With the help of her friends, a young mare learns to find beauty in the bleakest of places.
After almost everyone in her stable is killed by raiders, Diamond Sky sets out to find the three other survivors who escaped. With the help of her new friends, an extremely strong earth pony, and an eccentric unicorn, can she cope with her loss, find the survivors of the massacre, and learn to find beauty in the bleakest of places?
Chapter One: This world has two sides, one is joy, the other is pain, both can be equally beautiful.
Black. That was the only thing I could see. It was all around me, nothing but an empty void. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. I reached down to turn on the lamp on my Pipbuck, but couldn’t move ether.
Suddenly a grey light shrouded in pink smoke, started moving towards me. Faster and faster ,until it was almost right on top of me. Then I woke up.
My mauve eyes opened. I glanced around my room. There wasn’t much to see, just a simple bed, an oak chest-of-drawers, and a metal shelf. Other than that, the room was kind of spartan.
I climbed out of my bed, my hooves making a clanking sound on the steel floor. I walked up to my shelf, and telekinetically lifted a small pink box and floated it a few inches from my face. Inside was an old revolver my father gave me before he died. It was in perfect condition, after all, he kept it oiled, cleaned, and loaded, as did I.
My great grand father had it custom made by Ironshod Firearms during the war. The pony who ran the weapons factory gave it to him for saving a whole platoon of soldiers from a Zebra ambush. It had been passed down ever since.
I turned and sat down on my bed, setting the box next to me. Then I opened the box and lifted the revolver out, turning it all around. Also in the box was a small rag, which I levitated and started cleaning the gun.
Suddenly, I stopped. Something didn’t seem right. It was too quiet. There where a thousand ponies in the Stable I lived in, usually there was a lot more noise outside.
I levitated my saddlebags onto my back and put the revolver in them. I walked over to the door. Outside was an empty hall. Something was wrong.
Cautiously, I walked towards the cafeteria. I almost screamed when I got there. The large room was filled with dead ponies, some dismembered or impaled on the legs of overturned tables. My friends, my family, all murdered and desecrated. I collapsed to the floor, and fell into tears.
My grieving was cut short, as I heard hoof-steps coming. I ducked behind the counter then glanced over the top. Two bucks entered the room from different doors, one was a grayish earth pony, the other was a sickly green unicorn, nether of them were from the Stable.
The grey pony turned toward the other
“Them dumb ponies didn’ put up much of a fight, did they, Dag?”
The green one glanced at a headless pony impaled on a table leg.
“Yeah, that kinda sucked, usually these stable ponies scream a hell of a lot more...”
I wanted to rip his face off.
“...But, even killing ponies who don’t scream is still fun.”
No, check that, I wanted to rip out his skull and beat him to death with it.
“Yep, yer still the same ol’ dag. Always enjoys killin’. Too bad you killed all the damn mares, the boss said Ah could have mah way with ’em.”
“I’ve heard enough of you’re shit, Axel, It’s you fault three of them got away. I don’t wanna hear you’re bitching on top of it.”.
I levitated my revolver and switched on the S.A.T.S system on my Pipbuck. I fired two rounds, both traveling clean through the two murderers’ heads, splattering blood and brains on the floor and walls behind them.
I dropped the gun in shock, I had just killed two ponies. I had just killed two ponies!They may have been the ones to kill my mother or, or my best friend. and I killed them? Was I has evil as them?
No, I wasn’t, I had just lost everypony who was important to me, and they’d probably killed hundreds more. Right? It was, it was justice. I felt sick. I glanced at the two murderers, then vomited on the floor. I walked up to a nearby sink, and washed off my face. Tears were flowing down my cheeks like rivers.
I had lost everything, and became a murderer, In the same day! I glanced at my revolver. I then telekinetically lifted it to my temple. What was the point of living now?
"At least it would be painless", I thought.
No, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. My little pony was yelling at me not to. I fell to the floor, wailing in sorrow.
After about an hour my wailing had died down to quiet sobs and my tears had mostly dried up. I heard more hoof steps coming towards me. A male voice shouted out
“Anypony alive in here? We ain’t no raiders, we’re friends!”
I checked the EFS on my Pip, two yellow dots, friendlies.
“Me, Can you help me, please?”
A sing-song female voice called out
“Boulder, I heard somepony, I think She’s in the cafeteria.”
The male voice replied
“Ah’m on it, Winter. Y’all hold on in there, Imma comin’!
I was standing outside the stable and for the first time in my life, I felt real rain falling on my body. Honestly, I didn’t really like it, it was kind of cold.
I glanced around at my surroundings. There wasn’t much to see, other than barren hills rolling under a dull grey sky. Off in the distance, I could make out the vague shape of an old city.
My two saviors were standing nearby. One was a sky blue unicorn mare wearing a green dress. She had a ivory mane with a bright red bow in it. I could tell she was several years older than me.
The other was a grey earth pony buck. On top of his olive mane sat a dark brown desperado hat. He also wore a vest with a minigun mounted on one side.
The mare walked over next to me, glancing down.
“ What’s your name?”
“Does it matter? It’s not like I have anything to live for.” I replied rudely.
“ Look, darling, I know how you feel...”
“ How could you know how I feel?” I interrupted, tears filling my eyes,” I lost everything! My home, my friends, my-my family! I have nothing left! How the hell could you know how I feel!?”
She sighed.
“I was kidnaped from my home as a filly by slavers. They put me through hell, especially since I was a unicorn. The unspeakable things they did to me...”
Tears started coming to her eyes.
“...I wanted to kill myself, and I tried too, many, many times, but they kept stopping me, they said they needed me.Trust me when I say, I know how you feel.”
The blue mare glanced at me again, smiling slightly.
“But things gets better, they always gets better, you see,”
She paused.
“This world has two sides, one is joy, the other is pain, both can be equally beautiful. that was a lesson learned from another filly I met in my hell.”
I wiped my tears off, and gave her a weak grin. Her telling me about her own pain had helped me somehow.
“Thanks, my name is Diamond Sky, by the way.”
“Winter Darling, it’s nice to meet you,Diamond” She said smiling. “Though I wish we could have met under better circumstances.”
She glanced toward the large buck. He turned and smiled warmly.
“And that is my quiet friend, Chip Boulder. Be a darling and say hello, Boulder.”
He then looked towards me smiling
“It’s nice to make yer acquaintance, miss Diamon’.”
I glanced back at the small barely standing shed camouflaging the entrance to my former home, then towards Chip.
“Why did you two stop here?” I asked, curiously.
Winter looked over at me
“What was that, darling?”
“I was just wondering why you two decided to stop here?”
She chuckled.
“It was raining acid, my umbrella spell doesn’t last that long in those conditions.
My jaw dropped. It rained acid out here, how did anypony survive in this wasteland?
“It was... Raining... Acid!?”
Chip turned towards me
“Eeyup. tends to do that in these parts.”
He glanced back at Winter.
“ I guess it’s a good thing ya didn’t listen to mah warning, though, Winter.”
We walked into the shed. The white maned mare turned glanced at me.
“My, you look utterly exhausted, diamond.”
I yawned and nodded. I was tired. The one thing I wanted To do right now was sleep.
“ Boulder, could you please go into the stable and try to find some bedding? Diamond needs some rest before we head towards New Appleoosa. And I would hate to have her sleep on the dirt.”
“Eeyup.”
After about ten minutes the large buck returned carrying three mattresses and enough bedding for each. We both gave him a slightly shocked look
“Ah thought we should all get some rest. Me an’ Winter here ain’t stopped walking since this mornin’.”
Once we had set up the beds, I laid down. I was so tired, but I didn’t know if I could trust these two ponies. I mean they seemed nice enough, but how did I know if they wouldn’t kill me in my sleep? After all, the first two outsiders I met where homicidal maniacs. I’d be sleeping with one eye open tonight.
When my eyes opened that mourning, I saw Chip standing by the open door. He was bleeding from several spots, Winter was standing nearby, telekinetically fussing with some magical bandages.
“Winter, ah’m fine, jus’ give me a healin’ potion.” he complained
“Chip, just humor me.”
I sat up.
“Mornin’ Diamon’!”
“Ah, it’s good to see you awake, darling. How did you sleep though that fracas?”
I looked at her confused
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Well the raiders came back, they almost caught us sleeping...”
What!?
“But, but they woke up Chip, when one tried to open the door. He took care of them. That’s why he slept right in front of the door.”
She paused.
“So, Diamond, How are you holding up?” She asked, a slightly worried look on her face.
Tears starting welling in my eyes. My family had just been killed, and I was a murderer too. My life was completely turned upside-down. What did I have left to give? Why should I go on? I collapsed on the floor, and broke down in tears.
After a while, my tears had left and I was walking with my new-found friends towards New Appleoosa. They shared some of their food rations with me, and ammo. Apparently, my revolver used a very common cartridge. Chip also gave me some advice on surviving the wasteland.
Winter and Chip had agreed to let me tag along. They figured the ponies of New Appleoosa would let me live there.
We had been walking for a few hours when Winter had asked for us to stop.
“Tired?’ Chip asked.
The white mare yawned
“Yes, very”
We had to cross a ravine not that long ago, and Winter had a hard time getting out, all three of us were covered from head to hoof in mud. And somehow, I was also covered in tree sap.
“Well, ah guess we should call it a night, ah don’t think winter can take much more walkin’ today.” chip said “Ah’ll go and get some food”
I turned toward him “Are we going to sleep out in the open, what if it rains acid or some raiders show up?”
“It don’t rain acid here, just near yer stable, and there ain’t any raider camps 'round here that I now of.” He replied with a grin. he turned and walked off to find some food
I noticed he had three long scars just above his cutie mark. He also walked with a slight limp.
“you’re checking him now, aren’t you?” Winter spoke, interrupting my thoughts.
“What? Nononononono, I-I wasn’t checking him out, no!”
Oh dear.
“You where checking him out!” she almost yelled, a massive smile on her face.
Before I could reply, a gun shot echoed not far off.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Probably just Chip getting us food, nothing to worry about, Diamond”
“But why did he shoot, do we have to shoot plants!?" I asked utterly confused.
“ Sometimes, yes, but he probably just shot a pig,” she explained with a chuckle, ” It’s like he said: ponies have to eat what they can find.”
A dark image of ponies eating other ponies floated into my mind.
“you mean meat?!”
“It’s not my first choice either, Diamond, but you get used to it.”
I really hoped the first friends I’d met in the wasteland weren’t planning on eating me.
A few minutes later, Chip returned, dragging a large boar behind him.
He looked towards us “Y’all ladies might not wanna watch this.”
Me and Winter both turned around as Chip began field dressing the pig. I turned toward the white mare.
“So, Winter, are you and Chip?”
She turned her head in my direction with a grin.
“Not at all, I’m several years older then him, We’re just friends.”
Winter didn’t look very old, honestly, she didn’t look any older than my older sister.
“Are you interested in him, Diamond?”
I hadn’t really thought about it, now that I was thinking about it, he was kind of attractive. And back home, I never had a very special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day. Most of the colts were either jerks, taken, or jerks.
“Honestly, yeah, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in me.”
Winter looked at the ground grimly. She let out a sigh and turned toward me.
“You know that ring on his foreleg? His wife was murdered by some of Red Eye’s ponies.”
‘Oh’ Was thing I could say.
“We’ve all had loss, Diamond. It’s just something that happens out here.”
It started to get dark, and Chip had cleared off three areas for us to sleep. In a few minutes, we had all drifted off to sleep. I didn’t stay asleep for long, though. I woke with a start as a hot, sticky liquid splashed all over me. I screamed...
Chip had gotten up faster than I though he could at my scream. In a matter of seconds he had the six barrels of his mini-gun spinning up, aimed right at a raider pony. Before he could fire, though, the raider exploded into glowing goo that splashed over the ground. I almost screamed again.
“ you three OK?” A young male voice echoed, coming from a pony wearing some kind of armor
“Who the hell are ya?” Chip replied, aiming his multi-barreled rifle at the newcomer.” And what the hay are ya doin’ here?”
The stranger removed his helmet, and set it next to him. He was a deep blue earth pony with a grey mane. He also had facial hair, I’d never seen a pony like that in my stable, it was kinda weird.
“My name’s Steele Sparks, and I was hunting those raiders for a bounty.” he replied coolly.
“So yer a bounty hunter, who do ya work for?”
Sparks sighed and rolled his eyes “That’s none of your damn business. And besides, why should I tell you anything, you could be raiders for all I know.”
Winter stepped up next to Chip and cleared her throat “ Please forgive my friend, Chip, we’ve had a few...”
She paused, searching for the right words.
“...A few interesting things come up recently, we’re a little on edge.”
Sparks grinned slightly
“My name is Winter Darling,” she said placing a hoof on her chest,” And these are my friends Chip Boulder...” she nodded toward the gray buck
“...And Diamond Sky,” she glanced at me. I was still trying to get the gooifide pony out of my coat.
“It’s nice to meet you, now I have to get back to Fillydelphia and get my caps” he said impatiently. He then replaced his helmet turned and began walking off.
