“That’s what you always wanted, you just wanted my power!”
As I stood outside the door of The Overmare’s office I hesitated a bit, I couldn’t just waltz in there without thinking. She’s got hostages in there and there’s no telling what she’ll do to them if I just barge in guns blazing, but if I don’t something worse than losing a hostage or two could happen. She is in the main control center for the whole stable after all, she could rig it to explode so that no matter what, she still won. In her own head anyway, I wouldn’t consider mass murder suicide a win. I put my hoof on the panel and took a breath, “Here goes I guess.”
I opened the door expecting a gun to be aimed in my direction, but what I came in to was just a room full of innocent stable ponies. The Overmare was gone, she must’ve left when she saw we were gaining the upper hoof, “The Overmare, do any of you know where she went?” I asked as all the hostages looked at me with fear, “C’mon please, I need to know so I can stop her.”
“How do we know we can trust you? You invaded our home and killed ponies,” one of the hostages asked.
“Really!? I just went through a shit ton of security ponies to get up here, faced death and worse to save your pathetic lives. The least you can do is tell me where The Overmare is,” I yelled.
One of the Stallions stuttered, “She used the escape tunnel. She only left a minute or two before you came in here.”
I rolled my eyes and went over to The Overmare’s terminal. Luckily for me, she was in too much of a hurry to relock it. The first thing I did was press a button next to the terminal to activate the stable’s intercom and said over the loudspeakers, “The Overmare just left through the escape tunnel, I need someone to get to the stable door and head her off right now. We can’t let her get away.”
When that was finished I went back to the terminal and used it to activate the emergency escape tunnel. The desk started to rise, I didn’t even wait for it to fully open. As soon as I could fit I moved into the tunnel, pulled out my shotgun, and started making my way through the tunnel. I could see a red bar on my EFS, she must still be hiding at the end. Not surprising, I’m sure she heard what I said and she was probably scared out of her mind…GOOD.
As I drew closer to the end of the tunnel a shot echoed down the tunnel and a bullet whizzed past me. I didn’t even flinch, the shot was way off. I started to laugh a little as I slowly walked closer to a pony shape I could just make out in the darkness at the end of the tunnel itself, “If you’re gonna take a shot at somepony like that, you should probably make sure you’re gonna hit them with the first shot. A foal could hit me at that distance, honestly you’re just terrible. I mean, that horrible shot didn’t even scare me.”
Another shot, and it too was way off. I didn’t even stop, I just kept on going. As I drew closer I heard The Overmare say, “Don’t come any closer, the next shot won’t miss!”
“Ppfftt… sure it won’t. You have no idea how to use that weapon. You should’ve taken some lessons from security, just in case you ever needed to defend yourself. Seems you’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years, that’s one of them.”
I saw the gleam of a pistol come into view as she took aim again, muffling around the grip, “I’ll show you SHADOW!”
I yawned and used my magic to rip the pistol away from her, and toss it down the tunnel behind me, “Another lesson for you Madam Overmare, if you’re fighting a Unicorn, make sure to hold on to your gun a bit better than that.”
Using my magic, I pulled the lever to open the door that lead to the stable entrance. Light came flooding into the tunnel, illuminating The Overmare with the lights in the entrance. She didn’t look like The Overmare anymore, now she just looked like a pathetic, crying, weak mare. She looked no different than any other pony I’ve seen in The Wasteland who ran short on luck. Her face was wet and puffy like she’d been crying before I came down, her eyes looked at me with fear. It was odd to see the once proud and bitchy Overmare, scared of a little pony like me. I almost felt sorry for her, but I didn’t. She deserved whatever happened to her.
As soon as the door opened, three griffons from The Red Talons were waiting there with weapons at the ready. One of them was Gigi, she looked like hell. She’d gotten a nasty cut across her forehead, the leather armor she was wearing was torn from multiple cuts and gashes, and one eye was closed and swollen. When she saw me there standing over The Overmare she grinned, “Looks like you got to her first, good job Shadow.”
“You need to get to the top level right now, Aura’s fighting Gina. Someone needs to let Gina know that we have The Overmare so she’ll stand down,” I said my eyes not leaving The Overmare.
“I’ll go help her, can you handle things from here Shadow?” Gigi asked.
“Yes, now go help her.”
The Griffon gave a few orders then took off into the stable. When she was gone the two griffons who were with her stepped back and waited for me to make up my mind on what to do with The Overmare. She looked up at me and asked, “It looks like you won Shadow, now what are you going to do?”
I pressed the barrel of my shotgun to her forehead, “I should kill you here and now for everything you’ve done.”
“Would that make you feel better, shooting a mare while she’s weak and helpless?” she asked grinning up at me,
I flipped the shotgun around and slammed the stock into her grinning face. She flew out of the tunnel exit, falling at the talons of the two griffons who were still standing there, watching me. She started to shake a little as I walked out and stood over her. She looked back up at me, blood flowing from her nose and mouth, “Hahaha, you’re still an angry little BRAT!”
Holstering the shotgun, I brought my hoof down onto her face. Her head snapped back, slamming into the ground. I hit her again and again as I yelled, “Angry!? You don’t know what anger looks like you CUNT! Do you even care what you did to the stable you were sworn to PROTECT!? Everything that happened here is YOUR FAULT!”
With each hit, she just kept on laughing, it was like she wasn’t even feeling it. When I took a second to breath she muttered softly, “Still an ignorant child…”
I lifted her in my magic and threw her over the railing of the walkway and through the open stable door. She slammed into the rocky ground, sliding a couple feet once she landed. One of the griffons tried to say something to me, but I pushed past them and moved toward the bitch who fucked everything up. As I moved toward her I saw the fear in her good eye, she knew right then that I was gonna make her suffer.
With each step I said, “Everything that’s happened is because of you. My mom leaving me behind because you couldn’t just leave us alone. Lying to me by telling me she DIED, making a filly feel like she was unwanted and hated in the only place she knew. Making it so I had to run away from my home because you wanted a FUCKING PIP-BUCK! Killing so many ponies because you wanted power, power you ALREADY HAD! Splitting up two ponies who fell in love because you didn’t want to let your little buck grow up and be happy. All of that is YOUR fault. The worst part is…” I was starting to feel tears run down my face, I wasn’t crying…I was just so angry and hurt that I couldn’t stop them from flowing, “The worst part is, even after all that shit you did, you still let one of your griffons KILL BAILFIRE!”
Her eye went wide, the other was puffy and swollen, she looked like hell from the beating I gave her. But through that I could see that shock and disbelief, “No…you’re lying, you have to be lying. I told Gina to make sure nopony hurt him.”
I moved closer to her, putting my face an inch away from hers, “You told Gina to keep anypony away from your office. He came up so he could try and talk you out of your fucking madness, because after all you did he still loved you and wanted you to stop. Gina told him no, and when he tried to get past, she beat him nearly to death. I found him right before I went into your office, he let out his last breath as I held him. Do you understand now? Because of the bullshit you pulled, Balefire is dead! Congratulations, you killed your own son you monster!”
Finally, The Overmare broke. She slumped back to the ground and started to sob uncontrollably, “No…no not my little colt, my poor sweet Balefire. What have I done!?”
I pulled out Dreamwalker and pressed it right against her forehead. I wanted to put her down so badly. It wouldn’t be hard, just a four pound pull on the trigger and it’d all be over. One bullet to the mare who destroyed the lives of so many, but as I stood there with the barrel of Dreamwalker pressed against her skull something came over me. Right now, in this moment, I wasn’t seeing The Overmare of Stable 28. Right now, she was just a grieving mother. It was as if I was watching my own mother, grieving over the loss of a child that she could’ve prevented if she just did something differently.
I heard a small gasp from behind me, looking back I saw Milkshake looking down at me with tears streaming down her face, “Shadow…is he really…?”
I lowered Dreamwalker and sighed, “Vervain was trying to save him when I last saw him, but I don’t think there’s anything she can do Milkshake. He was hurt really bad.”
The Overmare screamed as I said those words, and Milkshake fell and started to cry herself, “No…he can’t be gone, he was going to be a father. I thought you said he would be fine Shadow…”
I looked between the two mares and sighed, holstering Dreamwalker. As I did I saw three griffons walking through the door from the atrium. It was Gigi, Aura, and oddly enough Gina. Aura looked like shit, but so did Gina, they must’ve really done a number on each other. When they grew closer Gina looked at the two crying mares and rolled her eyes, “Ugh, I didn’t walk all the way down here to watch two bitches crying.”
“Shut up Gina,” Gigi said then pointed to The Overmare, “You see, your contractor’s done.”
“So she is, that’s if she was my contractor,” Gina said with a laugh.
“If The Overmare isn’t your contractor then who is?” I asked.
“None of your business, I was only ordered to do whatever she told me to until she was either killed or until my contractor could get here. From the look of it, she’s not gonna last long. I have no reason to stick around here, the same goes for the others. What’s left of them anyway after this massacre,” Gina said starting to move toward the exit.
Gigi moved to intercept her, “I didn’t say you could leave yet sister.”
Gina looked at Gigi with pure hatred, “Step aside Gillian, I’ve already held back on attacking you, don’t push it. I’m not a Red Talon anymore. I told you I was leaving, and I don’t give a shit what you tell me to do. I’m a free griffon now, remember?”
“As much as I want to kill you right now Gina, I did give my word that I’d let you leave if you left my daughter alone. All I want to know is one thing before you go.”
“Fine I’ll answer one question, after that if you don’t let me leave. I’ll kill you without hesitation.”
Gigi just sighed, “This new Talon Group you’re a part of, Aura said you weren’t leading it. If that’s true, then who’s the leader?”
Gina just laughed, “My partner, he’s a griffon who knows how to run a Talon group unlike you dear sister. He’s a griffon who will help me finally take down the talon company who threw me out without giving me a chance to DEFEND MYSELF!”
“Yeah, yeah Gina, I’ve heard it before. What I want to know is what’s his name.” Gigi said.
Gina just smiled again, “I said I’d answer one question. You asked who our leader was, not his name. Are you gonna live up to your word or are you gonna betray me…again?”
Gigi sighed and stepped aside, “Go, but if I see you coming after my family or working in my territory again, I’ll end you and your so called Unchained Talons.”
Gina walked past her, “You can try Gillian, but trust me you won’t win. Goodbye for now,” she stopped for a second next to The Overmare who was still crying on the ground, “Oh and Overmare, thank you for helping my boss get all the information we needed from your stable. We don’t need that useless piece of electronic shit anymore.”
She looked up at the red griffon, “My son…you killed my SON!”
Gina punched her in the face, “I sure did, let that be a lesson to you on how you define the orders you give. Someone might take them to heart,” she gave her one last kick and walked out of Stable 28.
Sighing again I looked over at Gigi and asked, “What happened?”
“When I got to Aura and Gina, they were at a stalemate. I made a deal with Gina to get her to stop fighting Aura. You saw the rest.”
Aura was sitting by the door still just watching us. I looked up at her and asked “You doing okay Aura?”
