Fallout: Equestria - Echoes of War

Once again I was in the void. I wasn’t sure if I was dead yet. Between the illness, losing control of my body, the voices, or the creature with the red eyes surely I should be dead. It didn’t feel like it now, but I assumed that would change in a matter of time; I still had a heartbeat as I stood in this void. Stars came slightly into view. Will Twister come to me again? Will she come to tell me how I’d never be able to save her daughter as pathetic as I was? I sat there and waited for a moment. The stars moved about on their own, for a time they seemed to orbit around her position. I knew I’d never be able to reach them, they were an impossible distance from where I sat. My confirmation that I was still alive came when my heart began to race, I didn’t like being this alone.

Then I noticed it; one of the stars grew as it approached me. I couldn’t get to them, but they could come to me. I wondered how fast the star was moving to make the distance where it started to me. It stopped growing as it reached me, I wasn’t sure this light was a star anymore. It was barely twice the size of the other stars or lights; it was close enough that I could reach out and touch it with my hoof. When I went to do so I noticed that my cybernetic wasn’t there, in its place was the leg I’d lost in the war. I paused and looked at it for a moment, wishing I could remember how exactly I’d lost it. I only remembered a little bit from the incident, mainly those that didn’t survive like I had.

I touched the light and there was a flash. There was a voice, it was muffled at first but eventually, I could hear her clearly.

“... Is it you, could it be you? I’ve been trying to find you for so long.” Princess Luna asked.

“Princess Luna?”

“Oh, you’re not… I’m sorry to bother you.” Luna lowered her head, I could see a tear begin to fall from her eye as she turned to leave.

“Princess Luna, wait!” I said I didn’t want her to leave me. “I don’t want to be alone here, please don’t go.” She turned to face me again, studying me.

“I shall not abandon you, my little pony.” The princess said, giving me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “How are you here? You’re still alive; you shouldn’t be here yet. Are you some sort of Necromancer? I’ve heard such ponies existed once, but I’ve never encountered any in all my years.”

“So this is the Ever After,” I said, Looking at the countless amount of lights in all directions. “I’m not a Necromancer and I’m not exactly sure why I’m here while still being alive. Right now I’m unconscious and should have died by now. I wonder what's going on.”

“That is interesting. I’ve not heard of any creature that wasn’t a Necromancer being able to commune with those of us who have passed. If Twilight were here she’d have at least a million questions to ask of you. I guess that’s why Tia took her on as her student.”

“Were you looking for Celestia when you came to me?”

“No, I was searching for somepony else. I’ve been searching for somepony special since my death and haven’t found him. I haven't found Celestia either. I’ve come across plenty of ponies that I knew in life, but some seem to elude me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Princess…”

Luna cut me off with a raise of her hoof. “There’s no need to call me Princess, not here.”

“I’m sorry, P– Luna. I wish I could help you, but I doubt I can, being alive and all.”

“Maybe you can be helpful. Though I’m not exactly sure how just yet. I’ll have to think on that for a time.”

“I’d be happy to help, but what happens If I never see you again here? I’m not even sure that I’ll come here next time I fall asleep or get knocked out. I’d hate to get your hopes up.”

“I’m able to find ponies here easily after finding them for the first time. I had a pulling feeling some time ago and when it happened again just now I made sure to investigate. I guess since you are currently asleep then this counts as a dream, and I’m very experienced when It comes to dreams. I expect I’ll feel you whenever you return.” Luna paused for a moment, thinking about something. “Oddly enough to me, it feels like Rarity is here with us. I’ve never seen her here, but I’ve felt her presence. I often wonder why that’s the case. I worry for her, maybe her soul is not at rest or something else has happened to prevent her from fully entering the Ever After.”

“This is all very hard for me to wrap my head around, but I guess I’ll trust you. You’ve only been here for two hundred years. I’m sure you’ve learned much about being here in that time.” Luna blinked.

“Two hundred years? It's been that long? I’m surprised you’re still alive, only an alicorn could live to be Two hundred and twenty-five years old. How did you come to live this long, Snowcone?”

“I’m sorry, Luna, but you might have me mixed up with a different pony. You got my age right, but my name isn’t Snowcone, it's Winterbreeze.”

“Are you not the same pony that played with Flurryheart as a foal?”

I stammered for a while before falling silent, trying to think back. I couldn’t remember much of my childhood, but my memory was also bad and I assumed most ponies don’t remember a lot of their childhood. However, I’d remember If I’d played with an Alicorn; that’s not something most ponies would forger. I looked at the dark alicorn, I was not too surprised to be mixed up with another pony, she must have met many of them in her long life.

“I’m sorry Luna, I’m afraid you might be mistaken. I’d remember playing with an alicorn foal.”

“Interesting. I rarely mix up ponies, but it does happen from time to time. I’m sorry to have ma…”

Luna’s voice became muffled as everything seemed to darken around me. The former princess had a concerned look on her face as she said something else to me, but I didn't hear it. After a couple of moments, everything was black once again.

…

There was a taste of citrus in my mouth as I began to stir. The too-bright lights washed over my eyes as I slowly opened them, it took a moment for them to adjust to the brightness. I groaned as I rolled onto my side and saw an orange mare with a purple mane smiling at me.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” I blinked at the mare before I made a feeble attempt to sit up. “Careful now, take it easy. You’ve been out for a while there, friend.”

“Where am I?” I said slowly sitting up. There were more than a few pops in my joints, “How’d I get here and who are you?”

“Well, you're at Greenhouse, Somepony dragged you here during the last radstorm, and my name is Sunny Starscout. What’s your name?”

“Winter…” I pause before finishing my name. I could feel two other ponies in my mind saying their names simultaneously.

“Winterstorm.” A confident voice said.

“Winterfrost.” Said a voice that was almost completely devoid of emotion.

