Fallout Equestria: Treasure Hunting

by Hnetu

Chapter 8: What Makes Ponies Tick

Chapter Eight: What Makes Ponies Tick
“...because we’ll see each other again real soon...”

Collapse.

Of course, the first thing I did when I put my hoof down, and really started feeling good about my situation, was fall on my face. From my position on the floor, I decided it would be a good time to update that list of my ‘favorite things to never do again.’

So far, my most favorite thing to never do again was getting another hoof eaten, or any other body part for that matter. Getting strangled was next then being set on fire. Going places I knew nothing about was another important one. Oh, and letting brainless Steel Rangers perform surgery on me.

Okay, maybe not the last one. Praline had done a really good job, but regardless, I didn’t want to be put in that kind of situation again.

Lost scrambled onto the floor next to me and wrapped her hooves around my shoulders. “Hidden! Are you okay? You can't just get up from the operating table and run around... you have to be careful...” she lectured, hoisting me up to a standing position.

“Miss Fortune, you silly! If you put too much weight on it your leg might split open again!” Praline said with a laugh. As she spoke, she ushered Xeno and Lemon Tart out of the room and turned to my sister and me. “But seriously, if you put too much weight on it before you’re ready, you could split open all the muscle and fascia that we just healed back up. I don’t want to have to redo this entire surgery and make your whole leg steel.” She shuffled her hooves. “Fact is, replacing an entire leg would take a lot longer and require a much more extensive surgery. Like, I’d have to cut open your chest to get the nerves we’d need. On top of that, the risks of dying on the table would be a lot higher, and your recovery time would be weeks, not days. I don’t want to lose you like that, I’m sure Lost doesn’t either.” She sounded depressed, but given the situation I couldn’t really blame her. “Besides, we don’t have the resources for it anyway.

“Yesterday hurt us, and not just physically,” she continued, beginning to clean up the medical supplies. “The power armor we use kept most of us safe, but not everypony. We used a lot of the spare supplies we had to repair our armor. And I was up all night making a new eye for Lamington. I get to put that in later...” She paused in her cleaning and looked directly at my sister. “Will you be able to help me fix him up too?”

“Of, of course,” L.A. responded. She looked as though she’d seen a ghost, now that Praline had explained just how dire the situation was, for both myself and Lamington.

“What, no! We have to go, we have to-” I said, then trailed off into a long slow sigh. “Oh, who am I kidding...” I stared at the floor as Praline continued to talk, all the while trying to keep my weight off my new steel hoof.

“Hidden Fortune, you really need rest and rehabilitation. We can keep you here for a few days, it’s no problem,” Praline said. She packed up the final bits of used equipment and tossed them into a sink against the wall.

“She’s right sis, I want you to lay in bed and relax for at least the rest of the day,” L.A. ordered. That wasn’t going to happen, but I nodded anyway.

Praline finished cleaning and began to dig out new equipment. “Anyway, I appreciate the help, I need all I can get. A hoof is one thing, working on an eye... Whew!” She smiled and walked over to us after setting down a new scalpel, and wrapped hooves around the both of us. “I’m really glad I got to meet you. The Stable was so boring.” Releasing her grasp, she stepped back and looked at the two of us. “I’m going to talk to mom, and well... No, I don’t want to ruin it!”

“What...?” I asked, very confused. Lost just blushed and leaned against me.

“Not telling!” the mare giggled, shooing us out of the room and into the empty hallway. “Lost Art, please come back in an hour so we can work on my brother. Everything’ll go so much faster and we’ll get to work together and I really really really appreciate all the help you’ve given me so far. Everything you’ve done has just been amazing, I couldn’t do it without you.” She held up her hooves, and gave a wary nod to them, smiling.

Oh, how I knew that pain.

“Sure thing, let me just take Hidden here to the room and get her in bed,” Lost replied. With a nod from Praline, we headed off to the bedroom.

Walking was weird. I didn’t have to do my step-step-step-hop routine anymore, but the fact that the new hoof was tuned down made it fairly awkward to actually move. I couldn't even feel when the metal hoof touched the ground, so I had to purposefully slow down and make sure every step went as planned. Thinking about how to walk wasn’t a good way to do things. I just wanted to move at full speed and not worry about it. As long as I could do the same thing with the other three hooves, the fourth would follow suit, wouldn’t it?

“How long ‘til I can walk normally?” I asked Lost.

“Don’t know. She just said it would turn back up on its own. I can ask her later, when we work on Lamington,” L.A. offered. We kept moving as we talked, passing through stainless hallways that all looked the same.

We walked past the bathroom, and I couldn’t help but wonder... “What about showers?” I asked, holding the offending hoof up and resuming my hop-step. The little anchor part was flush with the skin, there wasn’t a seam. Maybe? What about the end? Would it break if I got water in it? Praline had sealed everything nice and tight. Even the little hinge seemed to be sealed completely. But still...

“When do we ever get showers outside?” she replied with a laugh.

“Well, there’s the rain, but good point,” I said, putting the hoof back down. We walked the rest of the way in silence, until we reached the doorway to the room that’d been offered to us for our stay. Lost stopped behind me, and let me walk in first.

The door slid open, and I was greeted by the sight of two foals sitting on my bed.

“You survived!” Raspberry yelled, bouncing on the springy bed.

Custard said nothing, but hopped from his place on the bed and trotted up to me. For several seconds he stared in silence, enough time for Lost to wordlessly attach the PipBuck to my now metal limb, pat my back, and disappear. Without saying a word, the colt wrapped his legs around me and hugged tight.

My lips curled into a weary smile, the fear of what he might say washing away. I hugged him back, wrapping my free hoof around his back and holding him tight. Whatever the reason for the hug, I wasn’t going to question it. I released him finally, and he took the hint and let go.

“Thank you,” the colt said, looking up at me with tears in his eyes.

For what? For killing his brother? For getting the entire family wrapped up in a war, after exposing them to a horrible Wasteland that chewed up and spit out ponies like rotten apples?

“W-Why?” I finally asked.

“For getting us promoted. Mom says we’re Knights now, both of us,” Raspberry said from her spot on the bed. She beckoned me over with a wave of her hoof, and as I walked over she explained. “You missed the fight, since you and the others left. I don’t blame you, big guns and no power armor? I wouldn’t’ve been caught dead there either if I were in the situation.”

“We did really good in the fight,” Custard interrupted. “Because we’re so small, our armor was harder to hit and we worked together to take out a lot of those bad Rangers. Some of the things that other Star Paladin said...” He paused for a moment, frowning and furrowing his brow. “...they were just horrible. So, we did what was right. Mom, I mean, Elder Drop Scone, she said we did such a good job that we weren’t initiatives anymore. We got our cutie marks in the fight, and she said that showed true Combat Proficiency!”

I sat on the bed and the two of them took a spot on either side of me. They the story, each telling me what happened during the firefight with alternating narration, and showing off their new cutie marks. Custard’s was three shell casings, resting over two interlocked gears. Raspberry had a single large cog, complete with two criss-crossed beams of magical energy passing atop it. While I listened and watched, I worked the hoof forward and back a few times. I still had to get used to it.

“I was supposed to be a Scribe, like my sisters. Praline is the only female Knight in...” Raspberry stopped and placed a hoof on her chin. She stared at the lit ceiling for several moments. Neither Custard nor I interrupted while she thought. “Seven. Seven generations.”

“The point is, usually fillies are made to do Scribe work and the colts get to be soldiers in armor,” Custard explained. “And... now we’re both part of that. We’re somepony important now!”

“You always were,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “Now, listen. I need to do some rehab or whatever it was called. Praline’s orders.” I frowned, not really wanting the two to go. It was hard to hate any of the ponies in this family. But they did as they were told, and left me to my rehabilitation.

I flicked the steel hoof, and it moved with grating slowness.

* * *

“I can’t take it anymore!” I yelled, and stormed out of the room. Staring at the same four walls for so long had me climbing up them. Three hours spent sitting on a bed trying to get the new hoof to move the way I wanted, and I’d gotten nowhere. I stomped past the golden-eyed stallion standing next to my door, and ran down the hall.

Every fourth step I took, I made an echoing clank when metal hit metal, but I didn’t care. I needed to move, I couldn’t stay cooped up like that. A lifetime of wandering the Wasteland, and I thought I could just sit, locked away in a tiny room? Yeah, right.

The stallion from my doorway followed several steps behind. From the look and sound of things, he was trying his damndest to be inconspicuous and not let me see him. But given that he wasn’t the skinniest pony, and made almost as much noise as I did on the metal floor, I figured it out with ease. Like a thinky pony would. I felt the claws in the back of my mind, but he’d have to catch me first, so I ignored the feeling.

I turned the corner at the T-intersection and stormed out of the Stable as fast as my tuned-down hoof would let me. The stallion kept on my tail, following me out of the Stable, through the now-shielded mines, and out into the Wasteland. The trip took only a few minutes, since I knew the way, and finally I entered mostly-familiar territory. Part of me wanted to stop and confront the Stable Ranger, let the little claws in my mind win. The rest of me didn’t fucking care. I had a hoof to get working, and he could just deal with the consequences when I stopped.

As I ran, I felt faster and faster, almost back to normal. Letting everything flow naturally worked wonders. Maybe it was just the adrenaline from running. Didn’t know, didn’t care. I ran through the shielded tunnels, turning away from factory and down Tunnel three to the outside. Finally I reached the little clearing outside and looked to the dead forest a few dozen yards away. Lost wouldn’t be done working with Praline for another hour or two. So I could practice, out here where the hoof would see real action. No more of the flexing over and over while staring at a blank ceiling. And I could listen to the radio again while I ‘rehabilitated.’

“Ya run,” the stallion said, between breaths, “really fast.” He stood at the entrance to the cave, head down near the ground, breathing raggedly. A pony like him must not run a lot, given that they- Okay, I really shouldn’t insult the stallion. He was obviously a part of the Steel Ranger family, having the same brown coloring, though it was a shade or two darker than Praline’s. His eyes were half-closed and golden, giving him a rather laid-back look, despite his gasping for breath, and his short, wavy mane was parted nicely to the side.

“Well, grow up like my sister and me, and you get a lot of practice running,” I said, deciding against asking why he was following me. “There’s manticores and zombies and hellhounds and a lot of other scary-as-fuck things out there. Sometimes, you just have to run!” I flailed my hooves in mock running.

“Is running better than punching?” he asked with a smirk.

My heart froze. “What... What do you mean?” I stammered.

“Éclair told me what happened. Are ya alright?” he asked in a quiet calm voice. The look he gave me wasn’t a judging, it was understanding. A look I couldn’t match. So Éclair had told somepony. That was to be expected; they were a tight knit family. After an awkward moment of silence, he sat against the rocks that made up the cave entrance and got comfortable. “Ya know what? I don’t need an answer now, take all the time ya need. I’m good at waitin’.” He motioned to the gear-faced clock on his flanks. “You’ll be here for a few more days anyway,” he said, and looked at me. More silence. “Éclair was always tryin’ to help us as soon as he figured out something was wrong. But you can’t help somepony who doesn’t want to be helped.” He sighed. “If you feel openin’ up, I’ll listen. But I’m not gonna pry.” He pointed at his eye and chuckled. “It’s a much better way to avoid gettin’ punched, too.”

“I’m fine!” I said with a metallic stomp. “Why are you following me?”

“Elder Drop Scone and Star Paladin Lamington asked me ta keep in an eye on ya, make sure you’re safe when ya eventually ran off,” he explained, smiling. “They had a feeling you’d get a bit homesick.”

I fumed, but said nothing. I didn’t need a foalsitter! To stop the conversation from going any further, I fished out the earbloom from the PipBuck, slammed it into my ear, and turned on the radio. I wasn’t very gentle with it, either. Cranking the volume, I turned away from the stallion. Some song or another from two hundred years ago was playing. I didn’t care what it was. It was noise to drown him out.

