Prologue

Fallout Equestria: Forgotten Days
Written By: SFMediaWriter and Aeluna

"Once Upon A Time in the Magical Land of Equestria..."

The great peace that reigned for one thousand years slowly came to a close. With the rise of The Ministries, the end times could be seen drawing nearer and nearer. Though life ticked on by, slowly, semi-peacefully in the dreams of ponies alike, united with the hope that the war would end soon. Even as far as The Crystal Empire and it's outlying villages held onto that hope. Even during the times where even though the call to arms was called, only a mere fraction actually stepped forward to fight. Though some, did in fact fight, and one such pony, Shimmer Jubilee, knew all too well what the cost of war could be.

The breeze on the wind flowed through Shimmer's long pink mane. A warm breeze that immediately made her smile. Late summer after a fresh rain. The wet grass beneath her hooves made her feel reassured that nothing could go wrong in the world. She slowly turned observing the small town before her. Unlike most villages, being this close to the Crystal Empire, the roads were paved. Several fillies and colts ran down the road chasing a small red ball. A muffin cart slowly being pulled by after them. And the smell of freshly started cooking fires filled the air. Here the war was long forgotten. She had only just begun stepping back inside her small house when all of a sudden-

"Good Morning! Stable-Tec calling!" A rather squeaky and annoying cheerful voice broke the silence. Breaking Shimmers illusion of a peaceful summer day and the war forgotten.

Shimmer inhaled deeply as she turned to confront the man who had been banging at her door for nearly a week prior. Pretending she wasn't home, check. Pretending she didn't hear the door, check. Leaving as soon as he arrived, check. Just what was with this pony? Couldn't he take a hint? Even the stupid yellow rain hat on his head annoyed her to the deepest part of her body. Just go away...PLEASE.

"I ummmm don't have much time..." he said to her once again. She put on her best fake smile and turned to face him. Though something about his nervous tone just didn't sit well with her. Maybe he caught onto her displeasure of him being around?

Shimmer nodded once as she met his gaze, "Good morning." She tried her best to sound interested but believed that she failed miserably. "Remind me again, what's Stable-Tec?" She instantly regretted opening her mouth to ask the question.

The look of pure enthusiasm lit up on the cyan colored ponies face simply annoyed her even more. "Great. Long speech coming. Lovely. Just had to say something Shimmer." She thought to herself as he began his overly excited speech.

"Why we're about you Ma'am! Stable-Tec is the single most important business in the business." he said proudly, "In fact, Stable-Tec is the BEST at what it does! And that's building Underground Fallout Shelters, known as Stables. We've actually built quite a few of them!"

Shimmer nodded repeatedly. Pretending to actually give a concern about what Stable-Tec did or didn't do was her primary concern. The faster he was gone, the sooner her day could continue. The sooner she could enjoy the summer day after a soft rain.

The Stable-Tec pony continued enthusiastically, "They're actually quite luxurious! And are built to last a lifetime, though we hope it won't be that long! In fact, there's a Stable not too far from here!" He raised a hoof, pointing to the hill behind me, "Just back there actually! And it's one of our newest facilities too! Fresh paint and all!"

Shimmer looked over her shoulder and raised one of her eyebrows. "Really? This close? How come I didn't hear any construction work?"

The Stable-Tec pony smiled proudly, "We had some help from Diamond Dogs who have been promised spots in the Stable! Speaking of which!"

Shimmer groaned quietly as the pony looked behind himself, a horn glowing brightly cyan as a clipboard floated in front of him. Shimmer shook her head briefly thinking, "Great. A List. What's he gonna go on about now?" The Stable-Tec pony began reading the clipboard. And continued to read. And continued to read even more. Shimmer swore she could've heard the clock behind her ticking away.

With a quick clearing of her throat the Stable-Tec pony looked up, "Oh! I'm sorry just making sure I have everything in order!"

"What do you mean? In order?" Shimmer asked, actually curious now at the contents of the clipboard.

"Oh! You see, thanks to the efforts of Stable-Tec and all the support your family has given to the defense of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, you have been pre-approved for entry into the Stable! Stable 45 to be exact!" he replied cheerfully and turning the clipboard around, "See! Your name is right here!" he said pointing a hoof right at the paper. And sure enough, right there, just as he said were the words, "Shimmer Jubilee!

Shimmer sighed, "All that my family has done huh?" she asked quietly, looking over her shoulder at a nearby photograph. "So what exactly do you need from me?" she asked again looking back at the Stable-Tec pony. Her eyes for the briefest of moments, becoming watery but quickly blinked away.

The Stable-Tec pony turned the clipboard around and cleared his throat, "Just a little paperwork finalizing! Won't take but a moment of your time!" he replied cheerily, not even noticing Shimmers momentary lapse into sadness. Shimmer sighed and nodded finally, only just to get him to go away quickly!

"Okay! First time! "What is your cutie mark?" Such a silly question, but necessary none the less!" The Stable-Tec pony read off of the paper, clearly having done this probably a million times by now.

Shimmer looked back at her cutie mark, "It's a Heart with a Ribbon wrapped around it. I work for the Ministry of Peace, I help sick and injured ponies." she said presenting her flank just in case the pony needed to see it for himself.

He nodded a few times, "Okay! Fantastic! Next question, "If you needed to, would you be willing to participate in a program to help rebuild Pony-kind if a disaster would occur?"

Shimmer just blinked.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean?" She asked with confusion written across all of her features.

He looked up from the clipboard, "Well simply put, Stable 45 will have one of the finest breeding programs! That is if somehow we're all wiped out and forced to retreat to the Stable! So, if you could?" he asked motioning the clipboard towards her.

The question now made sense and oddly seemed rehearsed. She then just nodded. "Sooner he's gone." She thought to herself as she waited for the next question to come.

"Okay! And final question! "Do you or any of your family have a science or magical background?"

"Well I work for the Ministry of Peace but other than that, I'm the only one of my family left so, I can't honestly say." she said softly as once again her eyes watered.

"Oh I am sorry to hear that. But thank you anyway!" The overly cheerful voice replied. Then a small humming. "Well that takes care of everything! Just going to walk this over to the Stable! Congratulations on being prepared for the future!" SLAM! With a quick slap of her hoof the door closed right in his face.

Shimmer slumped to the floor with a loud groan. "UGGGGGGGGGH! Thank Celestia he's gone!" she said rubbing both hooves against her temples. "I get doing your job and all, but for a whole week? Doesn't he just quit? Move on!" she said slowly pushing to her hooves and moving towards the little radio on the counter. She flicked it on and smiled at the familiar tune. Shimmer began singing along with the music and began to gently dance about her room.

"Trot outside and see the sunshine, something's in the air today! Sky is clear and you're feelin' so fine, everything's gonna be a-okay!" Shimmer sang loudly, dancing throughout her home. Moving to the small kitchen area still singing.

"If you listen carefully, on every corner there's a rhythm playing! Then it happens suddenly, the music takes you over and you'll," she paused only for the briefest of moments as she lifted up a plate with her mouth. Then continued once again.

"Find you've got the music, got the music in you!" Opening up the small fridge she pulled out a few apples and oranges, still singing. "Find you've got the music, got the music in you!"

Shimmer only stopped singing when a loud scratching noise filled the air. Abruptly cutting off the Ponytones and their musical melodies. Instead the panicked voice of a pony now filled the airwaves.

"We apologize for this unscheduled interruption of your regularly scheduled music. But we have some...troubling news to report." A loud sigh could be heard as the pony read, "We've just received a disturbing report that...a Mega-Spell has gone off and destroyed Clousdale. The number of dead is unknown at this point." Another pause but muffled shouts and yelling could also be heard, "This just in! Manehatten and Phillidelphia have also been struck! These have been confirmed by affiliate stations across Equestria! My God!"

Shimmer hadn't even noticed that she had dropped the plate she had grabbed only moments before on the ground until she stepped forward, a shard of the glass crunching under her hoof. Her eyes wide as she approached the radio and looking at it. "This can't be happening! It simply can't be! How could the Zebra's have Mega-spells?" She cried outward towards the Radio, as if it could reply to her.

The radio-pony continued, "It is advised that all Ponies that have been preapproved for Stable entry make their way to their Stables! There's no telling how many more Mega-Spells will be dropped! And for the rest of us, I wish you the best of luck!" And with that, the radio fell silent.

Shimmer shook her head, "No...no..." she looked out the window, Pegasi flying rapidly across the skies. And shortly after an alarm began to sound. Loud and long in it's single note blare. "No!" she screamed as she ran for the door, pushing it open hard with both front hooves. Ponies from all about her village scrambling down the paved road. Several carts were upturned as chaos descended upon her corner of heaven. She then noticed a military sign further down the road, "Stable 45" with a red arrow beneath it.

"The Stable!" she cried out as she began to gallop towards the sign. A guard pony waving his hoof in the direction indicated by the sign.

His voice booming over the chaos, "If you've been pre-selected! Go through this path and up the hill! You'll be asked for your ID by Cutie Mark and granted entry!" He repeated this with each new face he saw. And Shimmer galloped even harder, trying to get up the hill.

She thought to herself, "I can't believe it! And to think I just gave a pony so much hell over some silly paperwork! If I see him, I must thank him!" She passed a tree only briefly stopping to read an aged inscription upon it, "S.J. & D. G. 4Ever!" She shook her head as she continued galloping upwards. She noticed a chain link fence with Army Ponies standing guard. Some of them even wore power armor!

She then heard the squeaky voice of the Stable-Tec pony, "I'm reporting this!" She full on slammed into him as he turned around and galloped into her. "Watch out! I need to get out of here!" he cried out as he pushed past her.

"Wait! Come back!" She cried out towards him but he was long gone by then. She shook her head and proceeded up to the gate. A guard reading a checklist with each pony arriving.

"Male, Pistol Cutie Mark, Female, Scroll and Pen Cutie Mark, Foal. Okay, you can go in." he said stepping out of the way and letting the family past and into Stable 45's waiting area.

Shimmer pushed her way through the crowd, "I'm approved! Let me through!" she cried as she continued to push until she made her way to the front of the crowd.

The guard pony floated the clipboard in front of himself, "Name?" he asked quickly,

"Shimmer Jubilee!" she replied with relief, only a few feet more!

The Guard pony nodded, "Present your Cutie Mark for Identification."

She turned rapidly, showing her flank and her cutie mark. The guard looked at the list, "Heart with a Ribbon around it. You can go in." he said stepping to the side.

Shimmer never felt more thankful in her life as she trotted past. Pausing to look back at him, "Thank you!" she called out. He turned with a smile and nodded. She returned his nod and then began climbing the hill. The loud roar of a Vertibuck filled her ears as it passed above her and slowly made its way to the clearing to her right. As she reached the top of the hill, about a half dozen ponies stood still, huddled in a single spot. She made her way to the same spot as a guard waved her up, "Stable entrance is right here! Please step on the platform!"

Shimmer didn't even hesitate as she quickly ran up to the large pink platform seated in the ground. She raised an eyebrow at it, though at the same time, she finally understood. Underground Fallout Shelter. Someone up high knew something like this might happen! That had to be it!

Shimmer looked to the small family she saw before. The foal carefully tucked into a magical hold near the mothers chest. She smiled at them and gave a wave of her hoof. They returned the smile but it was quickly replaced by panic as an earth-shattering explosion ripped through the air. Shimmer wheeled around quick enough to witness a Mega-Spell explosion behind her. Giant Purple Flames leaped outward and upward towards the sky. The display was both beautiful and terrifying. Mega-Spells were originally used to heal ponies and zebra's alike, but now, they were perverted into a weapon of war and destruction the likes of Equestria had never seen before.

The wind suddenly rushed past them all, knocking Shimmer back a hoof step or two backward. The shockwave was both warm and stung slightly. Then a second one approached them, this one, more violent than the first was literally tearing houses from the ground and spitting them up into the air in wooden chunks and splinters. Her eyes filled with panic as it drew closer and closer. That is until the platform began to move downward. And just as the second wave hit, a large hatch slammed shut above their heads. They were safe, for now.

Chapter 1: Eternity

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The air was stale. It was the first sensation Shimmer had as she suddenly awoke from what felt like an eternal slumber. She gagged multiple times as she let her vision return from foggy to normal. Her mouth was dry and her limbs felt foreign even to her. Of course that didn't stop her from heaving over and over again as strange purple liquid escaped her stomach and onto her chest. Shimmer choked almost immediately following the vomiting.

She pushed with all her strength but couldn't budge as she looked around her surroundings for the first time. She was on her back in some sort of pod, strange lines leading to her belly, limbs, neck, and temples. She began to breathe rapidly as she lifted a forehoof and pressed it against the glass. The chamber, somehow detecting movement activated and a soothing mare's voice filled the intercom.

"Occupant in Pod 247 has awakened. Technicians to Pod Chamber 3 immediately." Though the voice was muffled, Shimmer could definitely hear the voice through the glass.

The voice began again but this time from inside the pod, "Good Morning Occupant 247. Your sleep cycle has ended and your cue in the breeding program has begun. Please remain calm and await technicians to attend to you." The pod then cracked open as another voice filled the intercom.

"Hello?" A different voice filled the intercom, "Fuck is this thing even working!? Hello!?"

Shimmer coughed as she slowly reached up and pressed a button that was labeled "Press to Talk." Her voice was scratchy and hoarse as she replied, "Hello?"

"Thank Celestia! Look, I don't have a lot of time! There are Raiders in the Stable. They're destroying all the Pods!" The voice replied quickly, "You're the only one I could revive in time to warn because these things open on a timer! You got lucky kid!"

Shimmer rubbed her eye with her other hoof, "Timer? Raiders? What are you talking about?"

The voice now became panicked, "Oh shit! You're lagged aren't you? Fuck! Look, I'm opening your pod! There should be a small table at the far end of the room. There should be a syringe on the table. Get it and call me back! And don't waste time!" The intercom cut out quickly afterwards. The pod opened with a loud hiss and pop as the glass slid upwards and over. Fresh air filled Shimmers lungs as the pod opened and she slowly began to sit up.

As she raised her head out of the pod she paused in shock as she looked about. Pods like hers were all about the room in neat circles around a pillar. Each contained different ponies. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies were all stored here. Shimmer groaned as she sleepily pushed out of the pod and crumpled to the floor like a new sac of potatoes. She felt like hell and now she felt like an even worse level of hell now that stars danced around her head.

Shimmer pushed herself off the floor and shook her head again for what felt like the hundredth time. Her eyesight wasn't still at one hundred percent but she saw the nearby table. She slowly moved towards it and looked at the top of the table. The room spun and things felt like they were moving slow. Something happened to her in that pod and she didn't like it. But sure enough, just as the voice said, there was a syringe on the table filled with a red liquid. And right next to it, a small brown device with a black screen and several knobs.

She recognized the device, a Pip-Buck! These were supposed to be the ultimate in computerized devices in Equestria. She looked around, nopony else was in the room. She groggily slipped the device around her left forehoof and looked at it, finally finding the power switch. She pressed the switch and the screen lit up with bright blue. A picture of a Pony filled the screen that looked dreadfully sad. Several bars appeared next to each limb. The bars weren't completely full and that couldn't have been good.

Shimmer slowly pressed the button to change the screen to a more detailed view. On the screen read the STATS of the wearer. Under the tab she read the words aloud, "Stasis Pod Poisoning. Effect: Lagged! Oh no! You've fallen ill from being a Stasis Pod for too long! Seek antidote or you will feel groggy and unable to function for six hours!" Shimmer groaned as she flipped to the Radio Tab. There were only two frequencies available. Vault Communications and Unknown. "Great, some awesome selections." Shimmer thought to herself as she clicked the tab for Vault Communications.

"Hello? Are you there?" she asked groggily as she felt her stomach churning again. And once again she let more purple liquid escape her belly in a rather large disgusting puddle. She choked once again as she heard a rather disgusted groan fill the Pip-Buck's speakers.

"That was fucking gross! Don't do that again! Fuck!" A loud pop quickly followed with a quick whiz, "Did you find the syringe?!" Louder pops filled the air followed by several quieter colorful words being shouted.

"Needle with the red liquid right?" Shimmer asked as she gagged again.

"You fucking throw up again I'm leaving you here!" The mare shouted loudly and Shimmer instantly gulped, keeping the third round locked inside of her. "Good girl, now, inject yourself with that! It's the antidote and it'll cure you!"

Shimmer looked at the needle and then the Pip-Buck. Just what was she doing? Trusting a voice? Something was definitely wrong with this picture. But when a loud BOOM filled the speakers and the ground shook, she realized that she didn't have time to think this through logically or scientifically. She quickly grabbed the needle in her hooves and bit down on her lower lip. This was going to hurt wasn't it?

She slammed the needle quickly down into her right flank and screamed. The needle itself didn't hurt but whatever was inside burned insanely. She pressed the injector and the contents flooded her bloodstream. She threw the needle outwards towards the other pods as she jerked wildly. Her flank felt as if she had sat down on a bonfire. She screamed loudly, something she never thought she'd do.

The mare on the radio quickly called out, "Just give it a sec! You'll be just fine! It's working!"

"IT BURNS!" She screamed even louder at the radio.

"Yep! It does that! Just give it a sec!" The mare replied with a softer tone this time, despite loud pops and whizzes going off in the background. "It'll go away! I promise!"

Shimmer bit down as her body went stiff with pain and then-nothing. The burning sensation simply stopped. She blinked as she looked at her flank and gently poked it with her hoof. There was no pain. She then blinked as she realized that her vision returned to normal. And her nausea had also disappeared. Whatever that stuff was, it had a kick, but it worked.

She looked up and realized that there were several large windows overlooking the chamber. Several of them were broken. And even one had the lifeless corpse of a Stable-Tec Pony dangling from one. Her pupils went tiny as she turned her head and for the first time saw things clearly. There were corpses EVERYWHERE around her. Some still inside their pods, others were simply lying on the floor in dried pools of blood. Several in fact were missing their skulls.

Shimmer quickly backstepped and smashed into something behind her. She sunk to the floor again as a Pony skeleton fell on top of her. She began to hyperventilate as she pushed the bones off of herself. "What is going on!? What happened?!" She cried out loud as she looked up and saw a bright flash of orange and yellow above her in one of the windows. She raised an eyebrow as she slowly pushed to her hooves and looked up at it again. Squinting this time as she thought she saw movement.

The window quickly shattered into a million tiny pieces following by a very loud explosion. Shimmer covered her eyes from the brightness as she noticed a figure soaring through the air. Two Pistols floating in the air in a magical grip as a unicorn went flying through the air. The pistols discharging as the unicorn sailed. Her clothes looked that of old parts taken off of a car and turned into makeshift armor. Time felt as if it slowed to Shimmer as she watched the awesome and terrifying display.

The unicorn landed on top of one of the pods with a back-flip and kept firing upwards as three heavily armored ponies appeared at the now shattered window. The ponies up top began firing with an array of different weapons from pistols to assault rifles. The unicorn looked down at Shimmer and shouted at her.

"Don't just sit there! Find cover!" she screamed at Shimmer. That voice! It was the one on the radio! Shimmer was beside herself as she watched the display and the unicorn hopped down off of the pod quickly and ducked behind it.

Shimmer hadn't even processed the order until a bullet whizzed past her head and struck the glass of what was once her pod. She scrambled behind the same pod the unicorn had taken cover behind. As Shimmer kept her head down she finally got a good look of the Unicorns face. A bright pink scar ran down the right side, over her eye, and down to her neck. Her purple coat was barely visible under the armor but she made out the color easily.

"Do you know how to fire a gun?!" The unicorn shouted over the gun blasts and the now crazy laughing raiders. Shimmer blinked a few times confused and the unicorn simply asked again, more insistent this time, "DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SHOOT A GUN!?"

Shimmer nodded her head, "My husband taught me-"

"Good! Here!" She said opening her pack and presented a pistol towards her. This one was formed so it'd be able to fire by using ones mouth. Shimmer looked at it, at the unicorn, then back at it again. It wasn't until another bullet firmly seated itself in the metal next to her face did she get the hint.

She quickly took the pistol into her mouth, awkwardly at first but finally got it seated. The unicorn nodded once as she reloaded her own pistols. "Look I don't have much ammo so we've got to make these shots count." she said sliding one new magazine into one with her telekinesis. Shimmer nodded as she slowly poked her head up above the pod, instantly attracting the attention of the raiders who quickly opened fire. The Unicorn reacted in time to pull Shimmer back down before her head was blown off.

"For fucks sake! Are you TRYING to get yourself killed?!" she shouted at Shimmer as more bullets impacted the pods base. Shimmer simply replied with a scowl and looked immensely pissed. "Ugh look, just follow my lead okay? I got most of them. There's about five left but these three are the biggest threat. The other two are still at the elevator." She loaded another magazine into the second pistol and quickly sliding forward the slides, two rounds being chambered respectively. She slowly crawled on her belly looking around the corner of the pod. She grinned as she found her target, a hoof.

She fired a single round and the bullet tore through the air at supersonic speeds and lodged itself in the far wall. But of course, not before it had passed through the hoof of the raider she was aiming at. With a howl the raider dropped and grasped at his hoof.

"Fucking bitch! You shot my hoof! AGH!" The raider cried out loudly. The unicorn chuckled and Shimmer just blinked in horror. "Get those fuckers!" The injured raider screamed loudly as he pointed a hoof in their direction.

The unicorn quickly rolled back around, "Shit! Here they come!" And sure enough the other two began running right at them. One was blasting away with a pistol in her teeth, the other a shotgun levitating a foot away from him. Bullets and buckshot clanged into the pods base, sending metal and shards everywhere.

Shimmer poked her head out and looked at the nearest charging pony. Something clicked and a moment later, time literally began to slow for her. Shimmer looked down to see the Unicorn slowly pulling a hoof away from the Pip-Buck, she pressed something. Shimmer looked up and saw the Raider running slowly and several bars appeared in front of her. HOW they got there, she couldn't explain but she SOMEHOW knew what to do. She targeted a foreleg and a torso of the nearest pony and instinctively she began to fire. Time slowed as bullets tore from the muzzle of her pistol.

Three of the bullets made contact with the pony but the fourth missed completely. The pony fell with a loud thump and rag dolled towards a pod and stopped as her body became lifeless on impact. The second raider met a similar end when the unicorn quite literally dove from cover, firing bullets from both pistols. Many of the shots finding their target but some completely missed and lodged themselves in the far wall.

And just as quickly as it started, it was over. The raiders were either dead or dying, all except for the one still cursing about his hoof being shot. Shimmer dropped the pistol as she began moving towards him. Her natural instinct as a healer now kicking in she tried to approach him. But was greeted by a floating sawed off shotgun pointed directly at her face. Her ears drooped as she saw the inevitable coming. That was until a shot ran out and the unicorn raider's head exploded outwards towards his back. A shot from the two pistols behind her followed by the unicorn.

Shimmer looked back at the unicorn and attempted to speak, "I...I-I-I just-"

The unicorn didn't take too kindly to the stammering and swiftly slapped Shimmer in the face with a hoof. "Pull yourself together! There's two more out here and it's just you and me! We can talk about what happened later, let's go!" she said pushing Shimmer forward hard towards the door. Shimmer recovered and felt a bit more calm, despite her cheek being on fire but she moved towards the door. The unicorn quickly searched the pockets of the raiders and found more ammo for her pistols and some medical supplies. But she didn't stay there long.

She approached the nearby airlock door and pressed a button. The female computer voice began speaking again, "Warning! Occupant Leaving Stasis Room Prematurely. Vault Security to Stasis Room."

Annoyance was on the unicorns voice as she replied, "Oh shut the hell up will you? Ain't no one alive in here 'cept us for the love of Celestia!" She quickly galloped out of the room and Shimmer followed right after her. All the while thoughts danced around in Shimmer's head.

"I just killed two ponies and they tried to kill me! Am I a murderer? What will they do to me if they find out? Am I a bad pony now? I'm a healer! I could've done something to- OOF!" She slammed face first into the unicorns flank hard, not paying attention to where she was going.

The unicorn scowled as she turned around and faced Shimmer, "Watch it will you?! Goddesses! Why am I even trying to help you?! You're a damn Stable-Dweller! You're gonna get me killed!" she said harshly as she turned back around and looked down the long corridor. Right at the end stood two unicorn ponies. Both holding rifles in their telekinesis and keeping a determined watch of the corridor.

Shimmer took a moment to gulp nervously as she ducked down. The unicorn next to her sighing. "This is not going to be easy..." she muttered.

Shimmer's head snapped up as she then yanked the Unicorn down and looked her in the face and said, "What the hell is going on? And who are you?" she said quietly but VERY insistently.

The Unicorn sighed as she lowered her head, "We don't have time for-"

Shimmer quickly pushed the unicorn with a hoof, "Answers now or I am not moving from this spot." she said firmly as she glanced back down the corridor.

"Alright! Dammit fine!" The unicorn said quietly, "Just don't push me again! They might see!" She sighed as she looked down the corridor again, "I'm Blossom Rocket, though most ponies call me Rocket. And those are Raiders. This is Stable 45, where they LOVE to hunt the ponies that come out of stasis for fun and FOOD."

Shimmer blinked, "Did you say, FOOD?"

"Yeah dumbass, food. Meaning they kill you, rape you, and then eat you. And if you're LUCKY, in that order." Rocket hissed as reply. She looked up again, they hadn't moved. "Now, I'm here because I was told I could find some tech to sell. Well guess what? I fucking found something else and now I'm trying to save your Stable-Dwelling ass from raiders. Got enough information?"

"How long have I been down here?" Shimmer asked aloud without thinking.

Rocket blinked, "How the fuck would I know? I just know that this is their hunting ground from what I heard earlier from one of them." She looked around, "From the look of those pods, many of the ponies died a long time ago, some were recently released and eaten. So, you're the LAST survivor of Stable 45."

Shimmer shook her head, "No, that can't be. There were hundreds of survivors. Not all of them can be dead."

Rocket pointed a hoof to the room they had just left, "Hello! Did you not just see the butcher shop you just woke up in for fucks sake? You are the LAST one. Meaning YOU are what they're after, not me!"

Shimmer frowned, "Will you stop saying that word?"

"The fuck?" Rocket replied, "What word? And seriously?! At a time like this?!"

"That word!" Shimmer replied being as stupidly vague as ever.

Rocket took a moment to think, "You mean, 'Fuck' right?" Shimmer nodded and Rocket replied with a shake of her head, "You're kidding right?"

Shimmer's face simply sat there with as neutral of an expression as possible. Anyone looking at her could tell that she wasn't kidding.

"Good Goddesses...I save a Stable-Dweller and she happens to be a prude. My luck just DOESN'T run out does it?" Rocket asked upwards. As if Celestia was gonna actually hear her.

"My name is Shimmer Jubilee by the way, thanks for asking." Shimmer added with more annoyance than ever on her voice.

Rocket literally smashed a hoof into her face, "Really bad timing you got, don't you know that?"

The conversation was cut off abruptly at the sound of throats being cleared. Shimmer and Rocket both looked up and finally realized that during their moment of bickering they completely forgot about the two Raiders who were supposed to be guarding the elevator. They both looked at each other and then back up at the Raiders.

And then in unison, both shared a single word to appropriately sum up the situation, "Fuck."

Rocket quickly kicked her hind legs outwards, her hooves connecting with the Raiders hooves. Knocking them both off of their feet. Then at the same time, Shimmer and Rocket both drew weapons as the Raiders attempted to get to their hooves. With several loud bangs, both raiders died in a rain of gunfire from the two. With the raiders dead Shimmer and Rocket once again looked at each other, this time in disbelief.

Shimmer spoke first, "Is this...normal for you?"

"Killing raiders? Yep. Getting that lucky and killing them like that? Hell fucking no." she said still wrapping her head around what just happened. "Usually these idiots don't wait to shoot."

Shimmer looked down at their bodies, "Maybe they thought our conversation was funny and got bored?" She offered not even believing that explanation herself. Rocket just shook her head in reply.

"Look, lets just get some stuff off of them and get the hell out of here. I don't like this place." Rocket said as she began to pick over the raiders corpse. Pulling a few boxes from his bags and placing them in hers. She then tossed a set of bags towards Shimmer. "There, your own saddlebags, put whatever crap you find in there. Just don't carry so much you'll be weighed down."

Shimmer looked at the blood stained bags and frowned but nodded and put them on none the less. Her Pip-Buck beeped a few times as the bags were placed on her body. She lifted the Pip-Buck and looked at the Inventory Screen. Reading the different tabs she finally reached the bottom and noticed the numbers 10/130 lbs. She then noticed that some of the weight was from the few items in the bags. Apple Whiskey, Sparkle-Cola x2, and Rad-away x3. She withdrew the whiskey and threw it to the side, losing 2 lbs from the tracker. She then moved to the raider nearest to her and began picking through his bags.

She grabbed a few more bullets for the pistol she was given. Enough to fill two magazines. And some more Rad-away and bandages. She then looked back at the Whiskey and put it back in her bag. She smiled, she could use the whiskey as a sterilizing agent if she needed to patch herself up. Shimmer looked up at Rocket who was watching her.

"All set?" Rocket asked as she moved away from the Raiders body. Shimmer nodded as she began to follow Rocket.

Shimmer looked at the giant elevator and the control panel in front of it. "So um thank you." she started as Rocket looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "For saving me." Shimmer added with a smile.

"You're welcome. Just...try not to get killed okay? The Wasteland isn't exactly what I'd call...as friendly as I am." she said as she slammed a hoof on the control panel. Lights and alarms began sounding as a very loud and very rusty elevator began lowering down.

Shimmer then blinked and thought to herself, "Wasteland? Rusty elevator? Just what has happened? How long was I out?" The questions kept coming even as she stepped onto the elevator and it began to ascend upwards. Unknowing that her fate and that of Rocket's as the lift reached the surface.

Chapter 2: The Things We Leave Behind

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As the spacious elevator neared the surface the heavy, rust-coated blast doors slid open with a loud groan. Rays of bright sunlight bled into the space, almost instantly blinding Shimmer; she raised a hoof to shield her eyes and squinted, trying to adjust to the bright light. Rocket, stood at her side, gave a smirk at her reaction.

"Once we're above, we're going to have to find you something to eat. I can imagine you're starving," Rocket said, standing firm as the elevator came to a grinding halt. Cautiously, Shimmer lowered her foreleg and sighed in relief as the blinding effect disappeared. However, the sight that greeted her was one of ultimate despair; the land was an expanse of pure decay and destruction. There used to be thousands of beautiful trees; now there were only dead or dying specimens cut down in number to mere hundreds. Homes that once stood bright and beautiful suffered the same fate, destroyed or decayed beyond repair. And, far in the distance, the once beautiful castle of the Crystal Empire stood tall.

Even from this distance, Shimmer could see how much it had changed. It was a state; its once shining beauty was now replaced with a strange purple haze that expanded across the entire reflective surface.It was, in some ways, unrecognisable.

Shimmer collapsed as she stared on in horror. The last thing she remembered seeing was the giant fireball as the megaspell detonated. It made sense that the castle would be the target; the royal family lived there and to the Zebra, no matter how neutral, the enemy had to be destroyed. But never in her mind did she think she would live to see this.

Rocket looked back at her and blinked, taking a moment before understanding Shimmer’s shock. "Oh, right, you've never been up here." Rocket took a few steps back towards her and sat down carefully at her side. "Best get used to it; this is what the whole Wasteland looks like."

"It used to be so beautiful," Shimmer whispered as she looked down the hill, her gaze landing on her old home. "I lived just down there..." She pointed a hoof at a small, faded pink house. Rocket merely blinked.

"You're shitting me. right?"

Shimmer shook her head as tears actually began to flow down her face. "I was making breakfast when the Mega-spell went off. It was chaos." Her voice cracking, she let the tears fall freely. "I can't believe it's gone… Everything is gone."

Rocket took a step backwards, frowning. "Yeah,look.This ain't gonna be easy to swallow. But..." She inhaled deeply as she looked at the castle in the distance. "That was 200 years ago, honey."

Shimmer's eyes shot open instantly as she looked up slowly at Rocket. "What?"

Rocket nodded a few times. "Yeah, the war ended almost 200 years ago. The Zebras won… I guess. There's probably less than a half a million ponies left in all of Equestria now. And that's after 200 years of rebuilding and more stupid-ass war." She scowled at her own words. "Enclave, Steel Rangers, Raiders, Slavers; no matter how much time passes, there's always going to be war. Because war..." She sighed loudly, "War never changes."

Shimmer sighed loudly as she wiped her face with a hoof. "How did anypony survive? I know the Stables helped, but-"

A loud snort cut her off. "The Stables were a joke. It saved the 'select few' from their fate—for a time." She pointed in the direction the sun was coming up from—or at least what they could make out of it. Dark grey clouds filled the skies, obscuring most of the light. "But even beneath the surface, Stables continued to fail, one after another. Only a small number actually worked. Even less had ponies inside them who actually turned out sane..."

Shimmer slowly pushed off the ground as she stared at the castle once again, "What happened to them?"

Rocket simply shook her head, "That's for another time. For now, we need to get going. We're in Raider territory and we're likely to be shot—or worse," Rocket said, rising to her hooves and drifting one of the pistols closer to her face and inspecting it. It looked like it was put together from every type of scrap she could get her hooves on. Fancy was definitely not the word to be applied, but she lowered it into a holster on her hind leg all the same.

"I need to go to my old house; there's something important there I need," Shimmer said as she moved forward towards the edge of the hill, looking down at the place she called home once. It was incredible that so many remained standing—but most of those were so run down, even rodents could hardly make a life there.

Rocket scoffed as she looked down, "Forget it honey, that's the raiders’ camp. We go in there, we're dead. And whatever it is you need? Probably long gone by now."

