Fallout Equestria: Fillies

Chapters

1: A Small Party
3: A Dark Path
2: Battle of Neighgaton

1: A Small Party

Chapter One: A Small Party

I awoke to the sound of screaming children.

With a tired groan, I rolled over in my bed and shouted, "Sky! Grove! You two play nice, it's too early for fighting!" My voice cracked and croaking from half-sleep. I sighed and pulled my pillow over my head to block out the continued sounds of fillies arguing. The pillow was a poor defense against their high-pitched squeals.

I sat up and shouted to be heard over them through my door, "Don't make me come out there!" The sounds of arguing died down to a few low grumble, but I could tell that they were backing down. Good, that gave me a few minutes to wake myself up and get ready.

"Ok, Deft," I said to myself, "Big day today... time to wake up."

Reluctantly, I slid out of bed and landed on my hooves. I gave my limbs a good stretch to slowly wake my muscles, then walked to the big mirror on top of my dresser. Through the unkempt strands of my frizzy mane, I gave myself a long look. My big, bushy red mane fell in a lump over most of my face that nearly obscuring my scrawny, light blue body. Sticking out of the frizzy mass of hair was my horn, barely visible under the mess. I shook my head, but my mane refused to be dislodged from its spot in front of my eyes. Turning towards my bedroom door, I nudged it open with my snout.

I could hear my children playing out in the main room of the house, but I headed directly for the bathroom. A quick shower would wake me up, and my mane needed cleaning anyway. Locking the bathroom door behind me, I stood in the shower and twisted the knob with my telekinesis. Cold, bone-chilling water blasted me in the face. I jumped back with a hiss, "Stupid water heater....” I would have to fix it before tonight. I couldn’t let my fillies bathe in freezing water. I already had a busy day planned, now it had gotten busier.

I frowned and stepped back under the cold stream of water. I gasped as it hit my body and raised goose-pimples on my flesh. Shuddering, I scrubbed myself down with soap and rinsed it off as quickly as I could. My mane was the biggest problem. The big frizzy mass took forever to wash, and the freezing water flowing over my head, neck, and shoulders did not make the experience pleasant. I finally worked my way through my entire mane, then T shut off the water and grabbed a towel to quickly dried myself off. I was shivering slightly, but once out from under the water I soon warmed up again. I used up a second towel trying to dry out my mane, but it remained fairly damp as I dumped the towels in the laundry bin and headed back to my room.

My wet mane hung down around my face like a curtain. With one forehoof I pushed it out of my eyes so I could see myself. I floated up the hairbrush next to the mirror, the cyan glow of my magic wrapping around it and drawing it to me. I ran it through my mane, the bristles of the brush yanking painfully at out of place hairs. In some places it stuck so hard that I had to use a hoof to push it as my telekinesis was not strong enough to dislodge it. I grumbled, and wished I had taken more time to brush it out the day before so it didn’t end up such a tangled mess.

I smiled when I saw the reflection of the door slowly swinging open. The angle of the mirror prevented me from seeing the little filly whose hooves pattered behind me, which meant it was my youngest, the five year old. As she approached, I kept brushing and said, "Yes Windy Sky?"

A tiny snout nuzzled my side, "We're sorry for fightin' mama," the dejected filly said. I smiled wider, and turned to wrap my forelegs around her in a gentle hug.

"It's ok, my silly little filly, I needed to wake up anyway," I said, holding her close and nuzzling her orange mane. My hooves ruffled her wings a bit, and I spent a moment straightening her red feathers before I turned back to brushing my mane. I almost had it properly brushed out.

Her snout nuzzling my side brought my attention downward again. I kept brushing as Sky asked, "Mama, when's the party gonna start?"

I smiled at her, "Not until this afternoon. You and Painted have to go to school this morning."

"Aw, do we hafta?" Sky said, frowning.

I ruffled her mane and nodded, "I hope you never find out how lucky you are, living in a nice town with running water and even a school! I grew up out in the wastes with grandma... I dreamed of such a peaceful life." Just thinking of the wastes made me want to shudder, but with Sky so close I made myself repress the urge.

She smiled, "An' that's why granma settled down here, 'stead of being a travelin' trader, right? And then you met daddy," this last sentence was followed by a slight frown on her face, which was mirrored by a twinge of sadness in my heart, "I wish daddy could be here for Painted's party."

I nodded, "Me too, dear. But grandma will be here. I’m sure you two will enjoy that!"

I finished brushing out my mane, then sat down. Sky was watching me intently, she always enjoyed this next part. Closing my eyes, I concentrated. My horn lit up, and I could feel the cyan glow of my magic as it wrapped itself around my mane. Hairs rose, separated and lined up, pulled straight by my telekinesis. My mane splayed out around me. I could feel the motions through my magic, and feel my mane begin to shift as I made the hairs twist and turn around each other, strands and strings of strands ducked and dove and wove about in a quick and complicated dance of hair and magic, a mesmerizing moment of motion. A twist here, a turn there, pull things tight over there, and within a few minutes my frizzy mass of mane was tied down in a complicated ponytail braid. I slung it over my shoulders and it was finally out of my eyes for the day.

Windy Sky was still staring in awe when I opened my eyes. I smiled at her and she said, "Mama, you always look so nice when you braid your mane."

I blushed a bit and asked, "Do I?"

"Uh huh," she nodded, "You smile so pretty when you’re braiding."

I smiled shyly, not used to compliments even from my own children, "It's... relaxing. I enjoy the feel of using my magic so... precisely," I pulled her close again, and hugged her soft body against mine, "Now... I'm ready for the day, so let's go get some breakfast, ok?"

"'Kay!" she said, and pattered out of the room on tiny hooves. I followed at a leisurely pace, and shuffled down the short hallway and out into the main room. My eye was naturally drawn to the far wall.

This wall had a mural.

It was, in my opinion, a rather good mural. A depiction of myself stood in the center, blue pony shape with red mane and tail. Two fillies on either side, snuggling close. One, red and orange with tiny wings sticking out. The other, a pale gray earth pony with a brown snout and purple mane and tail. My two little fillies and me, stylized and simplified but recognizable through coloration, with a sweeping background of windswept plains. It was Painted's first large painting, and the one that had earned her cutie mark.

And there was Painted. She was sitting at the table in the kitchen-y half of the main room. Her brown snout really did look painted on, the reason her father had given her that name in the first place. Her cutie mark had the same look, splotches of paint surrounding a brush. She was munching on a bowl of oats. I smiled at her.

"Good morning, Painted Grove," I said, and trotted across the room. I pulled the bag of oats out of the cupboard, and poured out another pair of bowls for Sky and myself. I set the bowls on the table and called out, "Sky? Breakfast."

Sky came running out of the bathroom, and hopped up onto the table by way of a chair and burying her face in her oats. I sighed and considered telling her to get off of the table, but she looked so adorable that I did not have the heart. I sat down and began to eat my own breakfast.

Time passed quietly, the only noises the crunching of oats. Painted seemed to be pouting. She snuck an occasional glance at Sky and an even more occasional worried look at me. I furrowed my eyebrows in concern, "Are you ok, Painted?"

She blinked up at me, and adopted the innocent face I knew too well, "I'm fine... just nervous, is all. Only have a cute-cenera once!"

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, but let the matter drop, "Ok... well, don't be nervous. You'll have a great day," I smiled as pleasantly as I could as she finished off her oats. After a moment, Sky finished eating as well. I stood up.

"Ok you two," I said as I herded them towards their room, "Grab your saddlebags, off to school," they both groaned, and drug their hooves. I pouted a bit, "Hurry up, girls. I have to get to work, too."

They groaned again, but they grabbed their saddlebags. Sky had a set of bags that I had clumsily stitched together myself. Painted was large enough to wear adult sized saddlebags, so I let her use my tattered old set. Bags settled comfortably on their backs, I guided them through the door and outside.

Our house was little more than a three-room shack. Four, if you counted the bathroom. It was sheets of metal tacked onto a frame of wooden beams, all of which I had carefully gone over to remove splinters, rust, and sharp edges. No sense letting my children cut themselves on the house. After coming outside, I blinked in the bright morning light. After my eyes adjusted, I looked around Neighgaton.

The town was decently sized, as towns went, with nearly two hundred residents. Many houses like mine sat in small clusters around the town, some of them reaching three or even four stories tall. A high curtain wall ran around the whole town, made of layers sheet metal, junked pre-war vehicles, and rubble. Guards patrolled along the walkways at the top, rifles slung over their backs as they peered out into the wastes.

From the center of town rose a tall windmill, blades spinning lazily in the early morning winds. Those blades turned a generator which provided power for the whole town. Not far from the windmill stood a water tower, and between them sat the sturdy little brick building where the school was held.

I loved the fact that my children had a school. Not just because it gave me free time several days a week, either. The day Painted came home and started reading, slowly and haltingly but with increasing confidence, from the little primer they'd given her... my heart melted. Sky was starting to figure out reading as well, and her attempts at reading the various technical manuals I kept around the house were adorable.

They followed me through town, and smiled at various ponies as we went. I returned a few greetings myself, but did not have time to stop and chat with anypony. The schoolhouse soon stood over us, and I ushered the two inside.

"Goodbye," I said, "I'll see you two after school. Be good!"

"We will mama!" Windy Sky said, as she and her sister trotted inside. I smiled and turned away, then headed towards the windmill in the center of town.

The windmill was a large building. Its round base would take dozens of ponies to circle and it towered above the rest of the town. Just building the structure had been a major challenge. I trotted up to the front door, and nodded at the pony standing guard as I pulled it open.

Machinery whirred and hummed. The center of the building was dominated by a huge mass of machinery, a large shaft running from the top and vanishing into the dark ceiling. The shaft spun in place and carried the mechanical energy from the windmill's blades and down into the generator.

I could see several technicians moving around the room. Most of them were carrying portable lights because we didn't have enough spare power to keep all the dark little nooks and crannies lit up. I ignored them, and headed for my office.

Nailed onto the door was a small plaque which read 'Deft Embrace: Designer and Head Technician'. As always when I noticed the little plaque, a wave of annoyance passed through me. All I had done was take the idea of a windmill from one book, and an electrical generator from another, and realized that one could power the other. I didn’t feel like much of a designer. As for 'Head Technician', it was an honorary title at best. I never ordered the other technicians around and I was not even, technically, a real employee here. I just offered my services as a repairpony when needed.

I shut the door behind me to block out the noise from the machinery in the main room. Most of it, anyway. With a small sigh, I sat down in front of my workbench and began gathering my tools. I shoved them into a convenient bag. No time to dawdle today, I needed to finish up my work quickly so I could get home in time to work on Painted's cute-cenera gift.

The job I had for today was simple. The generator worked best when the windmill spun at a certain speed, so there were small motors that would change the angle of the windmill's blades to adjust its speed based on the current windspeed. Today I needed to re-align those motors and give them a tune-up. A simple job, but time-consuming.

There was a knock on my door. I set down my bag of tools, then trotted over and pulled it open. Standing outside was a green-coated earth pony stallion with a spikey purple mane. Tech Head, the technician in charge of monitoring the motors I was about to go tune up.

He smiled at me, "Heya Deft, you ready to start the climb?"

"Not quite," I said with a shake of my head. I turned back towards my workbench, "I need to gather a few more tools."

I could hear his hooves scuffing the floor behind me, "Okay, well I've had them bring the windmill to a stop. Don't waste too much time."

I shoved the last few things I would need into my bag, then slung it over my shoulder and strapped it in place. I gave him a small nod as I walked passed him into the main room, "I don't waste time."

He facehoofed, then trotted after me. I set a quick pace, and even with his longer legs he had to struggle to keep up as I climbed several flights of stairs to get above the main floor of the windmill. There was a small platform with a door that led outside. I waited for him to catch up.

"Wow Deft," he panted from exertion, "You're quick!"

I pushed the door open, "I have lots of practice... growing up out in the wastes."

He followed me through the door, "Sometimes I forget you grew up in a traveling caravan," he stopped suddenly, and stared out into the town. He paled, "A-and sometimes I forget how tall this windmill is."

I glanced over the side of the windmill, the ground several stories below, then looked up towards the top and shrugged, "We aren't even halfway up here. And we don't want to waste any time... so come on," I hopped onto the nearby ladder and climbed up the side of the windmill. I could hear Tech climbing the ladder behind me.

I climbed my way up the ladder, and closed quickly on the small platform at the top. It gave easy access to the now-still blades of the windmill. I peered over my shoulder at Tech. He was well behind, and stared up at me. He did not even move. I frowned and shouted down, "Come on Tech, we have work to do."

I clambered up onto the platform, and edged my way around to the front of the windmill. I sat and waited for Tech, my eyes closed. I smiled while the wind blew across my face, and made my mane bop and bounce against me. I heard slow, unsteady hoofsteps approaching.

It was Tech. He made his way across the platform. He kept his eyes pointed up and towards the wall beside us. I watched him for a moment, then glanced down at the ground. A thought hit me.

"Tech... you aren't scared of heights... are you?" I asked.

He swallowed nervously, "I-I, uhm..." then rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

I turned to the base of the windmill's big blades, and set down my bag. I pulled out several tools, "Oh, well... why don't you ask for different work? Somepony else could be up here..."

He looked at me, then blushed slightly, "I don't mind the heights that bad," he said and smiled, "Come on, Deft, let's get to work."

