Fallout Equeastria: Subject 00

Ch.7 Mother, my Mother

“Do you want to go to school with a tangled mess?”

Jade sat on the seat of one of caravan’s carts. She wasn’t healed, but the caravan ponies needed to move to get their supplies to the Red Cross at the West Oak Hospital. The Red Cross as it turned out was an old organization that existed before the Ministry of Piece. They hadn’t been publicly known very well due to their short comings on the battle field during war. Once the Ministry of Piece came into play, they all but disappeared. Their organization stayed in operation as a contingency plan by O.I.A in case the Ministry of Piece was severally crippled, and they survived in a sable in Brooks Bend.

They were one of the few organizations from the old world to survive, but unfortunately the Steel Rangers made it hard for ponies to trust any organization from the old world. So the Red Cross does what they can and take any recruits they can. The hospital was their newest base of operations and the only one not stationed out of a ruined, crumbled building. They were pooling their supplies there to actually restart the hospital and at full strength.

Jade glanced at Shock who was hovering in the air just over head. He was still acting mad, but he was still talking to her at least. Daisy walked next to the cart Jade rode on humming along to a song on DJ-PON3’s station which Jade had her Pip-buck tuned to. The song soon ended and the voice of the DJ came over the radio signal.

“Hello children this is DJ-PON3 and that was River reminding us we need to work together to move through hard ship. I hope you ponies in the Brooks are ready for some good news….”

Jade blinked as she glanced at Shock and Daisy.

“It seems Gem has been busy for the past couple of days. She’s taken out mercs that had taken the ponies of South Post hostage, seems they were after her for a bounty set on her by The Alter Street. I hope no other ponies think about collecting on it because it seems Gem is also helping the wonderful Red Cross ponies that are now setting up shop in the old West Oak Hospital. Now if I was any merc or would be bounty hunter after that mare I’d think twice before getting on the bad side of ponies whom you may need to save your life one day. On another note, Gem hope you keep up the good work, stay lovely.”

“Is he just going to keep that up?” Jade said blushing. Shock started to laugh for the first time in a while and Daisy giggled. “It’s not funny.”

“Yes it is.” Shock said crashing on his head as he tried desperately to regain his composer.

“Shut up.” Jade said as she rubbed her bandaged leg as pain flared. She was the best she had been in days, but her left side was still bandaged, mostly due to pieces of mine and a fracture Jade had gained sometime during the fight. Most of the damage could be undone but Stitch, being one of the more skilled doctors in the caravan, said that it would be life threatening to remove a piece of shrapnel that was millimeters from her spine unless she would want to be crippled.

Healing potions were helping her but Stitch, the pony that had deceived to travel with them even if she had said no, had informed them that Healing potions in the Brooks acted…strange. They were either too weak to use in which they turned milky white, an event only observed in Hoovington until recently, or they became a deep black violate. It was unclear what these potions would do until just yesterday when Lake Water had saved her life. And the one she used on herself were just preventing more damage from being done.

Jade, by Stitch’s accounts, shouldn’t have survived her wounds even with a healing potion. Whatever was affecting the potions Brooks made the one Jade drank super charged. It was about the equivalent of a mega spell or close enough to one to save her life. So any healing potions like the one she had taken were now being kept under lock and key which were only three. The few Jade was able to drink hadn’t healed her enough to walk under her own power, which by Stitch’s insistence would be a bad idea in case with what was wrong with her. And many they did have had been drained to almost white or worst as well and discarded.

“You okay?” Daisy asked looking worried.

“Yes,” Jade said rubbing her left foreleg. While she had taken healing potions a piece of metal was preventing the bone from healing right, it would to be removed before Jade was able to walk. “I just fine, nothing a weak of lying down won’t cure.” But Jade doubted she could afford a week of staying in place. She was being hunted by a group called The Alter Street, as well as the most bounty hunter and mercs going after the price on her head and now she was a unicorn who knew what she Goddess was up to. Not to mention she was starting to have weird dreams that were just blares of sound and color. Last night’s was the clearest, but she could make out was Luna crying in the moon and a shadow behind her.

