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I walked a little behind Twintails and Featherweight as the tank turned off, Fringe beginning to drive it back towards EQUAD. Twintails looked withered, leaning onto Featherweight as we entered the railcars that made up his house. They headed straight for the bedroom at the back, myself turning and walking into the guest car where Buzzy was already curled up asleep. I carefully removed my saddlebags and glasses, and climbed into bed, the mattress’s springs creaking as I did so. Sweetie hooked a wire up to a small power generator, laying down as a small red light began to slowly flash on her ear. I wrapped myself up in the blankets, unable to take my mind off of Twintails, the way he was acting after that missile launch. Releasing a sigh, I rolled over to face the wall, trying to relax. My horn lit up as I levitated out my little Cross plushie, cuddling him. Sniffling lightly, I felt my stomach clench, the cool wasteland air biting at what was exposed of my coat. Twintails… I hope he’s alright…
I was standing in the command room, General Mosquito at the control panel in her Enclave officer power armor. She was flipping switches and pressing buttons, humming some odd tune. A bright red light began to flash on the ceiling, alarm sirens starting up. Through the window I could see three large beams of light shoot down from the sky, scanning across the mountain in view. My heart began to beat faster as I recognized the mountain, able to see the small wooden door that lead into Stable 76’s tunnel and the sign at the base along the trail. The beams focused in on the door, blinking as one beam before vanishing. Suddenly, what looked like a rod of energy screamed down from the sky, striking the side of the mountain. The mountain top was blown apart, rocks flung away in the blast, as my Stable started to burn.
Mosquito giggled like a school filly, and I felt my horn surge with energy. I smashed her head into the console with my magic, hearing her cry out in pain. Stepping up to her, I watched as she whimpered and tried to crawl away. My metal hoof came down on her temple, hard, and I could feel the bone shatter beneath it. My Stable… Cross Stitch… everypony inside… my mind was clear, save for the sole desire to beat Mosquito to a bloodied pulp. How she so easily killed them all, seeing them as nothing more than one blip on a radar, worthless pony lives... pony lives that I knew. She yelled in pain, coughing up blood as more poured from the crack in her skull. My hoof came down again, a few teeth being knocked free of her jaw as it struck, a loud crack resounding within the room. The sirens continued to blare, as in the back of my mind, the small yellow pegasus cowered and wept.
My hoof came down a third time, Mosquito only gurgling in response as the blood drained from her body began to pool on the floor. She stared up at nothing with a beaten eye, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the blood. I finally placed my flesh hoof onto her throat, hearing her wheeze slightly from the extra pressure. Slowly I leaned forward, her windpipe collapsing as I put my full weight upon it. She squirmed feebly for a moment before going still, her empty eyes gazing up at the cold metal ceiling, reflecting in their blank expression the inside of the room. Catching myself in the light, I took a good long stare into her dead eyes, and at the blood marking my hooves. When I caught my reflection again, it looked like me... but... what were all those bodies doing behind me?
I gasped as I awoke, panting, cold and clammy with sweat. Slowly, I sat up on the bed, trying to catch my breath. Oh, Mother of Celestia… I gulped, already feeling the burning sensation of stomach acid trying to creep up my throat. Tears slid down my face as I looked at the room, both Sweetie and Buzzy still asleep. I glanced down at my Pip-Buck, the clock reading 5:42. Letting off a sigh, I carefully slid the sheets back over myself. There’s no way I’m getting back to sleep after that… I picked up Cross’ plush counterpart, giving him a small snuggle and kiss before I placed him on my back. I quietly stepped over Buzzy, who muttered a bit before rolling over in bed. Trotting between the railcars, the cold wasteland air bit at my sweaty skin for the few moments it took to slide into the caboose, shutting the door silently behind. I sat down at the table, setting the plushie of Cross down on it as I levitated a bottle of Sunrise Sarsaparilla out of the refrigerator. I popped the cap off and took a swig, leaning onto the table, trying to focus my mind.
I stared down at my Cross toy, releasing a long sigh, thinking. What the hell happened at Pripytrot? What would I’ve done if Fringe hadn’t pulled me off Mosquito? I took another drink of the soda, my stomach still tied up in a knot. Why in Celestia’s name did I leave my Stable in the first place? What would’ve happened to Twintails, if I stayed inside? Questions swirled around in my head, almost making me sick to my stomach. I downed the rest of the Sarsaparilla in one gulp before pulling out another. Ugh, maybe I should just choke down a RAD, trying to vomit up the strontium might take my mind off of things. I looked over my shoulder as the door to Featherweight’s room opened, the muscular stallion closing the door behind him. “Morning.” I muttered, watching as he went to the cupboard and pulled out a box of oats. “How’s Twintails?”
“He hasn’t been doing too well." He poured himself a bowlful of oats and sat down at the table, wearing a faint frown. "He barely slept last night, and when he did, he was always muttering something, looking nervous. I don't know what launching that missile did to him...” He took a bite of oats, staring down at his bowl as he did. “I’m worried about him. I don’t want him going out on any more life-threatening... whatever it's called, but I know I can’t keep you here, especially with… Cross Stitch, right?” I nodded. “With him still out there, I know he’ll worry about you if you went out alone.” He took another mouthful of oats as I sipped some of my soda. He shook his head. “Getting involved in Pripytrot was a bad idea.”
“Yeah.” We sat in silence for a moment longer as Featherweight finished up his oats and I drank the last of the soda. “Once we get Cross out of the Stable, I’ll make sure he comes back here. It’s going to be a while before I ever go wandering the wastes again.” If at all. I thought. Featherweight gave a small smile as we both sat quietly. I looked out the window, watching as the sky grew slightly lighter, the dark clouds still rolling through the air. I thought about Cross, Greasy, Sugar, Nikolai… I didn’t know whether or not Twintails and I would return to The Doc… he didn’t seem to need us, at least. Still, my stomach didn’t relax as I wondered what he was planning on doing with Megaspell Mary.