“I will be, I just had a hard fight with Gina,” Aura replied, her eyes falling onto The Overmare, “You need to finish what we came here for, worry about me later.”
I looked back down at the pathetic bitch, pulling Dreamwalker back out but I kept it pointing down. I still felt the anger deep down at everything she’d done to me. She needed to die, I know that deep down, but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to shoot her.
Before I could make up my mind I heard the voice of Vervain, “Shadow.”
Again, I looked away from The Overmare toward Vervain who was standing in the entrance to the Atrium. The look on her face told me what I feared, she wasn’t able to save Balefire. I closed my eyes, “He didn’t make it did he?”
“I was able to revive him, but he needs to see a doctor soon. I took him to the clinic, but Doc is dead. I don’t know enough to help,” she replied, sounding like she felt like it was a failure on her part.
Aura looked up and said, “I might be able to help. It all depends on what shape the clinic is in, but I’ll need help.”
Gigi didn’t even wait, she pulled out a radio, “Syn, I need you to get in here and help Aura, there’s a pony in here that is badly hurt.”
A quick response came back, “I’m on my way.”
“Aura go help this mare, I’ll keep an eye on The Courier.”
Aura got up, “Show me where he is.”
Vervain took a second, looking down at Milkshake, “Milkshake you need to come with me. If something happens to Balefire, you should be there with him.”
Milkshake wiped her eyes and got back to her hooves sniffing a little, “Okay, I’ll go,” she looked back at The Overmare and me then she followed Vervain and Aura back into the stable.
“Balefire’s alive?” The Overmare said looking up at me hopefully, “I want to see him!”
I turned back around and pistol whipped her, throwing her back to the ground, “You don’t get to see anypony in the stable after what you’ve done.”
She grew angry, the shadow of her former self trying to push through the shell that was left over, “I am the Overmare! You can’t tell me what to do in my own Stable!”
I hit her again, “We’re not in the stable anymore DUMBASS! Haven’t you figured it out already? You’re not the Overmare anymore. You’re just a sad, weak, excuse for a mare who used to belong to Stable 28.
“How dare you speak to me that way! I’ll have you…” I hit her square in the face to shut her up.
“You’ll what? You can’t do anything anymore. How does it feel to be powerless, huh? Sucks, doesn’t it? You feel angry and afraid, the same feelings I felt most of my life living under your rule. You can’t even put the thought of not being Overmare anymore out of your head to focus on your injured son!” I took a breath and calmed myself a bit, “You’re pathetic, useless, and powerless. The exact same things you used to say I was for so many years. I hate you so much that it pisses me off that I haven’t executed you yet.”
I noticed her eyes looking around the cave she was now laying in, then her eyes fell on me standing in the threshold of Stable 28. She was shaking, bleeding, and as I said pathetic, “What do you plan on doing if I’m not here to be Overmare? Are you going to just take my place in the stable!?”
“No, the ponies of Stable 28 are going to choose a new Overmare, one they can trust and believe in again. For the first time in their lives they’ll be able to choose who leads them. They’re going to need a pony who can help lead them through this new life. Stable 28 won’t be isolated anymore, they need to work with some of the ponies in The Wasteland again. It’s the only way the stable will be able to survive.”
“You’re a fool if you think that’s the best way for Stable 28 to survive Shadow! My mother tried that and so did my grandmother. At first, we thought it was working, then your mother came to our stable and everything changed.”
I pressed Dreamwalker against her head again, “My mother has nothing to do with this. She left eight years ago, it was after that, that you sealed off this place and forced us all to act like that’s the way it always was. Most of the younger ponies never even knew the truth about what this stable used to do because of that. Look what happened because you tried to hide The Wasteland from all of them. It got in anyway and nearly destroyed it, because nopony knew how to defend themselves. None of that is because of my MOM! All she wanted to do was keep me safe, I was just a sick filly who needed help and your mother let her in to help us. That’s because she was compassionate, she cared about the lives of her citizens and that of others, not like you. The only thing you’ve ever truly cared about is yourself and it became you’re downfall.”
She glared up at me, “AND look what that got her, my mother helped Grim, and Grim KILLED HER FOR IT!”
That caught me by surprise, “Wait a second, you know about that?”
“Yes, I was in my mother’s chambers on the day Grim came to talk with her. She found some information about you two that she wanted to ask Grim about. They were talking in her office and my mother just wanted to know why Grim lied to her about where you two really came from, that was it. She just wanted the truth, she didn’t even threaten to kick you two out. She told Grim to just be honest with her and everything would be fine. And you know what Grim did? She used some kind of spell on my mother! She died in agony a few hours later!” she screamed.
I just shook my head, part of that I already knew from mom’s notes. I didn’t know that The Overmare hadn’t threatened to kick us out, but mom has always distrusted ponies. I could see her casting a spell to warn the former Overmare to keep quiet about what she found out, or to use a memory spell on her. Mom’s note said she didn’t know that spell would kill her, but it did. It was the start of her preparing to leave the stable.
“I know my mother killed yours, she left a note in this Pip-Buck about it. I’m sorry she did that, truly I am, but my mother wasn’t a trusting pony and at the time I’m sure she thought she was protecting me.”
“That’s no excuse for what she did Shadow!”
“No it isn’t, she did something bad and there’s no excuse for it at all. The same can be said for how you decided to treat me once she was gone. I was just a filly and you made sure I was always seen as an outcast. Why? Because you were angry at my mother? How does that help?”
“You ARE an outsider, a pony that should’ve been cast out along with your murderous mother. She didn’t just kill my mother Shadow, she killed my brother too just because he wouldn’t let her leave! Most of my family died because of her. I wasn’t going to let another pony like her get away with that kind of shit. I treated you the way you should be treated, just like a filthy outcast should be. If my mother would’ve just turned you two away all those years ago instead of listening to Auntie, my brother and my mother would STILL BE ALIVE!”
I smiled and stated to laugh, “You might be right about that, but do you know why my mom really killed your brother? No…well I’ll tell you then. It wasn’t because he wouldn’t let her out of the stable, it was because he threatened to rape me, a filly. He was a pathetic excuse for a pony, I guess it runs in the family since you’re not much different.”
She glared at me again, “Fireball was a good pony, he wouldn’t have done something like that.”
I just shrugged, “I don’t know if he would or not, but honestly I don’t care. He said he’d do it and mom made sure he couldn’t once she was gone. Now enough of this shit Over…no not Overmare you don’t hold that title anymore. You’re just Wildfire now.”
“How dare you call me by my name!”
I struck her again, “Get used to it, because you’ll no longer be The Overmare. Now Wildfire, it’s time for you to pay for the crimes you committed against Stable 28. For the villainous atrocities against this stable I sentence you to death.”
I felt a talon on my shoulder, I looked up and saw Gigi standing there looking at me, “No Shadow, it’s not up to you to kill her.”
Dreamwalker was shaking in my magic as I felt the hot rage at what she’d done, she deserved this, she needed to die, “I’m not gonna let her live after what she did. She chased my mom away and treated me like shit. She killed ponies I grew up with, because of her one of my oldest friends may not survive. She needs to die!”
“That may be true Shadow, but it’s not up to you if she lives or dies. As much as it may hurt, you’re no longer a part of Stable 28. You need to leave it up to the ponies who still call this place home.”
I lowered Dreamwalker a little, “But Stable 28 is my home.”
Wildfire didn’t say anything. For once she was smart enough to know that if she did, I’d put her down before the Griffon could stop me. Gigi just sighed, “Shadow, Stable 28 hasn’t been your home since you left it to go into The Wasteland. It used to be the home of a scared filly, that’s not you anymore. You’re Shadow Star, The Courier of the Marejave. This is something the rest of Stable 28 needs to figure out on their own.”
For a long moment I stood there looking down at Wildfire wanting to just pull the trigger and finish what I started to make her pay, but finally I pulled Dreamwalker away from her head and holstered it, “I just don’t know if I can just let her live.”
Gigi smiled, “Do you know why The Red Talons banish the griffons who betray our way of life? It’s because killing is the easy way out, the easy choice even if it’s hard to do sometimes. We banish because it’s a bigger punishment than just outright killing. I mean look at my sister, she should’ve been killed for what she did to our other sister. Even now, she makes my life hell, but it was still better to kick her out than to kill her.”
I heard Vervain come up behind us, “She’s right Shadow, as much as I agree with you about” she looks at wildfire, “her, you shouldn’t kill her.”
Wildfire looked hopeful as her eyes fell on Vervain, “Thank you Auntie, you always were a smart mare…”
Vervain moved past me and bucked the Overmare back down the tunnel, “You need to shut your trap. I’m not doing this for you Wildfire, I’m doing it for Shadow and the rest of our stable. Since you’re no longer fit to rule as The Overmare and you don’t have a female descendent, I’m taking over Stable 28 until a new Overmare is chosen.”
Wildfire got back to her hooves slowly, spitting a glob of blood on the ground, “You? What do you know about taking care of the stable?”
Vervain smiled, “I’ve been doing most of your job for years, I know more about the stable than anypony because you were too lazy to do it yourself.”
“Let me guess, you’re going to take over as Overmare no matter what aren’t you? That’s what you always wanted, you just wanted my power!” she yelled.
Vervain just walked closer and got right in Wildfire’s face, “No I haven’t, all I ever wanted was to make sure the stable was safe and to watch over Shadow. Even if I wanted to be The Overmare, the bylaws say that only a pony who was born in Stable 28 can rule it. I’m no more native to this stable than Shadow is.”
She was taken aback by that statement, “What are you taking about, you’ve always been a part of this Stable?”
“No, I’m a member of the Steel Rangers, I took the place of one of the ponies in here years ago. Grim made sure that everypony here thought I was that other pony with a powerful memory spell. My real name is Paladin Vervain, that’s why I won’t be The Overmare. Honestly I think that Milkshake should be the one to take over, but don’t worry Wildfire, I’ll be sure to teach her everything she needs to know to take over your old job.”
“Milkshake? Why her?” I asked.
“Because rightfully she should take over. She’s with Balefire who’s the son of Wildfire the former Overmare and she’s going to have a foal who is descended from her. It’s the best choice I think,” Vervain replied.
“And what do you plan on doing with me huh?” Wildfire asked with a quizzical look, “Gonna throw me in the holding cells, or kill me?”
“Neither, I can’t trust you being around the other ponies in Stable 28. There might be ponies in there that are still loyal to you and I can’t have you using their loyalty to start another uprising. As far as killing you goes, I agree with Gigi, death is too good for a pony like you. What I think we should do is make you live in The Wasteland and grovel in the dirt under the hooves of ponies ten times as frightening as you. Maybe a few years of having to learn to survive on your own will teach you a few lessons,” Vervain replied.
Wildfire’s face turned green and I could see fear in her eyes as she dropped to the ground, “No…please don’t send me out there. I’ll do anything else, but please don’t make me go out there!”
Vervain just shook her head, “That’s the only choice you have, now leave!”