“Are you alright?” Sunny asked, a look of concern washing over her. “That pony said they’d found you in a Killing Joke patch. Did it scramble your memory?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I think it split me into three ponies,” I said then realizing what I just said must make me look completely mad.

“I’ve never seen or heard that one before. Killing Joke can do a lot to a pony, but every case I’ve seen has been physical, not mental.” Sunny put a hoof on my shoulder, “What’s the name of the pony I’m currently speaking to?”

“I’m… my name is Winterbreeze,” I said softly.

“Do the others have a name?” I nodded before sharing the names. “Good thing all three of your names start with ‘Winter’ I’ll just call you that until I get to know you enough to know which of the personalities I’m speaking to.” She smiled at me, “You’re gonna be alright, Winter.”

“Thank you,” I said. We sat there for a moment before I recalled how I got to Greenhouse. “Where’s the pony that brought me here? I’d like to thank them before they left.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but. The pony left as soon as they got you inside. They didn’t say much, only mentioning the Killing Joke before leaving.”

“I see, what did they look like? I’ll keep an eye out for them when I leave. They saved my life and I want to thank them.”

“Well, The pony was wearing full body armor. Some sort of very light power armor that I’d never seen before. They never took it off but the eyes of the armor had a red glow to them.”

Sunny raised an eyebrow after I let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry,” I laughed, “I ran into that pony in the radstorm. I thought he was the mothmare so I ran away and ended up in the killing joke. I’m just glad that the mothmare isn’t a real thing”

“Mothmare is an absolutely real creature, I’m afraid,” Sunny said.

“Great, I said.” Ears flattening. “How long was I out?”

“All night and most of today, It’ll be nightfall soon. you must have been exhausted. When you were brought to us all you really needed was some radaway. Though we didn’t have enough to completely flush you’re a system of radiation. It also looks like it’s weakening your limbs.”

“I should go,” I said, hopping off the bed. I stood there for a moment before my three organic legs gave out; my cybernetic leg was the only leg that didn’t give out, I must have looked ridiculous. As my body hit the floor I heard Winterstorm say,

“Settle down there, Breeze. I know you want to find Dewdrop, but you need to take things slow.”

“Were you not paying attention when the mare said the radiation was attacking your limbs? Are you stupid or something?” Winterfrost said.

I’m sorry, I thought to the voices.

“Here,” Sunny said, rushing to my side. “You can lead on me. I must insist you stay the night here so your body can recover. You’re welcome to leave if you need to, We’re not holding you hostage here.”

“Thank you, Sunny.” I breathed, using her support to get back on all four hooves.”

“C’mon, I’ll give you a tour of Greenhoof.” Sunny helped me out of the room we were in, through the hall, and out of the house. I looked at the small town once we were outside. It was small, very small. Almost like Appleloose when it was first built. The biggest standing building I saw was the saloon, I could also see what looked to be a general store and a few buildings that were most likely houses. The house that Sunny and I were at was at the top of a small hill that lowered gradually into the rest of the town. It was a nice little town; before the war, it was probably just a small neighborhood with a few shops, now it was a town where ponies lived their lives. I was still on the outskirts of Delamare, I hadn’t yet reached the city limits. I wondered how many communities had formed in the city in the years since the bombs.

The strength gradually returned to my limbs as we made our way through the town. I was able to walk on my own volition before the tour finished. It was a nice little settlement.

“It is nice,” Winterfrost said in the back of my mind, “these ponies better hope those Arcane Legion freaks don’t stumble across this town. I’d bet they’d give Greenhoof the same treatment that Niptin got.”

I hated that she was right. I had to warn these ponies about what I saw in Niptin. I didn’t know how far I was away from those ruins, but I doubted Greenhoof was far enough to be safe. Nowhere in the Delamare or its outskirts were safe from this Arcane Legion, if they were as bad as I thought. I Had no idea where the Glowing Sea was, but I assumed it wasn’t anywhere nearby. Anyplace known for would be able to be seen from far away; I’d yet to see anyplace that had any glow to it. I knew that north of Delamera was the border between Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

“Listen, Sunny,” I said as we reached the edge of Greehoof. “Have you heard anything about what happened in Niptin?”

“No, we haven't traded in a while. Why, is there some news that we need to know about?”

“I guess you can say something like that…” I trailed off, searching for the best way to inform her of the fate that had befallen Niptin. “Niptin is gone.” I eventually said.

“Gone? How could it be gone?”

“It was… whipped out, by a group calling themselves the Arcane Legion. Have you heard of them before?”

“Arcane Legion?” She asked, rubbing her chin. “I think I have, I think DJ Pon3 mentioned them once, but I can’t remember for sure.

“DJ Pon3 is still alive?” I said shocked.

“Well yeah,” Sunny said, tilting her head. “The DJ has been on the radio longer than I’ve been alive. Most ponies think he’s a ghoul, others think he’s a robot. I don’t think anypony knows for sure.”

“Before the bombs fell DJ Pon3 was a mare, I guess at some point she became a stallion?”

“Before the bombs?”

“I’ve been frozen for about Two hundred years now. I woke up yesterday.”

“Goddess, you’re serious?” I nodded. “So y–you’ve seen the goddesses before? With your own Eyes?”

“Goddess, are you talking about Princesses Celestia and Luna?”

“Y–yes,” Sunny whispered.

“I’ve seen them, I fought in their army and they would give speeches to us before a battle every once in a while. I don’t remember seeing Princess Cadance or Flurryheart. They spent most of their time in the Crystal Empire after Littlehorn.”

“What were they like?”

“Well, I always thought they came off as confident, but that could have just been for a show for us soldiers. I didn’t know them personally.” I thought about mentioning communicating with Luna in The Ever After, but I decided to keep that information to myself.

