Fallout: Equestria - Remembrance

by Pwincess Twiwee

Chapter 6: Revelation

Even though the fall had been stopped, I still felt as though my world was spinning, I didn’t want to open my eyes, or try and move. I was too afraid of what that fall could of done to me. Staying there, as still as possible I could hear hoofsteps approaching me.

“Sweetie?” I heard Autumn say, before I felt a hoof pushing against my side, prompting me to finally open an eye and look up at her.

“How bad is it?” I said, hoping that she could at least break it to me easy.

“Oh it’s terrible, I’m afraid we’ll have to amputate.” Midas said with a chuckle. “Come on Sweets, you’re fine.”

Giving a sigh, I opened my eyes and got to my hooves, taking a moment to brush off the dirt and dust kicked up by the landing. Taking a moment to check myself over, everything seemed to be still in place, a few dents and scrapes here and there but nothing major. Giving a sigh as a wave of relief washed over me before smiling up to them.

“Wasn’t that fun?” Autumn said with a smile, “I kind of want to go up and do it again.”

“If by fun you mean utterly terrifying, then yes, loads of fun.” I said with a chuckle and shake of my head. “And let’s not and say we did, please and thank you.”

“Aw, you’re no fun.” Autumn said with a chuckle.

“Well, I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, but our ghoul friends probably heard that, so we might want to think about getting a move on.” Midas said with a roll of her eyes and shake of her head.

“You are probably right.” Alabaster said, looking at me and Autumn for a moment.

“Alright alright,” I said, stretching and shifting my weight, getting anything that was loose to pop back into place. “Let’s get moving, the North Center Complex shouldn’t be too far from here.”

“North Central Complex?” Autumn asked, looking at me as we started down the road.

“It’s what the building was labeled as on the map.” I said with a chuckle. “Surprising that you didn’t notice that first.”

“Hey, who do you think I am, President Spectra?” Autumn said with a chuckle. “I notice things that interest me, old pre-war buildings aren’t really my forte.”

“Understandable.” I said with a chuckle, It wasn’t long till we were at the base of a tall tower, it seemed practically untouched by time itself, the bricks were solid, the glass unshattered, even the paint looked well maintained.

“Something is off about this.” Midas said, looking over to Autumn as though she expected the mare to have a comment or explanation.

“I have literally no clue how this is even possible.” Autumn said with a shake of her head. “This area has been the site of two direct megaspell detonations, the entire maripony structure is gone, yet this building looks like it was just finished a couple days ago.”

“Wasn’t there an enchantment used in the past, pre-war?” Midas said, tapping at her chin. “I think they used it on the Ministry towers in Canterlot, something about self repairing.”

“You really think they used that here?” I said, looking over to that dragoness. “I mean, I doubt they were stingy with their use of those spells, but that seems like a very powerful one to just use willy nilly.”

“Maybe there is something more here than meets the eye.” Alabaster said with a chuckle. “Either way, standing out here is not going to finish this mission.” He motioned and walked up to the door, going to push it open before it pulled open just enough for us to see the eye of a pony on the other side, as well as the barrel of a rifle being pushed through the opening.

“What do you want.” The pony on the other side of the door said.

“We’re here looking for something left here a very long time ago.” Midas said, reaching out and placing a claw on the barrel of the rifle. “Now please, stop pointing that gun before we do something that you’ll regret.”

“Midas!” Autumn said before she shoved Midas out of the way. “What my friend here means to say, is that there is a book that was kept here by the Ministry mare, we need to get up to her room to retrieve it, so, can we please be let in?”

“The Ministry mare, huh.” The pony said before she’d pull the rifle back in and shut the door, we could hear the sound of locks being undone before the door swung open. “Been a while since ponies been round on Ministry business.”

“Oh, I uh.” I said before chuckling nervously some, eyeing her rifle. “We’re not from the Ministry, we’re just here to pick up an family heirloom for one of the Ministry Mare’s descendants.”

“I see, So you have nothing to do with that cloaked mare that keeps coming around.” She said, placing the rifle down next to the desk before she slipped around it and down into her seat. “Well, either way as long as you aren’t here for trouble then you’re welcome.”

“Thank you.” Autumn said, still glaring at Midas.