Boulder started rotating the barrels of his Mini-gun again, still aiming at Sparks “You’re one of Red Eye’s lackeys, ain’t ya,” He growled. “One of y’all murdered my wife!”
The armored stallion turned calmly.
“I only worked for the bastard because I wanna survive,” Sparks replied, grimly, ”I don’t give a flying feather about his cause. I don’t wanna change the world, and I ain’t bowing to anypony. I just wanna survive as long as I can.”
He paused
“Not that It matters, to live is to die, after all.”
He began walking again.
After he had disappeared around a wrecked barn, Chip glanced at me, a bit of fire in is eyes “We best be goin’.”
We walked for about half an hour. We were all too absorbed in our thoughts to talk. So we walked in somewhat awkward silence. Winter spoke finally breaking the silence
“There’s New Appleloosa,” She said, smiling “It won’t be long, then we can take a nice long break.”
I looked over toward the white mare. “So, just out of curiosity, why were you coming here?” I asked.
Chip looked over his shoulder “well, we wanted a nice place to stay, we were planin’ on livn’ here,” he replied ”T’ain’t many places as nice as New Appleoosa.”
We where almost there, when I saw her. My eyes widened to about the size of my head.
“ Ruby!” I called
The mauve unicorn turned “Diamond?”
I galloped toward her, and threw my fore legs around her neck. Tears started pouring out of my eyes. My big sister was alive!
“I thought the raiders had killed you!”
“You can’t get rid of me that easy, sis,” she replied, then her smile faded ” Klondike didn’t make it, did he?”
Klondike was my sister's boyfriend in the stable, I had seen his body when I left.
“No,” shook my head sadly, ”I’m sorry.”
Ruby sat down and started crying, I joined her. I had really though about suicide when I saw what had happened. If I had killed myself, I would have never seen my sister again. That realization was a total shock to my system. That combined with Steele’s words from earlier, hit me like a freight train.
“To live is to die, after all.”
We both wept for about ten minutes before we calmed down. looked towards my sister, ”I-is Mom dead?”
Ruby got to her hooves then helped me up. “No, Mom and Cheesecake made it out, but, we got separated a few miles south of here.”
I smiled, my mother and best friend forever, were still alive!
My sister glanced at Winter and Chip. “So, Diamond, who are your friends?”
“This is Winter Darling, and chip boulder, They saved my life.”
I turned toward my two friends.
“And this is my big sister, Ruby Sky.”
Winter nodded,” It’s nice to meet you Ruby.”
I glanced at Ruby suddenly, “Sis, remember that time when we where fillies, and we got lost in the maintenance tunnels back in the stable?”
she nodded, already thinking the same thing. She frowned.
“I almost died when I used that spell.” She replied, “ Though, I was a lot younger then.”
“What spell?” Winter asked
My sister looked at her. ”A telepathy spell I used on accident, I sent a mental image of where we were to my mother. After that day I could read the minds of animals, but every time I tried on ponies, I’d have a stroke, and end up in the medical wing. other than that, what ever information I was trying to get, stayed with me.”
“We need to find mom!” I cried in a sudden outburst of emotion, “ please, Ruby, I know you can do it. You have to try!
Me and Chip walked into the general store. He had told me Absolutely Everything was run by a pony named Derpy Hooves, and as the name implied, had everything you could think of. He failed, however, to warn me about Derpy’s appearance.
I looked at the ‘pony’ who ran the store. Her flesh was peeling away in several places. She had two featherless wings protruding from her shoulders, And the most disgusting thing about her, was her eyes, they where pointing in two different directions. She had the overall look of a zombie.
“ZOMBIE PONY!” I screamed, I turned and started to run out of the store. I had almost made it to the door, when I tripped. I fell hard on my face. I heard Chip laughing
“Lemme help ya up, Diamon’.” He chuckled, “This here’s mah friend, Ditzy Doo, ya can call her Derpy if you wanna, she kinda likes it.”
I glanced at her.
“N-nice to meet you, D-Derpy,” I said nervously,”My name’s Diamond Sky. Now, I’ll see you later.”
I tried to escape, but Chip stopped me,” There’s no need to be rude, Diamon’. Derpy ain’t gonna et ya. She’s a nice Ghoul.”
She smiled, which was disgusting and strangely welcoming at the same time.
“Ok” I looked at the store’s wares, trying to keep Derpy out of my line of sight. I spotted several guns sitting in a stand. I walked over, I saw several bolt action rifles, similar to the ones in my stable. We had used them in shooting competitions, I was the star sharpshooter then. Rifles were my specialty, I couldn’t hit the side of a barn, from the inside, with a pistol, unless I used S.A.T.S.
“Pick one out, Diamon’.” Chip said, ”An’ ah’ll get it for ya, Ya look like ya need more guns anyhow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Eeyup!” he replied nodding,”Derpy owes me a rifle.”
I picked a long Semi-auto, with a decent scope. It had two magazines taped together. I’d never seen that before, but I almost instantly realized the purpose of that. More ammo, and faster reloads. It also used the same round as the stable rifles.
I turned and began walking out. I glanced over my shoulder, Derpy was standing on the porch waving goodbye.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I walked silently into Winter’s room, I hadn’t seen her since my encounter with Derpy. I was surprised to find that she was still awake. She glanced away from her work, noticing me.
“Yes, Diamond?”
“Do you think you could pack your stuff.” I replied.
“Why?” She asked
“I don’t want my sister to come,” I answered,”I don’t want her to see the pony I’ve become, I...
I paused
“...I don’t want her to see what the world is like the way I have.”
Tears started coming to my eyes
“She told me that she’d gotten out before anypony was killed. I know she’s my big sister, but I was always the one that stood up for her, It was me that always made sure nopony bullied her. I was alway the stronger one. And if she were to see mom die, she’d actually kill herself, I can’t let that happen.”
Winter looked into my eyes ”I understand, Diamond. let’s get ready to go.
Me, Winter, and Chip walked in the cool night air, we had made it out of New Appleoosa, and were headed west. I’d left a note on my sister’s door, explaining why we left without her. I looked back at the walled town, then at Winter.
“Do, you think she’ll hate me?” I asked
The blue mare looked at me, “Not at all, she’s your sister, I’m certain she will understand.”
Chapter Six A pony’s gotta do what a pony’s gotta do.
We had been walking for several hours in the direction of Las Pegasus, when Chip spotted four other ponies. One was a massive green earth pony wearing absurdly heavy armor, and had two large cannons mounted to his battle saddle. The others where unicorn mares. They looked filthy, and beaten.
“More raiders?” I asked.
“No, Red Eye’s damned slavers!” Chip growled in reply.
The gray earth pony started spinning up his mini gun. Chip was about to charge at the slaver, when A sickly green fireball slammed into him. I shrieked as the slaver exploded, some of him ending up in my mane. The captured ponies, were completely covered in gore. I tasted bile, and vomited.
Out of the blood stained crater crawled a black... Pony? It sure didn’t look like a pony. I mean it was about the same shape and size as a pony, but it was different, almost alien. This ‘thing’ had an angular build covered in a thick black carapace covered in spikes. Four insectoid wings shot from its back, and a twisted horn adorned its head . It glared at us with greenish blue eyes.
I began levitating my rifle out. Before I could react the ‘not pony’ had disarmed me and knocked me senseless. In a matter of seconds we had been knocked out.
I awoke to find myself in a small cave, my friends were already conscious and sitting around a small fire. The three unicorn slaves were also there. I also noticed they were no long covered n pony.
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. “What happened?”
Chip looked at me, a bit frustrated, “We got our tails hooved to us by that thing.”
“I have a name you know, pony,” The creature replied, as it walked into the cave. It, or rather he, had a strange voice, it sounded like deep buzzing mixed with a hissing sound, “It’s Chit, and I’m not a ‘Thing’. I am a Changeling.”
I had read of how a princess named Cadence had defeated the queen of the Changelings, and drove them out of Equestria centuries ago.
“Why are you in Equestria?” I asked.
“Negotiations” He replied. ”Unfortunately, My team and the ambassador, were killed by some kind of pink gas.”
“You weren’t in Canterlot, were you?” Winter said, looking up, ”That city is a death trap, with the pink cloud, and all.”
“As I can see,” He replied, ”You ponies certainly fu, erm, messed up Equestria.”
I noticed the Chit had avoided cursing. I was starting to think that’s how ponies were supposed to talk in the wasteland. I kind of wondered why.
I glanced at the ex-slaves, one was awake and talking quietly with Chip, while the others where asleep. The two sleeping unicorns where, I noticed, barely more than fillies. I felt white hot rage building up inside me.
How could ponies become so evil? How could they get so screwed up, that they take innocent fillies as slaves? I just felt like killing somepony! Was I starting to turn?
The older unicorn turn from chip and glanced at me, smiling warmly. She had a tan coat, and blonde hair. Her smile was also very infectious.
“So, what’s you name?” she asked.”I’m Desert Blossom.”
“Diamond Sky.” I smiled back.
She nodded, “And these are my adopted daughters, Mountain Breeze, and Shining Blaze.”
Daughters? Desert Blossom was hardly any older than me!
“They’d been walking for days when they passed out just outside of town, no one else in town had room, so I had to take them.”
I nodded
“They haven’t told me what happened, Blaze dosn’t ever talk about it. Breeze just dosn’t even talk at all.”
I turned toward Chip “we’ve gotta help these ponies get home tomorrow.”
“Eeyup.” he replied.
The tan unicorn looked at me “You’re going to help us get home?”
She sounded unbelieving.
I nodded,”We sure as hell are!”
I had to do this, didn’t care that my little pony was telling me to stay the course. A pony’s gotta do, what a pony’s gotta do, and I gotta get these three ponies to their home safely!
Chapter Seven I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.
We had slept in shifts that night to make sure no more slavers decided to show up. Luckily none did, so for the most part we’d slept pretty good.
We were trotting towards a small town not too far from Las Pegasus, so at least we wouldn’t be too far from where we were headed afterwards. The small town was called Shady Dunes, and was run by a pony named Arrow Dash. The tan mare had told me that it was relatively peaceful and usually un bothered by raider or slavers.
We had been walking for about an hour, when I saw dozens of massive monolithic spires shooting into the sky. I had seen my first sky scrapers. I stopped walking in awe, I didn’t know ponies, even unicorns, could build things that big. I was simply amazed.
Then I looked down and saw a bunch of raiders, or slavers, couldn’t tell. Either way, has much blood as they had in their coats, I could tell they weren’t good ponies.
“Guys,” I said pointing with my hoof,”We’ve got company.”
I levitated my rifle and looked down the scope. I put the cross hairs on a red pony that had spotted us. I fired and a large red flower appeared on his head. Two more went down the same way.
Chip’s minigun roared to life, slinging hundreds of rounds hot lead into the raiders, reducing them to mincemeat. Our Changeling friend fired a magical energy bolt from his horn. The bolt struck a raider, she turned black and crumbled to dust. The raiders were still coming.
We had taken out the raiders, Chip had been shot full of holes again, and had drunk our last healing potion. Winter informed me that we were running low on supplies. We would have to pick up more at Shady Dunes.
We were walking again. I glanced at Chit “So you’re a Changeling?”
He nodded
“That means you can shape shift, right?” I asked.
He nodded again “So I guess you want me to show off?”
I nodded this time. The Changeling nickered, then there was a flash of green light and arcane fire, and I was walking next to myself. Me and Blaze chuckled. The orange filly was smiling, That made me feel warm inside.
“Do me!” She said happily, “Please!”
Chit grinned, it was the first I’d seen him do so. He then shape shifted to look like the filly. She sat down, laughing. It was really a heart warming scene, that little filly was in joy, despite the horrors she had to have been through. I even saw that Breeze was smiling.
After a few more minutes of horsing around, we were back on the road. We had trotted over a hill , and at the bottom was Shady Dunes. I smiled towards Desert Blossom and her two daughters.
Chit had turned into a generic pony, he explained it was so he wouldn’t get shot at by any freaked out ponies. That made sense. Most would probably think he was a demon or something.
We walked up to a buck standing near the gate, he lit up when he saw the tan mare.
“Desert Blossom, you’re OK!” He said smiling
“Thanks to these four nice ponies.” She turned toward her girls, “Come on, let’s get you two washed up for dinner.”
My stomach grumbled at the mention of dinner. I realized I hadn’t really eaten for two days, I was very hungry.
She turned back towards me.
“Y’all can stay at my inn, if you want”, She offered,” Free of charge.”
“Thank you.” I replied.
I started to enter the town, when the buck cleared his throat.
“Sorry miss, you’ll have to holster your gun,” He said, “I dunno about you though, sir. Can you even get that thing off?”
Chip started struggling with his battle saddle. It took him several tries, but he finally managed to get it off. We then entered the town of Shady Dunes.
Chip leaned in close “Ah feel naked with out mah battle saddle.”