“Wow!” Sunny said, trotting with glee. “I can’t believe you saw the goddesses with your own eyes!”

“Listen, Sunny. The princesses aren’t the point here. You need to prepare for a visit from these lunatics. They didn’t feel like that type of ponies to stop after destroying one settlement. As far as I know, Greenhoof is the closest and they could be planning to head here next.”

“You’re right, sorry. I think we’re the closest settlement to Niptin, but I’ve traveled that far into the wasteland. Thanks for the heads Up, I’ll see about getting us ready for a visit from them.”

“Hi!” Called a mare as Sunny and I talked. We both turned to look at the unicorn trotting toward us.

She was Purple with a blue mane, and she smiled as she came our way.

“She’s wearing the same barding that the Arcane Legion ponies saw were wearing,” I whispered to Sunny. She nodded.

“Hi,” Sunny said. Storm and Frost both signed in the back of my mind. “My name’s Sunny Starscout. What's your name?”

“Ooom My name’s Izzy. It's really nice to meet you,” the strange mare said as she took Sunny’s hoove and shook it vigorously.

“You’re dressed like an Arcane Legion pony.” I interrupted, “Aren’t you one of them?”

“Nope,” the mare said with a smile. “Well, I was, but not by choice.”

“What do you mean?” Sunny asked.

“Well, These Arcane ponies like to absorb any settlement or tribe into their collective. After a group has been brought into the fold the Stallions become soldiers and Mares become slaves.”

“Oh, my,” Sunny said. “That's horrible.”

“What are you doing here if you’re a slave to the Arcane legion?” Storm asked. I wanted to apologize for coming off brash, but I was no longer in control of my body, Storm was.

“Wow,” Izzy said, looking at me with wide eyes.”

“What?” Storm asked.

“You’re eye color.” Izzy said, “It shifted from a light blue to purple just now. Also, you have three sparkles! You’re the first pony I’ve seen to have more than one; It’s super amazing!”

“I’m not sure what she means by a sparkle, but you’re cutiemark just changed too.” Sunny said.” Since you woke up one of the three snowflakes on your flank matched the color of your eyes. Now that one is white and a different one is Purple.”

“Three?” Storm asked, turning to look at my cutiemarek, there were indeed three there, and one of them was purple. “I’ve only ever had one and it was always just one big white snowflake on my flank.”

“Well, now you’ve got three snowflakes on your flank,” Sunny said. “I Wonder what color the third one will be.”

“I guess we’ll find that out later,” Storm said, “Right now I want to know what an Arcane Legion slave is doing here?”

“I just slipped away when no pony was looking,” Izzy said as she ducked down. “I can be pretty sneak when I have to. I was lucky enough to find a bobby pin and a screwdriver and was just waiting until I had enough time to pick the lock on my hoofcufs and then give those nasty ponies the slip.” She smiled, clearly proud of her daring escape.

“What did they make you do while you were one of their slaves?” Sunny asked.

“I was one of the lucky ones. I just carried stuff for those ponies. Other mares are forced to do… other things. I’m glad that I was chosen as a laborer, otherwise I might not have found a way to escape.”

“Where did you live before you were taken as a slave,” Storm asked.

“We didn’t really have a name. We just lived in the forest and tried to mind our own business until the Arcane Legion discovered us.”

“Aren’t you worried that they’ll come look for you,” Sunny asked. “I’ve never heard of a slave owner that would willingly let one of their slaves go free.”

“Well, know that you asked I wouldn’t be surprised if they sent somepony out to find me and bring me back.” Izzy paused for a moment then asked, “You won’t let them take me again, right? I-I don’t want to go back. Please don’t let them take me.”

“Don’t worry, Izzy.” Storm said, standing confidently, “I won’t let them take you without giving them a fight first.

It was weird to be a passenger in my own body while somepony else was in control, even if the pony in control was a version of me. I made a mental note to see if there was a way to cure the effects caused by the Killing Joke. With my luck, there’d be none, but I decided to hope for the best. Surly somepony had discovered some kind of treatment in the last two hundred years. Then again, how much time would a pony dedicate to studying Killing joke out here in the wasteland?

“That’s a huge relief,” Izzy said. “But you must know that they will send somepony to recapture me. I don’t want ponies to get hurt on my behalf.”

“Nonsense,” Sunny said moving to stand on Izzy’s side. “We’d be happy to help you retain your freedom. Slavers are amongst the most hated ponies after all. It’d be harder to convince ponies here to give you up without a fight.”

“Thank you.” Izzy said giving Sunny a tight hug, “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this.”

“C’mon,” Sunny said, “I think it’s about time I showed the both of you the saloon.”

Storm followed as Sunny led Izzy and me to the saloon. I had a craving for a drink, but I couldn’t remember any drinks or cocktails that I had in the past. As I tried to pin down what I was craving I realized that there were now holes in my memory, holes that I could’ve sworn weren't there before I ran into the Killing Joke. It really was weird to be a passenger in my own body. I was aware of Storm while she was in control; I still wasn’t sure when or how she’d taken over. I was more aware of the third version of me that was also a passenger. Frost had said very little to us, I could feel her in a way. The feelings I got from here were… unnerving.

Inside the saloon only had a few ponies and one dog that padded up to us. The dog sniffed at Izzy and me before deciding that we were ok then left us. We followed Sunny to the bar and the three of us took a seat with Izzy and me sitting on either side of the friendly earth pony.

“What’ll you have?” Asked the older stallion bartender.

“What’s the strongest thing you’ve got?” Storm asked, placing both hooves on the bar.

“We’ve got Evermare.” The bartender said, giving me, or us. A flat stare. “Bottle says it’s 95% alcohol. I reckon that means that the other 5% is the bottle can only be the air between the liquid and the cap.”

“I’ll take a shot of that!” Storm said.

“I’ll just have a glass of Wild Pegasus,” Sunny said.