For another hour I practiced. Walking, running, trying to push the gears or whatever else powered my hoof as far and fast as I could. The music helped, keeping me distracted throughout my endeavors. The entire time, the stallion sat there and watched. He had no guns and made no move to get up from his spot. Though, given the size of him, and how comparatively tough I was, we could probably take anything that came after us. Well, he was just there to keep watch for emergencies, after all.

Progress was going well, at least I thought so. I could move faster than before, and the aches and pains from withdrawal weren’t as bad this time. How would the new hoof react to Buck? I had no idea. Even without the wonderful tablets, everything went smoothly.

The music stopped. I stared at the PipBuck for a moment in confusion. Why’d the music stop?

A voice blared through the earbloom at me, loud enough to scare, and knock me on my haunches. “Good evening wastelanders! How's every pony doing? Got some great news for you today! Remember that little Stable Gal who took on the slavers of Appleloosa and saved all those ponies? Well don't ask me how, but she survived takin’ a nosedive off a cliff in a speeding train. That's right, fillies and gentlecolts: she’s back!”

My ears twitched, hearing that. Nosedive off a cliff in a speeding train? Wow. Now, I knew I was reckless, and didn’t think things through a lot of the time. I’d jumped off a third story balcony onto a monster that’d been trying to kill me, but that? That took some serious guts. Taking on slavers on top of it? I had a new hero.

The DJ continued, “And what's she been up to now, I hear you ask? Well, sit down an’ put on your listening ears, cuz it's time for DJ Pon3 to tell you a story. Ready? Good. This is the story of a little filly named Silver Bell...”

My mind was elsewhere, and I missed the story of Silver Bell. A hero pony taking on slavers? That sounded a bit familiar. Maybe she was like Gunbuck? Maybe they were related somehow? No... I’d... Hmm. Well the DJ’d said evening, and it was nowhere near that late in the day yet. Maybe they were farther east? Manehatten and Fillydelphia were over that way, wasn’t that what mom had said?

I thought back to the funeral yesterday, to what I’d been thinking of during the eulogy. Making the Wasteland a little better. This pony was doing it, Gunbuck had done it. Were there others that were doing it elsewhere? I needed to listen to the radio more. Good music and news about other heroes doing the Wasteland some good?

I wanted to find out who Gunbuck was out of a sense of responsibility. Now, I wanted to find out who that Stable pony was out of admiration. I still needed to find out who I really was. Who Lost really was. Could I be a hero too? I laughed... Maybe I’d be on the radio someday?

I looked at the map and traced our path. The path of a hero? I rolled the wheel on the Pipbuck and the map zoomed out. Didn’t know it could do that. Wow, there was so much more land than I’d thought originally. I scanned over the larger map, taking in the markers for each landmark and city. So many places grayed out, places Gunbuck could’ve been before.

A realization hit me; all the places with names were in the opposite direction and back toward the mountains. Sighing and setting my hoof back down, I thought about exactly what my plan was.

I wasn’t sure I even had one anymore. Lost had been right, we should have just gone straight home and hid away. Leathers had been convenient, both because I wanted to get some more information, and because there was good treasure hunting to be had. Then the whole fiasco with the Steel Rangers and the Wirepony. So, where was I supposed to go from here?

I laughed at myself, pitying. Stupid mare. I was a Wasteland pony, a treasure hunter, nothing more. I’d just talk to Lost, and then we could decide on what to do.

The stallion stood and walked over to me, but I waved him away. “I’m fine. Just, lost in thought,” I explained.

He nodded and returned to his spot against the wall.

Lost was gonna be so mad at me. We should have just gone home when we started all this. What was I thinking? After all that happened, I couldn’t even remember why I’d started... Was it really so stupid a reason as obligation?

No.

I could do this. I could push forward. I could become something I wasn’t. Ends justify the means, help ponies. That’s life: growing, learning. The Steel Rangers were in shambles, Wirepony was dead. I could do good. As long as my sister agreed.

I could be a hero. If I tried.

“Let’s go back inside...” I muttered to... Blushing, I realized I never caught his name. This stallion was the one pony of the family I hadn’t met yet, and I couldn’t remember his name from Praline’s long rambling list. “Umm...”

“Chocolate Fondue,” he finished for me, “and yeah, let’s go inside and get something to eat.” He smiled at me, and I didn’t feel like punching him. Maybe it was the new hoof, maybe it was my newfound clarity. Together we walked back into the mines and toward the Stable.

* * *

“I didn’t need a foalsitter,” I said to the dark-coated stallion as we walked.

“Yeah, well. Orders,” he explained with a shrug.

We trotted down the halls toward the atrium. The surgery didn’t seem to be finished yet, which gave us some time to just wander and relax. My hoof felt pretty good, though whenever I wasn’t running around on an adrenaline high, it slowed back down. Another downside to being in the mines and the Stable was the fact that the radio turned to complete static. Every now and then a few words would get through, but the reception was so terrible I didn’t bother keeping the earbloom in. When the Stables were made, they were made to be completely unreachable.

In the atrium, Marshmallow Sundae cooked behind her little window in the kitchen, as per usual. I gave a metallic wave as we walked in, and she returned it in kind. She faltered when she did though, and grabbed her side. A sign of the wounds from the battle? We exchanged sad smiles, and she got back to work. I took a seat at the large table in the center of the room, and watched the stallion take the seat across from me.

“So...” I stared, already feeling awkward.

“Have you spoken to my mother yet today?” Fondue asked calmly, tapping the table with a forehoof.

“Well, before Praline attached this to me,” I answered, holding up my steel hoof, “she gave me some words of encouragement, but not much more. I haven’t spoken to her since. Why?”

He chuckled. “Forget I said anything.”

“What, no! Tell me!” I yelled. It was beginning to get on my nerves that everypony down here seemed to think it was a good idea to keep something from me. “Tell me, tell me, tell me!” Being annoying usually gets answers.

“Can’t. Promised,” he said with a smirk, crossing his hooves on the table and leaning forward. “Do you know what happens when you break a promise you made to Praline?” I could only shake my head. “Keep it that way.”

I was beginning to think that I liked Éclair better, at least he was straight forward. This stallion was nice, and was looking after me... but at the same time he was kind of annoying. It wasn’t really fair to keep secrets. Well, I guessed if it was a secret from both Lost and I, it would be okay. At least that was fair. I glared and opened my mouth to protest, but before I could argue any more, Lost Art, Lemon Tart, and Praline walked in. Lamington followed behind, encased from hoof to...

Oh. My. Goddesses.

The helmet to the power armor was missing, and for the first time, I saw the gigantic stallion’s face. He was... I felt heat on my face, despite myself. The claws dug into my mind, but they were far weaker than before. They were still there, but they were starting to extend toward- Nope. Not thinking about that. With the power armor on, I’d feared he was like Wirepony inside, but seeing him like this? Wow.

He was stunning. I would never have expected such a gorgeous stallion from the staticy voice. His coat was a light brown, a shade between Praline’s and Fondue’s. His smoky cream-colored mane swept back past his ears and down his neck. The static had been hiding this from me? Suddenly, I hated static. His right eye was the same golden color that ran in the family, and it complemented his coat. His left eye... My warm blush turned a bit cold. His left eye was made of steel, given a chrome reflective surface, with a matching iris painted on. But then, he smiled, a smile so bright I couldn’t help but match it.

New rule: Stallions: terrifying. Lamington: gorgeous.

The four of them took seats at the table to my right, taking up the spots between Chocolate Fondue and myself. Lost latched herself onto me the minute she sat down, and I leaned into her. Praline just slammed her head into the table, breathing heavily. She said something but I couldn’t hear it.

“Exhausted,” complained Doctor Lemon Tart. “Please never get hurt in a fight that bad again. That many hours of surgery all in a row! I don’t think I could do it again.” The unicorn lowered her head, much slower than the perky mare had, and pressed her face against the cool steel table.

“Surgery is terrible... How’s your hoof?” L.A. asked, leaning her head against my shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and a small smile crept across her lips as she nuzzled against me.

“I’m doing much better. Thank you. All of you. For everything,” I said, resting my head against hers. “How did your surgery go?” I asked, pointing idly toward Lamington.

The stallion didn’t say a word, he just stared off into space. Every so often he would wobble to one side or another, but always seemed to catch himself with a start. Chocolate Fondue looked mortified, but never quite needed to catch the large stallion. What in the Goddesses’ name was wrong with him?

Finally he opened his mouth and said, “I’m... doing exep... exception... exceptionally well. I can s-see from both eyes p-perfectly.” The Star Paladin’s voice would’ve melted my heart if it wasn’t so jolted. Without the static from his armor, his voice threatened to turn my insides all buttery... but something was wrong. His words came out partially slurred and with odd timing.

“What’s wron-” I started.

“Anesthesia,” Lemon Tart said, cutting me off. She hadn’t lifted her face from the table.

Well, I was suddenly glad they hadn’t used any of that on me. Relearning to use my hoof was going slow enough, I didn’t need to be groggy from anesthesia too. Whatever anesthesia was. My thoughts were broken as Marshmallow Sundae came from the kitchen with several trays stacked on her back.

“Soup’s on, everypony,” she shouted as she walked over. The short mare balanced the trays with her tail and used it to move plates to the table. Despite her wobbling limp, she had the same control over her tail, the same skill that mom had had. After she set the table, we all ate quietly.

This meal was the most interesting I’d ever had. Lost ate with one hoof clung to my leg. I had to eat with my other, free leg. Lamington didn’t touch his food at all himself, though Fondue split time between feeding himself and his brother. On top of that, Praline and Lemon Tart didn’t lift their heads to eat a single bite. The only normal pony at the table was the pink-maned cook, who ate happily despite frequent wincing.

This was a new sensation. It was like eating with family. If mom and dad had been here, it would’ve been perfect. For now though, these ponies felt like something special, and even through our collective weirdness, we had a good meal. So a few days resting and relearning how to move... Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

* * *

Two days of rest had done me a world of good. My hoof was more responsive than ever, and it felt almost natural. I still had to exercise it every day for hours at a time, but the progress was worth it. As long as I wasn’t focusing on it, and just worked the hoof the same as I would the real three, everything went fine. Having a comfortable bed to sleep on, without fear of being attacked, was a bonus. The shower was icing on the cake, and I made sure to use it every chance I got.

The Stable Rangers were more interesting than I’d originally given them credit for. Drop Scone continued to mother us at every opportunity, and I knew I was gaining some weight. If Lost and I had found them while we’d been growing up, we might have gotten the nutrition to actually grow up and not wind up so damn short. Still, I had seen smaller ponies out there, so it could’ve been worse.

Praline was surprisingly smart for how incredibly silly she was all the time. In her spare time, she’d taken to teaching both Lost and I how to take care of my new hoof. A lot of the technical know-how went over my head, but she made sure Lost understood. Marshmallow Sundae continued to make delicious food. Sadly, Lamington went back to wearing his armor all the time. Chocolate Fondue hadn’t pressured me into saying anything else, almost as if he’d forgotten. Crème Brûlée had all but disappeared, which worried me a bit. But at least she wasn’t there teasing my sister or me.

I trotted down the hallway, clanking relatively quietly along the way. I needed to find Lemon Tart for another dose of her healing. The unicorn knew her way around a healing spell, and without her I was sure the recovery would have taken weeks instead of days. I peeked in every door I passed, looking for the sickly-yellow mare. Maybe I could find Xeno and get one of the crazy concoctions she’d been making the whole time.

None of the rooms held anything interesting, except the occasional unmade bed. I kept on looking, turning the hall and tried to open another one. Locked? Well, I hoped she wasn’t in that one. Somepony was inside though, so I turned to leave them al-

Wait, was that voice Lost Art’s?

Whatever she’d said, I missed it, and a second voice started talking. As quietly as I could, I pressed my ear to the door.

“...really glad you stumbled down here. Living with family, there wasn’t anypony to really get close to,” said the voice. It was a mare, one with a silky voice. I pressed my ear against the door harder, trying to hear better.