I was touring the town, trotting behind a young earth pony filly, named Holly Leaf. She had offered to give me a tour, I excepted the offer. But now I was regretting it, this little filly could talk anypony’s ears off. Not only that, but her tour, didn’t just show of the more important parts of town, took me to exciting locations, such as the large restroom building, or the random chunk of brick she broke her leg on once.
But I humored the little girl. This town didn’t get many visitors, and anything I could do to make this girl’s day, was worth a few hours of torment to me.
“Aaaand, this is the Desert Rose Inn,” She sad exuberantly,” This is where my big sister from another mother, Desert Blossom lives, it’s also where weary travelers spend their nights as they travel the wasteland. It was built a long time ago, so ponies could spend the night at the Las Pegasus wild life reserve, and look at all the animals that used to live there. I bet ponies loved this place!”
She gasped for breath for few seconds, “ And that concludes the tour of Shady Dunes, have a nice day!”
I sighed in relief, ”You too, Holly.”
Walked into the inn follow by the hyperactive filly. my friends were already sitting in the lobby/dining area. Desert Blossom looked at me from the bar.
“Looks like you met Holly.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, ”I always like making kids happy, even if it kills me.”
She chuckled. “Dinner’s in five minutes, by the way.”
As I walked toward the the bath room, I noticed a lot of ponies walking into the inn.
All of the towns adults were in the dinning room, sitting at the table, or on the floor, or where ever there was room. The foals had all been put to bed, and almost everypony had eaten a little too much. After all the pony that seemed to take care of everypony had made it home safely.
A buck walked out of the kitchen, pushing a large cart full of alcoholic beverages. Ponies started cheering. The party had gone up a notch or two.
After a few minutes everypony was getting drunk. I had never drunken alcohol before, but I liked it! It made me feel good.
I shambled up the stairs to my room. I was drunk as shit. Drunk and tired and happy and drunk. I bumped into the door then opened it. I then stumbled over to my bed and with an unceremonious flop, I plopped onto it.
I hadn’t been laying there five minutes when somepony knocked on my door.
“Who ish it?” I groaned, slurring the words.
“It’s meh, Deshert Bosshen!” came the drunken reply. ”Can ah come in?”
Before I could answer, the tan mare stumbled into my room
“Diamon’, do ya wanna have shex?”
“Huh?”
“Do ya wanna make love?”
I sobered a bit at that up at that.
“No.” I replied.
“why you no wanna have shex?”
I said the first thing that popped into my head.
“Cuz mah barn door doesn’t shwing dat way!”
“Okey, Dokey, loki!” she replied, bouncing out the door.
I groggily dragged myself out of the bed my hooves landing on the worn wooden floor of the inn. I had never been drunk before, so this was also my first hangover. I hated it!
Winter walked in, she looked well rested, and not hung-over. Which was strange, considering she drank more than the drunkest buck there. She got completely wasted. Chip had to carry her to her room.
“Good morning, Diamond” she said.
I groaned.
“Hangovers suck, don’t they?” She replied with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, Darling, I know a spell that will fix that.”
Her horn started glowing a soft green, and a beam of magic hit my head. Suddenly the world cleared up, I felt normal again.
“Thanks.” I replied.
“It’s nothing, really.” She said, “After all, the whole town is no longer hung-over.”
She had used the spell on everpony here? Either she was talented in magic, or the spell was easy. Whichever, I still wanted to learn that spell, I’d probably be using it again. After all, I loved beer!
We had left Shady Dunes, and were on our way to Foallywood. I waved goodbye to our new friends. It seemed not all ponies were bad. Even in all this darkness, there was light. In my first day in the wasteland, I thought every thing was hopeless, but now that I seen the good in ponies, I knew we could fix this. We just had to get off our rumps, and fix it.
looked up and saw, in massive once white letters, the word Follywood on a hill. I wondered why ponies had built the sign. It seemed pointless to me.
I looked back at Chit.
“Why are you still with us?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Why not?” the Changeling replied,”I’ve got nothing better to do.”
“Can’t you go home?” Winter asked.
“Why would I want to. Our queen is a tyrant, she’d have me killed for my crimes. the ambassador didn’t come here to Negotiate some peace treaty, she came for a surrender.”
“Then why are ya helpin’ us ponies?” Chip questioned.
“I came here to get away from a screwed up dictatorship. I came here to be free. and as a free being, I want to help however I can.”
We had walked several minutes, when I saw some ponies far off. I pulled out my rifle and looked down the scope so I could see better. What I saw was a group of raiders surrounding a bloodied and beaten mare. They seemed to be egging on a pony. I adjusted the focus, and almost dropped the rifle. There, standing hesitantly next to the mare was a blank-flanked earth pony colt. The raiders where trying to get him to... I didn’t even wanna think about it. These raider were so dead!
I sent four rounds of hot lead Into their faces. All four bullets hit they’re marks, and four more raiders where dead. It seem’d that was no longer afraid of killing ponies, I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t that helpless pony that I was when I had left my stable. Plus I could never call raiders ponies. Ponies don’t mutilate whole stables full of innocents!
I ran over, the colt was nuzzling the mare.
“Miss, please help, they hurt mommy!” he looked up at me, tears in his eyes, “she’s dieing!”
I looked at the unicorn, she was already dead. I frowned. I was too late, if I had got there sooner could have saved them both. I had nothing to say, there was nothing I could say. I fell to the floor crying.
“I’m sorry.” I repeated several times. How do you tell a foal his mother was dead? Even more so when she died right in front of him?
“Is mommy...Dead?” He asked.
I wrapped my fore legs around his neck. “Yes.”
He started crying into my shoulder.
“ I-I was scared, I shouldn’t have run away, mommy would still be alive.”
I looked at him, “It wasn’t your fault, It was the bad ponies that did this to her’s fault.”
He cried himself to sleep. After he did, I started laying into one of the dead raiders. His cold blood stained my coat as I splattered his remains all over the street. With one last blow, I crushed his skull in, I didn’t know why I had done that, but I felt a little better.
“What we going to do with him?” I asked.
“I can fly him to Shady Dunes, and be back before sun down.” Chit replied
I was kind of surprised that Chit would do that. I mean if you looked at him, he looked like an evil monster or something. but inside, he had a heart of gold.
Chit had left with the colt, whose name I now knew was Inky Blue. Chip dug a hole, and we buried the poor colt’s mother. Why did the world have to have so much pain? I looked at the scorched buildings of Las Pegasus.
An image came to my mind, of hundreds of ponies cooking, or on their way to work or just talking with friends. Just going about their normal lives. And in a flash of arcane energy, it was all gone in an instant. It was hard to imagine that had really been what happened, even though it was. It seemed impossible for a whole city filled with innocent ponies, to be wiped out completely in one fiery blast.
I prayed to Celestia, that nothing like this would happen again, ever.
I looked at the poster on the wall of a building. It was weathered badly, but was still readable. It depicted a older yellow pony with a greying pink mane. Two evil looking zebras were lurking in the background. The pony had a sad look on her face, like she had had enough.
“War? Fear? Death? We Must Do Better! MINISTRY OF PEACE” It proclaimed.
I glanced at Winter, ” What’s this Ministry of Peace?”
“It was an organization before the Megaspells went off,” She replied.” They built hospitals all over the place. They also wanted to end the war, without spilling blood.”
I nodded.
“Who was she?” I asked, pointing at the mare in the poster.
“The mare of the Ministry of Peace, Fluttershy,” Winter answered “Thats all I really know about her.”
We continued down the street, to the right was a large building. In front of it were several long dead trees. Most of the the front of the structure had crumbled away, but the door was still there.
“That there’s one of those hospitals, Diamon’” Chip stated,”Ah think we should look for supplies in there.”
I glanced at the building, surprisingly, it looked stable. I nodded in agreement, sure I really wanted to find my mother and best friend, but I knew mom was though and smart, She and Vanilla Cheesecake would be fine.
Chip stepped in first, I followed with Winter right behind me. The interior of the lobby was trimmed with burnt wood and scorched and faded blue wallpaper covered the walls. There where several posters similar to the one outside. I looked down at the floor, it had patches of blackened carpet here and there, but for the most part, it was grey concrete.
Shelves and filing cabinets were smashed and strewn across the floor. The place had already been looted. Several skeletons were scattered across around. I felt sorry for them, even though they had been dead for centuries.
I stepped into another room, right into hell. I had seen what raiders had done to the ponies in my stable, this was far worse, this was completely sick, no, sick wasn’t the right word, more like completely evil! It was like the raiders considered mutilating ponies in the most gruesome and sadistic ways, an art. The room was decorated with corpses of ponies, cut apart and put on display. I backed out of the room with a scream.
I didn’t even notice Chip’s question. I blankly stared at the wall, my body had practically shut down, my mind so focused on that room, that hell. I was in shock.
“Diamond!” Winter cried “What is wrong? You’re worrying me.”
I blinked.
“Please, snap out of it, Darling!” Winter had tears rolling down her cheeks.
I blinked, then slowly turned towards her.
“We should leave.” I stated. I shakily got to my hooves, and walked out of hospital.
“What happened?” Chip repeated as I walked almost aimlessly down the street
“How...” I said, still not noticing the grey earth pony’s question.”How could ponies...How could they get so screwed up? How could they be this... Evil!? It’s just so...”
Winter looked at me.”Whatever happened in there, is over”
“It doesn’t make sense! Why... would they do this!?” I continued, “Ponies aren’t supposed to do this. They aren’t supposed to...”
I sighed, then sat down.
“What is wrong, darling?” She put a hoof on my shoulder,”Please tell us, Diamond.”
I glanced around at the blue mare, crying.” I went into a room...and-and it was horrible, Winter!They-they had... Mutilated them, there was blood everywhere! They had decapitated a filly, then ripped her apart... She didn’t even have her cutie mark yet. A FILLY! What the HELL Is wrong with these... these monsters!?!?”
I felt rage building up inside me. I wanted to kill every single one of these Celestia-damned raiders! I wanted to kill them all! I felt adrenalin rushing through my veins. The next raiders I met, were going to wish they were never born!
We were walking somewhere in the city of Las Pegasus. Chit had returned with the news that Dessert Blossom had taken in Inky Blue. She was a wonderful pony. I hoped I’d see her again. Not that I was attracted to her, I’m proudly Heterosexual! But she was a good friend, and remembering her kindness, restored my faith in ponykind.
I looked back at all the ponies I had met in the wasteland, Chip Boulder, Winter Darling, and Chit, were the best friends a pony could ask for. Steele Sparks was a loner, that must of had a hard life. Derpy Hooves, I didn’t really know any thing about her, but she seemed nice. And Desert Blossom, was a just a good pony. She had gone out of her way to take care of everypony in Shady Dunes.
Then there were ponies like Dag and Axel. The thought of those two murderers, pissed me off. I wanted to kill them again.
I heard a sound off to my right. I checked my E.S.F.. There was a Yellow dot several yards from me. I walked over to a building that the yellow dot would be in. I saw a ball of pink hair through the dusty window.
“Vanilla, Is that you?”
The pink shape moved to the door, then opened it. I felt myself get tackled by a hug. I had found my best friend!
“DIAMOND!” She shouted joyfully, “YOU’RE ALIVE!”
I smiled. Vanilla Cheesecake was an obese cream coated earth pony mare with a curly, bright pink mane and tail. Her grey eyes sparkled with joy, as she helped me back up. She then looked at my Friends, then back at me.
“You didn’t replace me, did you?” she said somewhat accusingly.
I chuckled “No. There’s no way could ever replace you, Vanilla. These are my new friends, Winter Darling, Chip Boulder, and Chit.”
“Nice to meet you all.” she replied, she didn’t even freak out at Chit’s alien appearance.
I hugged Vanilla. ”I’m so glad your OK.”
“Me too, Diamond” She replied, a sad tone in her voice.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I knew her better than anypony else. Something bad had happened.
She collapsed onto the floor waling. “It was horrible, a bunch of evil raider ponies took her into the street... And t-they hurt her really badly, one of them...Oh! Its just too terrible to talk about! They took your mom, Diamond. I’m sorry
The raiders had my mother!? The raiders had my mom!
Chapter Ten I am evil, bad, nightmare pony. Arrrr!
I felt a sharp pain in my side as I hit the ground hard. My revolver clattered to the ground somewhere.
“NO, DIAMOND!” Vanilla screamed at me. She had kicked me!”You can’t do that! You’re my-my best friend!”
I looked around at my friends, Vanilla was sobbing, and the rest of my friends had worried looks on their faces. Had I really just done that? Had I really just tried to kill myself in front of my friends?
“Why would you even think of doing that?” The cream mare asked, tears filling her eyes.
I frowned, then felt my sorrow turn to rage.
“Which way did they go.” I growled.
My friend pointed a hoof towards the downtown area. I levitated my revolver into my saddlebags, and stomped off where vanilla had pointed. I heard hoof steps behind me.
“Ya do know, Ah’m comin’ with ya.” Chip stated.
I turned. “No!”
“Diamon’, Ah ain’t gonna let ya get yerself killed!”