“Water, please,” Izzy said.

The bartender nodded and turned to fetch our drinks.

“How long do you think we have before the Arcane Legion sends sompony after you?” Sunny asked.

“I’m not sure. They’ve probably sent someponoy to find me by now. I’m afraid they’ll probably turn up soon.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little mane,” Storm said, “I’ll scare them off if they show up.”

“You seem, different,” Sunny said, turning to look at us.

“Well duh, I’m not the same pony that you were talking to before, my name’s Winterstorm.”

“I guess you’re one of the three ponies that Winterbreeze said she was split into?”

“I guess that's the long and short of it, friend.”

“Well then, Winterstorm. I’d like to avoid any violence if it’s possible. I’m the closest thing to a Sherif that Greenhoof has and I’d like to keep this place as peaceful as possible.”

“So that makes you Sherif Sunny then,” Storm said.

“It does, though I don’t refer to myself as sheriff.”

“Wait a second, she was split into three ponies?” Izzy asked, looking at me with eyes filled with wonder.

“She had a run-in with Killing Joke last night,” Sunny answered before Storm had a chance to say anything. “You know what that stuff does, right?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve heard of it doing all sorts of crazy things to anypony that touches it. I thought it was rare. I’ve only heard about it being in the Everfree forest and maybe some pockets down south in Hoofington.”

“It’s here too, it seems to crop up in random locations. The last pony to come into contact with it that I heard about found it growing through the floor of a building that he’d stayed the night in. It turned him into a bat pony.”

“Wow, a bat pony. I’ve always wanted to meet one. Where is he now?”

“He died. As soon as he learned how to fly he decided he’d see what was on the other side of the cloud cover and was zapped by some energy weapon just as he reached the clouds.”

“Ohh,” Izzy’s ears lay flat.

“What’s going on with those clouds anyway?” Storm asked. I was glad that she thought to ask the question that I’d forgotten to ask other ponies up to now.

“The pegasi covered the sky after one of their cities was destroyed by a balefire bomb. Ever since the clouds have been there. It’s extremely rare for there to be a brake small enough to let a ray of sunshine through. Now they call themselves the Enclave and Have very limited contact with us down here.”

The bartender returned with our drinks as Sunny finished her sentence. She took a sip of her whiskey. Izzy gulped down her water and Storm looked at the shot glass before her.

“This just looks like water.” She said to the bartender.

“It may look like water, miss. But that’s definitely Evermare. Good luck with your shot.” He said before walking away.

Storm glared at him for a moment before taking the shot glass in her hooves and downing the contents. The liquid burned on contact as she swallowed. Our nose cleared as tears filled our eyes.

“Sweet Celestia!” Storm said. The bartender laughed.

“It’s not every day I get to witness somepony take a shot of Evermare.” The bartender filled a glass with Crystal Tequila. “Here, you’ve earned yourself some of my rare stock after taking that shot better than anypony else I’ve seen in all my years as a bartender.”

“Thanks,” Storm rasped, “how many ponies have you given that too?”

“Any pony foolish enough to ask for my strongest drink which is more than I care to count at this point.” Laughed the bartender.

Storm gave a fake chuckle before taking a sip of the tequila. It was way better than the Evermare.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Storm!” Frost scolded while I remained silent. It was good that she’d taken such a painful shot. It showed me that I’d feel everything that happened to my–our body even if I wasn’t the one in control.

The buzz was already hitting as Storm smiled and asked: “What d–do we do when these legion freaks come here looking for their lost slave.”

“That's a really good question since we have no plan,” Sunny said, taking another sip of her whiskey. “I’m really hoping they don’t show up here. If they do then I’ll do my best to stop them. I’m the only pony here with any real combat experience. This has been a relatively peaceful spot in the wasteland for as long as I’ve lived here.”

“If they come before I leave I’ll help you fend them off.” Storm offered.

“I’ll help too!” Izzy said, “Only, I’ve never shot a gun before. I don’t want anypony here to get hurt on my behalf. I can leave town now and you can't tell them that I passed by for a short time.”

“None sense.” Sunny said, “I can teach you how to shoot stuff if you haven't before. I did teach my friend Hitch how to shoot and he’s now a real sheriff over in Destroyer Stadium!” Sunny wrapped a leg around Izzy’s shoulder. “I’ll teach you everything I know and we’ll stand up to these ponies together. Right Winter?”

“Absolutely!” Storm said, she raised our mechanical leg and unsheathed the blade within the hoof. “They don’t stand a chance against us!”

“Don’t worry Izzy. We’ll show these ponies what happens when they mess with one of our friends!”

“Thank you both so much!” Izzy said, giving Sunny a big hug.

Storm went back to Sunny’s home to retrieve my things while she took the unicorn to the back of the saloon to practice her shooting. Storn, Frost, and I all agreed that it was only a matter of time before Legion would turn up looking for Izzy. Frost wanted us to leave, she reasoned that we had to find Dewdrop and that the affairs of ponies we’d only just met didn’t matter as much as rescuing her. Storm and I both wanted to stay and help so she was outvoted. Storm was still in control anyway and I doubted she’d leave the town if Frost and I agreed about leaving Greenhoof. I was glad that I shared my body with at least one pony that so far seemed to care about other ponies. I just hoped that we wouldn’t have to spend too long here waiting for the Arcane Legion to arrive. Frost was right, Dewdrop was out there and we needed to find her.

“They’ll probably be here before the day is out.” Storm thought.

‘I think so too.’ I said, sheepishly. I didn’t remember being this timid before the split, yet here I was, afraid to really speak out against two other versions of myself.