I nodded, "Yes... yes let's." I set to work. To start, I popped open an access panel to expose an assembly of parts and motors. This next part required precise, careful work. I dug in my bag again and pulled out a headband with a light and a magnifying glass on it. After it was strapped securely to my head, I flicked on the light, then adjusted the magnifying glass over my eye. I leaned in close to the assembly, brought up my telekinesis, and began making careful adjustments.

Tech watched me work, occasionally handing me a part or a tool when I asked for it. I worked quietly, and carefully aligned each part precisely into place. After a while, he broke the lapse in conversation.

"You're really good at this, Deft," he said, and handed me a small wrench I had asked for.

I shrugged, "It's a simple job. I'm sure anypony could manage."

"I couldn't," he said with a shake of his head, "My big, clumsy hooves just trip over themselves if I try to do such precise work."

I nodded, and concentrated on the task at hoof, "Mmmhmmm..."

"If you want something heavy lifted, I'm your stallion. Anytime. If precise work needs to be done, well, I'll tell them to call the most skillful mare in town."

"Who?" I blinked.

He coughed nervously, "Uhm... you."

"Oh... well, I'll... I'll keep that in mind, then," I really was not all that skilled. This job was so easy I could almost do it in my sleep, any of the technicians should be able to handle it easily. Which made me wonder why they had dragged me out, on today of all days, to work on it.

Tech was quiet after that. I wished he would keep talking, he was nice to chat with. But I knew how much of a bore I could be, I did not blame him for letting his mind wander. At least he kept handing me tools and parts promptly when asked.

After five minutes passed he broke the silence again, "So... I heard the town guards spotted some griffin mercenaries sniffing around nearby."

I look up at him, my tools not faltering in their work, "Griffin mercenaries? Any idea what they're up to? Oh... and hoof me a screwdriver. Flat head."

"No clue," he shook his head, then clamped his teeth down on a screwdriver and held it out to me. Once I'd taken it and his mouth was free again he went on, "Nopony got close to them. Just saw them flying around in the distance. Looked like they were scouting or something, but the guards have no idea what. It was too far from town to risk going for a look."

I turned back to the project at hoof and applied the screwdriver, "Well... I'll be sure to warn mom. Sometimes mercenaries get desperate enough to ambush caravans, she'll want to know to beef up security." He just nodded and watched me quietly. I saw his mouth open a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but whenever I turned to listen he just closed it and looked away.

Things continued like that for over an hour. Tech would occasionally make a stunted attempt at conversation, but we would always settle back into silence before very long. I worked my way through all four windmill blades, and got everything adjusted as close to perfection as I could manage. Finally finished, I pulled off the headband and looked over at Tech.

"Well, that's that," I said, "Should be good until the next overhaul."

He nodded, "That took less time than I expected."

"Too much time," I glanced up at the sun, "The girls will be out of school in a few hours..."

"Well, we should get back down quickly, then," he glanced over the edge and paled, "But not too quickly."

"After you."

I followed him down the ladder, and then back through the building to the ground floor. Dumping off my bag of tools, I headed out through the front door. I was several steps away from the building before I noticed Tech standing in the doorway behind me.

I stopped and blinked, and when he said nothing I asked, "Yes? Was there... something you wanted?"

"Oh, I was just wondering..." he turned away, coughing a little, "Wondering if you're free tonight, maybe?"

I could not help but wonder why he would ask me that. But I was not free, so I shook my head and said, "No. Painted Grove is having her cute-cenera tonight. I'll be busy."

He seemed to deflate, his ears drooping and his head dipping down, "Oh... she got her cutie mark then?"

"Yes!" my head bobbed up and down excitedly, "She finished the big mural on our wall, and once it was done she came running into my room all excited and happy. I couldn't even understand what she was saying, but when I saw the mark on her flank I knew." It had filled me with so much pride. Even now, just remembering it, I couldn't stop a big grin from lighting up my features.

A small chuckle drew my attention back to Tech Head, "Those fillies... seems like you'd have a lot more free time if, uhm... I mean they take up a lot of your time, don't they?"

I nodded, but my smile remained, "Oh yes, they take up a great deal of my time. But it's worth every second. Besides... I'll have tonight to relax. They'll both probably end up sleeping over at mom's. They usually do on special occasions."

A cheery smile spread across his face and he took a step back towards the windmill, "They'll be at, uhm... a night to yourself? After the party, of course. That sounds cool, enjoy it! I'll see you later in the week, then, next time we need your expert skills."

I shrugged, "Yes, probably. Goodbye for now, Tech," I said, then turned and walked away.

I could not go directly home, though. I'd heard a pony was selling a certain part I needed to finish building Painted's present, and I trotted towards his shop in a good mood.

The shop was a rundown shack constructed of rough metal plates dropped onto a framework of beams. All sharp edges and rust and dents. Whenever the subject came up, my mother would rant for an hour about how the lazy upkeep was a sign of a bad trader. I did not like doing business here, but he had the part I needed and mom's shop did not. I pushed the door open and stepped into the dim and smelly interior.

The proprietor, an earth pony stallion named Coin Purse, stood behind a shoddy counter. He leaned on it with his head resting on one hoof. His green mane was unkempt, greasy strands of hair hung down and stuck out all over, and his white coat was so dirty it was nearly brown. He stood up straight and smiled as I entered, which showed off his yellow, crooked teeth, and said, "Deft Embrace! Welcome! Don't see you in here too much," he stepped around the counter and winked at me.

The stench coming off of his unwashed body was horrible, but not quite strong enough to wash out the reek of his breath. How he managed to do any business in this place was beyond me, but apparently he had a knack for getting just the thing a pony needed, and in something that approximated working order.

I nodded, "Er... yes, well... I need a part. Mom doesn't have it, heard you might," I shied away, and tried to put a little distance between us.

He closed that distance with a single long step, and brushed alongside me as he walked towards the door to his storage room. He looked back over his shoulder, still smiling, "Oh? What're ya looking for?"

I turned away, "I, uhm... I need an X-171 servo."

He stopped, a confused look on his face, "An X-171? I'd expect your mom have have plenty o' those... not that I'm complaining that you stopped by, Defty," he winked again. I felt a sudden urge to gouge out that winking eye.

"Town bought them all," I chose to ignore his wink, "Needed them for the big overhaul of the windmill this week. Mom hasn't gotten any more yet."

He nodded, "O' course, o' course. And so you came to ol' Coin Purse," another wink, "Well, I believe I got what your looking for... and the part you need, too," he didn't wink this time, instead he trotted into the back room. I seethed a bit while I listened to the sound of him digging through piles of junk, parts and goods clattered and crashed. I snorted, knowing how organized mom kept her own store rooms. She never needed to dig around in piles.

He eventually came back out, a few more things crashed in the background as he carried the part clamped between his remaining teeth. He offered it to me, and I hesitantly grabbed it with telekinesis. Even through my magic, it felt slightly slimey. I frowned and asked, "How much?"

I knew the answer wouldn't be good when a devious smile played across his lips, "Oh... say, a hundred caps?"

My eyes widened in surprise, then I narrowed them. My nostrils flared as I said, almost shouting, "A hundred caps? That's ten times the fair market value!"

"Oh yes, I know," he smiled, "I also happen to know that someone's little filly got her cutie mark recently. Looking to make a gift for your foal? And I'm the only one in town with the part you need. Supply and demand, Defty."

I sputtered, and the part dropped from my telekinesis, "That's far more than I can afford, and you know it."

His smile widened, "Oh, is it? Well, I'm sure I could be talked down. But I'd need something in return."

"Er..." I realized his angle, and tried to think of a way out of it, "Er... what?"

He sidled up close to me. Way too close. His stinking breath washed over me as he spoke, "Dinner. You and me. Private little meal. I've got a dining table upstairs that would be perfect. And maybe after dinner..."

He had me trapped, he knew it, and he knew that I knew it. But the very idea made me want to retch, especially the implication he tacked on to the end. But... Painted's gift, I wanted it to be perfect. I sighed, "Dinner. Nothing more," and now I glared at him, "Nothing. More." Any attempt at more would end painfully for him.

He smiled and stepped back, "Fifteen caps, then."

It still wasn't a fair price, but I sighed again and said, "Fine... here," before telekinetically dropping a small pile of caps on his countertop. I grabbed the part and bolted for the door.

"Oh, and Defty," he said, stopped me halfway through the door, I looked back and waited for him to continue, "I'll be collecting the rest of my payment very soon," he winked.

I galloped out of the shop, and headed back towards my house. My heart pounded angrily in my chest, thoughts of smashing Coin Purse's stupid face flickered through my mind. I felt so... taken advantage of. And I hadn't even gone to his stupid dinner yet. Stupid Coin Purse.

I made it home in good time, and slammed the door shut behind me. Just being near that flankhole made me feel grimey, and decided another shower would be a good idea. A searing hot shower would be best, but with the water heater broken I settled for another frigid sheet of icewater. I scoured the side of my body that he had brushed up against. Twice.

Finally feeling clean, I dried off and went out into the kitchen. The water heated needed to be fixed, and with great reluctance I decided it had a higher priority than finishing Painted's gift on time. With a glance around the room I muttered, "Tools... tools... where are my tools?"

A short search turned them up, in the foals's room. Sky had been tinkering with one of her toys, again. I could not help but smile. Simple tinkerings like that were how I got started when I was just a little filly. It seemed so long ago.

"I just wish she'd put the tools back when she's done," I muttered to myself and balanced my toolbox on my back. Trotting back into the kitchen, I set the toolbox down next to the water heater before plopping down beside it. I reached out with my telekinesis and unplugged the water heater, no sense in having live wires about while I worked.

"Hrm..." I murmured. My horn flared as I began to cast my diagnostic spell. Magic flowed around and seeped into the water heater as I felt out the inner workings, hoping that whatever I found would be a quick fix.

"Come on..." I muttered, "What's wrong with you?"

Celestia must not have heard my prayers, because I soon found that the heating element had overheated and burned out the wiring that led to it. The entire thing would have to be replaced. Luckily, I had a spare. I twisted the valve that would drain the water heater then turned away.

I trotted back to a side room where I kept my spare parts. It was not quite as organized as mom's storehouse, but everything was tucked away on shelves or in labeled containers. It took me less than a minute to dig out a new heating element and the appropriate variety of wires. I stuffed them into a spare set of saddlebags for ease of carrying, then went back to the water heater.

The water had nearly all drained out, and after waiting for a moment to let it finish I set to work. Horn glowing, my tools bobbed and danced, and removed an access panel near the base of the water heater. The tools dove inside and quickly removed the burnt out parts, the spare heating element found itself quickly shoved inside and connected up soon after. I reattached the access panel and plugged the water heater back in. It filled with water and soon the heating element hummed to life.

"Well... that was easy," I smiled with satisfaction, "Now... Painted's gift."

I turned to the table, where I had laid the X-171. First things first, I cleaned it thoroughly, and gave it a quick overhaul. It was in surprisingly good condition, given where I bought it, and it soon gleamed, almost like new.

I headed to my room, and dug out the bulk of Painted's present. A metal disk with various colors arranged in a circle around the perimeter. I carried it back out into the kitchen, and set it on the table. I checked the clock. Between the walk across town to shop, dealing with Coin Purse, the walk home, showering profusely, and fixing the water heater, almost three hours had passed. I would have to work quickly to finish up before the girls got out of school.

So of course someone knocked on the door. With a small sigh, I trotted over. I pushed the door open to reveal an older unicorn mare. Smiling so wide that the corner of her eyes crinkled, she waved at me.. She had a vibrant purple coat, but her mane had long since gone gray. There was a box balanced on her back.

"Oh, hi mom," I blinked with surprise, "I, uhm..."

"Ya forgot I was comin', right?" she smiled as she trotted into my house.

I nodded, "Sorry, I've been... distracted. Water heater broke down again, had to fix it."

She set her package down carefully on the table, "Mmmhmm, an' ah'm sure you would've remembered otherwise. I've brought the cake."

"Oh, good!" I my eyes lit up, "Thank you. Last time I tried to bake a cake..."

"Ah remember... I had to pay for the buildin'."

I frowned, and busied myself getting out tools to work on Painted's gift, "Er... sorry." Mom just laughed and settled down on the old couch in the living room. I kept quiet, still embarrassed.

To distract myself from thoughts of the past, I set to work. My horn glowed with magical energy, and I brought my tools up. Screws twisted and slid out with careful application of my screwdriver, until the cover of the disk popped off.

Without sitting up, mom called out from the couch, "Did you hear the rumors going around about those town guards?"

"Uh huh," I nodded absentmindedly, grabbing the X-171 servo in my magic, "They spotted some griffin mercenaries, right?"

She did sit up now, looking across the room and blinking at me, "Griffin mercenaries?" Surprise filled her voice, "Ah only heard 'bout the Enclave scouts. Exchanged a few shots with some guards this morning, less'n a mile from town. Nopony hurt, but..."

I frowned and turned to her, at the same time my magic began to carefully fit the servo into place, "Enclave? What are they doing this far south? We're nowhere near Storm Cloud here." The Enclave city was weeks of travel from Neighgaton. Their scouts rarely came within twenty miles of town.

"Nopony knows for sure," mom said, her head shaking slowly, "The guards ran 'em off. But griffin mercenaries too? I wonder if they're about to fight over something."

Wires connected themselves under my magical guidance, but I didn't take my eyes off of mom, "What could they have to fight over?"

She shrugged, "Ah ain't sure... there's an old stable somewhere around here. Could be they've figured out exactly where and wanna go looting for prewar tech."

"Hrm... a stable? Near here?" Screws spun into their holes, holding everything in place. I started casting a spell I knew to feed power into the device.