I drew my revolver and pointed it at him. His eyes widened.
“This is something I have to do myself!”
“Well if that’s the way it’s gonna be, then Ah guess Ah won’t stop ya. Ah’ll be prayin’ for ya, Diamon’”
I returned my revolver to my saddlebags, and galloped off.
I slowed as I saw the raider camp, it was mostly tents, but they had used a convince store as their headquarters. I pulled out my rifle, and checked the magazines. I looked down the scope, and fired, killing the two guards standing near the door to the headquarters, several raiders peeked their heads out from their tents, only to have them blow off.
I began to reload. While I was doing so, the raiders started shooting at me. Several rounds sunk deep into my skin, I didn’t notice. I fired my remaining rounds, killing eight more raiders. I tossed my rifle aside and drew my pistol, I fired all six rounds using S.A.T.S. Each shot was a kill. I then hurled it at an axe wielding raider and jerked the axe from his teeth. I then drove the blade into his skull.
I made it to the door, and bucked it in, It slammed into a unicorn raider, incapacitating her. The room was filled with gore and smelled of decaying flesh. I trotted over to another door on the far wall. I couldn’t buck it down, so I hacked it apart with the axe. The handle broke, but I had smashed it enough so that could smash the rest with my hooves. I felt splinters sink into my forelegs
In this room was a cage rusted. In the cage was my mother and a raider. My mom was gagged and tied, and the raider had a serrated knife in his teeth. He was using it to cut the inner part of her hind legs.
“YOU BASTARD!” I yelled.
He turned, then, with surprising speed, he lifted her up as a shield, a foreleg mounted gun at her head. He spit out the knife.
“Move, and she dies, bitch!”
My eyes widened. I had screwed up. If tried anything he’d kill my mother. If I didn’t do anything, more raiders would come pouring into the room. Either way, we’d both die. The pain from my wounds slammed into me, and I fell.
The raider laughed vilely. “You’re pathetic!”
Tears came to my eyes. Maybe I was pathetic. Maybe I should have ended it back in the stable. NO! I had to stop thinking like that! If had done that, all the ponies I had helped would have been put through hell.
I glared at the raider, murder in my eyes “NO!”
He raised an eyebrow.
“It’s ponies like you that are pathetic, killing innocent ponies that did nothing do you! You shouldn’t even exist! I AM GOING TO END YOU!!!”
With that, I used my magic to rip his gun leg from his body. I then slammed him into the cage’s door. The rusted bars snapped, and left several deep cuts in the raiders back. I smashed his body into a wall twice, the first time cracking the bricks, and the second, left a hole all the way through. Grey sunlight poured in.
I lifted him close to my face. His bloody face was painted with fear.
“Please, I-I don’t wanna die!” He pleaded, “I wanna live!”
I moved him closer “I. Don’t. Fucking. Care!”
I hurled him through the wall. After the dust settled, I saw the raider’s dead body impaled on several broken steel bars.
I walked shakily into the cage and untied my mother.
“Diamond!”
“Come on, mom, we need to get out of here.” I felt shaky, I had lost too much blood.
As the room started spinning, I saw two raiders step into the room, I fell. Blackness was creeping from the edges of my eyes. Was this what it was like to die?
“I’m sorry.” I barely said. The last thing I heard was a familiar roar, then nothing.
Black. That was the only thing I could see. It was all around me, nothing but an empty void. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. I reached down to turn on the lamp on my Pipbuck, but couldn’t move ether.
Suddenly a grey light shrouded in pink smoke, started moving towards me. Faster and faster ,until it was almost right on top of me. Then replacing the black, I saw a green field. A beautiful blue sky stretched out for miles. I looked around and saw my family, my father, my mother, my sister. Then all my friends walked up. All of these ponies smiling cheerfully at me.
A voice told me to turn around. I did. Behind me I saw dozens of raiders, all the ponies I had killed, covered in blood and rotting. They began waking towards me, their eyes glowing red.
There was a loud boom and a rainbow streaked across the sky. The zombies had disappeared, replaced with a regal looking pony, she was pink with hair that had streaks of cream, purple, and rose. She had both a horn, and wings.
I bowed.
“Princess.” I said.
She smiled.
“You are the one I chose to be the unsung hero of Equestria.” The princess spoke.
I got back to my hooves. “Why me?” I asked.
She looked down at me. “ Because you are a descendant of Starswirl the Bearded. It is your destiny to save Equestria from the coming doom.”
My eyes opened and I saw the ceiling. I glanced around the room, getting my bearings. I was laying in a bed in one of the rooms of the Desert Rose Inn. I had been converted into an impromptu hospital room. Next to my bed was a heart monitor and several other medical devices. How long had I been out?
Outside the room I heard hoof steps. I heard my mom’s voice. she sounded distraught.
“Blossom, I think it’s time.” she said.
Desert Blossom replied, “Now, are really sure you want to do this, Emerald? There is a slim chance that she could come out of it.”
"What is it time for. Come out of what?" These questions spun around in my mind.
“She’s been in a coma for a year and a half now with no signs of recovery. As much as hate this, I think it’s time.” Mom answered.
Well that answered two of my questions.
“Did you ask her friends what they thought?”
“Yes, they also agreed that it’s time to pull the plug.”
WHAT?! I coughed loudly, choking on my spit.
“What was that?” my mother asked.
The door opened. I smiled and waved. The two mares standing in doorway’s eyes widened.
“Diamond!” Mom cried, ”Your awake!”
“I heard your conversation.”
She raced over and trapped me in a embrace. She started crying.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that” She said, “I just didn’t want you to be a vegetable for the rest of your life. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After mom had left, and my ‘physician’, Desert Blossom, had given her medical advisement then left, I walked over to the bathroom. Blossom had told I’d be completely fine. I looked into the mirror, my mane was a mess, and I looked pale. I noticed several pale scars covered my body.
I stepped into the shower, praying there was hot water. I turned on the water, it was miraculously it was hot. This was my first real shower I had had in a long time. The warm water ebbed away the stress in my shoulders and back. My sinuses were cleared by the steam, my mind was clearer than it had been since my last day in the stable. I lingered under the warm water for about half an hour, then I heard a knock at my room’s door.
“Diamond, You OK in there?” Blossom called.
I shut off the water and started drying myself with a cleanish towel.
“Yes.” I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Why don’t you come down, lunch is in five minutes.” she said.
My stomach grumbled, I hadn’t had real food in a year and a half.
After everypony had eaten, Winter excitedly dragged me out into the town to go 'shopping’. The first stop we made was at a gunsmith named Hot Lead’s shop. I hadn’t seen much of the town the first time I visited.
Hot Lead was a young and tall grey earth pony.His eyes were a silvery blue He had a jet black mane and tail, and wore a worn black leather vest.
The vest had a badge that was shaped like a demonic pony skull with chains. The word Pönyhead was printed at the top.
He was also quite attractive.
“It’s good to see you awake, Diamond” He greeted “The name’s Hot Lead.”
I wonder how he knew my name.
“Nice to meet you, Lead ” I replied, with a grin.
He showed me his selection of firearms, Most were cobbled together, but there were a few that where newish.
“Why don’t you follow me, Diamond?” he said, walking towards the back room.
I followed, then the gunsmith pulled out four poorly wrapped boxes.
“Happy birthday, diamond.” He said smiling.
I looked at him puzzled.
“ I know, I know, it’ s a bit late. But hey, you ain’t gonna pass up free guns, are you?” He replied, still smiling.
I smiled back, then tore into the boxes. The first one was my old stable rifle! My name was scrawled into the stock in a school fillies hoof-writing. My smile got bigger.
“How did you find this?” I asked.
He grinned.
“I got it off a raider about three days before you showed up the first time,” The stallion replied, “Never got a chance to give it back.”
Two of the other boxes contained my revolver, which he told me needed a name, and the rifle Derpy gave me. I assumed one of my friends recovered it. The other box had a scoped rifle of some kind and ammo for it. I looked at it with a curious face.
“It’s called a Gauss rifle,”he explained. “It uses electromagnetic coils to accelerate a steel projectile at high speed. It’ll punch right through raider armor like butter.”
Interesting.
“Ammo’s pretty rare, though. You should get going, your friend’s getting antsy.” He said, glancing at Winter, who was pacing in the main part of the store.
The next place The blue mare dragged me to, was a combination blacksmith shop, house, and boutique? I found that to be an odd combo. Winter told me to stay as she went in. She squeed as she reached the door.
I sat down, and looked around. I saw Vanilla and a filly sitting and talking under the shade of an umbrella. I recognized the filly as Holly Leaf. I waved a the two. They turned and smiled, excitedly waving back.
The door opened with a jingle of bells, I turned. Winter was using her magic to carry several outfits. She floated two towards me. One was a red dress, it was kind of plain, but all the same beautiful. The other resembled my stable barding, it, however, was cleaner and not shot full of holes.
I smiled, ”Thank you.”
She returned the smile, and dragged me to the next location, a beat down old house. She walked up and knocked a the door. The door opened, and out stepped a earth pony ghoul. I took a few steps back, in horror, I didn’t do well with ghoul ponies. I had always been afraid of zombies as a filly.
The ghoul pony put a box into winters saddle bags and turned towards me. I cringed.
Me and winter had been shopping for several hours before we finally went back to the Inn.
Sitting a the bar was the grey earth pony, Hot Lead. He had a some what frustrated look on his face. He glanced at me, smiling.
“Hey, Lead, whats wrong?” I asked, not really wanting to pry. I was just kinda curious.
He smiled “It’s silly, I know, but I was trying to escape from some raiders in the city, and I saw an old record store, and most of my records are in bad shape. I just thought about it today, and nopony wanted to come with me, so I guess I’ll just try to fix them.”
He wasn’t asking me to go, but he was hinting at it.
His smile grew. ”So, Diamond, wanna test out your new Gauss rifle?”
Chapter twelve That "rock and roll" doesn't really match my wings.
I had told my friends and family that I was going to help Hot Lead. Chip had insisted on going, but I had managed to convince him to stay. I was, however, going to owe him some bottle caps. I only had five.
The grey earth pony and I had walked into the city, and were headed towards the record shop. I glanced at the abandoned raider camp, as we passed it, a chill ran up my spine, I had almost died there a year and a half ago. Emotions and images started churning in my mind, I quickly looked away.
“Something wrong, Diamond?” he asked
I shook my head and told him it was nothing.
A few minutes passed, then we stopped at the old store, the windows were all smashed, and round black records where scattered across the floor.
He walked in first, and quickly followed, checking behind us. Lead’s face lit up, and he trotted over to a intact glass case. He lifted the lid off, then dropped it on the floor. The glass lid shattered with a crash. He grabbed several of the black disks, carefully choosing which one he took.
“Classic metal” He said, turning towards me.
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, so I ask
“What do you mean by metal?”
He glanced at me, a sad look on his face. “You don’t know what heavy metal is?”
I shook my head.
“Rock and roll?”
“No” I replied.
He grinned, “Well, lets fix that.”
He walked over to a un-smashed record player. He then set one of the disks into it, the switched it on. A fast paced beat started playing, I felt my head bobbing. A pony with a gruff, but high pitched voice started singing.
“Hey, hey, everypony, put your hooves in the air! Lets show ‘em we don’t need no help! Damn the Zebras, ‘cuz we can take ‘em! We don’t want your help, 'cuz we don’t need it! Yeah!”
The guitar started screaming, being played extremely fast.
“Horse Apples, One the best punk rock bands ever.” Lead explained.
The lyrics continued, more aggressive
“Hey, hey, everypony, let’s kill the government! Drop the bombs down Ministry walk! Damn the Pegasi, ‘cuz we don’t need ‘em! We can do it the earth pony way!
Hey, hey, everypony, lets start a riot! Lets march down the streets of Canterlot! Damn the Unicorns, ’cuz we don’t need ‘em! We’re gonna do it the earth pony way!”
I didn’t know about the lyrics, but I was enjoying the music.
He then removed the disk. “Don’t wanna attract any more unwanted attention, let’s...”
He was interrupted as the back door exploded, zombie ponies started swarming in.
“...Run!” I finished for him. Then, we ran. We ran as fast as our legs would let us.
Lead tripped over a rock and crashed into the ground. I tuned, levitating all four of my weapons, and began firing into the the zombies. One zombie’s torso exploded, as I shot it with the Gauss rifle. Some of it ended up in my mane, I almost vomited. The earth pony quickly got to his hooves and started running again.
My legs locked up. SHIT!
“Diamond, run!”
Work, damn it! I was yelling at my legs to try and make them move. I looked at the zombies, wishing I hadn’t, they were almost on top of me. Shit, shit, shit!
“I can’t” I replied
He turned and grabbed me, dragging me away. We were too slow, the zombie ponies were going to eat me! I started screaming. Lead drew his revolver and started firing into the undead ponies surrounding us. I screamed again, as one of the zombies bit into my leg and started dragging me toward my doom, it’s head exploded. Lead told me he had one bullet left.