“I would take more than a week to heal what you’ve done to yourself” The yellow pony said as he walked beside Daisy. “You should be thankful you’re still alive.” Stitch wasn’t going to let Jade just waste the chance at life that Lake Water had given her before herself. Stitch was determined to make sure his sister choice to save her wasn’t futile and was very determined to follow them.

“Right um Dr.” Jade said as she looked to her inventory.

“Stitch would be fine, girl. I don’t need you calling me by any title.” Stitch asked with some annoyance.

“Okay,” Jade said as she brought out a broken knife. The last battle had snapped the blade at some point. Jade was sorry to see it in this state as it had been growing on her, but there wasn’t much she could do.

“So after the hospital we’re doubling back to your home?” Shock asked as he sat next to Jade. The ponies pulling the cart looked back at him annoyed and the pegasus took to the air again smiling meekly.

“That’s the plan.” Jade said looking at him. Shock seemed a bit more at ease now, which Jade was happy about.

“Well let’s hope it goes that way.” Shock said as he pulled out a Snack Cake from his bag.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Jade asked.

Shock tapped his chine then said. “Oh, I don’t know maybe because the Wasteland has a way of fucking you over.”

Jade just huffed, “Well we’ll do the best we can then, won’t we?” Jade said with a smile.

---

Jade shot her rifle form the safety of the cart with Daisy. She wasn’t a good shot but she was at least better than she had been.

“You are getting better with you magic.” Daisy commented as she reloaded.

“Thanks.” Jade said as she took out a new clip from her bags. A group of Rad Scorpions had cross the road and decided pony was on the menu so Jade and her friends were taking them out before any one got hurt. The buggers weren’t that strong but their armor was dense making it hard to take one of them out.

Jade lifted her rifle over the side of the wagon and started shooting. Daisy was aiming with trained eyes firing only when the opportune moment came. Jade on the other hoof just fire in sweeps hoping to kill one of them. Shock fired in a similar action but had much more control than Jade. Stitch turned out to be pretty good with a shot gun.

“Oh, many of these buggers are left?” Stitch asked as he reloaded.

“I think more than a dozen.” Shock said as he took out three of the scorpions.

“Okay we’re almost done.” Jade said as she aimed at a scorpion that jumped up to the cart and started attacking her up close. She felt a surge of fear from the large scorpion being so close. “EEKKK! GET IT AWAY! GET AWAY!”

Shock rolled his eyes and bucked the scorpion off. “I don’t get how you can kill ponies and be freaked out by a bug.”

“Well technically scorpions are arachnids, feather.” Stitch said firing at another one.

“I don’t care, they’re….they’re….” Jade blinked. “You know I don’t know why I’m afraid of them?”

That made everyone collapse around.

“What.” Shock asked an annoyed and disbelieving expression on his face as he got up and dodged a stinger.

“I don’t know why I’m afraid of bugs.” Jade grab her gun and started shooting. She paused and looked up to the sky, wishing she could have seen the sky over head. “I just have this memory of this bug monster coming into…my room? …and taking me away. It tried….” Held her head as pain shot through her skull.

“Jade?” Daisy said rushing to her.

“Fine, just a headache, I get them when I try thinking of my life before my parents found me.” Jade said as she felt the pain fade a little. “I should be fine.”

“Girl, I think you may need a hospital more than I thought.” Stitch said looking to the other ponies in the caravan.

“I’m fine.” Jade said as she got back to the task at hoof. Everyone looked at each other but didn’t argue and returned to the remaining scorpions. Once they were taken care of Stitch, Daisy, and Shock all sat down and looked at Jade. “What?” They glanced at each other then walked off talking. “What!?”

Jade blinked and just sighed. She decided she may as well get some sleep. It was better than feeling the pain of her injuries.

---

Jade woke as the carts stopped suddenly. She looked up to see what was going on and saw what she could only assume was the West Oak Hospital. It wasn’t much different form when she last came here other than the two extra wings to the east side. At the very least it just looked damaged from years of disrepair.  Jade slowly got up favoring her left foreleg as she looked for her friends who she found talking to a ghoul that was wearing a doctor’s suit with a red cross stitched to the shoulders of the suit.

Daisy noticed her and pointing in Jade’s direction. The doctor looked over and looked Jade up down for a minute before nodding. Stitch smiled while Shock and Daisy exchanged uneasy looks. Jade wasn’t sure what they were doing but it seemed to involve the doctor they were talking to. Jade started to walk over and the doctor walked towards her meeting Jade halfway.