‘Well, we’d better make sure that we’re ready for them.’ Frost thought, ‘I doubt they’ll be expecting us to be ready to fight for some slave. I’ll bet they only send a small patrol of their non-essential ponies after her. I’d be surprised if that Prophet character shows his horns around here. What I wouldn’t give to shatter each of those horns on his noggin!’
‘Yes. all three of us hate him, but I doubt we’ll ever get close to him again.’ Storm responded.

Seeing Prophet again was the last thing I wanted to do. The other two wanted to kick his flank for what he did in Niptin, but I wanted to stay as far from the tricorn as possible. I doubted the other two would allow that.

After gearing up Storm left Sunny’s and made her way toward the rear of the saloon where she could hear a few riffle shots sporadically going off. As she crossed the cracked street she noticed a pony walking up from the corner of her eye. She turned and scowled at the Arcane Legion ghoul walking toward us.

“Gah!” Storm said in mock surprise when she turned toward the ghoul, “What the fuck are you?”

The ghoul stopped and looked at Storm for a moment. “I’m one of the ponies that were blessed with a higher existence when Bale’s fire cleansed Equestria. Non-believers would refer to us blessed as ghouls.”

“I’d refer to you as an ugly fuck myself.” Snickered Storm, “Tell me, Does this Bale you refer to have a thing for ugly mares or is he just stupid?”

“You dare mock the holy Bale!” The ghoul pony said, taking a battle stance.

“No, I’m just trying to figure out what their type is so I can do my best to stay clear of it.”

“Silence, lesser! I do not come to speak with lowly ponies. I’m in search of a Purple unicorn with a long blue mane. The sooner I find it the sooner I can be gone from this dump.”

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so then? Yeah, she’s here, but I'll tell you now that she won’t be going anywhere with you lunatics.”

“The unicorn will return with us, she is the property of Bale!”

“If she’s the property of some higher power then why was she able to escape? What, is your precious Bale too weak to keep one little pony from escaping? How embarrassing.”

“You incolent curr. You mock the one who cleansed the vast majority of filth from the land with his holy flame. You will return the property that I seek or you will come to regret your mockery!”

“You’d better get to work on living up to your threat, then,” Storm said, sitting on the ground and crossing our forelegs. “I’m starting to grow tired of talking to a pony with an imaginary friend.”

“This isn’t over, swine!” The ghoul said, “I’ll return, and when I do you and the disillusioned ponies that live here will pay for you’re insulting of Bale.”

“Ooooo,” Storm said, waiving our forelegs at the ghoul as she turned to leave, “I’m so scared.” Storm burst out laughing as the ghoul galloped away.

After she was finished laughing, Storm got back our hooves and continued toward the rear of the saloon.

“Nice shot, Izzy!” Sunny cheered as Storm came around the corner. Sunny stood off to the side of Izzy while the unicorn floored an old rifle and was shooting at empty bottles of sparkle cola that were lined up on a wooden fence. We watched as Izzy shot the remaining bottles rather quickly, only missing once.

“Impressive,” Storm said. “I’ve seen soldiers with more time in the military shoot worse than that. You’re gonna do fine when those Ponies come back.”

“Thank you,” Izzy said.

“Hold on, you said when they come back?”

“I ran into one on my way here, told them we wouldn’t be giving up a mare this beautiful and the ghoul threatened us with the wrath of some being they call Bale.” Izzy flushed and looked away at the compliment.

“Right, we should let the rest of the town know what’s about to go down. Hopefully, some of them will help us fend off the legion.”

“They don’t have much of a choice there, Sunny. It’s either Fight, Flee, or die.”

“I know, but I’m not going to force anypony to stay and fight if they don’t want to. They’re welcome to hide or leave the town until the battle is over and I won’t think any less of them if that’s what they decide to do.”

“I see why you’re more or less the Sherrif here. You’re a natural-born leader, If we had more like you before the bombs then maybe Equestria would’ve won the war before the first megaspell was developed.”

“I–I don’t know about all that. I’m just doing what somepony needs to do.”

“That’s what makes you a good leader Sunny. Most ponies try to be a leader for their gain or the power that comes with it. You are a leader because you see that one is needed here and you step up to fill that role so you can keep others safe.”

Sunny didn’t respond. She gave a short nod before looking away.

“I don’t want anypony to get hurt for me,” Izzy said after a moment of silence. “I can still run away.”

“Nonsense,” Sunny said, looking at the unicorn. “You are one of us!”

“We’ve already been over this Izzy, we’ve got your back. Don’t worry about us.”

“C’mon, Izzy. Let's inform the rest of the town what’s about to go down. They’ll be happy to meet you.” Sunny led us back to the front of the saloon before she stopped and turned to Storm. “Winter, could you speak to Dirty Rich about the attack? He runs the general store over there.” She pointed a hoof at a building that looked like it was held up by hopes and dreams

“Sure thing.” Storm said, “I’ll see if I can’t convince Dirty Rich to provide us with some supplies for the battle.

“Thank you, Winter. Izzy and I will meet you back here at the front of the saloon when we’re done speaking with the other ponies.”

Storm nodded and turned toward the General Store. ‘Shouldn’t take me too long to convince this, Dirty Rich, to help the cause.’ Storm thought.

‘Are you serious?’ Frost asked. ‘What about the name Dirty Rich makes you think he’d be willing to give the town supplies to fend off the legion without seeing any bottlecaps in return.’
‘Trust me, Frost, I’ll get him to help.’

I doubted Storm, but I hope for the best. I was sure that crazier things had happened than a merchant donating some of their product. I hoped that this pony had enough sense to know that it was in his best interest to help us out. I assumed that Storm would make the same argument that I would, but then again I wondered if I was hoping for too much from her. I was starting to question how intelligent this version of me was; Storm was definitely a confident personality, but that didn’t mean she had any smarts about her. If I were in control during the talk with the Arcane Legion pony I wouldn’t have antagonized here at all, just refused to give them Izzy. Storm on the other hand delighted in pissing off the ghoul and they would no doubt be trying their hardest to take us out when the Legion attacked.