Shimmer frowned as she squinted, trying to see if anypony was actually down there. It was next to impossible with the near-impenetrable darkness, but she could make out several burning lamps and maybe a campfire or two. There weren't any ponies she could actually see, though. She frowned hard as she stared at her old house. It had to still be there—and so she nodded firmly, turning around and simply marching down the hill.

"And just where the hell are you going?" Rocket asked as she turned to follow Shimmer.

Shimmer looked over her shoulder, pausing in mid stride and looking back with a smile."I'm going home."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Going Home" was definitely one of the most insane ideas Rocket had ever heard. Why was she even helping this pony? "She's nuts and a Stable-Dweller none the less! Just what in the hell is she doing?! She's gonna get us killed!" Rocket thought to herself as Shimmer ducked down, avoiding a wall of gunfire.

The raiders had spotted them charging down the hill a long while ago and had laughed. A Stable-dweller and a unicorn with dual pistols; they posed little challenge or threat. That was until Rocket decided to shoot two of them in face, leaving the rear entry guards dead in an instant. This, of course, didn't sit well with the raiders—and then the bullets began to fly.

"Stupid idea! REALLY stupid idea!" she shouted as bullets smashed against the old sheet metal fence she hid behind. She attempted to poke her head around the corner and get a look at the Raiders’ positions but quickly pulled back as even more bullets whizzed past.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Shimmer shouted back at Rocket as an enemy grenade exploded. Shrapnel and dirt filled the air where Shimmer’s cover had been and she gasped, bolting—and winding up right in the path of the Raiders. Laughing they wasted no time in opening fire on the mare. Bullets flew all around and she gasped, ducking and weaving and, somehow, scraping by with only a few wounds. They ripped holes through her Stable-Tec jumpsuit, leaving superficial scrapes on her skin.

"S.A.T.S.! Use S.A.T.S.!"

Acting immediately, Shimmer looked straight ahead and somehow, the Pip-Buck knew what she wanted to do. As time slowed, Shimmer watched as the Raiders became highlighted and specific body parts glowed in her vision. Just as she did in the Stable, she picked her targets.

Then time began to move a bit faster for her and the pistol she was given discharged four shots. They tore through the Raiders’ limbs and both ponies collapsed to the ground, alive but undeniably crippled. Without medicine they were both doomed to bleed out right there. Shimmer glanced at them both sympathetically and shook her head; she would come back for them later.

That was if Rocket hadn't just turned both of their heads into a mutilated mess of meat and blood.

Shimmer snapped her head back at her companion, displeasure pasted clearly across her face. Rocket only frowned in confusion, never getting the chance to question the issue.

Two more Raiders, wearing only bolt action rifles, emerged from a house across the street. Both were laughing maniacally as a third stepped out, shouting in what could only be called feral rage. If the sight of them wasn’t terrifying enough, the last Raider, howling as he took aim, was equipped with a rocket launcher to boot.

"Move!" was all Rocket managed to cry as she dove to cover. Shimmer, however, was so stunned that the message didn't even register in her head, not until it was nearly too late. The mad Raider fired and a missile the size of a pony burst forward. Shimmer stood rooted to her spot as it drew nearer and nearer. It was only at the last second that she dove sideways. As she leaped, the blast from the missile threw her several feet from her intended landing spot.

The world around Shimmer spun as her ears rung. Time also seemed to slow slightly as she pushed off the ground, her body littered with cuts and her coat peppered with dirt and shrapnel.

She turned slowly and looked back at her attacker. He laughed as he magically reloaded a second missile into the launcher. This time, she wasted no time in turning and galloping away.

The Raiders just laughed at Shimmer’s display, leaving Rocket unattended. Grinning, she yelled as loudly as she could, "Hey! Stupidass! Forget about me?" The Raiders turned just in time to see her pulling the triggers of her dual pistols. One of the two was caught right between the eyes; the second made the mistake of jumping rather than ducking. The bullet whizzed through the air and planted itself firmly inside of his flesh. He collapsed to the ground, hooves pressing tightly against his lower half as he howled in pain.

"Bitch! Shot my balls! My fucking balls!"

Rocket laughed at the spectacle, the Raider starting to crawl away. Her amusement then ended when she looked at the missile carrying Raider who caught wind of his companion’s cries. He actually laughed himself at the sight but even so, began to take aim at Rocket. She blinked a few times before realizing what was going on "Right. Bazooka. Shit."

The missile packing Raider pulled the trigger, a grin on his face. Rocket leaped just in time for it to blast past where she was originally standing and the resulting explosion tore apart a large pile of metal and shingles that used to be a house. The Raider howled in anger as Rocket opened fire, her bullets pinging off of his homemade armor with each shot.

"Are you KIDDING me?!" Rocket shouted as she ducked between the wreckage of two other houses. But, as the Raider and Rocket traded blows, Shimmer was left lying on her side next to her old house. She shook her head as she slowly got to her hooves, groaning quietly, her back left leg feeling like it was ready to fall off. Something was definitely wrong, but she couldn't place it now; she didn't have time.

Looking up, Shimmer watched as the remaining Raider reloaded once more, then noticing the pistol she was given. It wasn't going to make a dent against his armor; there was simply too much plating between bullet and body.

Picking the pistol up slowly, she looked about, noticing a half bottle of whiskey. Then noticed one of the dead Raiders had torn his clothing, what little there was of it. “Whiskey burns…” She muttered to herself as if suddenly a light went off in her head. She took the bottle of whiskey and quickly tore a piece of cloth off the Raider. Stuffing it down hard into the sloshing liquid.

The Raider closed in on Rocket, sneering and chuckling evilly as her pistols clicked empty. The small alley between houses suddenly coming to a dead end, blocked by debris. As he stepped closer slowly, with a slight lisp and a very raspy voice, he taunted her. "Little pony trapped. Little pony go boom!" he roared as he lifted the launcher and prepared to pull the trigger.

With wide eyes Rocket attempted to push the debris with her back hooves, giving the pile a quick buck—but nothing moved. She then stared in sheer horror as the end drew nearer, the Raider coming closer.

Quickly limping to the alley that the Raider had disappeared down, Shimmer prepared her new weapon. The lighter held in her mouth, she barely maintained her grip on the bottle of whiskey.

Shimmer arrived in time to see Rocket being backed even further into a corner, the Raider stalking toward her. She frowned and sat down on her haunches.Then holding the bottle up to her mouth,she flicked the lighter multiple times until the rag finally lit. Then, with all the strength she gathered, she used both of her front hooves to send the bottle flying through the air.

It smashed directly on top of the Raider’s back, his entire body going up in flame. He dropped the launcher almost instantly. The burning liquid perforated the small cracks in his armor, the flames spreading like wildfire as it covered his entire body.

He howled in pain, the flames’ intensity only growing. His skin began to melt away as he screamed, swears rushing from his mouth as he burned . He then spun on his hooves, galloping away.

Rocket stood rooted to the spot. Shock and awe had definitely set in as she watched the Raider turning away, desperately trying to put out the flames but to no avail. Shimmer could only watch in horror as they slowly succumbed to the flames, gurgling as he was burned alive. If the sounds he was making wasn't sickening, the smell that was coming from him made it all the worse.

After what felt like a lifetime, Rocket finally shook her head and pushed herself up to her hooves. She walked out from between the houses in time to watch Shimmer unload yet another load of purple from her stomach. Whatever she was hooked up to was still inside her, despite taking the antidote.

"You okay?" Rocket asked as she got closer, scrunching up her face as Shimmer unloaded yet another blast of purple goo. "That stuff is nasty, Shimmer. The hell is it?"

"You're asking me?" Shimmer bit back as she spat a few times, small bits of purple landing in front with each glob.

Rocket sighed, looking uncertainly down at the purple substance., "If that keeps up, we're gonna need to get you looked at..."

Shimmer nodded slowly as she looked down at her old house, wiping her mouth with a grubby hoof. "Are there any more around?" She looked over to Rocket nervously. To Shimmer, it was only yesterday that she was last up here.It had been a summer day and she had planned to do some gardening.

But now, all the bright and vibrant colors of the village were gone. Even the once brightly paved road looked faded, as if all the color from the world was disappearing. The only bright color nearby was that of Rocket and her purple coat, the four raiders and the purple vomit she had just expelled onto the ground.

The sight didn't fill her with too much confidence as Rocket looked around. "I dunno honey. Why don't you use your Pip-Buck? I think it has a radar thing that shows you where ponies and threats are." She pointed with a hoof. "At least that's what I read."

Shimmer looked down at her Pip-Buck and blinked. Could it really do that? She lowered herself onto her haunches and raised her hoof, glancing over her Pip-Buck until she found a small switch. As if magic filled her entire body she felt and saw something change inside her. She blinked a few times as then in her eyes she saw a small compass pop up. A small icon of a town appeared directly in front of her. A word popped up above the compass that read, "Trottingdale Village" and then it slowly disappeared from view.

She raised a hoof to swipe at what she saw but blinked, surprised to find that she simply couldn't touch what she was seeing. "What else could this thing do?" she thought to herself as she turned her head all around. The compass didn't show anything other than a yellow dot in the same direction Rocket was standing. Intrigued, she pushed herself up to her hooves and began to walk towards the now puzzled mare. Shimmer looked beside herself as she noticed the compass moving with Rocket's form. So it was a radar of sorts; it tracked where ponies were and weren't. And that gave her the confidence she needed.

"Okay, we're alone in the village. Let's go," she said as she turned towards her old house.

"Look honey, as much as I want to I'd rather look through the stuff the raiders had. Whatever you need to do, go do it, I'll be out here." She gave Shimmer a smile. "We've got different priorities, you and I. And I don't even know if I'm gonna stay."

Shimmer looked hurt. "What? Why not?"

Rocket frowned, rolling her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You just charged in here head first. Without thinking. I almost died. You're not safe to be around."

Shimmer frowned right back. "So just like that, you're going to leave?" she asked, her anger rising. "You saved me and now you're leaving because I acted on impulse? What exactly were you doing when you found me?"

"A job. I was told the Stable might have stuff I could sell for a lot of caps," Rocket replied flatly. "I wasn't sent in there to rescue anypony. I needed help getting out of there and you were the only one still alive."

"Otherwise I'd still be in stasis, is that it?"

Rocket shrugged. "Or killed by raiders chasing their next victim." Rocket sighed as she slowly moved to the mare’s side. "The Wasteland isn't a friendly place Shimmer. You better learn that quickly and learn to be safer. Otherwise you're gonna get yourself killed sooner than later. But I don't want to end up dead, you understand?"

Shimmer collapsed onto her rear as her ears drooped. Rocket was a bit beside herself with that. Most ponies would have simply told her to piss off and take her business elsewhere—or that she was completely wrong. But Shimmer? She looked hurt and upset.

Rocket sighed as she looked around. This was Shimmer’s home at one point, and it's gone and things changed on her. She couldn't really relate but something inside Rocket broke.

With a very loud sigh, she muttered, "I must be outta my gourd." She then inhaled deeply, looking at Shimmer firmly. "Look, I'll stick around. For a little while. Help you get on your feet. But after that? We'll just have to see."

Shimmer slowly raised her head as she looked at Rocket. "You mean it?"

Rocket shrugged. "I kill Raiders and I rob tombs. But I've never left a decent pony on his or her own to die. Not yet, anyway. So I'll teach you a few things."

Shimmer launched herself off of her haunches and wrapped both her forelegs around Rocket’s neck, holding tightly. Rocket looked terribly uncomfortable at the sudden hug but she soon sighed, instead gently patting Shimmer’s back.

"So... What was so important that we almost got killed?" Rocket asked, breaking the silence.

Shimmer let her go and blinked, then smiling brightly. "Oh! I almost forgot! Thank you!" she said, releasing Rocket and turning on her hooves as she galloped back towards her old home. Moving through the small yard to the side and to the back, she approached a cellar door. The lock—surprisingly—was still unbroken.

Rocket followed behind slowly as she looked at the lock. "A cellar? What in the Goddesses could you want in there?"

"Can you break the lock? I don't think the key is still in the house..." Shimmer asked, pointing.

Rocket shrugged. "Well I could pick the lock, but it'd be easier to do this," she said, drawing one of the pistols in her magic and loading a magazine. Shimmer's eyes went wide as Rocket shot the lock clean off the cellar doors.

Shimmer shook her head as she hooked her hooves around the handles. "You know, you frighten me," she said, pulling them open with a groan. Instantly dust filled the air.

Shimmer sighed as she took a few steps down inside, the dark room having three inches of dust coating everything. Hoof prints followed her every step as she moved further inside the cellar. It hadn't been touched; in two hundred years it hadn't even been opened. To her left a small workbench sat undisturbed. Old tools littered the surface, easily used by both Earth and Unicorn ponies for working on simple projects.

Shimmer smiled as stepped over towards it. Examining the tools she found herself staring at an unfinished project. The parts to a bird feeder and a small birdhouse remained on the bench. She ran a hoof along the edge of the bench and smiled, despite her eyes being watery at the sight. The cellar had belonged to her husband and he used to work down here as often as he could. Building things. Making their lives easier with everything that he made, from simple chairs to a birdhouse.

"Can't believe raiders didn't get in here. Usually they see a lock and destroy it right away," Rocket said, shaking Shimmer out of her memory lane trip. "Still though, it's REALLY dusty down here. What're you looking for anyway?"

"My husband told me that, if I ever was in trouble, I should open his old safe." Shimmer replied as she moved to the opposite side of the room. And, sure enough, a large green case sat undisturbed.

Rocket blinked in shock, her eyes widening. "You had a husband in there?!" she asked, eyes wide.

"What? Oh, no—he died a long time ago."

Rocket let out a relieved sigh as she moved to follow Shimmer to the safe. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." Shimmer just shrugged in reply as she brushed a hoof across the dusty surface of the green case. Rocket bit her lip for a moment as she waited then finally asking, "Any idea what he left for you then?"

Shimmer shook her head, "No, but I remember him saying it could help." She looked around and found the small turn dial for the safe lock. She frowned as she tried to remember the combination. She turned the dial to left first, then the right, and finally back to the left. For a second, nothing happened—and then Rocket jumped as the safe made a loud thunk, the ancient tumblers beginning to unlock.

The seal was good; when the safe actually opened it popped with a hiss. Shimmer lifted her left hoof and pulled on the door, opening it up completely. Inside, to her surprise, was something that she never thought possible; a completely intact suit of Power Armor. Taped to the chest plate of the armor was a note with her name written in bright red ink.

Rocket felt her hind legs fall out from under her. "Is...that..." she attempted in disbelief as she stared at the armor. It was completely undamaged. Even the dust hadn't touched it; it still had its pre-war shine.

Shimmer tore the note off of the chest plate and began to read.

"My Dearest Shimmer,

If you're reading this note then I guess you’re in trouble and took my advice. First, I just want to say that you're everything to me and it took some doing but I finally got Ms. Applejack to approve this. The Power Armor you see before you is one of a kind. It's suited to fit you and you alone anypony else that tries to use it won’t be able to. I can't explain how, but it just works."

Shimmer's hooves began to shake as she kept reading the note. Rocket, meanwhile, frowned—but only for a moment. It was Power Armor; everypony wanted Power Armor. They could do so much good or so much bad. Aside from that, it kept a pony safe from a lotin the Wasteland. She felt a twinge of jealousy but as Shimmer read, she relaxed a little. Specialized Power Armor was even more rare and sadly, usable by only one pony.

"If anypony else tries using the power armor, the spark core will detonate, destroying the armor and the pony trying to use it. So don't lose it! I've left behind something else, too. Look in the side compartment next to the chest plate."

Shimmer looked to the right and saw a small drawer. She pulled it open with her teeth as she held the note in her hooves. Inside laid three unused spark cores. A goldmine in caps if sold to the right bidder. Rocket just stared in awe at the treasure trove.

"It's all Ms. Applejack could spare. And seeing as most of the effort today seems to be going to Stable-Tec, this is probably one of the last suits of power armor made. So take care of it. I know you can do that. I love you my dearest. And when you wear the armor, think of me hugging you tight.

Your loving husband,

Blue Angel

Shimmer read the note once again to herself and then hugged it close to her chest. Tear upon tear streamed down her face as she wept. The last words she'd ever read from her husband; he only thought of her and her safety—even to the end he thought of her.

Rocket looked at her somewhat awkwardly. This 200 year old Stable-Dweller was literally crying in front of her. In the middle of the wasteland. Inside an old house with an old cellar. But in front of her a brand new set of Power Armor. How could she be crying?

"I love you too, Angel. Thank you," Shimmer whispered quietly as she slowly ceased her crying, putting the note into her pack. Looking up at the armor, she then sniffled and looked back at Rocket. "So, any advice for Power Armor?"

Chapter 3: Explosive Trio

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“Are you absolutely nuts?!” Rocket cried as a bullet whizzed past her head. Shimmer struggled to stay upright in the Power Armor. Rocket, frowning, pushed herself off of the ground, marching over before she pressed the rear release.

The Power Armor snapped open with a hiss and Shimmer tumbled out with a thud. Rocket circled the power armor, glaring at it and looking it over. “Power Armor is supposed to stabilize your ability to shoot straight! You've almost shot me… TWICE!”

“I'm not exactly trained to wear Power Armor!” Shimmer replied, pushing herself up. “I was a healer pony! I dealt with sick fillies and colts! I didn’t go around blowing up the nearest pony I could find!”

Rocket frowned again, ignoring Shimmer’s complaints.“There's gotta be something wrong with it.” She pushed her head inside the armor’s helmet. “Even an untrained and half brain cooked Raider can drive these things!”

Shimmer raised her front hooves over her head and waved them around. “I don't even know why I'm even trying the stupid thing on! I only have three Spark Batteries, using them is a waste!” She groaned and fell flat on her chest as she covered her head with her forelegs.

Rocket huffed as she plonked herself down on her rump,crossing her forehooves. “Good Goddesses, are all Stable Ponies as whiney as you?” Shimmer replied with a whimper under her forelegs. “What’d you say? I can’t hear you under the self-pity.”

“I said, it’s useless. I don’t...I don’t think it was meant for combat.” She spoke slowly, blinking and raising herself up to her hooves. She moved towards the Power Armor and looked it over.

An eyebrow raised on Rockets face as she looked back at the armor. After a moment, her face lit up slightly. “You know... I believe… hang on a sec…”

Shimmer looked out from behind the armor and blinked. Rocket quickly pulled out a knife from her pack and bit her lip as she used her magic to draw a simple line across her side. Blood seeped from the wound instantly.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Shimmer cried as she quickly moved to Rockets side.

Rocket shook her head rapidly. “No, I’m testing an idea! Get in the armor.”

“What?”

“Just get in the damn armor and power it up! Don’t ask questions!” Rocket winced as she placed a rag against the wound. It wasn’t fatal, but it was definitely bleeding profoundly. The grey asphalt soon turned a dark crimson.

Shimmer’s frown covered her entire face as she climbed into the armor. The suit closed with a hiss as the seals clicked shut. A moment later, the spark energy kicked on and Shimmers’ Eyes Forward Sparkle engaged. A small purple screen displayed her direction, weight, radiation intake, and other information.

Rocket looked up at the armor as it powered up. Steam hissed from several ports as it closed and Shimmer took a step forward. Her form was completely hidden by the armor, a true one of a kind fit—most armor sets she had seen in the Wasteland had parts missing.

“Okay,” Shimmer said,the armor making her voice sound more mechanical. She turned her head looked down at Rocket. “Now-what the heck?” On the display she could see a red glow around Rocket’s side. As she focused a display popped up with scrolling letters that glowed a shade of violet.

Attention: Pony in Distress…

Injury Detected…

Superficial…

Recommended Treatment: Antiseptic and Bandage, change daily…

Alternative Treatment: Hydra

WARNING! Alternative Treatment Not Recommended

Rocket frowned as Shimmer fell silent. “Well? Anything?”

“I think...I think you’re right! I can see your injury glowing red! There’s a treatment list and everything!” Excitement coated her tone as she continued to read. “I can see every injury you’ve sustained in the past week! They’re glowing yellow. It looks like immediate triage is glowing in red.”

Rocket smirked at the giddiness seeping from Shimmer, despite her mechanical voice. “Well that’s fine and dandy. Now, can it help?” she asked as she lifted her hoof, the blood still leaking from her side.

As if on cue the armor began reorganizing Shimmer’s inventory. Several items appeared in front of her screen as she was shown different combinations of medical supplies and treatments for Rocket’s wound. Stepping forward with a treatment selected, the armor produced the supplies. How it did was beyond either of them; all they knew was that a bandage was being produced from Shimmer’s left hoof.

The Doctor in Shimmer kicked in as she began to clean the wound. Blood coated the bandage as she then began to wrap the bandage around Rocket. “This is incredible! The armor has to be designed for enhanced Medical analysis and treatment!”

A scoff escaped Rockets lips as she stood once the bandage was applied. “Seems like a complete waste of Power Armor to me.” she said shaking her mane a few times. “If you can’t use it for combat, why use it at all?”

Shimmer’s eye raised in annoyance. “You mean, like keeping soldier ponies alive when they need medicine the most? Like fixing bullet wounds?”

Rocket paused and rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah...didn’t think about that…” A nervous smile creeped up on her face. “So...a non-combatant set of Power Armor? To keep the medic alive during combat situations?”

The Power Armor popped and hissed once again and Shimmer stepped out. “Right, which means that I’m not going to waste it.” She placed a hoof on the rear plating of the armor. “It’s a gift and I don’t want to spoil it. We’ve been practicing and I’ve almost completely burned out the first Spark Battery.” Lowering her hoof she shook her head as she looked at Rocket. “Help me put it away?”

Replying with a nod several times her horn lit up, the armor levitating with ease. “To the safe?”

“I’ll be sure to engage the lock once again. Don’t want anypony getting their hooks into it.” Shimmer replied with a small giggle, “Then again, they probably couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with it. I certainly couldn’t.”

Rocket smirked as she descended downward into the cellar. Shimmer smiled and turned, her eyes gazing up towards the sky. Despite much of the sky being covered in perpetual grey, the small bursts of sunlight made her smile. The world around her may have turned to ash, but even now, there were signs of life.

Her gazed moved downwards towards the castle in the distance. Despite the purple haze, it was still beautiful. The skyward climbing center tower still stood, though it appeared the top half had begun to collapse in the recent years. The smaller towers surrounding its base however, remained tall and proud.

The ground around the great towers however, was an absolute wreck. Homes collapsed, some completely blown away, and others remained untouched. Even though the distance was far, the view from the hilltop was enough to see the overall destruction that was caused by the Megaspell.

“So much’s gone…” Shimmer muttered as her gaze swept across her old home. Surprisingly some of the old homes were still intact. Hers was probably one of the few that could stand up to the test of time for a few more years. Others looked as if a single touch of a hoof would bring them down in a heartbeat.

BLAM!

Her gaze snapped up as a small explosion filled the air. Not far in the distance a bright orange fireball filled up a street. The hurled body of another pony appeared mere seconds before the fireball, landing nearby on a wrecked skywagon.

“Rocket, get up here!” Shimmer shouted as she drew her pistol.

BLAM!

Another explosion rocked the street, catapulting small pebbles even as far as Shimmer was as she ducked behind the porch. She looked over the small deck as she watched the pony who was previously thrown across the street began galloping, though with a noticeable limp.

Rocket came up behind her, skidding to a stop as she drew both of her pistols from their holsters. “What’s going on? That sounded like-”

BLAM!

A third explosion filled the air. The pony from before was thrown into the air again, sent tumbling down the asphalt and stopping as he smashed against the house across the street. Rocket and Shimmer peered over the deck and groaned.

At the end of the street, a unicorn Raider stood. Strapped to his body were several long red sticks. Lighting the end of one with a fire spell, he held it in his magic before hurling it away, grinning.

The red stick tumbled through the air as it landed short of the wounded pony. He barely managed to get to his hooves and move away behind the building before a fourth explosion filled the air. He panted, glancing down. Several large pieces of shrapnel had lodged themselves into the flesh of his flank and upper leg.

Shimmer and Rocket watched in horror as the Raider kept approaching.

“Goddamn Raiders,” Rocket hissed through her teeth.

“Yeah but it looks like it’s just the one,” Shimmer pointed out as she looked over the deck once again at him. “How good is your aim?”
“My aim? I can shoot anything up to-”

“I meant with your magic. Can you catch something if it’s thrown?” Shimmer quickly added as she looked again. He was getting closer; any closer and he’d be right on top of them.

Rocket blinked multiple times as she looked at the Raider. “I can catch just- Oh no! No way! Not a good idea!” she said as her pupils went wide, “You aren’t suggesting what I think you’re suggesting are you?”

Shimmer snapped her head back at her, “You have a better idea? Just catch the stick and throw it back, how hard could it be?”

“We’re all gonna die…”

“Then we’ll be dying trying to save somepony. And ourselves, if we succeed.” Shimmer replied as she pointed at the pony hiding across the street. She waved a hoof franticly as she attempted to get his attention.

The stallion looked up and blinked at the purple pony waving her hoof like an idiot. As he began to rise, though, Shimmer shook her head rapidly then slowly moved her hoof downwards towards the ground. He looked around and slowly nodded, getting as close to the ground as possible.

Shimmer inhaled sharply as she ducked out of cover. “Hey! Ugly!”

The Raider, in turn, roared loudly, another stick lifting from his belt. Shimmer took a long gulp as she went wide eyed herself. She turned on her hooves and began careening away.

“You die pony!” the Raider taunted as he threw the stick. Rocket watched as the red projectile sailed through the air, focusing her magic as she gritted her teeth.

And she missed.
The stick tumbled through the air, landing a few feet away from Shimmer. It exploded moments later, hurling Shimmer from her hooves and through a broken window of a home stood nearby.

The impact knocked the wind from her chest as she pushed herself up. “Okay...let’s not do that again…” she muttered to herself, lamely galloping outside once again. The Raider laughed in his rage.

“Pony go boom! Pony die!” he screamed as he lit another stick. Rocket frowned as she looked down the road as Shimmer turned on her hooves. Her pistol raised in her mouth as she began firing.

She was well out of range; the bullets simply pinged off of his scavenged armor. However, it was distraction enough. Rocket stepped out from behind the porch, both pistols hovering in front of her as she took aim at the Raider.

She pulled the triggers and two rounds flew from the barrels, turning the Raider’s head into a gory pile of jelly. His body slumped immediately, blood pooling around the stub that was previously his head.

Rocket smirked as she lowered the pistols. She looked up at Shimmer and pointed at the Raider, shouting, “Look Ma! No face!”

Shimmer blinked multiple times as she looked at Rocket, then the body, then back to the mare again. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Say’s the one who just got blown the hell up and thrown through a window!”

“Says the one who broke into a Stable and-”

The stallion cleared his throat as he approached Shimmer and Rocket. “While your post-kill banter is very entertaining, I’m gonna interrupt. I want to say thank you.” He tipped his hat with a hoof.

Rocket turned to face him, “Oh. I almost forgot you were here,” she said, brushing off a splatter of blood that had landed on her armor.

Shimmer gave a sideways scowl at Rocket. “You’re welcome. Why was he after you?”

“He’s a Raider. They don’t really have much of an agenda other than kill and eat and rape.” He shrugged. “He probably wanted something to eat. Or worse Either way, when he didn’t get what he wanted… Well, I ended up learning how to fly more than once.” He gave a small chuckle.

Shimmer looked up as a piece of brown wood poked out from her mane. Her hoof lifted and began pushing the shards of debris away as she replied, “Well I’m glad we could help you get away.” She frowned as she continued to push debris from her mane, “Those Raiders are murder on my mane.”

Rocket and the stallion blinked and stared at her. “Murder...on your...mane?” Rocket said with a horrible smirk.

Shimmer stopped mid-stroke of her mane and blinked multiple times. Her face twisted into horrible guilt as she waved both hooves in front of her, “That came out wrong!”

Rocket’s smirk only grew larger as she shook her head. “You almost get blown up and you’re worried about your mane?” Her shoulders began to raise and lower as she giggled.

The stallion placed a hoof on his face. “Boy, if that’s all you're worried about, I must be in safe company.” A smile graced his face as he lowered his hoof and gave a small bow. “My name is Zephyr, I’m a trader and armorer, though my shop nearby was hit hard by Raiders. I’ve been on the run since.”

Rocket looked at him and then his cutie mark, a sign with a needle and thread drawn on it. She looked back at his face as he came out of his bow. His eyes carried the weight of nearly fifty years, but his face barely read twenty.

Shimmer sat down on her haunches and rubbed a hoof against her chin. “Well… how close are they?”

“Shimmer...what’re you on about?” Rocket asked as worry creeped up on her voice.

She turned to face Rocket, “We should help.”

Rockets face scrunched into a frown, “No! No way! I’m done being shot at by Raiders for one day!”

“Rocket that’s-”

“Quite alright.” Zephyr interrupted as he put up a hoof. “That was actually the last one. The rest met...unfortunate ends as they chased me.” His hoof then went to the back of his neck “I may or may not have lead them into a house full of mines…”

Shimmer and Rocket looked at him, blinking. “You what?”
He laughed, “I may have already put the mines there… And just remembered that they were there… Well, you get the picture.”

The girls blinked multiple times once again. “Damn.” They said in harmony, then turning to each other and smiling.

Zephyr began to chuckle, “Well now, if that isn’t something I don’t see enough of these days. You’re clearly friends.”

Rocket’s eyebrow raised even further. “Uh, yeah. I only just met her yesterday.”

Shimmer nodded, “She’s right. I was in Stable 45 until she rescued me; I haven’t met anypony yet.”

“Well, it certainly seems as if you’re both really good friends. My apologies. I hate to ask, but do you ponies live here?”

“She used to.” Rocket said pointing a hoof at Shimmer, who really looked as if she was about to run away.

“Used to?” He looked around several times, “She wasn’t a Raider was she? This is a bit… run down to say the least.”

Shimmer hung her head, “It was before the war.”

It was Zephyr’s turn to look confused. He pointed a hoof and Rocket replied with a nod. He began to scratch his head.

“When the bombs fell, Stable-Tec froze us in some sort of stasis.” Shimmer said as she lifted her head. “I’m still throwing up some of the stuff they were pumping into us.”

Rockets hoof shot out like a bullet and nearly pushed Shimmer’s muzzle inside her skull. “You throw up that purple shit again, I’m gonna make sure you can’t throw up again.”

Shimmer nodded rapidly as she clamped down on her nausea and forced it to stay down. The sensation burned her throat but she kept it in. There was definitely something wrong with how she was woken up. Why her stomach kept making the strange liquid was beyond her.

Zephyr looked on her with sympathy. “Well, I’m no Doctor, but there’s a Fluttershy Medical Clinic not far from here.”

“I remember it, but I don’t think it was finished.” Shimmer replied with a thoughtful look on her face, “Though I DO remember there being a LOT of medical supplies in the Clinic’s basement.”

“There are?!” Rocket shouted in shock as she rose to her hooves rapidly, “The Clinic is used as a free-healing spot! But all they have are traded supplies brought in from Hoofington scavengers! How much is down there?!”

With each question Rocket closed the distance between her and Shimmer. Shimmer leaned backwards with each forward advance until Rocket’s nose nearly touched hers. Shimmer’s pupils were tiny as she stared into Rockets.eyes. The determination in them almost at frightening levels.

“Maybe half a dozen cases of varied medical supplies?” she stammered as she attempted to squirm backward away from Rocket.

“It’s a gold mine! Imagine how much we could get if we sold it!” Rocket shouted triumphantly as she kicked off the ground and did a somersault in the air. “We’re gonna be rich!”

Both Shimmer and Zephyr frowned at her display as she cheered.

“Or we could give it to the Clinic, which it rightfully belongs to?” Shimmer suggested as she crossed her arms. “You know, instead of stealing it.”

“Seriously? Just give it to the clinic? Without so much as a cap?” Rocket asked as she landed with a frown. “That’s not fair! We deserve SOMETHING for finding the stuff!”

“Well, while I partially agree with that, you will need to ask to keep a small portion for yourselves.” Zephyr added as he placed a hoof on Shimmers shoulder, “You would deserve at least a portion of it.”

“And why should I take what is not rightfully mine?” Shimmer asked with a frown.
“Because you’d be using it almost immediately afterward,” Zephyr said with a sympathetic smile. “While the Clinic itself is safe, there’s no idea how well the subsurface has fared. For all we know, it could still be irradiated, even after all these years. And even then, there’s no guarantee that the subsurface even survived. The Clinic is still there, certainly, but the ground beneath, no idea.”

Shimmer frowned; the idea of taking what wasn’t hers bothered her. But the clinic would need those supplies if it wanted to continue and not depend on scavengers coming from miles away. She rose to her hooves and began to slowly walk towards the body of the dead Raider. Even without his head, he still looked terrifying.

“Do the Raiders cause trouble for the Clinic?” Shimmer asked as she continued to look at the still form. The idea of killing wasn’t something she wanted to face again, but the world she knew was gone. All she could do now was try to help as many ponies as possible—and the clinic sounded like a good place to start.

“The Clinic provides a place of neutral ground. Raiders don’t attack the clinic but they don’t exactly approve of it either,” Zephyr commented as he stepped up behind her. “It’s an odd kind of... love and hate relationship. The Clinic Ponies are afraid of the Raiders that are nearby and so they heal the Raiders when they come asking for help.”

“Where do they live?”

“Excuse me?” Zephyr asked in shock as he looked at Shimmer. “You don’t plan on-”

“I do, actually. There’s right and wrong in this world, and the Raiders are all wrong. We cannot let them simply intimidate ponies into giving them free things,” Shimmer said, stamping a hoof. “The Clinic is good and should be given the chance to be good.”

