“Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves.”

I looked through the window at the frozen city. A storm seemed to be going on, as snow and sleet and ice pelted the now-exposed glass. It was tough enough to withstand the onslaught, but I still didn’t want to go flying out in it. I wouldn’t have any idea of where I was going, as the snow produced a screen thick enough that I only saw the city every minute or so. And even that was through a white haze.

“Gah, I want to go out there so badly. I’ve been cooped up for far too long.” I frowned as I fell back on my haunches.

“Well I’ve got an idea if you want to go outside so badly,” said Core.

“What?” I asked, his comment slightly piquing my curiosity.

“A disguise would be in order for you. Dye your mane and coat and whatnot.” I opened my eyes wide, curious as to why he thought it was necessary.

“Elaborate. Now. I didn’t spend two hundred years trapped in a coffin to go and hide who I am.” My tone of voice left no room for argument.

He sighed and continued. “Like you said, it’s been two hundred years. Likely, most everyone you know is dead and you no longer have resources to protect you from someone who wants you dead.” I opened my mouth to interject, but he stopped me. “Close your mouth, I’m not done. Yes, you have your guns and wings and armor, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop the mass attack on you that your sudden appearance might bring. If you were to disguise yourself, you’d simply be another pegasus. Minus the armor of course. That might bring up some issues.”

“And how do you propose that I disguise myself?” I asked bitterly, still not wanting to go undercover, but realizing the necessity. “Wait, never mind. I have that box of makeup and dye from my trunk that was probably put there just for this.”

“That certainly sounds like something Rarity would think to put in.” I sighed and pulled out the box, flipping it open to see the contents.

Neatly lined up were ten different bottles of ‘permanent’ coat dye in all the hues that pegasi normally had, plus one of my regular coat color. Below them were another ten bottles, this time for my mane and tail. The only difference was that these ones were slightly smaller and in a different ten colors. The six that made up my mane were there along with grey, brown, a darker blue, and a light pink.

I set them all out, leaving the makeup in the kit and setting that aside. I looked them over, trying to figure out which ones would be the best. I immediately put my original coat color back in the box. I took another glance outside. The swirling snow and the drab appearance behind it seemed rather depressing. I didn’t want to be just another monotone or dull color out in the landscape. I returned five more colors to the box, leaving me with pink, yellow, lavender, and a light green.

“Any suggestions Core?”

“Well, the yellow and lavender look to be the same hue as Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, so I’d advise against those.”

I took his advice, returning the two colors to the box. Now it was just a choice between the green and the pink. Both of them would be fine, but the pink seemed more right to me for some reason. I set it to the side and turned my attention to the mane colors.

Looking them over, I realized that I was far too attached to my rainbow mane. Even though I’d have to dye it a single color, it could be one I already had. I returned the four colors to the box. Taking another look at the pink, I put aside the three warm colors and looked at the green, blue, and violet. I thought of the different color schemes, made a face at imagining the green and pink, thus leaving me with two colors again. I let my hoof decide, closing my eyes and randomly selecting one. Blue. My choices made, I stowed the kit.

I turned to go and pace the room and put off my change longer, but something stopped me. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass and the sight shocked me. I was still partially covered in black blood from my injuries earlier and it was smeared over my purple armor. My face had a scar running down over my left eye, three jagged lines. There were other numerous scars on my face as well as several new ones. My face had a look of weariness to it, as if it had seen too many deaths and too much violence, but was powerless to stop it. My mane, though still rainbow, had what looked to be streaks of grey running through it. Turning to one side, I saw that my tail had similar streaks. I knew I wasn’t old enough to be turning grey yet, so it only added to my look of one who was tired. Overall, my appearance was one of a soldier, a mare who had seen battle and lived to tell the tale time and time again. It was the appearance of a mare who had seen a land fall to war and violence. It was a mare who had loved and lost and so much more. It was a mare who I did not remember.

It was a mare who I did not want to be.

I turned around and grabbed one of the bottles, unstopping it without hesitation. I moved to pour part of it on my head, but Core stopped me.

“You might not want to do that.”