"Somewhere in the wastes near town. It was built for the families of the workers at the silo here, so it can't be far. But nopony could ever find it. It'd sure draw lots of attention if it was discovered."

"Maybe that's it then..." I pushed a small button on the side of the device. The machine hummed to life. I pushed more buttons, and the X-171 whirred, spinning the main platter around. Small containers of paint deposited their contents, which quickly mixed together to form a brownish goo. I sighed.

"This would be much easier to test if I knew anything about mixing paint..." I said, prodding a few more buttons and watching the machine work. It could hold up to three mixes at once, and I hoped that would be enough. I let my energy spell slip away and began connecting up the microsparkle cell that would serve as the normal power source.

Mom laid back on the couch, her eyelids sliding half-closed, and murmured, "Ah'm sure she'll love it. They'll be home soon, right?"

I nodded. After a second, I realized she could not see me nod and added, "Uh, yes. Less than half an hour! Oh goodness, is everything ready?"

I hastily reattached the cover of the paint mixer, then bounded around the room. I cleaned a little here, straightened things out over there. I frowned, and glanced around, "I wish... I wish I'd thought to make the room more festive. Doesn't really look like a party."

Mom just chuckled, "It'll be fine, ah'm sure."

I kept frowning, "You only get your cutie mark once, mom. I just... don't want her to be upset..."

Mom rolled off of the couch. She trotted over to me, and gave me a gentle hug, "Deft, you remember what we did when you got your cutie mark?"

I thought back, "Er... you bought me a brownie and a new screwdriver..."

"An' did you get upset about that?"

"No," I shook my head, "I... I was just so happy."

"An' so is Painted. Now calm down, they'll be home any minute an' they don't need a frantic mother to ruin the mood. It's a party, ish. Have fun!"

I nodded, and forced myself to calm down. Everything would be fine. I knew it would. Painted would be happy. Sky would be happy. Everypony happy.

So why was I so anxious?

The door whipped open, and two excited, shouting fillies barged into the house. Mom was quickly buried under filly hugs, their squealing voices calling out, "Grandma!"

I giggled and pulled the door shut. Seeing I'd left the paint mixer on the kitchen table, I quickly shoved it into a cupboard out of sight. No need to give away the surprise early. Build up some excitement. Pray to Celestia the gift did not disappoint. That was the plan.

"Mom! Mom!" the fillies shouted, turning their attention to me. I wondered idly how two fillies could manage to swarm somepony as they jumped on me. I let myself fall, and hugged them both as Windy Sky smiled up at me and said, "Is it time for the party?"

I nodded, "Yes. Party time! Let me up." With great reluctance, they stepped back and let me get back on my hooves. Smiling at Painted Grove, I said, "So... shall we cut this scrumptious cake grandma brought for us?"

Both of them nodded excitedly as I grabbed a knife. Mom came into the kitchen and pulled the cake out of its box. It did look very scrumptious, a chocolatey mound resting on a tin platter. She set it down on the table as I approached and applied the knife to it. I carefully and precisely divided the cake into eight even slices.

"Mom? Plates?" I said as I cut. She nodded and went over to the cupboards. She pulled out four cracked, worn plates and setting them around the table. I distributed a slice of cake to each, and smiled at the eager faces on my fillies as they watched the delicious treats float towards them. Cake distributed, I said, "Dig in," then followed my own advice. I broke off little pieces of the cake with my magic and slipped them into my mouth.

The foals were less fastidious. Painted opened her mouth wide, and took big bites directly out of her cake. Sky just pushed her face right into the cake and shoved it into her mouth. I giggled at them. Cake was such a rare treat for them, and their excitement was evident on their faces.

Both of them soon finished the first slice. Painted pouted at me, "Can we have seconds?" she asked.

I nodded, "There's enough left for everypony to have another slice," I quickly distributed more cake. This, too, was soon gone. Painted and Sky both looked slightly disappointed to see this.

I smiled, "So, the cake is done. I think that just leaves... the presents!"

Painted Grove blinked, then sat up and grinned, "Presents? I get presents?!"

"Of course," I said, giggling. I stood up and walked over to the cupboard where I had stashed her paint mixer. I pulled the small device out and laid it on the table.

"What is it?" she looked at it with confusion.

I frowned, she did not like it, "I-it's a paint mixer," I reached down to push the buttons on the front. The machine whirred to life. My heart thudded in my throat as I explained, "It... it mixes paint... for you."

She frowned a bit, then a smile slowly spread across her face, "Oh! I see... thank you!" she jumped up and gave me a hug, which I happily returned. She did like my gift!

"An' you'll need some paint to put in it, ah think," Mom stood up. She pulled a package seemingly from nowhere, and handed it to Painted. The little filly tore through the brown paper wrapped around her second gift, revealing a full set of paints.

"Grandma, thank you!" she smiled and hugged her grandmother. Mom just smiled and hugged back.

Windy Sky watched all of this and said, "I can't wait to get my cutie mark! I want presents!"

I was going to say something, but I found myself distracted by the small frown that crossed Painted's face when she thought we weren’t looking. I frowned too and said, "Painted? Is... is something wrong?"

She shrugged, "I just... I don't know. Can we talk alone, mom?" She looked up at me, and my heart melted at the sadness in her eyes. I nodded.

"Sure, Painted, why don't we go for a walk?" when she nodded back to me, I looked over to mom, "Care to watch Sky for a bit?"

"Ah don't mind at all, Deft," she cast a worried look at Painted, "Be right here 'til ya get back."

"Come along Painted," I headed outside. Once past the front door, I let her lead the way.

The sun was well past its zenith, slowly sinking in the sky. Painted led me towards the town wall. We walked in silence. I gave her time to gather her thoughts, and worried the whole time about what might have her so down on such a good day. She climbed a set of stairs leading up to the wall, and sat down at the top. We looked out over the landscape outside of Neighgaton. A slight discomfort weighed on me. The wastes looked so peaceful, but I knew death and pain waited around every corner.

I trotted up and sat down next to her, and finally broke the silence by asking, "What's wrong, Painted?"

She leaned against me, "Mom, I'm... not a repairpony."

"What?" I asked, blinking in confusion, "I... I know that, Painted."

"Don't you wish I were?" she asked. Things started clicking together in my head as she continued, "Don't you wish my talent was something you enjoy?"

I leaned down and nuzzled the top of her head, "Painted... I enjoy seeing you happy. And painting... painting makes you happy."

She frowned and stared at her hooves, "But you always get so bored when you watch me paint."

"I just... I'm sure you get bored watching me work sometimes," I said. When she shook her head, I tried a different tactic, "I love the finished product. You make really good paintings."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes," I smiled and gave her a hug, "Why would I want you to be a repairpony like me, anyway? I already take care of all the repairponying. I love that your special talent is unique."

She smiled at last, and cuddled against my side. She was silent for a long moment, while both of us stared out across the wastes, before she asked, "Mom? What's it like out there?"

"Out where?"

She raised a hoof, and pointed forward, "Out in the wastes? You grew up out there, and I've always wondered what it's like."

I shivered, not even wanting to think about the subject, but I could not just say nothing. Hugging her tighter, I said, "It's... dangerous. Wild animals, mutated by radiation... mean ponies who like to steal and hurt other ponies... hunger and thirst, wondering if you'll even make it to the next town. It's... it's horrible. Every moment is fear and worry."

She frowned, "Is it really that bad?"

I thought about this for a moment. Mom had settled in Neighgaton not long after I got my cutie mark. I had not left the town since. All of my memories were a filly's memories. My terrors those of a child who barely understood the world around her. But yes, as I recalled it was absolutely horrible, "It's worse than I know how to describe. I'm so very happy that you and Sky can grow up safe and sound in Neighgaton."

We sat there a while longer. Eventually I glanced at the sun and saw it touching the horizon. I stood up and stretched my legs, then I said, "We should get back, Painted. I'm sure grandma wants to go home sometime tonight."

She nodded and smiled, "And, mom?"

"Yes dear?" I asked with one hoof poised over the stairs that led down from the wall.

"I love you."

I smiled and gave her another hug, "I love you too, Painted Grove."

With that we headed back down the stairs. Eager to get home, I decided to take the most direct route, even though that would take us rather close to the Silo.

The Silo always made me nervous, and I usually avoided it. It sat in a small crater, half-filled with greenish water on the edge of town. An unused megaspell from the war. Neighgaton's sheriff had asked me several times if I would try to deactivate it, but each time I refused. Even being near it made me nervous, the idea of tinkering around inside it terrified me.

I nodded a greeting at the guards around the Silo. The sheriff never left less than two ponies watching it. If it could not be deactivated, the sheriff reasoned, then he would at least make sure it was not tampered with.

I hurried past and back to the house, Painted close behind. I pulled the door open, then I stepped inside to see mom snoozing on the couch with Sky curled up next to her. The two of them laying there were so adorable, and I hesitated to wake them up. But they could not just sleep on the couch all night. Hesitantly, I put a hoof to mom's shoulder and gave her a shake.

She woke up, and blinked the sleep from her eyes, "Y'all finally back? Good. Ah need to get back home."

Sky yawned, and rolled over to hug mom, "Don't want you to go. Can I come with?"

Mom smiled at her, "If your mom says it's ok, ah don't mind."

Both of my fillies looked up at me with excitement in their eyes. I sighed, not at all surprised. They did this every time we had a get together, "I suppose... if grandma doesn't mind..."

"Yay!" they shouted together. Grandma never minded.

"Go get your things, then," mom stood up and stretched. The fillies scampered off to their room.

"Thanks mom," I said, "I'm sure they'll have you up half the night."

She nodded, "Ah think you need the sleep more. Still got more work at the windmill tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. Thank you," I gave her a quick hug, and then Painted and Sky crowded around us. Even though Sky had been fast asleep moments ago, she was now wide awake and bounced around. I trotted over to the door and held it open for them, then gave each filly a hug and a kiss on the forehead as they left.

"Goodnight my fillies. And goodnight mom," I said. Then they were gone, and I closed the door.

I was ready for bed myself. I walked into my room, and slipped off my technician's jumpsuit. I let it fall into a head on the floor. With my magic I loosened my mane, frizzy hair now unleashed, then I hopped into bed and settled in. It had been a very good day, when all was said and done.

I snuggled down into my bed, pulled my blanket over myself, and smiled. I could feel myself slowly drift off, and soon darkness overtook me completely and I slept soundly.

I awoke to the sound of screaming children. Gunshots and the noise of battle raged through the night.

Author's Note

Deft Embrace

SPECIAL:
Strength: 3
Perception: 5
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 8
Luck: 6

Thanks:

Lots of thanks to Kkat for this awesome ‘verse to write in!

And thanks to my prereaders for this first chapter: BroadestPeak, TicTac, Lazer, No One, and Menti.

3: A Dark Path

I looked back at Neighgaton, my home of almost two decades a distant smudge. Intimidated by the unkempt fields around me I kept to the middle of the road, trying not to lookt at the overgrown brownish-green weeds, or the wilted sickly-hued flowers. I shuddered, thinking back to the days in my foalhood when I rode in one of mom’s wagons, remembering all her warnings about the nasty things hiding in the meadows and among the scattered trees. Not just the monsters. Plants mutated by magical radiation into deadly forms hid among the long grass and thorn bushes.

I wished I was in mom's caravan now, safe behind the walls of a covered wagon. The area immediately around Neighgaton was flat, but now I was getting into rocky hills that loomed close around me. The road wound among the hills and soon Neighgaton was out of sight. My eyes darted around this way and that, watching every hilltop, every craggy shadow among the rocks. A hint of decay drifted on the breeze, the stench of the wasteland. It brought back memories of my childhood.

The smell was most of what I knew about the wasteland, along with a few quick glimpses and overheard talk from the caravan guards. Mom always kept me in the wagon where I'd be safe. My mouth turned up in a smile as I remembered tinkering with spare junk among the wares stored in the wagon, an activity fueled mostly by boredom. My first steps towards discovering my talent.

The road was much less interesting when traveling alone. By the time the sun had climbed to the top of the sky I found myself just plodding along, following the road while my mind wandered here and there. I thought of mom, and how much she must be worrying about me. I thought of my fillies, how scared they must feel right now, if they were even... no! They were still alive! Lastly I thought of myself, and how little hope I had of ever seeing my children again.

I was roused from my reverie by the high-pitched screeching of a filly. I felt a moment of deja-vu that brought me back to the previous night; being pulled out of a dream by screaming foals. Shaking my head to clear it I looked around but nopony was in sight. The screams kept coming, though, and after a moment of hesitation I stepped off of the road and cantered to the top of a nearby hill.

Down near the base of the hill a pink filly was galloping full-speed through the field. The first thought that went through my head was that she wasn't one of mine. After that I registered what she was running from, a trio of timber wolves. The very meanest monsters in the wasteland.

Looking like little more than a pile of sticks with legs, timber wolves are tough, nasty beasts that prey on just about anything, including ponies. And they were fast. Many of my foalhood nightmares featured them. The filly was far ahead of them, but they were gaining ground on her quickly.

I watched from my position on the top of the hill. I was much closer to the filly than the wolves were. I could easily reach her first. But... she wasn't mine. Saving her could cost me the chance to save my own fillies. I turned away, a deep sense of shame making my breath shake.

Another scream sent a shudder through my spine and I tried to ignore it, but the image of a terrified foal being ripped apart by those creatures wouldn't leave my mind. It was the thought of that filly's mother, though, that turned my hooves around and sent me dashing down the hill towards the fleeing child. A mother much like me losing her child. A filly much like one of my own taken away. I couldn't stand it.