Rocket moved next to Shimmer, “Clearing out ANOTHER Raider camp? Are you crazy?!”

Shimmer snapped her head at Rocket, “If I can help somepony, make it right, then I’m going to try.” While what she said was true, she couldn’t help but tremble at the thought. She lowered her head. “As I said, there’s right and wrong. We need to help them; we can’t just let them sit there and be controlled like that.”

“You’re crazy! You’re gonna get yourself killed.” Rocket shouted as she stamped her hooves.

Zephyr gave a small smile and turned to face her, “If you’re going, then I should probably go too.”

Shimmer looked back at him, “You don’t have to. I know where the clinic is.”

Zephyr shook his head, “I won’t allow that. You saved my life, I owe you that much. And no offense, you really don’t seem to be invulnerable.”

“And you suck at shooting,” Rocket added with a smirk as she nudged Shimmer’s flank with her her hip.”If you’re going, I… I guess I am too. Can’t have you getting killed on your second day in the Wasteland. Not yet.”

Shimmer smiled, “Thank you. Thank you both.” She sighed and looked forward. “I know that I’m not the smartest pony, but I just feel like this is the right thing to do.”

Rocket smirked, “Do I look like the smartest pony either? I ran headlong into a Stable and saved you when I should’ve just left you there to die. Could’ve easily gotten myself a more skilled pal.”

“Thanks?” Shimmer replied with a raised eyebrow. She looked up at the sky, the grey cloud cover revealing small patches of blue. She looked back down at the road before her. The ground was cracked, the houses destroyed, but in the horizon the beauty of the Castle made her smile. If something so beautiful could still be standing, maybe there was still some good in the Wasteland. She just needed to find it and, if possible, help it.

Chapter 4: Breaking and Entering

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Shimmer nodded firmly as she reset the lock on the safe. Despite quite a few heated arguments, she decided that she didn’t want to depend on the Armor. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it as the others would.

A more significant factor, if Shimmer was being honest, might have been that she only had two and half Spark Batteries to work with. Until they got more she couldn’t just waste them. Zephyr had done the math; it was going to take at least a day to get to the Clinic and they’d need at least two to get there

The decision was made, they would leave in the morning. Settling inside her home, Zephyr took the old bed in what used to be the guest room. Rocket decided to sleep outside in a makeshift hammock she carried in her pack. Shimmer couldn’t help but smile.

She may have just met them, but they seemed like decent ponies.

She slowly moved to the window and looked outside. At one point, she had been able to look up at the stars; now only rolling black clouds filled the sky.

With a quiet sigh she stepped outside and into the night. The air was cool and there was a soft breeze blowing. Her pink mane was swept forward; it surrounded her face, blowing into her eyes.

As she pushed the locks away from her face, Shimmer froze as she caught movement in her eye. She toggled her Eyes-Forward-Sparkle and scanned what little she could see.

A small blip appeared to two ticks away from North. It was green—that meant friendly, right?

Slowly drawing up her pistol, Shimmer began to move towards the blip. It was moving slowly; it was surely either walking, crawling, or slithering.

“Please don’t be something that’s gonna try to kill me,” she muttered under her breath as the green blip grew larger. Before long, it could be seen right on top of her. he raised the weapon, walking forward slowly. Almost as soon as she entered the small gap between houses, a giant mouse scampered into view. She very nearly fired her pistol as it stared up at her, blinking a few times before turning and bolting in the opposite direction.

Shimmer groaned as she put away her pistol, starting to turn. She then screamed as a floating ball with rapidly fluttering wings came into view. She tripped over the same trash barrel that the mouse was crawling through, crashing to the ground.

“I am so sorry!” the round ball called as it floated towards her. “Are you okay?”

“Other than my backside being—wait, you can talk?”
“Shhhhhhhh! Not so loud! I don’t want anypony else to hear me, okay?” the voice hissed from the ball. Shimmer sighed, pushing off of the ground with a groan as she tossed her head and shook the rest of the junk off of her.

“Fine!” she snapped, raising an eyebrow. “So… what are you?”

The voice chuckled through the ball. “Oh, I’m not really here. I’m talking to you through a Sprite-bot.” The small robot moved a bit more into the limited light.

“I only saw one once, at a demonstration from the Ministry of Morale,” Shimmer said as she walked around the small orb, eyeing it up. “So, what do I call you?”

“You can call me Watcher, but—Woah! Wait a second! What do you mean, saw one in a demonstration?” The Sprite-bot itself lurched backwards for a second before resuming its motionlessness.

“Exactly what I said. I saw one at a demonstration,” she said with a shrug, “Pinkie Pie was showing off the new Bot and a few other fancy new gadgets. Including this thing.” Her hoof came up and presented a Pipbuck.

Silence filled the air as she continued to hold her leg up. She blinked, then waving her hoof in front of the panel.

“Hello? Watcher?” She tapped on the screen a few times. “You there?”

“How were you there? It’s impossible. You’re lying to me.” Watcher finally replied.

Shimmer frowned and put her hoof back down. “I’m not lying. I only just woke up a day ago,” she said, “thanks to that damned Stable-Tec.”

The Sprite-bot fluttered forward slightly, “Explain, and make it quick,” Watcher replied forcefully as the Sprite-bot closed the distance once again, hovering only inches from Shimmers face.

Shimmer took a breath and began telling him of her journey. How the Balefire bomb exploded in a giant purple flare. The elevator bringing her down into the Stable, waking up, and her first battles in the Wasteland. How she met Rocket and Zephyr, something that intrigued Watcher more than most of the story.

Though he did ask her to repeat how The Last Day went down. How horribly she treated the Stable-Tec representative who, in the end, probably did more to save her than anypony else. The chaos and panic as ponies scrambled to find shelter. The final words of the news broadcaster and the flash of purple and the giant cloud that formed. Then the strange heat that nearly knocked her off her hooves as her world was destroyed.

The tale took a few minutes and Watcher remained silent for a few more as the Sprite-Bot hovered, stationary. “So you were put in stasis the day the world ended?”

“Yeah. That pretty much explains how I know of the Ministry Mares.” Shimmer replied sheepishly. “It’s not something I would imagine ponies now would know about.”

Watcher sighed as the Sprite-bot turned to face her. “I didn’t know Stable-Tec had a stasis chamber built. They were VERY experimental, even Princess Luna questioned their usefulness. I even think she wanted them destroyed.”

“Well, she didn’t exactly believe that Equestria would lose the war.” Shimmer said. “I worked for Fluttershy and I didn’t think we’d lose, at least not that way. Everything is just...gone now. Is there anypony around that knows how to be good still?”

Before Watcher could reply the Sprite-bot gave a small pop and then began moving off, playing March of the Parasprites as it went. Shimmer frowned, suddenly alone as she shivered. “Well that’s just great.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night passed relatively quickly. Shimmer had gotten a few hours of stolen sleep, the question keeping her up. “How could Watcher know so much about the old days?” The only answers she could come up with were: that he must have studied the history; he somehow had a long lifespan, but there were few creatures that had those; or he somehow could read memories at a distance.

She shook her head again and cleared her head. It was time to get moving and try to help the clinic. Her nerves were on edge as she took a deep breath. The idea of taking on this quest was a big decision. She didn’t want to have anypony get hurt, but pain was inevitable either way. And perhaps clearing out the nearby Raiders and unlocking the sub-basement to the Clinic would go a long way.
Shimmer sighed as she counted out the number of magazines remaining for her pistol, the small weapon barely taking up much room in the pack. She also took count of the very limited medical supplies she had stashed.

Before the Balefire bomb fell, she had kept a small medical case in the basement stocked with three healing potions, a few bags of Radaway, and some basic bandages with antiseptic. She hoped they wouldn’t be needed, but Zephyr had assured her that they might just need them.

Unlike the small one that they had taken out before, the Raider camp they now approached was significantly larger. They had weapons that would do more damage than what Shimmer had faced already, and after half an hour of walking the trio were all somewhat fatigued. If that wasn’t enough, the camp had a wall nearly ten feet high. Short of flying over it, the only way in would be to plant explosives and pray they’d be enough. But thanks to the dead Raider from before, Zephyr managed to put together a kind of improvised brick of dynamite.

Rocket placed her hoof on the door which hung loosely on its hinges. “You ready?” she asked, slowly moving into the room. Shimmer slid the now counted supplies into her pack as she faced Rocket and nodded.

“As ready as I can be.”

“Shimmer?” Rocket stepped up to the counter. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” she asked quietly as she put her hoof on the pistol before Shimmer could reach it.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Shimmer replied. “Even if it’s wrong to kill, those Raiders aren’t going to stop. You know that as well as I do.” She frowned as she pulled the pistol out from under Rocket’s hoof. “I’d prefer not to kill them if it’s possible, but-”

“I know. They’re killers. And as long as they keep killing, no one nearby will be safe. Especially the clinic. It’s just…” Her voice trailed off as she became silent.

“What’s wrong?”

Rocket looked up at her and groaned, “Look, I just don’t want to die for somepony I don’t know.”

Shimmer scoffed, “You seemed perfectly fine almost getting killed trying to protect me from those Raiders in the Stable. Again when I charged down the hill to get back home.”

Rocket blinked and rubbed the back of her neck. “Okay, I guess you got a point. But I got an ally in you, right? I don’t wanna get killed trying to take on even more Raiders.”

Shimmer clicked the pack closed and placed it on her back, securing the small buckle underneath her with her teeth. She shook her mane and freed the trapped pink locks that had gotten caught under the straps. She shrugged a few times as she adjusted to wearing the straps again.

Rocket lowered her hoof and continued, “The more you piss off the Raiders, the more likely they’ll try to attack you again. And there are a LOT in the Wasteland.”

Shimmer began moving past Rocket and towards the door, “I’m not forcing you to go Rocket. I just know that I can’t sit around and let other ponies be hurt when I know I can try to help.” She sighed and turned to face Rocket. “I took an oath once to do as much good as I could. To not only my husband but to Equestria as well. I may have been asleep for two hundred years, but I still want to live by that oath.”

Rocket gave a weak smile as she nodded. “Well, it’s not a good one… but it’s a reason.” She moved forward and quickly rubbed a hoof on her head. “Besides, I guess there’s always the chance of finding more caps.”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow. “Remind me again, why are caps so important?”

Rocket looked wounded for a moment, then proceeded to explain, “Well instead of bits, we now use caps. There’s just so many to go around now with all the Sparkle-Cola kicking around the Wasteland.”

“But what about bits?” Shimmer asked as she moved outside the room and into the living area.

“Oh, some ponies still use them, they’re real valuable. But caps are the basic currency item.” She said as she followed Shimmer. “And there’s no crazy amounts involved. A cap is a cap. There’s no special one cap is worth five, kind of deal. The only time that comes up is with bits. And a single bit is worth twenty caps.”

Shimmer shook her head rapidly. “This is going to take some getting used to.” Rocket giggled as they exited the house.

Shimmer raised a hoof over her face as she stepped outside. The clouds that had previously covered the sky were gone. And above them, only bright blue sky and the occasional puff cloud could be seen. Another thing she was going to need to get used to, unpredictable weather. Shimmer lowered her hoof and spotted Zephyr sitting on a nearby fallen tree that blocked off the road.

He was humming a simple tune as he sat there, examining a small blade that he slipped into a sheath on his foreleg. For someone that was nearly blown up just the day before, he looked relatively calm. Still, he looked a state; his dark green coat was littered with small patches of burnt fur and his blue mane was in need of a serious brushing.

He stopped humming as Shimmer and Rocket stepped up onto the tree. “I take it you’re both ready to go?” he asked as he slapped his hat on his head. The brown trilby hat took up most of the space on his head and almost completely covered his ears as he looked at them both.

“Is the bomb ready?” Rocket asked as she nodded towards the crudely duct taped bundle of dynamite resting on the ground.

Zephyr chuckled as he picked up the bundle and placed it in Rocket’s pack. “Yeah. Though if you do somehow manage to plant it, you are DEFINITELY going to want to get away from it quickly once it’s lit.” He pointed a hoof at her pack. “The fuse’s short, should last about twenty seconds. Then—” he raised his hooves above his head in an arcing fashion, “—kaboom!”

Rocket smirked at the display. “Once that bomb goes off, it’s almost a certainty that the Raiders are going to come funneling out of the hole.”

“Right, which is why we’re going to let them come to us first,” Shimmer said as she started moving forward. “No need to rush in there right away. We take out a few coming to see what happened and that already provides us with an opportunity to get in and deal with anypony that remains.”

Zephyr nodded, “I should probably let you know, I’ve heard rumors that there are some captive ponies in the base.”

Rocket snorted, “No big deal really. We get them out once the area is secure.”

Zephyr looked at her and shook his head, “That’d be great, but I wouldn’t put it past the Raiders to use them as cannon fodder. Send them through the hole first, so we’re going to need to be VERY careful at what we’re shooting at.”

Shimmer bit her lip as Rocket laughed. “So newbie here doesn’t shoot anything coming out of the hole then.” Shimmer frowned at Rocket in response, but the latter just smirked.“Sorry honey, but you REALLY suck at shooting ANYTHING.”

Shimmer whined. “I’m a HEALER for Celestia’s sake! I didn’t train to be a killer, I was trained to save lives.”

“Right, which is why we’re going to be relying on you.” Zephyr said, pointing at her Pipbuck as they walked. “You have an E.F.S. , we don’t. You’re going to have to call out targets for us to shoot at. Anything green, we avoid. Anything red, we shoot. And if we accidentally hit someone we’re not supposed to, you can patch them up afterwards. There’s no such thing as promises in combat.”

Rocket raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you were an armor-smith? How do you know so much about combat?”

She had a valid point, Shimmer thought. For someone who was supposed to be avoiding a fight, he certainly knew a lot. She couldn’t blame Rocket for being a bit suspicious of his knowledge. It even puzzled her, but she didn’t want to bring it up. Zephyr quickly dug into his single side pack and pulled out a small book.

“The Wasteland Survival Guide,” Zephyr said through clenched teeth as he held the book out towards Rocket. She took it in her magic and levitated it up to her face. “Go to ‘Chapter 3: Dealing With Raiders, The Do’s and Don’ts!’ and start reading.”

Shimmer couldn’t help but giggle. “Somepony actually wrote a book?” Her head shook in disbelief as she watched Rocket attempt to hold the book in front of her face and walk at the same time. Stumbling over her own hooves as she concentrated more on the book.

“Ditzy Doo had plenty of time to write the book.” Zephyr said with hints of sympathy in his voice. “See, when the megaspells and balefire bombs fell, she didn’t die like everypony else.”

Shimmer’s eye raised up in confusion as she looked forward, the nearby community gate stood still. The gate itself was smashed to pieces, but the tall rock arch stood tall. “That would make her as old as I am.”

“Older,” Zephyr corrected. “See, from what I can see of you, you haven’t aged a day since you were put into that thing. Ditzy however... She lived two hundred years. Saw what Equestria was like before the final day and saw what it became when the radiation settled.”

Shimmer’s confused look only grew as she halted in her tracks, “So how is she still alive? Ponies don’t usually live longer than-”

Rocket groaned as she slammed the book closed and passed it back to Zephyr. “Ditzy Doo is a ghoul.”

“What’s a ghoul?”

Rocket’s hoof smashed into her muzzle as she groaned. “I’m traveling the Wasteland with probably the slowest learning pony in all of Equestria.”

Zephyr chuckled and shook his head, “Maybe we should just brief her on a few ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ of the Wasteland?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shimmer’s face was a myriad of different expressions as Zephyr and Rocket explained a few things about the Wasteland. “What the hay happened in the last two hundred years? It’s like someone up-ended the world and said, ‘Nope! Here’s a can of ‘Nope and Despair!’’ for you!” Shimmer said as her face hung downwards, her heart bitter.

Rocket scoffed. “Honey, when the world literally goes ‘boom,’ everything changes for the worst.” She looked up, the Raider Camp not too far away now. The trail of black smoke that rose from the camp getting closer and closer with each step. Something was burning—and it stank!

The three halted on the spot and their pupils shrunk as they slammed down onto their flanks. Rocket raised a hoof to her nose and coughed several times.

“Well...that’s...lovely…”

“Quite.” Zephyr replied. After a series of gags and chokes, he attempted to keep his composure.

Shimmer, on the other hoof, vacated her stomach of all previously eaten items in a bright purple mixture of solid and liquid. “Oh-Blech-Goddess what’s that...blech...smell?!”

Rocket frowned as her mane stood on end as she looked at the purple gift Shimmer gave. “That’s so goddamn nasty...who vomits purple!?” Shimmer frowned and looked wounded. “I mean, of all the colors? Purple?!” Rocket shook her head rapidly as she attempted to keep the contents of her own stomach inside.

Zephyr closed his eyes tightly as he brought his hat down on top of his muzzle and took several long breaths through the fabric. The smell in the air was simply putrid. Even the plant life seemed to reach in directions that were away from the source. The black smoke billowed upwards and outwards towards them as something new was added to the fuel.

“We're definitely putting that out when we get there!” Shimmer said, stamping a hoof on the ground. The expression she wore was one of disgust and concern; there were few things that smelled that badly when burned.

“The camp is just on the other side of that tree line.” Zephyr commented through his hat and pointing with his hoof. “So we best try to get a good look before going in all guns blazing.” He turned his hoof and pointed at Shimmer, “You're the smallest and are quietest on your hooves; you're going to have to get as close as you can, plant the bomb, and tell us what you see. Can you do it?”

Shimmer replied with silence as she looked horrified. “You’re cah-razy! I can’t do it! I don’t know how! I’ll screw it up somehow, I know-!”

Rocket’s hoof slapped hard against her muzzle once again, “Be quiet! You’re gonna get us killed!” She slowly lowered her hoof and groaned, “Of all the ponies...look you’re gonna have to! I’m carrying all the guns. You’re small. You’re smart. And of all of us, you’re the only one wearing some kind of barding that will keep radiation away.”

Zephyr nodded as he pointed at the camp. “Raiders typically soak up a lot of radiation and get addicted to Rad-X and drink Radaway if it was Sparkle-Cola. Your Pipbuck will tell you if you’ve taken in any radiation.” he said, pointing now at her left hoof.

Shimmer raised both an eyebrow and her hoof. “How?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but that little needle and display will show you. Green is good, yellow you might want to find some Radaway, Red you’re closing on death.” Zephyr said as he pointed to each different section of the small display. “If you’re in the Red, Radaway is a good patch, but you will NEED to find a Doctor. Luna knows what you’ll mutate into if you stay that high in radiation count.”

Shimmer’s head snapped up with panic on her face. “Mutate?”

“Another topic for another time. We need to focus on the camp.” Zephyr said as he placed both hooves on Shimmer’s shoulders. “I know you’re scared, but this is what you wanted to do. We’re here to help, but we can’t unless you do this Shimmer.”

Shimmer looked horrified as she looked past him at the trees. The smoke climbing even higher. The smell reaching out in length as high as the smoke was rising. Her gaze lowered to meet his, a face of determination mixed with fear. Her gaze shifted once again to Rocket who smiled weakly. She didn’t want to be killed, but she wouldn’t run away either.

She sighed loudly as she shook her head, “I must be going crazy.”

Rocket placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Honey, we’re all crazy.” A sideways smile curled up on her face as she crossed her eyes and used her other hoof to draw small circles next to her head. Her companions both smiled nervously and chuckled.

Shimmer breathed in deeply as she pushed to her hooves, then letting the air loose. “Let’s do this. Ponies are counting on us.”

“Even though they totally don’t even know us and want our help?” Rocket added with a smirk. It was replaced rather quickly as Zephyr’s hoof gently made contact with the back of her head. “I mean, yeah! Totally! Let’s do this!”

Zephyr shook his head a few times as he lifted the makeshift dynamite bomb into Shimmer’s bag. “There’s a thirty second delay. You have two options, set the bomb and run or come back and get us. Either way, when that thing goes off, we won’t have much time.”

Shimmer looked back at the treeline. “Just keep an eye on me. When I’m at the wall I’ll point where there’s the most Raiders. If they’re as stupid as you say, they’ll all come running for where the bomb goes off. When they do, I want you to keep them busy. I’m going to try to go through the front gate, then I’ll meet you in the center. We can free anyone taken prisoner. Sound good?”

After a moment of silence, Zephyr was the first to speak. “How the hell did you come up with that idea?”

“My husband was in the army, he taught me a trick or two,” Shimmer said as she sighed. “Plus a few lucky games of Chess and Risk can make you think outside the box. You don’t just throw everyone you have down the center.” She spread her hooves wide. “Divide,” she said, then snapped them both back together quickly, “and Conquer. Simple idea, usually works, unless you’re fighting someone who’s just as smart. Just keep an eye out and be ready to move when the wall goes up.”

With a brief nod from both Zephyr and Rocket, Shimmer turned on her hooves and galloped towards the treeline. With each step the smell grew worse and worse. What she hadn’t told them was that she knew exactly what that smell was. Either the Raiders had stumbled upon a morgue, or they were simply burning ponies.

The treeline wasn’t thick and as she neared the opposite end she froze in her tracks. The camp was larger than she expected. Old carts and chunks of houses were haphazardly stacked on one another. A massive improvised wall was the first thing she spotted. Her eyes tracked to the left; nothing but open field and more wall. She then brought them to the right and there it was, the main gate. Giant poles stuck out from the ground with—Shimmer’s eyes grew wide as she gagged—severed pony heads impaled through the top.

The heads had their tongues hanging loosely from their mouths and their eyes rolled back. In some fresher specimens, blood still dribbled out of the savagely cut points in their necks.

Shimmer forced back the sensation of vomiting once more and instead channeled it into rage against the Raiders. The guards at the front of the gate weren’t even paying attention as they wrestled across the ground, kicking dirt and mud everywhere.

Shimmer used the moment to quietly cross the distance between the treeline and the small open field. She skidded to a halt as she got to the wall, the lower section was covered in large railway line metal that were sharpened to points. She exhaled hard as she knelt close to the ground. She unclipped her pack and opened it with her hooves, withdrawing the bundle of dynamite.

Using her teeth she took the end of the line and unrolled it from the bundle. With a hoof she then smacked it underneath several of the spikes; it landed an inch shy of the actual wall. She quietly put the bag back on and took the end of the fuse wire in her teeth.

Meanwhile, across the field, Rocket and Zephyr watched anxiously as Shimmer slowly moved down the left wall. “Can she do it?” Rocket asked as she slowly took her pistols into her magic, checking them both over.

“She’s afraid. But there’s… something about her… She’s different from the rest of us…”.

Zephyr began to push off the ground as Shimmer reached back and rubbed a hoof on her flank. One of the shorter spikes on the wall had clipped her thigh.

Rocket scoffed. “You mean other than the fact that she’s a Stable-Dweller?” Her magic ceased as she put the pistols down in front of her and she began counting magazines.

Zephyr shook his head as he lowered himself once again. “No. She actually cares. That’s what’s different.” He pointed a hoof and said, “Anypony else would’ve run off. But as soon as we mentioned that ponies were in trouble... See the results for yourself.”

Rocket looked at him with an eyebrow raised before she turned her head and her eyes went wide. Shimmer struck the igniter on the small lighter she had in her bag. Lifting the device with her hooves and teeth she lit the fuse.

“Shit. No turning back now, is there?” Rocket said, leveling her eyes at the small sparking flame. Shimmer bolted in the opposite direction, moving along the wall and around out of view on the opposite side of the camp. She came to a halt as she looked down her right foreleg and took her pistol into her mouth. She closed her eyes and then began to breathe heavily as she counted down in her mind.

“Ten seconds. Ready?” Zephyr asked as he hunched down behind a tree, the knife snapping out of its holster.

“Try to keep up old man, this is gonna be fun!” Rocket returned with a smirk as she aimed her two pistols from outside the tree cover.

“Five, four, three-” Shimmer counted out loud as she closed her eyes tightly. “Two, one.”

With a deafening roar, the bundle of dynamite exploded. The section of wall that it was planted near erupted into an inferno of debris and fire. Two unlucky Raiders were blown to pieces where they stood. The remaining scum began to shout.

Flaming chunks of wood and iron came tumbling down from the skies all across the field, dead grass igniting in small fireballs. Shimmer shook her head as her ears rung from the proximity of the explosion. Zephyr and Rocket stood dumbfounded at the display of pyrotechnic fury as a Raider ran out of the hole, blindly firing in every direction in a stupor of rage.

Rocket grinned as she took aim and fired. Her bullet soared and struck the Raider right between the eyes. His body crumpled as two more emerged from the hole. Zephyr cried out as he used his teeth to send one of his knives soaring. The silver blade flipped through the air until it planted itself firmly inside the chest of one Raider.

“Holy crap! Nice one!” Rocket called out as she watched the Raider fall and tear at his chest with his hooves. “Where’d you learn to do that?!”

“Practice my dear!” Zephyr replied as he readied another knife. Rocket smirked as she fired once again.

Shimmer, however, began circling to the opposite side of the camp. There were no Raiders and no hole and no fire. But this side of the camp smelled even worse than the rest. The wall was also not as complete on this side and she attempted to peer through the cracks. Through the tiny space she could make out a handful of figures but nothing more. They weren’t moving but they weren’t dead either.

Shimmer sighed as she began moving along the wall once again. It didn’t take her too long to traverse the entire length and reach the gate. She craned her neck around the corner and there they were, the two guards. Shimmer closed her eyes as she slowly drew behind wall again. “Okay Shimmer… You can do this. They’re bad ponies, they hurt other ponies…”

She brought the pistol up between her teeth and exhaled hard as she leaped from behind the wall. The Raiders jumped up and began to bring up their own weapons. Shimmer toggled S.A.T.S. and picked four shots; two the head and stomach each. Executing the shots, time slowed as her tongue pulled back on the trigger. The first two bullets completely missed the Raiders and lodged themselves in the wall behind them. The third and fourth, however, met their marks.

The first caught the raider in the mouth and his brains exploded out of the back of his head, splattering on the wall. The second landed right in the other Raider’s stomach. He collapsed and clutched the injury tightly. Shimmer bit her lip as she looked down at him as tears streamed down his face. Pausing for a moment, she then sighed as she knelt down next to him.

“I’m sorry! I really don’t want you to die,” she said quietly as he looked up at her. “Here! Drink this!” She opened her bag and began to withdraw a health potion. The Raider only snarled at her loudly and attempted to bite her face. She screamed and dropped the potion, scrambling away before firing her pistol once again into his body.

She stared in horror as the life disappeared from his eyes. “Dammit! I didn’t want you to die! Why’d you do that?!” she whispered as she pushed to her hooves and began to enter the camp—only to be met with a hailstorm of bullets.

She screamed as she ducked down behind the nearest fire-barrel. She groaned as she slammed against the hot metal. “Dammit! That’s hot!” She screamed as she moved away just slightly.

On the opposite side of the camp, Zephyr upended a health potion. “Goddamn! I thought this was going to be easy!” he cried as he spat the empty bottle out and pressed his back against the wall of the camp.

Rocket laughed as she used her magic to reload her pistols. “I thought you were the one that said life was never easy!”

Zephyr groaned as he turned around and pulled one of his knives from the body of a dead Raider. “Well if I said it, I meant it. Who’s idea was this again?” He asked as another Raider attempted to run out of the hole. As Zephyr prepared stab the Raider the side of his head exploded outward. Zephyr barely had enough time to close his eyes and mouth as brain, blood, and bone covered him.

“Goddesses damn it! I had him!” He spat out loudly as ran a hoof across the side of his face, smearing the red gory mess across his features. “What’d you do that for?!”

Rocket just smirked. “You looked like you could use a bath!”

Zephyr gaped as he pointed his hoof at her. “You… You’re one sick pony, you know that?”

Rocket’s smirk continued to grow. “Sense of humor my friend! Grow one!” she said as she ducked inside the hole. As if using S.A.T.S. herself she planted three shots into the Raider nearest to her. His legs crumpled and he fell in a heap. She took aim at the next one and fired twice, both shots landing true as the Raider’s head exploded in a bloody mess.

Zephyr’s jaw dropped as he moved inside the burning hole. His eyes locked onto the two dead Raiders. “You’re also dangerous.”

Rocket smirked once again. “Is that a bad thing out here?”

Zephyr turned to face her and let a knife fly through the air. Passing less than an inch away from her left ear as it soared. Rocket went wide-eyed as she turned her head. The Raider that had been sneaking up behind her now gurgled, a shiny silver knife stuck out from his throat. A moment later he dropped to the ground, his legs twitching uncontrollably as blood pooled around his neck.

“And you said that I’m dangerous!” .

They turned to move further into the camp and stopped short. Shimmer had made it to the center. Her violet coat was streaked with blood she stood rooted to the spot. Just before her sat a giant pit.

The pit expanded across ten feet and was completely filled with bodies. Lifeless corpses of colts and fillies filled it from edge to edge.

The Raiders were burning children.

Rocket moved across slowly to look down into the pit and closed her eyes. Zephyr also approached as the bodies still burned, black smoke billowing upwards and outwards.

Shimmer didn’t move as her eyes remained locked on the sight. “Why… Why did this happen?” she asked softly as she slowly began to frown. “Why?” Her grimace grew larger. “Why?Why would somepony do this?!” She cried loudly as she drew her pistol and began to charge further into the camp.

“Shimmer! No!” Zephyr shouted as he began to chase her through the camp. “Don’t be a foal, Shimmer!”

Shimmer didn’t hear him as she charged forwards. Tears streaming down her face as she galloped. There were only a few more Raiders left. They stood in front of a shack and roared as she charged forward. Unlike the rest of the ones that charged forwards when the wall exploded, these stayed still, guarding the shack as if it was as precious as gems.

“You bastards!” she screamed through clenched teeth as they began firing. Even without S.A.T.S. time slowed for her as her rage grew. The Raiders opened fire. Bullets filled the air as she continued to gallop towards them. Several shots slammed into her body; if she felt them, she didn’t slow. Her tongue clamped down on the trigger.

The first Raider clutched at his eye as the bullet slammed into it. She pulled the trigger again and the second Raider pressed both hooves against his throat as he spun and collapsed, blood gushing from the injury as the bullet severed an artery. Once again she pulled the trigger; the third Raider collapsed in a pile as a bullet passed through two of his knees.

Rocket stood stunned as she watched. The streaking violet pony smashed into the fourth Raider head on. The two tumbled to the ground as they fought for dominance. But eventually, the rage filled mare won out. With a loud cry of anger she smashed a hoof into his face. Then the other hoof followed. Again and again she repeated this pattern until the Raider’s muzzle was bloodied and teeth were missing from his mouth. Even then, she continued to smash her hooves into his face until finally, under the assault, his skull gave way and cracked.

The body of the Raider went limp as Shimmer continued to cry. Zephyr skidded to a halt behind her and pulled her off the body. “Shimmer! He’s dead!” he cried, holding her tightly. She attempted to push her way out of his grip. “Rocket! Help me!” Zephyr called out as Shimmer brought a hoof to his groin.

Rocket quickly covered the distance and pressed down on Shimmers shoulders, “Shimmer! It’s over!” she screamed as she dug her rear hooves into the ground, propping herself in position, not letting Shimmer move an inch. “They’re all dead! Shimmer!”
Slowly Shimmer stopped kicking and squirming. Though she didn’t stop crying, she buried her face into Zephyr’s chest as she sobbed. Zephyr looked up at Rocket and nodded with sympathetic eyes and she slowly removed her hooves from Shimmer’s body. Zephyr closed his eyes and gently began to rock from side to side, running a hoof through Shimmer’s mane.

“Shhhhhh, it’s okay Shimmer. It’s alright.” He spoke softly as he held her there. “It’s over. They’re all dead.”

Shimmer continued to sob, “Children! They burned children! Why?” she cried as tears covered his chest. Zephyr nodded at Rocket and motioned towards the shack the Raiders were previously guarding.

Rocket nodded and turned on her hooves galloping over towards the shack. She spun onto her front hooves and gave a sharp buck against the doors. Knocking them clean off of the hinges she stepped inside the shack, her horn glowing and illuminating the room.

Cowering in the corners of the shack were several small families of ponies. Some were dressed in basic barding, caravan ponies, and foals sat huddled together. Many of them crying. A few were so starved that their bones showed through their skin.

“If you can move, everyone out. The Raiders are dead.” Rocket said as she moved to the different groups. Helping them to their hooves she began to lead them out of the shack.

Zephyr nodded curtly as he looked up and saw the ponies being led out of the shack. “Shimmer, look,” he said softly as he pointed with a hoof. “You saved them.”

Shimmer slowly lifted her head and looked. Tears still traveled down her face as she looked at the surviving ponies. “How many Zephyr?”

He looked down at her and smiled. “I don’t count, even one life saved is worth it. And you did it,” he said as he helped her to her hooves. “They’re going to need someplace to stay.”

Shimmer brought a hoof to her face and wiped her wet coat. She looked back at him and nodded. “We’ll take them to the clinic and then back to The Grove when they’re ready. It won’t be easy, but they can at least start over.” She turned and began to walk away. Her eyes locked onto the pit and she scowled. She then looked down at the Raider she had beaten to death. In her rage she hadn’t even noticed that she hit him so hard that one eye had literally turned into a puddle of white goo leaking down his face.

She gagged at her own work and unleashed another torrent of purple vomit onto the ground. The stream of purple goo continued for several seconds before she wiped her mouth, panting at the result. As she raised her head she found Rocket standing next to her.

“We saved twenty. There were thirty of them in there, but they’ve been dead for a day now.” Rocket said to her quietly, “Apparently all the mares here were used as breeding stock. If they gave birth to anything but colts… they burned them and used them for food.”

Shimmer closed her eyes and turned her head away from the sight. “And the clinic?” she asked softly, “Will they be able to help these ponies?”