Twintails stepped out of Featherweight’s room, already laden with his saddlebags and weaponry. He sat at the table, large bags under his eyes. I used my magic to lift another bowl of oats and a Sparkle Cola over to him. “Nnh, thanks.” He muttered idly, before starting to eat, not looking either of us in the eye. He ate in silence, pausing every now and then to take a sip of the Cola. Once he was finished he stood up and took his and Featherweight’s bowls to the sink. “You ready to head out, Minty?” I looked over to him, more than a little worried.
“A-are you sure? We can stay here a little longer, I don’t want you going out before you’re ready.” He shook his head slowly. I stood up and trotted over to him. “Twintails, what’s wrong?” I whispered in his ear. He didn’t answer, only shifting his gaze away from me again. “Please, Twintails. I don’t like seeing you like this, you’re worrying me.” I could feel tears well up in my eyes, my voice quavering slightly. Twintails sniffed a bit, still avoiding my gaze. I pulled him into a hug, starting to cry softly. “Twintails, I…” I gulped a bit, but Twintails spoke up before I could continue.
“I’m sorry, Minty.” He wrapped his front hooves around me, sniffling again as he squeezed me. “I… all those ponies…” He forced out. I just held him as we both cried, leaning into each other. We stepped apart after a moment, both wiping our eyes clear. We stood still, before Sweetie and Buzzy entered from their room, Sweetie carrying my saddlebags on her back. Twintails walked up to Featherweight and hugged him tightly, the larger stallion returning it. “I’ll be back soon.” Featherweight nodded.
“You come right back if you need me.” He said, giving him a squeeze. I hitched up my saddlebags, slipping Cross back into them. We headed out into the cold air, a few other ponies already out in hopes of getting an early start to their day. We walked through the train cars and out onto the road, heading towards Trotisk. As our hooves crunched through the snow, I glanced over at Twintails. He looked a little better than he had just a few minutes ago, but I knew whatever was on his mind was still eating at him.
“Twintails… what exactly happened back at Pripytrot?” I asked tentatively. Twintails sighed as we trudged through the snow. He didn’t answer right away, trying to organize his thoughts. Sweetie hopped alongside us, still as cheerful as ever. Snow began to fall softly as we came to a junction, following the signs pointing towards Trotisk.
“W-well, when I called in that air strike from Featherweight...” He said softly. “The phosphorous shells… the point is, it did more than I thought it would… those soldiers had no way to defend themselves, and the Phos… the stuff burned them alive, from the inside out. Slowly.” My gut dropped as I listened, regretting having asked. “Then we got to the bunker and… I just launched that warhead. After seeing all those ponies in the trenches I still just caused another hundred of them to die…” His ears dropped as we walked. “A-and… I… I wonder if I'd just keep going… just mindlessly shooting at whoever’s there…” He looked over to me. “What if I end up firing something like that and it hits Mooscow, or Turnpike… or you?”
His eyes started to fill with tears again and I quickly walked up alongside him, giving him another hug and a soft nuzzle. “Twintails, I know you couldn’t do that. You’re nothing like your father… no matter what happens, I know you’d never be able to bring yourself to do something like that.” Twintails pushed his face into my shoulder a bit before stepping away. He wiped his eyes again.
“I’m… I’m sorry. Pripytrot… I just need some time to think, or… or something.” I gave a little nod, and we turned back down the road. We walked along for a while, every now and then passing a Steel Ranger heading back to EQUAD. I flipped on the radio, trying to divert both Twintails’ and my attention to something else.
Tom’s voice crackled in, “So, now you know why we stopped trading with Zebras and decided to bomb them instead. I promise tomorrow’s Neighrer Nightly will involve much less history and more jokes. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, obviously, why back in my heyday, ponies were making balefire apocalypse jokes like no tomorrow.". The radio fell silent for a moment, Tom letting off a weak chuckle. "Eheh, ah... too soon?"
Hi-Fi’s voice cut in, a small thump being heard as Tom had likely been shoved off the recording booth’s chair. "And that's the end of another lovely segment from our own Tom Neighrer, who probably deserves the hoof to the head I'll be asking my assistant Hi-fi to give him. Anyways, GOOOD MORNING, WASTELAAAAND! And what a good morning it is, because the guns out in Pripytrot are all silent and the boys are going back home! That's right, those mares and stallions out that way just won the battle of Pripytrot with a shut-out, reports claim the minute that missile blew the Enclave's ship in half every single enclave trooper dropped their guns and threw their hooves up to the sky! If you see a vertibuck overhead, don't you worry my pony popsicles, that's just the spoils of war! Ha-ha!
"Far as Pripytrot itself is concerned, though, the Steel Rangers do recommend staying away from it for the time being. They’ve still got to ‘clean up' a few things, and the area’s still flooded with radiation. Matter of fact, that missile that supposedly a pair of stallions I know and am starting to love launched to end the whole thing was carrying a megaspell warhead, so the fallout’s going to be lingering a bit longer than we thought. Stay in those houses if you don’t want to become a ghoul! And if you do… well, I’ve seen weirder shit ponies are into. This one goes out to all those mares and stallions that fought for the rest of us and beat the ever-loving shit outta the Enclave!” There was a moment of silence before another song faded in. Stomach acid creeping up my throat, I flicked the radio off quickly, swallowing back the vomit. Oh, why did she have to say that...
---
We stepped into the Plasma Spaz, grey snow starting to fall from the sky as the door swung shut. Nikolai was at the desk again, wiping down the counter and register, looking up to both of us with a cheerful grin. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon!” I returned his smile as we trotted up to the desk, Sweetie breaking away to look at more of Greasy’s custom weapons. “Flash and Sugar are both asleep. I think tonight’s the first time they’ve been able to get a proper rest in weeks. They’ve been so worried about the others fighting there, Flash kept making flights down to check on them.”
