Chapter Forty-Nine: What You Leave Behind
“Victory, at a cost.”
Stripe.
Xena.
Zebra.
Equestrian.
So many names and titles, I could continue on what the encounters of my life have granted me. The people I’ve met, the situations in which I have found myself. So many names, so much time spent in search of a purpose. To find my own way away from the foolishness of the Remnant, a way to contribute to the survival of all in this hellish world.
I found it.
I found him.
I still have my purpose, and yet the stallion I came to love is dead.
Scrap Heap… is dead.
I have known loss. My family, even Xaro… But this? This is… Altrix and Moon Blossom only add to the despair filling my spirit. It is something nobody, not pony, zebra or anything else, should have to endure.
And now I am left wondering…
What now?
“You should not remain out here,” Insidiis said from behind me. I wasn’t surprised, her green bar having appeared on my E.F.S. a good five minutes before she chose to speak. “It is only going to get colder. Surely the warmth of the hive would be preferable?”
I didn’t answer, just staring at those four graves in front of me. One of them was Matercula’s, we’d buried the others right beside her. Altrix would have wanted to be here, and I’m certain Scrap Heap and Moon Blossom would have liked to remain near our young changeling friend.
But they couldn’t be. Their bodies were still back there, buried beneath a collapsed town and all the ghosts we left behind. Only Altrix came home with us, for which I was thankful she at least came home.
But two of those graves are empty. And always will be.
I heard Insidiis sigh. “As you wish. I will leave you to your thoughts, but you should not remain for too long.”
“I will not. Just a few moments more…”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Queen nod before turning and starting her walk back towards the cave entrance. She stopped, turning to look at me.
“Remember, you still have a place here. If you wish it.”
Then she entered the hive, moving from my sight.
A place…
I had wanted that. With him. But now… Do I stay? Do I go? Return to wandering, alone? Certainty has become uncertainty; I no longer know where I belong. If this remains my purpose. And if it is, and I destined to do it alone?
One friend still lives. But his is a destiny that lies elsewhere.
“Stripe.”
Speaking of…
I turned, finding the stallion in question standing there. Cobalt was looking past me, his eyes lingering on those same graves. Perhaps he was better at hiding it than I, but I could see the pain in those eyes. He too had lost something he had come to greatly value, and I doubt either of us would ever be quite the same. I will not compare our losses, our pain is one to be shared. We loved each of them as much as they loved the two of us, and it is something we cannot regain.
I gave a sigh, giving Scrap’s grave marker one last glance before leaving it behind. It would not be going anywhere, and Cobalt looked like he needed to talk.
I gave the pony a look over. He had patched up his combat armour, his saddlebags looking full of supplies. Was he…?
I only now noticed the small group of changelings behind him. Each was in barding more suited for the wasteland, battle saddles at the ready.
He was leaving.
Cobalt gave me a sad smile. “You noticed, huh?”
“So soon?” I asked him. Do I go with him? Or do I stay… “It has only been five days, there is much to do around the hive.”
“Not for me,” he softly retorted. “The changelings have things in hoof. I’ve done what I can to upgrade their security protocols, but when it comes to physically setting up ceiling turrets and wiring them, I’m not so much use. I think I can help them better back home.”
“To Tenpony Tower?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been away too long. I know I could be cold at times, especially when we first met. But… Seeing Equestria personally, going through all of this… I think the Society needs to change, become more open.”
“Do you think you can convince them of that?”
“I can become more active in trying,” he answered. “Homage will like that, especially since I’m bringing visitors.”
“We’re to safeguard Cobalt on his journey home,” one of the changelings spoke up. “And negotiate a trade or two if we can.”
“Stable materials for more consistent love transfers,” Cobalt explained. “It’ll be a weird pitch, but I have a little while to think about how I’m going to approach them with it. Plus, I still owe Scrap a heap load of caps.”
“You… owe?”
“I know I can’t exactly give it to him now, but I’m sure the changelings won’t mind receiving his payment. They’re not exactly rolling in caps themselves, it’s a start.”
“I guess it is…” I turned, looking out into the wilderness of Equestria. “Do you wish me to attend?”
He paused, looking conflicted. But then…
“No.” I felt a pang of surprise; he didn’t want me to come with him? “I would like you to, but… I think you should stay here.”