“I think so, too,” said my sister. “You’ve all been really nice and helped us with everything, even after we pulled you into our fight.” She sounded nervous. Were there other ponies in there? Was she cornered?

“No. I meant...” the voice said slowly. I heard a few hooffalls against the steel floor. The voice continued once the hooffalls fell silent. “Somepony special to get to know physically.”

The mare was Crème Brûlée! My mind raced. What should I do? She was hitting on Lost. Was Lost okay with it? Should... Should I go in and-

“Oh...” Lost squeaked through the door.

“What’s the problem?” Crème asked. “You like mares, right? I saw you stealing glances. It’s very cute.”

The confidence that mare had, I could hear it in her voice. She read my sister better than anypony I’d ever met. It had taken ages for even me to figure out that little preference of Lost’s.

“Y-yeah,” Lost stammered.

“Well, I do too,” Crème said. I leaned against the door with all my weight. If I could just hear bett-

The door shifted against the wall, making a grinding sound so loud I was sure it could’ve woken the dead. Terrified, I pulled back, careful to rest my hooves on the floor as silent as I possibly could. If either of them found out I was listening, I was screwed. With a few deep breaths, I leaned against the door again as light as I could.

“... do things together.” Dammit, I’d missed some. Crème said something and I missed it, but- ‘things together’ sounded bad. Or good? I shook my head. If Lost was comfortable with it...

“I-I can’t.”

That meant she wasn’t comfortable. Was I supposed to interrupt? If I just knocked on the door...

My hoof was halfway to the door when Crème asked, “So you don’t... like me?” My hoof went back to the floor. Ears twitching slightly, I leaned against the door again, careful not to make it shift again. Xeno’s legendary luck kept them from noticing last time, I knew I wouldn’t be so lucky again.

“No! I mean. Not like that, I do,” L.A. said, her voice hesitant.

A long pause followed, and I strained to hear what was going on. Finally Lost spoke again. “You’re pretty, and really nice too! I’d... I’d love to have somepony like you. I want to! I do... but, I can’t.”

Oh Goddesses. No... Lost, don’t...

More hooffalls fell behind the door, and my ears strained to hear them. Were they getting closer? I leaned back as best I could, pressing only my ear against the door. It wasn’t comfortable, but I could get away before they noticed me if the door happened to open.

“What’s wrong, love?” Crème asked. “Why can’t you?” Her voice was calmer than even Lamington’s.

“I’m...” my sister started, “afraid.” She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

I needed to stop this. I shouldn’t be listening. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I needed to. There were things I needed know about my sister. Why she held back was one of them, and this was going to shed some light on things. I’d told her about my problems the other night, and she’d helped me. If I knew what was hurting her, then I could help.

“What’re you afraid of? Please, tell me,” said Crème.

“I don’t want to lose Hidden,” Lost answered. “If... If I get close to somepony else, she’ll drift away.” She sounded like she’d starting crying. “I lost my dad... I lost my mom. I-If I lost her-” She broke at that point, and let the tears flow. I could hear it loud and clear, even through the door. “She’s all I have left.”

“I’d never leave you, Lost,” I whispered to the door, “no matter what.” Realization I’d said that out loud hit me, I and clamped a hoof over my mouth, using the steel one by accident. “Ow!” I yelped. Oh no! Had she heard me?

“What happens if,” she continued, sniffling. There was another pause, and she regained her composure. “I can’t have my heart broken, I’ve lost too much already. What happens if I fall for you, and you die, or leave, or-”

“Lost Art. I’m not going anywhere,” said the Stable pony reassuringly. I really wished the door had a window. She continued, “Hidden doesn’t have to know, this can be between you and me and nopony else.”

What! How dare she! Lost would never hide something like this from me! We shared everything with one ano- no. I took a deep breath, thought of the consequences of thinking that way. Like a thinky pony.

She’d tell me in her own time. It was okay. Sisters don’t have to share everything. I didn’t need to know about her sex life.

For several minutes I didn’t hear anything. What happened? I leaned back against the door and tried to listen harder, if that was even possible. Curiosity was getting the better of me. I had to know what was happening!

“I could lose you, like you lost Éclair,” my sister said, “It only takes one bullet to take a pony away forever.”

“Lost, do you... you know,” Crème’s voice dropped to a whisper, “when you’re alone and need to let off some steam?” Her voice sounded much different than the confident silky mare she’d been before, there was a huskiness to it that...

Oh Goddesses! I shuddered and clenched my eyes shut. Did she just ask her if- Ew. I needed to leave. My legs didn’t follow my orders though, and I kept listening.

“Yeah. I do,” my sister replied.

Dammit, Lost!

“Well, then what’s the difference if I do it for you instead?” Crème asked. Dozens of reasons popped into my mind, but the Steel Ranger kept talking before any could form into anything resembling coherent sentences. “As friends, just friends who make each other feel special, like that... Not somepony you’re committing your heart to.”

There was another long silence.

“Trust me, it’ll feel good for...” Crème continued. Her voice trailed off halfway through whatever she was saying. With the voices dropped below what I could hear, I thought it was over. Then I heard a kiss, then whimpering.

Was, was Crème Brûlée taking advantage of her? Should I break the door down and help? The breathless ‘yes’ from my sister was the ‘no’ I needed. Through the door I heard labored breathing and a few firm hoofstamps. The sound of kissing continued. Lost could do whatever she wanted. I didn’t need to hear this. I really didn’t need to hear this.

As quietly as I could, walking on three legs so as not to clank on the way out, I slunk away from the door. Down another hallway I went, back on the task of finding the doctor. I never heard that conversation.

Never. Heard it.

* * *

“Four days is enough!” I yelled. I didn't want to be stuck in this bedroom anymore, no matter how comfy it was. Another day was too long. Recovery was done, I was fine. Time to go.

“I know, I want to get back out there too. But we're safe here for the first time in...” Lost paused and looked to the ceiling. “Longer than I can remember. Don't you want to just stay and enjoy it a little more?” She was trying to be reasonable, but I didn't care. I wanted out, she just wanted to stay with that. That. That mare!

I took a deep breath. This was exactly what she’d been secretly afraid of, I wouldn't let the anger win. She deserved somepony special. Shifting on my bed, I looked at my sister and begged, “L.A., please, I want to keep moving. We've been down here too, too long. And...”

I didn't want to admit the next part. It made me feel stupid. The worst part was it wasn't my normal thinky pony stupid problem. Thinky pony just meant considering my actions before doing things like jumping from the third story of a burning building. This was just, me being careless.

She sat up on her bed, across the room and gave me a look. I knew that look. “Well,” she started, adjusting the broken glasses on her muzzle. “I was actually thinking about what we should do next, and-”

“I know what you’re going to say,” I interrupted. “And you were right. We should just go home. It was foalish to think we could go out this far, that we could do something to make up for what I did, all I’ve done so far is get hurt a lot, and get other ponies around me killed.” I held up the new steel hoof at the end of my stump. “I even lost a hoof and-”

Lost’s magic wrapped around my mouth, holding it shut. She stared at me over the remaining rim of her glasses. It wasn’t until I nodded weakly in defeat that she released me from her telekinetic grasp.

“That’s not what I was going to say, at all,” she said. “Do you remember, I asked you the other night if you thought mom would be proud of us?”

I nodded, fidgeting with the steel attached to me.

“She did everything in her power to keep us safe,” Lost continued, “She fought against other ponies, she fought against monsters. It was all to keep you and I from getting hurt. So, I think after what you did yesterday, and what you gave up for it, she’d be proud. She might not have trusted other ponies, but her entire life was dedicated to keeping those she cared about safe.”

I looked down at my new hoof and nodded again. “She did,” I muttered. “Until I got her killed.”

For a long moment we sat in silence, the thought of mom’s death weighing heavily in the air. Lost didn’t argue with who was at fault.

“You wanted to make the Wasteland a better place for ponies you cared about,” she finally said. “They might not be ponies you knew, but you cared about them anyway. And, I think that it was the right thing to do.”

“But, I don’t think we’re cut out for this,” I said, rolling over to face away from her. “I haven’t helped anypony, all I’ve done is get myself hurt and kill others. I did it because I felt bad for shooting first and asking questions later, not because I’m a good pony, L.A... I’m just brash.”

“Hidden Fortune,” she said. Oh colt, my full name. I was in trouble now. “We killed Wirepony. We helped cripple and scatter Scifresh, Jazz, and their Steel Rangers.” She stood and stomped a hoof against the metal floor. “We're doing good. I want to keep doing it, for us. Not for Gunbuck. For ponies who need it.” She pointed a hoof at the PipBuck on my fetlock. “I looked at the map last time I had the PipBuck, and I think the best place for us to start is a little town called Skirt, up in the hills near the mountains. It’s somewhere your hero Gunbuck hasn’t been. It’s somewhere we can do some good.”

All I could do was smile. My sister was right. Not just because she was the older sister, but because it was the right thing to do. We needed to find out who we really were, and if that meant playing saviors to the little chunk of the Wasteland we called home, so be it.

I looked at my sister in admiration. “Okay,” I said. “If you're confident about it. We can do it.”

“I am,” Lost said. “We can't go back. We have to go forward. Mom wanted us to hide forever, and...” Another sigh slipped from her lips. For a moment she was silent, biting at her lower lip and keeping her eyes closed. “I love mom. Even with her gone, I love her, with all my heart. But hiding forever would just get us killed one day, where nopony could help us. You paid your debt, I think.” She stepped over and hugged me tight. I wrapped a hoof around her neck. “Burying Gunbuck was enough, but you've also lost a hoof to the Wasteland. In the process, we killed a monster that darkened what's left of Equestria. You've more than made up for this.” She tapped the little scar left on her throat. “From here on, we do things for-”

A knock at the door interrupted us. A half-second later, it opened, and Praline walked in. I smiled at the mare and waved my steel hoof. She smiled back and bounced up onto the bed we were sitting on. Thinking back to the Berliners’ new cutie marks, I took a peek at Praline’s as she hopped up with us. Upon her flank were several gears arranged like a heart, with wires connecting them. I guess I’d been right to trust her with the surgery.

“So! Guess what?” she asked, bringing me back to reality. Before we could open our mouths, she continued, “We’re leaving the Stable! Not forever; this will still be home. But we’re going to take a few days and go exploring to find out what’s out there.”

“Pommel Falls,” I said, placing my hoof on Praline’s shoulder. “A town nearby. They’re at the waterfall at the start of the river. We,” I paused to groan, “we were exiled. But they’re salvaging another Stable for purification talismans. You’re smart about that kind of thing. You could help!”

“Oooo, another Stable? Fun!” she said, bouncing again.

“So, will you-” Lost started to ask, but Praline cut her off by grabbing us both in a gigantic hug and squeezed tight.

“Come with me!” Praline ordered, and literally dragged us to the atrium.

Inside the atrium was the family, mostly sitting around the table enjoying a meal. Elder Drop Scone paced behind them. Her eyes lit up when she saw us, and we all trotted over. Praline practically beamed.

“It’s time,” Drop Scone said, smiling in a way I wished I could remember my mom smiling. “One more meal, then we have some important things to talk about.”

Were they finally going to tell us the secret they’d been keeping for days? Finally! I grinned and looked at Lost, who had a big grin on her face as well. She winked at me.

Did she know something I didn’t? Not. Fair.

I sat with my sister across from the family and our resident exception, Xeno. Lemon Tart sat with the Steel Ranger family, chatting happily as if she’d been in the Stable from the moment she was born. Before us, Marshmallow Sundae cooked up a smorgasbord of treats. I’d learned the names of some of the foods from last time, and some new ones as well. This time, I dug straight into the mane course, skipping the soups. They could wait. Carrot and celery broth wasn’t even a close second to a delicious grilled eggplant. The rest ate from other parts of the feast, but for me, there was only my favorite dish. Small talk peppered the meal, but this was the last real meal I’d ever get before we left, and I wanted to get everything I could out of it. After my fill of grilled eggplant, I finally made my way to the soup, the rolls, and finally, delicious apricot strudel for dessert. I finished before everypony else, and took my time with the dessert, savoring every bite.