Vervain pulled Wildfire up to her hooves and pushed her forward, forcing her to walk down the dark tunnel. Gigi and I followed and as we did Syn materialized out of the darkness. When she saw her mother she asked, “Where’s the pony who’s hurt?”
“Head into the stable and ask any of the security ponies to show you to medical,” I said, she nodded toward us then flew past, as she did I looked at Vervain, “How is he?”
“He’s breathing on his own, but your griffon friend Aura said it’ll be a near miracle if he lives. That other griffon did a number on him,” she said pushing Wildfire again as we walked further into the darkness.
“You can’t do this to me…at least let me see my son before you kick me out. I’m his mother and he might die,” Wildfire practically begged, dropping to the ground again.
“Get to your hooves,” Vervain said pulling her back up again then pushing her down the tunnel, “And no, I’m not letting you get near him. He’s only hurt like this because of what you did.”
As the darkness of the tunnel grew, Vervain and I both turned on our Pip-Lights, the green glow from them helping illuminate the tunnel. As we walked Wildfire kept on crying a little and whispering that she was sorry and all she wanted was to see her son. Vervain or Gigi would then push her forward or pick her back up to her hooves whenever she fell or tripped in the tunnel. Soon we were coming up to the tunnel entrance. It was the first sign of the fight from earlier, when the Red Talons took on the Unchained Talons. There used to be an old wooden door blocking the tunnel, now it was just splintered wood on the ground. The bones of the dead family were crushed and scattered, and now there wasn’t anything blocking the dim light from The Wasteland coming in.
Wildfire started to shake as she looked out at the cloud covered sky and the green mist that was only a few meters away from the entrance to the tunnel. Dead griffons from both sides were laying around the entrance, a couple of stable ponies too that must’ve escaped before the fight broke out inside. A few were still alive, most of them grouped around a beaten and battered looking Fletch. Pluck and Gouger were there too and a couple of other griffons all wearing the band around their shoulders showing they were part of the Red Talons.
When we came walking out of the tunnel Fletch looked at us, “I take it everything went okay in there?”
Gigi moved over to her daughter, “I wouldn’t say okay, but yeah we won.”
“Fletch, I’m glad to see you made it out okay,” I said with a small smile.
“Whatever, it’s not like I was in any real danger. Gina may be a bitch that hates our group and family, but the only griffon in the family she wants to kill is mom,” Fletch said.
A few of the ponies slunk back when they saw Wildfire standing next to Vervain, tears running down her bruised and broken face. One of them however growled and walked over, “Well if it isn’t Madam Overmare. I’m surprised your still alive.”
Vervain moved forward, “Tumble Weed, keep quiet please. She’s no longer The Overmare.”
Tumble Weed? I didn’t even recognize him. He was the colt who used to tease me all the time in school and liked to call me Little Dark Princess because of my coloring whenever he could get away with it. He’d grown up since I last saw him, I guess time working in sanitation can bulk a stallion up some, and the scruff on his chin helped a little with that too. All in all, he was quite handsome…for a bully. Oh but that bone structure though.
A mare who I knew worked in R&D came over to Vervain and asked, “If she’s not The Overmare anymore, then who is?”
“No pony yet, we’ll all figure it out when things settle down. Right now I’m going to be running the stable until a new Overmare is put into place.”
“Maybe you should be the new Overmare Auntie,” A stallion in the back said. When I looked at him I saw it was Tinker, Stable 28’s Pip-Buck Technician.
Vervain smiled then shook her head, “I don’t want to take on the role full time. But could you help with something Tinker?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said walking over to us, “What do you need?”
“I want you to remove Wildfire’s Pip-Buck.”
He looked confused for a moment then his eyes fell on the Former Overmare, “Oh, I almost forgot her name, no problem.”
He pulled out his Master Key and moved toward Wildfire. She tried to pull away, but Vervain hit her again, knocking her to the ground. As she lay there sobbing, Tinker moved to her foreleg and removed her Pip-Buck. When he was done Vervain cleared her throat, “Wildfire, Former Overmare of Stable 28, for your crimes against the stable and the ponies in it, you are here by banished from Stable 28. You are no longer allowed the privilege of communicating with anypony from the stable in any way. If you do, you will be hunted down and killed by a griffon from the Red Talons. If you try to come back, you’ll be killed, you are no longer a citizen of our stable. This punishment is the highest I can give you apart from death, which honestly you deserve, but I want you to learn the hard lesson by living the rest of your days in the world you let into our home. Now leave before I change my mind and decide that flaying you is a better punishment.”
Her eyes were dead as Vervain gave her decree, it was as if she still hadn’t figured out what was going on. When Vervain finished Wildfire muttered, “I can’t even see my little colt one more time?”
Before Vervain could answer I moved forward and said, “He’s not your son anymore, you’re not his mother anymore, you’re just a sad mare who needs to start understanding what’s really going on here. You’re nothing to us, just another mare wandering The Wasteland. I suggest you get through Green Mist Valley quickly and head toward a town that’ll take in a pony such as yourself. Now get out of our SIGHT!”
She started to cry again, (Damn and my friends said I was a crybaby) “I don’t know where to go or what to do.”
“Neither did I and I made it. You’ll have to learn how to take care of yourself and defend yourself,” I said.
She grinned then her hoof came up and struck me across the muzzle. For a mare who didn’t do much but laze around and give orders, she really could hit hard. I fell back and she pulled Dreamwalker from its holster and pointed it right at me saying around the bit, “If I can’t go back in to my stable to at least see my own dying son, then I’ll at least finish what I started!”
A shot rang out and Wildfire was thrown back as a bullet passed through her shoulder. She dropped Dreamwalker which I made sure to grab with my magic as soon as she did. I looked back and saw Gigi holding a pistol that she just used to shoot Wildfire. She grinned at me, “Don’t worry, I made sure to leave her alive. Let that be a lesson to her not to fuck with The Red Talons or the ponies we’re protecting.”
I just shook my head and looked back at Wildfire who was trying to get back to her hooves, “That was the wrong choice Wildfire.”
“FUCK you Shadow, I’m not gonna let any of you tell me what I can or can’t do!” she got back to her hooves and started to limp toward Green Mist Valley…not in the direction of the road, “I’ll be back, mark my words, once I make contact with some of the friends I’ve made out here, you’ll regret ever crossing me!”
“Wildfire, don’t go that way!” I yelled, but she ignored me.
She tripped and fell into the green mist, she got back to her hooves and yelled, “Don’t tell me what to do Shadow Star, I don’t care if you’re this so-called Courier or not. I know you better than the idiots out here do, you’re nothing more than a back-stabbing BITCH. I’ll be back one day, and I’ll get back my stable, I AM THE FUCKING OVER…”
A shape came flying out of the mist tackling Wildfire as she tried to yell, a thick un-pony like growl and scream coming from its deformed mouth. As it landed on her it sank its teeth into her wounded shoulder and started to pull a chunk of flesh away. She screamed in agony as flesh and muscle ripped away in a spray of blood. A moment later another ghoul jumped out of the mist and took hold of one of her legs and started to pull on it.
“Shit, this isn’t what I had I mind,” Vervain said, pulling out an energy pistol.
I put a hoof up and stopped her, “No, this is the price she pays for not listening to us. We gave her a chance and she wasted it. Let The Wasteland make its own judgment on what should happen to her.”
Gigi and Vervain looked at me in shock, Gigi saying, “If we don’t help she’ll be ripped to shreds.”
My eyes never left those of Wildfire as she screamed in pain as three more ghouls came out of the mist, each taking a part of her body and chewing or pulling at whatever they could reach. As I watched all I said back to them was, “Perfect.”
One of the ghouls bit down on her nose and pulled away a chunk of flesh, another ripped off an ear, the one that was pulling on her leg finally managed to rip it off. Blood was everywhere, and soon her cries of pain turned into weak, desperate whimpers, her eyes going glassy as she tried to look up at my own. Her gaze locked on mine and her lips formed a few words, “Help me…please…I’m sorry.”
Even if I wanted to give her another chance, it was too late, there was no coming back from this. The only real help I could offer her was to put her out of her misery, even that I couldn’t really do. This is what she deserved after the hell she put the ponies of Stable 28 through, what she put me through, what she put mom and Balefire, or even Milkshake and her unborn foal through. Only a monster can kill a monster, that’s what she was deep down. She was just another monster in The Wastes that wormed its way into power, a monster that found out she wasn’t as strong or as smart as she thought. When you fuck with The Wasteland, it shows you how much stronger and meaner it is than you.
As one more ghoul fell on her sinking its teeth into her throat, I gave her my answer, “The only ones that can help you now are Celestia and Luna. I hope they can forgive you for what you did in this life and show you mercy when you arrive in the afterlife. May they have mercy on your soul Wildfire. Rest in pieces.”
Her eyes went wide one more time, then the ghoul at her neck ripped her throat out. Blood gushed across her body and the ground, pooling under her to mix with the rest she’d already spilled. Mixing with the blood of the Griffons who died to help save this place, mixed with the tears she’d shed for her own life and the life of her son. Still my eyes never left hers, not until the light of life vanished and I knew she finally died. Wildfire, The Former Overmare of Stable 28 was dead. She couldn’t hurt anyone again.
When she finally passed I lifted Dreamwalker, activated S.A.T.S. and fired on six of the ghouls who were still trying to rip chunks of meat off the dead pony. Each one fell in a shower of bone and ichor, the ones that were left howled and looked up at me. I didn’t even flinch, I reloaded Dreamwalker, aimed down at them and fired. I fired over and over until not a single one was left alive. Their bodies falling in a small ring around Wildfire’s corpse. Once that was finished I turned and walked back toward my new family, my new life, and readied myself to say goodbye to my old one.
Vervain was looking at me in horror. As I moved closer to her she put a hoof on my shoulder, “Are you going to be okay Sweetie?”
Without looking into her eyes, I replied, “I haven’t been okay for a long time Auntie Vervain,” then I walked past her and up to Gigi, “Our contract is complete, thank you for helping me take care of all of this.”
“I wish we could’ve done more, it’s us that should be thanking you Shadow. You’re the reason my daughter was able to live, since you called me in Gina knew that she had to keep Fletch around to use her to get me to stand down. It gave her time to figure a way out of the situation she was in. Also, you showed us that a new, much more dangerous team of Griffons is out there, hell-bent on taking down my talon company,” she said.
“I just did what I had to, The Red Talons have done a lot for me as of late and I wasn’t going to let some other talon company kill more of your group,” I said solemnly, “Since our business here is done, I have one more thing I need to give you.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s all done yet, I need to check on my griffons and get reports from Aura and Arys on what happened before I arrived, but what did you need to give me?”
I pulled out the letter Javelin had given me and gave it to her, “This is a letter from the leader of the Annihilators, she wants to meet with some of your griffons to set up a contract. This letter goes over the details. I think you should do it, they aren’t as bad as the stories make them out to be. Also, since I won’t have time to deliver this other letter. Could one of your griffons bring it to the leader of Trotston, he’s a pony named Rusty Shackles.”
She took both, “I’ll be sure to look it over and I’ll also be sure to get the other one to its destination when this is all finished.”