“Why…?”
“The changelings are still new, they need someone with experience to help advise Insidiis on how to do things,” he answered, and he wasn’t without a point. “Besides… You both fought hard for this place, at least one of you should get to see it flourish.”
…Perhaps.
“You will be careful, won’t you?” I asked him. “If I hear you get yourself injured, it is I you will need to run for your life from!”
He chuckled. “I’ll bear that in mind. We’ll get to Manehatten just fine, back into the safety of the tower. So, will you…?”
“For now,” I answered him. “Beyond that? We shall see.”
“Well, alright. Just… be careful, alright? I’ve lost enough friends.”
I gave the unicorn a nod, a small smile gracing my lips. “For them, I will always hang on. Farewell, Cobalt.”
“Goodbye, Stripe,” he said, turning to begin his departure. Only for him to pause, turning towards me with a slight smirk. “You were okay, for a zebra…”
I scoffed. Foolish ponies…
But there he went, my last pony friend. He started out into the wastes, his changeling escort shapeshifting into ponies for the trip ahead. I had to wonder if I would see him again, or if this parting was the end of it all.
No, I doubt that. He is tied to Stable 84 from now until death, just as I am. He will be back, someday.
And then, as Cobalt vanished into the Equestrian Wasteland and I prepared to return into the changeling hive, a new sound made my ear twitch. It sounded like… singing. Sweetie Belle.
“My love is gone, and they can’t come home.”
“My heart is shot; my life is rough.”
“But I know I cannot die.”
“I cannot simply go and lie.”
“No, I shall not die…”
BZZT.
“Hello, Stripe.”
“Watcher…”
The floating Spritebot bobbed idly a short distance away, looking at me almost… sadly. Could a featureless robot even look such a way? A question I do not wish to ponder, but one made easier by the knowledge of the person behind the machine.
“You know what happened?” I asked him.
He was silent a moment. “I do… I am sorry about your friends. Scrap Heap made all the right choices in the end, but the wasteland doesn’t care who it takes.”
“I know…”
“But he did make a difference,” Watcher assured me. “You all did. Chrysalis made the world fear the changelings, but maybe now things can be different. If they can become a force truly for good, then why can’t the rest of the world start to change for the better?”
“Idealistic, as he would be,” I said, trotting towards the robot and settling down before him. “And yet the world is far from redemption. We defeated Kronos, but his master still roams this world. We killed the Goddess, but she has many more bodies to choose from. And my people, the Remnant… Their crusade will not wait on the account of my brother’s demise.”
“All true,” Watcher admitted. “But I wouldn’t worry about them too much. Scrap Heap is hardly the only pony in recent weeks to rise up to fight for other ponies.”
“I have heard of them,” I confirmed. “But I do not know them.”
“You’d like them. Well, probably…” Watcher gave a sheepish chuckle. “They’re not perfect, but who is?”
“And what makes you believe they can finish the job?”
“Blackjack is… complicated. I hope she can face what Hoofington throws at the Security Mare,” he began. “And Littlepip, she has her own troubles, but it has been a while since I’ve met a mare who is that determined. I do believe that Red Eye and the Goddess should be afraid. Very afraid.”
I sighed. “Then I hope your confidence is well founded, Watcher.”
“I do too, Xena.”
Wha?
He must have seen my eyes go wide and my jaw hit the ground, the little Spritebot giving a tinny chuckle. But all that was very quickly becoming indignation, how in all of Equus did this little foolish tin can know my real identity!? It was for Scrap Heap alone!
“Sorry, I watch things. I learn a lot about many people,” he explained. I was rather hoping my glare showed just how displeased I am about this little revelation. “But, uh… name for a name?”
Watcher’s name?
“I would say you’ve earned it, but I trust you won’t spread it around?”
“You know my own, I say we can trade our silence.”
“Fair enough!” he stated, seemingly going on to examine the area to make sure we were alone. “Well… Name’s Spike. Nice to meet you!”
Spike? That’s a-
Wait.
Spike…
As in…
“Anyway, I should leave you to it,” he declared.
Wait! No you don’t! If he is that Spike, then… What!?
“See you around. Probably.”
A burst of static, and the music returned.
…I am surrounded by fools!