Rocket sighed loudly, “If we can get into the basement and get those supplies? They should.” She paused and shook her head, “If not, not even half of them will last the week. They’ve been treated so badly that their bodies are starting to just give up.”

Shimmer opened her eyes and locked with Rocket’s. “We aren’t going to lose a single one. We’re leaving for the Clinic in ten minutes,” she said firmly as she looked at the pit. “And put that disgusting thing out. We’re not done yet. We’re going to the clinic and we’re going to get those supplies. I swear to you, this isn’t over.”

After a moment, however, Shimmer suddenly began to feel faint. She looked down at her body in confusion. Blood ran down from several small bullet holes. Her eyes momentarily went wide before she fell to her side. The last thing she recalled hearing was the panicked cries of Rocket and Zephyr as she slowly lost consciousness.

Chapter 5: Inner Darkness

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Shimmer moaned softly as another healing potion was magically lifted to her lips. She lay across Rocket’s back as they made their way forward towards the clinic. Old and new blood coated the unicorn’s armor and coat, but that was nothing compared to Shimmer’s state. Her wounds wouldn’t close, despite having drunk nearly their entire supply of healing potions. With each bottle brought a wave of warm sensations that quickly were replaced by the strange grip of coldness.

Zephyr looked over his shoulder at the caravan of underfed and exhausted ponies behind them. Twenty-seven in total survived in the Raider camp. Many faced injuries that slowed them. They promised to catch up and insisted that Shimmer be taken to the clinic as soon as possible. The stubbornness simply baffled him as they crossed the wastes.

“Just hold on, we’ll get you fixed up!” Rocket called out as she began to increase her pace. Shimmer’s only reply was that of a pained groan.

“Easy, any more jolts and her injuries could get even worse.” Zephyr warned as he looked ahead. A small building painted in yellow with fading pink butterflies grew closer and closer in his view. If it wasn’t so bright and cheerful against the background of the Wasteland, the giant red heart on top definitely was a sure sign. The Fluttershy Medical Clinic, Shimmer’s old workplace.

“Zephyr, can you take her? I’m going to go ahead and warn them that we’re coming,” Rocket said as she looked down at him. Her expression was one of concern, but the tone of her voice indicated something more.

Zephyr nodded. “Make it quick, I don’t know how much longer she’s got without their care. Healing potions aren’t going to do the trick.”

Rocket nodded as she lifted a groaning Shimmer in her magic and gently placed her across Zephyr’s back. “They’ll be ready,” she said with a firm nod before galloping off. She looked over her shoulder and sighed as she paused for the briefest of moments. A hoof reaching up to her neck and gently depressing a small green button, a moment later a burst of static filled the air.

“Well it’s about fucking time!” A hoarse voice called out over a tiny speaker on her collar. “I’ve only been calling you for twenty minutes!”

“If you hadn’t heard, we’re in a bit of a spot!” Rocket replied as she continued to gallop.

The voice chuckled softly. “Yes, and it’s your own Goddesses damn fault too. What part of, ‘She’s to remain unharmed and alive. And bring her to me.’ did you not understand Rocketina?” Rocket ground to a halt as she reached up with both hooves. The collar around her neck sent rapid waves of electrical shocks throughout her body. As the intensity grew, she collapsed down on her haunches and desperately attempted to claw at the collar around her neck.

“I didn’t have a-“ She was cut off as another surge of electricity penetrated her. She screamed lightly as she began to writhe on the ground.

“You dumb cunt. You don’t give her an option!” the voice called out angrily. “You’re fucking lucky I don’t just blow your head off right now and send someone else to collect!”

Gradually the electrical current ceased and Rocket pushed to her hooves. She coughed wildly as she attempted to catch her breath. “We’re not alone you bastard.” she wheezed as she began to gallop towards the clinic once more. “I can’t just drag her to you without drawing suspicion!”

“You’re going to have to do better. Remember, I own you bitch, I can end you just as easily as track you,” the voice calmly said with a light chuckle at the end. “Just remember what’s at stake here.”

With a small pop the speaker shut down and the red light in the center of the collar died to a dull crimson. She sighed as she closed her eyes tightly as the arcane device powered down. As she galloped her thoughts drifted from the present to the past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five years ago, Rocketina traveled with her family. The trek from Hoofington was a long one. Especially after the intense turmoil that gripped the land. The tales of the Security Mare, Blackjack, the Core, and all other worries left behind. Her mother held her close as they walked. The wind howling in their faces as the wild winter began.

The ground was littered with patches of snow and ice. Their hooves hurt from the cold, but onward they marched. Rocketina’s father squinted, attempting to pierce the snow with his gaze. Navigating had simply become impossible as the snow fell. Instead, he focused on trying to find shelter from the harsh weather. He smiled wide as he spotted a small shack in the distance.

“There’s hope! Follow me!” he called over the howling winds.

Rocketina smiled as she looked up at her mother. Her soft green eyes peered down at her as she nuzzled Rocketina forward. “Stay with Daddy little one,” she said through a multitude of shivers. Rocketina quickly caught up to her father and playfully bit down on his tail. He looked back with a smile as he continued to march through the snow.

They reached the cabin and he pushed the door open slowly. He stuck only his head inside, examining the area for any kind of danger. The cabin was smaller than it even appeared outside. On one side of the cabin were two beds and some assorted sheets. The other side contained a very small kitchen space that looked untouched by the horrors of the Wasteland. Nearest them however was a small table that contained a small lamp and two bowls.

Rocketina pushed past her father and giggled as she began to jump up and down on the bed. “Daddy! This is fun! Come play with me!” she called out to him through happy giggles.

Rocketina’s mother smiled and looked at her husband. “Even now, with the horrors behind, she still manages to have fun with the littlest things.”

“Not all of us are faced with sorrow,” he replied as the two stepped inside the cabin, the winter weather forgotten as the door closed behind them. They shook their bodies rapidly, depositing snow all about them. Rocketina, however, continued to bounce up and down on the bed before speeding off to look at the mirror nearby.

She frowned as she looked herself over. “I’m so dirty and my mane is a mess,” she whined as she sat down and attempted to straighten her mane. Her mother moved in behind her and gently pushed her hooves down, taking her mane in her magic and gently removing the debris that coated it and straightening the frayed curls. Her father moved towards the small kitchen area, looking it over, determining if it was still usable.

After a few moments he nodded with approval as he opened the nearby drawers. Inside the top drawer were a small hooful of matches. He looked about and found a few old unused scrolls and tossed them inside the small fire stove. The pile of old logs resting nearby began to slowly levitate and enter inside the stove. He struck the match with his magic and brought it to the old scrolls, fire leaping upwards instantly, catching the logs moments later.

As the heat rose he brought up his bags. After digging about the bag for a moment he pulled out three amazingly preserved baking mixes. He smiled as he also pulled out a small canteen. He then frowned as he shook it, empty.

“I’ll be right back,” he said as he made his way to the door. He took the door handle in his magic and pushed it open. The snow blasted him in the face at breakneck speeds as he closed his eyes tightly and stepped outside. He groaned as he took the cover off of the canteen and used his magic to stuff snow inside. He then squinted as he placed the cover back on the canteen before he turned to head inside. Suddenly, darkness filled his vision as the butt of a rifle smashed into his face.

The door to the cabin burst open as Rocketina’s father was sent hurtling through the air to crash into the small table. Rocketina and her mother screamed as they attempted to squeeze their way into the back corner of the cabin. In the doorway, a tall figure blocked the door and a rueful chuckle filled the air as the door slammed closed again.

“Well well… If it isn’t my lucky day.” The figure chuckled as he slowly made his way forward, “I find three trespassers in my cabin. A weakling unicorn, a mare, and a stupid little filly that can barely keep her scent down,” he said as he approached Rocketina and her mother.

“What do you want with us?” Rocketina’s mother cried out as she pushed Rocketina behind her. Her eyes filled with fear as she glanced downward on the approaching ponies’ rear legs. His cutie mark resembling that of a collar with a red dot and chains interlaced around it in an infinity-like symbol. She dared let her eyes wander further south and her eyes filled with a renewed horror at the sight.

The stallion slowly moved forward, his tongue running along the length of his lips as he grinned. “Well, I figured I’d have a bit of fun,” he said as he moved closer. Rocketina did her best to try and hide behind her mother but the stallion towered over them both. “Don’t even try to hide or run, no one will find you, no one will hear you.” He paused for a moment and smirked. “Well, besides me.”

Rocketina’s mother scowled up at the stallion. “You bastard… She’s just a filly!” she screamed loudly as she attempted to push him back; only to find herself being introduced to a pair of rear hooves to her face. His buck sent her sprawling across the room and onto one of the beds. She groaned as stars filled her vision. Her eyes went wide as suddenly, uninvited warmth invaded her. She screamed and attempted to buck him backwards. But the gesture was futile as her head was jammed forward by his forehooves.

Rocketina cried as she curled into a ball, hiding her face with her tail. Her mother’s face strewn with tears as she looked down at her, calmly saying through the pain, “Look away baby, it’ll be okay.” The stallion just smirked as he jammed her head forward. He silenced her with the mattress as he pushed downward on her neck. She began to choke as her ability to breathe was cut off.

With each passing moment her body began to contort as her lungs began to burn. Her eyes slowly turned red as she attempted to twist her head and inhale the thing that gave her life. Instead the stallion pressed down even harder, her eyes snapping open wide as with a loud crunch, he collapsed the bones in her neck. Her body went limp underneath him and she gasped several more times before the life left her eyes.

For several minutes, the stallion ignored this until he finally pushed off of her corpse. He then looked down at the shivering Rocketina. He took her in his magic and lifted her so that her face was less than an inch away from his. His tongue slowly moved along the side of her face, which contorted in disgust, and in return he chuckled once again.

“You’ll learn respect little bitch,” he said smirking. “Oh, you will learn, and you will learn to like it.”

In a weak voice, Rocketina’s father slowly croaked, “Leave her-“ He was quickly silenced with a loud bang. A magnum pistol floated next to the stallion, it’s barrel smoking after the recently expended round made itself a home in Rocketina’s father's skull. The stallion put the magnum back into his pack and looked back at Rocketina who had begun to shiver uncontrollably. Beneath her a small pool of yellow had formed against the white floor of the shack.

The stallion smirked as he held her in front of him. “Oh, and manners will be needed too.” Rocketina slowly opened her tear soaked eyes, her gaze meeting his, and anger filling those moments later. “Oh yes, little Rocket, you will learn. You will be useful,” he said with a final chuckle as he touched his horn to hers and the world faded to black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rocket squeezed her eyes shut, the memory temporarily pushed back into the back of her mind. Her forehooves leaped upwards and forwards as she pushed open the doors to the Fluttershy clinic. The few ponies that were on duty jumped as the blood stained unicorn approached them.

“Are you okay?” one asked as she looked Rocket up and down.

Rocket nodded a few times. “I’m fine. But I have an injured pony and several malnourished ones on the way. Twenty five or so in total.”

The two mares stared at her in horror. “We can’t nearly help that many! We don’t have the supplies!” the orange mare stated as she shook her head hard. “You’ll have to take them somewhere else.”

Rocket frowned at them. “We’re willing to compensate you, but you NEED to save the injured mare though in order to do that!”

“Just how could you possibly compensate us for that many?” The blue mare asked skeptically as she looked out one of the nearby windows. Zephyr, Shimmer, and the caravan were approaching rather quickly.

“You’re having trouble getting into the sub-basement?” Rocket asked quickly as she followed her gaze.

The orange mare eyed her once again. “How’d you know that?”

Rocket shook her head hard as she put her hooves on the mares’ shoulders, “I PROMISE I’ll explain later. Save the mare. We’ll get the sub-basement open for you when she’s better.”

The mare looked as if she was about to object when Zephyr burst through the door. His eyes were wide as Rocket floated Shimmer onto a gurney. “She’s stopped breathing!” he shouted at the two mares. They glared at Zephyr and Rocket and then moved to the gurney.

“This better be worth it!” the orange one called out as they wheeled Shimmer past a set of double doors. The small caravan of ponies slowly made their way into the clinic and collapsed into different corners. Some simply fell asleep where they fell and others sat down and talked. Some of them still stunned that they were freed from the torment of the Raiders.

Rocket looked at Zephyr who simply nodded and made his way back outside. Her gaze turned at the double doors. She sighed as she gently made her way over to a small bench and collapsed down on top of it. Her thoughts going out to Shimmer as she quietly hoped that she would pull through.

The small collar speaker popped back on and the stallion spoke one sentence. “She had better live or else.” And then the speaker popped and shut down once again. Rocket squeezed her eyes closed as she hung her head, her mind creeping back in time again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rocket groaned as she collapsed down on the dirty red bed. Her mane was a sweaty mess as she panted and attempted to steady her breathing. The mare behind her giggled drunkenly as she patted Rocket’s flank. Annoyance covered Rocket’s face as she slowly stood and adjusted the uncomfortable collar on her neck.

“Sweetie that was the best!” The mare said between drunken giggles and hiccups. Rocket’s face scrunched into a neutral expression as she rose to her hooves. She gathered up her few belongings in her magic and starting for the door. The mare behind her fell backwards in a drunken sleep.

Rocket rolled her eyes as she stepped out into the dirty common area of The Dancing Pony. The place had once been a highlight club in the Crystal Empire. But now, the club played host to The Ball and Chain Gang, made of cutthroats and slavers. And thanks to their leader, Rocket had been made the highlight ‘attraction’ for ponies interested in ‘blowing off steam.’

Rockets eyes glazed over the countless number of mares and colts in the common area. The place reeked of booze and smoke. The floor was once a shining crimson, indicated by small clean patches near the rear exit, but for the most part had become a stained black with all the dirt and grime. Rocket pushed past several ponies and made her way to the nearby stairs. At the top sat a single door with a red sign reading ‘Manager.’

As she reached the door she looked down at all the ponies dancing and mingling. Yearning for the day she could be free. Even praying that someone come along and buy her so she could get away. But that was not today.

A colt cried out as she pushed open the door to the office and a earth pony landed nearby the door. His nose and lips bleeding profusely. The stallion that killed her parents towered above him as he drove a hoof down on his neck.

“Fail me again you fuck, and I’ll do more than beat your ass! Now get out!” he shouted as Rocket moved quickly to the side. The stallion gave a swift jerk with his hoof and sent the colt barreling down the stairs. He lay there for a moment writhing in pain before finally and extremely slowly began making his way out of The Dancing Pony.

The stallion looked down at Rocket and huffed. “So, how much did she give you?”

“Fifty caps,” Rocket replied as she dropped a small pouch out from under the bundle of clothes she carried. The small metallic discs jingled as they impacted the ground.

The stallion looked anything but pleased. “Only fifty? Did she have more?

“She spent them on drinks first,” Rocket said as she moved away from him and deposited the dirty clothes into a small bin. “Trust me, I could taste the booze well before she even got close to me.”

The stallion huffed once again and collapsed onto a black couch. “Perhaps I should sell you to make up for that loss? Maybe that’d help.”

Rocket turned and glared at him. Which, in turn, prompted him to scowl back. His horn lit up and a small device floated off of his desk and activated. The collar around her neck began to emit an extreme jolt of electricity throughout her body. She reached up and tried to claw the collar off of her neck as she collapsed to the ground. She screamed loudly in pain as the electrical shocks grew in intensity.

“Don’t get smart with me bitch! I own you!” the stallion shouted as he towered over her. He began to laugh as she twitched in many different directions with each passing second. The electrical shocks became less and less bearable, simply causing her bladder control to simply disappear, and a small pool of wetness appeared around her flank.

The stallion allowed the shocks to continue for several more agonizing moments. Then he slowly allowed the electrical current come to a halt inside the collar. Rocket gasped for breath as she sat motionless. The pain was severe but now her body simply felt numb. She quietly sobbed as she slowly regained control of her muscles and contorted into a fetal position.

The stallion tossed the device on the couch and glared down at her. “I can barely stand the sight of you,” he hissed as he spat on her face. “I’ll have to come up with a better use for you.”

The door to the Manager's office burst open and a crème colored mare with a spiked red mane entered. Her face was covered in blood, with a very deep gash running down the length of her face across her left eye.

“The slaves in pen six got out and away!” the mare called out loudly as she limped towards the stallion. “I got a few of them back in their cages but the rest are gone. Some fucker decided to pick the locks on their collars. We can’t track them.”

The stallion roared in anger, “What the hell!?” He bucked his rear legs and sent an old lamp across the room. “How many!?”

The mare took a cloth to her face and wrapped the gash. “Seven! But we can’t spare anyone to chase them down.”

Rocket looked up at the stallion. “I’ll go! I’ll track them down and bring them back!” The stallion and mare looked down at Rocket and blinked.

The stallion laughed. “You? Seriously? Do you think I’m a fool?”

Rocket frowned at him. “No, you’re not a fool. I’m wearing a collar, track me, if I do something you don’t approve of, zap me or kill me. I don’t care.” She rose to her hooves, “But if I do this, I want to earn my freedom. I get you what you want and you let me go.”

The stallion rubbed his hoof against his chin. “And if you fail?”

“Then I die or whatever you feel free fit to do with me. Either way, you win,” she said firmly as she looked at him with very serious eyes. He looked back at her with just as serious a gaze. The mare slowly pulled a cigarette from her bag and lit it.

“Fine, it’s on your head now,” The stallion said as he turned to face the crème colored mare. “See that she’s given a few previsions and some weapons. Nothing too crazy, I want those slaves returned in good if not healable condition,” he said lifting a bottle of whiskey to his lips and taking a very long drink from the bottle, “And make sure that her collar has a radio attached, she’s gonna know if she’s fucked up or not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rocket looked up from where she sat and sighed as she looked at the double doors Shimmer had disappeared behind. It had been three years and she still wasn’t free. She frowned as she looked down as best she could to see the slave collar around her neck. It wasn’t fair.

She pushed off the small bench and moved towards the small huddled crowds of broken families. Some were no older than three years old; others were just a few years older than her. But they all shared the same frightened yet relieved expression on their faces. Their first taste of true freedom and she so desperately wished she could join them.

From her entire core she dreamed of freedom. From the day the Slaver took her parents to right now in the Clinic she prayed to be free. She turned from them and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to hold back her tears.

Her attempt was successful, but only thanks to the rushing forward of the Stallion that had left previously. He marched right up to Rocket and lowered a facemask with his magic.

“She’s lost a lot of blood, we’re gonna need your help,” he said, grabbing her with his magic before she had a chance to protest and bringing her towards the double doors.
Rocket crossed her forelegs and frowned. “I can walk you know!”

“No time!” the stallion replied as he began to gallop. Rocket watched as several small empty rooms passed her vision. Her eyes locked on the double doors in front of them however, ‘Surgical Ward.’ The stallion’s magic pushed open the double doors and Rocket’s eyes went wide. Lying there in the center of the room was Shimmer.

Blood slowly pooled around her body from the multiple gunshot wounds. Some of the wounds were closed; others were in the process of being closed. But none the less, she looked dead. The only sign of life was a slow deep breath that raised and lowered her sides. The stallion dropped the telekinetic spell and Rocket landed on her hooves.

She quickly moved forward before one of the nurses stopped her. “You can’t get any closer, you could make her sick,” the mare said softly as she held Rocket back, “Stay here and we’ll get you hooked up.”

“Hooked up?” Rocket asked as she watched the mare move off to her right. “Hooked up to what?”

Rocket immediately regretted asking the question. The mare slowly pushed a large machine between her and Shimmer. Long tubes lined its sides and several pumps and dials littered its front. She took one of the tubes in her magic and began floating the end towards Shimmer. It was made of a small silver needle and dial.

The nurse looked closely before nodding and gently sliding the needle through Shimmers skin and into her right foreleg. “What the hell is it?” Rocket asked as she looked on in horror as the second needle began floating towards her.

“It’s a blood transfer machine. We’re going to pump some of your blood into your friend here to keep her alive,” the nurse said, beckoning for Rocket to sit and present a foreleg. “Without your blood, she’ll certainly die.”

Rocket looked at the needle, then at Shimmer, and then groaned loudly, “Shimmer… You owe me big!” she said, a frown covering her face as she raised her right foreleg.

“This is going to pinch.”

Rocket groaned as she looked down and watched as the needle penetrate her coat and skin. She gagged instantly and shook her head with another groan. “Yeah, pinch, just lovely!” she said, shaking her head again in disapproval rather than disgust.

She watched as the nurse moved to the front of the machine and pressed a few buttons. The back glowed red as the ancient spark battery came to life. The small black pumps on either side of the machine began slowly extending and retracting. Two large wheels in the center began to spin.

Rocket nearly screamed as she watched as her blood began to fill the transparent tube leading into the machine. The nurse placed a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head slowly, “Don’t scream. What you’re doing is good. Unicorn blood is compatible with Earth and Pegasi Ponies.”
Rocket watched as her blood pooled inside the wheels and then began to fill the tube leading to Shimmer. Rocket watched as her blood slowly disappeared inside of Shimmer and she felt a smile filling her face. Shimmer may be close to death but, something just felt good saving her like this. Rocket blinked in confusion as she continued to watch the machine pump her blood.

“I plan to turn her over to the slaver… I shouldn’t feel happy… Why do I feel happy?” she thought as she sighed loudly before turning to the stallion and asking, “How long is this going to take?”

The stallion looked up as he began to speak only to be cut off by a strange bright purple light emerging from one of the gunshot wounds. “What the hell?!” he managed to say as the light intensified from the wound in Shimmers side. Then another wound began to glow brightly. Followed by another until finally all of her gunshot wounds were glowing and shimmering purple.

Several bright specks began floating from the wounds as Rocket stared on in disbelief. “Doctor, what’s going on?” Rocket asked in a small panic as she watched the wounds slowly beginning to close on their own.

“I… have no idea…” the stallion barely managed to say as one after another, the wounds finally closed. He slowly began running a hoof against Shimmers hide, “There’s no scar…” he said quietly before leaping backwards, “What the hell!?”Rocket’s jaw dropped as she got a good look at his hoof. Coating it was a sticky slimy liquid colored purple. The same shade of purple that Shimmer had vomited up several times before. The only noticeable difference was that this liquid, whatever it was, shimmered in the light as the doctor moved his hoof about.

Rocket’s stare was broken only after she heard Shimmer sigh. Quickly yanking the needle from her foreleg she moved around the table to face her. Amazingly, she was waking up, looking as if she had only gone down for an extended nap.

Shimmer rubbed a hoof against her eye as she smiled up at Rocket. “Heya. Did we get the families to the clinic okay? Are the Raiders taken care of?”

Rocket didn’t reply as all she did was look at the stallion and stare at him. He stared right back in utter confusion. Shimmer raised one of her eyebrows as she looked between them, “What? What happened?”

Rocket looked down at her and sighed, “I honestly don’t know…”

Chapter 6: The Sub-Basement

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Shimmer stared blankly at the operating table she was once lying on. Typically, when someone went in for surgery, there would be dark crimson blood everywhere. Scalpels would lie on the cart covered in blood. Even masks and disposable gowns would be soaked. It was simply the natural order of things.

But bright purple goo on everything was new. Rocket had explained what had happened. The strange glowing lights, the sparkly shapes in them, and then her blood turning purple; none of it had prepared Shimmer for the assault of confusion. In the five years she had spent studying medicine and the three working at the clinic, she had never encountered this before.

She slowly lifted a vial with her hooves and gently scooped up some of the purple liquid. She began to move over towards some of the equipment in the room. She then placed the vial in one and activated it. The small vial spun rapidly in the centrifuge, preventing it from becoming more of a goo-like substance than a liquid. She watched it spin and spin and the question on her mind became more and more troublesome.

It wasn’t blood that she knew. But it wasn’t poison either. In fact, it probably saved her life. But why had it glowed? Why did it only react once Rocket’s blood touched her own? Could it have been some type of magical interaction between their bloods?

She paused and blinked, looking at the centrifuge. “That… actually make sense,” she said aloud, not realizing she wasn’t alone in the room. Doctor Heartstrings, she had come to find out, was actually a descendant of Lyra Heartstrings. A unicorn pony she had once met while visiting Ponyville several years ago on the recommendation of Fluttershy. Lyra’s lover Bon Bon, and their only child Limerick, had survived the Megaspell disaster in the safety of Stable 27 just north of the Crystal Empire Castle.

Shimmer had also learned that Stable 27 eventually failed and the occupants were forced to abandon the confines. That had been nearly seventy-five years ago. The survivors scattered about and began to explore the remains of the Crystal Empire, only to find it a vast wasteland. Eventually, a group of thirty settled in the nearby town of Broken Barrel. Heartstrings had been born twenty years after settling and took up residency with his dying father in the clinic.

It was then he had decided to become a Doctor and received his cutie mark shortly after. Shimmer chuckled softly at it. The mark looked very similar to her own, but where hers was a ribbon, his was simply a giant pink bow tucked behind the red heart. Against his hazel coat, the cutie mark definitely stood out. But that was only when he wasn’t wearing a giant white doctor’s coat to cover it.

Heartstrings coughed behind Shimmer and she jerked her head back around to meet his gaze. As he strode forward he asked, “What makes sense?” The whir of the centrifuge slowly died as the machine turned off.
Shimmer picked up the vial with her teeth and gently placed it in a small test tube tray. “The idea that whatever this stuff is, it reacted when it came into contact with unicorn magic, which is known to be contained in minute amounts in their blood.” Shimmer moved along the table and pulled a small test cart towards the table. On the cart were several testing devices and several vials of other substances. Eyedroppers, Petri dishes, acid, and other assorted items were floated by Heartstrings magic and placed on the table.

“I’m still having trouble accepting the fact you’re two hundred years old…you don’t look a day over twenty,” Heartstrings said with a smirk as he looked over at Shimmer. “You really worked here back then?”
Shimmer replied with a giggle, “Yep, I was the Head Pharmaceutical Technician. I used to mix and prepare potions for the ponies that lived around here.” She took an eyedropper full of the purple liquid and placed some on the Petri dishes. Then returning for some of the acidic liquids, she applied them to each sample of purple liquid. The two liquids that had any effect were acid and water. Both caused the purple substance to shrivel and disappear.

They both looked down in mass confusion. However as Heartstrings took one Petri dish into his magic, the purple liquid bubbled and then promptly began to glow. Then it began to expand. And then it began to drool out of the Petri dish.

Heartstrings released the dish from his magic and it smashed against the floor. The purple liquid suddenly began to hiss and then turned a solid black before dissolving through the floor and into the darkness below.
“And this stuff saved you?” Heartstrings asked in confusion. “It just ate a hole in my floor…”

“I don’t get it either,” Shimmer replied as she looked at the floor. “I need a blood sample.” Spotting a blood bag, she grabbed a needle and began to hook it up before a hoof came down on the tube.

Heartstrings glared down at her as she looked up at him. “Look, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but we don’t have the shit to spare for your little science experiment,” he said firmly as he kept his hoof down on the tube. “Now your friend outside said you could compensate us if we saved you. Well, you’re alive, now how do you plan to compensate us?”

Shimmer frowned as she pushed his hoof off of the tube and placed it all on the table. “Have you been able to unlock the sub-basement door?” she asked as she faced him.

“No. We haven’t.” Heartstrings replied with an expression of pure annoyance. “We’ve been trying for years, but the damn interface is both password and retinal locked. And no one from back before the war is still living to-“

Shimmer just began to smirk as he stopped talking. She then slowly moved past him and towards the rear hallway. Heartstrings was stunned for a moment and then scrambled to catch up. “Hold the goddamn scroll for a second! You can unlock the sub-basement?!”

“Yep.”

“You’re not bullshitting me right?!” Heartstrings asked in shock as they reached the main basement doors. Shimmer reached up and pushed on the door and it opened down into darkness. She moved a hoof upward and flicked a small switch. Several lights slowly clicked to life as she descended the stairs with Heartstrings right behind her.

“As long as the system hasn’t entered lockdown mode,” she replied as she moved through the basement. Old equipment littered the large and dusty open space. Several wheelchairs and gurneys sat in different corners and several old arcane mixers also could be seen mixed in the clutter. However, in front of them sat a large concrete door with a terminal sticking out of the wall.

Heartstrings shook his head as they approached the terminal. “We tried all but the final time to unlock it thirty years ago.” He sighed as he shook his head. “Back then this entire clinic was filled with crystal ghouls.”
Shimmer halted in her tracks. “Crystal Ghouls? You mean Crystal Ponies?”

“No I mean Crystal Ghouls,” Heartstrings said, turning around to face her. “Normal Ghouls you can deal with. Crystal Ghouls are three times worse.” He pointed at a few places where the dust on the floor hadn’t quite reached an even level with the rest of the dust. Underneath that spot sat pools of dark stains that Shimmer assumed to be blood.

“What’s so different about Crystal Ghouls?” Shimmer asked as she ran a hoof against the dust, revealing the blood stained floor a bit more. Her eyes turned sympathetic to those that had died and suffered resurrection only to become insane.

Heartstrings shuddered for the briefest of moments before speaking. “Unlike normal Ghouls, Crystal Ghouls are both feral and not. They don’t possess true intelligence to carry a conversation; they’re more like pack animals. They’re smart, coordinated, and extremely deadly.” He paused as he pointed around. “When we first came down here to see what was still here, we lost three in the fight.” He pointed at a small stack of wheelchairs, “Two hid behind there.” He pointed at a stack of filing cabinets. “Three behind there.” He then pointed with both arms at standing boards. “And two behind each of those boards.”

Shimmer instantly felt surrounded despite being the only one with Heartstrings. “They ambushed you,” she said quietly as she looked down at her hooves, another blood pool stain beneath her.

“It wasn’t just an ambush. It was a slaughter,” he said with a shake of his head. “Regular Ferals lost their ability to command magic long ago. Crystal Ghouls, they can use magic as easily as a Pegasus can fly.” He slowly moved towards the door. “Camper was the first one dead. He caught a magical bolt of energy in the back of the head that caused his face to explode outwards.” He ran a hoof along the wall, streaks of blood barely visible.

He moved slowly to his right. “Then Jasmina, who was telekinetically drawn and quartered,” he said, motioning to where he stood; four evenly spaced blood pool stains covered the floor. Shimmer’s mouth suddenly became dry, imagining all of her legs being telekinetically removed from her body.

Heartstrings pointed at her. “Diamond was next,” he said, shuddering. “Being drawn and quartered was horrible, but what they did to her... Nopony should go through that.”

Shimmer gave him a very nervous look. “What’d they do to her?”

Heartstrings looked up at her with sad eyes as he sighed. “They used their magic to skin her alive from the flank to the face.” He looked as if he was going to be sick. “Her screams still haunt my dreams.”

Shimmer collapsed onto her flank as she jammed a forehoof into her mouth, keeping herself from vomiting all over the floor. Heartstrings continued. “The sad thing is, she didn’t die right away.” He sat down and looked at the spot Shimmer sat. “I gave her potion after potion, Cataclysm and Zipper kept them back and killed them one by one.” He chuckled softly, coldly. “The benefits of Power Armor. It’s not easy to get magic through it.”

Shimmer gave a look of annoyance as she thought back to her own suit sitting in her basement back in The Grove. “I’m sorry they died. They sound like they were very close to you.”

Heartstrings smiled softly. “Diamond was carrying my foal when she died. And there weren’t any other mares nearby to do a transfer of the fetus. But thank you,” he said softly as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. He forcefully cleared his throat before standing up. He turned to face the door. “So! That one?”

Shimmer nodded with a forced smile as she moved to the terminal. She tapped one of the keys and the screen lit up. Displaying on the screen were several failed attempts at opening the door to the sub-basement. Typically, a terminal would simply reset when an attempt had been failed. But this terminal was designed to shut down and lock in case someone decided to try to steal the supplies in the sub-basement.
Near the end of the war, the clinic had found itself in the embarrassing situation of being sent too much Med-X. The original clinic staff had begun to skimp off the top of the Med-X crates and began selling them on the streets. While in small quantities Med-X would dull pain and boost adrenaline, large quantities would bring a pony to a sense of euphoria and send them on a rainbow filled high. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor had gotten wind of this and were deeply angered at the actions of the ponies running the scheme.
Contacting Fluttershy only days later, the original staff was replaced. Shimmer was given the role of Head Pharmaceutical Technician. In charge of accurate counts of all medicines and devices sent to the clinic. Shimmer had taken pride in her work and knew the exact count of every case inside the sub-basement. After a month, a clinic that had been tainted by selfish ponies, gained a reputation of being a highly welcoming and highly efficient place. In fact, only a week before Megaspell disaster, Princess Cadance had praised the clinic on its rapid change.

Shimmer slowly typed on the keyboard. “Consider yourself lucky Heartstrings, I’m the only one that knows the password to this terminal.”

Heartstrings looked as if a Raptor had crash landed on his head. His jaw lowered as he stared at her typing at the keyboard. Slowly she pressed the keys, entering the password a second time.

On the screen, several dots appeared followed by the words, ‘A.S.C.E.N.S.I.O.N. … PASSWORD ACCEPTED. GOOD MORNING HEAD TECHNICIAN SHIMMER JUBILEE. SUB-BASEMENT LOCKS STANDING BY…RETINAL SCAN REQUIRED FOR FINAL LOCK RELEASE.’ Shimmer smiled as a small panel opened next to the terminal. A small device began to slide outwards and a small rubber piece extended that matched the shape of binoculars. Shimmer lowered her head and looked into the rubber piece.

A red light shone around the small spaces as a beam slowly passed back and forth along her eyes. The beams began scanning the patterns in her pupils. After several seconds the red then turned green. Shimmer lifted her head and blinked several times, making her eyes water in the process.

