lived in the land that it once was. More tears fell, I failed to uphold my vow; there would be more ponies that would suffer at the hooves of Dogma, I could have prevented that if I wasn’t so weak at my core.

Something metallic hit me in the head as I galloped—eyes still tightly closed—down the road. It knocked me on my haunches, Opening my eyes I saw what I ran into. It was another Sprite-bot, playing some patriotic music that I couldn’t recognize. The music cut off abruptly, followed by a moment of static. “Winter?” Watcher asked. I recognized his voice, “Are you okay? What happened?”

“What the fuck, Watcher?” It was a bit of a struggle for me to get back on my hooves with three legs still trembling, “Did you know the ponies you sent me to meet were in trouble? After talking to them it sounded like they’d been pinned there for a couple of hours before I found them; long enough for a Sprite-bot to get from Manefore to Harmony Hills.”

“Winter, I’m sorry, but those ponies were in a tough spot.” he responded, his voice sounding metallic coming from the Sprite-bot’s speaker, “I had to point you in that direction; I hoped that you’d give them a chance to make it out of there, alive.”

“What made you think that? All you knew was that I was a stable pony looking for her niece?”

Watcher didn’t respond, the Sprite-bot bobbed in the air. I scowled at it, waiting for whatever excuse he decided to throw at me.

“I recognized you,” He said. My scowl slowly vanished, that was something I hadn’t expected him to say, “You’re a veteran of the war with the zebras. I’d have recognized you, even if you didn’t tell me about being frozen in Stable Zero. I recognized you and thought that you’d be able to help those ponies in Maneford. I’m sorry for leading you into danger, for what it’s worth.”

Staring at the sprite-bot as it bobbed in the air, waiting for my response, something in the back of my mind—a voice I didn’t recognize—told me he was trustworthy; that I needed to be unwavering. “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll believe you, for now.”

The sprite-bot was silent for a moment before Watcher spoke through it again. “So, what happened that's got you this upset?”

Goosebumps formed as his question brought me back to what I’d seen in Niptin. The horrors had fled my mind while I was upset with him; his question brought it all back to me. “A–a lot. There were ponies nailed to crosses, foals burning in a fire, and… a pony with three horns!”

“Sweet Celestia!” Watcher said, “You saw foals burning in a fire?”

I nodded, “It… it was a lot, for anypony to seen first hoof. I can still see them, every time my eyes close, I see them; It’ll stick with me, for the rest of my life—and the smell, the smell…” Shaking, tears started to build up before falling from my eyes. Some of those foals looked so young; so innocent.

“Wow, just… wow. I don’t know what to say.” He paused, probably trying to think of what to say; but what could you say to somepony that lived through what I’d just witnessed? A strong gust of wind hit me from the north followed by thunder that didn’t sound quite right. I didn’t pay it much mind; the only thing on my mind was the foals still burning at the front step of Niption’s town hall. Dogma had to die and I needed to be the mare to kill him. Rescuing Dewdrop was my main goal, but making up for my mistake; for letting that sorry excuse for a pony live was now my second goal. He had to pay for what he had done; Dogma and all the ponies that helped him would pay for what they’ve done; I’d make sure of that, even if it cost me my life. I wouldn’t let Dewdrop live in a world where Dogoma still had power; he would die and I’d make sure that he did, or die trying.

“Listen, Winter.” Watcher said, “I know you’ve been through a lot; believe me, I’ve also been through a lot; I’ve lost so much... Now I have to live with the consequences of my friend's mistakes; I've done so; for many years now”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, annoyed. My mind raced as I was consumed by panic. “You know about me, but I don’t know a Tartarus damned thing about you, I’m still not sure if I should trust you!”

“Look, Winter, I’m sorry about sending you into danger, and I’m sorry about what you just went through, but you need to be strong; All that doesn’t matter now; you can’t let the wasteland break you. My advice to you is to go out and find some friends.”

Friends? That was the last thing that I needed right now. I was tired of listening to Watcher; I had my own problems to deal with, and at this point, he was just slowing me down. “I don’t want’ friends!” I spat, “I just want to find my niece then put Dogma six feet below the dirt. Having friends would just slow me down!” I ran around the sprite-bot, ignoring him as he called to me, pleading for me to stop, begging me to find shelter immediately. I heard what he was saying, but I ignored it. Watcher had used me, even if it was for the benefit of innocent ponies, I hated being used. Anything he said to me as I galloped on went through one ear and out the other. It wasn’t long before I couldn’t hear him anymore.

The burning sight of the burring foals rushed to the forefront of my mind, again; I closed my eyes, once more galloping on blindly. Tears, so many tears leaked from my eyes, following easily down my cheeks. I’d seen a lot of horrors during my time at war; most of all being the death of my father and brother, killed by a bad decision that I’d made, the same decision that also cost me my leg.

I ran blindly, trying to open my eyes, but closing them when I found my sight blurred by the build-up of tears. My hooves hit the dirt as I galloped off the road, it barely registered to me, my only thought at this moment was to get as far away from Nipton, as far away from Dogma as my hooves would carry me before they gave out.

The strange thundering grew louder; the rumbling came from all around me. A weird feeling overtook me as a clicking sounded from my pip-buck. I opened my eyes, green fog surrounded me. Thunder continued to hammer against my eardrums, but there was no rain. Only the greenish-blue fog that surrounded me. I stood there, lost. Franticling searching my surroundings, I galloped forward from where I’d stopped, hoping I’d come across a building I could shelter in, or a road I could follow. Anything was better than standing here, listening to the clicking from my pip-buck while getting sick. Bile climbed up my throat as my hide started to tingle, but I forced it back down.

Something caught my front hoof—the one that was still flesh and blood—causing me to fall onto my side. The wind rushed from my lungs as I hit the ground, hard. The moment that my hoof was caught an energy rushed through me. Laying on the ground I could only move two of my legs—The front organic one and the cybernetic one—my hindlegs flailed on their own accord. The arguing of two ponies that sounded like me filled my hearing. I lay there; scared, even more so than I had been before being caught.

Squirming on the ground I noticed that control of my head was still mine, looking around, vines rose from the dirt wrapping around me. My heartbeat sped up as my breathing increased, and my lungs burned with every intake. A gunshot joined the rumbling of thunder. Red eyes shone through the fog in the direction of the shot. I screamed.

Before, if you’d asked me if I believed in the Mothmare I’d have laughed Equestria had many strange and magical creatures, but some creatures were nothing more than a myth, stories to frighten foals around a campfire. Mothmare, Big Hoof, Windigos, Aliens, Grogar, and lizard ponies were all things I gave less credence to while growing up. As those glowing red eyes approached I believed that Mothmare was real.

Voices continued arguing in my head as darkness surrounded my vision. I tried to fight, to free myself from the vines wrapping tighter around me so I could run away from the monster that would devour me if I lost consciousness now. The darkness continued to close in before fully engulfing the world around me. 7435-200