“Thank you, Gigi,” I said walking past her and back toward the tunnel that lead back into Stable 28.
Before I was past the entrance Gigi called out, “No Shadow, thank you.”
Vervain came running toward me along with Tumble Weed and a few other ponies from the stable. When they reached me Vervain asked, “What are you gonna do now Shadow?”
I did my best to hide the tears in my eyes that were threatening to fall. I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry anymore, I promised that I’d be stronger than before. I wasn’t gonna let The Wasteland win again. When I knew I had control of myself I said, “I expect I’m going to go try and say goodbye to a friend, if I’m too late, then I can at least bury him…I won’t let a good pony like Balefire be thrown into the incinerator.”
She put a hoof on my shoulder, “He might live Shadow, you need to have faith.”
I pulled away and continued walking, “I lost my faith a while ago, all I believe in now is the power of The Wasteland. No matter how hard I try and help the ponies I love, The Wasteland always wins in the end.”
***
“Shadow you need to wake up,” Milkshake said shaking me a little.
I pulled the blankets over my head and moaned. The fight with The Overmare and The Unchained Talons was two days ago now. I was staying in my old room with Wind Thrasher and Wingnut. Vervain was staying with Milkshake for the moment helping her learn what she needed to know about running Stable 28. When we went back into the stable after Wildfire’s demise, Vervain explained to the ponies about what happened. With no heir to the office of Overmare, Vervain left it up to a vote with all the ponies left in the stable. Sadly, that wasn’t as many as I had hoped. The battle had taken the lives of over 200 ponies, security ponies, normal citizens, and even fillies and colts.
The Stable was barely holding itself together, and after hearing that the Overmare was the reason for it all, just brought up the stress even more. It took a few hours of the stable ponies alone with my friends to clean up most of the bodies and mess in the atrium alone. When it was all settled and the ponies who survived could finally take a moment to rest, Vervain had them all come up to the atrium for a meeting. It was there that she told them that it was up to them to choose a new Overmare. I wasn’t surprised when most of the ponies wanted Vervain to take that role. She was the mare that everypony saw at least once during the day, she was always the kind pony that was there when they needed her. She was like a family member to everypony in Stable 28.
In the end she told them all that she didn’t want to take on the role. She loved the ponies in the stable, but she wasn’t the right pony to take over. She told me later that she decided not to tell the ponies who she really was, at least for now. They had too much to deal with, and she wasn’t sure they could take that kind of information right now. So, she told the ponies that she thought it would be best if Strawberry Milkshake took over. At first some of the ponies weren’t too sure, until Vervain said she would teach her everything she needed to know. In the end Milkshake was named the new Overmare of Stable 28.
Balefire was still alive, thanks to the help of Aura and Syn along with Doc’s apprentice, one of the stallions who’d been there when I didn’t get put into a job. Balefire wasn’t good, not yet, but Syn said he was past the critical stage. His right foreleg that had been crushed needed to be amputated. Because of that he wouldn’t be able to do his job anymore in security. In the old days that would’ve forced a pony into retirement. If you couldn’t do your job you weren’t of any use in the stable. That rule was one of the first acts of Overmare Milkshake, she got rid of it, saying that everypony in Stable 28 will be able to help the stable grow.
He was still in bad shape and even now he still hadn’t woken up. Aura told me that was because of the stress his body went through and the meds he was on. She had hope that he would wake soon, when he did, he’d start to recover a lot faster. Aura was staying in the clinic with her sister to make sure she could be there in case anything came up.
I went to see him once, but I couldn’t stay long. The sight of him lying there with a leg missing, and tubes and hoses all over him was too much for me. Over the last two days I did my best to help the stable get up and running again. Wingnut spent a lot of his time in the R&D department learning from some of the ponies in there and helping them with some of his own ideas. The last floor of R&D had been shut down, and the older ponies who were being used to experiment on had been let out to rejoin the rest of the stable population. When I went down there myself and saw the things they were doing to the old ponies, I almost lost it all over again. It was almost as bad as Dr. Cell in Stable 9. Only instead of turning a pony into whatever Wind Thrasher was, it looked like they were trying to make cyber ponies. A couple of the retired ponies were so mangled with parts of them replaced with cybernetics, it was surprising that they were even still alive.
I met both of them personally and they told me they were in so much pain and all they wanted was to die. At first, I tried to reason with them, telling them we could find a way for them to be normal again. They just kept on begging me, one even crying so bad that they started to hyperventilate. I ended up putting them both out of their misery myself, my friends offered to do it, but I couldn’t let them. I knew both of these ponies, they were both retired two years ago. One used to work in sanitation, he was always a nice stallion to me. He would give me sweets when I’d run into him. The other used to work in the kitchen with Creampuff, he was the one who started teaching Milkshake how to cook when we were both fillies. I wanted the last thing they saw, to be the face of a mare who they used to know, somepony they both used to help make feel better.
“Shadow, I know you don’t want to get up, but you can’t sleep all day. You’re just gonna get more depressed the longer you hide in here,” Milkshake said, trying to pull the covers off.
“Leave me alone, I just want to sleep,” I said pulling the blanket back over myself, “You have too much work to do, you don’t have time to worry about me.”
“Worrying about the ponies in the stable is part of my job Shadow,” she retorted.
“I’m fine, just tired. Please don’t worry about me Madam Overmare.”
She lifted the covers up and moved behind me. Her forelegs wrapped around me. She pulled me close and nuzzled her face into the back of my neck. It was a little awkward since she was bigger than me and I tensed up as she said, “Fine if you won’t get out of bed then I’ll just have to join you.”
“What are you doing?”
She sighed and whispered, “I’m worried about you Shadow, you haven’t said much to me about what happened to you when you left. You haven’t said anything about what happened here, you need to talk to somepony. You can’t keep hiding away when you’re feeling down, it isn’t healthy.”
“I know, there just hasn’t been time, everypony is busy trying to help the stable right now. I can’t take them away from their work, even you have to worry about the stable and Balefire. You have a family now, I can’t pull you away from that to help me feel better.”
She hugged me tighter, “Shadow, I love Balefire and this stable, but I think you forget sometimes that I love you too. You’ve always been there for me when I needed you and it’s time for me to do the same.”
I smiled a little then said, “What are you talking about, I was always the one who moped around this place after my mom left. I was always the one who was needy with you and Bale.”
“I remember things differently, I remember the filly who would jump in to save her friend when she got into a stupid argument with the stallions in our class, then fought them when they called her small. I remember the filly who would pull pranks on the teachers just to make me laugh. I remember the mare you became who wouldn’t let anypony tell you who you should be. Now I see a mare who’s done a lot of things to help the stable that never treated her like one of them. You could’ve just ignored the summons from Aunt…err Vervain I guess, and let us all die, but you didn’t. You’ve always been the pony who put her friends first, even if you never saw it that way.”
“You’re too nice to me, y’know that?” I asked.
“Yeah, but that’s just who I am.”
I was starting to blush with her body pressed so close to mine. I wanted to pull away knowing she didn’t feel the same way I did, but something in me told me not to. She wasn’t doing this to tease me or to play games with me, she was just comforting a friend. I let my body relax and I let one of my own hooves wrap around hers, just enjoying her company. After a few minutes went by I finally said, “I’m sorry I left without talking to you first if I had the time I would’ve. I’m also sorry I didn’t tell you how I felt back then, I was just too scared that you would see me differently. I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”
She took in a deep breath and I could feel her body shaking next to me. I felt a tear fall on my neck as she started to quietly cry into the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure what I should say so I just let it be. A few minutes later she said, “How could I ever see you differently? You were always different and that’s what I liked about you. I never would’ve cared that you like me in that way, I would’ve just told you how I felt and been there for you no matter what. That’s what friends do Shadow.”
I rolled over and looked into my friend’s tear-filled eyes and gave her the biggest smile I could muster, “You know what?”
She sniffed, wiped one of her eyes with a hoof, “What?”
“You’re really cute when you cry,” I said with a laugh.
She pushed me away doing her best not to let me see her smile and failing, “You’re just evil.”
“I may be evil, but at least I can still make you smile.”
She sat up and smacked my chest, “You didn’t make me smile, I’m just happy that you’re talking finally.”
I laughed again then got up myself, “Whatever you say Madam Overmare, now how about we get out of this bed.”
“That’s the best thing you’ve said to me all day,” her eyes went wide, “Oh I forgot, Balefire woke up!”
My eyes went wide as well, “How the fuck did you forget about that!? If you would’ve said that in the first place I wouldn’t have just hid under the blankets.”
She jumped out of the bed, “I was going to, but you looked so sad I wanted to make sure you were okay first. He wanted to see you, Aura said it would be okay.”
I jumped out of the bed, my smile going from ear to ear, “What are we waiting for, let’s go!”
***
The two of us walked through the door into medical to find Aura talking with Balefire who was sitting up and looking better than the last time I saw him. When we walked in he smiled as much as his bruised face would allow, “It’s about time you found her.”
Milkshake moved closer to Balefire and kissed him on the cheek, “She was still a little tired when I found her, thought I’d let her rest a little more before having her get up.”
I went to go stand next to Aura as I asked Balefire, “How are you feeling?”
He laughed then winced, “Like a griffon beat the hell out of me, but I’ll live and that’s all that matters. Aura’s been filling me in on what’s been going on while I was out.”
My eyes fell on his half a leg for a moment, “I’m just glad to see you awake.”
He moved what was left of his right foreleg and shook it a little, “Don’t worry about this, it’s a small price to pay for helping save my stable,” His eyes fell a little as he continued, “I wish so many ponies didn’t have to pay the price they did.”
“It’s the sad truth that you’ll have to get used to in The Wasteland, sometimes good ponies or griffons die for no reason at all,” Aura said.
“But were not in The Wasteland, were in a stable. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in stables,” Balefire said, looking over at Aura.
“If you saw some of the stables I’ve been in since I left, you wouldn’t say that,” I remarked.
Milkshake and Balefire both looked at me confused, “What do you mean?”
“Most of the Stables around here aren’t running anymore, something went wrong in each one I’ve been in. I haven’t found a single one that’s still active like Stable 28. My friend Wind Thrasher, the Bat pony, she’s from a Stable that went wrong. No matter how hard you try to ignore The Wasteland, it’ll always find its way in,” I replied.
“I guess you’re right, it looks like it found its way in here too,” Milkshake said.
Balefire shook his head then smiled a little, “Let’s not talk about that right now. Shadow how about you tell us everything that’s happened to you since you left.”
I groaned, “I thought you didn’t want to talk about sad things?”
“Not about what happened here in the stable, we want to hear about what you’ve been doing. Even if it’s not all sunshine and rainbows,” Milkshake replied.
“It’ll take a while.”
“That’s okay, I’m not going anywhere,” Balefire said with a wink.