Heartstrings looked up as he heard metallic grinding coming from the door. A loud groan could be heard from each of the locks as they rotated and then eventually retracted into the wall. Shimmer looked back at Heartstrings who gaped like a foal during Winter Wrap Up.

The giant concrete door slowly began opening outwards towards them. The barely lit basement began to cast a long light beam down the short path leading to an elevator. Shimmer stepped forward and onto the elevator. It groaned slightly but didn’t move. Heartstrings hesitantly approached and stood on the elevator.
“Keep your legs and face inside unless you want to lose them,” Shimmer said as she extended her right hoof and pushed a small lever on the floor forward. The elevator jerked downward quickly—only for a moment—before slowly descending downwards into the sub-basement. At first, it was simply pitch black. But as it descended further downward, the few bulbs that worked began to kick on.

Light began filling the wide sub-basement and Heartstrings gasped in surprise. The place was completely intact. Inside it, large stacks of unopened crates of medical supplies were found. Shimmer smiled as she looked at the crates. “You’ll find twenty-five crates of each major mass produced medical devices. Healing potions, Med-X, RadAway, Psycho, Jet, Hydra, and Party Time Mint-als, all still good from the war.”

Heartstrings looked at her in disbelief. “Just how… How is this place still standing?”

“The sub-basement was originally designed to be converted to a Stable. But they never got around to actually building it, instead prioritizing on the Stable under Canterlot and 99 near Hoofington.” She replied with a shrug as the elevator reached the bottom. She pushed open the gate and moved towards the nearest crate. She placed a hoof on the wooden box and smiled, “Each crate has one hundred vials of each item. I trust this will cover our expenses? Present and future?”

Heartstrings looked at her as if she had fifty heads. Shimmer frowned at him. “Seriously? I bring you to a treasure trove of medical supplies and it’s not enough to offer us free healing?”

Heartstrings frowned at her. “Now wait just a minute here, this is my clinic and-“

“You have every right to run it as you see fit,” Shimmer said softly, “but at the same time, there is so much to go around you shouldn’t hoard it to yourselves.” She moved forward and looked him in the eye. “As a healer, I swore an oath, I want to repeat it to you. Maybe it’ll change your mind.”

Heartstrings looked annoyed but he nodded none the less. He admitted to himself that he was in fact curious. She was from another time, but she still showed him this cache of medical supplies. Any other pony would have shot him and stolen the supplies. But Shimmer, she was different—and he knew it.

Shimmer smiled as she looked at the crates. “I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific and magical gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.” She paused to take a breath. “I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science and magic, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug, or the conjurors spell.”

She paused once again to take a breath but to also see the look on Heartstrings’ face. She continued as she saw his face softening with each word, “I will not be ashamed to say ‘I know not,’ nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery. I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. Above all, I must not play at being a Goddess. I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick equine being, whose illness may affect the next ponies family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.”

Heartstrings looked both impressed and heartbroken. The oath was from a time forgotten. And in this world it held no place in any ponies hearts any longer. The ones that did heal, knew on some level they should help. But more often than not, that help came at a price. From what Shimmer was saying and how she was saying it, she would give healing away for free. Caring only about healing the sick and injured, no matter the cost.

She continued uninterrupted and proudly “I will prevent disease wherever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow equine beings and others, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.” She paused only to gather a breath and continued a bit louder and even more confidently. “If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art and friendship, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing and those who seek my help.”

She finally stopped and looked at Heartstrings and then motioned a hoof around. “These medicines are the last surviving pieces of a time forgotten. It is our job to help the sick and weak and not exploit them out of their caps.”

Heartstrings slowly wandered to one of the nearby crates and pushed it open. Inside were several vials filled with Hydra. He looked back at Shimmer and sighed. “One hundred units in each crate?” he asked quietly as he looked down at the Hydra once again.

Shimmer nodded as she stepped forward. “More than enough to go around and then some.” She gently placed a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s our job to do good and do it right. Two hundred years ago and even now, as healers, we must tend to all who come through our doors. Evil intent or not, we cannot deny a pony or creature medicine because of what they’ve done.”

Heartstrings slowly closed the crate and looked at Shimmer. “You truly believe we can do better? Do good?” Shimmer nodded in reply and he remained silent for a moment; thinking on the oath and the future of the clinic. He turned away from her and looked at the elevator, the bright lights from above illuminating it as if they were spotlights.

He turned to face her once again. “Can anyone take the oath?”

Shimmer smiled and nodded, “You’re a healer, and it’s your oath to take. Live by it, apply it, and you’ll feel much better with yourself and what you do.” Shimmer said before sitting down on her flank. “Raise your right hoof and repeat after me.”

An hour passed before Shimmer and Heartstrings returned to the surface. Heartstrings called a meeting of all his staff. Shimmer reluctantly agreed that they simply couldn’t just hand out free medical supplies. They would be gone with all the liars and desperate that wanted a quick fix. However, the fixed price they agreed on was more generous than previously posted.

Shimmer smiled as she watched as one by one, the ponies in the clinic began to smile. Even the rescued ponies from the Raider camp seemed happier. Heartstrings promised to heal them free of charge and provide shelter for those that wanted to stay. However, many agreed that going to The Grove was probably the best decision for them as a whole.

Rocket agreed and gave them instructions on how to find The Grove, but told them that the small yellow house near the entrance to the river bridge belonged to Shimmer. They unanimously agreed to leave the small home alone for Shimmer, but promised to fix it up a bit so that it wouldn’t completely fall over.
It was just prior to leaving that one of the rescued ponies approached Shimmer. On his head rested a red boonie hat with a logo of crossed rifles. He introduced himself as Vista, a Lieutenant in The Crystal Pony Regiment, CPR for short. The CPR in pre-war times acted as a sort of Home-guard against threats such as King Sombra. The CPR at the end of the war prevented a massive Zebra assault from breaching the Empire’s outer limits. The engagement was the only battle in the entire war for the Crystal Empire.

“What can I help you with Vista?” Shimmer asked as she looked at him. His neck sported a scar that snaked its way down his left side and ended just above his right foreleg. His boonie was weathered but still shone vibrantly against his yellow coat.

Vista looked her up and down before clearing his throat. A year in the raider camp had dried it up long ago and he spoke with a raspy deep tone, “You came up with the plan to save us from the Raiders is this correct?”

Shimmer nodded in reply, “I did. Though it didn’t quite go according to plan…I was nearly killed.”
“Yet you still saved over two dozen from certain death and now give us a place to call home.” Vista said as he began to bow slightly, “You have my eternal thanks. But I must ask, how did you learn to think that way for a healer?”

“My husband was a soldier before the war, he taught me strategy through several long games of chess.” She said to him just as she had explained earlier to Zephyr and Rocket.

Vista nodded while running a hoof under his chin, “Interesting. Very interesting…” he then lowered his hoof and smiled, “Well then I may have something to ask of you.”

Rocket stepped up next to Shimmer with a curious look on her face. Shimmer raised an eyebrow in confusion as Vista reached into a small pack next to him. “I was captured less than a week ago. We were attacked by those Raiders and my unit was scattered to hell and back.” He pulled a map from his pack and opened it and pointed with a hoof. The map was that of the Crystal Empire and he was pointing to a small gem quarry.

“My unit and I were supposed to rendezvous at this Quarry.” He said looking up at Shimmer, “If they managed to escape, they will be here.” He moved his hoof away from the map and rubbed the back of his head, “Normally I’d go. But someone needs to lead these folks to The Grove. I hate to ask but could you maybe see if my unit is still alive? And if they are, tell them to come to The Grove?”

Shimmer looked at Rocket, “What do you think?”

“Well considering there’s not much else to do? Why the hell not!” Rocket said with a smirk.

Vista smiled as he rolled up the map. “Now that you’ve seen the map, your Pip-Buck should have the information on the location and a reminder added under the Data Section.”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow, “It can do that?” She raised her hoof and activated the Pip-Buck and scrolled through the windows to Data. And sure enough, the reminder was there. And then she swapped to the Map section. And right there ‘Gem Quarry’ was labeled with a giant solid arrow pointed above it.

As she lowered her hoof she said, “Well, that’s certainly handy.” She turned quickly as she felt a hoof tapping her shoulder. Heartstrings stood behind her with a small satchel.

“For all your help and unlocking the sub-basement, I want you to have this.” He said presenting the satchel. She took the satchel and looked inside. Packed to the very top were bottles of Hydra, Med-X, and Radaway.
“Thank you Heartstrings. I appreciate it.” Shimmer said as she added the satchels contents into her bags.
Heartstrings took his satchel back and smiled, “I’ll also keep those samples of that purple stuff on hand. I know you’ll probably want to come back and take a look at it.”

Shimmer nodded with a smile as she pulled him into a gentle hug, “Thank you. Be good. Help as many as you can.” She said with a content sigh before pulling away. She then looked at Rocket, “Let’s find Zephyr and get going. We’ve got some ponies to find.”

Chapter 7: The Quarry

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Day became night as the blue of the sky was replaced with a magical darkness. Shimmer blinked in amazement as she looked up. Even before the war, Shimmer rarely had seen the sky so full of stars. Even the small plume of smoke from the cooking fire could not block out their glow.

Two days on the road had taken its toll. If it hadn’t been for Rocket, they would have kept on marching. But, in the end, they needed food and rest; the quarry was only an hour’s walk now, thankfully.

Rocket used her magic to hover a small pan above the fire. Inside was one of the most foul-smelling creations that Shimmer had ever smelled. Maybe it was the grains. Maybe it was the dirty water. But either way, Shimmer couldn’t help but make a face as the oatmeal cooked in front of her.

She looked at Zephyr who was sharpening a knife with a rock, then back at Rocket who quietly hummed to herself as she cooked. Glancing down at her foreleg holding the Pip-Buck, she slowly spun one of the small dials on the device. The screen jumped to life.

Her hoof pressed against the top dial and brought it to the Data Screen. The smaller dial beneath it moved the submenus and she found the Radio tab. She brought that up and began reading the limited selection of incoming radio signals.

“Tenpony Radio, Ballad and Sonnet Radio, and Unknown,” Shimmer muttered to herself as she read the choices aloud.

“DJ-Pon3 is pretty good; he’s got music from all over the place. Sweetie Bell, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, hell he’s even got that new mare.” Rocket said as she gently rocked the pan back and forth. “Damn, what’s her name…”

Zephyr looked up in moderate annoyance. “You mean that Sweetie Bell knock off, Velvet Remedy?”

“Yeah! That’s her!” Rocket said enthusiastically. “She’s got a lovely voice.”

Zephyr simply scoffed as he went back to sharpening his knife, “Sorry, but she’s too pitchy and whiny for my taste.”

Shimmer turned her head to glance at Rocket, who looked as if she had a knife plunged right through her heart. The two continued to argue as she toggled Tenpony Radio. Immediately the speaker crackled to life, ceasing their arguing.

“Hello Wasteland! This is DJ-Pon3 coming at you live from Tenpony Radio!” The voice began cheerfully. “Today I’ve got a new story for you that you’ll not believe! Do you remember hearing stories of an Empire so beautiful that their castle was made of PURE crystal? I sure do! It still exists everypony! And boy, is it lively as ever!”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow as she listened to the broadcast. The male voice caught her off guard. It was especially cheerful, though cheerful about what? The Wasteland was a vast devoid of death and destruction. If there was joy to be found, maybe it was in small, rare quantities.

“Just yesterday I received a report that several Raider camps were attacked and destroyed two days ago. As you know my little ponies, Raiders are nasty! Raiders are evil! But these Raiders, let me tell you, were especially bad.” The voice paused long enough for Shimmer to look up at the confused faces of Zephyr and Rocket. Two days, that was all it took for their actions to be noticed. Zephyr’s face was filled with panic and worry. Rocket’s was a mask of pure confusion.

“One of the larger camps had prisoners inside. Young and old ponies alike were used as breeding stock. I know it hurts to hear, but it’s the truth. And when has DJ-Pon3 ever lied to you? Anyway, it was bad—and somepony heard the call to fight. The Raider camp was attacked and every single Raider was killed. One of “The Saviors” was injured but she pulled through when brought to a clinic. The survivors of the camp were also brought to a nearby clinic and now I hear they’re heading to a new home.”

Shimmer felt herself being drawn closer to the screen of the Pip-Buck as her hoof gently turned the volume dial. The volume increased as her interest was piqued and the words of DJ-Pon3 sucked her in. Rocket was right; DJ-Pon3 was extremely good, almost to the point of being hypnotic.

“The camp was hit by three ponies willing to fight the good fight. Helping to restore Equestria, or maybe just the Crystal Empire. But wherever they are, thank you! I’d give you a hoof-bump if I could but if I left, who’d bring you the news?!” The voice let out a series of small chuckles before continuing. “If you’re still out there, please, continue to fight the good fight. All of us here in Tenpony are rooting for you! Especially the pink one with the Pip-Buck and I hope you’re listening. You took more than your share of hurt; we’re in your debt. Anyway, that’s all we have for news today everypony! We return you to your regular music!” The voice ceased and the sweet melodies of Velvet Remedy began.

Shimmer looked at Rocket who appeared to be simply beside herself. Zephyr, on the other hoof, looked as if he was ready to tear the Pip-Buck from Shimmer’s foreleg. “That damn DJ-Pon3 just painted a target on our backs,” he hissed as he pushed his hat forward to cover his eyes.

“I thought it was rather nice,” Rocket said as a smile crept up her features. “He called us ‘Saviors’.He doesn’t name just anypony that unless he thinks they’re doing good.”

Zephyr huffed in reply as he turned away from her and collapsed on the ground, kicking up a small dark cloud of dust around him.

“I’ll be right back,” Shimmer said, rising and pushing dirt out of her coat. “Call me when you’re done cooking?” Rocket nodded in reply. Shimmer then moved off from the two and found a nearby spot in privacy. She sat down and giggled as she looked at the Pip-Buck on her foreleg. As she listened to the voice of Velvet Remedy she found herself agreeing with Rocket; her voice was soothing.

She looked up as she spotted movement in front of her. She nearly pulled her pistol out when she recognized what was doing the moving. A Sprite-Bot floated in front of her, wings flittering rapidly as it moved closer towards her.

“Watcher?” Shimmer asked curiously as the Sprite-Bot ceased its movement.

“How’d you know it was me?” the familiar voice asked as the Sprite-Bot hovered a foot and a half away.

Shimmer smiled as she shook her head. “The only time that I’ve seen one of these silly things is when you’re using them.”

The Sprite-Bot went silent for a moment before a quick chuckle filled the speaker. “Good point, Savior.”

Shimmer felt her face light up with red. “I didn’t pick the name.”

“DJ-Pon3 rarely gives names out,“ he said as the Sprite-Bot gently floated to the side of the rock they sat behind. “You trust your friends?” he asked quietly. A whirring could be heard as a single camera zoomed in on Zephyr and Rocket as they argued with each other. “Not exactly harmonious, are they?”

Shimmer giggled as she shook her head, her mane fluttering as she did. “They’re…unique, I won’t deny that. But they didn’t leave me to die in the middle of that Raider Camp. They could’ve left me there, but they brought me to the clinic.”

In the distance Zephyr and Rocket argued. Their voices were loud but the words themselves couldn’t be heard from this distance. Shimmer rolled her eyes as she turned back to look at the stars. “Time may have frozen for me, but even so, I’ve never seen so many stars,” she said quietly as the lights blinked slowly against the black of the sky.

The Sprite-Bot turned to face her for a brief moment before turning to look up at itself. Shimmer giggled at the sight but continued to look up as he spoke. “Without the lights from Canterlot, Manehatten, and the Crystal Empire, the night’s sky has changed significantly. The only place you could see a sky like this before the war was in Yakyakistan,“ he said as the flittering orb rotated to face her.

Shimmer looked at the orb. “You remember before the war?”

“I was young when the war first started. But yes, I remember,” the voice said in a somber tone. “I was there when the Ministries were formed. When things were falling apart around us as we fought to keep Equestria alive when in fact we were just killing her. I remember arguing with someone special to me before taking a nap.” His sigh was loud as the Sprite-Bot flittered away from her a little bit. “And when I awoke, the world had ended and everypony I knew was gone.”

Shimmer felt a tear dripping down her face as she pushed a hoof across it. “I’m sorry Watcher. I was asleep for the whole thing. Frozen in time, not aging... This world is completely alien to me. There’s so much unhappiness here.” Shimmer slowly rose to her hooves and looked out over the horizon. The Crystal Castle glistening in the moonlight. “Even now in the night time I know that looking out there, ponies are suffering. Despite the beauty I see, unhappiness grows, and I want to so desperately give those in pain a chance to be happy again.”

She didn’t get much of a reply. Watcher only managed one small grunt before the Sprite-Bot suddenly popped and the silly polka music began once again. She gritted her teeth. “THAT IS SO ANNOYING!” She quickly clamped a hoof over her mouth as Rocket and Zephyr looked in her direction. She quietly cursed to herself as the two scrambled over, weapons drawn.

“What’s wrong?!” Rocket asked as her pistols floated beside her. Zephyr would’ve asked something if not for the knife in his teeth and another ready to throw in his special grip on his hoof.

Shimmer laughed nervously and pointed at the Sprite-Bot. “The music that thing is playing. It’s so annoying.” She said half-heartedly as the polka playing orb flittered off in the opposite direction. “It was so quiet until it got close to me and loudly started playing that music.”

Both Zephyr and Rocket shared the same annoyed expression on their faces. They briefly looked at each other and then looked at Shimmer. She shrugged nervously before they both reared back and shouted at her, “Idiot!”

The following morning Shimmer woke rubbing her head. Following the shout, Rocket had proceeded to thump her on the head with a hoof. She spent a good quarter hour nursing the lump before finally falling asleep. But now, she looked down into the Quarry and her heart sank.

Smoke rose from the large hole in the ground. This was a recent battlefield. And the signs of survivors became less and less likely as time went along. Rocket looked down with a pair of oculars and frowned as she scanned the area slowly.

“A lot of bodies…mostly Raiders…whoever they chased gave them a hell of a fight,” Rocket said as her gaze passed over seven Raider corpses. Her gaze then met that of a small shack. “Got a shack, might be where they fought at one point. There’s bullet holes littered across the walls.”

Shimmer frowned as she squinted to see down below. The area was so large and open, anyone with a high powered rifle would be able pick anyone off easily down there. But at the same time, there were so many crystal blocks that someone could use them for cover.

Even so, several crystal blocks looked completely obliterated from explosives and gunfire that what cover used to remain was severely damaged. Rocket turned her head slowly and then lurched forward. “I don’t believe it…they’re still fighting down there!”

Shimmer looked down and raised an eyebrow, “I don’t hear any gunfire.”

“That’s because they aren’t shooting. Look!” Rocket said as she jammed the oculars across and in front of Shimmers face. She frowned as she then peered into them. Her jaw dropped as she looked down into the furthest edge of the quarry.

Sitting alone remained what was once the CEO’s shack. Half of it was blown open and smoking, a single pony corpse laid across the wreckage. However, in front of the shack, fifteen ponies stood in a perfect circle, five of them forced to sit. Six of them wore the familiar uniform Vista had worn at the Clinic. The rest were bloody thirsty Raiders, happily dancing in a circle around them as they held five of the soldiers in position. One on one the strongest Raider brawled hoof to hoof with one of the uniformed soldiers.

Shimmer watched as the soldier squared off and gave a sturdy buck to the Raider’s chest. The Raider, however, looked as if he was chuckling as he brought a forehoof upwards. Knocking the soldier off of his hooves he sent him sprawling across the wet ground of the quarry. Shimmer pushed the oculars away quickly and pointed.

“We need to get down there. Now.” She looked at Zephyr and Rocket. “Those Raiders are going to take out those soldiers one at a time. While they’re distracted we can move in and take them all out.”

Rocket looked at Zephyr skeptically then at Shimmer. “How do you know the Raiders won’t turn and attack?”

“They probably will,” Shimmer replied as she pushed to her hooves and began to gallop down the path into the quarry. “The only difference is, they’re so distracted right now that Zephyr can probably kill a few of them silently if we get in close enough. It’ll give the CPR Soldiers time to escape or attack. Then you and I will move in and take out the rest.”

Rocket and Zephyr galloped to keep up. They listened as they caught up and Zephyr spoke. “How close do you think I need to get? There are a LOT down there.”

Shimmer nodded ahead. “Do you see that wrecked Sky-Wagon? The one with the massive hole in the side?”

Zephyr looked for a brief moment before spotting it. “Got it. The bright blue one?”

“Right! You’ll get inside the Sky-Wagon and open one of the windows. That’ll get you close enough to throw your knives.” She then nodded to a large grey pipe. “Rocket will hide inside that pipe and wait for the fighting to start. I’m going to stay on the opposite side behind those Crystal Cubes.” She said nodding to the large stack directly across from the pipe.

Zephyr nodded in understanding. “Once the fighting starts, the Raiders will be so caught off guard, you can catch them in a cross fire. But what’s stopping you both from hitting the CPR guys?”

“Luck and good aim?” Shimmer suggested as she waved a hoof. “We don’t have much time. Get into position, we need to move quickly.” As if fate itself heard her, the fighting CPR soldier cried out in a blood curdling scream. Rocket and Zephyr didn’t even argue as they split up and moved to get into position as quickly as possible.

Shimmer herself panted as she weaved between obstacles as she entered the main quarry area. All around her were bodies of Raiders and the occasional CPR Soldier. She quietly approved, for every three Raiders she found a single dead soldier. Whatever the CPR was once, they proved to still be very well trained or extremely lucky. How Vista became separated from these soldiers was a question for another day.

Shimmer gasped as she found herself falling forward suddenly. Her hoof had caught a trip wire and a small explosive device beeped behind her. She went wide eyed as she hit the ground hard and rolled away. A moment later a large explosion filled the air. Crystal shards and mud flew in every direction possible.

“Hey! You hear that Lugnut!?” a Raider shouted as Shimmer’s hearing slowly came back.

“Go check it out you slugs! I’m not done with the lady soldier yet!” another Raider called, this one’s voice sounding as if he had swallowed glass for fun. Despite the ringing in her ears she heard the desperate cries of the CPR soldiers begging the Raider to stop whatever he had planned.

She groaned as she pushed off of her hooves. “So much for plan A,” she said, shaking her head and dizzily crawling between two crystal cubes. It was barely in time as two Raiders ran around the stack and appeared in perfect view of her.

She dropped to the ground and raised her pistol as she watched the ponies begin searching. “Lugnut, I don’t see nopony.”

“Quiet, whatever bitch set off that bomb might be still alive,” the other Raider hissed as his pipe rose with his magic. Shimmer frowned; the idea of a Raider being smart enough for telekinesis disturbed her. She watched as they slowly examined the blast site.

“Yeah…whoever set it off is toast…look at the body parts.”

Shimmer blinked several times, “Body parts?” she asked herself quietly. But not quietly enough; the closest Raider heard her and his head snapped up and looked directly at her.

“Hey! You bit-“ He was cut off by the blast of a handgun going off. His body fell limply to the side as the pistol from Shimmer’s mouth smoked in the early morning chill. The other Raider turned and began firing. His angle thankfully wasn’t in sight of Shimmer as his bullets peppered the crystal block to her right. She shielded her eyes with the Pip-buck as shards attempted to pierce them.

“What in Equestria!” Shimmer shouted as she charged outwards when the bullets stopped flying. The Raider struggled to fix his weapon. A single shell hadn’t ejected from the side of the old weapon and jammed. Shimmer charged forward and rammed the barrel of her pistol against his neck and pulled the trigger. His head exploded upwards and outwards as brain matter and blood filled the air.

The body fell and she slid the pistol back into her bag. She looked down at the rifle and raised an eyebrow, it had been modified so that a pony sitting on their rear could have it rest on their back and still be fired by an Earth pony. It was similar to a Battle-saddle but was only half of one. The rifle itself looked ready to fall apart in her teeth as she held it. She slid the straps on and around her neck and the rifle fit snuggly to her form.

She looked down and, using her teeth and hooves, removed the jam in the ejector. She looked down and quickly pulled out two more clips from the Raider’s bags. She dropped them into hers and turned. In her own small skirmish she had forgotten about Zephyr and Rocket. Her ears twitched as gunfire and shouting reminded her that the battle wasn’t over yet.

She galloped between the stacks of crystal and rounded a corner. In the center of the stacks rested the CEO’s shack and the group of raiders and soldiers. Two more soldiers had died in the ensuing fight that she accidentally triggered. But the rest had rushed to their hooves and were fighting tooth and nail to bring the Raiders down.

“Shimmer get down!” she heard Zephyr cry as a knife flew through the air. She went wide eyed as she dropped and felt the cold steel pass through her mane and impact with a wet thump. She looked over her shoulder as the knife protruded from between the eyes of another Raider whose hooves had been brought up in reaction to attempt to grasp the sudden attack.

She turned to face Zephyr who had been knocked from his feet from a Raider at his side.

Shimmer frowned at the Raider as he reared up and prepared to bring his hooves down. She then bit down on the trigger of the rifle and felt herself being pushed backwards as the saddle recoiled. Several bullets flew through the air and planted themselves in the belly of the Raider.

The pony recoiled under the onslaught and collapsed in a heap next to Zephyr whose eyes went wide immediately. Shimmer then turned and found a hoof connecting with the left side of her face. She closed her eyes as she recoiled against the punch. She took several wide steps as she shook her head and attempted to locate her attacker.

Instead, she felt her chin being bucked upwards by two hind legs. She cried out in pain as her E.F.S. blinked a warning that she was extremely hurt and required either a potion or a doctor. She landed with a thud in the mud and slid underneath a small stack of rubble and wood. She groaned as the world seemed to slow around her.

As she looked up she saw the Raider that was previously brawling with the soldiers approaching her. Fury blazed in his eyes as he closed the distance between her and him. She watched as he began to leap through the air when Rocket appeared at his side, her forehooves wrapping around his body and she pushed him mid-air into a Crystal cube. She landed gracefully, brought her pistols up and began firing.

Shimmer swore she could see the bullets as her daze began to slowly subside. The brawling Raider was torn apart by the projectiles as the world returned to normal speed. Rocket extended a hoof towards Shimmer. “On your hooves! We’re not done yet!” she shouted as Shimmer took her hoof and climbed out of the pile of rubble.

She looked to her right and watched as the soldiers fought to hold their ground. “Rocket, we need to take them out. Flank them to the left, I’ll join the main fight with Zephyr. You’re the best shot out of all of us. You get the shots, you take them!”

“On it boss!” Rocket said with a smirk as she galloped off and behind some more Crystal Cubes.

“Zephyr, with me!” Shimmer shouted as she charged into the crowd of remaining soldiers. She brought her rear hooves upwards as she spun on her forehooves. Her hooves connected with a rather sensitive spot of one Raider and he collapsed with a howl.

One of the soldiers looked at her in shock. “Who the hell are you, lady?” she asked with a forehoof punch to one of the Raiders.

“Vista sent us! We’re here to get you out!” Shimmer replied as she pulled the trigger on her rifle. Several bullets were fired before it clicked on an empty clip. She pulled the release as a Raider clutched his hind leg, howling in pain. She didn’t even bother reloading as several loud pistol shots filled the air. Three more Raiders dropped dead, leaving only two to contend with, who instead took the chance to turn on their hooves and gallop away. The soldiers turned to face Shimmer, winded and wounded but still alive.

“Thank you stranger, we’re in your debt,” a mare said, stepping forwards to reveal herself. “I’m Sergeant Glimmerlight, the last NCO with the CPR. The rest of these fine ponies are the last of our people.”

Shimmer nodded at Glimmerlight as she opened her bag. “Here, these healing potions will get you all back on your hooves,” she said with a smile as she placed several bottles down in front of them. Each took one—only one—as they quickly gulped them down. Almost immediately the potions took effect and they all appeared to be much stronger.

“You said that Colonel Vista sent you to find us?” Glimmerlight asked as she finished her potion. “Where did you find him? Were there any more of us with him?” she asked as she looked over the rest of her unit.

Rocket stepped forward after reloading her pistols. “Vista was alone. He said he was separated from you in a fight. He was captured by the Raiders soon after. They probably killed the rest of your unit. I’m sorry.”

Glimmerlight and the unit looked as if they all were killed. “Thank you. It’s sad to hear. There were forty of us a week ago. Now we’re down to ten of us, including Vista. The rest of our group is in the old Manager’s Office. The Raiders beat them hard...but they wanted to keep the mares alive, myself being the exception.” Rocket bit her lip as she hung her head and shook it somberly. Zephyr appeared unaffected as he moved about the quarry, pulling knives from the Raiders that he had attacked.

Shimmer stepped forward. “Maybe you can one day restore your numbers?” she offered optimistically as she closed her bags.

Glimmerlight shook her head, “There just aren’t enough of us to go recruiting now.”

Rocket stepped forward, “That might not be entirely true. See we rescued Vista and twenty four others, they’ve made a home at a place called The Grove. In fact, Vista said to tell you to meet him there as soon as we found you.”

Glimmerlight turned, her face a mix of confusion and hopefulness. “The Grove you say? Isn’t that where that old Stable is supposed to be?” Shimmer and Rocket nodded multiple times. “If he’s there and there are that many…maybe…just maybe…”

Shimmer stepped forward and raised her Pip-Buck up. “I can show you how to get there or we can take you there ourselves. It’s your call but either way, you’re being asked to bring the rest of the unit to The Grove and report.”

Glimmerlight looked at Shimmer for a moment and looked her up and down. “We’ll follow you…for now. If we find any kind of funny business with you lot, we’ll –“

“Sergeant, you have nothing to fear from me or my friends.” Shimmer said firmly as she approached her.“We were sent to find you and bring you home and we’ll be damned before we see you ambushed again. Understood?”

Oddly Glimmerlight became rigid as she looked down at the suddenly confident and commanding mare before her. “Yes Ma’am! Understood!”

Shimmer smiled as she pointed. “Gather your unit and police the weapons and ammo. We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

Glimmerlight nodded firmly and turned to her unit and began giving orders. Shimmer turned to find Zephyr and Rocket staring at her blankly. “What?” she asked in confusion at them. “They’re soldiers, you don’t show them that you’re afraid or willing to be second guessed and they fall in line. Don’t you know that?” They both shook their heads in reply and she sighed. She moved between them and said with a final word, “Let me know when they’re ready to leave.”

As she trotted off, Zephyr looked at Rocket. “She really is something isn’t she?” Not waiting for a reply, he too began to trot off in another direction as he began rifling through a Raider’s bag. Rocket nodded in reply as she too began to search.

Several minutes passed before Glimmerlight approached Shimmer. “We’re ready to go.”

Shimmer looked back at Glimmerlight and nodded. “It’s a two day trot to The Grove, I hope you’re ready for the long haul.”

Glimmerlight smirked in reply before turning to the eight remaining soldiers. “Valkyrie Squad, double time!” The four soldiers began to quickly trot ahead of Shimmer and she found herself laughing. “You coming Ma’am?” Glimmerlight called over her shoulder as the soldiers moved into a slow gallop. Shimmer smirked as she galloped with Rocket and Zephyr close on her hooves as they caught up to the small group and together they began moving in the direction of The Grove.

Chapter 8: Homecoming

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Shimmer lifted her head with a groan having deposited yet another bought of glittery vomit onto the ground. It had been over a week since she had been awoken and even now she was still heaving the stuff up. Whatever it was, it wasn't going away any time soon. And without proper diagnostic equipment, the best she could do was pray and hope that her own immune system would fight off whatever was creating it. Inwardly she groaned, if only someone could use her Power Armor and just figure it out easily.

Rocket however just stood to the side with their traveling companions, the handful of survivors from the battle at the Quarry. Her face littered with disgust as she listened to the heaving. Glimmerlight shook her head, mostly in bewilderment as Shimmer slowly moved out from behind the wreck of a food cart.

"Seriously...we REALLY need to get you looked at. And not by some clinic Doctor out of Podunk-nowhere." Rocket said confidently as she watched Shimmer steady herself against the wreckage.

Glimmerlight looked at Rocket, "Perhaps you could pay a visit to the Hospital in New Crystal City? Might not be the most glamorous place, but they certainly would have access to better supplies and equipment than a clinic."

"One hoof step at a time ladies." Shimmer said pushing off the wreckage, "We've been on the road for two days. Let's focus on getting home and getting some rest. I don't know about the rest of you but a bed is definitely calling my name at this point."

Zephyr nodded, "She's not wrong. A two day march from the Quarry back to The Grove isn't exactly what I'd call normal."

Glimmerlight chuckled, "You face down hordes of bandits, get blown up more than once, and it's the trotting that does you in? You are one strange group, that's for damn sure." She turned to face the rest of her squad. She took in their various states of injury or simple exhaustion and added, "Though truth be told, after the last three weeks, a warm bed wouldn't be bad. "

"Amen to that Sergeant." A Pegasi named Glide-storm replied with a smirk of his own. "I can't recall the last time I've been grounded this long." Shimmer looked over in sympathy, during the battle, Glide-storms wing had been clipped by a rather nasty amount of small arms fire. It would heal, but it would take time. And for as much as she could remember, Pegasi rarely ever used their hooves for strictly trotting, at least for long periods of time. And for the past two days, Glide-storm was stuck on the ground marching like the rest of them.

Zephyr looked over at him and chuckled, "Don't worry. I'm sure we will be able to find you a bed to stay in, even if you need to be double up." To that Zephyr received the biggest of smirks and winks from Glide-storm. Shimmer blinked herself but smiled and shook her head, reminding herself to potentially find a quiet place to sleep away from Zephyr. Even during the apocalypse it amazed her as to how one track minded some ponies could be. But, at the same she really couldn't blame either of them. It had been a long march back to the Grove and with it in sight, they earned a bit of relaxation time. How they relaxed was all up to them.