“Me, or you?” he said, “I kill you and get eaten alive, or I kill myself, and you get eaten alive. Which?”
“What!?” I demanded.
“Diamond, we’re both gonna die, at least one of us shouldn’t have to die painfully” He replied, bucking a zombie away.
He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a familiar roar. Chip had followed us? The undead ponies were shredded or scattered by... Steele Sparks!? What was he doing here? Zombie ponies started converging on him, only to be ignited by a flame thrower. Steele had made a few upgrades, it seemed. He walked over to us
“Diamond Sky,” he started, ”I’m surprised to see you again.”
“You’re not the only one.” I replied, getting to my hooves. Pain shot up my right hind leg, where the zombie had bit me. “What are you doing here?”
“Apparently saving our asses from zombies.” Lead smirked.
“I’m on a job” the armored pony replied, annoyed “Some ghoul scientist sent me to collect samples so he could make a cure for ghoul rampancy, or some crap like that.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” I asked.
“There is only one cure for ghoul rampancy; genoside.”
Lead growled at him. “I know lots of ghouls, they’re all good folks. Hell, most of them are better than half the ponies in this Luna forsaken wasteland!”
“That’s true, but I’m not saying that would be the right thing to do, I’m just saying that’s the only cure. I have nothing against ghoul ponies.”
There was an explosion, and was sent flying. Dazed, I tried to get my bearings. My ears were ringing, and i felt a warn stickiness in my mane. I could barely hear the sound of Steele’s minigun. Looked toward he, he was firing into the sky. I looked up and spotted a griffon weaving over head, I levitated my Gauss rifle, and fired, the griffon let out a scream and fell to the ground. She did survive my shot, but not her landing.
Steele glanced over at me,”Nice shot, kid.”
Kid, really?
Lead stepped out from a building, he had apparently flown through a window.
“Did you piss off some of the Talons or something?” The grey earth pony asked.
“No” Steele replied,”But, I’ve got Red Eye wanting me dead.”
“Why” I asked, as Lead helped me walk. I didn’t really need it, but he insisted, and it was getting kind of cold. He was warm.
Steele looked over at me, ”Two reasons, one; he thinks I’ve been working for the Enclave, and two; I quit. His last mission for me... brought back some unpleasant memories.”
“Why would they think you’d been working for the Enclave.” Lead asked, puzzled “You don’t look like a pegasus.”
My mind started wondering why I hadn’t seen any pegasus ponies around.
“I’m not.” He replied, I noticed he lost his composure a little,” I wouldn’t wanna work for those lazy assed ponies anyway.”
“What is this Enclave?” I asked
Steele sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Ever wonder why you don’t see many pegasus ponies around?”, Lead spoke,” It’s ‘cause they’ve all locked themselves up in the clouds after Cloudsdale was hit. Anypony who comes down to help, is branded a traitor; a Dashite.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sat in my room in the inn, reading a book Blossom let me borrow. Me and Lead had walked back to town after Steele had left.
I looked around my room, the medical equipment had been moved, and the room was empty. I felt empty as well. I felt... Lonely. Why did I feel like this? I had lots of friends, why would I feel so alone?
I looked out the window. The sun had just finished setting, and it was getting dark. I noticed a massive needle like tower shooting into the sky.
I turned at a knock on my door. I trotted over and opened it. Lead was standing outside. The grey earth pony had a box in his mouth. He set the box down.
“Here’s your pay for helping me back there.” he said, grinning.
I shook my head, “You don’t need to pay me. I don’t mind helping ponies. You keep it.”
He laughed.
“You’re too modest, Diamond, really, just take it.” He insisted.
I sighed. I didn’t really like ponies giving me stuff for helping them. I’d rather just have that good feeling you get when you help ponies.
“fine” I said.
I opened the box and floated out a small object, It looked like it could fit into my Pipbuck.
“I digitalized several of my favorite songs for you to try.” he grinned, “And there’s also fifty caps in there.”
I thanked him as he walked out, and wondered what kind of music was on that chip. With my levitation, I plugged the small black object into my leg-mounted computer, and downloaded the twenty some-odd sound files. The first one was named The Earth Pony Way. I assumed that was the Horse Apples’ song I had listened to.
I turned it on as I sat down on my bed. Then I started reading again. This book was a tragedy, and wasn’t helping with my alone-ness. So, I set the book down and stepped outside, I needed a walk.
I walked down to the stairs. Half way down, I noticed a painting. Unlike the others, this one was new. It was a painting of me standing triumphantly near some rocks. Somehow, everything about the picture, even the dull grey sky, was beautiful. In the corner, somepony had signed their name; Winter Darling. I grinned, she always could find some kind of beauty in this wasteland.
I had made it outside into the chilly nighttime air, when the next song started. It seemed kind of angsty sounding, and bleak. I skipped it. The next song however started with a upbeat, but heavy sounding riff. Was this heavy metal?
I wasn’t too sure what the song was about, either getting really drunk, or smashing pumpkins over ponies’ heads, or maybe both. I liked the instrumentation, though.I chuckled as I wondered what mom would think of me being an alcoholic rocker pony.
I looked around the moonlit town, everypony had gone into their houses for the night. Small squares of yellow light bathed the street, turning it a dark tannish color. I turned looking towards the sky. Grey clouds boiled overhead, but could still see the faint glow of stars. I had never seen stars before I had left my stable, they where one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I wished I could see the stars better, I felt angry at the pegusai for dimming the stars for us earthbound ponies.
I heard hoofsteps behind me, turning I saw a filly, Holly Leaf, standing behind, I took my ear bloom out.
“Miss Diamond,” she started “you should probably come back to the inn. The Bloodwings are gonna come out soon.”
By the time me and Holly had reached the Desert Rose, we heard shrieks out side. Apparently, those were Bloodwings. Holly locked the door and walked over to several other foals playing some kind of board game on the floor.
I walked over to the table and sat next to my sister. She was playing chess with Desert Blossom. I always thought chess was lame. Granted, The only time I had played it was... with my dad. I tried to drive those thoughts away. I failed
I was sitting at a table in the cafeteria, chatting with Vanilla. I turned seeing my sister and her coltfriend, Klondike step in. They walked over and sat at the adjacent table.
“How ya doin’, Kid” The spotted Earth pony stallion remarked.
I hated it when he called me kid, he was only three years older than me, damn it!
“Shoot any Teachers’ legs off lately?”
I rolled my eyes. I had accidentally shot my shooting coach, miss Marks, in the leg at practice yesterday. Luckily, she was very forgiving.
“Ha, ha, ha, very funny.” I replied, my voice oozing with sarcasm. “How 'bout you, make out with any nice fillies behind my sister’s back?”
“Diamond!” Ruby retorted, “You don’t need to talk to him like that, Klondike would never cheat on me!”
“Really?” I replied “Then how come I saw him kissing Goldenrod?”
“Why do you hate Klondike so much?” Vanilla asked
“Yeah?” The buck added.
“ Because your a stupid lying, cheating, son of a...”
“SHUT UP, DIAMOND!” my sister growled at me “Just shut the hell up, Diamond. You’re just jealous because I have a boyfriend, and you don’t, aren’t you?”
Jealous!? I wasn’t jealous! Klondike was a total douche-bag! I saw him cheating on my sister so many times I’d lost count. He didn’t deserve somepony as nice as Ruby!
“Come on, Ruby, lets sit at a different table.” The earth pony suggested.
The ruby coated unicorn nodded, and they walked off. I turned back to the obese earth pony.
“You really shouldn’t have gone off like that, Diamond, he’s not that bad.”
I groaned loudly. Why did nopony believe me!?
“I’ll see you later, Vanilla, I need to go scream into my pillow now.”
I trotted up to the door to our quarters. The metal door was embossed with the number 67, because that was the stable I lived in. The door opened and inside the lights were out. That was odd because my father was still under house arrest for bringing his revolver to work with him, which he always did anyway. He had been jumped enough times to know better than to be caught without it. I stepped in.
“Dad, please tell me you didn’t sneak out again, mom would be so mad if she found out!”
No reply.
“Dad!?”
I walked down the hall to his study, the door was slightly opened, a note taped to it. Puzzled, I levitated the slip of paper to my eyes.
I’m sorry, darling, I wish I could have stayed with you all, but I have to do this. Life in stable 67, is just too much for me to bear. A tout le monde, A tout les amis, Je vous aime, Je dois partir.*
Goodbye
This was a suicide note! But it wasn’t in my father’s writing! I nudge the door opened, and screamed. My dad was... was dead! He was lying in a pool of blood. Lying nearby, was a revolver, not his, but somepony else’s! Somepony had murdered my father and made it look like a suicide! I collapsed on the floor, weeping.
Chapter fourteen “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who in the hoof is that!?”
“Diamond?”
My mind snapped back to the present. I shook my head, then glanced at my sister.
“Are you OK, sis?”
I nodded, noticing the tears leaking out of my eyes, “I was just thinking about dad.”
She frowned and nodded slightly.
“I miss him too, Diamond. He was the best father a pony could ask for.”
Winter walked up and sat next to Blossom, eyeing the chess board. She seemed to be playing out the game in her head, like a computer. She stopped and looked in my direction. She noticed that my eyes were still wet.
“Are you alright, Darling? You look like you’ve been crying.”
“I was. Eleven years ago today, my father was murdered.” I replied.” There was a coup, and a bunch of crazy ponies tried to take over the stable. My dad had tried to expose the ponies behind it, but they killed him.”
She nodded
“Still, they got sloppy, and because my dad was murdered, their leader was almost caught, but she escaped somehow. She just disappeared.”
Chip barged in frantically.
“Everypony grab a gun, 'cause we’ve got a whole mess 'o raiders comin’!”
Raiders, I really, really, really, and so many more reallys, hated raiders. After all they where just...Evil. The only reason, it seemed, they did the things they did, was because they enjoyed it. It made me wanna kill them all! I could here the sounds of raiders. Obscenities drifted from them, that I didn’t even know existed.
Unfortunately, We couldn’t see them, but they could see us. I hadn’t had any military training, but I knew this was a massive tactical disadvantage. An older stallion with a crossbow walked beside up me.
“I am called Arrow Dash” he said, with a quick grin “ I am the leader of this town, and I must thank you for what you have done. But I must also ask of you one more thing; will you stay and fight for us? “
I grinned in return, “Hell yeah!”
The gold colored earth pony nodded.
“I assure you, we will be grateful... Even if we all die.”
Winter trotted up carrying... A big frigging gun! I had never seen her carry a weapon of any kind, In fact she even seemed disgusted by them. But now she was levitating a gun bigger than Chip’s. I gave her a shocked look.
“What? Can’t a girl enjoy a big gun?” she said, rubbing the gun affectionately, “I think I’ll call him Tom.”
“Him?”
Suddenly the night was lit up by arcane fire. The raiders were cast in eerie green light. Chit, you genius!
He landed next to me, a huge grin painted on his face.
“look’s like the raiders have a little something in their eyes.” He glance at Winter, ”Umm...”
We took positions on the walls, ready to fire. Chip and Lead were standing on either side of me, weapons primed. Lead leaned in close.
“ If I kill the most, you buy me a drink. And you get the most, I’ll buy you one.”
I chuckled. “I prefer apple whiskey.”
He laughed hard.
“Well, I hope you have enough caps for that and my hard lemonade.”
In reply, I fired my rifle, killing a raider.
“one.”
After that, a hell broke loose, the air was filled with more bullets than I’d ever seen. The wall of lead slammed into the raiders, instantly breaking morale. At least I thought it had, the raiders quickly continued their almost suicidal charge. I heard a very loud boom, then there was a big yellow cloud of plasma. Looks like Winter had fired Tom. I heard the unified ‘Holy Shit!’ of everypony.
I looked over at Winter, she had a big evil grin on her face. Then Tom started shaking violently. Lead’s eyes widened to almost twice as big as they’d already been widened.
“She just overloaded it!”
“Is that bad?” I asked
“BAD? Of course it's bad! The damn thing’s gonna explode!”
Winter yelped, and hurled the weapon into the raiders.
“Look out, here comes Tom!”.
Then, the whole world exploded in a sun-like yellow cloud . I lost consciousness a few seconds later
I was standing in a massive green field. Tall grass was waving in the soft, cool breeze. Was this heaven?
“Your still alive, Diamond.” a warm voice spoke from behind me.
Turning, I saw the same princess from before. This time I did not bow.
“Who the hay are you?” I demanded.
She frowned, glancing off to the sky.
“Of course those three ponies from Stable-Tec forgot about me in their ‘history’ books.” She rolled her eyes, and then looked at me “My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, please, call me Cadence.”
My eyes widened, and I fell to my knees.Then, after a few seconds, got back to my hooves.
“You’re Cadence?” I asked, excitedly “ I read how you defeated the queen of the changelings.”
Her face turned serious.
“I didn’t defeat her my self, it was mostly my husband, Shinning Armor.”
The Princess looked like she was about to cry. I gave her a hug, which she gladly accepted. She needed it. She turned toward me, smiling
“Thank you, Diamond.”