I broke into a full gallop, slipping when clods of dirt flew up from my hooves, but recovering quickly and pounding down the slope. The saddlebags bouncing on my sides smacked into my ribs over and over. I pushed the annoyance out of my mind and focused on the fleeing filly that I was quickly gaining on.

Running downhill gave me an advantage. On top of that I was aiming to cut her off while the wolves were chasing. I reached her well before they did. Without breaking stride I wrapped her in telekinesis and dropped her onto my back, secure between the saddlebags. The screaming filly flailed and nearly fell, but she quickly clung to me to stabilize herself. Panting from exertion I ran on.

I didn't realize the flaw in my plan until I already had the filly on my back. My longer hooves made me faster than the young foal, yes, but I was still no match for the timber wolves. Although it might take them a little longer, they would catch me soon enough. The thought drove me to push harder, but I was just delaying the inevitable.

I drew my stun gun and risked a glance over my shoulder. The wolves ran straight at me, presenting easy targets for a half-decent markspony. Which just made it sadder when my first shot missed wildly, the electric bolt of energy shooting uselessly into the air. I checked the ground ahead of me quickly then turned my head to take more careful aim. The second shot hit, slamming into the shoulder of one timber wolf and blasting a few twigs and leaves away. The beast kept charging at full speed.

"Right... stun gun... no good..." I panted, mostly to myself. I doubted the filly could hear me over her continued screams. The grass grew longer and it seemed to tug at my hooves as I ran. I could hear the snarls and howls of the wolves behind me but I didn't dare risk another look back. It may have been my imagination, but I was sure I could feel their hot breath on my flanks. Then my hooves stuck on the ground and my body kept going, pivoting on my leg and slamming my shoulder against the ground.

My hoof snapped free from whatever had tripped me up. I tumbled head over hooves and landed on my side with a thud and a whoosh of expelled air. The filly rolled to a stop nearby, momentarily shocked out of screaming. I expected the tearing teeth of timber wolves to sink into me at any second, but looking around I saw that they had stopped a few paces away. A tugging on my hoof brought my attention to the ground where I saw a green vine with purple spots wrapping itself around my leg.

I yanked the leg back, "Grasping Vine!" Several vines were already curling around the little foal. I reached out for her with my forelegs, tugging on her repeatedly before the vines gave way. By then my rear hooves were wrapped up. Setting the filly on my back I bucked out to free my legs. I risked a second to glance at the timber wolves and knew there was only one thing I could do.

Turning away from the predators I ran deeper into the patch of Grasping Vine. It clutched at my hooves making me stumble and slow, letting more vines seek me out. The mass of vines grew denser, soon pushing out the long grass altogether. I staggered into a wide field filled with the vines, those nearest me writhing and reaching out to grab at my legs. The filly on my back screamed again.

Once it was clear I wouldn’t be stuck in the patch of vines the timber wolves gave chase, one of them crashing through the growth while the other two slipped around the edges of the dangerous growth to cut off my escape. Every step became harder than the last. Tears stung my eyes as despair rolled through me, but I kept forcing my hooves to move.

I pushed forward, jumping as much as walking and bringing my forehooves down hard. After several halting leaps my hooves came down and no ground met them. I tumbled forward into a writhing mass of vines, grabbing the filly as she fell beside me and curling up around around her. We sank down through the vines, our combined weight overcoming the limited grip they could manage as we passed, until we broke free of the vines and fell freely down a pit with walls of dingy metal.

A pile of dirt and debris awaited us at the bottom. I landed on my flank with a painful thud. No bones broke, thankfully, because most of my momentum was deflected and we slid along the slope of the pile. Still curled around the filly, I felt grimy metal against my back as we left the pile and slid through an open doorway. Something landed heavily behind us and howled as it slid the same way we had. I quickly kicked the door shut and the pursuing timber wolf slammed into it with a clatter, sending the door flying back open and pelting me with a hail of sticks as its body fell apart.

I laid with my back against the dirty metal floor, panting and letting my heart slow it's frantic pace while I brushed bits of twigs out of my tail. My side hurt and hip, feeling the dull ache of a bruise forming, and I winced as I rolled back onto my hooves and looked around.

They filly's bright pink coat was just visible in the dim lighting, but as soon as I stood up she let out a startled yelp and ran off into the deeper darkness of... a strange metal tunnel. Frowning, I dug into my bag with my magic and pulled out a flashlight so I could shed some light around me. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all finished metals, dirty and rough from the ravages of time. Prewar make, too, by the looks of it. An artificial cave?

I didn't have time to worry about it. With the flashlight revealing the path ahead, I set out to follow the little filly before the sound of her pattering hooves faded from earshot. Pain flared in my hip with each step, giving me a slower, limping gait. The passage turned out to be a long hallway with doors leading off to either side at irregular intervals. None of the doors were currently open, so I didn't bother looking for the filly beyond them. Soon I came to a T intersection, my hallway ending in a flat wall. A bulletin board hung by one corner from the wall, a few thumb tacks sticking out of it with scraps of paper stuck to them.

Resting my hurting hip at the intersection, I held my breath and listened closely. I noted a few signs, the lights inside them long since dead, marking directions to different places. Closing my eyes to shut out the distraction, I continued to listen. A quiet sobbing came floating down the hall. It took another moment of flicking my ears to determine which direction the sound came from. Turning right, I crept along the hallway, following the slowly-growing sound of frightened crying.

I followed the sound to a door that was jammed open with a steel stool. Picking my way carefully over the seat, I entered the room and found her curled up in a corner. She looked up and started to tremble when my light fell on her. Stopping in place for fear of further scaring her, I knelt down and rested with my belly on the floor, shining the light between us and smiling, "Hello. My name is Deft Embrace. Are you hurt?"

Her head twitched from side to side and she mumbled timidly, "N-no. I'm ok." Laying her head back down and curling up, she stared at the door with wide eyes and continued to tremble.

I scooted a little bit closer, the filly jumping at the sudden scraping of my hooves on the floor. Stopping again, I smiled as reassuringly as I knew how and spoke softly, "What's your name? I can't just call you 'filly'... that would be silly!" Smiling at my own little rhyme, I added, "And why are you so afraid, is it the dark?"

Her eyes didn't leave the door while she responded to me, "I'm P- uhm... Pie. Sweetie Pie. And I don't wanna get eated."

Blinking, I pulled myself a few inches towards Sweetie Pie, now close enough to reach out and touch her if I wanted, although I didn't try that just yet. Instead I joined her in watching the door, "Don't worry, you won't get... uhm... 'eated'." Turning back to her, I smiled again, "The one that followed us down here was smashed to bits. It died."

She shook her head vigorously at me, "It ain't dead. Just broke. It'll get up again soon and eat us both." Frowning, she laid her head back down and watched the door, "Maybe it'll get stuck down here and starve. Least then it won't eat anypony else."

Timber wolves were notoriously tough, but I seriously doubted that anything could get back up after shattering into pieces like that. Sweetie Pie seemed convinced otherwise, and I understood how it felt to be a scared filly just after a brush with a frightening monster. I tried to reassure her, "Nothing will hurt you if you stay with me. I promise." Even I found it hard to feel safe in the encroaching darkness, things could only be worse for the terrified filly. I shook my light and asked her, "Here, would you like to hold the flashlight?"

Nodding eagerly, she reached out for the light. I floated it close to her and she grabbed it out of the air with both forehooves, my magic dissipating as soon as she had a grip on the hard metal tube. She aimed the light at the door, casting a dark shadow from the stool into the hall beyond.

"There, see?" I said, risking a touch and patting her shoulder gently. She jumped, but quickly leaned into my hoof as I continued talking, "Now you can tell the darkness to go away."

With a smile on her face, she stood up and took a hesitant step towards me. She kept the light on the doorway, holding it against her chest with one hoof while balancing on the other three, and her eyes flicked in that direction now and then, but she looked mostly at me, "Thanks, miss Deft. Can we look for a way out? It ain't safe in here."

I nodded, smiling broadly and pulling my hoof away to let her approach on her own, "Sure. I don't like these dark tunnels much, either. Would you like to ride on my back? Your legs must be tired after all that running."

Her response was to clamber onto my back and cower in between my saddlebags. Grinning, I carefully pulled myself to my hooves and cast a soft, blue-tinged glow from my horn, lighting the area in front of me, "There, now I can light the path ahead, and you can keep an eye out behind us. That way nothing can sneak up on us!" From the way she trembled on my back, she wasn't very reassured by this. I sighed and picked my way past the stool in the door again, looking around and heading back towards the intersection I had found earlier. Maybe those signs I'd seen could point me to an exit.

Still quietly shaking on my back, Sweetie Pie curled up into a tight ball just behind my shoulder blades. Glancing over my shoulder, I watched the flashlight point this way and that, flicking around the walls, ceiling, and floor before pointing straight down the hallway behind us. Curious and wanting to take her mind off of things, I broke the silence, "So... what brings you way out here by yourself? Aren't your parents going to be worried?"

There was a long silence before she spoke up, her voice so tiny and low that it hardly broke the silence at all, "Ain't got parents."

My face fell into a worried frown, "Then what are you doing all the way out here, Sweetie?"

She sighed, her little hoof swirling in a small circle on my back. I waited patiently for her to answer, reaching the intersection and shining my magic at the dilapidated signs. 'Cafeteria'... no. 'Overmare's Office', what's an overmare? 'Residen-' aha! 'Entrance!' The sign pointed me down another dark hallway, and I trotted forward with a little more pep in my step.

Sweetie finally spoke up as we left the intersection behind, "Caravan. I was riding with, but... they all runned away when they heard the big battle. I... got left. Yeah."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," I said, looking over my shoulder again to smile at her. She shined the light around and returned the smile as I continued speaking, "Do you know where they went? Maybe we can find them again."

"No!" The word was sharp and shrill, almost a shriek, and pierced the blanket of quiet to echo around the hallways. She made a tiny eep noise and put a hoof over her mouth, looking around and watching behind us carefully before saying, much quieter, "N-no. I can find another caravan, miss Deft. I was gonna leave them at Neighgaton anyway."

Something scrabbled behind us, deep inside the tunnel network. Old, nearly dead machinery? Something else falling down a hole like we did? I couldn't be sure, but it set Sweetie Pie to trembling again and I kept up the conversation to distract her, "Is that what you do, just hop from caravan to caravan?"

Her response was quick this time, and her voice quaked, "Uh huh. P-ponies ain't worried about one extra filly. I don't eat much, and sometimes I find tasty plants for them, or help wrap bandages when they're hurt."

I nodding, coming to another intersection, "So you make yourself useful, and get food and safety in return. Why not do that in a town? I know Neighgaton's school looks after a few orphans..." I checked for signs again, quickly finding one that said 'Entrance'

The scrabbling sound reverberated through the hallway again. Her voice was on the edge of panic, but thinking out a response seemed to calm her some, "Ponies n-never let m-me stay long. I-I ain't... they just don't like me 'nuff, I guess. But a c-caravan don't mind for a few weeks."

"Oh. Well... I'm sure I can help you find a more permanent place in Neighgaton. When we get to a town, I'll put you on a caravan with a note for my mom. Does that sound nice?" I rounded a corner into a large room. Stairs led down to a lowered section, and the far wall featured a huge, round door held in place by a mechanical arm.

I walked closer to the door, casting my diagnostic spell and running my magic over the parts, "Oh... oh no, this could be a problem."

Sweetie Pie spun around on my back, shining the flashlight all over the big door, "What? What's wrong?"

"There's no power running to the door..." I traced my magic around the room, following various power lines to see if one had been severed. All my search turned up was some sort of hidden door to one side, odd, but not much use to us now, "These tunnels are prewar. I'm slightly surprised the power is completely dead. A place like this would use a spark generator, and those last almost forever. There must be a cut in the line, probably near the generator room." I doubted she understood most of that, but thinking aloud seemed to calm her. I know it calmed me.

"We gotta go back?" She asked, tremulous.

I nodded, twisting my neck around to nuzzle her gently. She smiled at the touch, "I'm sorry. I can power machines with a spell, but my magic just isn't strong enough to power something this big." I turned to venture back into the tunnels, bringing my light back around to the room's entrance. It shone on a lean mass of twisted sticks, held up on four powerful legs, with a toothy head sticking out and staring at us. My heart caught up in my throat, and Sweetie Pie's terrified screeching filled my ears.

The timber wolf snarled and lunged at us, it's gnarled claws scrabbling against the smooth metal floor and buying us precious seconds. I darted to one side, my horn flaring up as I dumped power into the hidden door I'd found earlier. The main entrance was far beyond me, but this much smaller door popped open with a creaking of ancient hinges when my magic hit it. The wolf right on my tail, I yanked the door shut as I dashed through, slamming it right in the beast's face. It scratched at the metal surface of the door for a few seconds, then gave up on that and all was quiet from the other side.

On this side Sweetie Pie had started crying, hugging my back and sobbing into my neck, "We're gonna get eated! It's back and it's gonna get us both 'cause we got no way out."

Sliding her off of my back, I wrapped my forelegs around her body and pulled the filly close, "Shhh, shhh... nothing's going to hurt you. It can't get through that door, and once we get the power back on we can slip outside and lock it in here for good."

Sniffling and leaning into my hug, Sweetie Pie stared at the door with wide eyes, "Are you sure? He ain't gonna get us?"