“Hello, Jade, I’m Doctor Flay. I’ll have to ask you to follow me.” The ghoul said as Jade blink in confusion. Jade was about to protest when she was lifted in to the air by the ghoul’s magic and lead inside the hospital.

“Hey!” Jade said as she squirmed to get out the ghouls magical grip.

“Ho, hush. With what you’ve been through you need a proper check up my dear.”  The Dr. said as she smiled back at Jade.

Jade’s squirms ceased as she recognized the mare voice. Jade could believe…she wasn’t a….

“Dearie did you ever wonder why I was such a good cook?” The Dr. looked back a Jade with a motherly and teasing smile. “My curly hair covered my horn most of the time. And you never noticed me using magic because you focused so much on boys and school, and you never helped me in the kitchen.”

“Mo….Mom.” Jade said as she was set down in an examination room.

“Yes, Dear.” Sue Flay said as she walked over to a door peeked inside. “Your father isn’t in a condition to see you at the moment, but he’s a…ghoul as well.”

Jade blinked at the mare before her. She now recognized her mother, her coat almost gone. Her mane and tail were shorter, but still just as curly as ever. Jade stared at the mare before her as Sue Flay started to bring out medical instruments. “Mom…how…?”

The mare paused then looked back at Jade. “Magical radiation. It’s not pretty to go through.” Sue Flay sighed then looked at Jade. “Dear I’m going to look at your marks with some sophisticated spells, alight. If there is something I can do I’ll do it but I’m unsure what I can do that your other doctors couldn’t.”

Jade glanced at the tools. “Those are for your shrapnel wounds. They should have been cleaned before handing you the potion, but under the circumstances I’m will to let that go.” Sue Flay walked up to Jade her horn glowing as her mother started the spell. It was a while before Sue Flay spoke. “A sealing spell?”

“What?” Jade promptly fell on her flank in shock.

“Dear there’s a spell woven into you marks. It’s sealing something, memories are a part of it, but there’s something else. It could be most of your magical potential, but is too complex for just that. I don’t even recognize the weaves in it. It not a zebra spell or a pony.”

“Wait, what?” Jade looked at her mother. Then added, “And why couldn’t you have done this before…before…”

“Jade, there’s a spell sealing something in you, I don’t know what it is. I even don’t recognize the weave of the spell. And what I mean by weave is how the ruins and symbols are arranged in the spell. These aren’t even ruins of zebras or ponies. I can only guess that Celestia or Luna would have any idea as to what they could be.” Sue Flay said while adjusting her glasses, “And as for why I couldn’t… I didn’t have clearance for Black Out, didn’t know about it, only do know because your friend Shock. And I didn’t know the spell need to what it is that is weaved into you. Hadn’t until I join the army.”

“Oh,” Jade said realizing her mother couldn’t have known about it before know. “What of other Alicorns?” Jade asked remembering what had happened in South Post.

“Jade, sweetie, the goddess isn’t something I would willing talk with…” Her mother began but was interrupted by Jade.

“I don’t mean them, I mean the other Alicorns like Luna and Celestia. There have to be more of them out there. Cadence was, or if she’s alive, is proof that Luna and Celestia had other siblings.” Jade looked to the ceiling. “I think one of them may be watching me for some reason, she even mention a spell.” Jade felt a strange feeling well up in her. “She seemed to know me too, mom.”

Sue Flay stared at her for a while then said. “You were always so smart my gem stone. I guess most ponies got so caught up in war that we forgot there were more Alicorns than just our rulers.”

“Do you think it might be possible to find one and talk to them?” Jade asked looking back down to her mother.

“I don’t know. They haven’t interacted with other ponies for so long. And with what has been happening…Jade Alicorns that are not a part of the goddess would be feared just the same and attack just the same as the goddess. I don’t think an Alicorn born naturally would be willing walk among ponies only to be feared a hunted.”  Sue Flay said as she got some Med-X out.

“Mom, how did you become a doctor, weren’t you a cook?” Jade asked looking at how her mother moved the objects in her magic with ease.