For the first time I got a good look at that mare, she seemed young, but her mane and coat were tattered and it looked like a good portion of it had fallen out, even her wings seemed to be in similar shape, and just by her voice alone I could tell she was a ghoul.

“So, you want to get up to Twilight’s room then.” She said, tapping away at the keyboard of the terminal that sat on her desk. “Well, I can tell you how to get there, but if you do me a little favor I can get you straight up there on the VIP elevator.”

“Hold up.” Midas said, leaning over onto that desk. “We have a few questions and I think you can give us the answer.”

“Well, I’m just a receptionist, so my level of access may be outside the ability to answer some questions.” She said, leaning onto the desk and smirking at Midas. “Not to mention, information isn’t free.”

“Wait wait, you’re a Receptionist, to an empty housing block.” I asked, “So you’ve been here how long?”

“Since the bombs dropped.” She said with a chuckle. “Longest job I’ve ever had, sitting at a desk doing nothing for what, two hundred and twelve years?”

“Hold the phone.” Midas said, looking at that mare with a growing look a confusion “You have been coming in to work, despite the fact that the world as you knew it is gone and there is no reason for you to be here?”

“Well, I didn’t stay here at first, I wandered the wastes some, tried to go home only to find out that home was long since gone.” She said with a shrug. “I got bored, tried to settle down, found out that settling down is not as easy as one would imagine, so I came back to where I was comfortable.”

“And you kept coming back ever since.” Autumn said with a chuckle. “That’s some dedication, I doubt you have gotten a paycheck in over a century.”

“Actually, while I stopped getting bits a while ago, The ministry maintains a presence here.” She said with a shrug. “The only one I get to see though is that cloaked mare that comes round every now and then and goes down into the basement.”

“Do you know anything about her?” I asked, smiling at her.

“She’s tall, like, as tell as Celestia tall.” She said, scratching at her cheek. “She’s blue, I think she’s a unicorn, but it’s hard to tell these days, never caught her name, something Lullaby or something like that.”

“So. she doesn’t talk to you?” Autumn said, curiously tilting her head and smiling at the ghoul.

“Nope, she comes in, flashes a Ministry badge, and goes downstairs without a word.” She said with a shrug.

“Do you know what she does down there?” I asked.

“Mess with the database connections probably, they haven’t worked right ever since she started showing up.” She said with a groan. “Now to get back to the topic. That’s what I need your help with.”

“Repairing a database connection?” I asked curiously. “Why can’t you do it yourself?”

“Because there is a biometric shield down there that I can’t pass through.” She said. “But you’re not affected by them so you can just go waltzing right through it without a second thought.”

“It doesn’t always work like that.” Midas said with a sigh. “Stable-Tec barriers are one thing, but ministry stuff is a whole new tier, there is no promise she can get through, let alone what would happen to her if she tried.”

“It’s worth a shot.” I said with a smile. “You help others they help you, it may seem like a lost notion in the wastelands to you guys, but to me - it still makes sense.”

“So you’ll help?” She said, tapping a hoof on her desk.

“Yes, I’ll try my best but you have to understand, I might not be able to get through.” I said with a sigh, smiling at that ghoul. “So, just through that door and down the stairs?”

“Yep. Pretty much.” She said, chuckling a bit to herself as she reclined back in her chair. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Nodding to that mare I turned and smiled to my friends before heading over to the door, looking back to them before I pushed it open, Looking into the darkness of the hallway and down the stairs, taking a moment to look around for a switch before I simply shrugged and started down the stairs.

As we went down and it got darker and darker the farther we got from the door, suddenly the stairwell would light up making me stumble and stop, looking back to see Alabaster smiling nervously and apologetically, his horn glowing in a gentle light.

It felt like these stairs would go on forever, I swear we must of scaled the height of this tower at least once over just going down, no stops or floors, I couldn’t help but wonder what was at the bottom of these seemingly endless steps.

In the dark it’s easy to lose track of time or how long you’ve been going, but soon I saw light radiating up the staircase in front of us, speeding up it wouldn’t be long till we reached the landing, looking around we saw only one door at the far side of the room, and the doors to what looked like an elevator next to the base of the stairs, to which I stared at blankly.

“Why didn’t we try the elevator?” Midas asked with a chuckle.