“So, Cadence, Who was Star Swirl the bearded?” I asked
She chuckled.
“Only the father of the amniomorphic spell and the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era. Not to mention the ancestor of a certain pony named Twilight Sparkle, my sister-in-law, and the most powerful unicorn I have ever met.”
My eye’s widened more. I was related to Twilight Sparkle? The bearer of the Element of Magic? Who saved Equestria from both Nightmare Moon, and Discord?
“Your lying.”
Cadence smiled.
“No, I’m not. That is the true story.”
I paused. This was a lot to think about. not only was I related to somepony I had no clue who was, I was also related to Twilight Sparkle. And I was also the ‘unsung hero of Equestria’.
Cadence interrupted my thoughts.
“I have a little task for when you wake up. If you don’t mind that is.”
When I opened my eyes Chip was standing over me, A grim look on his face.
“Thank goodness yer still alive, Diamond.” he said “We lost ten, an’ Arrow’s hurt pretty bad. But we did scare the hay out of them raiders.”
I got to my hooves and glanced around , the town was a wreak. Lead was standing on a large nearby chunk of wall. He glanced over at me a sad smile on his face. I walked over.
“Are you Ok, Lead?”
The grey pony shook his head and frowned
“My sister’s hurt really, really badly. She’s probably no going to make it.”
I frowned.
“I’m sorry” I said
I looked up and saw Blossom walking up, blood on her hooves. I could tell she was bringing bad news by the wet streaks on her cheeks, something had happened to his sister.
“Lead, Skyline didn’t make it. I’m- I’m so sorry, I tried everything I could”
He closed his eyes and sat down, he started crying.
It was very early in the morning by the time we finished cleaning up most of the mess. The final death toll had grown to thirteen. Thirteen ponies who died defending their home, they would be honored and buried tomarrow, but for today, we all needed rest.
I walked calmly toward Lead’s house, he disappeared shortly after he heard the news, Desert Blossom wanted me to check on him. When I got to his home, which was in the same building as his gun shop, I noticed the door was wide open. Curiosity took hold and I walked in. The grey earth pony sat on the floor in his living room surrounded by smashed picture frames. He had long shard of glass in between his forehooves.
“Please, Diamond, leave.” He said flatly, almost monotone, “I don’t want you to see me like this.”
My eyes widened. H-he was going to kill himself! At least if couldn’t do anything about it. I wasn’t about to let anypony throw their life away like that!
“Put it down.”
“No,” He returned, “I’m not worth anything any more. I’m another worthless piece of shit that thought he could actually change some thing. I want to die. Now leave, please, unless you want to watch.”
“I want to die”
I scowled, I was mad.
“Well you can't die, not today you can't!”
My horn began to glow, and ripped the glass shard from his grip.
“Diamond, please, just leave!” he turned and said angrily, and almost pleadingly, “ Now! There’s nothing you or anypony else can do that will change my mind.”
My magic imploded from the shock. I whimpered as he grabbed the impromptu dagger again.
“Goodbye, Diamond”
“WAIT!! Lead, I-I love you!”
He stopped.
“What?”
“ I said I love you, I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I...”
I broke down in tears. Ever since that trip to the music store, I started having these feelings for him. I'd been keeping them secret.
“ I love you, and I d-don’t want you to kill yourself! Please, just don’t do it!”
He was quiet for several long seconds.
“I promised I’d protect her , I-I failed. What is the point of living now?” He said “I tried to protect mom, my brother, my family, and I failed!
Took a short pause before speaking
“I’m sorry, you lost your family,” I started “I don’t think even I could ever possibly know just what that’s like, but suicide isn’t going to bring them back. Trust me, I know. If you want somepony to protect, protect Dessert Blossom. Protect Inky Blue or Holly leaf. Protect me. Protect Shady Sands!
I paused.
“All of us, we’re your family, and if you don’t give up on us, we won’t give up on you either, so please, stop.”
He dropped the blade, and turned toward me, teary eyed.
“Diamond I’m sorry, can you...”
“I forgive you, Lead.”
He got to his hooves, and walked over to me and wrapped his forelegs around my neck in a sad embrace
I had gone to bed early that night. My whole body ached from stress, both mental, and physical. I had not only saved Lead from himself, but I also helped with the rebuilding. I was utterly exhausted. I was asleep as soon my head hit the pillow.
I awoke in a field. Cadence was standing in front of me smiling warmly.
“ You did well, Diamond, I was going to tell you that somepony very close to you was in danger, but I kind of got interrupted when you woke up.”
“That was all you wanted from me.” I asked
Her smile faded slightly as she replied.
“No, I have to ask one more thing from you. And hate it, but I must. Queen Chrysalis has returned to take over Equestria, and she’s in an old Stable near the Applewood sign.”
“Who’s Queen Chrysalis?”
“The ruler of the changelings, and it is up to you, and your friends to stop her!”
I paused. I still didn’t know If I could trust her, or if was even Cadence talking to me at all. For all I knew This could very well be Chrysalis herself. Why should I trust her? Then I remembered Chip and Winter, I trusted them even though I didn’t know them. I trusted Chit. Why shouldn't trust her, If she wanted me dead, she could have done it a lot sooner.
“I know you have your doubts, Diamond, but some times you have to have blind faith. So, what is your decision.”
I mulled over her words for a few seconds. It was a tough choice. I closed my eyes.
“Yes, I will help you.”
Cadence smiled.
“Then, Diamond Sky, wake up, and save the world.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up. It was morning. Somepony knocked on my door. It was Winter.
“ It’s time for the funeral,” she said, sounding like she’d been crying.
Chapter Sixteen “Mercy isn’t a sign of weakness, but of wisdom. Any fool can kill.”
I followed Winter down stairs then out side, to a large canopy in the plaza The whole town was standing around and under it, waiting in the light rain, for Arrow Dash to speak. The aged pony stood leaning against a rod, on a makeshift platform. He glanced over at me and nodded, then turned toward the crowd.
“Friends,” He began,”we are here to say farewell to the thirteen ponies that bravely sacrificed themselves for us all.”
He paused. Before he could finish, he was vaporized.
Screams of panic and shock filled the air as ponies went into mass hysterics. I just blinked. Two seconds ago, he was standing there, giving a speech, and then he was gone. I my eyes shot around the plaza, trying to spot who had murdered Arrow. Then another pony turned to dust. This time i spotted the culprit, a changeling, but not Chit. I focused and tred to break his neck, It didn’t work.
The changeling's twisted horn lit up, and he began to fly towards me. Only seconds before he splattered me, Chit slammed into him, in full changeling form.
The enemy glanced at him.
“You Traitorous Bastard!”
Chit Scowled
“WHY DID YOU COME HERE!?” Chit bellowed ”TELL ME!”
The other changeling grinned
“Our Queen commanded it.”
“So, the Queen returns.” Chit replied. “Where is she?!”
“You’d really like to know that, wouldn’t you.”
Chit telekineticly lifted the other insect like creature off the ground.
“Don’t you know who I am” Chit said, his voice filling with menace,” I’m Chithalin the torturer. I was Queen Chrysalis’ highest ranking interrogator. I will make you talk, even if I have to remove your exoskeleton.
The other changeling’s eye widened in fear.
“Now, tell me where she is.”
“Never!” the other insectoid said defiantly, before he vaporized himself.
“Damnit!” Chit growled
I sighed. looks like I would have to explain my dreams.
Lead looked at me thinking. I had told Winter, Chip, And Chit about my visions, they had taken it well. The grey earthpony sighed.
“No, Diamond, I mean I just lost my sister, and nearly committed suicide. I’m sorry, I can’t come” He stated.
Blossom trotted up, pushing trough us.
“You need to go with them,” she said, like a mother to her foal ”you’ve got the most combat experience, out of everypony in this town, and if they’re going up against a changeling army, and an evil Queen to get justice for Arrow Dash, and Sandy Palms, they’re going to need you.”
He sighed again
“You’re right, Blossom. Guess I am coming” He said.
I laid low behind a wrecked chariot as bullets whizzed by overhead. We had stumbled across a group of raider, and they we’re too happy to see us.
“Why don’t ya’ll come out, we’re just going to kill you.” One of them said.
Near by, a stray rocket fired by a raider, slammed into an old shop. Shinning Silver’s Mirrors. Several shards of broken mirror were flung from the blast, and landed near me, and several bounced of my stable barding, of course, I had already figured out it was armored.
I floated one of the reflective chunks of glass above my head, and used it to look over my cover. Then, levitating my rifle I fired into the face of one raider, then another. The rocket launcher raider fired again, this time the rocked landed in front of my cover, destroying it and sending me flying. I landed with a thud that knocked the wind out of me. My right hind leg burned with pain.
“Diamon’!” I barely heard Chip yell.
I saw him step out from his cover, and begin giving cover fire for Lead. The grey stallion dragged me back behind cover. I floated my rifle, and another mirror shard over to and fired, killing a raider who was about to throw what looked like a metal apple. Instead, he fell backwards into the other raiders. I heard several yells, and some obscenities, then an explosion.
I saw two more raider ponies pop out of cover. One was the rocket launcher pony. Before She could fire, her head fell off. The raider standing behind her turned into Chit with a flash of arcane fire. The changeling walked over.
“Diamond, we need to get that out of your leg.” He said
I glanced at my leg, which was still throbbing with more pain then I Imagined possible, and screamed. A metal rod was buried in my leg just below my knee. I saw the bloodied end sticking out on the other side above my hoof.
“I’m sorry, Diamond, this is going to hurt... A lot.”
I felt a strange pressure inside my leg, then a strange sliding feeling, followed by a sharp pain. I gritted my teeth, and tried failingly not to scream. And then the pain subsided a very small amount. Then Chit’s horn began glowing.
“I may have been a torturer, but I know how to heal changelings and equines alike.”
I felt a strange sensation run up my leg, and the pain vanished almost entirely. I got back to my hooves.
“Thanks, Chit.” I said
He smiled, “No problem, Diamond, after all what are friends for?”
I walked over to where the raiders where. There wasn’t much left, but I heard a grunt of pain. I glanced to my left, and saw a raider. I cringed. She had virtually been ripped in two, but she was still alive, barely. She looked at me, sorrow and hate filling her eyes.
“Kill me.” she said weakly
My eyes widened in shock, I had done this to her. I had just blown a pony in two. I had never hesitated to kill a raider before, but... This was different, she...
“Please.” The raider asked.
I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want to kill her here, not like this, but at the same time I did.
“It would be mercy,” the little pony in my head said.” She’s going to die anyway”
My thoughts where interrupted by a gunshot, Lead had just shot the raider in the head.
“Y-you killed her!” I exclaimed.
“Sorry, Diamond, But raider or not, I not gonna let anypony die like that,” He replied, ”That’s why I make my shots quick, and as painless as possible. Now lets go find this queen, and kick her flank.”
Chapter Seventeen “You do realize the reception's been canceled, don't you?”
We had left the city a while ago, and we were scaling the rocky hills below the Applewood sign. Winter had spotted a narrow switch back snaking up to a small shed built near the ‘w’. I glanced back down the hill; we had made it about half way up.
No pony had said anything since Lead shot that raider, it kind of didn’t sit well with all of us. I spotted a small glint of metal nearby, and cautiously trotted over to it. It was a orange disk half buried in the gravely soil. It had been freshly buried, and it wasn’t the only one.
Chip walked up next to me.
“Those are mines, Diamon’. Step on one, an’ your dead.”
“Look at all of them,” Winter said worriedly “they’re everywhere. Just how are we going to get past them?”
I heard Lead nicker, I turned seeing him grinning smugly.
“Whoever buried these things was either damn stupid, or a genius, the mines are so close together, if you set one off, they all go off, and the whole side of the mountain comes crashing down.”
“Well, that's fine and all,” I said, “ But it still doesn’t tell us how to get past them.”
“True, but if you look, you’ll see all the ones in the path are spaced further apart, and who ever buried them was real sloppy. I think if we’re just a little cautious, we can sneak past them” Lead replied.
I felt my heart pounding as I stepped out of the mine field. Thank Celestia I didn’t get blown up. I sighed. The minefield stopped about fifty yards from the entrance to the stable. We made it!
“Lets go” I said, levitating my rifles, and cautiously trotting towards the old shed.
The old shed had for the most part collapsed, but the tunnel going to the stable had been recently excavated. Once inside the tunnel, I activated the lamp on my Pipbuck. Lead was right behind me.
I stopped suddenly. Lying right in front of me was a dead pony. He had been dismembered. Chit pushed past me and Lead.
“Definitely Assahld’s work.” He said “He was an acquaintance of mine, back when I still worked for Chrysalis. He was renowned for his blood lust. A psychopathic bastard, if you ask me.”
Well that was good news.
“He sounds like a wonderful fellow.” Winter deadpanned.
When we reached the doorway, I noticed the door had been ripped off, and tossed aside like trash. Inside, several eyes peered back at us, Changelings.