“I was, but once you were in that damn lie of a hospital….The war got bad Jade…and I couldn’t just sit in a kitchen while I could do something. I started out as a field cook, but I found out had a knack for healing when my troops medical team got killed. Took over and from there on I’d became one of the best doctors in Brooks, even before the bombs.” Sue Flay gestured to her lab coat. “This is worn by the head MD of the Red Cross, Jade.”

Jade’s jaw dropped as she looked at the coat. “Wait, you’re head of….does Stitch know you’re my….does Daisy or Shock?”

“No, in fact dear I would like to keep it a secret. You’ve made a name and target of yourself. I been making sure those SRs don’t come snooping around here demanding tech and The Alter Street are breathing down our necks half the time. You fought them helping the caravan out.” Sue Flay looked back to the door she had looked at. “Dear there’s something I want you to do when you’re finished healing, only after. I’ll tell you after the surgery. “

“Wait surgery?” Jade said as her mother levitated four syringes full of Med-X.

“Jade, you have shrapnel imbedded in several places and a bullet that just stopped short of your heart. I looked at more than just your marks dear and I’m surprised you’re not in constant pain right now but you seem to be using magic to numb the pain. I need to take those out or the internal bleeding will kill you.” Sue Flay said with a serious look as she stuck Jade’s shoulder with the Med-X.

Jade felt her world go black as she succumbed to the anesthetic.

---

Jade woke feeling something moving in her chest.

“Doctor, she waking up!” some familiar voice said.

“What, put her under we can’t have her moving right now.” Jade heard her mother say.

“Doctor I’ve used the recommend does twice, if we use it again…” the other said in panic.

“She had a memory orb, use that and hope it keeps her under long enough, I’ve almost got the bullet, but I’ll need time for the rest of the shrapnel.”

“Yes, doctor,”

“And Stitch you can call me Sue Flay like everyone else.”

“Yes Doc…Sue Flay.”

Jade felt a something put against her horn and she unconsciously created a link. And the world slipped away.

oooOOOooo

The pony Jade was in was female and a unicorn. Jade tried to figure out who it was but she couldn’t find anything that would provide a reflection. She guessed she have to figure it out from the memory as it played.

The mare walked into a complex room with computers and machines all about. But what got Jade’s attention was the metal pony in the middle. It was restrained by thick metal braces and secured to table. Its eyes were removed allowing Jade to see inside.

“Can’t believe we got a Chance to work on Steel Pony, but why’d we get this lunatic.” A stallion said in the corner.

“Because we’re ‘rewiring’ her brain, and don’t complain there’s more chance of dying with that rapist those ponies in hoovington let loose on the zebras than this pipsqueak.” Another mare said as she walked over to the pony. “Besides with her eyes out she can’t tell where we are.”

“But I can hear you loud mouth.” The pony on the table said with intense anger seeping from her voice.

The scientist jumped back and backed away from the mare on the table. Jade was shocked. She didn’t think any pony would willing go through with something that did this too them. And the thought that the mare was forced through the operation that did this to her made Jade’s skin crawl.

“Stop fooling around.” The Mare Jade was ridding said as she got the attention of those present.

“Aww, but I was just starting to have fun.” The mare on the table said as she smiled with her metal and fleshy grin.

“Put prisoner 554 under now. We should prepare for the operation and then we send her off to where the Zebras are massing a land strike north of here.” The mare said as she sat in the corner of the room and started preparing instrument. “We can’t start our project Pony in a Shell until we prove we can operate with the tech we’ll be using.”

Pony in a Shell, what was that? And what was Project Steel Pony. She didn’t like what she was hearing at all as the mare walked over to 554 and slowly pealed back the metal plate on the top of the mare’s skull. The fact that the mare had only bone there was creepy but had the doctor brought a bone cutting tool to the 554’s skull Jade started to try and find a way out of this memory.

Jade couldn’t leave it and was actively ignoring the screams of pain from 554 the ponies in the operation room slowly attracted things to directly to the mare’s brain. Jade couldn’t imagine what they were for but Jade didn’t think it was pleasant by the screams. The operation kept going as Jade felt the mare add and add to 554’s brain, not even flitching form the threats the mare gave or ordering for a hire dose to put the mare out of her misery.