I sat there and started to tell them what happened to me over the past few weeks. I left out some of the boring stuff and skipped over things that didn’t matter. I told them about going to Cartwheel, how I ran into the Raiders and what I had to do to get past them. I explained meeting Box Tape and Silver Snip, then how I saved Silver from Crackerjack and his group of raiders. I told them about my journey with Stardust, going to the Steel Rangers and meeting Wind Thrasher and Wingnut. I had to go back and explain about how I met Aura, who also threw in a little about herself. It took a few hours, especially with Aura there who kept on making me go back and explain things. I watched as my friends faces went from shocked, to surprised, to horror, and then smiles. Each part of my tale seemed to help them both understand what I had to go through once I was out.
When I got to the part about Cloak being my mom Milkshake interrupted me, “You mean she was the one who was trying to kill you? I couldn’t see Grim doing that to anypony.”
“She’s not the same mare I used to know, I’m still trying to figure out what happened to her over the years. I’m hoping that I can still save her and Stardust.”
“This Stardust sounds like a good stallion,” Balefire said, “I hope you’ll be able to find him and save him.”
I smiled at them, “I do too.”
I finished the rest of my tale by telling them about how I got the transmission from Vervain. When that was done Balefire asked, “So Auntie is really this Vervain pony that used to work with your mom in the Steel Rangers?”
I nodded, “Yeah, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that.”
“Same here, she doesn’t seem like that kind of pony,” Balefire said.
“She’s a strong mare, always has been. I guess I can see it now that I think back on things she was trying to teach me over the years. She’s also the one who put the security program on the Mark II. I’m going to ask her to remove the last of it before I leave,” I said.
“I was planning on doing that anyway,” Vervain said from the door to the clinic, “Didn’t anypony teach you kids that it’s rude to talk about a pony behind her back.”
We all smiled as she walked over to us, I gave her a quick hug, “No, I don’t think you ever taught me that one.”
She swatted my horn, but not hard, then looked over at Balefire, “It’s good to see you’re awake Balefire.”
“Thanks Auntie…I mean Vervain, it feels weird calling you that,” he said.
She laughed, “Honestly it’s weird to hear it after so many years,” then she looked over to me, “Shadow can I borrow you for a little while?”
“Sure, I guess. I only came here to see Balefire since he just woke up.”
“He should get some rest anyway, he’s going to be in bed for a few more days,” Aura said.
“You two go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on him,” Milkshake said.
“Okay, I’ll see you two later,” I said waving as the three of us headed out of the Clinic. Once we were back in the hallway I asked, “What’s going on Vervain?”
“One of the Steel Ranger Scribes just came in looking for you. I haven’t seen her in a while but I think it’s Hazel.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot she was coming with Sapphire and the others,” I said, she hadn’t been in the fight the other day and when I finally met with Sapphire and her two Steel Rangers that came with her, she said that Hazel stayed behind in Cartwheel to talk with Box Tape about something. When Box Tape came to help in the fight, she hadn’t been with him.
“She won’t tell me what’s going on, she said she would only tell you,” Vervain said sounding a little pissed, “The disrespect!”
“I guess I should go talk to her then,” when is all the need for my attention gonna end? Being a hero on the radio sucks, “I’ll see you guys later.”
***
I went to the atrium expecting to see some Steel Rangers with Hazel but she was the only one. She was easy to spot, she was the only one with a robot floating next to her, “Watts!”
“That’s Lieutenant Watts to you Ms. Star! Oh, my apologies, this Lieutenant Gutsy upgrade Ms. Hazel gave me is ever so bothersome,” he said.
He looked a lot different than when he did at F&F Tools, his whole-body casing was green and bore the Steel Rangers symbol on both sides, “Wow Watts, you look uhhh… what’s the word… different.”
Hazel turned around and said, “Yeah his original body was too damaged to repair so we put him in this one. Transferring the consciousness was easy enough but getting him to act the same has proven difficult given this model was made for battle. Every once in a while, he sees one of us in power armor and goes completely mad, it’s probably because the circuit board that contains Watts himself isn’t used to the presence of a combat inhibitor. Anyway, there’s something I should tell you before I go back to Cartwheel.”
I smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, his normal timid nature is a bit overpowered by the desire to uh I don’t know, be respected. What did you wanna tell me?”
She sighed, “The airship bearing the Steel Rangers’ symbol that’s been sighted all around the area has disappeared completely but it seems one of them has reached out to us. Apparently, he’s looking for you, said something about making friends in this region is better than making enemies.”
“Who is he? Can I trust him?”
“No, I don’t think you should trust him. He might be one of us but he’s more in the gray area of trustworthiness. His name is Elder Wolfsbane, leader of the Los Alicorn branch of The Steel Rangers. I’ve heard stories of his exploits and I’ll tell you right now that he’s not somepony you wanna mess with, he’s fucking ruthless. He makes The Sins look like a joke when compared to him.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, “What in Celestia’s good name could he want to talk to ME of all ponies about? Oh wait, I know, he wants my help with something because it seems like everypony in The Wasteland needs a quick favor all the time, or he wants me to go back with him to Los Alicorn,” I sighed, “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be a bitch or anything. I’ve just been under a lot of stress this past week and with this happening in the stable like it did, I just don’t know how much more I can take.”
Watts put up one of his pincer claw things, “No need to worry about things so much Ms. Star, things will eventually get better. Look at me, I was just a lonely old bot that was living in the past until you walked in my door. Now I’m a bot that’s not to be trifled with by the likes of Wastelanders. I didn’t ask for your help, but received it in the long run. Others don’t ask for your help because it’s convenient, it’s because you help whoever… or… WHATever when they need you most. The reason others look to you for help is because you’ve become a symbol of hope for us all, even lifeless machines such as myself.”
I laughed softly, “Thanks Watts, it’s nice to hear that you think so highly of me.”
Before he could speak again Hazel said, “I don’t really know what he’d want to talk to you about besides the recent introduction of Synths to this part of The Wasteland. They’ve been pretty confined to Los Alicorn except for a select few, but in the past year or so more have been showing up here. If anything, he’ll want you of all ponies to talk to our Elder for him to talk some sense into her. As you know our branch doesn’t get out much, mostly because of the different factions ganging up on us like The NLR and The Romans.
“Why in frozen hell would he think I could convince your Elder to do ANYTHING? I’m not even a Steel Ranger.”
She gave me a look, “Really? You’re the freakin’ Courier, the talk of everyone around here and even the radio host back east. Who’s gonna say no to somepony like you?”
“You’d be surprised. I can’t even convince a colt to quit being a perve all the time,” I replied.
She laughed, “What? That was random. You know what, he’s waiting outside the stable for you. I have to go back to Cartwheel and meet up with the others so I can’t meet him with you.”
“You let him near the stable!? You just said he’s not trustworthy.”
She stammered a bit, “It’s not like I purposely did it. He just came here with me, plus he already knew where this place was so it’s not my fault he knows where you are.”
I rubbed my forehead again as we started to walk toward the exit, “Ugh, this is heavy. I hope he doesn’t have anything planned for this place, the ponies here can’t take another assault.”
“He might not be a trustworthy pony but he’s still a Steel Ranger, we don’t invade active stables. Even IF this one recently had a mass population decrease, we wouldn’t interfere unless it demanded our attention. For example, if Stable 28 was invaded by The NLR which they never do or The Enclave, we’d do something,”
She said trying to calm my nerves a bit as we walked down the hallway, Watts following close behind.
“I guess you have a point. Another thing is that there really isn’t anything of use for him in here anymore after shutting down the other floor of R&D,” I said as we entered the entrance to the stable.
“Right, so he’d have no reason to threaten the stable,” she said.
I pulled the lever and waited as the door opened, “I don’t doubt that he wants to ask about helping with his Synth problem, but coming all the way out here with his whole entourage really makes me feel uneasy. Couldn’t he just come here with a few Paladins and Knights instead of his whole garrison in an airship?”
“That IS a bit strange, standard procedure is just as you described. Normally when The Elder is going somewhere, we send two Paladins and Knights with her. Something else is at play here,” she replied.
I turned on my Pip-Light as the tunnel grew darker, “What do you think I should do? I can’t immediately act like he’s the villain in the situation. Well, he isn’t, but he’s still doing things that are out of the ordinary for an Elder.”
She sighed, “I have no idea what you should do. I guess just act as if everything’s normal while still proceeding with caution. Maybe what he wants from you isn’t as bad as we might think, all the stories I’ve heard about him might just be that; stories.”
“So all these things you’ve heard could all just be bullshit?” I asked, “Ugh, this isn’t gonna be an easy conversation, it’s gonna be fuckin’ awkward.”
She stammered, “I wouldn’t say ALL of the stories might not be true, just some of them might not be true. However, I should warn you that he IS pretty intimidating according to all the ponies I know that’ve met him.”
As we walked out where the wood door used to be I said, “Well the moment of truth draws near. I guess this is farewell for now Hazel, you too Watts. Safe travels to you both.
She smiled, “Thank you Shadow. I wish I could leave Watts with you but I still have a few kinks I need to work out with his programming.
Watts put up one of his arms as if he was waving, “Ah yes, I wouldn’t want to accidentally decapitate anyone, haha. Good day to you Ms. Star, I look forward to our next encounter!”
I watched as they disappeared into the green haze of the valley and turned my head to a pony standing alongside the rocky hill the stable entrance was set in. I WAS going to ask Hazel where exactly Wolfsbane was out here, but upon visual inspection it was clear that he was easy to spot. Even if he was in a crowd of a hundred ponies I could spot him. He was tall with a black mane and beard and had a deep lavender coat. I couldn’t see his cutie mark because of the large flight jacket he was wearing, he also had a giant scar going across his face that I found a bit disturbing. Everypony I’ve met in The Wasteland with scars haven’t been all that good of ponies.
As I approached, he kept giving me this stern look that felt as if it was digging into my soul. Hazel was right, he is intimidating, but I stood my ground as I greeted him, “You must be Elder Wolfsbane. I’m Shadow Star, a courier with Equestrian Express out of Cartwheel. It’s nice to meet you.”
I think he actually smiled, he didn’t look like much of a smiler, “So formal, I like that in ponies. Yes I’m Wolfsbane, Elder of the Los Alicorn branch of The Steel Rangers. It’s a pleasure to meet a pony such as yourself too, I’ve heard tales of your exploits. I’ve also heard of your failures, such as the most recent, Appleton.”
Okay that shocked me a bit, I’m usually praised as a hero by ponies I meet for the first time. Either that or they try to kill me, “Failures? Appleton wasn’t a complete failure, I killed Pride from The Seven Sins of Equinity. And what do you mean failure-S? The only one I can think of is Appleton.”
His face took that stern look again, “You don’t even realize when you fail because everypony praises you for saving the day all the time. THAT is the downfall of do-gooder ponies like yourself of whom have no specific allegiances. Being unbiased towards all factions doesn’t do the good you might think it does.”
I smiled sheepishly, “If it helps, I’m being hunted by The Enclave.”
He interrupted before I could explain more, “The Grand Pegasus Enclave would hunt anyone on the surface who does anything that hinders their actions in any way. You need to get a handle on who your allies are, some groups can seem like they have a good cause when they truly are sinister. Take the New Lunar Republic for example, they think they’re helping The Wasteland by restoring a government when in fact they’re making thing worse by trying to tame a beast that’s been wild for too long without the proper tools to do so.”