I squeezed her tight, "I'm sure. I promised you'd be safe, remember?" We just needed to get through the main door. Tricking the timber wolf out of that room couldn't be too difficult. It's just an animal. Leaning down, I offered to let Sweetie Pie hop onto my back again, an offer she quickly took advantage of.

Picking my way down the dim hallway I wondered aloud, "Where does this lead? Must be someplace important." Conscious of the filly riding on my back, I carefully didn't wonder aloud about where this place's occupants had gone. Maybe it was some base that had been abandoned near the end of the war?

The answer, for at least one of those occupants, came sooner than I had hoped for when the light from my horn fell onto a battered skeleton. I stopped short, gasping, and before I could say anything Sweetie Pie's light swung around and fell on the dead pony as well. Instead of the scream I expected, she hopped off of my back and trotted quickly to the fleshless corpse. I found my voice in time to say, "Sweetie, don't touch that!"

"Been dead too long to still have germs," she replied, poking at the bones. The filly gasped and I stepped closer as she pointed to something, "Miss Deft, look! Teeth marks!"

Hardly breathing, I brought my face down near the skeleton and looked closely, nodding and hastily pulling away, "Yes... those are teeth marks."

"She got eated... just like we're gonna..."

Sighing, I pulled her into another hug and said, "Sweetie, I won't let you get eated... eaten. Now, hop up onto my back and we can get away from this gruesome thing."

She nodded and jumped back into her previous position, her eyes still watching the skeleton while I continued walking. The hallway ended at a staircase, which came out behind a round desk in a small office. Sweetie Pie shone the flashlight around, quickly checking the room and then settling it on the one door, dented and bent such that it couldn't close. I stepped away from the desk. Trotting towards the damaged door I stepped through into the hallway, scanning around with the light from my horn. Several more skeletons lay out here, many of the bones broken. I hurried past them, keeping my light up and watching the walls.

An intersection soon loomed out of the darkness, signs sticking out to direct ponies around this place. Shining my light on the signs, I stretched up to read through the caked grime of decades, maybe even centuries. Only two were even legible, one marked "Cafeteria", the other "Spark Generator".

The second sign pointed me where I needed to go, and I started down the hallway at a quick trot. Sweetie Pie's weight shifted on my back and the the filly spoke quietly into my ear, "That wolf ain't gonna wait for us. It's gonna come looking."

I've heard that wolves can smell fear, and I tried to control my body's reaction, but my body won out and fear coursed through me. I tried to hide the shaking of my hooves from Sweetie Pie, but from the way she quivered on my back I could tell I had failed. Another intersection came and, with a brief pause to check the signs, went, before I spoke again, "Do you know why I'm out here, Sweetie?"

The filly hazarded a surprisingly accurate guess, "You lost somepony you love."

"How did you..." I shook my head rapidly, "Nevermind... yes. My two little fillies. I'm trying to get them back." Here I stopped, twisting my neck to look Sweetie Pie in the eyes, "I'm not going to die before sunset on my first day." Turning to face forward again, I trotted on. Fear still coursed through my body, but I did my best to ignore it. My best wasn't much, but at least my hooves stopped shaking. Eventually, so did Sweetie Pie.

***

My heart fell when I set eyes on the ruined spark generator. "No." I groaned, tugging at my braided mane in frustration, "No no no no!" My eyes swept over the broken mass, one side a shattered wreck from some kind of high explosive, far too damaged for me to fix.

Sweetie Pie's hoofsteps click-clacked around the room, the filly digging around in corners and inspecting cabinets. It was good to see her curiosity overcoming her fear, but in the middle of my despair I couldn't manage a smile for it.

I sat on my haunches and stared at the spark generator, entirely unsure what to do next. Maybe I could get Sweetie back up through the hole we fell into. Somehow. While avoiding the timber wolf. But even if I could, she'd just be snatched by the grasping vines above.

Something clattered loudly across the room. I jerked my eyes up, shining the light from my horn over to see Sweetie Pie standing completely still over a fallen metal tray, which she had seemingly knocked over while using a drawer to climb up onto a counter. I trotted over, shaking my head and preparing to scold her for broadcasting our location, when my light fell into the drawer and something caught my eye.

Sitting there, shining slightly under my horn's light, was the smooth rectangular casing of an MEC. My heart fluttered in my chest as I used my eyes and my magic to inspect the device, a slow smile pulling the corners of my mouth up when I found it to be operational.

"Sweetie, look!" I said, pointing at the capacitor.

She peered curiously into the drawer, "What is it?"

Lifting the small device out, I flipped it over to inspect the label on the rear. Although worn and faded with age, I could make out the rated energy output, "If it's still working, and I think it is, this may just be the key to that big door." Something clacked outside the generator room entrance, my ear twitching slightly, but I was too interested in running a more detailed diagnostic with my magic until Sweetie Pie tugged on my braid.

A dank stench filled the room, making me dry heave as I looked up and shone my light on the doorway. Standing there, bathed in the bright glow of my horn, was the timber wolf. Viscious saliva hung from it's jagged teeth and a low, rumbling growl reverberated from its chest. It took a step towards us, claws clicking against the metal flow, and snarled.

Sweetie Pie cowered behind me, curled up into a tiny ball and sobbing. I stood in front of her, my knees shaking so hard I swore I could hear them rattling. I lifted my stun gun and fired a futile shot, the blast knocking a few small bits of debris off of the wolf's chest. It took another step closer.

My legs gave out and I fell to the floor, shivering in terror. The beast advanced and stood over me close enough that its hot drool dribbled onto my forehead. In that moment, as I waited for my life to end, my own death hardly bothered me. My mind flitted to Sweetie Pie cowering behind me, but only for a moment. Instead, I thought about my fillies. Captured, scared, alone. And their mother had done nothing to save them. She had gone off and gotten herself killed, and hadn't done a single thing to help them.

Desperate, panicked, I stared up at the lunging wolf and sent a sudden surge of energy through my horn and into my stun gun. Screaming in fear and rage and pain, the spike of magic overloaded my built-in safety features and fired off a huge burst of energy

A bolt of white-hot energy seared the scant few inches between me and the timber wolf. The blast sliced clear through the wolf's body and impacted the wall behind it, bright light shining through the many gaps in the creature's wooden form. Sticks and limbs exploded outward, showering me with debris as the beast shattered into a thousand pieces.

My stun gun smouldered, burnt out by the surge of power. My horn hurt, and when I tried to cast a light the spell sputtered and died. In the glow of Sweetie Pie's flashlight I could see that the wolf's parts were already twitching towards each other, rebuilding again. Standing up and putting Sweetie Pie on my back I said, "Light the way. Let's get out of here before he gets back up."

With Sweetie lighting the path ahead I galloped away, for about two steps. Then I stumbled and fell against the wall, head pounding, and had to stand still until the room stopped swimming around me. After a moment I noticed a noise in my ear, which slowly revolved into the little filly's voice, "Miss Deft! Miss Deft! Are you ok?"

I nodded, a mistake as my head pounded again. I could tell that my words were slurred when I replied, "Yes. 'M fine... jus... too much magic. Be good as new with sleep." I hadn't meant to pour quite so much of my magical reserves into that spell, but in the heat of the moment I'd thrown everything I could at the wolf, which I could hear pulling itself together behind us. Moving again, I managed a quick canter and retraced my steps back to the office and the tunnel leading out.

It wasn't very long before I heard an angry snarling echoing through the tunnels, seeming to come from everywhere. My head was starting to pound again and I asked Sweetie Pie to steady the light twice before realizing that my eyes were the problem. Stumbling into the office, I all but fell down the stairs, somehow managing to keep the filly balanced on my back. I reached the end of the tunnel and gave the latch a twist and a shove. The door opened easily from this side and I tumbled out of the hidden tunnel, back into the main entrance room. Once there I pulled out the magical energy capacitor, touched my horn to the business end of the device, and activated it.

A jolt of energy sparked to the tip of my horn, quickly followed by a surge as the MEC drained itself into me. My muscles tensed as the power burned through me, sending shivers down my spine and leaving my legs quaking uncontrollably for several seconds. Emotions whipped through my mind, joy, love, lust, sorrow, rage. All in quick succession, over and over, leaving me reeling while I got lost in the overwhelming sensations. After what seemed like hours the energy settled in me, and I regained my senses to find myself laying on my side with Sweetie Pie staring wide-eyed down at me.

"M-miss Deft?" She asked in a low whisper, her voice trembling with fright.

I pulled myself to my hooves, "I'm ok Sweetie. Just... unexpected side effects. Must be because it's so old." An unexpected rush of emotion that came with the energy scared me. But I had no time to worry about it now, although my earlier weariness had been drowned out I knew it still lay lurking under the surface. The MEC gave me quite a bit of energy to work with, but it wouldn't last very long. My body would soon vent the foreign energy, a process that could be rather painful if I was holding a lot of it.

Turning to the big door blocking the only way out, I sent a surge of power into the machinery meant to open it. Starting with a quick diagnoses, I discovered several places where time had left it's mark and made quick, magical repairs. Knitting together even small bolts and wires ate through my temporary reserves, but once the repairs were made I had plenty left over to run the systems. With a groan of aged metal that echoed through the room, the great wheel of a door pulled away from the entrance and moved out of the doorway. I took a step forward, smiling wearily at the success, and looked over my shoulder at Sweetie Pie, "Come on, we're out!"

She hesitated, still staring at me with a frightened expression, but when a clatter of claws on metal announced the arrival of our friend the timber wolf, she darted forward with a screech and we ran through the doorway together.

Turning, I saw the wolf give chase, it's paws scrabbling for purchase on the smooth metal floor. I started cycling the machinery that controlled the door, but it moved slowly. So slowly. The wolf approached faster than the door closed, and eventually I used the last of the MEC's reserves to cut several of the hydraulic lines, letting the door fall shut.

It slammed closed with a huge, thundering boom. The sound rumbled through my chest and I fell back on my rump, hooves covering my ears. Sweetie Pie fell against me, shaking, and I wrapped a foreleg around her.

When the echoes of the slamming door finally faded I pulled Sweetie Pie close, "It's ok, we're ok now."

She looked up at me, her quaking body beginning to calm, and managed a small smile, "We didn't get eated."

Giggling, I mussed up her mane and stood up, "No, we didn't." Putting her on my back, I looked around and found we were in some sort of cave, dim light falling in not far away. I started towards the light, scrabbling over uneven ground until I found myself outside, the late evening sun sinking towards the horizon. "Come on Sweetie. There's a settlement not far from... wherever we fell in at. We didn't move too far away."

***

It was dark out before we spotted the lights of a small settlement ahead. Sweetie Pie had long since taken to walking herself, my own legs struggling just to support me. Once the MEC had worn off my weariness came back in full force and all I wanted was a soft bed to lay in. If I weren't so worried about more wolves being around, I would've been tempted to settle for a soft patch of dirt.

The settlement had a rough palisade around it, mostly thin logs with gaps covered in rusty sheet metal. The gates were closed, not surprising after dark, but as I staggered towards them a voice called out, "Whoa! What are you doing out here?"

Looking up, I spotted the shadow of a pony peering down from above the gates and mumbled back, "Deft. Deft Embrace. Got a room for the night?"

The figure above, a stallion by the voice, chuckled, "Yeah, there's room in the tavern, better get those flanks inside the walls." He motioned to somepony else and a small side door popped open. Smiling, I nodded politely and stepped inside.

The settlement was little more than a place for caravans to rest. A day of travel from Neighgaton, it had a tavern, a small trading outpost, and not much else. The town square, just inside the gates, was well-lit and held a pair of parked wagons. Beyond that loomed dim houses, shadows among the darkness. An inn, two stories tall, stood proudly among the shorter buildings around it. Light spilled through the inn’s windows and muted music hummed through its walls.

I found my eyes drawn to the middle of the town square. There, hanging from an old oak tree, was a dark equine form. It had greenish, buglike eyes and big holes running through its hooves. Weird wings hung limply from its back and a jagged horn stuck out of its forehead. The thing looked like some kind of horrific cross between a pony and an insect, and it was very clearly dead. The rope around its neck was clue enough, but the flesh had already started to rot off of it and something had been nibbling on its face, underlying musculature exposed to the cool night air. I shuddered and looked away.

"Changeling," a voice said to my right. A young mare stepped out of the gloom, shutting the door leading outside as she did, "Found him hiding out in the tavern last week. He almost got away, but we caught him and strung him up good. Had to break his wings, stupid bug tried to hover when we first hung him. Not like he could’ve gotten far, even if he escaped." She nodded towards the town walls, and the wastes beyond, for reasons I didn’t understand.

I looked away from the gruesome sight, trying not to let my revulsion show on my face. Even in a town like Neighgaton, where all sorts of people came in to trade, dislike of changelings was not uncommon. I’d heard it was worse in other places, but such a violent reaction was... unusual, as far as I knew. It turned my stomach. When I looked at Sweetie Pie she was staring up at the creature, an expression of pure horror on her face. I frowned and reached out to hug her, but she jumped away in fright. Smiling softly, I said, "It's ok Sweetie."

The mare let out a harsh chuckle, then spoke up, "Don't worry young'un, that bastard won't be hurting nopony else."

Tearing her eyes away from the spectacle, Sweetie asked the mare, "Wh-who did he hurt?"

She shrugged, "Don't know for sure. But he's a changeling. It's what they do." I couldn't help but frown at the sentiment.