The hinges on the door to the General Store protested loudly when Storm walked through it; There was no need for a bell with a squeak that loud. Inside there were shelves with various items and Junk that I thought were more or less useless, but I was also new to the wasteland and some of this junk might have value to a pony that had spent their whole life out here. Storm’s eyes moved across the various junk as she made her way to the earthpony stallion standing behind a counter on the opposite side of the room. He didn’t welcome us or anything when the door opened. He just looked up from the magazine that he’d been reading and watched us as Storm approached.

“Can I help you?” He asked when Storm reached the counter.

“As a matter of fact, you can, friend.”

“I’m not your friend, stranger. Buy something or get the hell out.”

‘I see why Sunny asked us to talk to Dirty Rich.’ Storm thought. I wasn’t surprised to find this pony was rough around the edges, his name was Dirty Rich after all, thought nothing about the brown-coated pony told me that he was particularly wealthy. Storm studied the pony for a moment, His eyes were green and he had a rust-colored mane, one his flank was what looked to a larger pile of bottle caps.

“Listen, We’re gonna need your help,” Storm said, placing our forehooves on the counter. Dirty Rich took an inquisitive look at our cybernetic leg for a moment.

“Really, and what kind of help do you think I’d be willing to provide?”

“Greenhoof will be attacked soon, Sunny wanted me to come here and inform you about it. I was hoping you’d be nice enough to give us ponies that plan to defend this settlement some supplies.”

“Sorry, filly. Shit cost money and I ain’t looking to give stuff away.”

Storm gave Dirty Rich a flat look. I thought that was the end of the conversation, but it was obvious Storm thought otherwise.

“Listen, Dirty.”

“Dirty Rich.” He corrected.

“Whatever. You’re going to want to give us stuff free and you’re gonna be happy about it.”

Dirty Rich laughed. I hadn’t heard a pony laugh that hard since before the war.

“Really?” he asked, wiping tears from his eyes. “Care to explain why I’d do all that?”

“It’s simple really, Dirty. If the Legion take over this town what do you think they’ll do to you and this fine shop you’ve been running?”

“I assume they’d see what I have to offer and buy what they need.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, friend. I know that the Arcane Legion takes ponies they capture as slaves.” Dirty Rich paled as Storm stared him in the eyes. “I ask you again: what do you honestly think a group of ponies with no problem making captured ponies their slaves will do to you if they take over Greenhoof? I’ll give you a moment to think about that question carefully. Just in case you’re not bright enough to see the obvious.” Storm folded our hooves on the counter and rested our head on them.

Dirty Rich stood there stunned. His jaw moved like he had a counter to what he’d just been told, but nothing came out. After some time passed he stomped a hoof and then kicked something behind the counter. “Fine, Celestia damn it. Tell our beloved sheriff to give me a list of shit she needs and I’ll help her how I can.”

Storm left the General Storm and returned to the front of the Saloon. Sunny and Izzy hadn’t returned yet so she sat on a bench by the door. I managed to convince her to poke around our pip buck while we waited for the ponies to return. We found that the device had a map feature and had been keeping track of some of the locations that we’d visited since leaving Stable 0. We also learned that the Pip-buck kept track of the inventory that was in our saddlebags along with being able to pick up some radio signals. Storm decided to tune into the only radio signal that worked. We caught the end of a news report that DJ Pon3 had given, something about another vault pony in a different part of Equestria before playing some pre-apocalypse songs. We spent the rest of our time waiting listening to songs sung by ponies that were now long dead. As we waited there listening to the music I noticed that I was once again in control of my body. I know it might be a bit confusing when I use words like ‘we,’ and, ‘our,’ but trust me, this is confusing for me too and I’m trying my best to tell you this story.

It wasn’t long after I regained control that I saw Sunny and Izzy galloping toward the saloon. I told the earthpony how the conversation went in the General Store as soon as they arrived.

“I can’t believe you got Dirty Rich to help us!” Sunny exclaimed at the news. “How in Tartars did you convince that stingy pony to help us like that?”

“Don’t worry about it, Sunny. I just helped him get a full picture of the situation that we’ve found ourselves in.”

“This is a game changer, Winter…”

“Winterbreeze, I’m in control again.” I sighed, “I guess I’ll have to get used to sharing my body with two other versions of myself. There’s no telling how long it will be before I find somepony that knows how to treat the effects of Killing Joke.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter too much which one of you is in control as long as you’re not causing more harm to the ponies of the wasteland. Either way, I’m glad that Dirty Rich was convinced to help us. Izzy and I managed to convince most of the other ponies here to stand up to the Legion when they attacked. We should have a good chance of having this battle turn out in our favor.”

…

Everypony that had offered to help defend Greenhoof took their defensive positions as we waited for the Arcane Legion to attack. None of us were sure what direction they’d attack from, but most expected they’d attack from the road that led into town. They’d probably underestimate the town and not spend much time discussing any strategy for their attack. After all the only pony they spoke to was Storm and she didn’t exactly give off a vibe that she was intelligent. The Arcane Legion probably expected most ponies here to be as brash as she was and most likely expected to attack and enslave the town with minimal effort. I knew they’d be very disappointed when they did attack.

‘Let me have control of our body,’ Frost said while we hid behind a box on the porch of the saloon. ‘I’ll be able to take care of these Legion ponies with ease. You and Storm will hesitate or give some of them the chance to leave.’

I wanted to deny her request and tell her that Storm or I would be able to handle the battle, but I was unable to convince myself that she wasn’t the best pony to be in control at this time. To make matters worse Storm agreed that Frost should be the one in control of this battle. I was outvoted, but I felt that it was still my decision to relinquish to Frost, but I couldn’t bring my left to argue against them.