“The ponies out here are trying their best to bring back a sense of normalcy around here. I think the NLR are some of the ponies trying to help with that. I also think The Steel Rangers are doing the same thing, maybe not as prominently as the NLR but enough to maybe make a difference,” I retorted.
He laughed mockingly, “The Steel Rangers huh? I think the chapter of Steel Rangers here are a band of cowards compared to the rest of The Wasteland chapters. All they really do is hide in their little bunker away from the world and its problems, my chapter has seen battles that would put the fear of The Goddesses into anypony else. Do you see this scar on my face? It is a penalty of battle, and a lesson to know one’s limits. After receiving this defacing gift, I learned that I have none, and I think that you don’t either. You may have caused a lot of damage in the past when saving the day or whatever you want to call it, but I think with the right training you could be the best of the best. That’s also why I’ve come asking for your assistance.”
Oh great so it seems we’ve finally gotten to the good part, yayyy, “What is it you need my help with? Is it your robot problem in Los Alicorn, or is it something else?”
“Show some respect, I’m still an Elder in the Steel Rangers. Anyhow, no, what I require of you is something that also benefits you. As you know, The Steel Rangers and pretty much every other group in The Wasteland are enemies with The Grand Pegasus Enclave. I’ve heard of a facility near Saint’s Parish and Whinnieapolis that is operated by The Enclave. They take young foals and train them to be killing machines over years of rigorous training, I’d like you to put a stop to that,” he replied.
“Why can’t you Steel Rangers ever do anything yourselves? Last time I had to go into a stable for you ponies it was a fucking nightmare,” I asked.
He gave me a look, “I recall, Stable 9 was a mission with far too many mistakes. Not only were you and your companions almost killed by fiends after exiting the shelter, you also almost let a horde of monsters into The Wasteland and caused a massive explosion in the process of keeping that from happening. You’re lucky that it was fiends living next to that mountain instead of normal hard-working civilians.”
“That still doesn’t explain why I have to be the one to do this for you,” I said ignoring his comments.
He sighed, “The Steel Rangers can’t risk going in there because the whole area is occupied by The Enclave, even the surface. If I were to send anypony in my garrison there it could spark a war between The Steel Rangers and The Grand Pegasus Enclave of which we aren’t prepared for, however their time will come to be erased from the face of Equis.”
“So I have to risk potential death along with my friends and travel hundreds of miles on hoof so you don’t possibly start a war?” I asked arrogantly.
He smiled again for some reason, “You underestimate the assets of The Steel Rangers. Don’t worry about transportation, I’ll arrange a sky carriage to be readied for you and your traveling companions to use. If I heard correctly they’re both flyers, one a pegasus and the other a griffon. I imagine they could both pull a sky-carriage with you and your colt friend inside.”
I thought about that for a second, there’d be another pony with us if we were gonna go to the Midwest, “It wouldn’t be just me and Wingnut, a friend of ours would be coming too. His name is Doorstop and he’s from around that area, he could act as our guide. The only problem is that I’d need to go get him from Frosty Summit Ski Lodge.”
“Not to worry, I can send somepony to get him and…”
I interrupted, “He’s former Enclave so I don’t think that’s such a good idea given that he might not be too keen on being brought somewhere by Steel Rangers. Could I send my friend Aura with them so he doesn’t do anything stupid?”
He scratched his beard as he thought about it, “I suppose it shouldn’t be of any issue if she joined them. There’s another matter I’d like to speak with you about, The Ministry.”
“Okay, what about them?” I asked, feeling another call for help coming on.
“I’d like to know what exactly you’ve learned about them in your travels around here. You might’ve noticed some paranoia from various citizens in different settlements that centers around their synths. The Ministry has quickly been growing more powerful in recent years and will surely take over what’s left of Equestria if given the chance. Any information you have could be vital in ending them for good,” he answered.
“You talk a lot about ending ponies, I haven’t heard anything about making The Wasteland a better place. There’s also the fact that you haven’t explained where the hell your airship is. It has to be yours, it bore the insignia of The Steel Rangers and you seem like the kind of pony who likes big things like that because you think it makes you look tough or something.”
He sighed, “You’re perceptive, I’ll give you that. Yes the airship is mine, it’s called The Palisade, the finest and most technologically advanced zeppelin that still roams the Equestrian sky. Unfortunately we can’t travel in the light of day because The Enclave would surely spot it in the sky and attack, so we have it docked somewhere safe.”
“Where?” I asked.
“Somewhere safe. Let’s leave it at that,” he replied.
“It’s kind of strange that you’d bring that thing here just so you could come ask me to do something for you, suspicious too. There’s also the fact that you, an Elder, came here alone.” I said, prying at him some.
“You know, you’re a rather difficult pony to negotiate with. I didn’t bring my whole chapter here in The Palisade, only about a third so I could reinforce the chapter here with more capable soldiers. I was supposed to talk with Elder Appleslice from Hidden Sands in Cartwheel but she was nowhere to be found. She had a security detail with her apparently but it seemed as if they lost track of where she’d gone. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?” he explained.
What? Elder Appleslice was gone? How could she disappear like that? Hazel was right, something’s going on here, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Elder Wolfsbane, “No, I know nothing about what’s happening with her, and I also don’t know anything about The Ministry besides the fact that they manufacture Synths.”
He let out a breath through his nose, “We’ll see about that. However, I think we should get back to business. Will you assist me in this endeavor?”
Geeze, he’s less trusting than I am. I guess that’s what happens when no one trusts you as far as they can throw you because of rumors, “Yeah, I’ll go, but I expect something in return.”
He raised an eyebrow, “How does knighthood in The Steel Rangers sound? Under my training you could be promoted to Paladin within a year and be even more deadly than you already are which is purely luck.”
What!? Luck!? Fuck this guy! I wanted to get in his face at that last remark but held my tongue and let out a breath, “No, I don’t want to be a Steel Ranger. Despite what you said, I’d still like to remain unbiased toward all factions excluding The Enclave.”
He frowned, “Being unbiased is just plain irresponsible. There are factions out here that are enemies and helping both sides just prolongs their quarreling. Eventually you will need to choose a side.”
“I understand that, but that’s beside the point right now. What I want from you for completing this task is everything you know about The Grand Pegasus Enclave and their various secret projects you might know about. That includes what they do to ponies in my friend Stardust’s old home, Stable 97.”
He looked at me like I was a complete moron, “Stable 97 is the facility I’m sending you to. We got intel from a reliable source that there are numerous abuses of technology there, including a form of mind control.”
Yup, I’m a moron, “Well now I know what you meant when you said that this would benefit me too.”
“I was told about what happened to your companion and felt that I should lend a hoof while also striking a critical blow to The Enclave. If you do happen to help your friend, do you think he would consider joining us?” he said.
I almost laughed, “I don’t think The Steel Rangers is a group he’d wanna join, some of them took his favorite gun once and really pissed him off. Not to mention that he was raised in an environment that hated them, at least I think. I’m pretty sure his stable told him all his life that the outside world is poisonous.”
He sighed, “I see, well anyway, I’ll wait here for your griffon friend and contact my ponies aboard The Palisade to arrange transport to Frosty Summit Ski Lodge.”
This whole thing still makes me feel uneasy but even after what Hazel said, he doesn’t seem all that bad. A little demanding of respect he may or may not deserve but not that bad, “Alright, I’ll send her out when I go back inside and wait until she returns. I have some business to take care of here still anyway.”
“Alright then I bid you farewell for now, ad victorium,” he said.
I didn’t know how to respond so I just said, “Uh huh yeah. See ya later then,” still had no idea what the hell ad victorium means.
***
My first thought when I got back into the stable was, ‘Why didn’t he ask me about mom?’ He should have known who I was by now, even if I did look different. Even if he didn’t, the Mark II should’ve been a dead giveaway. I saw him look down at it when I first went out there, but he never brought it up. If he did know, then he would’ve said something, or maybe he was biding his time. Maybe he was showing me who he really was before he brought up the subject of mom.
“Shadow there you are,” Vervain said when I walked back into the atrium.
I looked up and pushed my dark thoughts aside, “Oh hey Vervain.”
“I thought you went to meet with Hazel? Why did you two go outside the Stable?” she asked looking concerned.
“She wanted to warn me about something and she brought Elder Wolfsbane. He wanted to meet with me outside.”
She looked shocked, “You mean he came here!? What did he want?”
“He was alone and he wanted to ask for help with investigating Stable 97. He said it was in Saint’s Parish,” I said watching her face as I spoke.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because from all the reports I was reading from The Over…I mean Wildfire, she was working with a Steel Rangers Elder. She said that she believed they were from Los Alicorn. The only Elder from there is Wolfsbane, and he did show up here, but he didn’t try and come inside or take over after the Overmare died?”
“Seems like it, he didn’t even ask me about my stable or about mom for that matter. He only wanted to talk business and to ask a few things about The Ministry.”
She started to rub the bottom of her her chin in thought, “That’s not like him, if he wanted this place, nothing would’ve stopped him from taking over. It’s possible that the pony Wildfire was working with was just saying they were the Elder from Los Alicorn.”
“You seem to know a lot about him Vervain.”
She shrugged, “Yeah of corse I do, I used to be a Steel Ranger in Los Alicorn before I transferred to Hidden Sands to be closer to my father. Back then Wolfsbane was just a Paladin but he was always driven to be the Elder one day.
“He DID sound kinda like a blowhard when I was talking with him, like he demands to be respected by everypony when he graces them with his presence. Has he always been that way?”
She rolled her eyes, “Oh Goddesses yes, every day of his life.”
“So, what do you think this whole thing is actually about? Him asking for my help I mean,” I asked.
She shook her head, “I don’t know. It might just be that, but I think he’s got an ulterior motive. He always does things for a reason that benefits him on a singular level while also benefitting his underlings as a sort of cover. He comes off as a blowhard, but in all reality he’s a brilliant strategist. That’s probably why he was made Elder at his age. Don’t get me wrong, he’s almost as old as I am, and no wise cracks about that either, but it’s unusual for somepony to be an Elder that young unless there’s an exception. For example, Appleslice, she’s pretty young for an Elder, but that’s because she pretty much took the position. I don’t doubt that Wolfsbane would do something like that but the Los Alicorn branch is a little stricter on their transferring of leadership than that, he wouldn’t have been able to do something like that very easily.”
I snickered a little, “I take it that Steel Ranger Elders are usually pretty old then. Well, thinking about it, they are called Elders after all.”
She gave me that look she always gave when I was acting like a moron, “Elders aren’t always necessarily old, just older than most ponies.”
As she said that something came to mind, “Box Tape, the other ponies called him Sentinel. What kind of ranking is that?”
She smiled, “My father was a Star Paladin for many years, he was as smart as any Scribe and tougher than any Steel Ranger around. Before I was born he was almost a legend when it came to battle. He was respected by more than just the Steel Rangers in Hidden Sands. Most of the branches of Steel Rangers wanted him to join them.”