If it hadn’t been for my irritation, I wouldn’t have stopped. “What is it now? You told me I should hide my appearance.”

“Yes, but you’re going to need water if you don’t want to make a mess of things and run out of dye.”

I paused and looked at the back of the bottle. Dang it, why was Core always right. “How did you know that?”

“You gave me to Rarity,” he said, almost as if it should be obvious.

“Hello, pony without a memory here.”

“Oh, right.” He let out something akin to a cough, but continued anyways. “Rarity was the head of the Ministry of Image. She was concerned about appearance and propaganda and whatnot. And she was a dressmaker. So she was always trying to maintain a perfect appearance even though she was certainly the most frayed out of the six of you.”

“In that case, where’s the nearest bathroom? I wouldn’t mind it for non-cosmetic purposes either.” I grinned, pulling out the rifle and moving towards the director’s door.

“Should be off to the right once you leave the director’s office.”

“Excellent.” I opened the door, peering around in the now brighter room. I could make out details easier now, such as the coffeemaker area, the secretary’s desk, and the crushed furniture. A door led off to the right and left, but I was only paying attention to one. “So, what else can you tell me about my friends? Applejack and Fluttershy and the others?”

“I am less familiar with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but I knew quite a bit of the others. Fluttershy was a pegasus like yourself and devoted herself to helping everyone she could, be it pony, zebra, or animal. She was in charge of the Ministry of Peace and all its hospitals and whatnot.”

I opened the door and swept up my rifle, sighting one lone zombie pony part way down the hall. He wasn’t looking in my direction, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. I fired once, the silenced bullet hitting his head and sending a black spray on the already tarnished walls. “Peace huh? I bet she wasn’t a big fan of the war effort then. Good for her.”

“Yes, she was quite opposed. Pinkie was an entirely different kind of pony though. She was in charge of the Ministry of Morale. It started out sticking to its name and actually cheering up ponies. Then Pinkie went off the deep end and used it to very out spies and traitors. She was extremely good at it too, almost as if she could see the future.” I halted, feeling the faint tug of a memory. It had something to do with Pinkie, a task, and a box that I had to put somewhere. But the memory vanished almost as soon as it appeared. I shook my head and continued down the hall, stopping at a door with a blue sign posted on it. I actually thought for once and looked at my E.F.S. in the corner of my vision. The room ahead was free of any bars, red or otherwise. Still, I nudged it open and proceeded with caution.

Luckily, my fears were not proved right. I went over to the sink, checking to see if it had water. It did, and I took the opportunity to wash off my face and armor. “So what about the other three?”

“Applejack was steadfast and strong, always honest and always loyal to her friends and family. She headed up the Ministry of Technology. If it hadn’t been for her and her sister Applebloom, who was a co-founder of Stable-Tec, you wouldn’t have your PipBuck, this building, or your life. She had to deal with hundreds of lying, manipulative businessponies every day. Still, she was ridiculously stubborn. She was convinced in doing things the earth pony way. In some cases she was right. In others, she made large mistakes.” Core sighed wistfully as I finished up washing my face. It felt good to not have my head clean, almost like I was a new mare. I took one last, but short, look at my fractured reflection in the shattered mirror above the sink. I set the dye bottles on the rim and took off my saddlebags and armor and set it to the side. With a look at the door and my map, I reluctantly removed my hoofblades as well, though I kept them closer to me than the armor. I started preparing the dye as Core started talking again.

“Twilight Sparkle was a genius. There hadn’t been anther unicorn like her in over a thousand years. Perhaps there was a reason why. The last time a unicorn that strong roamed the world, the three tribes ended up fighting for years, then uniting to form Equestria. Perhaps the arrival of such a unicorn is a warning. She certainly was the harbinger for all kinds of destruction. She headed up the Ministry of Arcane Sciences and she was the first to weaponize the megaspell, she was working on creating artificial alicorns, and contributed a whole slew of other things to the war effort. She supported the other five Ministry Mares, yourself included. And if it hadn’t been for her, the war would almost certainly not have ended the way it had. The day she weaponized the megaspell was the day Equestria was doomed.” I added the finishing touches of dye to my wings and stepped back. Since the dye was magic, all I had to do was mix it with water and then make sure every part of me was covered.