If only we’d had some bacon, it would have been perfect. I suckled on a sugarcube Marshmallow Sundae gave me, and finally started listening to the conversation.

“Hidden suggested we head to a place called Pommel Falls,” Praline explained to her family. I smiled as she continued, “She says they’re going to need help with another Stable. I think it’s a good place to start.”

I looked over to my sister and gave her a quick nuzzle. Okay, so, the last four days had been the best I’d had in years. I was actually sad that we’d be going our separate ways. I looked over the entire family, even the empty spot where Éclair would’ve sat. They talked happily amongst themselves, still mostly innocent. The Berliners were the first ponies in the family who would actually grow up in the Wasteland, which would be a real shell-shock-

“Don’t go near any blue vines!” I blurted out. The conversation stopped and they all looked at me in confusion. Feeling my face flush I gave a weak, forced smile. “Err... Mom called it poison joke. It can kill you.”

“It is killing joke you speak of. Which is not funny, it is not a joke. Ponies do not have a good sense of humor,” explained Xeno. She placed her hoof on the table, and pulled it back to reveal a tiny scrap of the vine, a few inches in length with several leaves attached.

Lost and I recoiled in horror, practically falling out of our seats.

Xeno shook her head. “You continue to be very silly ponies,” she said. “It is not alive. The magic of the plant is gone.”

Elder Drop Scone and her family watched in rapt attention, unfamiliar with the deadly plant. Even I had trouble wrapping my head around the new name. All these years, and we hadn’t even known the name of what had killed mom...

“If you ponies are to be leaving the safety of this steel lair, you will need to know that more than other ponies can cause death,” Xeno continued. With another wave of her hoof, the vine was gone. “So easy it is to forget what dangers await foalish ponies. Surviving often means forgetting that you are being hunted, as it becomes normal to be afraid. To be virulent is to survive.”

I resisted a facehoof at Xeno’s maladjusted vocabulary.

“She’s right,” Lost said, looking down at her hooves. “There’s a lot more out there than we’ve remembered to tell you.” She looked as guilty as I felt. We were bringing them to the outside world, showing them the Wasteland. Without even a crash course on everything out there.

“Hellhounds, manticores, zombies. Other ponies, creatures like Wirepony,” I said, holding up my hoof. “You know just how dangerous it can be.” I clanked the steel against the table.

“There is no reason for your distress. Unlike the three of you, we have proper armaments, and repairing armor. We’re equipped to deal with situations like that. Experience will come hastily, my family can handle themselves,” said Lamington, his voice bursting with static. The fact that he put his helmet back on, even for the meal had me a bit miffed. I wanted to see how he looked with his eye healed. I bet he looked even more dashing now...

Lost leaned against me and looked up. I looked back at her. “They’ll be fine,” she told me.

I nodded, and turned toward the family. “So what’s this big secret everypony’s been hiding?” I asked.

“Patience, just wait and see,” said the Elder. The family all smiled, all except Lamington. He was probably smiling under the helmet.

I wanted to know so bad. We were leaving so soon, and they still hadn’t said a word. Unfinished business was the absolute last thing we needed when we went our separate ways. I was going to miss them all so much... I found myself crying. It hurt. Like losing mom all over again. We hadn’t even left yet, and I couldn’t stand it. I felt Lost lean against me, and her tears fell against my coat.

“You two, don’t cry, please,” Drop Scone said to my sister and me. The Elder reached across the table and wiped away a tear with her hoof, just like Mom used to do. “I have some good news. That secret we’ve been hiding? I think, you won’t have a reason to cry once you find out.”

Was it really that big? I wiped away the tear with my new hoof, and watched it roll down the metal, trailing along the etched markings. These were the best ponies I’d ever met, if she’d kept a secret this long, there was a good reason for it. I trusted her.

“Okay, so tell us already!” Lost yelled.

* * *

We trotted to the armory deep in the bowels of the Stable. Drop Scone led the way, with Praline bouncing along next to Lost and me. Lamington brought up the rear.

The armory was nestled deep in the back end of the Stable, behind much of the machinery that kept everything running smoothly. Surrounded by the droning hum of talismans and purifiers, recyclers and generators, we stood at one end of a fantastically long shooting range. The armory portion of the room held dozens of stripped suits of armor, rendered practically unusable by cannibalism for other projects. Lockers lined one wall, their doors hanging open and showing the remains of accessories and weapons mountings. A sturdy work table stood before my sister and I, covered in a white sheet that was held down by tools at each corner.

“How much has it been eating you up?” Praline asked with a giggle. She leaned against me with all her weight, smiling so wide I thought the top of her head might come off. With friends like these...

“Hidden can’t stand not knowing a secret. She’s been climbing up the walls,” Lost answered for me, holding a forehoof up to stifle her laughter. If it weren’t for the fact that she was right, I’d have hit her. Truth be told though, it made me smile awkwardly.

“Is climbing up walls good for my recovery?” I asked the bubbly mare leaning on me.

“Alright, alright,” Drop Scone interrupted. “Settle down. Praline’s right. I’ve been wanting to show and tell the two of you something since the night we met and you showed us the world up top. I’d love to show Xeno as well, but when I asked her, she refused.”

That wasn’t fair. Why did Xeno get to know the secret? Any argument I might’ve had disappeared when Drop Scone pulled the weights and put the tools away. She pulled the cover away and showed us a smorgasbord of a different kind.

The beautiful, deadly kind.

Lying all across the table were our guns. Each and every one was polished, and in perfect condition. Several of the firearms we’d taken from the armory had been combined to make the remainder. They’d reduced our stock down to three pistols of various calibers, but it was worth it to see them so beautifully put together and polished. Lost’s magical energy weapons received the same treatment, though the recharger rifle was very obviously missing. Thank you, little rifle, for letting me walk again. The still-working pieces looked tuned-up, with my rifles and shotgun across the far edge of the table in all their polished glory.

“You fixed everything up for us?” I asked, bewildered. They didn’t have to do that. Lost and I were used to working with terrible weapons and materials. That was just how the Wasteland was. We just hunted for a new bit of treasure to replace the old ones, or found a merchant that looked approachable. This was...

“I helped!” Lost said, beaming. “They let me use the armory to fix everything up, Lamington and Chocolate Fondue did a lot of the work. I couldn’t have done it without them.” She gave Lamington a smile. “Too bad they didn’t have parts for my glasses...” Her hoof nudged the shattered rims and her smile vanished.

“Okay, ready for the big surprise?” Drop Scone asked, turning to the shooting range wall and moving something out from behind one of the partitions. With the help of Praline and Lamington, she managed to pull out two more covered... somethings. “These are presents.” She pulled the cover away, revealing two stripped down, pieced-together suits of Steel Armor.

The Elder said something else, but I missed it. I was too busy staring at the beautiful armor in front of me. They weren’t fully sealed suits like the Star Paladin always wore, but were still better than anything we’d seen. I stared wide-eyed, tracing over the beautiful designs etched into the steel, especially the Stable Sixty insignia on the chest. Each suit was a chest piece with steel plates overlapped to cover chest, back and sides. On the left side of one was a complete sleeve for the leg hanging to the floor, it was made of smaller metal pieces attached to mesh and held together with straps. On the right side of one was a half sleeve, stopping right about where a PipBuck would rest. Convenient, that. The other suit was almost identical, but with an attachment base for a battle saddle, set at just the right spot! Puzzlingly this second suit was missing its right-hoof sleeve, its wearer's right foreleg would be left exposed. Or maybe leaving room a higher PipBuck due to a steel hoof...

“Wait, are those... for us?” I asked, having to pause halfway through to catch my breath. I stared at the leader of the Stable Sixty Steel Rangers in shock, my jaw hanging almost to the floor. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. We’d been told when we got here that things like this were off-limits, and that power armor was symbolic and special to them.

“Silly pony,” the older mare said with a laugh, “they’re for my family.”

Family? Praline, Lamington, all of them already had their own armor. The power armor they had was far superior in quality to these, too. These two didn’t even have the fancy repair systems, or the drug injection systems, because there wasn’t any covering for the flanks. But then, why was she showing Lost and I in the first place? She wasn’t the type to tease, knowing full well metal plates would be better protection, a lot better than the useless armor we’d found in the mines.

I looked over at Lost, who had a gigantic grin on her face, almost big enough to rival Praline’s smile. She knew something I didn’t, I just knew it. She matched my gaze and gave a nuzzle.

“You know they’re for us, right?” she asked, her voice playful.

“Welcome to the family.”

“What?”

“Well, at least Lost Art figured it out,” Praline said, snickering. She latched onto my sister and me, pulling us into a gigantic hug. She started talking a faster than I could keep up. “Do you know how hard it was to not tell you this? Mom’s been planning it since we met! She said that you opened the world up to us. It’s very important. Every other time our family and ancestors tried to leave, there was all that radiation. We thought everypony was dead. And then you showed up! And now we know about ponies up top! And we can help others! We can be good ponies and keep others like Jazz from doing terrible things. Don’t you like helping other ponies?”

I stopped her at that point with a hoof over her mouth, trying to put the information into my head in a way I could actually understand. I said, “Yes. We like helping ponies.” I looked to Drop Scone, who nodded.

“She’s right,” the Elder said. “You turned our world upside down. But you grew on me the moment I met you. The zebra, did too. But she’s refused on the grounds of cultural difference.” She stopped to laugh. “She’s a strange one!” She could say that again. “You two, though, you’ve been like family to my foals. When I was told the top was all death, I was scared.” She trotted in a small circle, a nervous look on her face. “Scared that I would lose all of my foals. They’re still just colts and fillies to me, you know. But the outside isn’t all bad. Obviously you two were more than I could ever hope for, given the warnings Xeno gave.”

She walked up to us, and pried Praline off my sister and me. “Praline has grown on you, you’ve helped her hone the skill she wanted to work on for ages,” she continued. “You helped give the Berliners a chance to prove themselves, and gain their cutie marks. You let all of us do some good for ponies everywhere.” She gave her daughter a hug, and looked to Lamington.

“We suffered, Marshmallow Sundae will never fight again. Not with the internal damage... Lamington lost his eye. Praline has shrapnel dug into her side that’ll be there forever. I lost...” She stopped to compose herself. “I lost a son.”

“But you’re gaining two more daughters?” L.A. asked. A confused look crossed her face and she looked side to side. “What about Lemon Tart?”

“Yes,” the Elder answered, “and Lemon Tart has always been a member of the Steel Rangers. Changing chapters isn’t going to take away who she was and make it into something different. She’s welcome with open hooves for everything she has done to keep my family from the brink of disaster.”

“We’d be honored if you were to accept the gracious offer. As my mother has said, Steel breeds Steel,” Lamington said, through surprisingly little static. He reached a leg out and tapped his power armor against my steel hoof. “Steel.”

I lifted the hoof and looked at it for a few seconds. The etchings matched the armor in front of me perfectly. Was this really what they wanted? I asked, “Are you... are you sure?”

“I’m well aware of the monster you defeated. Having you as allies would only help the world around us,” he said, tapping my steel hoof again. “You want it too, don’t you?”

“Yes,” my sister and I both admitted. I wanted to know how Lost felt, and wished I could read her mind. She looked like she was holding her breath, and probably had similar thoughts going through her head. The thought of having a family again was... I couldn’t describe it. It felt both wonderful and terrible at once. The fear of losing them like mom and dad was the first thing I thought of. The joy of having a place to call our own though, it quickly washed away the fear. Maybe, maybe we wouldn’t be together all the time, but they’d always be there for us.

“It would be nice to have a family again,” Lost admitted, her voice shaky.

“You’re already family!” Praline squealed, hugging her tight. “You just can’t say no!” She shifted and stared at us, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Do you think we deserve it?” I asked the Elder, shifting uncomfortably. I wanted to move toward that armor, to take it and hold it forever.