Shimmer opened her mouth to speak when another CPR soldier called out, "Sergeant! I see smoke coming from the settlement!" All eyes turned rapidly towards the direction they were marching. And sure enough smoke that wasn't there five minutes ago was quickly billowing upwards into the sky.

"Double time! Ready weapons! Move it!" Glimmerlight shouted, instantly all manner of weaponry was brought to the ready and a dozen sets of hooves began galloping towards The Grove. As they got closer, the easier they could see that whatever created the fire was growing larger and larger. And so did the shouting.

"You Goddesses damn fool! What're you tryin' to do!? Burn the whole place down?!"

"I'm sorry sir! I fell and-"

"I don't want your damned excuses, just help put the fire out!"

The first voice Shimmer recognized as Vista's. It was rather hard to mistake the southerner accent mixed in with the squeaky voice that went along with it. Shimmer shook her head, falling into the stereotype that a military leader shouldn't sound as if he was still a young foal. But she was relieved to see that the fire wasn't caused by any kind of battle, just someone accidentally falling onto a patch of dry and dead grass.

Vista looked over and noticed Glimmerlight and the other CPR Soldiers making their way forward with weapons drawn. At first he was confused then the realization struck him. He nodded at Glimmerlight in a way that was translated for them to stand down. One at a time those that could hold weapons slid them into holsters. Vista walked through the group directly to Glimmerlight and Shimmer.

"Is this all that survived?" He asked of Glimmerlight.

"There were more, but we were ambushed at The Quarry. Without the assistance of Shimmer and her friends I'm afraid we would have been wiped out completely, sir." She replied after dropping a hoof from her forehead in salute. "We lost a lot of good ponies."

Vista nodded firmly, "I am relieved to see that some survived than none. Welcome back Sergeant. There's a makeshift barracks on the east section of the village, we managed to set up rudimentary defenses and walls, you should be safe. Comfortable, is another question."

Glimmerlight looked as if she had received the best gift anyone could give with her smile stretching from ear to ear. "Thank you, sir!"

Vista saluted her, "Dismissed Sergeant!" Glimmerlight nearly bounced with each step as she made her way towards the large building quite literally thrown together with whatever salvageable wood could be found. Shimmer noted that some of the buildings that had been destroyed were no longer standing as much as they were. She looked over at Zephyr and Rocket and nodded. The two immediately moved off to rest.

"I owe you a debt Ms. Jubilee, you brought my people home and look no worse for the ware." Vista said as he motioned for her to follow him.

Shimmer slowly began following replying as she walked, "I'm just glad we got there when we did...I don't think those Raiders would have made their final few hours...comfortable." Her face contorted into that of disgust, "What makes ponies go so mad like that? It's unnatural."

Vista scoffed as he shook his head, "My dear, the fact we're even still livin' is unnatural. None o' us shoulda survived the bombs that fell. Some of us managed to hold onto our sanity, others, not so much." He sighed as he motioned to a small open area that was nearby one of the wrecked houses. "That bein' said, I ain't heartless. We buried 'em behind that pink house there. More or less turned it into a graveyard."

"I'm surprised, I would've figured that graves would be one of the first things to go and that you'd just burn the bodies." Shimmer said flatly remembering the battle in the second Raider camp.

Vista shrugged his forelegs, "What can I say? I'm not a heartless bastard." He stopped in front of Shimmers old house, "Also I took the liberty to search the homes here, see what could be used. I found this one and searched, I managed to find something rather interesting."

Shimmer blinked, "What exactly are you getting at?"

"You're either a ghoul that's over two-hundred years old or something else entirely." He suddenly nodded and three ponies pounced her. Shimmer cried out as she felt herself being restrained suddenly. Simply unable to do much other than be ganged up on. Her eyes met that of Zephyr's and Rockets who suddenly found themselves surrounded by none other than the people they had saved not four days ago.

"What's the meaning of this?!" She shouted as her hooves were tied together, leaving her in a heap on the ground. The settlers quickly disarmed Zephyr and Rocket. The three ponies that had tied her hooves together quickly stripped her of all her belongings.

Her shouting drew the eyes of the Valkyrie Squad members who all rushed over. Glimmerlight stepped forward, "Lieutenant, what are you doing?"

He lifted a small picture frame from his saddle bags in his magic, "I am tryin' to figure out if she's the pony in this 'ere picture or is a Changelin'." Shimmer instantly wore a face of confusion as she looked up at the photo of herself and Blue Angel sitting under a gazebo. Surrounded by many faces she hadn't thought of in a long time.

"Changeling? You can't be serious Lieutenant! She saved us from those Raiders!"

"I am very serious Sergeant." He said placing the photo in front of Shimmer, "So, ya gonna start spillin' or are we gonna need to get rough?"

"That is me in that photograph, but I'm no ghoul." She said squinting at him, "I was the only survivor of a Stable-Tec experiment in Stable 45." she nodded in the direction of the Stable, "It's right back there on the hill. I only just woke up a week ago. I was in some sort of stasis pod."

"Bullshit!" Vista shouted bringing a hoof across Shimmer's muzzle, "Tell the truth you shape-shifting bastard! How many more of you are there!?"

Shimmer recoiled against the violent bashing of her face and spat blood out on the ground, "Are you insane? That is the truth!" Shimmer felt the other side of her muzzle connect with hoof as Vista struck her again.

"Where is your nest! Talk you motherfucker!" He snarled as he lifted her with his magic, smashing her still tied body against her house. Shimmer felt the wind escape her lungs as she impacted the oak wall. She whimpered in response as she felt Vista's magic closing around her neck, her already empty lungs struggling to get air inside them.

"Lieutenant!" Glimmerlight shouted, "You're gonna kill her!"

"One less shape-shifting sonuvabitch I need to worry about then!" Vista shouted in response, his magic closing tighter and tighter on Shimmer's windpipe.

BAM!

Immediately Shimmer felt his magic disappear and her body thud to the ground. She looked up and saw the expression of horror on Vista's face. In his chest a large bloody opening could be seen where a small entry wound was on his back. He slowly turned, adrenaline keeping his body going as he did. Where his gaze met that of Glimmerlight's, who held her rifle towards him, barrel smoking.

"W-why?" He asked in horror as his body began to give out under him.

Glimmerlight frowned as she looked at the rest of the CPR troopers, "We don't kill those who save our lives." The remaining soldiers held their weapons up as the life drained from Vista's eyes. She turned to face them, "Shimmer Jubliee and her friends risked their lives to save ours, they could have said no, but they didn't. All of you would be dead or dying now if it wasn't for them. So I am only going to say this one, drop. Your. Weapons. Now."

One by one weapons lowered and Shimmer sighed with relief as Zephyr and Rocket relaxed as well. Glimmerlight turned to face her and craned her neck downward, undoing the binds with her teeth.

"I'm sorry Shimmer. That was utterly uncalled for." she said stepping back and frowning at the soldiers, "Changelings are a viable threat but changeling or not, you saved my life."

"I'm no Changeling." Shimmer said rising to her hooves, "I'm just a pony that got stuck in a jar for too long and woke up to see the world insane. Speaking of which, why'd you shoot him?"

Glimmerlight looked down at Vista's body, "He was a paranoid pain in the ass who got almost all of his people killed." she looked up at Shimmer, "He bolted when the rest of us stayed behind to cover his sorry ass while he escaped. He and the higher echelons ran while the rest of us fought to live. And for his cowardice and paranoia, he deserved to die. But I wasn't going to act, only out of respect for his rank, but when he starts attacking people who risk everything for us...I drew the line."

Shimmer nodded in understanding as she stepped over Vista's body. "Well, thank you. I'm sure if he kept squeezing any longer I wouldn't be here any longer."

"We'll get rid of his body soon enough. Fucker doesn't deserve a grave." Glimmerlight said spitting on his body.

Zephyr and Rocket approached them a moment later. Rocket spoke first, "Thanks for the save soldier-girl. Not exactly the welcome home I expected but, I guess it's not a normal day in the Wasteland without someone trying to kill you daily." That elicited a myriad of chuckles and scoffs but she smiled none the less.

"So I guess that leaves you in charge Sergeant." Zephyr said as he slung his saddle bags back onto his body. "Vista said he was the last one to be in a Command Position in the CPR, the others had been killed in their escape."

"Shit." Glimmerlight replied as she lowered her head, "That's the last thing I want. A squad I can run, but an army, that's beyond me. I just don't have the skills or training necessary."

Shimmer smiled and placed a foreleg around Glimmerlight's neck, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. They're in good hooves." Glimmerlight nodded once before moving off, addressing her people.

Rocket moved forward next, "So, looks like we've got our next destination. New Crystal City. I will admit, I've never actually made it there yet."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Zephyr interjected, "I've been there a total of three times. Armor delivery after all takes you all over the Wasteland. The folks there are certainly a bit better off than start up villages like The Grove. But they're paranoid to all hell too."

"You mean that they're more likely to turn someone away than help them?" Shimmer asked as her eye caught the glint off of the peak of the Crystal Castle's towers. She inwardly chuckled, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop looking at those towers. Something about them just seemed to simply naturally call her.

Zephyr shook his head, "No, not...exactly...see they'd be more likely to let you inside if you had something of value or submit to checking your weapons into an armory and completely disarming."

"You're kidding right?" Rocket asked simply dumbstruck, "You're telling me that everyone inside that city is disarmed?"

"Not...exactly..." Zephyr said running a hoof through his mane nervously, "The Crystal Guard still holds the cities defenses."

Rocket's ears drooped evenly, "Oh."

"Yeah...so you can see the issue." Zephyr replied dropping his hoof back onto the ground, idly kicking a pebble to the side. Sighing loudly as he caught the look of confusion on Shimmers face. "The Crystal Guard used to be part of the CPR forces until they went rouge. They promptly made New Crystal City their HQ by buying off the last Mayor. The place is like a fortress now."

Shimmer wore an even more confused face as she shook her head, "They went rouge? What drove them to split from the CPR?"

"The Crystal Guard wanted to start charging for services rendered in times of need." Zephyr replied flatly, clearly annoyed with that knowledge. "The CPR believes in free assistance to all, no special requirements. You need us, we're there. But a good portion of us wanted to change that. If you couldn't afford service you were turned down. Too many good ponies have died and frankly this," he said waving a hoof around, "Is the result. Raiders numbers multiplied when the CPR became a 'for-profit' organization."

"So what's the issue? We just pay them and go right on in." Shimmer replied with a shrug.

"So you've got a five pound sack of caps kicking about?" Zephyr asked nonchalantly. "Honestly, you'd have better luck with Clearstone and Company."

Rocket scoffed as she shook her head, "Clearstone is insane and you'd have better luck getting help from a boulder at that point."

Zephyr looked visibly hurt as he snorted, "Says the lady covered in tires..."

Rocket opened her mouth to speak and then shut it promptly. Turned on her hooves and swatted Zephyr in the muzzle as she marched off in the opposite direction. Shimmer giggled as she watched Zephyr sit there and make funny faces for a few moments as he attempted to relieve himself of the strange stinging sensation he had on his nose.

"We'll figure this out tomorrow. It's late and we're all tired." Shimmer said turning to move to her old home. "If you need me, you'll know where to find me."

She caught the largest of grins covering Zephyr's face as he looked back at the Pegasi across the way. "And I'll be over there, getting to know our new friends a bit better."

Shimmer giggled and rolled her eyes as she made her way up her front steps. Her forehooves pressed against her old door and pushed. The door promptly fell off of its hinges and slammed onto the floor with a thud. She sighed as she looked about the living room. Some old furniture was still there but most of the things she used to call her own were taken an extremely long time ago.

Old papers and books crumpled and cracked with each hoof step. The house was in utter shambles. The wallpaper was peeling in more than one place exposing the old wood behind the bright yellow paper. The second floor had partially collapsed and blocked off nearly the entire back room where the remnants of an old piano emerged. She turned down the short hallway to her left and passed by two doorways. One still had its door still on the hinges the other was devoid of a door.

She moved into the room with the door still closed. The sight that greeted her was unexpected to say the least. The room looked barely touched by the elements. Even her old bed, covered in dust, still remained intact. She looked out into the hall confused, trying to figure out why out of all the rooms in the house, this one wasn't looted. She looked at the door frame which was twisted, that definitely could be the reason. Even the windows weren't broken the room was so well preserved.

She craned her neck downward and slowly unhooked her saddle bags with her teeth. The heavy bags dropped to the ground with a loud thud and she leaped up onto the bed. Dust immediately shot upward into the air and she made the mistake of inhaling deeply. Immediately her muzzle tickled and she let out the softest of sneezes. She giggled at herself as she lowered herself onto her rear and collapsed backwards onto the bed. She sighed contently as she looked out the window, even at the end of the world, the view was spectacular.

The window faced the West, where the sun would lower perfectly in line with the the tallest tower of the Crystal Towers. The bright sun beams would reflect off of the glass-like structure and emit a rainbow spectrum of light across the entire room. And the warmth of the day would envelope the bed and cast warm light across it.

Shimmer felt in the first time in nearly a week (give or take two hundred years) she felt relaxed and calm. She sighed loudly once again as she felt the warmth cover her from hind hooves to ears. She blinked as she slowly lifted her head off of the bed and looked at the door way. Standing there in the doorway was Rocket, at least the Unicorn in front of her looked like Rocket. The difference being was that Rocket wasn't wearing any of her armor. The only thing she wore was a type of necklace that contained a ruby red light in the center, which she assumed was some kind of radiation detector like her Pipbuck carried.

The tire clad pony she knew looked nothing like this. She was surprisingly slender under all the armor she wore. Her coat was uneven in spots, the result from years of abuse.Without her armor her mane hung freely and it was only now that Shimmer truly understood why Rocket kept herself so well armored. Anyone she got into a fight with, could've easily gotten a hold of her mane and tossed her about with how long it was.

But most importantly, she finally could see Rocket's Cutie Mark. Which surprised her, she had expected something involving guns or explosives. Instead her flank was adorned a white rose. Which in itself was ironic as White Roses symbolized innocence and purity. The polar opposite to what Rocket was. Though something was clearly off as Rocket wouldn't meet her gaze, instead looked to the side sheepishly.

Shimmer sat up on her hind legs and looked over at her, "Rocket? What's wrong?"

For the first time Rocket avoided her gaze, "We need to talk." Shimmer's eyebrow raised in confusion as she slowly rose from the bed. "I'm...I'm not what you think I am." A single moment later the pendant around her neck began to glow a bright red and Rocket went ridged for a moment before collapsing to the ground. Her coat sticking up on end as she let breath after heavy breath escape her lips. Shimmer scrambled from the bed and wrapped her forelegs around Rocket.

"Rocket! What's wrong?!" Shimmer cried as she held her close. However, the voice that filled the room next, caught Shimmer by complete surprise. As the words flowed the pendant glowed and dulled with each rise and fall of the slightly robotic but clearly nasally deep voice.

"So...I've got your undivided attention now...good."

Chapter 9: Never Alone

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"No, this is a horrible idea. A completely and totally idiotic idea." Zephyr said shaking his head as Shimmer and Glimmerlight stood before him. "Even if we do somehow manage to get you AND Rocket to this...this creep, there's no way we can guarantee your safety. Even with the CPR , the severely depleted CPR, on standby a mere mile from their camp." He looked towards Glimmerlight sympathetically, "No offense."

Glimmerlight shook her head, "None taken. And you're completely right, the CPR isn't exactly what I'd call, combat capable." She looked at Shimmer, "But you saved us, we owe you. We'll see that we're ready to go on a moments notice, combat ready or not."

Shimmer smiled briefly as she looked out the window at her home. Rocket had decided to shut herself up inside while the three talked. Having found out that the collar was both a two-way radio and an explosive it was the only smart thing to to. If anyone was listening, they'd hear every word spoken and that was a risk none of them were willing to take.

Shimmer couldn't help but sigh sympathetically. Part of her felt betrayed in some way, despite having only been part of a group for a short time. But she felt more concern and sympathy. Living in a life of sex and slavery, just to got to sleep and wake up knowing that if you didn't 'perform' that the collar around your neck would be detonated. In Shimmer's mind, it was in fact, tragic. Rocket had spent the last hour explaining everything, knowing that anything she said was heard. In the end, Shimmer could only conclude that whoever it was that threatened Rocket wanted her to know everything.

"That's all fine and dandy Glimmerlight, but there must be some other way. Some other way that doesn't justify handing over Shimmer AND Rocket." Zephyr replied adamantly, "Couldn't we just find out how many there are and decide then a course of action?"

Shimmer faced him instantly, "No, the second we start asking those questions, Rocket's collar is detonated." She sighed a moment later and shook her head, "We're left with no choice. We're going to the meeting place he chose and I'll turn myself in. It's the only way to make sure that her collar isn't detonated."

Glimmerlight turned on her hooves and placed a rather old looking sheet of paper on the table. "This is a map of Old Crystal City." she pointed a hoof, "This is what used to be a community center, the CPR explored the area thoroughly years ago, found tons of equipment that was for Ponies to exercise. We ended up cleaning the place out and turned it into a somewhat recruiting center. I'll take half of our number and reclaim it, see if we can get a few extra hooves to boost our numbers." She lowered her hoof and looked between them, "It also puts us within a twenty minute gallop of the meeting place."

Zephyr looked at the map for a few moments and nodded, "Alright." he paused as he looked at Shimmer, "But I'm going with you."

Shimmer shook her head, "You can't. He gets one look at you and he detonates the collar."

Zephyr huffed, "I won't just sit here and do nothing Shimmer, what do you want me to do?" He turned and shook his head, "I'll hang back, I'll stay out of sight."

Shimmer moved forward and placed a hoof on his back, "I appreciate your want to help but we can't afford to take chances, not yet. Not until we've made contact, not until we find out where they're hiding. Then I have Rocket send up the Red Magic Flare. You then bring the cavalry." Zephyr looked back, his face covered in doubt, "We take these guys out and we won't need to worry about them ever again. And Rocket won't have to look over her shoulder ever again."

Zephyr closed his eyes as he looked in the opposite direction, "You're asking me to put a lot of faith in the idea that this freak won't hurt either of you."

Shimmer smiled sympathetically, "No, I'm not. I'm asking you to trust us, your friends, to have faith that we will get this done right."

A few seconds felt like an eternity to Zephyr but in the end, he nodded. He turned to face Shimmer with a smile, a doubtful one, but a smile none the less. He moved to the window and looked towards the small community of Ponies that had come together in such a short amount of time. The houses he had been ducking and weaving between that were once decayed were in a state of repair or dismantle and other dwellings were under construction.

"I'll stay here, make sure things keep running smoothly. It's the least I can do while I wait." He said turning back around, "Just...come back in one piece Shimmer." He paused stepping forward, "Both of you, come home in one piece."

Shimmer nodded with a smile, "I can't make any promises other than that I will try." She turned to face Glimmerlight, "I'll gather my things and set out with Rocket momentarily." She turned to head for the door when it opened. Rocket stood in the doorway, her gaze down at the floor. She sighed as she lifted her head and spoke.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for all this. I wanted to tell you for a long while but..." She began, but was abruptly cut off by Shimmer.

"You have nothing to apologize for Rocket. If anything, I owe you for saving my life. It it means keeping you alive by turning myself over, then it's no question to do the right thing." Shimmer said moving towards her, "And nopony will change my mind that I'm doing the right thing and you're nothing more than somepony caught up in a bad situation."

Rocket smiled, weakly but smiled none the less. Glimmerlight began to roll up the map as Shimmer turned to Zephyr, "We're heading out within the hour. I trust I'll see you again soon."

All their heads snapped towards Rocket as the red orb began to glow and flickered with each uttered word from the colt on the other end, "Mare, you ain't gonna see them again. You might as well just say your good-byes and be done with it." Rocket's ears drooped at the scowls being sent in her direction. She knew that they weren't AT her but at the collar on her but it still bothered her. She slumped to her rear and sighed as the voice continued, "And I'm not so stupid as to not think that you're not planning something either. I know you're working with the CPR and those annoying little cunts can't do jack-shit to me."

Glimmerlight huffed in annoyance, "So says you. We're not so down and out as much as you think."

"I don't give a rats ass if you're the damn Goddess of Sun. Just know if you fucking try anything, I'll blast you all to to Yakyakistan. I ain't got any kinda mind to tolerate any of you." The colt voice called out in a tone that was clearly 'holier than thou.' "So you're are damn lucky I'm even allowing you to even send these two back to me. If it was any other mare, I'd have detonated the damn collar ages ago."

Zephyr stepped forward towards Rocket, "We know you're a slaver, which one, that'll take some time to figure out. But when we DO find out, you're going to regret it buddy. So help me Goddesses, you'll regret it."

Rocket instantly went rigid as her pupils shrunk to minuscule sizes. She screeched in pain as the collar delivered a massive electric shock throughout her body. Her forehooves snapped instantly to her collar as she collapsed on the ground, her body jerking wildly as it reacted unwillingly to the onslaught of electricity. The laughter from the colt radiated about the room at an equal decibel to Rocket's screams.

Zephyr shouted loudly, "Alright that's enough damn it! She did nothing to you!"

Moments later Rocket inhaled deeply as the collar's assault ended. Zephyr knelt down and ran a hoof against her cheek and she simply nodded in reply, taking his hoof in hers a moment later as he helped her up. Shimmer and Glimmerlight held their frowns hard, biting their tongues despite wanting to lash out at the colt behind the collar.

"Let that be a small reminder that I'm pulling the strings here." And with that, the red light on the collar winked out. Rocket looked at them all sympathetically, their own expressions mimicking hers. She turned on her hooves and headed back outside. Shimmer and Glimmerlight looked towards each other, conveying the same thought on their faces. It was utterly unfair that anyone was locked into the kind of work that Shimmer was. Driven to do bad while desperately wanting to be free, anyone would feel bad for her. Zephyr however, couldn't contain his own thoughts.

"You know...when I get my hooves on that bastard, I'm going to beat him to a pulp." He said as a scowl began to creep up on his features.

Glimmerlight smirked, "Get in line. The slavers up here are ruthless."

Shimmer raised an eyebrow as she turned to face Glimmerlight, "They're that bad?"

"You have no idea." Glimmerlight replied as she used her magic to levitate a nearby canteen up to her lips, "The slavers pretty much run the outskirts area, even some of the inner city limits. This being said, they can't get in there completely with the other factions in the area. But it certainly doesn't stop them." She lifted the canteen to her lips as Zephyr moved for the door and out. Glimmerlight noticed and added with a sigh, "He's probably had his own run ins with the slavers. Hell, even the CPR have had skirmishes with them, as for actually winning them, well let's just say we've had mixed results."

Shimmer raised one of her eyebrows, "Mixed results? Care to clarify that?"

Glimmerlight lifted a hoof and ran it through her mane with a sigh, "Well...some of the slavers, they kind of use their slaves as cannon fodder. Those that manage to break through our lines and get close enough to swing a pipe, they would detonate the collars. Turn their most valued 'commodity' into suicide bombers." Shimmer replied simply with a sigh as she continued, "Yeah, these slavers can be pretty damn ruthless. Conventional combat doesn't mean much to them, hell I've even heard rumor that they've even gotten in bed with some Changelings."

"Changelings have always caused trouble, even before the war. Queen Chrysalis was always on the hunt for food for her kin." Shimmer replied, "I can remember the first time the Ministry Mares fought against her. She had assumed the identity of Princess Cadence and tried to trick Captain Shining Armor into marrying her for control of the Crystal Empire. Thankfully Twilight Sparkle managed to show up in time with the real Princess Cadence and foiled her plans with the other Ministry Mares. Chrysalis vowed to one day return and overthrow Cadence and Shining Armor."

"Did she ever make good on her threat? The history records of the Crystal Empire are pretty sketchy after the Mega-spells hit." Glimmerlight replied, "One of the first places that was raided was the Library. When you live in the north where the winters can be harsh, it makes sense that paper would be one of the more popular commodity to be targeted."

"Well, when the war began, the Crystal Empire managed to stay out of the war, mostly." Shimmer began as she moved towards the window, once again gazing at the Crystal Castle. "Cadence made it clear that the Empire wasn't going to get into the war actively but would happily act as a designated medical zone for injured ponies coming from the battlefield. Other than that, no combat was conducted between Pony and Zebra, in fact, Chrysalis wasn't stupid enough to take advantage of that. I mean, who wants to fight against an enemy on two fronts?"

"Two fronts?"

Shimmer nodded, "When Chrysalis was defeated originally she retreated to the eastern border of the the Zebra lands. When the war broke out, she somehow convinced the Zebras to leave her and her kin alone. One of the few pieces of actual intelligence Pinkie Pie managed to bring in. The agreement was that if the Changelings left them alone, they'd leave the Changelings alone."

Glimmerlight nodded, "I see. And if the Changelings attacked the Empire, they'd be risking open war between the Ponies and Zebras." She chuckled, "It's almost a pity they didn't attack. The whole Mega-spell Incident may have been avoided."

Shimmer shrugged, "I can't agree or disagree there, I was too busy patching up those coming from the battlefield. The Zebras fought us tooth and hoof but despite all that, they never once made any kind of aggressive moves towards the Empire. I guess they at least respected us for healing and returning injured Zebras to their homes. Then again, I wasn't in the Ministry of Morale, I worked for the Ministry of Peace, so I obviously can't help but assume."

"Well I can tell you this. After those Mega-spells hit, they came back." Glimmerlight replied as she moved towards the window, "Nopony really knows when, but it was sometime in the last one hundred years. The CPR was just getting it's roots started when we got reports of disappearances in a few towns just outside the City." She looked outwards towards the sun which was just barely rising. "Originally the CPR chalked it up to Slavers and Raiders, which was the typical reason for people disappearing back then. But it wasn't until one of our own was swapped that we realized the threat the Changelings were."

Shimmer averted her gaze as she turned to face Glimmerlight, "What happened?"

"The Changeling assassinated three of our highest ranking members at the time. Threw the whole CPR into chaos for a few weeks before we realized what had happened." She said with a shrug, "When it was all said and done, the three impersonators were killed in a final confrontation. And when a Changeling is killed it reverts back to it's original form. It was then we started taking the Changeling threat much more seriously. Twenty years ago it got really bad. One of the popular scavenging spots now, we call it 'The Zone,' highly radioactive, used to be a gathering spot for ponies wanting to be part of the CPR. One of the Changelings assumed the form of one of the ponies trying to join us, turns out the damn thing was packing explosives. The resulting explosion was amplified by a factor of ten, you could seek the smoke rising for MILES and the area became extremely radioactive as a result, I'm gonna guess it was because of what was in the building."

Shimmer shook her head with an exasperated sigh, "I can't believe the world has gotten so bad." She turned away from the window and moved towards the opposite side of the room. She pushed open a small crate and reached inside, drawing out her saddle-bags and donning them. "Two hundred years and ponies still haven't figured out a way to go back to what they were. You'd think a drawn out fight would've snapped some kind of light on in their heads."

Glimmerlight shrugged, "Even if they have, I imagine it'd only be a matter of time before somepony decided they didn't like another pony and it'd all happen all over again."

Shimmer slammed the crate closed, "You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical on that rather grim analysis."

"We can only try to do our best to make tomorrow better."

She sighed, turning towards the doorway, "That's all I want to do. And it starts with getting that collar off of Rocket's neck." She paused when she heard Glimmerlight giggling, "I fail to see the joke."

"I was actually thinking about what you three have already done." Glimmerlight replied giving Shimmer a small nudge, moving her out of the building. She found herself then looking at a very confused Shimmer, "Well take a look around you. This place used to be Raider territory, you three took care of that. Then there's the nearby clinic, you unlocked a treasure trove of medical supplies for them. The Raider Camp that you liberated half the ponies here from. Oh! And don't forget you saved my sorry ass from a Raider ambush. And now you're about to be off once again to save your friend despite knowing she was originally going to turn you over to a slaver the first chance she got."

Shimmer smiled, "I appreciate the praise, but I only did what was right. Anypony else would've done the same."

Glimmerlight shook her head, "You sell yourself too short Shimmer and you're wrong." She pointed a hoof in a semicircle, "The rest of the Wasteland would've turned a blind eye to the Raiders, steered clear of them, but you? You charged head long into them. You're a damn hero in my book for that. Just look at these ponies." She said then pointing at a pair of ponies that were working on one of the homes. "Two weeks ago they were busy worrying if they were going to be killed; now they're building homes. And it's because you refused to let anypony be taken advantage of in fear. It's why the CPR and myself will back your decisions. You actually care about what goes on out here."

Shimmer smiled, "Nopony deserves to be taken advantage of. Nopony deserves to be alone." She looked up at Rocket who sat on the porch to her old house. Her ears drooped and her eyes to the ground as she sat alone. She moved forward, her hooves crunching leaves with each step, "Rocket, you ready?"

Rocket's head snapped up as she nodded, "As ready as anypony can be." She pushed off her rear and descended the stairs, "Shimmer, I...I'm...so sorry. I never wanted..."

Shimmer placed a hoof on her left shoulder, "We're rarely ever given what we want. I forgive you. Let's just do this thing and move on." Rocket replied silently with a nod but continued to avert her gaze. Shimmer shook her head and adjusted her hoof to hook around the back of Rocket's neck. She pulled her forward and wrapped both of her forelegs around her neck, embracing her tightly, "We'll do this together, I promise."

Rocket tensed for a moment and then relaxed, allowing herself to soften in her embrace, placing a single foreleg around her, "Thanks Shimmer." She smiled a moment later and gave Shimmer a gentle push back, "That's enough of the emotional stuff, let's get this show on the road yeah?" Shimmer giggled a moment later, despite knowing Rocket was putting on a face for everyone.

Chapter 10: Those By Your Side

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Rocket scowled deeply as thunder crashed above the small shack she and Shimmer had managed to take cover in. Rocket spent the better half of ten minutes explaining to Shimmer just why they couldn't simply just march through the rain. Despite the removal of the Enclave's perpetual cloud cover, the result varied from place to place. Unfortunately, the Crystal Empire suffered a rather negative result in the form of acid rain. While the rains weren't so bad that it would ruin homes and buildings, it'd certainly burn any pony and creature stuck out in the open.

Shimmer shook her mane free of the pre-acid rain and settled down in the center of the room. She reached downward and undid the clips holding her saddlebags on. She sighed with relief as the two heavy bags fell behind her with a rather loud thud. She then craned her neck around and took one of the bags in her teeth and brought it forward. Withdrawing some bits used to start a fire and gathered a small amount of junk that was littered about the shack and began working the striker until it sparked a small flame which grew with the junk.

Rocket groaned rather loudly as she watched the rain fall and sizzle with each drop nearby. "I hate the rain..." She muttered loud enough for Shimmer to catch.

"Staring at the rain isn't going to make it go away any faster." Shimmer said picking up the items in front of her, "Come sit down and get dry before you catch a cold."

Rocket glared at the window one final time before turning around and planting herself on the opposite side of the fire. Shimmer opened the other bag and pulled out two canisters of water from the bag and placed each in front of them. She then pulled a third from the bag as well as some dehydrated noodles enough for both of them. She rummaged about the bag for a few moments more before pulling a small sized pan from it and began to prepare their meal.

Rocket however, refused to make eye contact with Shimmer as she went about her work. The day before she faked being confident about this next chapter of their lives, but now she was alone with Shimmer and she hated herself. Here's a mare that's risked her life and future for her and she couldn't do anything about it. The collar around her neck brushed against her foreleg and she sighed loudly as she lifted it slightly and let it drop down with a soft pat against her body.

Shimmer didn't even need to look up to detect the distress Rocket was giving up as she spoke. "You know the longer you keep it all bottled up the worse you're going to feel. So, best just to get it off your chest Rocket." She said using her hooves to position the pan atop the flames and adding water to it.

Rocket snapped her head up in surprise at the statement and sighed. "Shimmer, how can you even want to do this? I can't even stand myself and you're literally throwing your life away to save mine." She lowered her head, "I don't even understand how you can even look at me anymore."

Shimmer focused on her work as she smiled softly, "Ponies have forgotten what it means to stick by their friends no matter the situation." She slowly opened the noodles and added them to the rapidly boiling water. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I abandoned you to...well a rather gruesome death."

Rocket only shifted her gaze to look at Shimmer, "Anypony else would have. I'm not exactly worth saving." She shifted her gaze back towards the window, following the streaks of green tinted rain run streaks down the glass. Shimmer paused her cooking making and reached across the fire with the spoon she was using and cracked it across Rocket's head. She immediately brought her hooves over her head and hissed, "The hell Shimmer, what was that for?"

"To get you to stop moping." She replied waving the spoon in front of Rocket's face. "I'm your friend, plain and simple. I'm not going to sit back and trade your life for mine. Do you take me for some heartless fool?" She placed the spoon back in the pan and continued stirring the noodles. "You're my friend Rocket and that's motive enough for me to do this. Nothing you say or do is going to change that."

Rocket slowly lowered her hooves from her head despite the stinging sensation remaining. "Look, Shimmer, I've done some really shitty things. I've killed, I've kidnapped, hell I've even enslaved other ponies. I am not a good pony."

Shimmer slowly began pouring the noodles into individual bowls which she retrieved moments before, "You saved my life from Raiders in the Stable. You helped save the ponies in that Raider camp. You even helped the CPR soldiers trapped in that quarry. At any time you could've killed Zephyr and dragged my naive self to this Colt master of yours." She passed the first bowl towards Rocket, "But you didn't, so clearly, there's some kind of good in you. And that's all that matters. Now, eat. Before it gets cold."

Rocket sighed and reluctantly let the topic drop as she accepted the noodle bowl and began to rather noisily slurp her noodles. Which in return got a very perturbed look from Shimmer. She blinked awkwardly at Shimmer and then looked down at the bowl.