After what felt like hours the mare heading the operation use a bone graph to seal up the mare’s skull and slowly replaced the metal plate on top of it. She then let the stallion bolt the plate into place. The mare was wheezing from the sore throat she had gained from yelling.

“You fuckers are died. You know that. Memory alternation spells don’t work on me; I’ll hunt you down and use the metal hooves you so happily gave me to crush your skulls in. you hear me?” the mare said.

“Oh, I do, and to be clear your body is now under ministry control and while you may still have free will on the battle field in a ministry facility you will obey orders from now on is that clear prisoner 554.”

“Yes, ward….what the fuck did you do….” 554 screamed again but Jade couldn’t think of what would have caused it.

“We put more than just a leash on you, 554. You may come to like the enhancements.” The mare said as she left the room seemingly pleased with the outcome.

oooOOOooo

Jade felt pain as she came out of the memory.

“Damn, get other orb. I’m not going to lose her.” Jade heard her mother say as Jade heard her heart beep fading on a machine.

Jade felt another orb touch her horn.

oooOOOooo

Jade guessed they must have more orbs there because this one wasn’t of ether of the two Jade had found. Jade was a pegasus flying over a small town near a forest. She wasn’t sure who she was again but she could guess that she was just flying for the heck of it. This mare seemed care free and continent. Not something jade had felt in a long while. She felt at bliss with the motion of air around.

Jade didn’t spend much attention to time or her soundings as she just felt the sensation of flight through the memory was currently in. It was then that Jade felt a spark shoot through her, but not a bad one. It felt natural, like a long lost part of herself she had just now rediscovered.

It was also then the Jade felt the mare stop in air. Jade turned her attention away from herself and to the surroundings. Jade saw that the mare was staring at stars. Jade wondered if she would ever get to see those again, if she would even live to.

“Sapphire.” A voice behind the mare called.

“Yes,” She turned to see a pegasus in a royal guard uniform. Jade felt like something very bad must have happened, and if the pegasus was wearing that armor than this was very early in the war. “Down, what’s wrong?”

“Sapphire, your daughter has been killed.” Down said quickly moving to catch a distress mother.

“What, how?” Sapphire shrieked as hit the guard trying to get away from him.

“I don’t know the full details, but I’m trying my best to get them.” Down landed on the ground and set the mare Jade was in next to a tree. Jade really felt sorry for the mare but she couldn’t do anything besides offer sympathy they could not hear.

oooOOOooo

Jade felt the world return then a memory orb touch her horn.

oooOOOooo

She was starting to get annoyed by the whole thing now.

She was in the memory of a soldier now. She derived that from the battle field she was on as the stallion fought alongside a group of other similar uniformed ponies.

“Forest, on your left.” The stallion told a mare with green coat and brown mane. The Mare looked in that direction and took out a grenade. She bit the pin and lunched it over a wall followed with a box of nails. The resulting explosion set the grenade and nails in the hides of zebras.

“Jokebook behind you.” Another member yelled as a pony with an angry clown painted on a high powered sniper rifle turned with such speed and skill Jade felt wipe lash from just watching. The white and red mane stallion fired the rifle and took out a zebra coming up on them.

“Spice, tank southern plaza. I think it’s a good three RPGs will do, plus a mini ADR5.” The stallion Jade was viewing the memory through said noticing the armored vehicle.

“Right, Silence.” Jade saw a large mare with a weapon Jade could only take as rocket launcher strapped to her back walk up and fire three rockets and some sort of beam at the tank. “5 4 3 2 1, Get down!” she yelled as the explosion swept towards them.

“Hurk, we got some trying to flank us from the north take ‘em out.” Jokebook said to stallion who wore a shot gun and rifle on his battle saddle. The stallion nodded and rushed the group of zebras taking them on in mix of gun fire and hoof to hoof combat.

“Silence, command needs use to move in to support the Marauders.” A small mare with radio equipment said as she rushed up the stallion.

“Tell them our sergeant is died and were pinned in Brooks Bend’s eastern side near the Revo. If they the Marauders need help then those pricks in command can send someone here to get us to hoovington. Otherwise were here holding the East Tuck base from a ground assault.” Silence said as he fired his battle saddle into a group of Zebras rushing his team’s position. “Way I figure it letting the Zebras have a foot hold here is worst than loosing someplace in Hoovington those guys couldn’t just retake.”