“It’s not about deserving. It’s about bonds,” she answered. “To me, Elder Drop Scone, my foals Star Paladin Lamington, Knight Praline, to all of us...” Her words trailed off. She stepped behind the armor and placed both armor sets on the table over our guns.

“You are family.”

* * *

The Wasteland spread out before me, as far as I could see. The cloud cover hung over the sky oppressively. In a few hours it would be nightfall, and as much as I hated to admit it, that meant it was time to leave. The Stable Sixty Steel Rangers stood scattered before me, doing the last of their preparations. I wasn’t ready for this, but it was happening now or later, and better now when both our groups could still do good in the Wasteland.

“I truly wish you would accompany us,” said Lamington through the static of his helmet. I really wished he’d just keep it off... He spent most of the time standing there overlooking his siblings and making sure they had all that they needed. “There is safety in numbers, and the larger the group we travel with, the more insignificant the chances that we run into any of these Wasteland dangers your xenophobic friend has told us about.”

“We’ve got our own path right now,” I told him, looking over to my sister. I frowned. This was tougher than I’d thought it would be.

Lost was busy saying her goodbyes to Crème. Both mares were holding back tears, as if trying to hide the secret that hopefully only I knew. Being privy to the information though, had me reconsidering the offer to travel with them. I bit my lip and turned back to the power-armored stallion.

“I’d love to, really. Not just for me, for my sister,” I said, pointing discreetly to the embraced mares. A burst of static came from the Star Paladin in response, and he nodded. “We’ve got to finish what we started, do some hunting out there and help some ponies. Split up, we can help more.”

“Mmm, yes, I can understand the logic behind it. I still wish you would travel with the family. We are armed and armored to the proverbial teeth, you know,” he said, lowering his head down to my level. I could see my reflection in his visor. “I’d like you to travel with me...”

Oh Goddesses.

I looked away, at anything to distract myself. The claws were back at full force, digging in to whisper little secrets about what stallions do to mares. I looked to Xeno, sitting atop the cave and staring off into the distance. I looked to Lost, who was helping Crème Brûlée into her power armor. I looked over toward Praline, who was sitting right next to-

I yelped, “Ahh! Praline!” I fell over, tumbling under weight heavier than I was used to. New armor, check, it’s heavy. Pulling myself back to my hooves, I gave the mare a quick hug with my steel hoof. It gave a satisfying clank against her armor. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. You’re weird enough as it is without popping up right behind me.” I couldn’t help but smile at her. Her bounciness had made recovery so much easier.

“I just wanted to give you one last tiny little going away for now because we’ll see each other again real soon present,” she announced, beaming. From the neckline of her power armor she produced several little bits and baubles and passed them to me. I looked down at a small device that looked very similar to the PipBuck, and a slip of paper folded up. “I notice you didn’t have a broadcaster, and I figured that since you’re traveling with Lost and Xeno you might want to share the radio. So you just put this part in here, and the PipBuck should do the rest. Then anything you hear from the PipBuck will come through the broadcaster where everypony can hear it!” As she explained, she was pointing an armored hooftip to different parts. “I don’t know if it’ll work with this model, because all the PipBuck-type stuff built into our power armor was based off internal Ministry of Technology workings.” She clanked a hoof on the design over her flank for emphasis. “It’s not all exactly the same since Stable-Tec and the Ministry of Technology didn’t always see eye to eye. Should be close enough though!”

“Uh huh, what about the paper?” I asked. Another situation where cheater magic would have been perfect, because I couldn’t unfold it with a hoof, and if I used my mouth it might smear whatever was written there. Stupid unicorn cheater magic.

“Instructions!” she practically yelled. With a deep breath, she started again, “I figured that you might need help now and then and that sometimes we might need help.” Lamington scoffed through the static at that. “Anyway, the paper tells you how to use it as a outbound broadcaster. Like the radio, but for us! We can stay up and talk overnight through it.” She giggled. “Ok, maybe not...”

“Okay...” I said, struggling. “Please talk slower on the radio, please.”

“Okay!” she said, grabbing me in a powerful power-armored hug. Then she let go and bounced away.

“I suppose we should take that as the sign it’s time to depart,” said the Star Paladin, clanking his power armor against my hoof again. “Use the provisions we have provided well. They will help more than you realize. Good luck in the Wasteland. I’ll see you again soon.” With that, he turned and walked away, heading to the rest of his family and their adopted doctor. I couldn’t help but blush again.

I already missed all of them. Saying each goodbye had been traumatizing, but by the time I was able to talk to Lamington, I managed to get it under control. With a heavy sigh I turned and trotted to Lost and Xeno. Both were standing ready. Xeno looked almost out of place now, with only her stripes and saddle bag for protection. Her eyes were glazed over and she had a lopsided smile across her muzzle. Lost was nervous, glasses balanced across her nose and armor fastened tightly to her white coat. I thought better than to mention the tear stains down her muzzle.

What we had wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better. We looked back to the family who started off. A wave from the Berliners, as they tried desperately to double-time it and keep up with the taller ponies, was the last we saw of them. I clicked the broadcaster onto the PipBuck’s radio and turned it on, checked my E.F.S., and looked to the two mares next to me.

“Ready?” I asked.

Lost shifted uncomfortably, stamping her hooves and looked at me. She pulled a laser pistol from her bags, and slid it into the strap holster across one leg. She trailed a forehoof across the other foreleg along the shaped steel. “As I’ll ever be,” she said with a sigh.

“Iam ready to leave as well. Underground, my luck held out well, but soon I must head to my family’s grounds. I would like to inform them of my brothers’ passing,” Xeno said, staring off toward where the sun would be setting.

“We’ll do that soon then, I promise,” said L.A. She looked away from both of us, the direction the Stable Sixty Steel Rangers had left. “Family’s important, after all.” Her voice had a quiet wistfulness to it, digging the point deep into my heart.

“They’re not like the zebra from the War, are they?” I asked, warily trying to change the subject. The last time I met a zebra that wasn’t Xeno, I’d nearly lost some of my organs. The thought of her family or tribe or whatever it was they called themselves all being like that was like walking into a trap. “Mom told us about those kinds of zebras...” Groups of ponies couldn’t be trusted, zebras couldn’t be trusted, could anything be trusted, Mom?

“They have never shot at me before,” she answered with a peculiar stare. “You are my friends now, perhaps mother will tell them to stay their hooves if they wish to attack. I can not ever tell with other zebra. There is a...” Her words broke into her native tongue, spouting gibberish at my sister and me. “I donot know the pony way of saying what I wish to say. I am not like my family.” Her face contorted, showing considerable frustration, but it passed. “My father though, he would be interested to meet ponies I have traveled with.”

“Alright, let’s go. No more silliness,” Lost said, nodding for us to follow. She turned and trotted off quickly, staying ahead of Xeno and me. Her tail and ears drooped down, and her gait was off. I didn’t need to read her mind. I knew what she was thinking. I missed them too.

I lifted the PipBuck and switched it over to the map. Just like the grave where I’d buried Gunbuck, this wasn’t a place I wanted to forget. With a flick of the wheel, I zoomed the map in- A little marker for Stable Sixty was already there, right where the entrance to the cave was. I’d never understand how this little device knew where everything was, but once again I was glad for what it did. Instead, I switched back to the radio, and cranked the volume up. Accompanied by the music of Sapphire Shores, Sweetie Belle, and other long-vanished ponies, the three of us made way toward the town known as Skirt.

* * *

There had to be something good in here. I dug around the trash can again, steel hoof clanging loudly. Realizing the target I was making of myself, I switched to my left forehoof and dug deeper, leaning in until my shoulder was at the rim. I found purchase. There was something down there! I pulled whatever it was into my fetlock and yanked it out.

“Got it!” I announced. Lost just shook her head at me, a small smile spread across her lips. I was a treasure hunter, what did she want from me? I looked down at the prize I’d pulled from the old, dead Equestria. “Cigarettes?” What in th-

The package disappeared from my hoof. What? I looked around frantically. I didn’t smoke, but that was my treasure! Next to my sister stood Xeno, one of the the little white sticks pressed between her lips. It was already lit, and had a half inch of ash.

How did she even do that?

With a wry smirk across her lips, Xeno shifted the cigarette to the corner of her mouth and started off again. Lost followed, and I trailed along after them. My E.F.S. was still empty, just another boring afternoon of boredom. The only thing that had broken the monotony of the day was minor treasure hunting opportunities.

Spying another trash can, I raced over to it and began digging. Treasure! Still a bit sheepish from the lecture Broker gave me, the chance to loot everything that wasn’t nailed down and might have anything of value in it was just what I needed. The PipBuck even labeled, sorted, and priced everything. Nifty little tool from the past. I didn’t know how it instantly knew what everything I found was, but having the information at my disposal would make trading easier later.

I looked to the rifle on my left side, the pristine hunting rifle from the corner of Trifle’s armory. The PipBuck labeled it as ‘Persistence.’ I liked the name; it felt like the name a gun like that should have. I really wished that we’d each gotten a PipBuck from the Stable before mom and dad fled. Having to change the color back every time Lost used it, and being without it at critical moments like the fight with Wirepony were really making me- Paydirt!

An empty Sparkle~Cola bottle and some trash. Well, some treasure was worthless. I popped the bottle into my bags, turned my radio back on, and soldiered on. Anything to pass the time, right now. Still no sign of hostiles. Only the marker for town showed the way. We followed an old road with lots of little spots to dig through for loot, but... It just felt unfulfilling. I looked up at the shattered buildings and sighed.

“We need something we can really hunt through,” I whined above the radio. My ears drooped down and my tail hung low. This was boring. Even a raider attack would at least liven things up a little bit. Conversation. Conversation would keep my mind busy. I looked to Xeno. “So... Do you know how to fight?”

“That is a strange question, Hidden pony,” she said, canting her head to the side and blinking a few times. “I was raised in the Wasteland, much as you ponies constantly remind me. Zahi and Zaki were both trained to deal death from afar. I was not schooled in that, though. In the years that we traveled together, my elder brother did teach me. Iam...” Her speech dove into her native tongue and I just rolled my eyes. “What is the pony word for good enough?”

“Passable? Acceptable? Good enough works too,” Lost answered dismissively, joining our conversation. “Does that mean you can help us fight from now on?” She stopped and turned toward the zebra mare, looking over the rim of her glasses. “We made a mistake. I’m sorry about your brothers. We’re better off if you help though, and we put all the shit that happened behind us. You obviously want to travel with us, or you’d have left. Neither of us are holding you down here.” She pointed to me, then back at herself. Her voice bitter, she continued, “The least you could do is watch our backs in a fight instead of sitting and watching.”

Oh dear, this wasn’t gonna go well. Lost normally wasn’t so snappy. I should’ve noticed something was off when she wasn’t helping me dig through old trash cans. Normally we worked as a team, but I was so wrapped up in my own head that I hadn’t thought of her. Something was eating at her, I had an inkling but... Maybe I should just ask?

“Iam aware. I donot begrudge you ponies. I would have done the same. You have not asked for assistance in fighting,” Xeno explained, tilting her head to the other side. She raised an eyebrow and continued. “The way you ponies have acted, in the face of death. It is peculiar. You throw yourselves at it with, with...” She pursed her lips and frowned, looking away from my sister for a moment. She spit the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. “I donot like your language. It is, a word that means...” She shuffled her hoof across the dirt and tapped a few times, frustrated.

“I sacrifice myself to try and save my sister,” I answered for her. “I run to death in an effort to save another. C’mon, we’re losing daylight.” I started walking again, wanting to at least walk and talk.

“Yes, this isnot only a pony thing. You wish to help alone, to bear the burden. My tribe does the same, we try to save many, losing as few as possible. Iam not strong, my brothers tried to save me. They failed,” she said, solemnly. With a sigh she followed.

“Well, you’re still alive. And we’ll go visit your parents one day as soon as we get finished with this adventure we’re on. So, you’re alive and traveling, learning... did they really fail?” Lost asked, smiling at the zebra. The bitterness in her voice had passed, which was a welcome relief.