Sweetie Pie accepted a hug when I tried again, and I drew her close, "Come on Sweetie, I really need a bed." Using my body to block her sight of the hung creature, I led the little filly into the tavern. We were assaulted with bright light, raucous singing, and the heavy smell of alcohol as soon as the door opened. I narrowed my eyes against the light as we stepped inside.

The main room was full of ponies, many of them worn by travel. Dusty trader barding and bristling weapons marked most of the crowd as caravaners and their guards. A trio of gamblers sat at one table, cards and caps passing between them along with amicable laughter. In one dim corner sat a unicorn and a griffon, unidentifiable objects passing between them in the darkness under the table. Near the back of the room strutted a young mare, dressed in the sort of tight outfit that looked more enticing than outright nudity. She flicked her tail at a stallion's snout and led him up the stairs. I made sure Sweetie Pie couldn't see that.

A crusty old mare stood behind the bar, wiping down a glass with a dirty rag while grinning out at her patrons. Trotting up to the bar, I smiled at her and asked, "Do you have a room?"

"A broom?" She responded, "Did somepony drop another mug?"

I thunked a hoof against my forehead and asked again, louder, "Do you have a room?!"

"Oh! A room! Yeah, I got a room. You got fifteen caps?"

Too tired to haggle, I dug around in my saddlebags and pulled out fifteen bottlecaps, shoving them across the counter. The old mare grinned, showing off several gaps where she was missing teeth, and tossed a set of keys at me, "Upstairs, last door on the right.”

Nodding, I led Sweetie Pie up the stairs. My hooves dragged and I found myself panting by the time I reached the top. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I walked down the short hallway, passing two doors before reaching the end and trying my key on the third. It opened, and Sweetie flicked her flashlight on to reveal a cramped little space with a tiny bed, a small endtable, and no windows. I fell into the bed and kicked the door shut, letting Sweetie lock it before she hopped up and clicked out the light. I remember her saying something to me, but I was out before she'd even finished snuggling against my chest. My last thought was of that unfortunate changeling strung up outside, and I hugged Sweetie Pie close for comfort as darkness overtook my world.

Author's Note

Level up!

Skill Note: Speech 20

Thanks to Kkat for crafting such a wonderful world.

And thanks to Menti and No_One for catching so many flaws in this chapter!

2: Battle of Neighgaton

Bullets zinged in the air around me as I galloped through town. Close behind charged a hulking behemoth of a pony, a huge mishapen mass of rage and hate that shook the ground with every step. I ran and ran and ran but my hooves felt like they were moving through water, slow and sluggish as the beast gained inch by inch. All around me ponies were screaming, crying, dying as the raiders sacked the town.

My house was up ahead, but with each step it grew further and further away. The pony behind grew closer, larger, darkness and fear pouring off of him to reach out and engulf me. My house was so close, if I could just make a few more steps...

A stallion rushed out of the darkness. Sturdy and brave, I barely had time to register the face of Bronze Heart, my long lost husband. Then he leaped at the monster chasing me, the pair going down in a rolling brawl that was quickly consumed by darkness. I reached the door to my house and paused, looking back at the fight.

Bronze Heart fell to the ground at my hooves, his body bloody and broken. I shuddered at the sight and my heart stopped cold when I saw he was still alive, reaching out to me, begging me to help him. But I couldn't. I was frozen in place, my hooves refusing to move. The monstrous pony stepped out of the darkness, bringing a hoof down hard and snapping Bronze's neck.

I fell against the door, body going limp as the beast of a pony turned it's attention on me. The darkness reached forward, soon I could not see, and all I could hear was a deep, rasping breathing, and the distant gunshots and screaming of battle.

***

The dream faded. Slipped away from my mind as consciousness slipped in. I found myself curled in a tight ball on one side of my bed, almost falling off the edge, and I shivered despite the warm blankets that covered me. The dream was all too familiar... my memories of the day my husband died, twisted and exaggerated by time and fear. I'd watched those moments play out over and over, in dreams and even while awake, in the weeks after it had happened. And the dreams still popped up now and then. They seemed so real... even now, the dream driven away by wakefulness, I could still hear the gunshots, the screams of terrified ponies as battle...

My eyes snapped open. I could hear gunshots! Screams! Those weren't from any dream of mine, the sounds were coming from outside. Neighgaton was under attack! It was a second longer before another realization hit me... my fillies were at mom's house. And mom lived near the town gates... near the sounds of fighting... I shot out of bed, so quickly that the blankets fluttered to the floor behind me, and ripped open the top drawer of my dresser. Grabbing neatly folded sheets and spare blankets, I flung them aside in a messy pile beside the bed. I dug until my muzzle brushed against something hard and metallic and I clamped onto it with my teeth.

It was a stun gun. A nonlethal weapon, I had designed and built it myself after Coin_Purse had irritated me one too many times. It was the only weapon I kept in the house. Neighgaton was safe... the big walls, the guards... I didn't need to keep a gun here. Or so I thought. Now, with the battle coming closer and closer, and my foals out there in danger, I wished I had a firearm. Something I could really protect them with. But this would have to do.

The stun gun was designed to be usable in a mouth-grip, but I found it much more convenient to hold the weapon in my telekinesis. Aiming was much easier, and anyway there were too many firefights that could have been avoided if the ponies involved didn't have their mouths too full of guns to talk things out. Using my magic to hold it now, I rushed out of my bedroom and flung open the front door of my house. It banged against the wall and I darted through before it swung closed again.

The sounds of fighting were louder once I stepped outside, and not just because the thin walls of my house were no longer blocking the sound. The battle was getting closer. I galloped down the street towards the deafening racket, slipping through alleys and cutting behind houses. I'd lived in Neighgaton for over a decade and I knew my way around, it only took me a couple of minutes to reach the other side of town.

Gunshots, shouts, and exploding grenades pounded on my ears. Dim shadows moved among the buildings, occasionally stopping to fire off a few shots before ducking out of sight. The attackers wore a mixed bag of armor types, but all of the ones I saw had a bright red hoof painted onto the flank of their armor right over where their cutie mark would be. I saw a line of townsponies that seemed to be holding a perimeter around the market area, which was just inside the gates. Beyond them was chaos. Ponies ran every which way, firing and swinging hooves, rolling on the ground in desperate combat. Townsponies and attackers were so mixed in that I had no idea how anypony knew who to fight.

My heart lurched at the sight. Mom lived in a room above her shop, right in the middle of the chaos in the marketplace. My hooves froze and I stood gaping, but I swallowed the terror that paralyzed me and forced myself forward. My foals were in there. I surged towards the battle at a full gallop. Then I found myself faceplanting on the ground.

"Whoa there Deft! That ain't no place you wanna be rushing into." A voice called out while I sat up and spit out dirt. Looking up I saw the dimly lit figure of the town sheriff, True Justice, pulling back the hoof she had used to trip me. A gaunt, grim, green unicorn mare, she was standing behind a sturdy wall meant to block the noise of the market from the town. She peeked over it, then ducked back quickly as a bullet zipped over her head.

"Sheriff! Help!" I clung to her and pointed towards the heart of the battle, "My foals! Mom! In the... in there! Get them!" even to myself I sounded frantic, and my heavy breathing was not due to the short run across town, it was panic.

The sheriff pulled me into the cover of the wall and patted me on the back, her voice as soothing as she could manage while still shouting over the din of battle, "Your foals are where? With your mom?" She looked towards the market, her eyes growing wide, "Oh shit! Your mom's place is... fuck!"

"Help them!" I pleaded, grabbing her forehoof and trying to tug her towards the market. She yanked back, overbalancing me, and I landed on my face in the dirt again. I spat out more dirt.

Sheriff Justice bent down and met my eyes, her own expression filled with sadness, "I can't, Deft. That market’ll be a killin’ field if we advance. We’re holding here, ain't nopony going in there right now."

"I am!" Hopping back onto my hooves, I took off for the market. Or tried to. The sheriff's teeth clamped down on my tail and I jerked to a halt, crying out in pain. Several bullets smacked into the ground around me and I cringed in fright.

"No way Deft, you'll get yourself killed!" she said while hauling me back behind the short wall, "Now look, your mom ain't dumb. She'll have those fillies low to the ground and under cover. Which is a hell of a lot safer than trying to drag them through that mess!"

I stood up and peered over the wall at the market. Mom's house was just visible in the light from the half-moon, and still I wanted to rush over, to hold my babies, "I can't... can't just sit and do nothing, sheriff. I can't!"

She nodded and pulled my head back down, "I understand. But you ain't a fighter, Deft. Ain't much you can do here... unless..." her voice trailed off and she glanced towards town thoughtfully.

"Unless what? Please, sheriff, let me help save them..." my fillies were in danger, and the knowledge burned in me. I thought of how it would feel... to have nightmares of them dying while I sat and did nothing, just like I had nightmares of watching my husband die... and I shuddered, "I have to do something."

"The MECs," she said, and I understood immediately. MECs, or Magical Energy Capacitors, kept a charge of magical energy which any unicorn could tap into and use to power her spells. If a pony was close to magical burnout, or just needed an extra push to her casting, a MEC was the answer. The town kept a small stock of them. I glanced into town as the sheriff continued talking, "This battle's going bad, but I got a bunch of unicorns here. If we can get those MECs, they might give us just enough extra juice to push these bastards out of our town."

It was just what I needed to hear. Something useful, something I could do, that would help save my children. My head bobbed eagerly as I babbled at her, "Yes, thank you. Oh thank you! I'll go get them right away!" It hurt to turn my back on mom's house, to gallop off into town and put more distance between me and my family with each step, but I made myself do it because I knew it was the best thing I could do to help them.

Although they weren't technically weapons, the town's MECs were kept locked up in the armory, which was in the back of the town. As I approached the squat, solidly-built building I slowed to a trot, then stopped entirely. In my rush to help, I had entirely forgotten to get the key from sheriff Justice’s office. Smacking my forehead with a hoof, I turned to run back... but that would take time. Time we might not have. Instead of running all the was across town again, I turned and frowned at the door.

It was thick and built into a solid brick wall. The whole armory was built like a small fort and was likely the most secure building in town. I looked at the lock but quickly dismissed it... Tech Head could pick locks, if only he were here. Maybe I could figure it out, but now was not the time to learn.

In my work I often found rusted old parts that I couldn't break loose with tools, and I had developed a twist to my repair spell that I could use to break apart recalcitrant bolts. The hinges of the heavy door were much stronger than the bolts I usually used my spell on. The first hinge wasn't too difficult, but the second took a grunt of effort and by the third I was panting from the strain. Breaking something apart with magic took as much energy as breaking it apart without magic, and the spell was not an easy one to cast on something that strong. But within half a minute I had the door off and it fell to the ground with a loud clang.

I rushed into the building, not wanting to waste any more time even though I was still panting from the exertion. It was dark inside, and I stumbled around feeling the wall until my hoof bumped into a light switch. Flicking it, lights revealed several empty shelves, which would normally be full of weapons and ammunition. To my right I could see another room, this one filled with armor and other equipment. A third room filled with miscellaneous items was to my left.

The MECs were one of the few reasons I ever came into the armory, and I knew they would be in the room on the left. I could hear the battle raging on as I darted across the hall. My fillies were there... the thought pushed me to move harder and I started snatching up MECs with my telekinesis. The devices were not very large, a bit bigger than a hoof and shaped sort of boxy, with rounded edges and a bright red logo on the side in the shape of a fiery bird. Just below the logo, equally bright red, was the name 'Phoenix Industries'.

With a couple of dozen MECs levitating around me, most of the town's supply, I turned and ran back outside. It may have been my imagination, but the battle sounded... angrier, somehow. More threatening. I pushed my legs faster, hurrying back.

A sound off to my left caught my ear, a gruff voice somewhere near The Silo. I frowned and slowed to a canter, trying to get a closer look. Nopony should be messing around over there... but... I had to get back to the battle. Just as I began to speed up again something heavy landed on my back with a feathery whoosh. Crying out in surprise and pain, my legs buckled and I fell to the ground. The shock of the impact broke my concentration and the MECs scattered around me.

Someone else landed a few feet away and I looked up, dazed. Sharp claws bit into the dirt inches from my face, and wide wings blocked out the light of the moon. Time seemed to stand still as my eyes took in every detail they could of the griffin silhouetted in moonlight. She was lithe, moving with almost liquid grace as she reared back and brought her claws up. I gasped to see those claws pointed awfully close to my face.

Surprise fading, I rolled aside just as the griffin's claws came smashing down where my head had been. I tried to scramble to my hooves, but they didn't seem to want to cooperate and the momentum of my roll sent me tumbling onto my side. The griffin turned and screeched at me.

"Yer lucky the boss wants this done quiet, little pony. Can’t have those townsponies or slavers noticing us over their silly little battle," the voice was cruel and feminine, and became crueler still when she leaned close to whisper, "I've gotta kill ya quick... can't make you linger and scream the way I like to." She mounted me, sitting her rump down on my cutie mark to hold me in place while she lifted both sets of claws high. Her chest armor caught the moonlight and I saw a black claw insignia painted there, the mark of some mercenary band.

A shudder ran through my body as I watched her prepare the killing blow. Fear gripped me, my heart racing, and I felt a warm trickle on my thighs. Peeing myself was probably the least of my worries, but my cheeks felt hot with a blush and I hoped the liquid would dry before anypony found my corpse.

The griffoness paused and sniffed at the air, then cackled down at me, "Pathetic little pony, did ya just piss yerself? Oh... I coulda had so much fun making ya squeal."