Ugh, fine. I suppose that is a mystery for another time, another place. Watcher, Spike, got what he wanted out of us. We stopped Kronos and saved the changelings, I’m sure he has more pressing matters to attend to than my own curiosity.
But if I see him again, he will give answers!
I sighed, glancing around at the now empty and silent wasteland. It was just me and the four silent graves, forever watching over the hive’s entrance. Perhaps the Queen was right, it was time to return down to the stable. I couldn’t deny the chill in the air; the coming night would be an unpleasant one. I just hope Cobalt and his escort are prepared to see it through.
Just one more minute…
I sighed, returning to the side of Scrap Heap’s grave. I gently laid myself down next to it, staying as close as I could to the site. I could almost imagine him next to me, his coat brushing up against mine. Our heads resting together, our warmth shared, the peace it brought…
Almost.
I lifted off my saddlebags, swiftly searching through them for the little statuette he had gifted me in his final moments. And there, held in my hoof, the serene features of Twilight Sparkle stared back at me. I think Scrap Heap had admired her, just a little. What she had been, what she had faced and what the war had tried turning her into. She was a pony who fought so hard and yet lost it all.
And still, she kept trying. Somewhere, inside Unity, she kept trying despite its futility.
A little pony who had made many mistakes and held her share of the blame, and yet one whose heart would forever strive for redemption. Twilight Sparkle’s heart was one that belonged to the friendships she had developed, just as mine had become.
If she couldn’t give up, then I couldn’t either.
He wouldn’t.
A shaky breath made its way from my muzzle, a small drop welling and falling from my eye and down along my cheek. This was my pain to bear. It always would be.
But I would bear it.
I gently placed Twilight Sparkle down, glancing towards Scrap Heap’s other gift. The PipBuck blinked idly on my hoof, ready to serve me as it had him for all that time.
It was time for me to return, but perhaps some music would provide solace. Or, maybe, I would hear more of Watcher’s heroes and their own adventures. I hope they keep their own friends close.
And yet, as I switched to the radio and found DJ Pon-3’s signal, a strange something caught my eye. A little detail on the main status screen, right next to the image of a pony showing your vitals and overall condition. The Stable Colt has turned into the Stable Filly unexpectedly, a content look on her face as the condition bar by the torso image now had an exclamation point contained within a triangle by its side.
And why…
Why was there a smaller Stable Colt with its own set of vital signs next to it?
“Howdy Wasteland, this is DJ Pon-3! Ready for some news?”
“I’m afraid it’s a bit of a mixed bag today, children. The changelings are saved! Better yet, sources claim that they are committed to being friendly. And don’t you think about going after the ‘squishy’ stable dwellers, you raider bastards, because they are anything but. I hear a Changeling Queen is like a pre-war alicorn, even stronger than those fakes wandering around as of late.”
“But here comes the bad news…”
“The Scavenger didn’t make it.”
“Apparently, he and some of his friends gave their lives to blow up a contingent of Red Eye’s slavers who tried capturing the whole stable. Blew them straight to Tartarus, took out some of those fakes I mentioned too. Whew, that’s a way to go. Now, I have seen many heroes go out in a blaze of glory, and it always breaks a piece of me on the inside. But they fought the good fight until the bitter end. And for that, we owe him and his friends, especially the few who lived to tell his story, a great debt of gratitude.”
“This is the Age of Heroes, children. The Scavenger is only a small part of the bigger picture. The Stable Dweller continues to go around fixing all the little ponies’ toasters. Security cuts a swath through every slaving moron in the Hoof. Even the mysterious Ghost has made a dent in the dangers of the Long 52.”
“I don’t know if it’ll matter. I don’t know if we can drag ourselves from the pit we dug our own sorry asses into.”
“But these ponies, and non-ponies, are sure damn well trying. People, let this Age of Heroes continue. Let us all be our own heroes. Follow their examples, keep your friends close, let us show the likes of Red Eye that Equestria won’t tolerate his shit anymore.”
“Keep fighting that good fight, people. Little by little, we might just make things better.”
“This has been Dj Pon-3. Bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts.”
Footnote: Save File Loaded, Xena, Max Level
New Perk: In Memoriam – The loss of your friends has hardened you. You now gain a +10% damage boost when travelling without companions.