Xeno nodded. She looked back and forth between Lost and I, before finally giving in to a small smile.

As we talked, we rounded a street corner and kept on toward the marker on the E.F.S. Ahead loomed a large building mostly untouched by the destruction around us. I grinned, distracted from the conversation. This was where we’d hunt, get our spirits up, and then go help ponies.

“We’re friends Xeno, we’re going to help you as long as you stay with us. Your... Whatever it is you make has helped us a lot, and we’ve tried to keep you safe. We work together,” I said, offering my flesh hoof.

Xeno pressed hers against mine, and I smiled.

“Friends, yes,” she replied. “Iwill also fight, but... Iam not good at the fighting you do, ponies. Iwill do as my elder brother taught me, and fight from a distance.” She pointed to the sniper rifle on my side. “That would be the preferred way for me to asset you.”

Without argument, I unhitched it from the battle saddle and passed it to her. Not wanting to be unprepared in a fight, I reattached the shotgun opposite my hunting rifle.

Xeno stood on her hind legs effortlessly and took the weapon. Placing her hooves on the trigger and barrel, she looked almost like the zebra I’d gunned down only a week ago. From her bag she pulled a small knife striped in a similar design to her coat. She slid it into the loop of her saddlebag within easy reach and walked off. Wherever she’d hid that, it must have been good.

“Iwill be watching, ponies,” Xeno said, placing another lit cigarette into her mouth. “Iwill subject that you stay near a window. And hope that luck other than mine is with you.” She walked off, a little trail of smoke following her.

Seriously, how had she lit that? I hadn’t taken my eyes off of her, but there it was, lit and in her hoof somehow.

Zebras freaked me the fuck out.

* * *

Going back to our roots, even if only for a quick stop on the mane journey, was a breath of foul, dusty, irradiated air. We made our way to the only building that still had an actual roof on it. The door was open, and the two of us wordlessly slipped into the darkness of the building. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the ancient lighting that somehow still functioned, I went on the lookout for anything that might be valuable to somepony. I promised myself that if we were ever allowed back into Pommel Falls, I was gonna load so much treasure onto Broker’s counter he’d owe me caps for the rest of his life.

I saw no immediate signs of life inside, but remembering I had the PipBuck this time, I checked the E.F.S. Red everywhere. Now, why hadn’t it showed any of that on the walk up? It would’ve been nice to know what we were getting into.

I nudged my sister, “Lots of red in here,” I told her. “Let’s keep quiet and hope for the best.” I checked the guns on my side, Persistence on the left and the shotgun I had now attached to the right. Everything was loaded. I really hoped it was just a few Radroaches.

The ruined lobby of the building didn’t hold much. The room was trashed, with rubble from the ceiling littering the floor, and trash everywhere. Ancient graffiti, smeared in faded red paint covered the walls. It was horribly obscene but worth a chuckle. Even though the building had survived the megaspells and balefire that erased Equestria, time had ruined the place. A shame, too, it looked like they’d been having a party, what with the red streamers hanging from the ceiling. I flicked away some plaster and found a few caps on the counter. After some hunting, I filled my bags with various knick knacks. Silently, Lost and I went through the door on the right side of the lobby, into a little office room full of cubicles. There we did the same, looting every desk we could reach while avoiding the ruin and rubble. I kept an eye on the E.F.S. the whole time, watching the little red markers move back and forth. They must have been very active Radroaches...

“...getting sick of this shit,” said a voice from the next room, “Fuckin’ kill somethin’ the next chance I...”

Shit! Lost shot me a terrified look, then crouched down behind one of the desks. I followed her example. We watched over the edge as a tattered-looking, definitely not-Radroach mare walked past the doorway and out of sight again.

“PipBuck says red,” I muttered under my breath.

“Too good to be true, wasn’t it?” L.A. whispered to me. She pulled the laser pistol from the strap it was held in and leveled it off at the door. “Do you think we should leave, or kill her?”

“Let’s just keep sneaking around for now,” I answered. “She didn’t notice us. There’s other rooms we can check, and then get out. I’ll keep my hoof quiet.” I beckoned her toward the door we’d come in through. She agreed, and we walked back into the lobby. I walked on three hooves to keep quiet, which was easier said than done, but I managed. We made it through the lobby and across to the far room. I checked the E.F.S. again, but didn’t see anything. It was probably safe.

With her laser pistol at the ready, Lost pushed open the lobby’s far door and looked in. Her eyes went wide and she pulled the door shut with her magic as fast as she could. She looked back at me and said, “Hidden, these are very bad raiders.”

Now I had to know. Pushing past her, I looked in the room. Blood smeared the walls and pooled on the floor. The rest of the building didn’t scream ‘this place is full of murderous psychopaths,’ but this room certainly did. Pony heads sat on a table in the corner, each wide eyed and mouths pinned into smiling positions. There was a pile of... meat, that looked like somepony slept in it.

The sight of ponies strung up against the wall sent me over the edge. They were pulled apart with chains and hooks holding their legs spread wide. Slowly, I turned and looked at the ceiling behind me. Those... weren’t... Oh, Goddesses. I recoiled, the claws coming back in full force.

Dammit, I was past that! That didn’t matter, the digging in my mind told me that it could’ve been me there, ripped open by Wirepony and spread apart for all to see and fuc-

“Don’t think about it,” I whispered to myself as I closed the door, my hoof shaking. Leaning against the wall, I looked at my sister. “Okay! Raiders, raiders... They sure know how to hide it,” I said, pushing myself up and moving for the front door. I wanted out, I didn’t want that to be me. I had enough problems now, and I didn’t need inspiration.

Across the floor in front of the door were criss-crossed wires, leading to shotguns against the wall. How in the Goddesses’ names had we missed those? We might have missed them on the way in, but only by sheer luck. Thank you, Xeno. Even knowing about them, we’d probably trip them trying to escape. I checked the E.F.S. The red bars moved more, and in a more organized fashion, too. Definitely not Radroaches. “C’mon,” I whispered. “Treasure’s not worth it.”

One of the red markers moved closer to the center of my vision. No time to get out; if we left, they would hear the door. “We need to hide!” I whispered frantically. We moved behind the counter and laid low, as the E.F.S. marker moved off to the side.

Whistling came from the room we’d just been in, followed by a scraggly looking pink mare. She wore horrible ‘armor,’ that looked like she’d cobbled it together from leather strips, old dishes, and too much rust. She trotted through the lobby with a pistol held in telekinesis above her. She walked right past us, apparently not noticing us hidden behind the lobby’s counter

Breathing a sigh of relief, both Lost and I peeked over the counter to see where she was going. Without breaking her step, she pushed through the door into the body-filled room, and disappeared from sight.

I pulled up the map program on the PipBuck, suddenly worried. Somehow, it had a layout, albeit incomplete, of the building. Just the three rooms I’d looked in, actually. The room the Raider had gone into had no other exits.

“She’s going to come back out, there’s no other way for her to leave,” I said, gently biting on the bit to my battle saddle. I wished my guns were silenced.

A flash lit up the entire room.

What was that flash? I looked around, confused. It flashed again. Looking down, I pleaded with the Goddesses. Please no. The PipBuck screen flashed bright green again. I started jabbing buttons, trying to get the flashing to stop. She could come back through at any-

The door swung open again and the pink mare trotted into the room, her legs and side smeared with blood. Stable-Tec, why don’t these come with instructions? I kept hitting buttons, trying desperately to turn the light off. I even moved the PipBuck so the screen was blocked by the counter, trying to make the flash less obvious. The screen flashed again and the mare stopped. Not good enough apparently! She looked at us, and I hit another button.

“Hidden! Lost!” yelled a familiar voice.

Fuck! Praline, you have the worst timing!

“I never got a chance to test the...” I didn’t hear the rest, as the lobby counter exploded from semi-automatic pistol fire. I slammed the PipBuck and the radio cut out again.

The mare fired blindly, looking toward the room we’d just looted. Grinning wickedly, she yelled, “Fresh meat, fucker-” A half-dozen beams of pink magical energy lanced through her from Lost’s gun, loud PLZ-OWs filling the room. She dropped to the ground, flinching.

My E.F.S. jumped to life, the red markers suddenly jerking about. Screams and taunts echoed through the building. I looked over at Lost. We were dangerously outnumbered and, and- She looked like she’d just seen the ghost of our mother. The laser pistol clattered to the floor and she turned to face me, her eyes welling up with tears.

“There’s a difference between murder and self-defense! Remember,” I said, practically pleading. “Keep it together! We’re outnumbered. I need you.”

“When I find you, I’ll kill you!” yelled a stallion, far too happily, from somewhere. Yup, definitely raiders.

I picked up Lost’s gun and passed it to her. She grabbed it in her telekinesis, still looking shocked. Together we stood, preparing for what was about to happen. Two raiders burst into the room and I chomped down on the battle saddle’s bit. Persistence fired twice at my side, echoing loud BANGs off the walls of the lobby. One of the raiders dropped from two bullets in his chest.

Damnit, Persistence fired too fast. I looked at Lost, who stood there. The other raider shot with the rusted revolver in her mouth. She got off two shots before I could take her down, peppering her chest and leg with three more bullets from Persistence.

The first bullet from the second raider’s pistol clipped Lost’s neck, just above her new armor. The other dug past her face, leaving a gouge along the right side of her muzzle. She shouted. With blood pouring down her face and neck, she leapt over the counter and bolted through the door into the room we’d searched first.

“Wait, sis!” I yelled, giving chase. By the time I got through the door into the room, she was already halfway through the next room. She was levitating a second pistol and completely ignored my yelling. This was bad, the E.F.S. showed more raiders than we could handle with just the two of us.

“Find you, I’ll ki-” yelled somepony, his voice silenced mid-sentence by a loud echoing PLZ-OW from Lost’s laser pistol. The sound of hooves on the cracked floor followed, as L.A. bolted away. I tried to catch up, but she was already too far ahead of me, around another corner in the ruined building. Without any idea where she’d gone, there was no way for me to catch up.

I swiveled my ears around, listening for her telltale PLZ-OW to help locate her. The E.F.S. wasn’t showing her marker anymore, it was lost in a sea of red. I turned a corner in another room, hoping it was the right direction. Collapsed sections forced me to weave through cubicles and around desks. I ignored bloody mattresses, filth, and the potential for treasure as I searched for my sister. Not good, not good... Which way did she go? I spied a pile of pink dust. That way! I ran through the doorway.

Somepony screamed above the clatter of hooves and the din of gunfire. It wasn’t Lost’s voice, though. I heard a soft bang, as if it was far far away. Maybe Xeno had gotten one of them? It was too far away to have come from inside the building.

A scraggly mare ran into the room where I stood. She didn’t see me, as I was standing still and listening for some key as to which way to go, and I didn’t wait for her to. She’d contributed to the gore I’d seen, she’d been a part of the group that sent L.A. off on a laser rampage. I took my frustrations out on her. I slid into S.A.T.S., ready this time for the spell’s effects. Maybe I felt a bit sadistic, but... I needed a release, so I targeted her leg first, then her head. Executing the spell, I blew the leg off, turning it into a fine red mist, then ended the evil pony’s life. It felt better, making the Wasteland safer. Hero work.

I ran after Lost again, heading the opposite direction. If that pony had made it past L.A., it was a miracle, but more than likely it just meant Lost hadn’t been there yet. So I tried a different direction, and hauled flank down another corridor. I stomped hard with the steel hoof, cracking the weathered tiles, trying to get raiders to notice me and not my wounded sister.

I skidded to a stop in front of another collapsed section of the ceiling. Prancing on worried hooves, I looked around. Which way did she go from here? The red markers were disappearing one by one, with repeated echoes of PLZ-OW announcing each raider’s death. Just how many of these bastards were there? Making a split-second choice, I ran up the chunk of ceiling. If there were other collapsed sections, I could head her off or get a better vantage.