Greasy suddenly appeared at the door, rubbing her eyes a bit with her decaying hoof. “Oh, hey, what’re you two doing back here?” I shrugged a little, almost unable to answer why exactly. The thought ran through to respond with 'just to show we aren't dead'... but that feeling in my stomach warded me off of it. “Well, it’s nice to see you two again, regardless.” She looked down a little. “H-hey… would you guys mind if I asked something of you? When you guys broke me out of my factory, I... I wasn’t able to get everything I’d wanted. I didn’t think I could trust you, but… look, I’ll understand if you need a break after what happened at Pripytrot… but, would you mind going back there?" I blinked a few times, looking over to Twintails. He and Nikolai were both watching over Sweetie, as she seemed to get the pieces together for another one of those balefire egg warheads with the MFC grenades. "I told you how the night of the war… Rusty never made it back into the bunker. She was running back for more of our schematics when they fell… Would… would you mind trying to find her? I-I know she’s dead, there’s no way she could have survived, but… something?” She pleaded.
I looked over to Twintails, as he trotted back over to us. I wanted to help her out, but if anything we did might make him worse… after a breif run-over of the situation, he nodded, looking as determined as he had many times before. Greasy smiled and thanked us, as I picked up Sweetie and moved her back over to us. “Awww, can’t I just stay and play with the lasers? The chances of me burning the structure down are one hundred seventy six thousand, eight hundred forty three to one against!” I rolled my eyes, moving towards the door with a sigh. With our luck, we’re going to run into more Hell Hounds there, and we’re going to need you and your inventions. We left the shop, waving to Nikolai and Greasy as the wind picked up and blew the snow around our manes, stinging my eyes behind my glasses. I buried my muzzle into my coat as we began to tramp through the snow, several ponies rushing through the streets to head back inside.
Soon we arrived at the factory further inside the city, the loose tin letters blowing in the wind above the doorframe. We slipped through the doors, Twintails keeping his eyes away from the bomb shadows outside and myself pulling out Sugar’s laser pistol, ready for any stray roaches still crawling around. “Well, I suppose we should look around this floor first, and work our way up. I doubt she’d be in the basement, or she would’ve probably made it back to the bunker.” Twintails nodded, and we split apart, him sweeping the west wing as I did the east. Sweetie tagged along with me, as I searched through the various cubicles. Aside from the occasional dead radroach and pencil, and one of the terminals having been replaced by a lone pencil sharpener at one desk, I found nothing of note. I wondered if the skeleton I’d found last time had been Rusty... no, it was definitely a zebra skeleton... I think. A grimace worked across my face as I thought it over more; Well, I doubt Greasy would have wanted her skull anyway. I met back up with Twintails at the staircase on the opposite side of the facility. “Find anything?”
He shook his head in response, a frown across his muzzle. “I found a few caps in a drawer, but nothing that might be Rusty. Well, the pony, I mean. Plenty of rusty desks and cans around, eheh...” Answering his joke with a hoof to my forehead, we headed upstairs and broke off again, searching the various offices. The first few held nothing new from the last ones, aside from a roach that I was quick to vaporize, and a few spare energy cells. Sweetie gathered up a box of Abraxo she found in the janitor’s closet, stashing it in a small panel that opened on her back. Inside were a few bottles of turpentine, and a few empty soda bottles as well. Well, at least we can make a few more Sparkle grenades if we need to. I stepped up to a rather ornate wooden door, peering through the cracked glass and into what looked like a large executive office. Jiggling the door handle, the knob refused to budge any further. Couldn't have been so easy... Releasing a sigh, I sat myself down, pulling out my screwdriver and a pin. I'd begun to fiddle with the lock, as Twintails found us. “Nothing yet.”
I nodded, placing my ear to the lock. Come on… a little left… right… The lock clicked as I managed to work it free, the door swinging open. I stowed my pin and screwdriver, wearing a small grin as we stepped into the office. A large desk sat at the end, something charred black sticking out from behind it. Twintails hung back for a few moments as I walked behind the desk, revealing a charred skeleton gripping what looked like several old holotapes. Resting upon what was left of the skeleton's skull was a bright green headband.
I recognized it instantly. It was the headband Rusty wore in the picture on her book, had to be. I bent down to inspect it closer, Twintails finally seeming to work up the will to move forth. How in the name of Celestia did something like that survive the war? It glittered in the faint light as I gently lifted it off of her bones with my magic, dropping it onto my outstretched hoof. The band was surprisingly heavy, my eyes widening in amazement as I tossed it gently on my foreleg. Twintails kept his focus on the band, his mouth dropping open as it shimmered in the light. “Is that… emerald?” I rolled the band around in my hooves, the light from the windows bouncing off of it in various ways.
I let Twintails admire it for a moment more, before slipping it gently into my saddlebags. “Okay, we agree to not touch that again until we’re handing it over to Greasy, alright? Celestia knows what a raider might do if they saw us carrying it around.” Twintails nodded in agreement, and both of us immediately turned to leave. Gems may have been common before the war, but anything with that kind of craftsmanship alone was going to turn heads. I paused for a moment, gathering up the holotapes clutched in Rusty’s bony legs, slipping them into my saddlebags as well. We trotted downstairs and headed back out into the icy wind, fighting it as we made our way back towards the Plasma Spaz.
---
The bell on the door rung as we entered, both Twintails and I happy to be shielded from the wind again. Cross' new jacket was better than the old armor, but sweet Celestia above, the winds were being nasty today. We headed up the stairs, finding Nikolai brewing some hot chocolate as Greasy poured over a large pile of metal. She muttered to herself, trying to fit bits and pieces into various components, drawing the attention of Sweetie. “Well, that certainly was fast.” Nikolai said, wearing a smile, placing a few mugs of the drink on the table.
Greasy was still too engrossed in her work to notice, but looked up once Nikolai nudged her. She stood up, wearing a wide grin and looking eagerly at us. “Did you find anything?” I opened up my saddlebags, levitating out all the holotapes. Greasy immediately grabbed a few of them, looking them over. “EMP pistol… solar powered gun… Tesla rifle, heh, that’s one you should see, gives me tingles… um, metaphorically, I mean.” She rattled off the various devices, laying the holotape blueprints on the table. As she did, I lifted out the gem headband.