“Put down your weapons, and come with us.” one of them called.
Chip stepped forward
“Sorry, bug boy. That jus’ ain’t gonna happen.
He spun up his minigun, and began firing into the tunnel shredding anything inside.
Winter rolled her eyes.
“We could have tried diplomacy.”
“You can reason with them.” Chit replied “ We need to keep going.”
This stable was different, not just the webby goop all over the walls, but it seemed more militaristic. And the general layout wasn’t the same as my former home. I was lost. I didn’t want to admit it, so I kept quiet
“Hey, Diamond, are we lost?” Lead asked.
I sighed.
“Maybe.” I answered.
Parts of the stable seemed similar. It was kind of eerie, And we hadn’t seen any more changelings. I had a bad feeling about this
“Quiet!” Chit commanded suddenly. “It’s a trap!”
Without warning, half a dozen heavily armored changelings emerged from the shadows.
“Come with us, Queen Chrysalis wishes to speak with you” One of the changelings spoke “ Before she executes you.”
“And if we say no?” I retaliated.
The changeling chuckled “ Do you really think you have a choice?”
“Five of us against six of ya’ll , I think I like those odds.” Lead replied.
The stable lights grew brighter revealing hundreds of heavily armed changelings. I hadn’t expected this many. We had no choice
We were being escorted trough the dimly lit halls of the stable. Our weapons had been taken away, and we were being led to the queen’s chamber. The entrance was covered by a large steel door marked with an inscription.
Cerberus Inc. Armory Vault 117 Authorized Military personnel only Lethal force IS authorized
Sounds inviting.
At our approach the door split into fourths and slid into the walls. The Bug-like creature behind me shoved all of us through the doorway. The other side was furnished surprisingly well, It had all the fancy decor the wasteland could give, every thing a bug queen could need. Sitting in a metal throne on a raised dais, was the queen of the changelings.
She was twice as large as a normal pony, and was covered in a black carapace. The queen had both a twisted horn and insect wings. Oh, and her legs looked like Swiss cheese!
“Oh, Chithalin,” She started.” I had hoped your silly delusions of freedom wouldn’t have caused you to betray. Pity.”
Chit cleared his throat
“My queen, I have not betray you, I brought you the chosen one. Please pardon my past crimes.”
What. The. Hell!?
“CHIT!? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?” I screamed.
The changeling smirked
“I’m saying you lose, and I get away Scott-free. I’m sorry, Diamond.”
I had trusted him. We had all trusted him! And he... Betrayed us! I was shocked. As shock as I was when I had walked into that room at the hospital. But this time my shock turned to rage.
“YOU... YOU BASTARD! YOU WERE OUR FRIEND! DOES THAT EVEN MEAN A FUCKING THING TO YOU!?
“I am sorry Diamond, its either me or you.”
He winked
“Just like I let those slavers get away with those unicorn mares.”
Wait... Chit had killed that slaver. Was this just a part of his plan.
“I am truly sorry Chit, but that is not possible. You must pay for your crimes.” Chrysalis spoke “You must die.”
“No!” Chit said hopelessly.
He was going to die.
“Diamond, Im sorry”
Those where his last words as the queen burned his flesh from his body. He didn’t even scream.
Chapter Eighteen “Is there some sort of epic pony war in the distant future?”
I stared in shock. One of my friends had just been killed! He was... Dead, and he had tuned on us!
Chrysalis, smirked.
“You’re the 'Chosen One’? I expected a lot more.”
I looked down at the floor. This was hopeless. how was I... I felt a hoof on my shoulder.
“Diamond, darling, let’s kill this bitch.” Winter said uncharacteristically.
I looked up at the queen, then towards my friends. I felt something. A tiny spark of courage and determination.
“Just one spark.”
Energy pulsed through my veins. I felt raw magical power coming from my core. I... I was glowing! And so were my friends!Chrysalis’s eyes widened slightly.
“This is going to be interesting” She rolled her eyes jadedly.
I levitated my guns, and everypony else raised theirs. It was a standoff. We were all waiting for someone else to make a move.
The roar of a mini-gun echoed from elsewhere in the stable. The door to this room exploded. Several of the bug-like creatures where wounded by the sharpanel. An armored pony stepped into the room. Steele Sparks.
“I wasn’t expecting you, Diamond.”He said
I wasn’t expecting him either. Hopefully he was here to help. He turned, facing the queen.
“My employer wants you dead, changeling.”
Chrysalis smiled
“And who might your employer be?”
“You wouldn’t know her” He replied coolly.
Chrysalis frowned in mock sympathy.
“You would have made a good changeling. You have good control of your emotions.”
The changeling queen paused.
“It is a real pity I have to kill you.”
Steele responded by launching a jet of flame from his battle-saddle. Chrysalis leapt out of the way, firing a bolt of energy from her horn. It almost hit me! The armored pony released a barrage of lead from his mini-gun aimed at the queen. She managed to avoid most of the bullets.
Chip started spinning up his mini-gun and firing at the other changelings in the room. I began shooting at the queen, to my dismay missing every shot. I dropped all but my marksman rifle, took carful aim, and fired. The bullet hit causing the queen to hit the floor. She wasn’t breathing.
I... I did, I had saved Equestria... Right? I heard a sickening sound and green and black smoke came from Chrysalis’ mouth. She stood back up. That shot should have killed her! She laughed vilely.
“You can’t kill me, little pony. I have become like a goddess, an immortal!”
With one last laugh, she telekinetically hurled Steele into Chip. They both tumbled into Lead, who was about to shoot the large rifle strapped to his side at the queen. She then lifted all of us, and flung us in different directions. I my body slam into the wall, and fall to the floor. Lead’s rifle clattering near my hooves. I fought the unconsciousness that was closing in.
Steele was already back on his hooves in a fighting stance facing the queen. She fired a wave of energy at him. The energy wave hit the Armored stallion with enough force to knock his helmet off.
I shook my head, clearing the fuzziness from my vision, and grabbed Lead's rifle. The queen turned toward me.
“You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”
I fired. And the queen exploded, some of her ending up in my mane. I vomited, all over my self. the smell of Chrysalis’ guts was too much for my stomach. She smelled like she'd been dead for weeks! I tried to shake most of it off as I walked over to Steele. My eyes widened. His armor had been destroyed, and he was covered in hundreds of fresh cuts and scrapes. He was also a pegusus.
Sticking out of his chest was a jagged piece of metal. He groaned painfully.
“Steele!” I turned looking for Winter.
“Winter, I need your help over here, Steele’s...”
“Don’t” He interupted weakly. “She can’t save me.”
He sighed.
“ I had one hell of a good run. It was good knowing you, Diamond.”
“ Steele... no.”
“Goodbye.”He said with his last breath.
I felt a tear welling up. I closed my eyes. I had lost a friend, and an acquaintance today.
I looked around the chamber, My friends where getting back up. The queen, who had been virtually destroyed, had not gotten back up. She was dead.
I began walking toward Lead. I was almost half way to him when I got shot by a changeling, and lost consciousness.
I was standing in a... Castle? That was new. It was a massive tower made of crystal. All around where ponies... That where also made of crystal? I turned at a familiar voice.
“Good job, Diamond”
I bowed
“Princess Cadence.”
She smiled
“You saved all of Equestria, from the changelings. I wish I could meet you in person.”
“Why can’t you?” I asked
She frowned and sighed.
“Because I...”
She paused, tears coming to her eyes.
“ ...I made a mistake. I used a spell which caused the Crystal Empire to vanish. I-I abandoned everypony, My husband, My sister-in-law, my family. I do regret what I did, but there’s no way to change it.”
“I'm sorry.”
She took a deep breath.
“It’s not your fault, Diamond. It’s mine.” she paused again. “I’m sorry, Diamond, You have to go now.”
“Why?”
“I only have a small window to talk with you, and it’s almost out. Goodbye, Diamond.”
I sat up, glancing around. I was sitting in my bed at the Desert Rose. I didn’t know how I had gotten there. I got out of the bed and walked down stairs.When I got to the main room of the inn, I got hugged by Vanilla
“DIAMOND!” she yelled, “Thank Luna, you’re Ok!”
Vanilla squeezed so hard my legs were getting numb.
“Vanilla...You’re... Killing me.” I murmured “Please... Put me... Down.”
The pink maned pony let me go with an awkward grin.
“Sorry, I was really worried about you, Diamond” she said “you were out for, like, a week.”
I was out for a week? What was with me and losing consciousness lately?
Lead walked into the inn, carrying a large box. He glanced at me with a smile. He set the box down on the table, then he walked over and wrapped his fore legs around. Unlike Vanilla’s hug, this one didn’t make it hard to breath .
“I’m glad you're awake.” he said,” How ya holding up, Diamond?”
I though about Chit, he look on his face before he died flashed in my mind. he looked sad, and helpless. I pushed that image out of my thoughts. He betrayed us! He- he tried to give us up to Chrysalis in exchange for his life. I Hated him!
Lead must have noticed the fire in my eyes.
“Look,“ he started,”I know you think Chit betrayed us, but he didn’t, OK”
But he did! I just could not belive this. Chit had played us, dammit!
“About two months ago,” Lead continued,”He told me his plan for taking down Chrysalis. He was planing to use us to get back in good standing with the queen, then when he got close enough, he was going to stab her in the back”
He paused.
“Then he was going to take over what was left of the Changelings, and reform them.” He sighed, “I know should have told you, but it slipped my mind when heard you had woken up from your coma.”
He looked sorry.
“I forgive you, Lead.”
This time, I hugged him.
Vanilla was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m so happy for you.”
I glared at her, confused.
“I’m happy you finally have a special somepony for Hearts and Hooves day!” she clarified “After all, it is tomorrow, you know.”
I felt my cheeks turning red. Part of me wanted to yell at her, the other was too embarrassed to say anything. Why did she have to make the day so friggin awkward!?
Lead, meanwhile, was confounded.
“What’s Hearts and Hooves day?” he asked blankly. “Please don’t tell me it’s another metalcore band.”
Now it was Vanilla’s turn to be confused
“How could you possibly not know what Hearts and Hooves day is? And what’s metalcore?”
I rolled my eyes, then cleared my throat.
“Hearts and Hooves day was a tradition back in my stable.” I said.”It was dedicated to romance and couples... And most of the older colts also related it to sex.”
I added that last part quietly. Unfortunately, Vanilla heard the sex part.
“YOU’RE PLANNING ON MAKING LOVE WITH LEAD?!?!” She said way too excitedly.
“VANILLA!” I interrupted sharply.
Lead face-hooved.
“Were you?” he asked, a small grin on his face
I sighed. My face had to be bright red.
“Of course not.” I replied, rolling my eyes.
Then, to make things more uncomfortable, my sister walked into the inn,
“What are you guys talking about?” she asked.
“Diamond wants to sleep with Lead” Vanilla replied. She was trying to make me squirm. And it was working, dammit!
My sister chuckled.
“Vanilla, you’re embarrassing my kid sister.” Ruby said.
Grr! Why did everpony call me 'kid’!?
“I know, and it’s soooo fun!” The cream coated pony replied.
I sighed. Those two always gave me this kind of crap around Hearts and Hooves day. They always gave me a hard time for not having a coltfriend, only this time I had one. I could only imagine what hell they’d give me this year.
And now Desert Blossom walked in. She was headed towards the kitchen, crying. Abandoning the slightly embarrassing discussion Vanilla and Ruby were now having, I trotted after her.
“Hello, Diamond.” she said looking up from the sink sadly, and pouring a drink from a bottle of whiskey.
“What’s wrong, Blossom?” I asked.
She sighed.
“It’s nothing, Diamond.” She paused with another sigh, “Well, I guess I might as well tell you.”
She poured another drink, and poured one more for me.
“Two years ago, on Hearts and Hooves day, my... My partner was murdered by raiders.”She continued, a somber expression etched on her face.”I never really got over it. She was the only other mare out here like me, that wasn’t a raider or slaver, that I’d ever met.”
“I’m sorry” I said
“It’s OK, Diamond. It isn’t like it was your fault. It’s just...”
Desert Blossom paused
“Oh, here I am just rambling again, Just like last year. It’s not important, Diamond.” she finished “ I just need some time alone.”
I nodded “OK, Blossom.”
With that I turned and walked back into the main room. Vanilla had left, Ruby was sitting in an old recliner reading a book, and Lead was sitting at the table. The grey stallion Had half the table covered in various gun parts. Sitting at the other end of the table was the colt we found in Las Pegasus, Inkie Blue.
The colt had what looked like a chess board and a few random objects. I walked over to investigate.
“Hey, What are you playing, Inkie?” I asked
He looked up.
“Oh, hello, Miss Diamond.” He said with a smile. I was glad to see he remembered me.” Well, I’m not really playing anything right now.But my 'sister’, Shining Blaze, showed me how to play this game. She said it was called checkers. Do you want to play a game?”
I nodded “ You know what, I would love to.”
Inkie smiled again.
“Thanks”
As I sat down at the table, I heard Lead nicker. I glanced at him
“What?”