“Yes sir.” The mare said.

“Don’t call me, sir Far Way.” Silence said looking at the mare. “Pip, got anything to spare?” Silence yelled to a stallion with orange coat and blazing mane.

“Here,” Pip hoofed a pack over to Silence and continued firing into the zebras with a mounted chain gun attached to his saddle. “How many are there?”

“Enough to make this place a top priority to defend.” Silence said as he reloaded.

“Think this sudden attack might have something to do this that gem being used to power the city?” Jokebook said sarcastically. “Because I told you so.”

“Yea, I own 50 bits; I’ll pay if we live through this Joke.” Hurk said taking out the last Zebra.

“I’m holding you to that.” Jokebook said laughing. Then the stallion went up a flight of stairs and the sound of his rifle was repeated over several times as the stallion let the heavy rounds loose on the zebras storming them.

Jade was astonished by the way these ponies seemed to hold their own against the endless waves of the Zebras. Hurk barreled head on into the sea of black and white and took Zebras head on with skill Jade only wished she could match with her hooves. Jokebook fired his rifle over with eyes that seemed trained to seek the most difficult of attackers and take them out before they reached the others, laughing and joking to hold back what Jade sensed was a mournful soul. Silence fired his rifle over and over into the sea as Zebra rushed him on the lone gazebo he occupied in the mist of the attack.

Forest used her grenade launcher to fire in the presence locations she wanted her explosives to land. Then the Mare sometimes tossed some extra shrapnel to add to the damage. Spice levitated her RPG and beam rifle using the rifle to take out any Zebras that got too close to her. Jade was amazed at how the mare lifted the heavy weapon of the RPG with ease and still gracefully fire her rifle. Pip fired a heavy turret from his saddle, strafing the zebras like the gun had no weight. The mare with radios kept close to Spice as she worked with her gear.

“Silence, command says where to hold here, seems they sending us some back up.” The mare said with a worried smile.

“Good,” Silence said as he head butted a zebra. “Hear that, we’ve got back up coming. If any of you die, I’m before then I’m pissing on your grave for deserting.”

Everyone nodded and smiled at the comment and redoubled their efforts. Jade saw every brutal kill silence preformed or saw over the next ten hours of combat just holding that base against the onslaught of Zebras. Each of them received wounds but none of them fell. Jade could have sworn she had met Silence once before but couldn’t pin down when.

It was a while before three tanks accompanied by 16 ponies got to Silence and his team.

“Silence good to see you boy.” A stallion said as the Zebras retreated the tanks firing at any still in sight.

“I happy to see you to Tucker, got any idea how those stripped bastard got into the valley?” Silence asked the stallion.

“Haven’t a clue, but this means the battle front just moved to this part of equestrian. Really figured they couldn’t get this far west.” Tucker said looking around.

“Well they did.” Silence said kicking a body.  

“Whelp can’t worry about that now we need to get this place back up and running. Command’s pissed at you for not following orders, but is happy to keep the base.”

“They can kiss my flank for all I care.”

oooOOOooo

Jade woke to a hospital room with her friends and stitch asleep around her. Her mother sat near a window looking out to the wasteland. Jade couldn’t remember the last time Jade had seen that look on her mother’s face. The last time was when her mother and father had told her that her pet gold fish had died. Jade hopped it wasn’t something like that on her mother’s mind.

“M…Sue Flay?” Jade announced her wakefulness to her mother.

“Jade we should talk in private. I’ve left a note for your friends.” Sue Flay said standing up. “You should be fine to walk even with two days of sleep.”

“two days?” Jade said in panic.

“We had worked 18 hours just to get you back to what can be considered healthy in the wasteland. You should be lucky to have woken up so soon.” Sue Flay said walking out of the room with Jade close behind. They walked to an office where Sue Flay opened. Once inside her mother locked the door.

“Mom, what is it?” Jade ask knowing her mother was about to ask something of her.

“Jade…” Sue Flay looked to her desk papers and maps spread about. “Jade, would you to find your father’s body. I don’t know if he turned into a ghoul or if he did, if he’s feral. And can you also bring him back here, if you can, dead or alive.”