Staring up at the person poised to kill me, I felt like kicking myself when I remembered my stun gun. Horn flaring, I snatched it off of the ground nearby. She saw me casting magic and lashed out with a claw, but the beam of crackling electricity blasted her full in the chest and her weakened strike on gave me a set of painful but shallow scratches on my cheek. Then she fell over on top of me and knocked my breath out.

I shoved at her with a hoof, but she barely budged. Grumbling, I started shoving with several hooves, "Good work Deft... get yourself pinned... she'll only get back up in a minute..." It took most of my admittedly low strength, but I managed to shove the stunned griffoness off of me and clamber to my feet. My flanks were damp and smelled of piss, but there wasn't much I could do about that.

Then the second griffon came rushing out of the darkness around The Silo. I let out a loud eep and backpedaled away from the brawny figure, tripping over my own hooves and landing with a wince of pain. Down before he even reached me... I let out a little groan at how pathetic I suddenly felt.

More sound overhead, then the high-pitched whine of magical energy weapons and light blossomed. The charging griffin ducked aside, narrowly missing a splash of green energy that melted the dirt he had been rushing over. Several more dark shapes landed around me, pegasi in some sort of unusual armor. It took me a few seconds to recognize them as Enclave scouts.

"Oh thank Celestia!" I said with a sigh of relief, "I thought those griffins were going to- oof!" My words were cut off when one of the pegasi bucked me in the side and I fell over. Again. He glanced over his shoulder at me.

He spoke, and when he did the disdain in his voice, the utter lack of caring, sent a shiver down my spine more than the specific words could... or so I thought until my brain processed those words, "Kill the dirtlover. She might warn the rest of the town that we’re at The Silo."

Two of the pegasi, including the speaker, turned away to face the griffons. The lithe griffoness that I had stunned was picking herself up already, although she was still unsteady. The brawnier griffin turned and held something up. It was hard to see in the dim light, but judging by the loud bang and the ping of a round ricocheting off of a pegasi's armor, he was holding a gun.

The third pegasi turned to face me, bringing a mounted magical energy weapon to bear. I felt a lump rising in my throat and swallowed hard to force it back down, then darted off to one side. A bolt of green plasma slammed into the dirt near my hooves. I heard him grumble and take flight behind me.

More energy blasts pelted the ground around me. I turned and fired off the same spell I had used to break the hinges moments ago, snapping one of the joints in his weapon's mounting. I ducked around the corner of a nearby building as blasts of magic soared wildly through the night. After several shots he realized the problem and stopped firing.

"Dumb bitch! What did you do to my MEW?" He flew over the building, hovering above me and shouting, "Not like I don't have another!"

I screamed and ran again as his second mounted weapon began firing, much more rapidly than before. He gave me no time to focus on casting my spell again, and several times I felt my the searing heat of a near miss singe my flanks. I got into a part of town where the houses were more densely packed, using them for cover as I ran screaming.

There was a thud from above and the shots trailed off. Glancing behind me and upwards I saw the silhouettes of two pegasi hovering not far away, apparently arguing. Their words were hard to hear, but one of them shouted something and I could make out, "... bring the whole damn town down on us..."

The pair flew off in the direction of The Silo, where I could still hear gunshots and see the occasional flash of magical energy. Cautiously, I poked out of my hiding spot and, keeping an eye on the sky, trotted carefully towards the spot where the MECs had fallen.

I was watching the skies over the Silo, so I never even saw the hoof that slammed into me from the other direction. I had time to think, while tumbling from the blow, and realized that at least one of the pegasi had circled around. I rolled against the side of the building, the metal wall stopping me with a thud. My right side hurt. Just breathing brought a sharp pain just behind my foreleg that made me wince and breathe shallower.

The pegasus landed a few feet away. It was the same one who had chased me, and I started to shake as I watched, for the second time in five minutes, someone lifted up a limb to kill me. At least I didn't piss myself this time, but probably only because my bladder was already empty. Closing my eyes, I curled up into a tiny ball of fear and waited for the end to come.

Instead there was a loud boom and a clang, and the pegasi cried out in pain. I looked up to see the flank of his armor slick with blood, and he hobbled to the side. More shots rang out and the pegasus took flight, staggering once in midair as another shot hit him before flapping away, out of sight in the dark night sky.

Sheriff Justice appeared in my field of view, her gruff face a reassuring sight after so many attempts on my life. She extended one hoof to help me up, "Deft? Deft, are you all right? Did you get the MECs?"

Dragging myself to my feet with her help, I looked around to see a hooffull of armed ponies nearby, all watching me expectantly. Wincing as I breathed in too deeply, I nodded to the sheriff, "Y-yes, dropped them over there,” I pointed weakly, “but... they attacked me. By the Silo... griffins a-and... Enclave..." My voice sounded weak, almost pathetic, and I slumped back to the ground and closed my eyes. I heard several ponies searching the ground where I had pointed, picking things up and then trotting away towards the continuing sounds of fighting.

Sheriff Justice remained, "Yep, we heard them shooting at you. I've sent a group to go clear out The Silo, but it's stretched us so thin... you gonna be alright? I really need to get back to the fighting."

I nodded and, after a moment, worked up the energy to speak, "Yes. I'll be fine. I just..." Looking up and frowning, I stared towards the distant marketplace. With much grunting and wincing I pulled myself to my hooves, "I need to get to my fillies. You have your MECs now. Let's stop wasting time."

Sheriff Justice did not have a face made for grinning. But, unnatural and disconcerting as it looked, she grinned anyway, "Good mare, Deft. We'll get your foals out of that shit, don't you worry."

Turning and shouting a quick, "Ye haw!" the sheriff galloped back into battle. Wounded and tired, my body forced me to follow at a slower pace, grimacing from the pain in my side every few steps.

The town defenders were surging forward when I finally reached the marketplace. I'd gotten banged up pretty hard in the effort to get those MECs, but the unicorns were making my efforts worthwhile. Thick shields of magic stopped bullets meant for advancing fighters, giving them mobile cover while they moved. Here and there bright spotlights of magical energy highlighted pockets of attacking ponies, drawing in waves of gunfire. Lances of fire narrower than a newborn's hoof, a spell the sheriff claimed to have designed herself, picked out stragglers.

With all of their own unicorns worn down and out of energy the attackers melted in the face of the magical assault. They already seemed to be in a full retreat when I arrived, and I watched as their rear guard was ripped to pieces. Keeping near the back of the advancing line of defenders, I peered out through the gates as we approached and saw the main body of the attackers moving away at a quick trot.

With a big group of ponies being shoved along with them. They had captured at least fifty new slaves in this raid. Looking at the devastation around me I could see that they'd lost at least that many, if not more, in the attack. But it didn't seem like a fair trade. There were all sorts of horror stories about the lives slaves lived, and I felt a small twinge of sadness in my gut at the thought of all those ponies, who'd been living well here in Neighgaton, ending up in that position.

Bucket chains were starting to put out the fires that had sprung up from magical and mundane sources during the battle. I could see one chain heading further into town towards where an enclave scout had poured superhot plasma at me... and as the rush of adrenaline wore off and I thought about that fight I could feel the burns on my flanks from his near misses. The pain in my side grew clearer too, sharper, and all over I felt stiff and uncomfortable from bruises. Sighing, I turned towards mom's shop to, finally, reach my foals and comfort them after such a terrifying experience.

The door of mom's shop was missing, or so I thought. As I stepped into the building I discovered the door was still there... and over there... and a bit up there on the counter. It looked like somepony had knocked it in with an explosion of some sort. I couldn’t tell for sure. The sales floor was in total disarray, mom's normally carefully-arranged displays of good scattered around all over. My heart started to thump harder in my chest, worry overtaking me, and I shouted, "Mom?" Stepping carefully over debris I made my way to the back room and shouted again, "Mom? Windy Sky? Painted Grove?"

There was a small groaning noise from mom's room and I took the stairs at a full gallop. Mom was lying just inside her bedroom door, moaning softly and holding a wound on her belly that leaked blood heavily. It was all over the floor and the bed, even some on the walls. Mom's old shotgun lay on the floor nearby, the barrel dented as if by some massive, powerful hoof. My fillies were nowhere in sight.

"Mom?" I shouted again. My heart raced and I felt dizzy, falling to my knees beside her as I screamed, "MOM! Help! Somepony! She's hurt!"

She looked up at me, taking short, gasping breaths and reaching out with a hoof. I could hear hoofsteps in the room below, voices calling, but all I could do was put my hoof on her cheek and kiss her forehead while whispering, "Mom? Where are Painted and Sky?"

"They... they took 'em," she wheezed. My blood ran cold and I felt the world spinning around me. Bodies moved nearby and I heard somepony screaming in a panicked voice, soon realizing it was me. A different voice said something about a sedative and I felt a sharp prick on my haunches. Tears ran down my face and I tried to get up, to run after my foals, but my hooves wouldn't work right and I just fell back down.

Somepony dragged me aside. I couldn't tell who... my vision was blurry and everything was getting dimmer, "Just lay here Deft. You just rest now."

My voice sounded eerily weak, as weak as my hoof felt when I tried to push the pony away, "Fillies... they have... my..." darkness overtook me and I remembered nothing more.

***

It was light out when I woke. Early morning, by the angle of the sun coming through the window. I was still laying on the floor, although now I had a pillow under my head and bandages wrapped around various parts of my body. A slight wooziness pervaded me, as though the room were slowly spinning, and when I quickly lifted my head the spinning sped up and I had to lay down again. I heard somepony standing up nearby.

"Ah, you're awake. Good," Sheriff Justice's voice sounded weary. When I looked up again and caught sight of her she looked exhausted. Her head hung low, her shoulders sagged, and I was pretty sure the apparent wobbling wasn't just from my head thinking the whole room was spinning. I blinked at her a few times.

"Wha...?" was all I managed to say.

She smiled, and it was a smile that drew out any ray of hope or happiness I might have mustered up, then smashed it. Worn lines appeared in her face and the smile didn't touch her eyes at all, "They gave you a sedative. Said you were freaking out. The after effects should wear off in a few minutes."

My head swayed slowly while I tried to stare at her. The details of the previous night were blurry, but I could remember a few causes for worry, "Painted? Sky? Mom?" My entire list of concerns voiced, I let my head fall back onto the pillow.

"Your mom's right here in the bed. She's fine. Or... will be. She got a nasty shot in the gut, but the doc said a few days and some healing potions will fix that right up. Oh, that reminds me!" she dug around on my mom's endtable and held up a healing potion, "I'm supposed to give you this. Something in that sedative screws with potions, so they had to wait 'til you woke up. But it should fix those burns on your flanks and that cracked rib."

The room was starting to spin less and I lifted my head again, slowly this time. Sheriff Justice hadn't answered my other two questions. Eyes narrowing at her, I repeated myself with an insistent tone, "Painted? Sky?"

She sighed and suddenly became very interested in mom's floor. I could see the large, dark stain of blood and shuddered at the memory of finding mom half-dead and bleeding out. The sheriff spoke slowly, "They were... taken. By the slavers."

I shot up onto my hooves, ignoring the intensified spinning and trotting over to the sheriff, "Taken? What?!"

"Deft... sit down," she put her hooves on me and shoved, forcing me to sit on the floor, "Now, drink this potion." The healing potion floated up to my lips and I found myself chugging it down, but my mind was still reeling at the revelation.

As soon as the potion was gone I looked up at sheriff Justice. My whole body was trembling and my throat felt so tight that I had to force the words out, "T-taken? Where? Who's on the r-rescue party?"

"Deft..." her mouth thinned into a small, grim line and she sighed. Sitting down beside me, she wrapped a hoof around my shoulders and gave me a hug, a gesture which surprised me from the gruff mare, "Deft... there ain't a rescue party. Those slavers are just too strong. We’re down over seventy ponies between the dead and the taken, and we don't have enough strength to chase them down."

I stared at her, my trembling growing as I repeated in a whisper, "No rescue party?"

Her hoof tightened around my shoulders as she shook her head, "No... I'm sorry Deft. They're gone."

The room seemed to swim around me. My vision grew blurry and I felt warm, wet tears running down my cheeks. A sob wracked my shoulders and I fell down, laying on my belly beside the sheriff and burying my face in my forehooves.

Sheriff Justice stood beside me. I'm not sure how long she waited there, but when the rising sun hit my face through the window I looked up, eyes red and puffy, my cheeks still streaked with tears. Blinking, I looked around until I spotted her.

A grim expression fixed on her face, the sheriff looked down at me, "Deft, I ain't here to be a comfort. Much as I hate to ask it of you now, I need you to do something for me."

Rubbing tears from my eyes so I could see the sheriff clearly, I looked up. A feeling of curiosity pushed at my grief, and in a strange sense that curiosity, that bit of normalcy, felt almost like hope. I sobbed again when the sensation was shoved roughly aside by the thought that, whatever the sheriff's request, nothing could be done to help my children, "Y-you need something?" I asked, "Now? What i-is it?"

"There's a problem at the gate," she sighed, staring hard at the window, "It looks like somepony may have set it up to open on a signal. Somepony living here. The slavers may have had inside help."

***

After hearing the sheriff's suspicions I didn't waste any time. Sniffling and wiping the occasional tear off of my cheek, I trotted the short distance from mom's shop to the gatehouse. It was a big building, three stories tall and still managing to look squat. The walls were thick, double layers of sheet metal, with rubble filling the space between on the first floor. Small slit windows peppered the upper floors, vantage points for defenders to fire out of.