I couldn’t help interrupting, “If he could’ve joined just about any branch of the Steel Rangers then why didn’t he? I mean why stick around that stuffy old bunker?”
She laughed at that, “Back then, they didn’t use the Bunker. When my father was the Star Paladin, the Steel Rangers in this area were stronger and more spread out then even the Los Alicorn branch is now. They had safe-houses all over the Marejave and they had almost as big of a presence as the NLR does now. It would be like that still if my father would’ve taken over as the Elder when his elder died.”
“You still haven’t explained what a Sentinel is by the way, just sayin’.”
She waved her hoof, “I was getting to that. Anyway, my father could’ve joined up with any branch he wanted to, but he was loyal to his elder, and he met my mother. She was a Senior Scribe named White Oak, he would do anything for her and he did. He stayed around here and raised a family, eventually settling down in Cartwheel. When I was born he wanted to put the life of a Steel Ranger behind him and just be a father. He always had a dream of being a courier and using his knowledge of The Wasteland for something more than just fighting. Around this time the old Elder died, and many of the ponies wanted him to take over. He told them that he didn’t want the job and only wanted to stay behind in Cartwheel, with his family. The pony who took over was his friend Apple Jam, he asked my father to at least stay on as a Steel Ranger. He agreed and Elder Apple Jam gave him the title of Sentinel. In The Steel Rangers, that title has only ever been given to three ponies. It’s a rank higher than a Star Paladin almost the same as an Elder. The thing is unlike an Elder who runs just one branch of the Steel Rangers, a Sentinel can give orders to any branch he wants. The Elder still commands their own branches but a Sentinel can take over if an Elder is unable to perform his or her duties or if they aren’t present.”
“So, Box Tapes a big deal then?”
She nodded, “Mostly yes, though he doesn’t do much with The Steel Rangers anymore. He opened Equestrian Express and that’s all he cares about apart from his family or the town.”
“Why were you so annoyed when you saw him during the fight?”
She sighed, “Because he’s too old to be doing things like that anymore, and he may be my father, but he’s an annoying ASS.”
“You two don’t seem to be very close,” she did hide away in a stable for ten years without saying anything about him.
She shrugged, “We never were, I was closer to mom than I was to him. Though he’s always been a kind pony to me as he is with just about any other pony he meets. He wasn’t a fan of me joining up with The Steel Rangers, it was just after my mom died and he was very upset with me. I ran off to Los Alicorn and became a Scribe like she was.”
“I was going to ask what happened with your mom, but I guess I got my answer. How young where you when that happened?” I asked.
“About Wingnut’s age. She never could be the stay at home type like dad was. She stayed on as a Steel Ranger even when my father retired, she was sent out on a mission a little east of here and was exposed to taint. She didn’t live long after that.”
“You know I keep hearing that word ‘taint’ what the hell is it?” I asked.
“I forgot you didn’t wander far from New Pegasus, it’s not seen around here much. You see taint is a chemical of some kind that you see more east than you do here. Nopony knows what it is, but the effects it has on ponies is horrifying. Most ponies just out right die if they’re exposed to too much of it and you can’t just get rid of it once it’s in your system like you can with radiation. If you don’t die from it then some ponies have been known to get strange mutations. It’s a rainbow looking fluid that was used for some kind of experiment’s during the war.”
“That must’ve been on one of the missing pages in my copy of The Wasteland Survival Guide. I’m guessing that once I head toward Saint’s Parish I should watch out for it.”
She nodded, “You should yes, the problem with it is that you can’t keep it out with things like radiation suits or anything like that. It’ll eat right through it.”
“I’ll make sure to watch out for it then when we leave. Speaking of which, I should find Aura and have her go get Doorstop for me.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me, “This plan on going to the Midwest to save this pegasus friend of yours. How do you plan on helping him if he’s all the way out here?”
I smiled at that, “Easy, he wants me dead right now. If I go to his Old Stable, he’ll follow me.”
“So, you’re going to use yourself as bait with a slim chance of this being able to save him?”
“Yeah, what else would I do?”
She laughed, “You’re just like your mother.”
I shivered at that, “I hope not.”
She pulled me close and hugged me, “I meant it as a compliment, Grim used to do anything for a friend just like you…even if she only really had me and one other pony as a friend.”
“The only other pony I know that knew mom was a mare named Laser Light in Frosty Summit. She didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about her.”
To my surprise Vervain’s face was shocked and angry at the same time, “You ran into Laser Light!?”
I took a step back, “Yeah, she helped me with the fight I had with The Sins there and she told me a little about mom and you from back in the day. She was also the pony who got Nexus to help me unlock some of the files on the Mark II. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Vervain took a deep breath then sighed, “I’m sorry, sometimes I let my Steel Ranger training take over. Laser was a nice mare when I knew her and probably still is, and quite the fighter. The problem was, she hid something from Elder Apple Jam and she was kicked out when Grim turned her in for it.”
“You mean the fact that she’s a Pegasus?”
“You really have been getting around, haven’t you? Yes, Apple Jam couldn’t let her stay, if the other Rangers found out they would’ve thought she was a spy.”
“Why were you so mad when I brought her up?”
“Because she found out your mother was from The Crystal Empire, and she knew your Uncle.”
“Wait, Laser never said anything about knowing Oricalcos,” I remembered the fight with The Sins, she never brought up who he was then.
“No not him, Striker. He’s a dashite from what I last heard, but he still knew ponies in Nimbus that could’ve told them where Grim was. Luckily your mom was able to do a quick memory spell on Laser Light, she forgot what she knew, but she didn’t forget that there was something she did that pissed Grim off,” Vervain said.
“You know one of these days you’re gonna have to sit down and tell me everything. Also, I want you to remove the Security you put on the Mark II.”
Before she could answer me, Aura came into the Atrium, “There you are Shadow, I’ve been looking for you.”
“Oh, hey Aura. Funny, I was just about to come find you too.”
“Really? What did you need?”
“I need you to go with two ponies from The Steel Rangers to Frosty Summit and get Doorstop.”
She cocked her head at me, “Why?”
“Because we’re going to Saint’s Parish, he knows the area and even better, he can help us with Stable 97.”
She rolled her eyes, “I mean why do I need to go to Frosty Summit to get him?”
“Um…because you’re the fastest flyer we have right now and I don’t know how else to send a message to him.”
She rolled her eyes, “When I was here last, Nexus said he set up a broadcast signal there so we could contact them if we needed him. If you boost the signal a little you should be able to find it. Nexus said that he hasn’t been able to make the signal strong enough yet to reach at a long distance, but it’s better than flying there all the time.”
“You could use the terminal in my room,” Vervain said nonchalantly, “While you do I can see about removing the rest of the Security on the Mark II.”
“Sounds like a plan, well Aura can you at least round up the others so we can come up with plan?” I asked.
“Sure, no problem. Also, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Wingnut.”
Vervain smiled, “How about I meet you two up there, I can find Wind Thrasher and Wingnut while you send out the message to this Doorstop fellow.”
“I thought you said you were going to remove the Security on the Mark II.” I said.
“I will when you’re finished,” she said walking away.
Knowing it was useless trying to get her to change her mind, I just shrugged and started heading toward my old room, Aura following close behind. As we walked by some of the Stable Ponies I noticed that most of them were doing all they could to stay as far away from me as they could. I’d been noticing it for a while now, but I was used to being shunned by most of the stable, but this was getting ridiculous.
“Is it me or are the stable ponies avoiding me?” I asked as we walked into my old room I used to share with Vervain.
“It’s not just you, they don’t want any of us in the stable Shadow. I think they’re hoping you’ll be leaving soon and taking us ‘Outsiders’ with you.”
“You mean even after what we did to save them, they still don’t want us around?” I asked.
“They’re scared and they just went through a horrific experience. Honestly, I don’t blame them for it. It could take a while before they’re able to trust outsiders again,” Aura said as I went into Vervain’s side of the room and used the Mark II broadcaster to unlock the terminal.
“They don’t have much of a choice. The Stable can’t go back to what they were doing before, they lost too many.”
“True, but right now they need the time to relax and let what happened sink in. You should know better than most, The Wasteland isn’t easy to get used to when you’ve lived your life in a place like this, cut off from the rest of Equestria.”
“I guess you’re right, I just hope they don’t lock themselves away for too long. If they do that then after a few generations some ponies are bound to have little inbred flipper kids,” I brought up the Broadcast menu and as before I saw the three new channels.
Aura pointed at one that said, Gamesmasher328 on it, “That’s the one he said he set up.”
I giggled, “I think I could’ve guessed with a name like that, what else would Nexus use.”
As I hooked up the signal Aura asked, “What did Hazel want?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I said then spoke into the broadcaster, “Shadow Star to Nexus or Violet.”
“Who dares disturb the all-powerful NEXUS!?” Nexus said from the broadcaster.
Oh Goddesses, he’s a fucking child, “You know damn well who it is, Button Mash.”
“My… name… is… NEXUS!” he exclaimed into the microphone.
I snickered a little at how angry he was getting over his stupid name, “Nuh-uh Laser said your real name is Button Mash.”
It sounded like he sniffed over the mic like he was crying, “Please, just call me Nexus. Laser Light is mean, that was a secret she was supposed to protect with her life.”
Okay, bored now, “Yeah, whatever. I need you to tell Doorstop something for me. We need him to come with us to Saint’s Parish. Tell him there’s a chance we can save The Cadet.”
“Uhhh, okay. Who the hell is The Cadet?” he asked.
Do I always have to explain everything I say, “It doesn’t matter, he’ll know who you’re talking about.”
“No way, I’m not saying anything to him until you tell me who it is,” he said mockingly.
Now his crusty ass was starting to piss me off, “Go tell him or I’ll send Aura there to tell him and smash what’s left of your tech while she’s there you little scabby freak!”
There was an awkward silence, “Geeze, didn’t have to go that far. Fine I’ll go get him and you can tell him yourself, but just for that remark I’m not ever letting you play any of my games.”
“Fine, whatever,” I replied.
A few minutes later Doorstop’s voice came through the mic, “What’s this about you savin’ The Cadet?”
“I don’t know if you know this, but Stardust’s been brainwashed by The Sins, and now he’s the new Pride,” I replied, explaining the situation a little.
I heard something break in the background and Nexus started crying, “I knew those bastards took him, but what I didn’t know is that they used that damned machine on his brain! I’ll grind all those damned Sins into PASTE for this!”
“Hold up a sec, I have a plan that might be able to undo what’s been done. Elder Wolfsbane from Los Alicorn wants me to go to Saint’s Parish and retake Stable 97 from The Enclave…” I didn’t even finish before his next outburst.
“Whhhaaaatttt!? You’re letting a Steel Ranger order you around like you’re some sort of lapdog!?” he exclaimed.
I sighed, “No, he asked for a favor. I’m not taking orders from anyone. The reason I’m asking you to help me is because I need a guide for that area and I know you don’t show it but you care about Stardust like a son. Plus, helping The Steel Rangers would really piss off The Enclave, and I know how much you might wanna do that after what they did to you.”