I was about to go over it a second time to make sure that I got everything when the door suddenly exploded in to the bathroom. It caught my shoulder, spinning me around on the wet tile surface. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have most likely died as bursts of light came through and hit the wall behind where my head had been. I rolled underneath the sinks, trying to get some cover as shots continued to be blindly fired into the room.

“Can’t a mare use the bathroom in peace?!” I yelled. My voice sunned them for a moment and the shots ceased firing. Taking advantage, I rolled out from under the row of sinks and grabbed the door. I used it like a shield and rammed it up against the doorframe, holding it in place with my body. It only bought me a few seconds, but it gave me time to think. From my E.F.S., I could see three red bars directly behind me, but more were heading towards them with every second. As I had no time to lose, I reached out a hoof and grabbed the nearest thing to me: an old pipe. Good enough.

In one motion, I vaulted over the door and activated S.A.T.S. with a thought. I aimed the pipe at the two closest to me, planning on taking them out with a single swipe to the head. When time resumed, I moved faster than they thought as I became a pink blur. The pipe knocked the head off of one of the zombie ponies while it shoved the other one into the wall. I registered that both hits went where I wanted them to and spun, releasing the pipe at the third enemy. The added momentum of my spin drove the pipe right through him, pinning him to the wall opposite. I was feeling merciful and used one of the guns they had one him. I fired a single shot and it hit him point blank, disintegrating him to ashes. I gasped and threw down the weapon in disgust.

I turned around and ran back into the bathroom, kicking the door out of my way as I went. I put on my hoofblades first, their familiarity reining me in from the fact that I just utterly disintegrated something. “Who the heck would make a weapon that did that? A fight should be honorable, not one where a single underhand attack can kill you if it hits you anywhere,” I scowled, angrily getting suited up in my armor.

“They’re called energy weapons. Invented initially by Twilight and further developed through the MoT. I always wondered why you and the rest of the Shadowbolts never used them.”

“They’re cowardly. If you’re going to kill your enemy, do it with weapons that they can heal from. I fight. That is not a weapon. It’s a murdering tool.” I drew Loyalty out of its holster and grasped it in my mouth. Based on the number of incoming red bars, it’d be a running fight. Besides, Loyalty packed slightly more punch than Lightning in close quarters.

Knowing I couldn’t talk well with the gun in my mouth, Core traced a map that I followed. It was full of turns, but it was the path that would get me away from the zombie ponies as quickly as possible. As near as I could tell, it was trying to lead me to one of the floor exits to the place. Even so, I ran into a pair heading towards me as I turned a corner. Without hesitation, I queued S.A.T.S. and send two bullets out of Loyalty and into their skulls. The gun was by no means silent, but it was loud enough that the red bars in my E.F.S. paused, then turned to where I was.

“Buck,” I spat around Loyalty’s handle. I holstered it, knowing that it would be a waste of bullets to try and fight all the enemies heading my way. I grabbed my helmet out of my saddlebags and slipped it on, putting the flight goggles I had been wearing over it. It left my mouth exposed, presumably to make holding a gun easier. The yellow-tinted faceplate had a number of different readings, but I wasn’t busy paying attention to them. “Core, forget the escape route. Find me the closest window.”

The cyan line paused for a second before leading down the hall into an office. I ran into it, busting down the door and leaping over the desk while decapitating the occupant within. I stopped when I heard a crack, but realized that it was just a skeleton. I had ended back up in the director’s office through some cruel irony. “Oh. Sorry Minuette.” I glanced towards the window, trying to figure out the best way to break it. It was undoubtedly bulletproof, so it had to be something with a large mass. A red bar showed up behind me and I smiled.

Backflipping over the desk with my wings’ assistance, I stabbed the zombie pony with my hoofblades. I grabbed it and swung it at the window, once again spinning to gain momentum. When I released, its body hit the window with a meaty smack, but nothing else happened.