“Ah, we found this, too.” Greasy stopped her spiel as her eyes lifted to meet sight of the band, a breath leaving her as she stood, frozen. I gently levitated it over to her, letting it fall into her hooves. “This was Rusty’s, right?” Greasy nodded slowly, her eyes welling up with tears as she held it in her hooves. She backed up and sat down on the couch, staring at the band through her wet eyes. After a quiet moment, she sniffled, setting the band on the table near the pile of holotapes, stepping up and embracing us both a hug.
“Thank you so, so much…” She broke the hug, both Twintails and I sitting down beside her, Nikolai taking a seat on the floor next to the table. “Yes... yes, this was hers. She had a few others, but this one was always her favorite.” She paused, smiling down at the band. I explained where we found it and she chuckled a bit. “I’m surprised it survived in that office. Even before the war we always had things failing in there, lights, windows… a filing cabinet even exploded once. Had the automatic drawer wired wrong... she was always happy to patch things up, though. She was always more an engineer than an inventor, but you should’ve seen how her face would light up when she finally got my things to work properly. She’d always rush to show me like a little filly, beaming…” Greasy’s eyes watered a warm smile coming across her face. “S-sorry, I’m ranting again. This... this was more than I’d expected… Thank you.” She held the headband close to her, resting her muzzle upon the finely smoothed emerald.
“It was our pleasure.” Twintails wore a light smile as Nikolai offered Greasy a mug of the chocolate, the ghoul pegasus accepting and taking a sip. I took a drink of my own mug of the cocoa as well, feeling it warm my insides as it fell into my stomach. Leaning back into the couch, I released a contended sigh, Sugar Rush and Flash Bang stepped into the room with soft smiles upon their own faces. “Oh hey, how’re you two doing?” They sat down, Sugar leaning into Flash gently, seeming to nibble on her wingtip playfully. The pegasus mare's face turned a bright red in blush, Sugar releasing a giggle and wrapping a hoof around her neck, Flash-Bang taking a moment to regain herself.
“M-much better, now that the issue in Pripytrot’s over and done with. Much, much better...” Flash let off a small giggle of her own, nuzzling Sugar lightly. Nikolai stood up and went to prepare some more hot chocolate for them, Flash turning back to face us. “Ooh, before I forget, Quazar had wanted to see you two again. She has something she wanted to give you both, a little show of her thanks~” She snickered, having delivered it about as tauntingly as she could have. Twintails grinned excitedly, leaning forwards; Flash responding with a grin and shake of her head. “Nope, I’m not allowed to tell you, you have to go there yourself. Based on how she worded it though, I'm pretty sure you'll want to go there sooner than later~” I took another sip of cocoa, as Twintails downed the rest of his in one gulp. He swallowed and coughed, fanning his mouth with a wing.
“HOT, hot, that was hot, bad idea.” He coughed, setting the mug back onto the table and panting a few times into the cool air. Sweetie was busy tinkering with the cocoa machine along with Nikolai, glancing back and forth between hastily scribbled notes and the metal pieces. After regaining himself, Twintails looked over to me, still managing a grin. “Do you want to head out? Ooooh, maybe she’s planning on giving us back the TOG!” I chuckled lightly, finishing up my cocoa and giving my head a small shake. Against my better judgment, I nodded, standing up.
“I suppose we can head out now. But don’t get too excited, odds are it’s probably power armor or something.” I replied, fantasizing about a full, real set of power armor… maybe some sort of plasma cannon built into the back, and, ooh, just imagine the targeting systems... Twintails nudged me, taking me out of my dream, before releasing a light chuckle. I turned to face the others, clearing my throat and nodding lightly. “Thanks for letting us stay for a little while, again.” They thanked us for stopping by, Greasy giving us another hug before we headed downstairs. I had to practically drag Sweetie away from the table of machinery.
We headed outside again, the wind and snow having died down significantly since we’d returned with Rusty’s headband. We made our way through the streets north, passing by the entrance to the inner city on our way up to EQUAD. We trotted past a few ponies in power armor, a few tilting their head in acknowledgement or waving to us as we passed, us returning with smiles and waves of our own. We were soon starting to climb the road twisting around the small mountain EQUAD was embedded in, the guards lifting the roadblock for us without hesitation. Sweetie spoke up. “If we are to receive access to the weapons lab, I will be sure to manufacture several Sparkle grenades and other devices of fun!” She said, hopping up and down excitedly. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight - we really need to find someplace to keep her safe before she blows us all up, though.
The door to the bunker slid open with a loud creak, Twintails, Sweetie and I all heading down the steps, our hooves echoing through the metal corridors. We trotted through the hallways, heading down another few steps towards Elder Quazar’s room. “Oh, hey, guys!” Nova trotted up to us, smiling widely. “I take it Flash told you about my mom’s offer then. I didn’t expect you to come so quickly.”
“I don’t think Cotton Candy expected you to either.” Twintails said, releasing a little giggle. Nova’s face turned bright red, as mine went a little green as well. No, Twintails… just… no. He giggled again as we stepped into Quazar’s room, the hydraulic door shutting behind us. She was busy pouring herself over some field reports, occasionally scribbling down notes on a sheet of paper. We walked up to her desk, the unicorn mare looking up from her work with weary eyes and a wide smile.
“Ah, I'm so glad to see you're all alright. Fringe had told me about what you've done... a lot of ponies here owe you their lives, you know.” She wore a smile, looking back down at her notes for a moment, making a few more marks before sliding the papers into a drawer in her desk. She stood herself up, still wearing the smile, looking at both of us. “Come, right this way, if you wouldn't mind. I really can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done. The war with the Enclave would have likely drained all our resources and killed everypony, if you hadn't done what you did. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly repay you, but I hope this is at least a start.” She smiled, us all having been brought down a branching hallway near a few metal cylinders that had ridiculous springs in them. She pressed a button near a large door, a few locks sliding and spinning open before the door slid down into the ground, revealing an enormous supply room, stocked with lasers, plasma, rifles, grenades, missile launchers, power armor… I was grinning ear to ear, looking around at everything available.