Jade looked at her mother for a moment then said, “So father isn’t here?”

“No, I’m afraid not. When the bombs fell we had lost track of each other. I have no idea where he might be and I haven’t been able to look. Especially since becoming the leader of the Red Cross.” Sue Flay stated as walked behind her desk. “You should look at our old home to start Jade. You were going to go there anyway if I’m not mistaken.”

“Um, yea, but,” Jade began as she watched her mother search her desk for something. “What do you think I should do?”

Sue Flay looked up from her desk. “My little gem stone,” Sue looked out the window with a longing look. “I can’t have you stay here. I wish I could, but you’d draw too much attention. And you shouldn’t need me to look after you anymore. You’re a grown mare and you need to take a hold of your own life, and carve something out of the miserable place the old world left for the generation of the new.” Sue looked back a Jade. “All I can say, dear, is that you have your own life to live and you don’t need a relic like me getting in your way.”

“Mom you’d never would, and you’re not a relic.” Jade said crossing the gap between them to hug her mother. “You’re my mom.”

Sue Flay smiled and kissed Jade’s forehead as the embraced each other after 200 years of separation. They stayed like that for an hour, Jade crying as they did, but eventually they parted.

“You should go. Your friends are probably waking up by now.” Sue Flay said as she looked back at her desk.

Jade felt uneasy but guessed this was for the best as she left her mother’s office in search of her friends. She wished she could stay with her mother, but she would put her mother and the Red Cross at risk. And this origination was not ready for anything that was after Jade. The Alter Street was gang that was already problem but it would get worst with her here. The Steel Rangers were an unknown to Jade as a threat or not. And the Alicorn of the unity…Jade didn’t want to guess what they could do when they wanted to hurt someone. Being able to blast open Stable Tech Blast Doors like they were butter gave Jade a good estimate and she wouldn’t put ponies in that sort of danger just because her mother was their leader.

Jade shook her head as dismissed her train of thought. She shouldn’t need to think of this, she was a simple earth…no she wasn’t an earth pony. She didn’t know what she was. Her mother…was that mare her mother, or a….no she was, she was her mother Sue Flay, why would she lie. Jade hadn’t lied to her, and she knew the feelings she felt when she recognized her mother. She couldn’t have just faked what her body was feeling, but what if…

Jade stopped her search as she for the first time questioned her past. She didn’t know anything past the age 7, 3 years into the first half of the war. She knew Cherry, Tea Leaf, Apple Core, her parents that had found her and so many ponies she had come to know through schooling and helping her father with his work. She wasn’t someone who had been toyed with by the ministries. She was Jade. But why was her mother acting…no she was acting like she had before, just the Wasteland was affecting her mother just like it was affecting herself.

Jade looked back to the office. Her mother had to look out for herself and other ponies of the Red Cross. Jade Knew that was a full time job and her mother couldn’t just drop it for her. Sue Flay had a duty to the ponies that trusted her to put the Red Crosses safety and interests before her own. And then there was Apple Core. He wasn’t acting in the memory orb and the note in the school was not a forgery. He loved her just as much as she had loved him. 200 years in that tomb of a school was what made him a feral ghoul. If his situation had been different than he may have been like Ditzy or her mother.

Jade smiled. She wasn’t an experiment that Neural had made for the Ministries. And Neural had helped her, saved her in his last moments. He wouldn’t have done that for an experiment, not with how he had treated the ones Jade knew that had ponies in them. She knew part of what the Black out Facility had done with ponies called Blanks. They had been put through experiment like Jade, but much more fatal to them. They were used for making the tests that Neural and his staff had put Jade through. But with how the reports on them sounded from what Jade could gather was these ponies were made at a dime a dozen, clones, and weren’t seen as ponies.

Jade would say that they were, the only conclusion to if Jade’s past was real or not then it was that if it wasn’t than what she was finding was some elaborate test, she was a Blank, and that for the first 5 years in the facility was the scientists in the Black Out Facility making a Blank that acted so close to a real pony that they would be able to replace front line soldiers. Jade knew of a fact that that was not the case. There would be absolutely no need. Would there?

“Jade!” Daisy said in joyful tone tackling Jade into a hug. The mare smiled with her tail wagging like a dog in the air behind her. Jade blinked at Daisy as Shock and Stitch walked up.