"What?"

Shimmer held up a fork between her hooves, "You can levitate objects...didn't you ever learn to use a fork?"

Rocket blinked as she looked at the fork and how ridiculous Shimmer looked using both hooves to hold the object up. "You have no idea how silly you look right now. Nopony uses those things anymore...where in the hell did you even get one?"

Shimmer looked baffled at the thought of no one using utensils anymore. "My house...there was a drawer full of them still...I grabbed two and put them in my bag. You're kidding about nopony using them anymore right?"

Rocket began to chuckle, "You mean you hadn't noticed that Zephyr and I just ate whatever was in front of us without them? Even those MRE's we had we just dropped our faces in them and ate." She paused and then looked at the fork again.

"Not really? I always ate when you two fell asleep." She said awkwardly using the fork to spin the noodles around the prongs and lift it to her mouth. Rocket lost her composure at the scene and began laughing. Shimmer frowned deeply, "It's polite!" Rocket kept laughing as Shimmer attempted to place the end of the fork in her mouth, which promptly spun downwards in her grasp. The noodles falling back downwards into the bowl with a wet plop. Shimmers frown deepened, "Horsefeathers!" She cussed as she spun the fork again, lifting it and bringing it to her mouth, this time however, she moved much too quickly and the fork rotated rapidly, depositing the noodles onto her muzzle.

Rocket keeled over backwards at the display of Shimmer wearing multiple strands of noodles drooping downward like a mustache. "You look so goofy! Oh I wish you could see your face right now!" She managed between guffaws. Shimmer groaned as she parted her mouth and used her tongue to 'scoop' the noodles past her teeth, slurping in the process.

Shimmer placed the fork in the noodles and crossed her forelegs, "Look, you've got it easy, you've got your magic. I have to make do with...these!" Her hooves lifted up towards Rocket, "They're not made for grasping ANYTHING. So, quit laughing!" Of course, the display only made Rocket laugh harder at her friends misfortune. Shimmer huffed in frustration as she put the bowl back down on the ground and crossed her forelegs again.

Rocket slowly stopped laughing and wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry. But even you have to admit, it's pretty silly."

Shimmer continued to hold her pose until she softened slightly, "Yeah..." She sighed and pushed to her hooves. She slowly moved to the opposite side of the room and pushed open one of the few lockers open and her jaw dropped. Inside was a pristine condition guitar "I don't believe it...of all the things to find in a locker..."

Rocket raised an eyebrow as she watched Shimmer turn around with the object and sat back down. "A guitar? What's got you so excited about that? It's junk."

Shimmer giggled, "Well I used to play when I was a filly. I haven't played in years." She blinked, "Well...centuries now would probably be more accurate." She adjusted her grip on the instrument and gave the chords a simple strum. The sound was definitely off and she focused as she brought her hoof across the strings again, tightening the strings until she recognized the proper way a guitar was meant to be tuned. She smiled as she began to play a few simple chords as she moved her hooves up and down the strings.

"Hmmmmmm, let's try something different." She muttered to herself as she began to play a very simple tune to practice. Rocket remained silent as Shimmer practiced, quietly slurping the noodles out of her bowl. Shimmer smiled as the years of practice paid off and the guitar became familiar once again.

Rocket smirked, "You can manage a guitar but not a fork...you're one strange pony."

Shimmer giggled, "Hush. Now...I don't know if I'll get all the words right but let me play something I used to enjoy." Shimmer 'plucked' the strings with the edge of her hoof to a smooth little tune at first. Getting the tempo and rhythm in place before strumming to more complicated notes as her voice began to quietly begin to shift to melodies.

"I'm a little more cider drinkin' than a fancy straw
I'm a little more flyin' high than a wagon pullin'
I'm a little more bust ya back than take it for free
and that's how I'll always be."

She began as she picked up her pace on the guitar, her voice echoing in the shack.

"I'm a little more lose my temper than to sit on back
I'm a little more ol' Shining Dreams than some new Sapphire track
I love a flat wood 'ol porch made of an old oak tree
and that's how I'll always be."

As she moved to the chorus her hooves moved much quicker along the strings.

"I'll always be a fan of Wonderbolts and guitars playin'
one room classes, back road walks, and front porch swingin'
sunset skies, moonlit nights, I love the simple things
that's how I'll always be."

Rocket was rather surprised at hearing Shimmer's singing voice. Thus far, all she had ever heard the mare do was shout and talk. But her singing voice caught her completely by surprise. Sweetie Belle was a fantastic singer, and Velvet Remedy was no slouch either. Shimmer however, could hold a tune and she sang with a surprisingly soft spoken but sweet voice that she could have been on par with both.

"I got friends that say I live a little like Darin' Do,
Big adventures, treasure-huntin', and raisin' hell in a Pith Hat too,
But hey on Monday morning I'll take the back row seat,
That's how I'll always be."

She reached the chorus once again and her voice picked up in volume but she didn't miss a single note.

"I'll always be a fan of Wonderbolts and guitars playin'
one room classes, back road walks, and front porch swingin'
sunset skies, moonlit nights, I love the simple things
that's how I'll always be."

Shimmer giggled as she plucked and strummed the guitar as she reached a solo segment. Rocket found herself smiling and swaying to the music.

"I'm a fan of clouds rolling off a carriage flyin' and bein' tender
That feeling that you get that first time she lets ya kiss her
Rusty roofs that rattle when the rain is fallin' down
Hoofshake deals, fresh picked apple fields, and hometowns."

She happily strummed and swayed as she reached the final chorus.

"I'll always be a fan of Wonderbolts and guitars playin'
one room classes, back road walks, and front porch swingin'
sunset skies, moonlit nights, I love the simple things
that's how I'll always be.
That's how I'll always be,
That's how I'll always be,
That's how I'll always be."

As the song came to an end Shimmer opened her eyes having realized she closed them halfway through the song. The smile on Rocket's face was a welcome one given their conversation a few minutes ago. She slowly caught her breath and smiled back.

"I didn't know you could sing Shimmer, let alone play...that was..."

Shimmer shrugged, "Not all that good I suppose."

Rocket shook her head rapidly, "No it was amazing actually. There aren't many ponies that still sing anymore and the ones that do, they sound awful! But you...even Sweetie Belle would've had a run for her money! You're REALLY good."

Shimmer felt a blush form on her cheeks as she held the guitar close, "Thanks but...I'm better at healing ponies really. I just liked to play and sing for fun. Nothing too serious."

Rocket sat back on her hooves and smiled, "I do have to ask, why'd you pick a Pegasi-heavy song?" Shimmer replied with a simple eyebrow raise. Rocket continued, "Well there were a lot of flying references in it, Wonderbolts, carriages in clouds, flying high instead of pulling wagons. I'm curious, why is there so much Pegasi love in there?"

"I don't know? I didn't write the song. It was written well before I was even born. And back then the Wonderbolts were a rather big thing for everypony." She replied with a shrug as she tucked the guitar away, "I just always enjoyed the music. Especially when Countess Colortura covered the song during one of her charity concerts for the troops one time. It was absolutely beautiful."

Rocket nodded in understanding, "Well it's surprising considering most Pegasi now are pretty much hated since the Enclave came to be."

"Enclave?" Shimmer asked in confusion.

"Another story for another time. Do you think..." Rocket began and silenced herself for a moment, "Can you play another?"

Shimmer smiled and picked up the guitar again, "Perhaps something from Sweetie Belle this time?"

...SEVERAL HOURS LATER...

Shimmer stirred in her sleep, the cold ground seeping through her sleeping bag. Groaning she pushed open the fabric container and stepped out. The rain had stopped sometime in the night and as a result a light fog had moved into the area. It was an unusal but welcome change, the fog acting like a natural blanket, hiding all the dangers and horrors of the Wasteland. In fact, the past twelve hours was a welcome change. A night of song and food followed by a sleep that was better than the average Wasteland night.

She couldn't help but smile as she began collecting up the disgarded items that she used the previous night before. She sighed however when she reached the guitar, a part of her desperately wished to bring it along. She however knew that it would simply take up unnecessary space in her saddlebags. Instead opting to return it to the locker she previously found it.

Her gaze shifted from the items to Rocket who was still curled up in the corner sleeping. She decided to let her friend sleep; allowing her to enjoy some needed peace and quiet given their situation. She turned away and looked down at her Pip-Buck noting the time, "08:15" and idly flipping through the tabs. She changed to the Radio tab and scrunched her face in thought. It was about now that DJ Pon-3 usually made her morning news broadcast. She lowered her hoof briefly in order to push the door to the shack open, choosing to play the Radio outside and not disturb Rocket.

She turned and closed the door behind her slowly and raised her hoof once again. She selected the station and instantly the familiar voice of DJ Pon-3 came over the speaker. "Good mornin' everypony! It's your favorite host with the most, DJ Pon-3! Bringing you the truth, no matter how much it hurts! Today's news is a mixed bag of oats really. First, some good news! It seems the Trio spotted in the outskirts of the Crystal Empire have struck again! Eliminating yet another Raider band AND saving a squad of Crystal Pony Regiment Rangers. The Rangers were surrounded and outgunned and the three tore through them like a swarm of Parasprites, eliminating all in their path! The CPR Rangers are reported to be alive or recouperating well thanks to these three. Great work!" Shimmer heard the long sigh from Pon-3 as he continued. "But now the bad news, reports also come in from multiple corners of Equestria that additional Changeling sightings are happening. While they are numerous only six are confirmed. Be careful my little ponies, the Changelings are dangerous and if we don't continue to screen each other you'll never know who could be one. The most effective way my friends is to do a blood screening, anypony whose blood changes to a neon blue after being drawn you know you've found one!"

Shimmer raised an eyebrow as she listened. "You know...telling it over the radio...somepony is bound to find a way around it..." She shrugged as Pon-3 wrapped up and moved onto her next choice of music. Shimmer continued to listen until her stomach began to churn once again. The sensation was very familiar to her now and she sighed in annoyance as she moved to the side of the shack. Once again proceeding to empty part of the contents of her stomach onto the ground. The familiar pink pile annoyed her as she wiped her mouth.

"Still throwing that stuff up?" Rocket asked as she pushed open the door having been woken up by the noise of Shimmer retching and heaving.

Shimmer raised her head and nodded, "Every morning like clockwork. You'd think I was pregnant or something with how consistent it is."

"And that Heartstrings character at the clinic couldn't tell you what was going on?" Rocket asked gazing down at the pink mass that was slowly spreading out in diameter. Shimmer replied with a simple shake of her head which in turn made Rocket sigh. "That sucks."

Shimmer shrugged her shoulders quickly, "I deal with it. It's not exactly high on my priority list." She snorted with a grin, "You'd think that your Master would be offput by a puking mare who causes nothing but trouble. Not exactly the ideal slave." Rocket smirked back at her and shook her head. She turned on her hooves and moved back into the shack. Shimmer herself turned to look outwards from the shack and smiled at the slowly lifting fog, thinking to herself, "Another day, another mile, maybe one day we'll get things back to the way they are. But until then," Her head turned as Rocket came back out with both of their saddlebags, "I'll keep my friends as close to me as possible and keep on hoping."

Author's Notes:

The song featured in this chapter is HEAVILY influenced by Tim McGraw's 'That's How I'll Always Be' I just modified his lyrics slightly to fit the MLP/FoE world. I am truly sorry if the edits weren't all that good but I wanted to show that Shimmer continues to be the music loving pony she always was while at the same time, attempt to cheer up her friend in a horrible situation. After all, it's a common theme in MLP that characters help each other with song! Anyway, thank you for all those who continue to read this story!

I'm always up for comments, questions, suggestions, anything at all that will help me write better and bring you better content! Thanks again from the bottom of my heart!

For anyone wanting to hear the ORIGINAL music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbnrPSuwQY

Chapter 11: New Life?

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Shimmer gazed down towards the small makeshift camp. As the wind snapped her mane about she inhaled deeply. They had arrived with little incident and now that she could see the camp, the original plan seemed a thousand worlds away. With Rocket's help they identified several different guard posts. Many of them were not only covered by Unicorn ponies but also by sentry turrets. They had even managed to identify several Pegasi patrols, simply due to the fact that they were nearly caught by one.

Rocket frowned hard at the camp stepping up next to Shimmer. "This is overkill...he knows we're here...he can hear every move we make."

Shimmer smirked, "He's toying with us, he could've sent somepony up here already." A chuckle followed, "It's that or he decided to sleep in today." Turning on her hooves she began to move towards the small path leading down the hill. She had barely taken three steps when Rocket came up before her.

"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?" She asked with a frown, "You're throwing your life away and you're cracking jokes."

Shimmer smiled as she nodded, "I have quite a few years left in me Rocket and we've already gone over this." She sighed softly, "And it's a coping mechanism, I'm using humor to make a possibly bad situation better." She paused and placed a hoof on her shoulder once again. "As much as you want to try, you aren't going to succeed in making me decide not to do this Rocket. You must accept my decision."

Rocket looked down as she avoided eye contact once again, "It doesn't mean I have to like it." Shimmer replied simply by patting her hoof gently on her shoulder. Then moved to her side and continued down the hill. Despite her outward appearance and reassuring words, Shimmer was terrified. Part of her doubted whether or not she should follow through but her heart told her otherwise. But she couldn't let Rocket or this slaver know that she was.

As she moved around some debris she found herself standing before a guard post. Just as promised, two colts stood before her, clad in what used to be military combat armor, and a lone machine gun turret whirred and buzzed as it scanned its surroundings looking for a target. Ultimately no amount of technology could be a trained eye. The two guards immediately raised their weapons.

"Take one more fuckin' step and I'll blast ya." The crimson colored colt called out. "Who are ya and what do ya want?"

Rocket stepped forward immediately stepping into her role, "Lay off Rainer, it's just me and my next target."

The colt lowered his weapon, "Ah shoot Rocket, I didn't know it was you, should've called out."

Rocket scoffed, "Last time I did that i spent a week in the infirmary, I'm not going to make a repeat of that mistake." She marched up to him, "Itchy trigger happy pony is what you are. Now let us by, the Boss is expecting us."

"You know the rules Rocket, check them weapons of yours. I ain't so stupid as to let you and the new mare carry 'em into the camp." He said motioning to the assault rifles and sidearms. Rocket rolled her eyes and tossed him both of her sidearms and Shimmer did the same with her rifles. The Colt nodded and moved off to the side, idly flipping a switch on the turret, instantly powering it off. Shimmer followed closely on Rocket's hooves. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being looked at, in all forms of the word.

Her feeling proved true as she looked over her shoulder. The colt identified as Rainer licked his lips with a toothy grin as he stared at her flank. Leaning to the side whispering to his fellow guard and nodding in her direction. Immediately she began to feel filthy and her doubts began to climb. Every fiber in her body told her to run and never look back but as she looked forward once again, her heart overrode any other decision as she watched her friend in front of her. This was a mare who had survived against all odds, stolen as a filly, and rescued her when all others had forgotten she had existed.

She inhaled deeply as she pressed forward thinking to herself. "I can do this. If I don't my friend will be ... no, can't think like that. You have more friends on the outside that are going to help get you out of this mess." She exhaled slowly as she moved up next to Rocket. Passing her a glance which briefly returned with sympathy. It wasn't until a lone colt wolf-whistled at them that Shimmer began to feel sick to her stomach. Her ears drooped as she lowered her head down, unconsciously attempting to hide herself from the praying letcherous eyes.

"Don't do that." Rocket whispered having caught the motion, "These assholes pray on fear and intimidation, don't give them the satisfaction." She warned as they rounded a corner where multiple colts stood around a tent, all armed and alert. Shimmer raised her head up immediately and saw that there were multiple tents and guard set ups just like the first. "Those are the slave tents, where you'll be under lock when they decide to transport you." Rocket explained somlemnly.

"You act as if I'm not going to get out of this." Shimmer commented quietly as the guards too began to eyeball her.

"You aren't getting out of this Shimmer. Once we do this, there's no leaving, not unless you do what I do." Rocket hissed in annoyance, "And you don't have the heart to do that."

Shimmer sighed at Rockets response. She had given up already. Shimmer watched as ahead of them two guards stood before a large red tent. Adorned with gold trim and many different patterns woven into the fabric. "This has to be HIS tent. All the others were white or black. This is the only red tent."

Rocket stopped and Shimmer did the same. The tent parted and out stepped a large colt, his orange coat contrasted against his black mane and tail. But it was the cutie mark that surprised Shimmer. The familiar collar with a large red light in the front surrounded by chains. The colt was destined to be a slaver from day one.

He peered down at them both and a massive grin covered his face. "Well! If it isn't my favorite hunter Rocket!" He said raising onto his rear legs and extending his forelegs outwards. "Welcome home! We've all missed you dearly!

"I bet you did, Boss." Rocket replied taking a few small steps towards him, "We're here, let's get this over with." As she frowned at him she turned around and sat down.

Boss chuckled as he fell back down on all four hooves. Completely ignoring Rocket he moved forward, bypassing her directly and approaching Shimmer directly. Shimmer tensed as the colt stood face to face with her, his breath smelling of whiskey and tobacco. She fought the compulsion to gag as he began to slowly move around her.

"She much more thin than I pictured. Certainly much more pink." He commented as he moved around to her flank. "Though I certainly cannot complain about this view." Rocket glared at him deeply, giving one of those looks that would kill if it could. He lowered his head opting to ignore the look, "My name Is Chattel Whip, though everyone around here calls me 'Boss.' I prefer the second when being spoken to, which is very often."

Shimmer remained silent as Chattel spoke, his nasally voice she had heard before was now gruff. And it sent a shiver down her spine. If she hadn't already gotten an impression from Rocket's tales, she probably would have screamed. The way he carried himself, the tone he spoke in, every fiber screamed "Run!" but as she watched Rocket, she knew that she had to hold out. She swallowed deeply as Chattel moved in front of her once again, his face turned in Rocket's direction.

"Don't let it be said that I don't hold up to my end of deals." He nodded at the guard next to his tent who responded back by using his Magic to levitate a few tools towards Rocket's collar. As the tools did their work Rocket craned her neck to the side. With a small click the collar came undone and Chattel caught it in his magic. "You're free Rocket. And it only cost the freedom of...oh, I believe at this point, thirty others." Rocket hung her head immediately, the cost weighing heavily on her mind.

Shimmer watched her friend for a moment before she realized that this whole time, the three of them had become surrounded by multiple members of the slaver gang. All holding various weapons from rifles to blunt objects for melee combat. Chattel turned to face Shimmer, the collar drifting closer towards her.

"Your friend is free and as soon as this goes on, you are not. You become mine, from now until I say you can go free or you die." He said moving closer towards her, "You will do EXACTLY what you are told, when you are told, how you are told. You're a wild card, but we'll break you of that. You ignore an order or unable to satisfy the command of the person you are assigned to, it'll mean a strike on your record. You're allowed a total of ten. At three, we cut your rations, at five we suspend your water for two days. Seven strikes and you're locked in the slave quarters for a week under isolation with no water or food for half of that. At ten strikes, I detonate your collar."

As he spoke each line, Rocket began to shed tears. The small lines of salty water rushed down her face and splashed gently against the ground. She so desperately wished that Shimmer had decided against this. She slowly raised her head and watched as Chattel began placing the collar around Shimmer's neck.

"Attempt to escape, I detonate the collar. Attempt to cause harm to a client or any of my guards, I detonate the collar." The collar clicked and the red light came on. "As you know the collar acts as a radio, which means I can hear, everything you say and do. So don't test me. Is this clear?"

Shimmer only shifted her eyes to meet his own, "Crystal."

Chattel smiled and tapped her cheek with a hoof, "There's a good girl." He then turned to face Rocket, "Now that that is done, it's time for you to leave Rocket. I can't very well allow you to stay here anymore." Rocket pushed to her hooves and scowled once again. He in turn grinned, "Oh now don't be like that, you just got what you always wanted. You're free. Surely you can't be upset about this."

"You know nothing about me Chattel...never have." She muttered under her breath as she slowly moved past him. As she neared Shimmer she paused and quickly wrapped her hooves around her neck. "We'll get you out, I promise."

"Awwwwww, now isn't that cute! Little Rocket's got herself a marefriend!" Chattel called out loudly and began to laugh. The crowd joined in with the laughter as Shimmer returned the hug. Rocket squeezed her eyes shut, desperately attempting to hold back her tears. Chattel however interrupted, "Alright you've said your goodbyes, now git. Don't make me force you out Rocket."

Rocket opened her eyes slowly and looked into Shimmers for a moment. Shimmer smiled back and simply nodded. Reluctantly Rocket began to move away from the group and towards the exit. Her ears drooped the whole time as she began collecting the gear from the guard. Shimmer's smiled only faded once Rocket had moved out of sight. Her gaze turned towards Chattel who smiled briefly which then turned into a grin.

"Fast Track, once Rocket is far enough away, put a bullet in her back." He said off to the side.

Which prompted Shimmer to quickly shudder. "What?! She did what you asked?! I'm here! You don't have to kill her!"

Chattel chuckled, "Shimmer my dear, you'll soon find out, that in the end, no one goes free. Not from me." Shimmer scowled and attempted to gallop towards him. Hell bent on striking him for going back on his word. He continued to grin as she got closer and closer. However before she could do anything, she screamed in pain as the collars shock feature engaged. Sending pure painful waves of electrical energy throughout her body.

Chattel slowly leaned forward, "I'll give you that one for free." His voice turned from his original tone of condescending to cold, "But be warned, try anything that fucking stupid again...well you get the idea."

Shimmer felt tears filling up her eyes as her body eventually stopped convulsing. She shifted her neck and spotted the pony Chattel spoke to. In his magic he held a high caliber sniper rifle whose scope was nearest to his right eye. The barrel of the rifle slowly tracked it's target. The colt's neutral expression turned to a grin as his magic pulled the trigger back. A resounding boom filled the air as the rifle fired, ejecting it's .50 caliber shell from the chamber and flew through the air. The case rolling down the hill to stop right before Shimmer's nose.

Chattel returned to the front of his tent and called loudly, "Alright boys! Now that the unpleasantness is over, who wants to break in the new girl?" The shout was met with a unified shout of approval. Several colts began making their way forward and Chattel held his hooves up, motioning for them to stop. "Now hold on now, we all want a turn but I'll allow...six to break her in. Just don't actually break her you hear?" The question was met with rueful chuckles.

She knew what was coming and that she was powerless to stop it. But even as the six were chosen, she closed her eyes and pictured a time before the Wasteland. To a bright new morning in the spring, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the incessant pestering of a Stable-Tec Rep. Even as the cold magic of one of the slavers wrapped around her she continued to think of the past. Attempting to ignore the goings on of the present. She knew on a subconscious level she was now in one of the tents. But it it wasn't until she felt the intrusive and unwelcome advance on her flank that she was brought back and the tears began to flow freely.

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Nearly an hour later the six had finally had their fill and Shimmer remained motionless on the rug. If it wasn't for the slow up and down motion of her sides she could have been mistaken for a corpse. She had spent the entire time with streaming eyes as the six used her. Her entire body felt alien to her as she lay there. Despite the abuse she had suffered she wept not for herself, but for Rocket. Finally understanding her desire for freedom and her willingness to do anything to do so.

She sighed softly as she slowly began to slowly push herself from the rug. Her flank and hind legs were wobbly but she slowly managed to get on her hooves. The tent had a few different places to sit or lie down but all she wanted to do was stand and regain the function of her legs. She took a few tentative steps and decided to instead collapse on top of one of the pillows. As she did a creme colored mare wearing a collar similar to hers entered.

The mare smiled sympathetically, "First day?"

Shimmer nodded quietly as she placed her head down on her forelegs, "First hour."

"I hate to say it honey but it doesn't get much worse than the first day. You'll get used to it." The Mare said placing a small dish in front of Shimmer. Inside was a small portion of water, dirty but water none the less. Forgetting the fact that her Pip-Buck was chirping a warning about Rads she stuck her muzzle in the water and lapped at it. The mare however didn't mind as she instead moved towards Shimmers flank. "They really did a number on you..." She commented softly as she examined Shimmer closely. "Lift your tail honey."

Shimmer complied slowly and painfully as she manipulated her muscles to lift her tail a bit. The hiss as a reaction wasn't a she wanted to hear but suspected it wasn't all that good. Shimmer looked back and saw the mare manipulating a small case and pulling a few small vials from it. "It's that bad?" Shimmer asked of her quietly as she starred down into her reflection in the water. She could see that her right eye was rapidly beginning to sport a bruise and her lip was split in multiple places.

"I've seen worse. But it's not good either." The Mare replied as she opened the first vial. A sweet aroma filled the air almost immediately as the contents were exposed to the air.

"Aloe Vera? I wasn't even sure that any still existed..." Shimmer muttered quietly as the Mare gently began applying the ointment to her flank. Immediately the cool ointment began providing pain relief.

The Mare sighed, "The Boss insists on keeping good stocks of medical supplies like this." Her hoof slowly circled Shimmers flank, covering all over her visible bruises and cuts as best she could. "We...'entertainers' get the worst kind of treatment sometimes...I know a few other Mares and even Colts who have come back with serious injuries..." She continued to apply more of the ointment until satisfied she got all of the spots she could see. She picked up the cover to the vial and closed it, promptly placing the vial back into the bag. "Consider yourself lucky Honey, at least you didn't lose an ear or your tail completely..."

Shimmer's pupils went wide eyed for a moment as she took in the words. Her only reply was a very loud sigh and her head slamming into the ground with another thud. "Does it happen every day?"

"No...not every day...we do get a day or two to recover before we're selected again for a client or one of The Bosses guards." The Mare replied as she moved around to Shimmers front, examining her face. "I need to take care of those cuts Honey, so please don't move. You don't want to get this in your eyes."

Shimmer smiled softly, "I used to work with Aloe Vera when I was a Nurse. Don't worry I'm not going to make a fuss."

The Mare nodded and she opened the vial once again and began applying the ointment again. "By the way, what you did for Rocket? I'm surprised and thankful. Nopony would do what you did willingly. Rocket is lucky to have a friend like you."

"Didn't matter to much...Chattel had her shot..."

"Well I do guess that makes a bit of sense..." The Mare began as she slowly put the vial back into the bag, "What you did was very kind. Not everypony would do that...especially in this world. So thank you." The Mare gently gave Shimmer a brief hug, "It means a lot to the rest of us that somepony looks out for others instead of just herself. We're just sorry you had to trade your freedom to do it." Shimmer froze for the briefest of moments as the hug came. She closed her eyes and began to cry once again, the stress of the situation finally breaking her. The torrent of emotions exploding outward against this Mare who she hadn't met before. Who in turn gently stroked Shimmers mane as she cried without so much as a complaint.

Chapter 12: Freedom

View Online

Minutes became hours, hours became days, and days became a week. With each passing day Zephyr became more and more worried that Shimmer and Rocket had failed to arrive at the Slaver camp. And with each moment of worry, doubt crept up inside of him. Even he noticed the concern in Glimmerlight's tones and expressions. Even as he threw yet another of his knives sticking the blade two inches into the wood target before him his mind flooded with 'What-ifs' and worst case scenarios.

His eyes glared at the post as he threw yet another blade into it. As the blade struck wood Glimmerlight stuck her head out from around the corner. "You're gonna destroy the post if you keep up."

"I shouldn't have let them go Glimmer. It's been a goddesses damned week and there's been no sign from Rocket." He said slamming another blade into the post, "We should have gone with them." Another two found their place in the wood as it began to crack with each impact.

"It would have changed nothing." Glimmerlight replied with compassion echoed in her voice. "You know as well as I that any change in the plans would have resulted in the death of a friend. Could you live with that choice?"

Zephyr remained silent as he walked over and forcibly pried the knives out of the post. It was true what she was saying but the stubborn part of him refused to admit it. Instead he reloaded his knive throwers on his lower forelegs and continued to throw them. With each thunk off metal hitting wood he grew more and more tense.

Glimmerlight sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to go and-"

"Contact East! It's Rocket!" One of the other Rangers called out, immediately springing Zephyr and Glimmerlight to their hooves. As they rounded the corner to the East Barricade they froze in their tracks. Rocket was severely injured, several makeshift bandages covered her belly and upper back, but even they were starting to give way from the blood loss.

"Medic!" Glimmerlight shouted as she scrambled forward, barely reaching Rocket in time to prevent her falling onto her side. Zephyr stood above them and glared at the injured unicorn. Glimmerlight however rapidly moved her hoof over Rocket's chest, "Come on girl don't you give up now."

"Just how the hell did she make it here...with injuries like that?" Zephyr asked as he moved to the side allowing the Medic to pass him.

The Medic dropped her case and popped the cork from a bottle and up ended it into Rockets' mouth. Shouting at Glimmerlight, "Make sure she swallows it. And keep her head elevated!" As the bottle emptied she gagged loudly. Instantly Glimmerlight pressed her forehooves together on her muzzle. As she squirmed Glimmerlight grunted, the small unicorn was surprisingly strong for her size. After a few agonizing moments Rocket slowly became still. The Medic began removing the bandages and tossing them idly to the side. Thick clots of blood stuck and even tore away from Rocket's body.

As Glimmerlight saw the damage behind the cloth she winced, "Goddesses ... there's barely anything holding her together."

"You!" The Medic shouted at Zephyr who snapped out of his stare. "I need water, antiseptic, sutures, bandages, and a vial of Hydra." Zephyr gave no reply other than wheeling on his hooves and galloping towards the Medical Tent. "She's going to go into shock and she's lost an extreme amount of blood. Ma'am I need you to do your best to roll her when I say, I need to plug the entry wound."

"Got it." Rocket's eyes wandered wildly as the potion worked it's magic. Her body was creating blood rapidly in the scramble to keep her alive. "Hang in there girl, we'll get you patched up right quick. Doc?"

"Steady..." The Medic replied as she examined the wound again, "Okay...now!" Glimmerlight shifted under Rocket with her hooves. Rocket protested with a shrill cry of pain as she was moved. The Medic worked quickly as she pushed a packing bandage underneath her, attaching it and stuffing the half-bit sized hole in her back. Tears streamed down Rockets face as she sobbed under the immense pain.

Glimmerlight held her steady until the Medic nodded and she rolled Rocket back onto her side. The sounds of multiple pairs of hoofsteps caught her ear and she looked up. Zephyr accompanied by two others with a stretcher rapidly approached. He stopped only a single step away, depositing a case with multiple tools and potions before the Medic.

"Okay, now, I need to get the bleeding under control in the main wound and make sure none of her organs spill out when we move her." The Medic said to no one in particular as she reached into the bag and grabbing multiple tools. The cold metal tools immediately diving in as her magic worked to seal arteries and veins that were bleeding. Zephyr looked on in horror as while they worked a pool of blood had formed around them but neither Glimmerlight or Medic paid mind to it. Instead he watched Glimmerlight gently stroke her hoof across Rocket's face, wiping tear after tear away and gently whispering things to her.

The Medic worked frantically and as each item used became useless she would simply toss the device to the side. "Damn it to hell ... she's bleeding way too fast ... I can't keep up." She sighed as she reached into the bag, "I REALLY don't want to use this ... but we're out of options. Open her mouth!"

Glimmerlight winced as she nodded, "Rocket, honey, I need to open your mouth and you MUST drink this completely." Rocket nodded once and turned her head slowly, opening her mouth slowly. The Medic tipped the vial and deposited the highly addictive substance into her mouth. Rocket drank in massive gulps as the concoction filled her body with a sickening warm sensation. Immediately her body began to stitch itself up in response to the magic inside Hydra. Zephyr watched in shock as her organs grew back and the wound began closing.

As the wound closed itself up the Medic began preparing a suture kit. The sharp needle promptly being dipped into a bottle of Cider Whiskey. She continued to watch as the wound began to seal itself but promptly began to slow in its process. As it did she began to stitch the once large wound together. As the wound closed the Medic sighed with relief as she began to wrap a bandage around Rocket. Who had promptly passed out from the pain.

"She'll live. But she needs rest." The Medic said as she began to pick up her equipment. "Get this mare to a cot." The two others placed the stretcher down beside Rocket and placed her slowly onto it before lifting it onto their shoulders. The two moved off as Zephyr and Glimmerlight shared a knowing glance. "Where's Shimmer?"

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"You bitch!" Shimmer heard as she was sent spiraling across the tent into a small table. Utensil's, food and drink, all were smashed and scattered across the floor as she impacted with the table. The colt before her was clutching his groin as he cried out in pain. Shimmer smirked to herself as the colt ran out of the tent. Her right foreleg coming up to wipe the fresh blood from her lip.

"Pig." Was all she muttered as she spat blood onto the floor. As she rose from the floor she could hear muffled shouting and laughter from outside the tent. A single moment later the Mare who had tended to her came bursting into the tent. The Mare's name she had come to know was 'Mother' and she was the caregiver for all the female slaves in the camp. It was her job to make sure they all were well fed and given proper medical care.

Mother marched up to Shimmer and began to look her over, "What the hell did you do? That buffoon is declaring to high heaven that he's going to have you killed for attempted murder."

Shimmer scoffed. "Oh please, I used too much teeth and he sent me flying across the room."

Mother winced as she looked at the state of the room. "How much 'teeth' did you use?" Shimmer's reply was nothing short of a smirk. Mother however wasn't amused. "Shimmer...you know you're only going to get yourself in trouble and I won't be able to protect you when the Boss comes down on you like a tonne of bricks."

"I know Mother. But when you've got a colt that smells of five day old clothes and too much Cider Whiskey than you can handle. That particular reflex does have a tendency to kick into overdrive." Shimmer replied as she moved back from Mother. "I'm still getting used to the idea that this time even exists."

Mother smiled sympathetically, "You're a Mare out of Time, but you need to accept that the world you knew, is gone. This is the real world honey. Everything, even ponies clearly have demon's inside them. And it took the end of the world to truly show what we are capable of."