He chuckled “ Aren’t you a little old to be playing checkers?”
I rolled my eyes
“ No, No I’m not” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him foalishly.”
I sighed, as I levitated one of the few pieces I had captured onto one of Inkie’s. The colt was giving me a run for my money at this game. He was really good at checkers, I was not.
I jumped one of his pieces, only to have my last three jumped. Inkie won again. I heard lead laughing.
“That’s eight to one.” he said, smiling.
I shot him a look,”Who’s counting?”
He laughed. I rolled my eyes. Where all colts this immature? Inkie got out of the chair, and looked at me.
“Thanks for playing checkers with me, Miss Diamond.” the blue colt said.
I turned back to Lead with a frustrated look on my face. He started laughing again. A few seconds later, I joined him. I found it kind of funny that I was playing checkers with a foal
After I had stopped laughing again, he spoke up.
“Diamond, I was wondering. Would you be my special somepony tomorrow?”
He slid a heart made of rusty old gun parts over to me.
“Please.”
I smiled,”Yes Lead, I will.”
I kissed him on the cheek. then glared at my sister, who had almost fell out of her chair, laughing. She stopped, smiling sheepishly.
“Sorry, Sis. You know I really don’t mean anything by it, right?”
“Darling, you need to get ready for your date today!” Winter called from the other side.
I rolled out of bed and landed with a thump on the floor. It had been too long since I had good sleep. Right now, I felt like death warmed over.
“OW!”
rubbing my head, I got back to my hooves, walked over, and opened the door.
“Good morning, Diamond, I brought you some coffee. Sorry, but Desert Blossom didn’t have any milk or sugar.”
Oh thank Celestia, coffee! That was one thing I had really missed from Stable sixty-seven. I thanked Winter and levitated the mug of the wonderful hot black liquid to my mouth. I didn’t really like it black, but I took a sip anyway, and burnt my tongue.
After a few minutes, two mugs of coffee, and a shower, Winter had started messing with my mane.
“Oh, your mane is a nightmare, all these tangles and knots. And don’t get me started on those frayed ends!” She complained “ I may have to trim, if you don’t mind”
“It could do with a trim, Do what you have to, just don’t make it too short.” I replied
The white unicorn levitated a pair of scissors, and began trimming my mane.
After about an hour, winter deemed I was ready for my date. My mane was tied up in a pony-tail and was wearing my dress. The red silk felt smooth and clean, unlike my rough armored stable barding. It also fit perfectly. I loved it
“Thank you, Winter”
“Oh, don’t mention it, Darling,” She replied with a grin.
We sat at a one of the outdoor tables at Shady Dunes’ restaurant, Brass Lantern’s Noodles and Shakes. Lead glanced around nervously, so did I. This was a little awkward.
As if reading my mind, Lead broke the silence.
“Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” he said smiling sheepishly.
“yeah...” I replied with a chuckle,”Totally not.”
With a sigh, he asked me about my stable. I shrugged.
“I don’t know, aren’t all stables the same?”
Lead shook his head
“No, almost every stable had some kind of social experiment going on in it.”
“Really?” I asked,”that’s messed up. As far as Stable-Tec knew we were the last of ponykind and they ran experiments on us!”
“Yep.” He replied, "My stable, sixty-six, was divided between the warden and their guards, and the descendants of the prisoners that were put in there. The Blues and Greys. The Blues ran the administrative jobs and the Greys did all the other work.”
“Just because somepony’s parents were bad, dosen’t mean they are.”
“That’s the funny part, most of the Greys were good ponies, and the Blues were mostly just assholes. After a while though, there was a big fight and we broke the water talisman. Everypony had to leave, and we all went our separate ways.”
After he finished, a robot pony walked up to our table. It was basically shaped like a pony, except it had a domed metal head with a glass ‘face’. Behind It’s face, dozens of gears turned, lit by a series of blinking red lights. It also had a chef’s hat.
The mechanical pony whirred.
“Nani-ni shimasu-ka?” the robot asked, it’s voice tinny and artificial.
“What?”
Brass Lantern, the brass-colored unicorn mare standing behind the counter, face hoofed, then walked up to our table.
“Sorry about that, I thought got the voice module working right. Anyway, what would you two like?”
“My usual.” Lead replied
Brass nodded, “One big noodle bowl, and a Sparkle~Cola,” She turned towards me,”And you?”
“I’ll take the same.”
“I’ll have that right out,” she said grinning, then she walked back to the counter, stepping around the armored griffon that had landed nearby. She looked around for a second, then strode towards the table.
“I hear you’re the buck to see about guns in this little town.”
Lead turned towards the griffon and nodded
“Depends, what company you with?”
“Moira’s,” the griffon replied gruffly.
With a pause, Lead glanced at me, then back at the black armored mercenary, then spoke.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll meet you at my store in an hour or so, and we’ll talk business.”
I was sitting in the hotel’s lobby staring out the window, feeling kind of warm and fuzzy. I glanced to my left where Chip sat at the table, tinkering with his battle-saddle’s minigun. He looked up with a grin, then returned to his work. The small metal bell over the door chimed. I turned at the sound, as a griffon walked into the building. This wasn’t the same one from earlier, he had light grey feathers covering his chest and head, with burnt orange feathers covering his wings.
Chip looked up at the new arrival, then grinned.
“Been a while, Red Wing.”
The griffon’s beak twisted into a smirk.
“Finally decided to settle down, I see.”
“Nah, Ah’m just taking a break,” the large buck replied with a chuckle,”So, what bring y’all here?”
“Two things,” Red Wing replied, holding two of his talons up,”The first thing is, the boss heard about a pre-war military installation off the coast, and the other, she’s looking for some to do a job for her.”
“What’s the job?”
The griffon shrugged.
“Hell if I know. You’d have to talk to her about it. You know how Moira operates”
“Eeyup," Chip said, nodding,”Same way every other Grimfeathers 'fore her has.”
“So...”
“Ah’ll talk with mah friends an’ see what they say. She still at the Overwatch?”
Red Wing nodded, and turned to leave. Before he walked out the door, he turned.
After some debate, Chip had convinced us that helping Moira’s Talons, was a good idea. Lead, had instantly sided with Chip, Winter and I were, however, skeptical about this job. But, he had finally persuaded us to go, saying that Moira was a good person, for a mercenary anyway.
The trip to the talons headquarters, the Overwatch, was relatively uneventful. The worst we had run into was a nest of radroaches. It turns out, miniguns are stupidly over powered against the things. Chip still managed to get bit somehow, and I still had radroach in my mane. Goddesses, if I could have one day without getting something disgusting in my mane.
The Overwatch was a T-shaped piece of highway just east of the ruins of Las Pegasus. On top of the overpass, the griffons had built several metal structures scavenged from several huge sky chariots. Almost a dozen of the black armored mercenaries filled the sky above the base, watching for potential threats. one of them broke off, and flew towards us.
With a hard flap of his wings, he stopped and hovered in front of us. He was a larger griffon, fully encased in some kind of black carapace-like armor with an orange visor.
“State your business, ponies.”
Chip spoke.
“Red Wing sent us. He says Moira has a job we can help with. Ah reckon She’ll wanna see us.”
“Right,” the griffon nodded.”Follow me. Don’t try anything.”
Without a word we followed the hovering griffon towards the overpass, then stepped into the large elevator that lead to the Talon’s base. At the top, a middle aged female griffon stood, a huge rifle slung under her right wing. Moira Grimfeathers.
She had almost white feathers covering her body, as well as dozens of pale scars. The right side of her face had been burned, half her beak twisted into a permanent smile. She glared at Chip, then spoke.
“You,” she pointed a talon at the buck.
“Howdy, Moira,” Chip said warmly,”It’s nice to see you too.”
The griffon chuckled.
“Yeah, it isn’t. Go away before I shoot you.”
“Listen, Moira, ah’m just here for the job ya’ll have, this is just business.”
Chapter Twenty-one “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse”
“Here’s the deal,” The griffon spoke, as she lit the cigarette dangling out of her beak, “I sent seven of my talons to the trading post down near Pinkie World; I haven’t heard back from them.”
She paused, as she exhaled a ring of smoke, “I need someone to go there, figure out what the situation is, then come back. Simple.”
Chip nodded, then Moira glanced towards me.
“I want her to stay here,” she said, pointing a talon in my direction, “as insurance.”
The large buck shook his head, “Tain’t happin’, Moira, Mah word’s all the insurance ya’ll need.”
He paused, then added with a raised eyebrow, “Unless you’d rather fly there yourself.”
The griffon’s beak twisted into half a scowl.
“Fuck you.”
“So, that a 'yes’?”
“No, it’s...” Moira said with a sigh, “Fine, you have yourself a job.”
She paused
“Now get lost.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We were headed south following a small path worn into the rising crags between the Las Pegasus ruins, and the San Palomino Desert. I glanced back briefly at the blackened skyscrapers jutting from the ground like daggers. I tried to imagine life before the war. I frowned, it was a depressing thought.
We’d been walking for about an hour when I tripped and fell on my face. Stupid hooves, now my head was killing me.
Winter look towards me with concern, then horror.
“What?”
“You have a piece of metal embedded in your skull,” She replied.
What... Oh, goddesses, get it out!
“Easy, darling.” She said, “I’ll get it out.”
She turned in Lead’s direction.
“Lead, I need alcohol, bandages, and med-ex,” She said, “and if you have one, a memory orb.”
“Got it,” He said, rummaging through his saddlebags.
“Memory orb?” I said, not sure how one would help.
“memory orbs can be used as anesthetics.” Lead replied, as he drew it and a bottle of Wild Pegasus from his saddlebags, ”on unicorns at least.”
“What’s on it?” I said.
Lead shrugged as I casually levitated the orb. As soon as my magic touched it, the world disappeared and I was standing in front of a mirror. Not me, a grey earth pony mare wearing a crown like device on her head. Okay, no horn, this was new. At least it wasn’t a buck. That would just be too wrong.
The mare looked at the mirror blankly, then spoke.
“Pinkie Pie, it’s your sister, Maud.”
She paused with a slow blink.
“I heard a rumor,” She continued in a slow, almost monotone voice, “Pinkie, if you are using those zebra chems, you need to stop.”
She paused again, the slightest worried look appearing on her face.
“I heard about the fight you had with Twilight, your friends are important, don’t loose them.”
She shifted with a little cough.
“I’m going to Hoofington soon. Mr Horse needs my expertise on mineralogy. See you soon, Pinkie.”
With that, the world returned in an explosion of pain. This was worse than the metal pipe Chit had pulled from my foreleg.
“Memory orb, now!” Winter snapped as I felt something touch my horn. I grabbed onto it with my magic and reentered Maud’s memory.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sat against a rock, my head aching from Winter’s impromptu surgery. Laying nearby was a pencil sized steel rod, half coated in dried blood. My blood.
“You are a very lucky mare, Diamond,” Winter said with a frustrated sigh, “Do you know how close that piece of metal came to damaging your brain?”
“Thank you,” I replied lamely.
Winter sighed, then smiled.
“We almost lost you.”
I glanced down at my hooves, “I’m sorry.”
Winter wrapped her forelegs around me in a hug. When she finished, she trotted over to a nearby sky carriage Chip was searching.
“Is my girl okay?” Lead spoke from my right, setting a half empty bottle next to me.
I nodded, grasping the bottle in a field of magic. I levitated it to my mouth and took a long pull.
“As okay as you can be in the Equestrian wasteland,” I said, “Stupid way to die.”
“Falling off a bridge would be worse,” he replied with a chuckle.
He frowned.
“Diamond, I can’t lose you,” he said, sitting down next to me, “I... I don’t know if I... I think you’re the only thing holding me together.”
He looked away with a sad chuckle.
“look at me acting like an angsty idiot.”
I turned his head toward me with my hooves.
“I don’t deserve somepony like you, Diamond.”
I rolled my eyes, then kissed him. “Don’t start having an existential crisis on me, Lead. I don’t need to see it again. You’re a good pony.”
He nodded, then grinned, putting a hoof on my shoulder. “Thanks.”
I heard a deep muffled voice, then winter spoke from the direction of the sky carriage.
“Chip.” She said with a disapproving tone, “None of us can fly.”
“wy cun puf tweds on it,” He replied around the wrench stuck in his mouth. He spat the wrench out, then repeated, “Ah can put treads on it.”
Winter frowned.
“Some armor, a magical energy turret,” he continued thoughtfully, “An’ we’d have a tank, Winter. A tank!”
“Chip, darling, we do not need a tank. We have you.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We where in a narrow canyon, rocky crags climbing up on either side. At he far side, there was a small metal shack blocking the path. A pair of yellowed eyes stared at us from the doorway of the structure. As we moved closer, a filthy red unicorn stepped out and trotted towards us. She was unarmed, and grinning warmly, and Goddesses, she reeked.
“Hello” she spoke, her voice gruff like a ghoul’s, “How are you?”
She smiled, revealing her teeth. They had been sharpened!