“Have what you can carry. We owe you our livelyhood.”
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I was standing in the command room, General Mosquito at the control panel in her Enclave officer power armor. She was flipping switches and pressing buttons, humming some odd tune. A bright red light began to flash on the ceiling, alarm sirens starting up. Through the window I could see three large beams of light shoot down from the sky, scanning across the mountain in view. My heart began to beat faster as I recognized the mountain, able to see the small wooden door that lead into Stable 76’s tunnel and the sign at the base along the trail. The beams focused in on the door, blinking as one beam before vanishing. Suddenly, what looked like a rod of energy screamed down from the sky, striking the side of the mountain. The mountain top was blown apart, rocks flung away in the blast, as my Stable started to burn.
Mosquito giggled like a school filly, and I felt my horn surge with energy. I smashed her head into the console with my magic, hearing her cry out in pain. Stepping up to her, I watched as she whimpered and tried to crawl away. My metal hoof came down on her temple, hard, and I could feel the bone shatter beneath it. My Stable… Cross Stitch… everypony inside… my mind was clear, save for the sole desire to beat Mosquito to a bloodied pulp. How she so easily killed them all, seeing them as nothing more than one blip on a radar, worthless pony lives... pony lives that I knew. She yelled in pain, coughing up blood as more poured from the crack in her skull. My hoof came down again, a few teeth being knocked free of her jaw as it struck, a loud crack resounding within the room. The sirens continued to blare, as in the back of my mind, the small yellow pegasus cowered and wept.
My hoof came down a third time, Mosquito only gurgling in response as the blood drained from her body began to pool on the floor. She stared up at nothing with a beaten eye, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the blood. I finally placed my flesh hoof onto her throat, hearing her wheeze slightly from the extra pressure. Slowly I leaned forward, her windpipe collapsing as I put my full weight upon it. She squirmed feebly for a moment before going still, her empty eyes gazing up at the cold metal ceiling, reflecting in their blank expression the inside of the room. Catching myself in the light, I took a good long stare into her dead eyes, and at the blood marking my hooves. When I caught my reflection again, it looked like me... but... what were all those bodies doing behind me?
I gasped as I awoke, panting, cold and clammy with sweat. Slowly, I sat up on the bed, trying to catch my breath. Oh, Mother of Celestia… I gulped, already feeling the burning sensation of stomach acid trying to creep up my throat. Tears slid down my face as I looked at the room, both Sweetie and Buzzy still asleep. I glanced down at my Pip-Buck, the clock reading 5:42. Letting off a sigh, I carefully slid the sheets back over myself. There’s no way I’m getting back to sleep after that… I picked up Cross’ plush counterpart, giving him a small snuggle and kiss before I placed him on my back. I quietly stepped over Buzzy, who muttered a bit before rolling over in bed. Trotting between the railcars, the cold wasteland air bit at my sweaty skin for the few moments it took to slide into the caboose, shutting the door silently behind. I sat down at the table, setting the plushie of Cross down on it as I levitated a bottle of Sunrise Sarsaparilla out of the refrigerator. I popped the cap off and took a swig, leaning onto the table, trying to focus my mind.
I stared down at my Cross toy, releasing a long sigh, thinking. What the hell happened at Pripytrot? What would I’ve done if Fringe hadn’t pulled me off Mosquito? I took another drink of the soda, my stomach still tied up in a knot. Why in Celestia’s name did I leave my Stable in the first place? What would’ve happened to Twintails, if I stayed inside? Questions swirled around in my head, almost making me sick to my stomach. I downed the rest of the Sarsaparilla in one gulp before pulling out another. Ugh, maybe I should just choke down a RAD, trying to vomit up the strontium might take my mind off of things. I looked over my shoulder as the door to Featherweight’s room opened, the muscular stallion closing the door behind him. “Morning.” I muttered, watching as he went to the cupboard and pulled out a box of oats. “How’s Twintails?”
“He hasn’t been doing too well." He poured himself a bowlful of oats and sat down at the table, wearing a faint frown. "He barely slept last night, and when he did, he was always muttering something, looking nervous. I don't know what launching that missile did to him...” He took a bite of oats, staring down at his bowl as he did. “I’m worried about him. I don’t want him going out on any more life-threatening... whatever it's called, but I know I can’t keep you here, especially with… Cross Stitch, right?” I nodded. “With him still out there, I know he’ll worry about you if you went out alone.” He took another mouthful of oats as I sipped some of my soda. He shook his head. “Getting involved in Pripytrot was a bad idea.”
“Yeah.” We sat in silence for a moment longer as Featherweight finished up his oats and I drank the last of the soda. “Once we get Cross out of the Stable, I’ll make sure he comes back here. It’s going to be a while before I ever go wandering the wastes again.” If at all. I thought. Featherweight gave a small smile as we both sat quietly. I looked out the window, watching as the sky grew slightly lighter, the dark clouds still rolling through the air. I thought about Cross, Greasy, Sugar, Nikolai… I didn’t know whether or not Twintails and I would return to The Doc… he didn’t seem to need us, at least. Still, my stomach didn’t relax as I wondered what he was planning on doing with Megaspell Mary.
Twintails stepped out of Featherweight’s room, already laden with his saddlebags and weaponry. He sat at the table, large bags under his eyes. I used my magic to lift another bowl of oats and a Sparkle Cola over to him. “Nnh, thanks.” He muttered idly, before starting to eat, not looking either of us in the eye. He ate in silence, pausing every now and then to take a sip of the Cola. Once he was finished he stood up and took his and Featherweight’s bowls to the sink. “You ready to head out, Minty?” I looked over to him, more than a little worried.