I let Frost take control.

Forest stood up from where we hid and trotted out into the middle of the street.

“What are you doing?” Sunny asked.

“Don’t worry about what I’m doing.” Frost barked, “Worry about keeping you and you’re ponies safe.

“You must be frost,” I heard Sunny say from where she and Izzy hid. Frost didn’t respond. She just stood in the street. Waiting, no, praying for the Arcane Legion to show. I could feel the desire for violence seeping from Frost. It’s hard to describe much of what’s going on while being a passenger, but the bloodlust I felt from Frost was very clear. Frost stood there like a stone wall, so calm, so focused. This version of me was counting the seconds before she had a chance to punish anypony for challenging her. I could feel that Storm was unnerved by her, I was afraid of her. I didn’t want her to be in control. I got the feeling that Frost would destroy anything that opposed her, even if they surrendered.

Winterfrost craved a chance to kill.

We stood there in the middle of the street. More eyes were on us than on where the Arcane Legion would most likely be attacking. I Expected most of the ponies looking at us wondering If we were stupid or not. The others knew that the mare standing on the road wanted to be in the middle of the bloodshed. They’d be smart to stay out of it as much as possible. As we all waited I grew increasingly worried about what Frost would do in the heat of the battle. All I could do was hope that no innocent pony would be caught in between frost and the legion. I knew better though. My memories of life before the Killing Joke had holes in them now, but I did remember instances of ponies jumping into a heated battle hoping to attain glory. Most of those ponies were killed before too long. There were only a hoof-full of ponies that earned enough glory to be more or less famous in Equestria. I was one, Big Mac was another, though his era was before my time in the war. Apple Snack was another that I knew about. After I enlisted I stopped keeping track of famous war heroes and started avoiding becoming one myself, I failed. All stories of war heroes ended the same: Their Death.

The wait was not long. After some time there was a shot that hit the road just ahead of where Frost had us positioned. She looked down at the impact and then up at the Legion pony standing to the side of the rock. No pony on either side had fired a shot since the warning shot.

“This is your last chance!” Called the pony, “Return our property and you will be spared… for a time.”

“I hope you realize you’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life,” Frost said, her voice was calm, smooth.

“Oh? What mistake might you be referring to?”

Winterfrost laughed the said: “You had an opportunity to kill me just and you wasted it on a warning shot.”

The Arcane Legion didn’t have time to respond. Frost pulled out the pistol and fired. The bullet caught the pony between the eyes. The corpses fell to the ground as the shooting started and Frost weaved her way to a nearby rock laughing with the pistol in her mouth.

Gunfire sounded off all around, but that didn’t seem to phase her. While my thoughts were on the ponies fighting to defend Greenhoof I could tell Frost wasn’t concerned about them. Frost ducked out of cover, Legion ponies were rushing up to the town from where they hid. She fired at two ponies that were charging together and dropped both before ducking behind cover. Frost looked over when she heard a stallion cry out, on the Greenhoof defender’s head had a chunk blown out of it. Frost didn’t give him a second look. She ducked out again and fired at a ghoul mare that was trying to gallop over to the side of the saloon. Frost shot here in both her hocks. The mare went down with a cry, she writhed in pain on the ground for a moment before using her front hooves to start dragging herself to safety. I’ll play with her later. Frost thought before pointing the pistol at another ghoul and blowing a hole in the side of his head. Frost could see some of his brain splash onto a tree next to him.

She smiled at the gore-spattered tree before aiming at another Legion pony, a moment later they were dead from a bullet through the throat. Frost ducked behind the cover again and reloaded the pistol before popping back out and dispatching three more ponies. The least they could do is give me a challenge, Frost thought. I prayed that the battle would be over soon. I didn’t want to see any more waste of life.
“Settle down there Frost,” Storm thought. Frost ignored her as she aimed at another pony.

It wasn’t much longer before the battle was over and we were victorious. The Arcane Legion must have expected us to give up or not put up as much of a fight as we did, they only sent a small group of ponies in the attack, there were only two other ghouls along with the leader the rest were normal. I wasn’t sure how many of the Greenhoof ponies died during the battle. I only saw the one while Frost was in control. I knew he wouldn’t be the only one, the butcher’s bill was never pretty.

The bodies of the attackers were gathered and burnt outside of town while any Greenhoof ponies that perished were taken to a nearby graveyard where ponies began to prepare each of them a resting place. I noticed that that I was once again in control of my body, I wasn’t sure when the switch had happened, but I was thankful for it. I stretched a bit before trotting off to make sure Sunny and Izzy were ok. I assumed they’d both be in the saloon. Along the way, I remembered the pony that Frost let crawl away around the side of the saloon. The ghoul mare was probably still alive so I decided to check and see what condition she was in. If I was lucky I’d be able to glean some information from her either before she died or before I had to resume my quest to rescue Dewdrop, which was not going well so far since I almost died yesterday.

There was a small trail of blood that led me to where the ghoul lay behind some crates. Her breathing was heavy as she lay in a pool of her own blood; she didn’t have much time left before she left this world for the Ever After, Tartarus was more likely to receive this pony after her death.

“Come to finish the job, nonbeliever?” The ghoul rasped. I shook my head.

“I just came to talk, it looks like you won’t last much longer anyway even if you get help from somepony with medical training.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” The mare hissed before a fit of coughing took over. I leaned back to avoid the blood flying from her mouth.

“You might, I want to know more about the Arcane Legion. Your prophet told me to seek enlightenment somewhere called Craterside. I just want to know a little bit more about you before I head there.”

“Y–you were told to make the pilgrimage by Dogma?”

“Is that the name of the three-horned pony? I thought his name was Prophet.”

“He is Dogma, Prophet is the title bestowed upon him by the Starmother. It’s prophesied that he will bring about another cleansing of Bale’s Fire.”