I felt two thuds on my chest, as bullets ricocheted off the steel armor, hit by shots fired by a sickly-looking raider. Thank you, Steel Rangers. The stallion lay on the ground, with a hole through his spine. His back and flanks were covered in blood, with his rear legs were splayed behind him, unmoving. Shattered window too... Xeno’s work? Headshot, next time, zebra! Headshot!

I sidestepped as he fired again and bit down on my battle saddle’s bit. I fired the shotgun again, and the raider’s head and neck blossomed open with a flourish of blood. I fired a second volley to be sure. Less red on the E.F.S. was good, but this maze was killing me.

I ran through rooms, ducking and weaving. Raider. Fire. Blood. I didn’t have time to pay attention to each pony I killed; I had to find Lost. I saw a flash of purple through a huge crack in the floor, followed by several more PLZ-OWs and a scream. That time it was hers! No! I had to get down there. I spun and ran back the way I came, back to the collapsed section.

Three raiders, looking slightly less starved, met me as I ran, blocking my path back down. I shot one on reflex. She collapsed down the broken floor. Bullets dug into my leg, hitting right between the PipBuck and the end of the armor. Well, it wasn’t perfect. I turned tail and ran. I needed to reload before I could keep fighting. One raider tagged me in the side. I ran through the pain.

Buck would really help right now! I tried my best to ignore the pain. It wasn’t as bad as losing the hoof, but pain lanced up my side and dug at my mind. I could fight through this, I was stronger than it! I kicked my lever to reload. Running, I tried to find a good spot. Maneuvering in the new armor wasn’t easy.

I burst through another doorway to the open air. This part of the building had collapsed and made a balcony of the old rooms. I couldn’t tell if I was above the entrance or where I was, but it was as good a place-

The wall next to me exploded, showering me with drywall and rotten wood.

What the fuck was that?! It came from... I heard another distant bang. Xeno. I was not one of the raiders! Trigger-happy luck-obsessed zebra!

An earth pony mare stormed onto the balcony opposite me. What little of the exterior wall remained suddenly gave way. It collapsed and smashed onto the raider, knocking her pistol onto the floor and nearly crushing her. I shot her in time with the distant bang. One less raider to rape and pillage others.

Then the two raiders I’d left behind caught up with me. The first one got another shot on me, but it ricocheted harmlessly off the steel armor. The second pony to come out the door didn’t last as long. His head exploded as another sniper bullet tore through him. Better luck that time, Xeno! The muted bang from the distance distracted the other raider just long enough. I finally remembered that S.A.T.S. was recharged, and queued it up.

I targeted both the raider’s forelegs and let loose. Persistence blasted her knees from dingy coat and ramshackle armor to open wounds and shattered bone. She collapsed right as another bullet dug into the wall behind her. Sniping really wasn’t Xeno’s strong suit. That shot was so far off it would’ve missed even if the raider hadn’t collapsed. I finished off the raider with two shots to the head.

In the relative safety of Xeno’s scope, I took a sip of one of the something-or-other brews she’d cooked up and waited for the familiar flesh knitting sensation. I left the three corpses on the Wasteland-made balcony, and dove back into the building, following the PLZ-OW sound. It was difficult, as Lost’s pistol was probably the quietest thing in the building. More raiders screamed colorful phrases and shattered the air with gunfire. I skewed my ears around, listening. Why wasn’t Lost’s green marker on my E.F.S.? With a heavy sigh, I bolted for the next room. Stairs, perfect. I ran down and rounded the corner.

My sister was through the doorway, covered in blood and bullet holes. Her armor was dented all to pieces too. She looked ragged. Did we have any healing potions, anything from Xeno left? I ran inside, calling to her. She turned and leveled both of her guns at me, then stopped. Thank the Goddesses she wasn’t too far gone. I heard a noise beside me.

Splayed on the floor was a wounded unicorn raider mare. She lifted a gun in her magic and aimed it at my sister. Nope! I slammed my steel hoof into her head, aiming directly for her horn. There was a satisfying crack and she went limp. The giant dent I left in her head meant she wouldn’t get back up any time soon.

There was one last red marker on my E.F.S. I looked over at Lost, and to the pony body lying between us. Last one. She just stared back, breathing heavily and still holding her guns in her telekinesis, despite the strained look on her face. Why in the Goddesses name wasn’t her green marker in the corner of my vision? I stomped the last raider with the steel hoof, particularly glad now that I’d gotten it from Praline. The raider crunched underhoof. Wait. Already dead? Why was the red- Oh, no, there was the little green marker floating in the corner of my vision like always. Weird.

“They’re all gone, Lost,” I said, taking a cautious step forward. I’d never seen my sister like that before, and she still had both guns pointed right at me. “Are you okay?...”

Mouthing something incoherent, Lost relaxed and slumped to the floor. Her pistols clattered onto the floor the second she released her telekinetic grip on them. In a puddle of her own blood, she sobbed like a foal.

I took one last look around for danger, then joined her. She just leaned her head against me, and let the tears flow. I didn’t say anything. I just hugged her head and let her get it all out. I pulled out the remainder of Xeno’s little healing potion-thing and made Lost drink it before she bled out. With that many bullets buried in her, I was worried about letting her do any healing herself.

She resisted, instead standing and pushing me back. Her horn glowed bright, and her wounds began to widen and bleed. Staring wide eyed, I whispered, “What are you doing?” I needed to heal her, not let her hurt herself worse!

A gob of red dropped from Lost’s neck and hit the floor with a tunk. A bullet. Several more bullets followed, all worming their way from inside her and out to falling to the ground. Her horn glowed even brighter, a second haze of light covering the first. Without the bullets in her, she healed the holes in an instant.

I could only stare in rapt wonder at what she’d done. “Where’d you learn that trick!” I demanded. Sure, she was still covered in fresh blood, and her armor would need to be pounded back into shape, but she was bullet-free.

Why didn’t she know that trick when Doctor Grinder was pulling lead out of me with his teeth? I frowned, but was happy deep down. She was okay.

“Doctor,” she said, her voice cracking, “Plagueheart taught me.” With another sigh, she collapsed back into the puddle of blood and bullets. She looked up at me, new tears falling from her eyes. What happened to set her off like that? Was it getting shot in the throat again, or something...

“Want to talk about it?” I asked, sitting across from her. When she didn’t answer, I continued. “We’re a team, sis. That’s how we do things, that’s how we’ve always done things. That’s how we killed Wirepony, that’s how we survive. You need to tell me what’s going on up there.” I tapped her forehead gently.

“They shot me,” she said, staring past me. “They fucking shot me!” she screamed, bringing her hooves up to hold her throat, “I don’t like being shot!” Her face twisted in rage for only a second, before she broke down again. We moved closer and I held her, ignoring the blood and gore around us. She cried again, whimpering every so often about the pain.

Part of me wanted to punch her again. Just like when she’d gotten shitface drunk, it was about her. I didn’t want to be bitter; she’d done so much for me in the past week, and she deserved just as much focus as I did. But, still, I raised my steel hoof in front of her face. “Trust me, there’s worse things that can happen than getting yourself shot,” I told her.

She blushed, and forced herself to stop crying with a loud sniffle. Progress. At the very least, it was a step forward. I packed up her guns, one of them burnt out from overuse, and helped her clean up. As we recovered, we turned to looting the bodies and our surroundings. I had more to say to her, but I could multitask. She didn’t say anything, just put her weapons back where they belonged, and helped with other corpses. She looked blank as she worked, barely even blinking.

“Why’d you lock up?” I finally asked. “We could have ambushed them, we had the perfect spot for it.” I pulled off one of the body’s armor. An inhaler fell to the floor. Eugh, this one had a Dash addiction. Despite my dislike for the drug, I put all of them I could find into my bag. “You just... froze. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, putting something into her bags from another raider’s body. She turned away from me to dig at another corpse.

“We need to talk about it,” I said, staring at her. “One of us could have died. This is the Wasteland we’re talking about! Not old Equestria Mom used to tell us about. It’s not safe.” Yes, I was a hypocrite. But that was different; I’d told her I had a plan! And it had totally worked out in the end, too.

“Every pony we’d killed before today was a stallion,” she explained. Why did that matter? Bad ponies were bad ponies. This was self-defense in the end, it wasn’t like we went looking for random ponies to kill. “All I could see was Mom,” said said, turning to face me, “and you. And Crème Brûlée...” That explained it. “And Praline! A-and Drop Scone,” she added after the briefest of pauses. She didn’t look me in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not wanting to admit how much I knew.

“I just! All I could see was all of you, every mare that’s ever been important to me lying there in a heap. Remember when I almost died? You felt the same way, didn’t you? That’s why you shot without thinking. We handle things differently, sis. Sometimes I just... I need time to process things!” She said, panting a little. She went back to looting bodies, and we moved to another room.

“I couldn’t think,” Lost continued. “I just moved. Something took over and I just ran. Shot, killed, didn’t think. Just had to take them out. They hurt me, Hidden, they...” She sighed, tossing some trash from another raider away. “They hurt.” She put a hooftip to her throat, and stared off past me. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” I asked, turning to look in the same direction she was.

She didn’t answer, just trotted forward to one of the desks in the room we’d wandered into. Nestled behind the broken terminal atop it, lay a little crystal sphere. “What’s this, then?” she asked, pulling it into view and holding it up.

“Stop changing the subject, and I don’t know,” I chided. I took the little orb from her and put it into my bag. Let the auto-sorter deal with it. We could sell it later. “That’s not like you, that’s... that’s like me! You’re the smart sister, the one who deals with terminals and other thinky pony things! I’m the one who runs off without thinking about it.” I checked the PipBuck inventory, “And it’s a memory orb. Wait haven’t we seen those before?” At least now I knew what they were called.

“Hidden, I don’t want to talk about it right now, maybe later,” she said, trotting out of the room. “We found one a few years back, remember?” she yelled back. “We didn’t know what it was, so we left it.”

We only had one more room left to loot, and then we’d regroup with Xeno. A quick scroll through the PipBuck revealed quite a haul. The raiders actually had a rather healthy supply of old world food, and a few less-than-deadly scavenged foodstuffs from the Wasteland. The guns that weren’t trashed were stashed in the bottom of my bags, and every last bullet we could find was packed in with them. Raider armor was left, because the last thing we wanted was to look like raiders while traveling. That was a good way to scare off a merchant... Knives were packed in with the ammo, but larger melee weapons I left. It was a good thing I could carry pretty much anything. At least we earth ponies were good for something, even if it was just heavy lifting. Most of what we’d found was worthless to us, but we could trade all that away. Apparently the raiders had been into some pretty hardcore drugs, which just meant more Buck for me...

I was tempted to swallow a pill right then and there, but we weren’t in a fight, and I didn’t want to deal with the withdrawal later. I should have taken one at the beginning of this whole mess. I trotted after her, asking, “Do you promise? I told you all the stuff I had going on.”

“Yeah, but not when it happened. It took a near death experience for you to tell me,” she said, giving me a little glare. She smiled though, and tossed me a Sparkle~Cola. “Here, my bags are full. You get this one. Now what’s a memory orb?”

“I don’t know? Ahh!” I caught the drink in my mouth. Part of me was tempted to drink it right away, so she couldn’t snag it from me later, but instead I put it in my bag next to the orb. “We’ll figure it out tonight. Can you at least promise that we’ll talk later about what’s getting to you?”

“I promise. I’ll tell you as soon as I’m ready,” she answered. “Let’s get out of here before it starts to smell.” She flashed a grin at me, her horn starting to glow. “Look what I found!” She hoisted a pair of glasses, almost identical to her broken pair, into the air from the desk she’d been digging through. She slid them onto the bridge of her muzzle, looked around the edges of the rims, then directly through. “I can see perfectly through them too. Lucky!”

We shared a shrug and left the building, skipping the raider’s little bloodsoaked break room. Lost used her magic to rip up the traps guarding the door, though she made the guns unusable in the process. Still, they had ammo we could take, and that was just as good of treasure as anything else. Getting back to basics felt good, even if it had ended in a bloodbath. I looked down at the PipBuck as we left, wondering just what was going on with my E.F.S.