“A-are you sure? We can stay here a little longer, I don’t want you going out before you’re ready.” He shook his head slowly. I stood up and trotted over to him. “Twintails, what’s wrong?” I whispered in his ear. He didn’t answer, only shifting his gaze away from me again. “Please, Twintails. I don’t like seeing you like this, you’re worrying me.” I could feel tears well up in my eyes, my voice quavering slightly. Twintails sniffed a bit, still avoiding my gaze. I pulled him into a hug, starting to cry softly. “Twintails, I…” I gulped a bit, but Twintails spoke up before I could continue.
“I’m sorry, Minty.” He wrapped his front hooves around me, sniffling again as he squeezed me. “I… all those ponies…” He forced out. I just held him as we both cried, leaning into each other. We stepped apart after a moment, both wiping our eyes clear. We stood still, before Sweetie and Buzzy entered from their room, Sweetie carrying my saddlebags on her back. Twintails walked up to Featherweight and hugged him tightly, the larger stallion returning it. “I’ll be back soon.” Featherweight nodded.
“You come right back if you need me.” He said, giving him a squeeze. I hitched up my saddlebags, slipping Cross back into them. We headed out into the cold air, a few other ponies already out in hopes of getting an early start to their day. We walked through the train cars and out onto the road, heading towards Trotisk. As our hooves crunched through the snow, I glanced over at Twintails. He looked a little better than he had just a few minutes ago, but I knew whatever was on his mind was still eating at him.
“Twintails… what exactly happened back at Pripytrot?” I asked tentatively. Twintails sighed as we trudged through the snow. He didn’t answer right away, trying to organize his thoughts. Sweetie hopped alongside us, still as cheerful as ever. Snow began to fall softly as we came to a junction, following the signs pointing towards Trotisk.
“W-well, when I called in that air strike from Featherweight...” He said softly. “The phosphorous shells… the point is, it did more than I thought it would… those soldiers had no way to defend themselves, and the Phos… the stuff burned them alive, from the inside out. Slowly.” My gut dropped as I listened, regretting having asked. “Then we got to the bunker and… I just launched that warhead. After seeing all those ponies in the trenches I still just caused another hundred of them to die…” His ears dropped as we walked. “A-and… I… I wonder if I'd just keep going… just mindlessly shooting at whoever’s there…” He looked over to me. “What if I end up firing something like that and it hits Mooscow, or Turnpike… or you?”
His eyes started to fill with tears again and I quickly walked up alongside him, giving him another hug and a soft nuzzle. “Twintails, I know you couldn’t do that. You’re nothing like your father… no matter what happens, I know you’d never be able to bring yourself to do something like that.” Twintails pushed his face into my shoulder a bit before stepping away. He wiped his eyes again.
“I’m… I’m sorry. Pripytrot… I just need some time to think, or… or something.” I gave a little nod, and we turned back down the road. We walked along for a while, every now and then passing a Steel Ranger heading back to EQUAD. I flipped on the radio, trying to divert both Twintails’ and my attention to something else.
Tom’s voice crackled in, “So, now you know why we stopped trading with Zebras and decided to bomb them instead. I promise tomorrow’s Neighrer Nightly will involve much less history and more jokes. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, obviously, why back in my heyday, ponies were making balefire apocalypse jokes like no tomorrow.". The radio fell silent for a moment, Tom letting off a weak chuckle. "Eheh, ah... too soon?"
Hi-Fi’s voice cut in, a small thump being heard as Tom had likely been shoved off the recording booth’s chair. "And that's the end of another lovely segment from our own Tom Neighrer, who probably deserves the hoof to the head I'll be asking my assistant Hi-fi to give him. Anyways, GOOOD MORNING, WASTELAAAAND! And what a good morning it is, because the guns out in Pripytrot are all silent and the boys are going back home! That's right, those mares and stallions out that way just won the battle of Pripytrot with a shut-out, reports claim the minute that missile blew the Enclave's ship in half every single enclave trooper dropped their guns and threw their hooves up to the sky! If you see a vertibuck overhead, don't you worry my pony popsicles, that's just the spoils of war! Ha-ha!
"Far as Pripytrot itself is concerned, though, the Steel Rangers do recommend staying away from it for the time being. They’ve still got to ‘clean up' a few things, and the area’s still flooded with radiation. Matter of fact, that missile that supposedly a pair of stallions I know and am starting to love launched to end the whole thing was carrying a megaspell warhead, so the fallout’s going to be lingering a bit longer than we thought. Stay in those houses if you don’t want to become a ghoul! And if you do… well, I’ve seen weirder shit ponies are into. This one goes out to all those mares and stallions that fought for the rest of us and beat the ever-loving shit outta the Enclave!” There was a moment of silence before another song faded in. Stomach acid creeping up my throat, I flicked the radio off quickly, swallowing back the vomit. Oh, why did she have to say that...
---
We stepped into the Plasma Spaz, grey snow starting to fall from the sky as the door swung shut. Nikolai was at the desk again, wiping down the counter and register, looking up to both of us with a cheerful grin. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon!” I returned his smile as we trotted up to the desk, Sweetie breaking away to look at more of Greasy’s custom weapons. “Flash and Sugar are both asleep. I think tonight’s the first time they’ve been able to get a proper rest in weeks. They’ve been so worried about the others fighting there, Flash kept making flights down to check on them.”
Greasy suddenly appeared at the door, rubbing her eyes a bit with her decaying hoof. “Oh, hey, what’re you two doing back here?” I shrugged a little, almost unable to answer why exactly. The thought ran through to respond with 'just to show we aren't dead'... but that feeling in my stomach warded me off of it. “Well, it’s nice to see you two again, regardless.” She looked down a little. “H-hey… would you guys mind if I asked something of you? When you guys broke me out of my factory, I... I wasn’t able to get everything I’d wanted. I didn’t think I could trust you, but… look, I’ll understand if you need a break after what happened at Pripytrot… but, would you mind going back there?" I blinked a few times, looking over to Twintails. He and Nikolai were both watching over Sweetie, as she seemed to get the pieces together for another one of those balefire egg warheads with the MFC grenades. "I told you how the night of the war… Rusty never made it back into the bunker. She was running back for more of our schematics when they fell… Would… would you mind trying to find her? I-I know she’s dead, there’s no way she could have survived, but… something?” She pleaded.