“Gargh!” I cried in frustration. The red bars were getting even closer now. I didn’t have a choice of finding another window if they had more of those disintegrating beams. I shoved the desk in front of the now empty doorframe and thought. “Come on Dash, use your head. Think!” A smile broke across my features as I knew what I could do.

“Core, what’s the probability of my helmet breaking that window?” In less than a second, a number popped up on my display.

>99% possibility of success

“Excellent. Now what’s the probability of my head smashing like an eggshell when I do so?”

>64% of severe cranium damage

“Eh, one-third odds. I bet I’ve had worse.” I backed up and stood on top of the desk, wings flared out in preparation to charge the nigh-unbreakable window. I rocked back, about to take off when a force seized me from behind, dragging me into the reception area. I fell onto my back, off balance, though my armor crushed whatever had grabbed me. I took a quick glance at my E.F.S. and saw nothing but red. Buck.

I activated all four hoofblades, using my wings to spin me around while I became a whirling tornado of bladed death. The decaying flesh of the zombie ponies was no match for my eerily sharp weapons and as soon as I had a small circle around me, I flipped to my hooves and launched myself into the air, my shoulder hurting from where the door from earlier had hit it. Strangely, as I did so, all of the zombie ponies stopped as if a signal had gone out. A voice echoed from down the hall to my right.

“Please, land, and let us talk about this like civilized ponies.”

Curious as I was, I wasn’t about to stop and find out who had commanded all these creatures to attack me. “Not a chance, creepy mysterious voice.”

“I thought as much,” it sighed. “Ghouls, detain her.”

But I was already gone. As soon as I finished my sentence, I was flying full speed at the door, wings tucked in to miss the doorframe. I was hurtling as fast as I could reach at the window. If it didn’t break, I’d be a goner.

The first thing to hit the window was the flight goggles. I heard a crack and was suddenly worried about the state of them, but it was too late to do anything about it. The window shattered under my force, the difference in air pressure sucking me outside even faster than I was flying.

I was hurtled into the storm, the ice and sleet stinging my newly dyed wings and exposed legs. I tried to slide open my wings, but the second I had one the slightest bit open, the wind caught it and threw it fully extended despite my efforts to pull it back against my body. With my body no longer aerodynamic, the wind caught my wing and made it feel almost as if it was being ripped off as I was mercilessly sent into a spiral and headed towards the ground. I was going to crash face first into the stone ground below me and was powerless to stop it.

Then, inexplicably, time seemed to slow down around me and the roar of the storm died down slightly. With a start, I realized that Core had activated S.A.T.S. for me. The extra time let my brain try and recall what to do in the event of a crash like this. Except that my brain couldn’t remember almost anything. Instead, I let logic take over and aimed for a nearby snowdrift, extending my wing to force me over to it. The pain was similar to the other wing, making it feel as if it was being ripped off, but it lasted for only a few short seconds before I crashed into the snowdrift. I heard a crack and a shooting pain through one of my hooves. The snow, though soft, was still ground. It covered my wings and mostly hid them from the wind. I was only semi-conscious by this point from pain, but I managed to roll over to try and get my bearings.

Directly in front of me about fifty feet away was the building I just escaped from. Looking up, I could see a large hole in a window overlooking my area. My pegasus eyes were able to pick out a dark shape standing in the hole, searching, but I couldn’t make out anything else with the storm raging like it was. Desperately, I looked around to see if there was any place that would provide more shelter than the snowdrift I was on now. My faceplate had numerous flashing red alerts on it, all telling me that I needed to get into shelter and was damaged pretty badly.

My keen eyes picked out a swinging light in the distance, its glow cutting through the blinding snow. I started to crawl towards it, my battered and bruised wings protesting with each tiny movement. My armor had protected all of my essential parts, but my exposed legs and wings took a severe beating. As I kept crawling, the light grew larger until I could make out a floating lantern, a unicorn’s glow around it. My eyes searched for the nearby unicorn, but he found me first.