“Can you tell me what this prophecy says?” The Ghoul shook her head.

“Only the priests know the Prophecy by heart and can recite it upon request. I’ve not been blessed to hear any of it myself.”

“I see,” I said.

Ask about the Starmother!” Storm said to me.

“What can you tell me about this Starmother? You’re a ghoul and I know your kind are important to the legion. Have you seen her?”

“I’ve seen here, She is an ancient ghoul that was spared during Bale’s cleansing of Equestria.”

A pony form before the bombs? I thought I wonder if I’ve heard of her before.

“Did she have a name before the… before Bale’s cleansing?” The ghoul either didn’t notice or didn’t care that I’d corrected myself mid-sentence.

“Yes… Yes…” Her eyes began to close slowly. “Her name…” and that was it, the ghoul was dead.

I sighed before walking back to the front of the saloon. I couldn’t help but let my thoughts go back to my interaction with this Prophet Dogma and how I’d given up a chance to make him pay for killing those foals. I wouldn’t make that mistake again, at least I hoped not. It was more likely that Storm or Frost would take control and they’d be able to do what I failed to. Until then any pony that suffered from his actions had me to blame for allowing him to continue living.

I found the ponies I was looking for in the salon near the bar. I saw that Sunny was comforting a shaken Izzy.

“Is she all right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Izzy said, her voice shook and she stared at the floor, “It’s hard to watch a pony’s sparkle vanish.”

“Sparkle? What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, not to a pony that can’t see them. Every pony I've come across has… a sparkle and each one is different. They are almost all beautiful, even if they belong to a bad pony. There has only been a hoof full of ponies with a sparkle that were… frightening I guess is the best way to describe the feeling. When a pony dies the sparkle vanishes. It’s hard for me to watch them go.”

“What does mine look like?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“It’s bright, both of you have a sparkle that’s brighter than anypony else.” She said, looking from Me to Sunny. “I’m sure that it has a deeper meaning, but I’m not the pony to interpret stuff like that. I wasn’t a fortune teller or anything like that before I was captured.”

“What were you?”

“Oh, I was an artist,” Izzy said, smiling brightly. “Best one anywhere around Delamare, though I’m probably the only pony in the wasteland that bothers with art.” Her ears drooped.

“Don’t be sad, Izzy,” I said, moving to put a hoof on her shoulder. “A lot must have been lost when the bombs fell, It will take somepony with some serious passion to bring art back to the wasteland and I think you’re that pony. Art inspires art and I’ll bet you’ll inspire ponies to craft their art in time. Just keep it up”

“Thank, Winterbreeze. It’ll be kinda hard for me to create something for a little while, though.”

“Why is that?” Sunny asked.

“I’ve got plenty of supplies everywhere I go. Anything can be turned into art after all.” She gestured to various items around the saloon. “The reason why it will be hard for me is that I normally wear glasses and I don’t work on anything without them. The pair I was wearing was broken when I was taken by the legion. I’ll need to find a new pair before I feel like I can create something.”

“Oh!” Sunny exclaimed, trotting in place. “My dad wore a pair of glasses. Maybe they will be the right kind for you! I kept them when he passed if you want to give them a try!”

“I’d love to, are you sure thought? I don’t want to break them or anything.”

“You can use them until you find another pair that you can use. I’d love to see you use some of this stuff to create something wonderful! I’ll go get them now, I’ll be right back!”

I took a seat at the bar and asked for a glass of water, I took a large gulp when he brought it to me. “Do you know if the Legion destroyed any of your art when you were taken?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. I was out of town looking for some material that spoke to me to use in a piece that I was working on. I didn’t hear anything about them attacking Ponoyo so I’d like to think that every pony there is safe, along with my creations.”

We talked for a bit longer about some of the things that she’d created. A lot of what she used as materials was nothing more than junk, but I wasn’t able to see the things that she’d made with the junk so they could be mind-blowing for all I knew. I assumed that most of what she was making back at her home was good and I told her as much. She told me where I could find Ponoyo and then my pip-buck made a noise. I looked at it in and pressed some of the buttons until I discovered its map feature. I zoomed out and saw that It covered Delamare and the land surrounding it. It didn’t show all of Equestria, but I didn’t need a map of it right now anyway. I noticed that it had marked the locations where I had been since I acquired the device. Stable 0, Harmony Lane, Maneford, Nipton, and Greenhoof were all marked. I was surprised to see an indicator labeled Ponoyo, I wondered how it knew where a town that was formed after the war was.

Izzy returned after some time with her father’s glasses, she was also now wearing a Pip-buck. She gave the glasses to Izzy, she smiled when she tried them on.

“When that mysterious pony first brought you to me I thought that thing on your foreleg looked familiar.” She raised her foreleg to show the pip-buck she wore. “I’d forgotten that my dad also wore one of these. He also had one of the same suit that you wore in his closet.”

“What made you put it on?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve heard about how useful these things are to ponies that travel the wasteland. I figured that’ll be needing it when we leave Greenhoof.”

“We?” I asked in confusion, “What do you mean we?”

“I mean that I’m coming with you, and I suspect that Izzy will also join us.” We both looked over to the unicorn, she smiled brightly and nodded.

“But… Why?”

“You mentioned that you’re headed for Destroyer Stadium. I’d like to head there myself and I figured it’d be best if we traveled there together. Wound’ you agreed?”

“I guess so,” I said,

Watchere had mentioned finding friends twice to me already, but I didn’t want any; at least any that were willing to follow me into dangerous situations. I’d been in a leadership position before and had gotten a group of ponies that I’d cared deeply about killed. I didn’t want ponies I liked following me, but I guess the wasteland had other plans for me.

Level Up:

New Perk:
Big Leagues: You are adept with the blade hidden in your cybernetic hoof. Melee weapons now do 20% more damage.