I looked over to Twintails, as he trotted back over to us. I wanted to help her out, but if anything we did might make him worse… after a breif run-over of the situation, he nodded, looking as determined as he had many times before. Greasy smiled and thanked us, as I picked up Sweetie and moved her back over to us. “Awww, can’t I just stay and play with the lasers? The chances of me burning the structure down are one hundred seventy six thousand, eight hundred forty three to one against!” I rolled my eyes, moving towards the door with a sigh. With our luck, we’re going to run into more Hell Hounds there, and we’re going to need you and your inventions. We left the shop, waving to Nikolai and Greasy as the wind picked up and blew the snow around our manes, stinging my eyes behind my glasses. I buried my muzzle into my coat as we began to tramp through the snow, several ponies rushing through the streets to head back inside.
Soon we arrived at the factory further inside the city, the loose tin letters blowing in the wind above the doorframe. We slipped through the doors, Twintails keeping his eyes away from the bomb shadows outside and myself pulling out Sugar’s laser pistol, ready for any stray roaches still crawling around. “Well, I suppose we should look around this floor first, and work our way up. I doubt she’d be in the basement, or she would’ve probably made it back to the bunker.” Twintails nodded, and we split apart, him sweeping the west wing as I did the east. Sweetie tagged along with me, as I searched through the various cubicles. Aside from the occasional dead radroach and pencil, and one of the terminals having been replaced by a lone pencil sharpener at one desk, I found nothing of note. I wondered if the skeleton I’d found last time had been Rusty... no, it was definitely a zebra skeleton... I think. A grimace worked across my face as I thought it over more; Well, I doubt Greasy would have wanted her skull anyway. I met back up with Twintails at the staircase on the opposite side of the facility. “Find anything?”
He shook his head in response, a frown across his muzzle. “I found a few caps in a drawer, but nothing that might be Rusty. Well, the pony, I mean. Plenty of rusty desks and cans around, eheh...” Answering his joke with a hoof to my forehead, we headed upstairs and broke off again, searching the various offices. The first few held nothing new from the last ones, aside from a roach that I was quick to vaporize, and a few spare energy cells. Sweetie gathered up a box of Abraxo she found in the janitor’s closet, stashing it in a small panel that opened on her back. Inside were a few bottles of turpentine, and a few empty soda bottles as well. Well, at least we can make a few more Sparkle grenades if we need to. I stepped up to a rather ornate wooden door, peering through the cracked glass and into what looked like a large executive office. Jiggling the door handle, the knob refused to budge any further. Couldn't have been so easy... Releasing a sigh, I sat myself down, pulling out my screwdriver and a pin. I'd begun to fiddle with the lock, as Twintails found us. “Nothing yet.”
I nodded, placing my ear to the lock. Come on… a little left… right… The lock clicked as I managed to work it free, the door swinging open. I stowed my pin and screwdriver, wearing a small grin as we stepped into the office. A large desk sat at the end, something charred black sticking out from behind it. Twintails hung back for a few moments as I walked behind the desk, revealing a charred skeleton gripping what looked like several old holotapes. Resting upon what was left of the skeleton's skull was a bright green headband.
I recognized it instantly. It was the headband Rusty wore in the picture on her book, had to be. I bent down to inspect it closer, Twintails finally seeming to work up the will to move forth. How in the name of Celestia did something like that survive the war? It glittered in the faint light as I gently lifted it off of her bones with my magic, dropping it onto my outstretched hoof. The band was surprisingly heavy, my eyes widening in amazement as I tossed it gently on my foreleg. Twintails kept his focus on the band, his mouth dropping open as it shimmered in the light. “Is that… emerald?” I rolled the band around in my hooves, the light from the windows bouncing off of it in various ways.
I let Twintails admire it for a moment more, before slipping it gently into my saddlebags. “Okay, we agree to not touch that again until we’re handing it over to Greasy, alright? Celestia knows what a raider might do if they saw us carrying it around.” Twintails nodded in agreement, and both of us immediately turned to leave. Gems may have been common before the war, but anything with that kind of craftsmanship alone was going to turn heads. I paused for a moment, gathering up the holotapes clutched in Rusty’s bony legs, slipping them into my saddlebags as well. We trotted downstairs and headed back out into the icy wind, fighting it as we made our way back towards the Plasma Spaz.
---
The bell on the door rung as we entered, both Twintails and I happy to be shielded from the wind again. Cross' new jacket was better than the old armor, but sweet Celestia above, the winds were being nasty today. We headed up the stairs, finding Nikolai brewing some hot chocolate as Greasy poured over a large pile of metal. She muttered to herself, trying to fit bits and pieces into various components, drawing the attention of Sweetie. “Well, that certainly was fast.” Nikolai said, wearing a smile, placing a few mugs of the drink on the table.
Greasy was still too engrossed in her work to notice, but looked up once Nikolai nudged her. She stood up, wearing a wide grin and looking eagerly at us. “Did you find anything?” I opened up my saddlebags, levitating out all the holotapes. Greasy immediately grabbed a few of them, looking them over. “EMP pistol… solar powered gun… Tesla rifle, heh, that’s one you should see, gives me tingles… um, metaphorically, I mean.” She rattled off the various devices, laying the holotape blueprints on the table. As she did, I lifted out the gem headband.
“Ah, we found this, too.” Greasy stopped her spiel as her eyes lifted to meet sight of the band, a breath leaving her as she stood, frozen. I gently levitated it over to her, letting it fall into her hooves. “This was Rusty’s, right?” Greasy nodded slowly, her eyes welling up with tears as she held it in her hooves. She backed up and sat down on the couch, staring at the band through her wet eyes. After a quiet moment, she sniffled, setting the band on the table near the pile of holotapes, stepping up and embracing us both a hug.