“We finally found you.” Shock said smiling as Daisy let Jade get to her hooves.

“I’m fine, m…Sue Flay just wanted me to look into something. I don’t think it’ll detour us from our own plans too much.” Jade said as she smiled at her friends. “Stitch, you still wanting to come with us?”

“Yes, if is all the same to you, miss commander.” The medical pony said bluntly.

“All right so then we should get back to the road then, how much ammo do we have?” Jade asked as she looked to Daisy who had her armor. Jade put it on then her saddle bags.

“We should be good for a while if nothing big comes up. So we’re still heading to your house?” Shock asked.

“Yes, I think there’s still something I need to figure out and I think my answers may start there.” Jade said nodding at her own inventory.

“Or more questions.” Stitch said as he rolled his eyes.

---

Jade sat in the back of a wagon that Stitch had bought from The Red Cross. The wagon wasn’t exactly in the best shape but it did beat having to walk, even if they had to take shifts pulling the wagon. It wasn’t all that bad but it was hard work and wore you out. Without a spark battery the wagon was considerably heavy and hard to pull. Seeing as they didn’t have one it meant they were getting tired rather quickly.

Jade looked to Shock who was pulling the wagon and sighed. While it was letting them get a breather, it was also a liability. She knew that it had to be corrected soon or they would have some real problems ahead of them. One being too exhausted to move and she didn’t like the idea of everyone in that state.

Jade decided it was a topic that could wait for a few more hours or days. She could, or any of them, couldn’t do a thing about it until they found a spark battery and that was going to be hard. She guessed it was something to be placed as a main priority.

“Jade what do you think we’ll find at your home?” Daisy asked looking ahead to the road.

“I don’t know, maybe rubble, maybe be ghouls.” Jade said as she turned looked in Daisy’s direction.

“Oh, well, we can hope that this helps you Jade. If I were in your hooves I know I would want to know what had happened to my parents.” Stitch said as he finished with the potion he had been working on.

Stitch turned out to be a rare earth pony with a talent for alchemy which gave some abilities to make potions. He was currently working on healing potions as that’s what they needed at the moment and all he could make with the ingredients they had. Jade ad been surprise at the talent of the medical pony, but the potions he made were only slightly weaker that unicorn made. She guessed it was due to the fact of the type of magic used and that these potions were imitation to the real ones. Stitch didn’t know how to make any zebra potion so he relied on what he knew and what he could base off of.

“Any chance we might find a spark battery?” Shock said complaining.

“Shut up Shock, we’ve all had to drag this thing with your fat butt so you have no reason to complain.” Daisy said tossing a can at Shock.

“Hey,” Shock yelled back at Daisy.

“Will you two stop? You act like a couple of two year olds.” Stitch said before Shock could make a remark.

Jade shook her head. It hadn’t even been more than a day and Stitch had become a regular, though it was about the same case with Daisy. She wondered if they were just going to gain friends like this. It would be interesting to say the least. And with the Wasteland against her she felt relieved to know she had some friends with her to help her along.

“Hey, Jade.” Shock called back. “How far did you say your home was down East Oak?”

“About 8 blocks, why?” Jade asked looking to her friend.

“Well, then this would be our turn off, right?” Shock said putting to a street with barbwire walls and a red letter message that read.

‘Welcome To Blood Gate.’

“Crap, them.” Daisy said looked terrified.

“The Blood Gates are here, this close the Alters?”  Stitch said as he grabbed his shotgun.

“Who are the Blood Gates?” Jade asked looking at the message.

Just as she finished something blew up next to the wagon and Jade got separated from her friends as ponies with nets and ropes covered in ocher came from the fenced off area and rushed them. Jade didn’t know what was happening when she heard one of the ponies say.

“Well looks like we’ve got a good catch.”

“Don’t start getting a hard on just yet.” Another said. “We still need to figure out what the boss wants to do with this catch.”

“Yeah, but the mares look like they’d been a good addition to the whore house.” The other said as Jade felt a hoof on her flank. “This one’s actually pretty healthy, nice ass.”

“Just get them in inside.” Second said annoyed.

Jade felt the world slip away as she blacked out.

---

Lvl 54%