* * *

Together my sister and I walked towards the rubble of the city, away from the nightmare raider den. I passed the PipBuck to Lost as we moved. I’d had it for days, so it was her turn to wear it, and my leg was getting chafed anyway. We just needed to regroup with our zebra friend and-

And just where was she?

“Xeno!” I yelled to the Wasteland.

“Xeno, come on. We know you were over here!” L.A. yelled, holding a hoof to her mouth.

She had to be over here, this was where all the shots had come from. I looked back at the building we’d come from to double check. The collapsed section of wall she’d shot out was right there, as well as the fresh blood splatter from her shots. We were in the right place, but where was she?

“Hidden, come here,” Lost said, waving me over. She stared up at the second floor of another blown-out building, looking a bit pale. “Isn’t that blood?” She pointed a hoof to a blood splatter on the wall, barely visible. The inside wall of the building, just past the broken window frame, had a deep red tinge to it.

We ran around, looking for a way up. Finding a crumbling staircase to the second floor, we scrambled up it as quick as possible. Lying in a pool of blood was the slumped corpse of a raider mare. We looked side to side, but saw no sign of the zebra. The sniper rifle wasn’t there either. In the corpse’s stomach was Xeno’s striped knife, covered in blood.

“Where is she then?” I asked, looking back and forth again.

“Hold on, there's an amber blip over in that direction, lets go see if its her,” L.A. said, grabbing the knife in her magic. Pulling it free, she flicked it through the air to clean it of blood. She turned and walked back down the stairs. “Guess she really meant fighting from a distance. Let’s just hope she’s okay...” She tucked the knife into her bag for safekeeping.

We both hauled flank toward the marker on the E.F.S., fearing the worst. If any of the raiders from inside were out here, patrolling around... I didn’t want to think about it. I feared the worst. Raiders were rapists and murderers. I rounded the corner of a trashed building and-

“Hello ponies,” said the zebra. She sat right around the corner, close enough that I couldn’t stop and ran into her.

We toppled over in a pile of stripes, hooves, steel, and guns. Lost snickered a little at my expense. It took a moment, but the two of us untangled from one another and stood.

“What was that all about?” I asked, my panic slowly fading. Whatever had the zebra so far away and hidden...

“I moved,” she said matter of factly. She pointed to the sniper rifle that was lying in pieces before her. “My brothers taught me to move often. Weapons that fire great distances are not suited for close fighting. I did not want to be found.”

“What about the knife?” Lost asked, pulling it out. She floated it over to the zebra, who took it in her mouth and put it away.

“One of the raider ponies wandered closer to my location then I felt comfortable. It tookyou long enough to find. I left it as a marker,” the zebra answered. “We must make time, I wish to finish your adventure. You have promised we will visit my home, and Iam excited for a home coming.”

“Whoa whoa, wait... ‘tookyou?’” L.A. asked her, raising an eyebrow. “‘Tookyou’ isn’t a word.”

“You ponies explained a contraction to me. That was the word, correct?” Xeno asked, raising her eyebrow at my sister. “This is a contraction.”

“No, you can’t just combine any words you want,” I explained, shaking my head. “There are very specific words that you can combine. ‘I am’ becomes ‘I’m,’ ‘You are’ becomes ‘you’re,’ ‘we are’ becomes ‘we’re.’ Pronouns and … Oh I don’t know how to explain this.” I hit myself in the face with a hoof in my frustration. The steel hoof.

By the time my headache cleared up, Lost had finished explaining things to Xeno, so everything was sorted. I nodded, head throbbing, and we collected our things and left. I was a better grammar teacher while doubled over in pain, it seemed.

* * *

Another boring trip. We walked in a brisk pace toward the marker for Skirt. It wasn’t terribly long, and we were able to arrive well before dark. Still, going into a new town with no information was something I’d told myself I wasn’t going to do anymore. And going in right before it was time to sleep, where we wouldn’t be able to see a thing in the dark, was even less smart. This was just getting more and more dangerous.

“What dangers do you think this town will hold?” Lost asked me, as if she were reading my mind. She looked over the frames of her glasses. “And what’s that?”

No sooner did the words slip her lips, then whatever ‘that’ was landed right in front of us. It took a moment for the dust to clear, but when it did, I saw something I’d thought would never grace the Wasteland again. I’d seen pictures, heard the stories from mom, but they could never do justice to the pony that stood before me.

Standing in front of us was a gorgeous, blue-coated pony. She dwarfed the three of us completely, with long, beautiful legs, a slim figure, and giant wings. With intense, dark blue eyes, she stared down at the three of us. The weirdest thing though, was the giant rod of steel stuck diagonally through her head just under her long, slender horn.

“We- Welcome you,” she said in a booming voice.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnote: Level Up!

Hidden Fortune:
New Perk: “Party” Pony – With this perk, you are much less likely to be addicted to delicious, delicious chems (50% less likely, actually), and suffer ½ the withdrawal time as a normal pony.

Lost Art:
New Perk: Sharpshooter (Rank 1) – Scopes are just as good as glasses right? This perk gives you an increase of +2 Perception for determining how far you can shoot. Or it increases your damage on closer targets... One of the two.

“So, we’re skipping lessons on pony language now?”
“Do you think that is something the reader would prefer to read about?”
“Well, probably not. It’s boring, and not very interesting.”
“I’m sure, instead of boring lessons, bathroom breaks, and uninteresting meals, readers prefer to read about action!”
“Or.. Our sex lives... Right, Lost?”
“Shut up, Hidden!”

Author's Note:

(A massive thank you to Kkat for creating, and everyone else who has helped to flesh out the universe of Fallout Equestria. And to everyone who has/will help with with editing and making this more palatable... Big hearts to Dimestream, Sabsy, Heartshine, Moth, and everypony else who helped with ideas, editing, and brushies. And of course everything is copyright their respective owners. ~Hnetu)

Comments

[Hnetu]

As a bonus to all you faithful readers! Here's an awesome commission of our FAVORITE goofball Steel Ranger, Praline!

25.media.tumblr.com/72a1b0c33cc994b173d925c7840ba450/tumblr_mhl5iw7R1L1rg65kio1_1280.png

ENJOY EVERYPONY!

(For more art like this, please see http://inkwellsartworks.tumblr.com/)

[Deathpony]

This was good and oh an Alicorn

[Hnetu]

I'm glad you liked the interview. It was a lot of fun, if harrowing. And no, I might not have ever seen something but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! It's all about perception. We'll see. And no, I don't specifically mean to say that the actions of the characters won't matter. It's just a matter of how things will go in the end. There is a story to tell, and this is not a game. I was merely trying to give insight into the way I process ideas in my mind. As I said in the interview, the story has changed a LOT in just eight chapters compared to the original concept.

Either way, we'll see what happens when the final chapter releases, and it all ends. Hopefully the majority of readers will be happy with what happens.

Only time will tell.

[Hnetu]

I have dozens of those bookmarked. Thank you though.

[PistolWhip]

On chapter three, so far, its brilliant, a fav and like from me, keep it up

[PistolWhip]

Finished chapter 3, loved the ending, great read, looks like this fic is my new time steal, awesome story.

[Hnetu]

I'm glad you're enjoying it! <3

[sk2150ad]

2193854
Who's your favorite Stable Ranger?

[PistolWhip]

2195245 Lamington, I have no idea why, I just think he's so serious it's amusing

[sk2150ad]

2198160
I cant choose personally, Lamington is a darling, Praline is amazingly perky, Creme Brulee is a sultry flirt and the Berliners skittering over the table.... so cuuuute!

[Hnetu]

That's STAR PALADIN LAMINGTON.

But in all seriousness I'm glad you're enjoying. I'm glad every reader has enjoyed so far! I can't even begin to believe I've hit this many views, or even written this many words. It's amazing!

[PistolWhip]

2199573 Creme was just, it's one of those moments when the inner psychopath in me yells "Just fucking sex her!" It sounds weird but I was anticipating Lost to get laid XD Inwardly screaming "You can do it!" Though she is my close second to Lamington

[PistolWhip]

2201009 If I had to rank it with all other Fo:E Fics, I'd say... Third, personally, the top being the original Murky Number 7 coming in second, yours and every other trailing behind. This is MASSIVELY underrated, lot of attention on other fics that aren't half as good as this.

[Hnetu]

I want to apologize to every one of my readers who is patiently waiting for the next chapter to be out. Due to some... Idiocy on my part, and y'know, generally being a terrible writer, chapter 9 is undergoing a major revamp at the last stage of production. Despite looking like we could've released in the next week or so, my editors have pointed out that the chapter had some very serious flaws in, honestly, several ways.

Do to this, I'm reworking how the chapter is set up, and going forward in a slightly different direction. I'll work as fast as I can, while still keeping quality up, to release something soon. I'm really sorry everyone, and I hope you all will continue to be patient. I'm by no means putting this on an indefinite hiatus or abandoning, I just need to fix some glaring issues.

Thank you for your patience, and I'll keep you all updated. I need to make a Tumblr for this or something...

[Joey]

I hope they meet the Stable 60 crew again soon.
Neat story, keep it up!

[S3rb4n]

Once again, another great chapter. Somehow, I was expecting Lamington to be so handsome. It had to karmatically balance his harshness. Otherwise, I really like the character of Xeno. She's very peculiar, to say the least. Let’s see what the next chapter brings!

[Need More Gore]

Wow haven't seen a fan fiction criticized this bad in a long while. Seriously though I love this story so far it's easily within my top 3 favorites. What I can't decide is it secon or third? Still got a long way to go to cath up.

[Doctor Ham]

Breather chapters seem to be seriously underrated, and that is a goddamn shame.

And I don't mean to say that nothing of consequence happened this chapter, quite the contrary.  Lots of really good stuff happened here, but the most important thing?  Hidden, Lost, and Xeno got to take a breather.  Rest, recuperate, and not have to worry for their safety for a while, especially after the desperate and harrowing fight with the Wirepony.  They even gained themselves a family, and oh my gods that whole scene with Drop Scone giving them their armor was so heartwarming and sweet.  Gave me a broad, ear-to-ear grin just to see all of them so happy.  Top that off with the genuine moments of comedy, like the very start of the chapter, Xeno's cigarettes, or Hidden accidentally facehoofing with her metal hoof.  That last one actually got a genuine chuckle out of me when it happened.

I forgot to mention this before, but I was surprised last chapter to find out that Eclair was the only Stable 60 Ranger to get killed.  Pleasantly so, however.  I just hope they don't run afoul of other Steel Rangers, especially now that we've got a timeline established from DJ-PON3's broadcast.  I especially hope that Crème Brûlée survives now that they're out in the Wasteland, for Lost's sake.  Lamington too, for Hidden's sake, but he's more a possibility for her than someone she's fallen for.  I actually think Hidden would be more broken up if Drop Scone died than Lamington.

But by the end of the chapter, we've got more distressing occurrences.  I've been meaning to mention before how I suspect Hidden is addicted to Buck now, but it's only a suspicion.  You've crafted it well, such that every mention of it is just borderline enough, blurring that line between, "I want it," and "this could help me."  The linchpin is that she didn't know what Buck was the first time she took it, and all she's heard is that it's dangerous, but so is half the shit she pulls anyway.

Speaking of dangerous... was Lost's bar red on the EFS for a minute there?  I think it was.  We'll never know for sure, but I suspect it really was a red bar, she was that far gone in her own fury.  That... that's probably not good.  And neither is the the alicorn that just landed in front of them.  Shit, shit, shiiiiiiiiiiiit.

I kinda wish I could come up with something to critique for these last couple chapters, but honestly they've both been absolutely fantastic through and through.  I feel like all I'm doing is gushing, and I apologize for that.  I figure the least I can do is call out specific parts I liked and why.

(Comment #300 is mine!  Yay arbitrary numbering achievements.)