“Thank you so, so much…” She broke the hug, both Twintails and I sitting down beside her, Nikolai taking a seat on the floor next to the table. “Yes... yes, this was hers. She had a few others, but this one was always her favorite.” She paused, smiling down at the band. I explained where we found it and she chuckled a bit. “I’m surprised it survived in that office. Even before the war we always had things failing in there, lights, windows… a filing cabinet even exploded once. Had the automatic drawer wired wrong... she was always happy to patch things up, though. She was always more an engineer than an inventor, but you should’ve seen how her face would light up when she finally got my things to work properly. She’d always rush to show me like a little filly, beaming…” Greasy’s eyes watered a warm smile coming across her face. “S-sorry, I’m ranting again. This... this was more than I’d expected… Thank you.” She held the headband close to her, resting her muzzle upon the finely smoothed emerald.
“It was our pleasure.” Twintails wore a light smile as Nikolai offered Greasy a mug of the chocolate, the ghoul pegasus accepting and taking a sip. I took a drink of my own mug of the cocoa as well, feeling it warm my insides as it fell into my stomach. Leaning back into the couch, I released a contended sigh, Sugar Rush and Flash Bang stepped into the room with soft smiles upon their own faces. “Oh hey, how’re you two doing?” They sat down, Sugar leaning into Flash gently, seeming to nibble on her wingtip playfully. The pegasus mare's face turned a bright red in blush, Sugar releasing a giggle and wrapping a hoof around her neck, Flash-Bang taking a moment to regain herself.
“M-much better, now that the issue in Pripytrot’s over and done with. Much, much better...” Flash let off a small giggle of her own, nuzzling Sugar lightly. Nikolai stood up and went to prepare some more hot chocolate for them, Flash turning back to face us. “Ooh, before I forget, Quazar had wanted to see you two again. She has something she wanted to give you both, a little show of her thanks~” She snickered, having delivered it about as tauntingly as she could have. Twintails grinned excitedly, leaning forwards; Flash responding with a grin and shake of her head. “Nope, I’m not allowed to tell you, you have to go there yourself. Based on how she worded it though, I'm pretty sure you'll want to go there sooner than later~” I took another sip of cocoa, as Twintails downed the rest of his in one gulp. He swallowed and coughed, fanning his mouth with a wing.
“HOT, hot, that was hot, bad idea.” He coughed, setting the mug back onto the table and panting a few times into the cool air. Sweetie was busy tinkering with the cocoa machine along with Nikolai, glancing back and forth between hastily scribbled notes and the metal pieces. After regaining himself, Twintails looked over to me, still managing a grin. “Do you want to head out? Ooooh, maybe she’s planning on giving us back the TOG!” I chuckled lightly, finishing up my cocoa and giving my head a small shake. Against my better judgment, I nodded, standing up.
“I suppose we can head out now. But don’t get too excited, odds are it’s probably power armor or something.” I replied, fantasizing about a full, real set of power armor… maybe some sort of plasma cannon built into the back, and, ooh, just imagine the targeting systems... Twintails nudged me, taking me out of my dream, before releasing a light chuckle. I turned to face the others, clearing my throat and nodding lightly. “Thanks for letting us stay for a little while, again.” They thanked us for stopping by, Greasy giving us another hug before we headed downstairs. I had to practically drag Sweetie away from the table of machinery.
We headed outside again, the wind and snow having died down significantly since we’d returned with Rusty’s headband. We made our way through the streets north, passing by the entrance to the inner city on our way up to EQUAD. We trotted past a few ponies in power armor, a few tilting their head in acknowledgement or waving to us as we passed, us returning with smiles and waves of our own. We were soon starting to climb the road twisting around the small mountain EQUAD was embedded in, the guards lifting the roadblock for us without hesitation. Sweetie spoke up. “If we are to receive access to the weapons lab, I will be sure to manufacture several Sparkle grenades and other devices of fun!” She said, hopping up and down excitedly. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight - we really need to find someplace to keep her safe before she blows us all up, though.
The door to the bunker slid open with a loud creak, Twintails, Sweetie and I all heading down the steps, our hooves echoing through the metal corridors. We trotted through the hallways, heading down another few steps towards Elder Quazar’s room. “Oh, hey, guys!” Nova trotted up to us, smiling widely. “I take it Flash told you about my mom’s offer then. I didn’t expect you to come so quickly.”
“I don’t think Cotton Candy expected you to either.” Twintails said, releasing a little giggle. Nova’s face turned bright red, as mine went a little green as well. No, Twintails… just… no. He giggled again as we stepped into Quazar’s room, the hydraulic door shutting behind us. She was busy pouring herself over some field reports, occasionally scribbling down notes on a sheet of paper. We walked up to her desk, the unicorn mare looking up from her work with weary eyes and a wide smile.
“Ah, I'm so glad to see you're all alright. Fringe had told me about what you've done... a lot of ponies here owe you their lives, you know.” She wore a smile, looking back down at her notes for a moment, making a few more marks before sliding the papers into a drawer in her desk. She stood herself up, still wearing the smile, looking at both of us. “Come, right this way, if you wouldn't mind. I really can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done. The war with the Enclave would have likely drained all our resources and killed everypony, if you hadn't done what you did. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly repay you, but I hope this is at least a start.” She smiled, us all having been brought down a branching hallway near a few metal cylinders that had ridiculous springs in them. She pressed a button near a large door, a few locks sliding and spinning open before the door slid down into the ground, revealing an enormous supply room, stocked with lasers, plasma, rifles, grenades, missile launchers, power armor… I was grinning ear to ear, looking around at everything available.
“Have what you can carry. We owe you our livelyhood.”
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Category Artwork (Digital) / Fanart
Species Horse
Size 900 x 472px
File Size 192.1 kB
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