The gate itself was really a portcullis. Thick beams of wood reinforced with steel bands, packed tight enough together that a pony could hardly poke a hoof through in some places, normally blocked the way into town. Right now the portcullis was up, held between the top floors of the gatehouse to either side. I could see the thick chains supporting it, which led down to a mechanism that moved the gate with a heavy counterweight inside the building.

Sheriff Justice, trotting along beside me with a scowl on her face, pointed at a door flanked by two guards, "In there, where the lifting mechanism is."

I did my best to put my chin up as I stepped closer. One of the guards pulled the door open for me, and as I trotted past I caught his eye. I didn't like the look I saw there, it gave a strong sense that he was pitying me. I tried not to think about it while my eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the gatehouse.

The sheriff came in behind me and lifted a forehoof, gesturing at the mechanism that lifted the gates. A large, squat electric motor sat in the middle of the room, a single level sticking out of one side. The counterweight rested a few feet off of the floor, suspended by chains that would be pulled whenever the motor turned. I leaned down for a closer inspection.

Even after years of performing semi-regular maintenance on this machine it took me a few moments to spot something wrong. Wedged into a dark gap between the motor housing and the gear linkage was a small device. I cast my diagnostic spell, muttering loud enough that the sheriff could hear me, "It seems to be an override for the lever. Somepony set this up so they could open the gate, and the lever couldn't close it again. But as long as the device was inactive everything would function normally."

"Clever..." True Justice mused. She thought for a moment and then asked, "Not something they could've snuck in and done, right?"

I shook my head, "No. They would've needed hours to set this up. Well..." I frowned and looked the device over again.

"Well what?" the sheriff asked, peering curiously over my shoulder.

"It could have been set up a little at a time. You'd need at least thirty minutes to actually hook it up, but getting all the parts into place could be done before that."

She growled, bucking at a wall and shouting at nopony in particular, "An inside job! I knew it! Do you have any idea who could've done this?"

I frowned and shook my head, "It could have been... I can think of a dozen ponies who have the technical knowledge to do this."

"And you can't narrow that down any more?"

I sighed, wiping at the tears that were trickling down my cheeks again, "N-no. I..." my fillies were gone. Taken. With the help of somepony I knew. Gritting my teeth, I swept my diagnostic spell over the device again, looking for some clue, some, "... wait..."

The sheriff leaned closer, her breath puffing against the side of my neck. I started pulling the device apart with my magic. It was hastily built, held together by a few hoof-tight bolts that slipped away easily under my magical attentions. Parts clattered to the floor, a few slung against the wall by my magic as I dug out on piece in particular, almost laughing as I pulled it free and held it up for the sheriff to see.

"An X-171 servo. Mom's been out of these for weeks. Town bought them all for the windmill overhaul," I turned and looked sheriff Justice in the eye, "The only pony who's had any in stock is Coin Purse."

***

Coin Purse jumped when I slammed the door of his shop open. His head smacked into the bare lightbulb that hung down over the counter, and the light swung around casting faint shadows against the sunlight that filtered in through the dusty windows. I stalked up to the counter and dropped the servo in front of him, "Who did you sell this to?"

"Hrm..." he raised an eyebrow, taking a few breaths and calming himself before leaning down to inspect the servo, "Ah... an X-171..."

Sheriff Justice walked in behind me, giving me an unhappy glare as she came over an leaned on the counter, "Coin..." she looked away from me to watch the greasy stallion's eyes, "Who have you sold these to in the last week."

"Only Deft, sheriff, why?" he said with an innocent smile. My eyes narrowed. Why would he lie? He had to have sold one to somepony.

Her own eyes narrowing, the sheriff leaned in closer, "You sure about that, Coin Purse?" Hooves scuffed the floor behind me as a pair of True Justice's deputies walk in and stood by the door.

"Why do you ask, miss Justice?" Sweat beaded on his brow and his smile looked strained. His eyes flicked around the room, taking in the deputies then sweeping across the sheriff's face to settle on me.

I slammed my hoof on the counter hard enough to make Coin Purse and sheriff Justice jump, "Because somepony let the slavers into town, and they used an X-171 to do it. You're the only pony who has any!"

He took a deep breath, and it was then that I noticed he was trembling slightly. His voice was calm, though, as he said, "I've only sold one to Deft. If you're looking for a suspect, sheriff, it must've been her."

My mind reeled at the accusation. The sheriff turned to me and opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off as I reached across the counter and slapped Coin Purse across the face, "They took my children you flankhole! Do you think I would have let them sleep in a house right next to the damn gate if I knew?!" I wasn't even aware of casting a spell until the hanging lightbulb overloaded, showing the counter with glass. I tried to slap him again, but sheriff Justice shoved me back and one of the deputies held me there.

"Coin Purse, ain't no way Deft put her foals in danger like that," the sheriff trotted around the counter to get right into his face. I could see her nose wrinkle from the smell of his breath, but she just snarled at him, "Which means you're hiding information that could help us find who betrayed the town. Now why would you do a thing like that?"

Coin Purse looked stunned. He was still touching his face where I'd slapped him, but he shook his head and focused on the sheriff, "Only Deft has gotten one of those in a couple of months. Nopony else. I'm not hiding anything."

I wanted to scream, to shout and rage and hurt him. He was lying, it was so obvious that he was lying. Why didn't the sheriff just drag him off and throw him in a cell? He was the only pony with-

My thoughts were cut off when sheriff Justice spoke up, "Deputy," she nodded to the deputy that wasn't restraining me, "Get this sack of shit outta my face. Lock him up and don't take your eyes off of him."

Coin Purse tried to protest, but the deputies grabbed him and shoved him roughly through the door. I could hear his wheedling voice fading into the distance as they led him away through town.

Sheriff Justice turned to speak to me but I shook my head, "I'm... going to go home, sheriff." She nodded and let me leave without another word.

***

The house was too quiet. I'm not sure why, most days I'd have hours to myself while Painted and Sky were out playing or attending Neighgaton's little school. But now the place seemed so hollow and empty, as if even the walls knew they'd never hear the happy laughter of playing fillies again. I didn't care what the walls knew, I couldn't even see them through a haze of tears. I just wandered aimlessly around the little house.

My anguished reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door, the sound pulling my tear streaked face from the dampened pillow that used to belong to (insert filly name here). Slowly, I crawled out of their bed as another rapid series of knocks echoed through the house and I hurried to the door, hooves clattering across the floor.

Needing a moment to collect myself, I stalled by calling out, "Who is it?" One forehoof busied itself wiping at my wet eyes, but the tears were replaced nearly as fast as I removed them.

"It's Tech Head," a familiar voice called from the other side of the door. I pushed the door open to see the green stallion. He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation and led me towards the couch. I followed, trying my best to hold in the tears. My best wasn't good enough.

His forelegs wrapped around me after I sat down, and I leaned into the comforting warmth of his body beside mine. He spoke, but the sound of his voice meant more to me than whatever words he said, the sound of another pony breaking the silence that pervaded my home. I sobbed into his shoulder.

He patted my back gently and kept his voice soft, “They’re putting Coin Purse on trial tomorrow. The sheriff says he’ll probably hang for this.” The thought gave me little comfort. Much as I wanted to hurt him, killing Coin Purse wouldn’t bring my children back. I kept crying while leaning against Tech Head.

I'm not sure how long we sat like that. I was aware of him speaking from time to time. I cried myself out of tears, lay whining against him, then found more tears and began to cry again. His words remained meaningless sound to me until he put a hoof on my chin and forced my eyes to meet his, speaking, "You know... it's not like they're dead. Those were slavers, not raiders."

The idea of my children taken by slavers, left alive to continue suffering, was not much comfort to me. But I blinked away the latest wave of tears and looked at Tech Head, "That's... true. They're still alive."

"They'll probably end up at Storm Cloud," he said, "I've been out there, it's not so bad. Hard life, but they won't be mistreated." If I'd been paying attention to what he was saying I probably would have smacked him, but I was lost in my own thoughts, and he was mumbling more to himself than to me.

One thing pervaded my thoughts, "My fillies... they're still alive."

He nodded, squeezing me with hooves that I had forgotten were around my body, "That's right. They may be gone, but they'll live on. And you can live on. I'll be here to help in any wa-"

I cut him off mid-sentence, brushing his hooves aside and standing up, "My fillies are gone... but I can get them back." My heart was starting to thud as the idea took root in my mind. They weren't dead. They were still out there... not even very far away yet. I could just go and get them.

Tech Head sputtered and stared at me with widening eyes, "Get them back? Deft, that's crazy! They're on the way to a slaver camp! You can't... you're just one mare! You aren't even a fighter!"

I glared at him, "I'll tell you what I can't do, Tech. I can't sit by and lose somepony I care about. Not again." Thoughts of my lost husband flitted through my mind and I shuddered, forcing them away and whispering, "Not again."

"Deft, you'll die! For nothing!"

He put a hoof on my shoulder but I shoved it away, already heading into my room to start packing, "No. I’ll die for my fillies." It was an important difference to me. My saddlebags emptied out, and things started floating around the room. A spare jumpsuit folded itself and slid into the bags, followed closely by a small set of tools I kept for quick household repairs. After a moment of hesitation I added my manebrush.

I slipped the saddlebags onto my back and trotted into the kitchen, ignoring Tech's protests. Once there I added a small pile of dented cans and crumpling boxes, some basic food, and several bottles of water. I also found my stun gun and slipped it into a side pocket, somewhere I could easily pull it free. Looking around the kitchen, I added a can opener, a set of silverware, a few spare parts, and several extra gem packs for my stun gun.

Tech kept following me as I dug out a coil of rope and threw it in, then slipped a small first aid kit in and finally closed the flaps on the saddlebags. I turned towards the door and tried to brush past Tech Head, but he blocked my exit and frowned at me, "I can’t let you go, Deft. It's crazy!"

"Get out of my way," I snarled, narrowing my eyes at the stallion in front of me.

"No!" He stamped his hoof, adamant. He stood firm when I tried to push past again, but cowered against the door as I pulled my stun gun out.

"Get out of my way, Tech Head." I raised the weapon in what I hoped was a menacing way.

He seemed suitably menaced, but despite his shaking knees stood his ground, "No. I'm not going to let you go on some crazy rescue quest and get yourself killed."

I fired the stun gun, wincing and looking away from him as he shouted and fell to the floor. I pushed his twitching body aside as gently as I could, then opened the door. I stared at my hooves, unable to bring myself to look at him but needing to say something, "... I'm sorry Tech. But nopony is going to stop me from trying."

Packed and ready to go, I had only one more place I needed to stop before leaving town.

***

Several ponies were hauling away the broken sign to mom’s shop. I could still read “Free Market’s Free Market”... mostly. She always did have a sense of humor about her name. Mom was still laying in her bed when I trotted into her room. She smiled when she saw me. Seeing her happy just to have me around made me seriously consider changing my mind. But... I couldn't, "Hey Deft. Ah was hoping that was you on the stairs." Her accent always made me smile, it confused people so much that we sounded so different. But I grew up on the roads, surrounded by caravan guards from all over, and my voice showed it.

I smiled at her now, but I could feel my cheeks straining to frown, "Hi mom. I just... needed to tell you something. Something important."

"Deft..." her eyes traveled down my body, taking in the stuffed saddlebags before returning to my face, "Oh fuck it Deft, you ain't serious..."

I nodded slowly, not quite meeting her eyes, "I have to, mom. After losing... you remember what a wreck I was after the raider attack took Bronze Heart. I can't..." the words stuck and I had to pause to swallow a lump in my throat, "I can't do it again, mom. I can't go through that pain again, of losing somepony I love and doing... nothing about it."

I kept staring downwards, feeling her eyes burning into me as she stared for a long moment. When her voice broke the silence it was so sudden and unexpected that I flinched, "Ah understand."

Now I did look up to meet her eyes. She looked sad, and I was sure I spotted some tears forming, "Mom, I-"

"Ah understand, Deft," she said, cutting me off, "Ah'd do the same for you, especially when you were a foal." Beckoning to me with a hoof she added, "Come here a minute."

After a second of hesitation I stepped forward and she drew me into a hug, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry mom. But I have to go."

She squeezed me tight, "This is suicide. You'll die."

Nodding, I said simply, "I'll die trying. I have to try."

We stayed like that for a while, I'm not sure how long exactly. Just hugging. Occasionally one of us would sob, or sniffle, or give an extra tight squeeze to the other. Eventually, she pulled away and fixed a grim smile on me, "You a tougher mare than most think ya are. Play things smart out there and... hell, you'll still die." She slumped in her bed.

"Mom..." words wouldn't come. I looked down at the floor again.

"Just go Deft. I know better than to stop you."

I nodded and, with one last hug goodbye, left my mom's house for what I was sure would be the last time. My hooves dragged the last few steps, and for a moment I almost threw down my saddlebags and rushed upstairs to hug her some more. But I didn't do that. I walked through the door, trotted the short distance to the gates, and for the first time in over a decade I set hoof outside of Neighgaton. The wastes stretched out in front of me, deceptively peaceful in the late morning sunlight, and I took the first steps on my journey.

I wouldn’t do nothing. Not again.

Never again.

Author's Note

Level Up!

Skill Note: Mechanics 50

New Perk! Mechanomancer: You have a special affinity for mechanical devices. +10 to skills checks made for manipulating machines with magic.

Thanks to Kkat for making this amazing world that I can roll around in.

And much thanks to my prereaders: Lazer, No_One, and Menti. For fixing my crap, and for encouraging me to keep writing it.