I didn’t know if he was even angrier or excited, but he let out an enthusiastic growl, “OOOOhhhhh yeah! I don’t care if I have to suck him off to get under their skin, I’ll help that Steel Ranger and The Cadet! Where are you right now? I’ll come to you.”
Kay, that was easier than I thought I’d be, “I’m in Stable 28 near Cartwheel in Green Mist Valley, I’ll send Aura to bring you back here so you don’t get lost. She may or may not be with one or two Steel Rangers, Wolfsbane was going to send somepony to get you but I told him I’d send Aura with them so you didn’t kill them.”
“Hmm, nice tactical decision. I would’ve ripped them in two if they came here acting all high and mighty with that ‘stick up their asses’ attitude. I’ll await her arrival and return with her to your location, even if she IS a griffon,” he said calming down some.
“Alright then, see you when I see you I guess,” I replied, ending the transmission.
Aura looked at me awkwardly, “What should I say to that Wolfsbane guy? You said he was going to send me with some Steel Rangers, but I think they’d slow me down because they can’t fly.”
Wolfsbane is a bit stubborn, I hope he goes along with this, “Just tell him what you just said to me. If he still wants to send you with somepony, then go along with it. Just make sure to strongly imply that it’ll take a lot longer to get there if they’re with you. Also, ask him about the sky carriage he’s going to provide for us and where it’ll be. I don’t wanna have to go somewhere way out of my way just to get that fuckin’ thing, time is of the essence.”
She cocked an eyebrow, “That’s a lot. Where the hell is he again?”
“Just outside the stable.”
She sighed, “At least that won’t be too hard, don’t wanna have to stop in Cartwheel or wherever The Steel Rangers are right now on the way to Frosty Summit. What about Shrimp numero dos? I’m still his bodyguard y’know.”
“Don’t worry about Wingnut, I’ll cover for you. He probably wouldn’t mind you leaving, but he is a conniving little shit sometimes, so I think it’d be better if he didn’t know you left until you get back,” I replied, thinking it couldn’t hurt to skip talking to Wingnut. He’s distracted right now anyway with the R&D ponies.
She started grabbing her things, “Alright, guess I’ll get going then. Wouldn’t wanna waste any more time. This place is too stuffy for me anyway, been wanting to ditch this concrete prison ever since I got here.”
That got to me a bit, “Hey! This is still my home y’know.”
“Not anymore it’s not Shadow, It used to be your home,” she said as she walked out the door.
I hope everything works out alright, I hate not having Stardust with us. Him not being here makes us feel, I dunno, incomplete. There’s also the fact that he’s a trained killing machine and that he could kill me from a distance without hesitation. Shit, I hope he’s not staking out my stable right now. I’m pretty sure those loud mouth radio hosts have both gotten wind of what happened here and spread word across The Wasteland. On the other hoof if he was, he probably would’ve shot me when I was with Wolfsbane. Great now I’m getting paranoid, again.
***
The worst part about waiting for someone to do something that takes a good amount of time, is how to pass the time while I waited for Aura and for Vervain to come unlock the rest of the security on my Pip-Buck. I was growing so impatient that I started messing around with stuff in her room. When I was little I wasn’t allowed to touch any of her stuff, but now that I’m a badass Wastelander I don’t think she’d mind if I looked around at some of the cool stuff she had in here. I opened one of her drawers and uhh eeww, that’s not something I want to imagine the pony that raised me using, “Okay I’ve learned my lesson, no more snooping.”
“Snooping huh? Always the curious one, aren’t you Shadow?” Vervain said from the doorway.
“I didn’t fondle… I mean find any dick… I mean thing!” I stammered.
“Sure you didn’t, anyhow, a mare has needs you know. I’m sure you’ve come across worse in The Wasteland, especially in New Pegasus. That town is made of smut, I swear to Celestia herself,” she said as she approached the terminal, “Alright, come here and I’ll unlock the Mark II for you. Just be warned, this could take a while and the materials on there are pretty sensitive, Grim’s notes included.”
“I don’t think there’s anything in her notes that would surprise me anymore after what she’s become, I wanna know the truth about her, and about you.”
“Shadow once those notes are unlocked anypony can read them. If you get captured and they start looking through the Pip-Buck, they’ll find everything that she was working on. The worst thing in there is the information on Project Stargazer, the project where we found Aquila. Also, it’ll take away the last security measure I put in place, that being if you died, the information on there will get deleted.”
“Wait, you mean that was real? I wasn’t really sure, I just kinda improvised that excuse when Gina and Wildfire captured us.”
“Yes, I mean it’s not like I wanted you to die or anything, but I had to make sure that if something happened to you the information would be wiped out,” she said as she started to work with her terminal.
“I guess that makes sense,” I said as Vervain kept on typing, “Vervain, can I ask you something about mom?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“The mare I knew in the stable, the way she acted as my mom, was that the real her or just a way she acted?”
She looked away from her terminal, her eyes falling on mine, “What do you mean?”
“She wiped away my memories, how do I know that the mom I knew in here was the same mom from before we came here?”
She moved away from the terminal and pulled me into a tight hug, “Grim lived a hard life, she did things that would shock you to keep her secrets hidden, but the way she was in the stable was the real Grim. She loved you so much that she left her family and friends, gave up the life she knew just to keep you alive. Even when she left you here she did that to protect you.”
Finally, I hugged her back with a small smile, “Thanks Auntie Vervain. I just needed to know. I’m glad I had you here when she was gone, without you I don’t know if I could’ve survived this place alone.”
“Shadow you’d be surprised what you can do if you put your mind to it, but I’m glad I was able to help raise you, I wasn’t able to have a child of my own. Raising you was almost like having my own daughter and I couldn’t be prouder of the mare you’ve become,” she said with a hitch in her voice.
“Vervain, I see you the same way I see my own mom. You’re just another mother to me, even though I call you Auntie,” I said as my smile got bigger, “I’m lucky to have two moms’ in my life, even if one of them is a little nuts right now.”
I felt something wet fall on my horn as she pulled away going back to her terminal. Vervain did her best to hide her face from me, but I saw her wipe at her eyes for a moment before she went back to typing on the terminal. A moment passed then she said, “Thank you sweetie, that means more than you know. Now open your broadcaster so I can finish this.”
I did and connected the Mark II to the terminal. As soon as I did, data started to flow across the Mark II’s screen and in my vison. As she said, it took a long time for the data for go by. Neither of us talked as she worked, the data flowing by was starting to make me feel sick. When it was finally over the Mark II beeped and messages came across the screen…
Mark II Data has been unlocked…
Broadcaster range restored to full range.
Connection to Ministry of Arcane Science Emergency Broadcast System has been fully restored…
Location marker connection to Pip-Buck Mark II AB and SL has been reconnected…both Pip-Bucks are currently not broadcasting location…
Files have been fully restored…
C.M.C. hacking software has been fully restored…
All former locations on map has been fully restored…
All former data has been fully restored…
The Pip-Buck Mark II SB is now fully restored and ready for use…
Password for unlocking The Pip-Buck Mark II SB is now available to use…Password last entered for removal is Morning Star, please make sure you remember this password if you ever need to remove the Mark II. Thank You for choosing Stable-Tec.
“Damn that’s a lot of stuff!” I said.
She smiled, “I had to shut down a lot of the programs on the Mark II to make it seem like a normal Pip-Buck. I couldn’t hide the way it looked or some of its features, but I did my best.”
“I’m surprised that you were able to do as much with this thing.”
She shrugged, “Grim let me look over that thing for a long time before I set up that program. I set it up so that the first two security systems could be taken down by a pony who knew what they were doing, but I made sure that only Grim or myself could take down the last one.”
“That would explain why Nexus couldn’t get past it.”
She started to laugh, if he did I’m sure that whatever he was using overheated and blew up.”
I nodded, “It sure did, he was PISSED!”
She smiled again, “That’s what he gets for trying to go up against a master programmer.”
“That’s the thing, he was one of the ponies who helped make the Mark II. He used to work for Stable-Tec, I thought if anypony could get past the program it was him.”
“That just shows how good I am at my job,” she said, then looked thoughtful, “Maybe I should’ve stayed a Scribe?”
I hugged her again, “Either way, thank you for helping me.”
“It was my pleasure. Now I think you should start getting ready to go, I’m sure Aura will be back soon.”
“Good idea, by the way, what will you be doing when I’m gone?”
“When I’m finished helping Milkshake, I’m gonna head to Cartwheel to see about helping my father with his business. I’ve been stuck in here for too long and it’d be nice to see him more. He’s getting old and because of his diet of Sparkle-Cola and greasy foods, I doubt he’s gonna last long without somepony to keep him in check.”
“You’re not going back to the Steel Rangers?” I asked.
She shook her head, “Being in here has shown me that there’s more to life than tech and fighting for a cause.”
“I couldn’t agree more, I’m sure Box Tape would like to have some help around the place. Speaking of which I have to head over there before I leave. I remember now that mom left something for me there.”
“She did?”
Before I could answer the door to our room opened and Milkshake walked in, “Shadow, do you have a minute?”
“I was just getting ready to head out, what’s up Milkshake?”
She looked nervous as she spoke, “We need to talk before you leave.”
“Go on Shadow, I’ll see you when you get back,” Vervain said, giving me one last hug.
I followed Milkshake out the door of my old room, when we were walking down the hall I asked, “What’s going on Milkshake? You look like you swallowed a lemon.”
The look on her face got worse, “We need to talk about Stable 28 and you.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, “What do you mean? I already watched that video in school, it was boring and I didn’t get a job in here anyway.”
She didn’t answer right away, we walked into the Atrium where Wind Thrasher and Wingnut were both waiting for me on the main level. When we started to walk toward them Milkshake finally said, “I don’t know how to say this Shadow…but the Ponies here are scared of you and your friends.”
“Yeah, but most ponies that’ve seen us fight will get over it. What does it matter?”
She stopped, took a deep breath then looked me right in the eyes, “Shadow, once you walk out the door of Stable 28, you won’t be allowed back in. As Overmare I have decided it’s best for the ponies who still live here that you’re banished from the stable…forever…”
[FOOTNOTE: LEVEL UP!]
NEW PERK ADDED!
Vengeful Spirit:
Your time in The Wasteland has made you cold hearted and sometimes brash, causing you to crave divine justice upon your enemies. To some this perk is more of a curse, but for you it may be a blessing in disguise to do what needs to be done in certain situations. However, indulging too much in this perk might drive friends and loved ones away or drive them to put you in a mental institution.
QUEST PERK ADDED!
Sweetie Belle’s Pip-Buck:
Due to your time using the Pip-Buck Mark II, you’ve gained a great understanding of the rare Pip-Buck. Thanks to this and the help of your friends, you can now use the Mark II to its fullest advantage. You now have all the information you’ll need to find out what the Mark II was used for, before and after the Great War. Careful, sometimes things from the past should stay in the past. What happens in New Pegasus, stays in New Pegasus.