Shimmer frowned, "That's not true for all ponies. Just look at you. You do more good here than anyone else combined." She said opening the tent slightly, "I mean look at this place. It's a hell hole. And yet there's a Mare inside this place that despite all odds, continues to be kind, caring, and devoted the ponies around her. There's still some good in this world, I know it."

Mother smiled, "You're kind Shimmer, maybe a bit naive but kind. I pray this place doesn't take that from you."

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Rocket groaned as she felt the real world around her. Her body felt foreign but it felt whole again, albeit a bit stiff. As she lifted her head she took in her surroundings, expecting to find a decayed wasteland. Instead she was inside some sort of triage tent. About her laid empty cots and beds, some even occupied by injured or sick ponies and even a few griffons.

"Glad to see you're awake." One of the Medics said as she approached Rocket's bedside.

"How long was I out?"

The Medic began to lift a small sheet of paper in front of her, "Almost twenty hours now. You were hurt in a pretty bad way. But we fixed you up and let you rest." The Medic placed the sheet back down and sat in the small chair. "You're one damn lucky mare, I frankly don't know how you managed to get to us in your condition."

"Magic." Rocket replied with a sarcastic chuckle before turning serious, "Where is Sergeant Glimmerlight and Zephyr?"

"The Sergeant and your friend are in the command tent. And since our previous Commander is dead, Glimmerlight has been given the defacto rank of Captain." The Medic replied, "I should say that you should take it easy but I doubt you'll listen. Give me a minute and I'll go get them both."

Rocket nodded in reply as she put her head back down with a sigh. "I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have left her alone with those bastards." She thought as she rolled onto her back. She winced as she felt the stitches in her side pull and contort. "Hit me with the .50 ... I got lucky ..."

The tent opened and Zephyr quickly followed by Glimmerlight entered. Rocket did her best to sit up and greet them but her body refused to cooperate and she flopped back down into a lying position. She crossed her forelegs in frustration as she groaned.

Glimmerlight was the first to speak as she stood at the end of the cot, "How're you feeling?"

Zephyr however wasn't so concerned, "What happened? Why didn't you signal us? It's been a damn week with no word."

Rocket scowled at Zephyr, "To answer the first question, I feel fine, tender, but fine." She huffed as she replied to Zephyr, annoyance and anger dripping in her voice. "I was shot you impatient bastard. I had to use whatever magic I could to keep my insides, in. Shimmer is with the camp and at this point has been violated numerous times by now. Why don't you let up, dick."

"Why you little piece of-"

"Alright that's enough." Glimmerlight interrupted both verbally and physically, "Zephyr, go easy on her, it's not her fault what happened." She looked at Rocket, "I know this has been tough on you but any information we can get will help immensely." Zephyr took a step back reluctantly as he continued to glare at Rocket. "Now, Rocket, please tell us exactly what happened."

For ten minutes Rocket told the story of what happened at the camp and the days prior. The story illicited many different reactions between Glimmerlight and Zephyr but with each moment their expressions darkened. Rocket felt more and more guilty as she spoke, especially when she got to the point where the collar was placed on Shimmer's neck. She knew that Zephyr was pissed at her for even allowing it to happen, he would've fought them all to avoid the collar. Glimmerlight's expressions shifted between anger and sympathy rather often.

"After that, they let me leave. As much as I didn't want to, I knew staying would've been a death sentence for both of us." She concluded, "So I left, fully intending to send the signal." She said pointedly at Zephyr, "But being shot stopped that. It took me all of my healing potions and my magic to get here."

Glimmerlight remained silent for a few moments before turning to the Medic nearby, "Call the troops to ready status and assemble in the yard."

"Yes Ma'am!" The Medic shouted before running out of the tent.

"Don't you worry Rocket, we'll get her back. Today." Glimmerlight said with a firm nod before heading out. Zephyr followed quickly behind. And Rocket sighed with relief as she settled into the cot once again.

"I hope that Shimmer is the one to put you down, you bastard." Rocket thought as her hopes went outward towards Shimmer and the gathering CPR army that was being assembled.

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"You wanted to see me Boss?" Shimmer asked as she entered the main tent of the camp. The far end of the tent was decorated with the finest of trophies and paintings from days long past. Many pillows and blankets decorated one corner and looked as if they were cleaned daily. But in the center of the room sat a singular long table with a giant map of the Crystal Empire sitting atop it.

The Boss stood to the left of the map as he looked it over. "I hear you had an incident with one of my men earlier." Shimmer remained silent as he continued speaking. "According to him you attempted to geld him...with your teeth of all things."

Shimmer did her best to hide her grin as she replied, "An accident Boss, nothing else." Immediately she regretted opening her mouth as an electric shock coursed through her body.

The orange colt moved towards her with a frown on his face. "I'm not interested in explanations or excuses. You're here to provide a service. Nothing more or less than that." The electric current intensified with each step towards her. "You injure my people in any way or displease them, this is the result. And if you're lucky, I won't kill you outright." As he stopped in front of her, the current stopped as well.

Between pained breathing Shimmer lifted her head, "You'd be doing me a favor ... living under your command ... is a hell of it's own. Death, would be paradise." The smirk on Chattel's face grew, and Shimmer's eyes grew wide.

"I must admit, you're much more lively than most of the others." He chuckled as he leaned forward, "But I'll take care of that ... personally." Chattel approached her and used his forelegs to force her backward. Her flank easily exposed towards him. Shimmer squeezed her eyes closed as she felt his body approach her from behind. "You're mine. Remember that." He whispered in a near snarl beside her ear.

Every bit of her being screamed for her to run. Whether it was luck or fate, decided otherwise. Another slaver burst into the tent, panic on his face. "Boss! We've got a situation out here!" Whatever the warning was, it was certainly cut short by the sounds of distant gunfire.

"What the hell?" Chattel cursed as he scrambled to the opening of the tent. As he gazed to the West, the sight that greeted him, caused his face to contort with anger.

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Glimmerlight peered through the old binoculars at her eyes, chuckling as she watched three Pegasi tear holes into the main tent. "That'll wake up anyone." She lowered the Binoculars and looked to her left, "Corporal, have Alpha and Bravo squads assault the main entry as a distraction. Charlie and Delta will focus their attacks on the enemies fliers. If Rocket's information is correct we should see them ... now."

As promised, nearly a dozen or so Pegasi took to the skies. The few that the CPR had managed to scrounge up immediately reversed their courses attempting to fall back to the safety of the main group. Glimmerlight watched as several glints appeared in various places in the camp. With a simple wave of her hoof, the entire platoon dropped to the ground. A single moment later, several loud bangs filled the air. Bullets smashed into the ground before several, spitting dirt and rock in all directions.

"Shields up!" Glimmerlight shouted loudly over the popping of high powered fire-arms. Three large bubbles formed, intercepting the deadly ordinance instantly. Glimmerlight stood and waved her hoof forward. "Advance!" The three large groups began galloping towards the slaver camp. The magic fields panging and sparkling with each bullet impact. Glimmerlight panted as the main group approached the main gate. The second group made it to the camp's outer perimeter walls. The group began fanning out along the wall and watched as the main group began assaulting the main entry.

Glimmerlight shrieked as she unloaded her rifle into the body of a Pegasi that tumbled to the ground with a loud crunch. The unicorn holding their shield up dropped the magical field as it reached it's limit. The group was exposed but it also meant that they could fire freely.

"Disperse! Don't let any get away!" Glimmerlight commanded. As she spoke a slaver attempted to fire on her from behind. But his attempt failed as he found himself the target of Zephyr. The Earth pony raised his hooves to his neck as a knife found itself embedded into his esophogus. The body tumbled off of its perch and landed in front fo Zephyr, who quickly retrieved his knife.

As the fighting continued the Ranger found themselves gaining ground. The second group began to scatter along the wall as their shield dropped. A second unicorn faced the wall and cried, "Fire in the hole!" As he slammed his eyes shut and angled his head forward, his horn lit up. A bright orange light formed and a single moment later a wide blast of magical energy slammed into the wall. Shattering the section before him into mere splinters.

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Chattel scowled in rage as he watched the wall explode in a cacophony of debris. He glared at Shimmer a moment later as she stood smirking at the sight. Pushing her to the side he marched into the tent and approached a small terminal. As his hooves danced across the screen Shimmer watched as the Rangers began pushing through the new entry in the camps walls. Her eyes however caught sight of something odd as the second group approached several of the tents.

As the soldiers entered the tents an odd calm filled the air before several explosions rocked the area. Tents exploded outwards, spraying blood and body parts into the air. Shimmer looked back in horror as she finally realized what was happening. On the screen a prompt window was showing a list of all collars connected to the radio system. With a single button press Chattel could remotely detonate the collars, killing both the slave and any Ranger that approached them.

Rage filled Shimmer's body as she screamed and turned towards him. "You bastard!" She cried as she charged towards Chattel. The colt looked at her in shock as he felt her body smash into his. Knocking him from the chair and onto the floor. Having been caught by surprise Chattel reacted simply by covering his face as Shimmer began swinging her hooves wildly at him.

He shifted his body beneath her and brought his hind legs up against her belly and bucked. His legs sent her flying a short distance to land on her side. She glared at him as she recovered, only to be struck by his left forehoof. The impact made her head spin but she refused to give up. Quickly lurching to her feet she wrapped her forelegs around his stomach and pushed forward with her hindlegs. Chattel coughed briefly as the air was knocked from his lungs but he responded in kind by bringing his right foreleg down on her back several times as they collided against the table.

Shimmer shrieked as he continued to slam his leg into her back. His hits were powerful but she knew the longer she faught him, the more lives she could keep from extinguishing. Chattel roared in anger as he brought both legs down this time and Shimmer reluctantly released him. She rolled quickly to avoid the hoof being brought down towards her. As she did she wrapped her forelegs around his right hind leg and opened her mouth. Clamping down hard on his lower leg, digging her teeth deep into his hide. He howled in pain as he attempted to shake her off but she refused to relent.

Her teeth dug deeper and deeper until Chattel cried out in pure agony. Blood began to pour from the wound as Shimmer ripped backwards, skin and fur came with the final pull. Chattel kicked with his other leg and Shimmer felt the world pitch as it connected with her temple. Chattel collapsed to the ground, gripping the now gushing wound, his eyes filled with both rage and horror. As the world began to cease spinning she noticed that the wound she had inflicted on Chattel was unusual.

The blood that was spilling from his leg was not in fact red, but flourescent blue, the blood of a Changeling. It took only a moment for Shimmer's brain to catch up as she shook her head. Ignoring the pain in his leg Chattel forced himself up and he struck her across the face. The world pitched again for Shimmer as hoof strike after hoof strike landed upon her face.

"Mother had plans for you, but now it seems, she'd rather kill you instead." The Chattel-changleling said, dropping it's disguised voice in favor of it's natural one. Shimmer's eyes went wide as she felt the hooves of the changeling begin to dig into her throat. The much needed air to breathe was blocked and in return she gagged. Her hooves desperately attempting to push his off of her. The Chattel-changeling chuckled as he pressed even harder and she began to worry that she would have her neck broken before she died of oxygen loss. "You ponies are all the same, weak."

"Wanna bet?!"

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Zephyr charged forward, bringing his left throwing arm forward, slashing another slavers neck. His hooves and body were pock-marked and bloody but he refused to back down. Any pony within his throwing range was targeted and promptly killed. Any pony within grabbing range became a corpse immediately. The place he stood in was sickening and it was all the encouragement he needed to push forward. A unicorn quickly began blasting away with it's magic and he ducked.

The magical blast tore a hole through a nearby tent and the cloth erupted in flames. As the unicorn began to change it's target he surged forward. Knocking the slaver off of his hooves and onto his back. Giving no quarter Zephyr knelt above him and drove his hooves down into his face, blades slicing through hide and bone alike.

Glimmerlight stood nearby, her rifle firing against the enslaught of slavers desperately attempting to hold back the invading Rangers. Her aim was deadly and with each pull of the trigger another fell before her. As an explosion sounded her gaze and ears snapped in it's direction. She watched as several tents were obliterated from internal explosions. Depositing the remains of both Rangers and Slaves alike across the battlefield.

"Zephyr! We need to get to the main tent! That bastard is using the slaves as mobile bombs!" She shouted over the masses of ponies battling for domination of the camp.

Zephyr nodded in reply as he heard her and turned his gaze upward towards the largest of tents. Before him stood four more slaver guards. Each carrying an automatic weapon of different designs. He squinted as he looked for an opening and immediately got his needed result. The first guard howled in frustration as his rifle snapped and a bullet jammed inside the chamber. As he looked down to deal with the jam and the instant he did so, a throwing knife embedded into his skull.

The three remaining watched in shock as Zephyr galloped forward. They raised their weapons preparing to fire but met their own barrage of fire as Glimmerlight and one other opened fire with their rifles. The three ducked attempting to get out of the way of fire but Zephyr slid behind them. Throwing his hooves outwards, two knives found their targets. The first caught his between the eyes. The second groaned as the knife found itself imbedded in his heart. The third looked on in horror and threw down his rifle, throwing his hands in the air.

"I surrender! Mercy!" He cried as his pupils became tiny dots.

Zephyr scowled as he approached the colt. "Mercy? Like you showed these ponies?" He asked coldly as he knelt before the colt. The shine of light was barely visible as he brought the cold steel of his blade across the colt's throat. Blood began pouring downward as he gagged, his body desperate for air. Zephyr peered down at the colt as his life slowly faded away. He turned and retracted his blade throwers and galloped towards the tent.

As he grew closer to the tent he could hear the signs of a struggle. The screams of a colt in pain and the gagging of a mare. As he neared the entry he could hear the odd voice of the colt. "You ponies are all the same, weak."

Zephyr threw back the tent's opening and glared, "Wanna bet!?" The colt before him looked up in shock but reacted too late as Zephyr charged. Knocking the Changeling off of his hooves. Zephyr gave no room to respond as he pitched onto his forhooves and bucked. His hooves making contact with the Changelings chin, sending him flying across the tent crashing into the far support beam. He charged forward again, activating his blade throwers but in such close proximity the blades stayed within their holdings. The Changelings eyes dialated to tiny dots as the steel plunged into his sides, the blades dealing slow but fatal blows.

Zephyr scowled at the Changeling, "We. Aren't. Weak." He spat with each word and the Changeling responded with a grin.

"Mother is angry." The Changeling gagged as blood began to flood his mouth, "We are everywhere. We will not be defeated so easily." The Changeling turned it's gaze towards Shimmer, "And your shlanaighear won't be able to save you." The Changeling laughed as he choked on his own blood. Eventually the life slipped away from him and his laughter became silence. Zephyr held his stance until he was sure and retracted his blades. Turning to face Shimmer who remained motionless staring at him.

"Zephyr ... " She started as she looked towards him.

The last thing she could recall before the world went black was the soft voice of a Mare, whose mane flowed of black and purple magic, considered to be long since dead. "Your destiny calls my little pony, seek the Crystal Heart. We, are waiting."

Chapter 13: Return to Crystal Grove

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The world pitched sideways when Shimmer woke. The medical tent of The Grove was in high use as both slaves and Rangers tended to the sick and injured. She groaned and her belly grumbled and gurgled, desperate for the routinely release. She complied, throwing her head over the side of her bed and fumbling for the half-rusted bucket which rested there before she promptly heaved into it.

As she heaved again and again she felt the touch of a comforting hoof on her back. "Not quite the 'good morning' we were expecting, but welcome back, Shimmer." Shimmer weakly lifted her head as the soft falsetto voice of Mother filled her ears and she said, "Being beaten and then vomiting... is unpleasant to say the least." She winced as she lay back on the bed. "How are the others doing?"

The older mare smiled. "Many survived thanks to you and your friends. If you didn’t do what you did, I'm sure all the slav—well, the others—would have been certainly killed. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I did what any decent pony would do."

Mother shook her head. "Of course, but there aren't that many around anymore. Don't you remember the last time we talked?"

Shimmer smiled sheepishly and said, "Yes, I do. I'm sorry." She looked about. "Mother, I have an odd question to ask. Do you know what happened to the Crystal Heart?"

Mother blinked. "My, that is a odd question. The Crystal Heart... Well, some say that it shattered, and some say it was stolen. But the truth of the matter is that no one really knows. At least, no one alive knows, that is. Why do you ask?"
Shimmer sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I've heard many things in my life, honey, believe me. It won't be as strange as you think," Mother replied with a giggle.
Shimmer averted her eyes and felt foolish as she replied with, "I think ... I could have sworn I heard Princess Luna tell me to look for it." Mother's reply was a series of rapid blinks and Shimmer groaned. "See, I told you. I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you, honey. It's just... well, Luna has been dead for two hundred years," Mother replied, a confused frown on her brow. "Luna was the guardian of dreams but in two hundred years, I haven't heard of anypony, anywhere, mentioning seeing Luna in their dreams again."

Shimmer shook her head. "It was Luna, it had to have been."

Mother smiled with a shrug, "I'm not saying you're right or wrong, honey, but just don't get your hopes too high that it really was her. That said, though, Goddesses know we could use their guidance again."

Shimmer nodded slowly and said, "You won't get any arguments from me." She sighed softly and looked around. "Is Zephyr or Glimmerlight around?"

Mother gave her a gentle pat on her leg. "I'll go fetch them for you."

As Mother stood and began to walk away Shimmer made her pause as she spoke. "I'm glad to see you made it through, Mother. The good ponies deserve to live." Mother smiled and nodded in reply and continued on her way. Shimmer relaxed against the pillow as she attempted to get comfortable. Her body ached from the fight with the changeling and she was doing her best to avoid irritating it more. Her eyes glanced about the medical tent. The number of injured was surprisingly low, but then she also assumed that this was not the trauma tent.

She sighed as time began to drag and it was clear that it was going to be a few minutes before her friends arrived. She lifted her hoof and tapped on the Pip-Buck controls, bringing up the radio like she had so many times in the past. Immediately she picked up on the all too familiar voice of Pon-3.

"...and some very special news! Littlepip and Celestia have left us a message!" The sound of paper shuffling filled the speaker as Pon-3 cleared his throat. "First is from Celestia and it reads, 'My Dear Little Ponies, I haven't forgotten you. I watch every day and the courage many of you show each day fills me with joy. Those ponies who cherish life and try to help make it better for all I thank you deeply. My thoughts and hopes go with all of you. Signed, Princess Celestia.' Well isn't that lovely! The next is from Littlepip."

Shimmer couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "I thought Celestia was dead? I'll need to get another history lesson from-" She paused, remembering the shot from the sniper, and shook her head rapidly. She refused to let her thoughts dwell on her loss of Rocket. Instead she focused on the radio.

"'I'm not very good with these but, 'Hi everypony!' I guess that's a good place to start. I've seen things that surprise me greatly. The Wasteland is changing, I hope for the best. I've seen more and more of ponies being friendly to each other, homes being built, and lives being repaired. Don't forget though, everypony has the capacity to love, to care, and to have friendships. We stumble, we fail, but we always can rise again. Remember that everypony. Yours, Littlepip.'"

Shimmer smiled at hearing those encouraging words. Somepony, somewhere, was keeping tabs on the world. The far end of the tent opened and Glimmerlight and Zephyr stepped through. She flicked the radio off and smiled, waving a hoof towards them. The pair wore smiles as they approached but looked completely exhausted.

Zephyr reached her first and she immediately wrapped her forelegs around his neck, at which he gave a small groan of surprise before then returning it. Glimmerlight placed a hoof on her shoulder and nodded firmly.

"How're you feeling, Shimmer?" she asked as she lowered her hoof.

Shimmer smiled. "Not too bad, all things considered." She sighed as she slowly released Zephyr and he sat back on his flank.

He sighed. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner."

"We waited to see Rocket's signal but it never came." Glimmerlight continued and Shimmer's ears drooped.

"They… They kill—ended—Rocket shortly after we arrived," Shimmer replied softly as her eyes began to water. "It was all for n-nothing."

Zephyr raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Well, they certainly tried." The comment was met with a look of pure confusion from Shimmer. He, in turn, looked to Glimmerlight and said, "Wait, nopony told you that she survived?"
Shimmer bolted upright and instantly clutched her side as she did so. "She's alive?!"

Glimmerlight laughed as she pushed her back down slowly. "Take it easy, Shimmer. Yeah, Rocket's still alive. Stubborn old thing kept herself together with nothing but bandages and magic. If she wasn't so badly injured, she would have joined us in the attack." Shimmer opened her mouth to question and Glimmerlight cut her off by promptly placing a hoof over it. "She's fine. She's in one of the other tents resting. We evacuated everypony from the camp and took all the supplies here."
Zephyr himself chuckled. "Took us a damn week but we finally got everything out of there, and managed to even save some of the tents too." As he turned his head he raised an eyebrow. "Shimmer? Why're you crying?"

She hadn't even noticed it but as she lifted a hoof to her eyes she felt the telltale sign of tears on her foreleg. She smiled as she looked up. "Because my friends all lived and we saved so many and so much." Her body began to slowly convulse as she began to sob happily. With a loud groan of surprise from both she wrapped them both in a hug. The week of endless torture and servitude had come to a happy end as she held them tightly. Zephyr and Glimmerlight awkwardly gazed at each other behind Shimmer’s back as she continued to sob.

After what felt like an eternity she finally released them and she sighed contently. "Sorry, that was-"

"Just fine," Glimmerlight interrupted. "The state of the place when we began to search for survivors and those that refused to give up was ... appalling to say the least. How ponies could go so... evil and disgusting is beyond me. Rocket certainly has my sympathies."

"What happened to the survivors?"

Zephyr smiled. "Well after we got you out of the combat zone, I disabled the bomb collars on the slaves. Offered them a choice, freedom to go where they choose or to help us rebuild The Grove and the CPR."

"Surprisingly, many of them chose to help us." Glimmerlight had begun to smile but it quickly faded as Shimmer's expression grew dark. "What's wrong?"

"I just remembered something... something the slaver leader said," Shimmer said quietly. Glimmerlight raised an eyebrow as she looked at Zephyr for some kind of explanation.

"He was a changeling."

Shimmer nodded in confirmation. "And he said ... something about ... what was the word he used?"

Zephyr looked at Glimmerlight and finished Shimmer's thought. "He said 'shlanaighear', whatever that means. I probably butchered how it sounds." Glimmerlight's eyebrows shot up in confusion as he continued. "The changeling also said that they were everywhere. That they wouldn't be stopped easily."

Glimmerlight remained silent for a few moments as she paced in front of the bed. Shimmer simply watched in slight concern as the silence filled the room. Glimmerlight looked at Zephyr and motioned with her head for him to follow. "I've got a pony here who knows the changeling language. We should go talk to her." She turned her head to Shimmer and added with a smile, "While we speak to my friend, you should try and see Rocket, if you're feeling up to it."

Shimmer smiled. "Even if I have to crawl, I'll see her. Thank you both. I have more to tell you, but it can wait, for now." The three shared a nod before Zephyr and Glimmerlight headed for the exit. Shimmer sat up with a wince as her tender frame moved for the first time in what she assumed was several days. A medic nearby began to move towards her but, when she held up a hoof and shook her stiff head, the pony nodded and moved back to the patient they originally had been overseeing.

As her hooves hit the floor she felt a small amount of dizziness sweep over here. She shook her head twice and it immediately cleared the sensation away. She took a tentative step as her body slowly got used to itself once again. One hoof step after another, she moved towards the exit of the tent. She paused only to ask where Rocket was staying and got directions to another tent nearby. She thanked the pegasus that answered her and exited the tent. And the sight that greeted her was something she had never expected to see.

When she had last seen the Grove it was run down and in the process of being rebuilt by those that had been rescued. But, now, the place had completely changed. The houses that were still standing had been repaired and patched to the point that the weather would no longer threaten its occupants, and her own home now stood vibrant. It seemed somepony had found some paint and had changed its original yellow color to a bright violet. In fact, many of the buildings nearby bore similar shades of purple, the color of the Rangers. Surrounding the Grove were a series of towers which stood tall over the place, a sturdy hideaway for the ponies who stood on watch, rifles held under their shoulders.. Some makeshift barricades littered the roads, most of which had more Rangers standing by them, on guard.

The center of the Grove originally had sported a tall tree, but that was long since dead. It had been removed in favor of a two story building from which, at the top, a flagpole rose. From it, only very slightly tattered, and magnificent cyan flag blew; donned with thirty-seven white stars, grouped in nines, in the corners and with a single star at the bottom, it was familiar. In the center it bore the symbols of sun and moon, surrounded by the figures of Celestia and Luna.

The flag brought an unusual sense of pride in Shimmer. The world as it had once been had ended, but these ponies had banded together despite the odds to make the world they found themselves in a better place. Several other buildings had been constructed and she could only venture a guess as to what they held. But what truly astonished her was that the place was built in such a short amount of time. In the two weeks that she had been gone with Rocket, this had been built. Some buildings were, admittedly, still under construction, but the Grove had turned from a humble little cul-de-sac to a Base of Operations for the Rangers. It was something that the group had previously lacked, thanks in part to the constant attacks from other parties.

Despite wanting to explore she continued forward to another set of tents designated as the intensive care unit. When she stepped hoof inside she was greeted not by a Medic, but by Dr. Heartstrings.

"Well I'll be damned. Shimmer!" Heartstrings called as he wrapped his hooves around Shimmer's neck. "I wasn't sure I'd see you again. How are you?"

Shimmer managed a pained reply of, "I hurt."

Immediately Heartstrings chuckled and released her. "Sorry. I had heard something major went down to the East. Didn't know you were involved." He stepped to the side, "I imagine you're here to see Rocket?"

She nodded as she began to follow him, "How is she?"

Heartstrings shrugged, "Stubborn? She was pretty much all patched up when I got here. I was on a supply run for the clinic and offered to help with the injuries when the Pegasi began unloading casualties from the battle." He looked over at her as they walked, "There were a lot of injured. I'm glad you opened up that basement otherwise may of the injured here would most certainly be dead." He paused in front of one of the sections, "Here we are. I'll let you two have some privacy. I'm sure you've got some catching up to do. She's been asking about you at least once a day."

Shimmer raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Heartstrings nodded, "Yep. According to the Medic that was tending to her before, that was how it was every day. I've only been in here for a day, I was kept rather busy in the surgical ward."

Shimmer nodded as she faced the door, "Thank you Doctor. I'll see you later."

Heartstrings smiled as he opened the door, "I'll be around. In you go."

As she stepped through the small entry she immediately saw Rocket lying on the gurney. Her breath caught in her throat as she moved closer. The bandages wrapped around her midsection nearly caused Shimmer to freeze in place. However, she pushed forward, approaching the bed and placing a hoof on the metal bar between them. As if on cue Rocket opened her eyes and looked towards Shimmer. The two shared more than a few moments of silence before Shimmer broke it.

"How're you feeling-" Words were rapidly interrupted as Rocket surged forward. Her forelegs wrapping around Shimmers neck as she pulled her in closely. Loud sobs filled the small room as she squeezed tighter as if attempting to never let Shimmer go again.

"ImsosorryInevermeanttoleaveyoutherealone!" Rocket blurted out in one unbroken word. Shimmer smiled against her as she felt tears dropping onto her shoulder. Slowly running a hoof through Rocket's mane she cooed softly, attempting to calm down the emotional mare.

"I'm okay, I'm here." Her voice dipped to near whisper levels.

Rocket pulled back and looked into her eyes, "You-you were in there for a week...did they...I mean..." She couldn't bring herself to say it but Shimmer knew exactly what she meant. There was a slow nod from her in response but her smile never faded.

"I'm okay. I promise. Mother helped, Zephyr and Glimmerlight saved me. And the camp was destroyed. Everypony that survived was set free." She leaned forward and gave a soft nuzzle against Rockets neck, "I'm just relieved to see you alive...when I heard the shot..." It was her turn to pause as she looked back up at Rocket.

Rocket sighed as she leaned back on the gurney, "Being shot by a sniper ... it's not fun. Especially when you spend a week using your magic to hold your insides in." Shimmer winced and didn't even attempt to hold it back. "But, I got here. I was a mess. Thank Celestia I was treated before I simply bled out."

Shimmer couldn't help but wear a pained but relieved face, "Glimmerlight's group seems to know what they're doing. Even if they're only just now getting back on their hooves." The two shared a nod and relaxed in their respective seats. She however couldn't remain still. The message from Luna still dragging itself forward. As a groan escaped her lips Rocket couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her.

"Something on your mind?"

Shimmer sat forward once again, running her forehooves across her eyes. "Yeah but it's far fetched so I doubt you'd believe it."

Rocket smirked, "Maybe. If not, it'll make for a good story."

Running a hoof through her mane she let the hair fall on her shoulder with a small huff, “What if I told you when I was out, I had a vision...of...Luna?” She cleared her throat avoiding Rocket’s gaze, “And she told me...to find the...Crystal-what? Stop looking at me like that!” She commented finally looking at Rocket who looked as if she was about to burst out laughing. Rocket made a noise akin to a cough as she attempted to put on her serious face. Utterly failing and instead laughing loudly. Shimmer sunk into her chair and crossed her forelegs with a huff.

“I’m sorry.” The unicorn replied as she attempted to clear her eyes of the tears that had started to spawn from the laughter. “But you do know-”

“She’s dead. Yeah. I gathered.” The annoyance on her voice was the furthest thing from cloaked as she glared at Rocket. Rocket continued to giggle and Shimmer pushed forward, placing her hooves on the bed. “I’m not making this up! I know it sounds crazy! But can you just listen?”

Rocket was a little surprised at the forwardness and she nearly immediately stopped giggling. “Okay. I’m sorry, go on.” The smirk on her face wasn’t inspiring confidence but Shimmer nodded nonetheless.

Taking a deep breath in she continued, “She told me that I needed to find the Crystal Heart. That it was important. I don’t know why, but we-I need to do this. I really could use your help, yours, Zephyr’s, Glimmerlight’s too if she can be spared.” Her voice kept growing in determination, “Luna never contacts anyone directly unless they’re needing guidance or advice. Even ponies now must remember the stories of her entering dreams. She’s the guardian of dreams, the princess of the night. It MUST be important.”

Rocket looked at her somewhat confused, sitting up slowly, “You’re serious about this?”

Nodding in reply, “I wouldn’t joke about Princess Luna like that. She was...she was kind, misunderstood at times, but always wanted the best for everypony. And if she’s telling me to do this...I can’t ignore it.” She looked dead serious into Rocket’s eyes, “If it will help ponies, I want to do that. I MUST do it.”

Rocket lifted her forelegs, resting her forehooves on Shimmers. “You saved my life. I owe you. Where you go, I go, I promise. And if that means chasing this Crystal Heart, come Tartarus or high water, I’ll be there.”

Shimmer smiled nodding firmly, “Thank you Rocket.”

Rocket smiled, “What are friends for?”

“Fair point.” She replied with a giggle, “We’ll get going as soon as you’re fit enough to travel. And not a second before.”

Rocket smirked, “Doctor’s orders?”

“Doctor’s orders.” Her own smirked reflecting that of Rocket’s. “Get some rest Rocket. It truly is great seeing you still alive.”
Rocket smirked, “Hey, it’s me. I’m tough to kill.” With a simple hug, Shimmer then turned to the small doorway and headed out. As she moved towards the exit she saw that Heartstrings was waiting for her. The expression he wore however didn’t inspire her with confidence.

“Glimmerlight and Zephyr need to speak to you right away.”

She looked back at Rocket, “Looks like duty calls. I’ll be back to check on you later.”

Rocket smirked and waved a hoof dismissively, “I ain’t going anywhere. Go talk shop.” Shimmer nodded and gave her a quick hug before moving out of the small room. The door closed with a small click and she faced Heartstrings.
“She’ll make a full recovery?”

Heartstrings smirked and looked at the door, “If she ever learns to settle down? Sure. I swear that mare can’t sit still for more than five minutes at a time.” Shimmer chuckled as she nodded, her posture changing to show simple relief. However it was short lived as Heartstrings continued. “Look, are you absolutely sure that you want to go after the Crystal Heart?” She blinked in response as he commented, “I caught a bit of the conversation as I walked by before the runner came to me.”
“Oh.” Was all she’d reply with before moving down the small hall between the small temporary rooms. Heartstrings continued to follow just a few steps behind. She looked over her shoulder, “To answer your question then, I am serious. I was given instructions to follow.” Briefly lifting a hoof she’d open the door to the hall and step outside, “And I fully intend to follow them.”

Heartstrings took several quick steps and stopped in front of Shimmer. His eyes locked on hers, seriousness coating them as he began to speak. “Then let me be the first to suggest that you do NOT continue telling anypony that you got these instructions from Luna. She’s dead, gone, burned up two hundred years ago.”

“But that can’t-”

“Shimmer.” He interrupted, his expression darkening, “I’m telling you. If you keep going on about Luna and some kind of vision, ponies will NOT take you seriously. The world you knew, with the mythical Luna entering dreams, it doesn’t exist anymore. Believe what you want, but don’t force it on others.”

Shimmer frowned heavily at him, “But it had to have been her. Why else would I have had that vision?”

Heartstrings shrugged his shoulders, “As I said Shimmer, believe what you want, I’m not saying not to. I’m just saying to be careful AND not to try to get anyone to follow you by using Luna as a reason. Nopony will follow you. But ponies will follow you for a legitimate reason. Finding the Crystal Heart, that’s noble. It’s been missing for...well no one knows how long it’s been missing.” He moved out of her way and offered a hoof to indicate to keep going, “Just remember that the next time you try to pitch an idea to your friends to go on some adventure.” Shimmer continued to frown at him. He had a point but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Instead of replying she simply marched forward.