“What in the blazes are you doing out here in a tempest? Come, get inside, now!” The voice belonged to a heavily cloaked pony who ran over to me, the wind and snow hitting him. He seemed to take no notice of it as he looked me over quickly. Then, apparently deeming me a non-threat, I was lifted in an aura of telekinesis. The feeling of weightlessness was different than how I felt when flying, but I was too weak and tired to do anything about it. I was almost completely at the mercy of this stranger.

My vision was darkening slightly, giving me a warning that I was about to pass out. I felt the driving wind and ice disappear and the sensation of a warm blanket wrapped around me. “Drink,” said the voice. I felt a pressure on my lips from a bottle of some kind and opened them, letting the liquid flow down my throat. The blackness receded and the pain in my leg and wings faded to a dull ache. A healing potion. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

Now that my eyes were no longer clouded with blackness and I could think straight, I looked around where I was. It was a small, windowless room, brick on all sides. Someone had hung several thick blankets over the walls, presumably for insulation. To my left was a door, but it was shut. The room itself was lit by a bunch of small jars, glowing insects within them. Other than the unicorn who still had me held in his magic, there were two other ponies in the room: a pegasus stallion and an earth pony mare. They looked at me warily, guns close to their hooves.

“Drink,” came the voice again. I opened my mouth again and tasted another healing potion as it went down. I could almost feel my leg knitting itself back together as my wings finally stopped their pain. “You’re lucky that was only a fracture.”

He set me on the ground, the glow disappearing at the blanket unfurling. I blinked my eyes and looked up at the pony who saved me. I first saw his deep blue eyes, as he was still looking at me, seeing if I was alright. Looking beyond that, he had a dull grey coat and an equally monotone grey mane, though the latter was darker.

“Lost, did you even look to see if she was a raider before bringing her in here?” dryly asked the other pegasus, his voice a rather low baritone.

“I figured that a great big pegasus like you would be able to take care of her if she was,” he replied. It seemed like friendly banter, but I wasn’t entirely sure. He turned back to me, a tiny smile still on his face. “Now, if you would be so kind, could you alleviate my companions’ fears and remove your armor and tell us who you are?”

It was the least I could do, so I took off my hoofblades and reached up to take off my helmet. The way Lost’s eyes narrowed, I could tell that he had missed my weapons at first glance. Pausing for a moment, I also took Loyalty and Lightning out of their holsters and set them next to the hoofblades. He gave a small satisfied nod as I took off my helmet, setting it next to the weapons. I picked up the flight goggles, fearing that they were cracked, but there wasn’t even a scratch on them. At seeing that, I inadvertently gave a small gasp of surprise.

“Problem?”

I held up the flight goggles and responded. “I hit a thick pane of reinforced glass with these and they’re intact.”

“How curious.” But he said nothing more as I took off my armor, the task made slightly easier as I recalled how to do it from earlier. Setting it aside, I shook my mane in relief from being bound underneath the armor. As I did so, the pegasus stallion brought up his rifle and leveled it at me. I froze at once, not sure what prompted him to do so.

“Your cutie mark. Dashite or Enclave?” Oh crap, I forgot about that. Let’s go with Dashite, it has my name. Anything with my name couldn’t be bad. I hoped.

“Dashite.” I hoped my voice kept the small question out of it. It must have, as he lowered his rifle. I breathed a sigh of relief, though he still looked wary. He turned his flank, letting me see his cutie mark. Or at least, what would have been his cutie mark. Where it would have been in his blue-ish coat, there was just a spot where a familiar symbol had been branded. On his flank was an exact image of my cutie mark, though it lacked the colors.

“Nice to meet another. Name’s Turbulent Storm. Most just call me Storm. And you are?” He asked it casually, but I somehow knew that if I failed to give a prompt answer it would not bode well for me. If I looked around the room, it would have also been a signal. I instead looked past him, my eyes seeing one of the jars that were lighting up the room. In a flash, I knew I had the answer.

“Some call me Firefly.”

Footnote: Level up
New Perk: Natural Resistance 1 – +5% resistance against ice, wind, and cold. This effect does not stack with other perks of the same name.