“Did you see any elevator doors up there?” Autumn said with a groan. “It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hoof in front of my face.”

“I do not trust those, machines.” Alabaster said. “Too many things that could go wrong.”

We all stopped and looked at him for a moment, he simply shrugged and chucked to himself. Looking about the room, trying to find anything worth while or a clue of where we were or what was here, but we found nothing.

“Okay, this is boring.” Midas said with a groan before she stood and walked towards the door, walking into a forcefield that bounced her back and made her fall down. “The heck… oh, right… the shield”

“Well, guess it’s time to try and see what happens.” I said with a nervous chuckle.

“You don’t have to do it, we can go back up and just tell that receptionist that you couldn’t get through.” Autumn said. “You don’t need to risk yourself like this for somepony you don’t even know.”

“No, what’s the worst that could possibly happen, I get a little seared?” I said with a chuckle. “That’s easily fixed with a quick coat of paint.”

“But what if it’s worse, what if you get fried or something and we can’t fix you?” Autumn said with a frown.

“I don’t think so, I mean, look at Midas, she just bounced off, if anything I’ll either go through or bounce off too.” I said with a shrug. “Either way, there’s only one way to find out.”

I took a deep breath and started walking to that barrier, when I reached it I held my hoof out, touching the spot that Midas had just bounced off of. I could feel the magical energy surging and buzzing as my hoof made contact, I felt just a little resistance as my hoof went through the field. Looking back at my friends with a smile before pressing farther, passing through the barrier with next to no more resistance.

Standing on the other side of the barrier I looked around for a panel or something that I could use to shut down the barrier, unable to see one on this side of the door I opened it and stepped through into what looked to be a large atrium. Looking next to the door I found the control box and flipped off the switch when I heard a voice behind me and the sound of rapidly approaching hoofsteps.

“What do you think you’re doing! You shut off the Biolock you stupid robot!” He said as he pushed me out of the way, looking at the panel before he gave a sigh. “Great, I can’t just turn it back on, I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“I’m not a stupid robot!” I yelled at him as I steadied myself, glaring at that stallion.

“Excuse me.” He said, looking to me, his expression turning to confusion.

“I am not a stupid robot.” I said again, to which he seemed even more perplexed.

“What is your designation, who is your manufacturer.” He said, looking at me, growing curiosity in his face. “I’ve never seen a robot like you”

“My name is Sweetie Belle, and I don’t have a manufacturer, my father built me.” I said with a huff.

“Sweetie Belle was a Stable-Tec employee, not a Robot, what is your designation.” He said before he smirked. “And robots don’t have fathers, they have manufacturers, they are built, not conceived and grown.”

“You’re wrong.” I said, sitting and crossing my forelegs across my chest. “I was built by a single pony in a bunker alone with love and affection.”

“You’re malfunctioning.” He said in a matter of fact tone. “You were not built in a bunker by a single pony, you were built here, probably as a science project.”

I went to correct him before his horn started to glow and he lifted me off the ground. Struggling in his aura and trying to find a way to break free.

“Put her down.” Midas said, as she walked through the door, to which that Stallion dropped me and quickly started to back away.

“O-Oh, I’m s-sorry, is this your robot ms. d-dragon” he said with a nervous smile.

“Oh right, because two seconds ago I wasn’t even built outside this place and now you’re asking a dragon if I was hers.” I said with a roll of my eyes and a huff.

“Y-You should check on her, s-she seems to be malfunctioning.” He said nervously, getting over to an intercom panel and pressing the button, whispering something into it before he started to inch closer to the door on the far side of the room labeled ‘stairs’

“She isn’t malfunctioning.” Autumn said, stepping in behind us and standing beside me. “She is not a mass produced unit”

“O-Oh, hello soldier... “ he said, he seemed even more nervous as he looked at Autumn. “W-What’s that E on your armor stand for?..”

“Enclave, The Grand Pegasus Enclave.” Autumn said with a bit of pride.

“But, you are not pegasi.” He said with a gulp, Autumn went to reply but was cut off by the sound of hooves running up the hallway towards us. The stallion quickly diving behind a counter at the far side of the room as a group of ponies burst through the door.

Rifles lifted, trained on us, all I could see was their Blue and Gold suits, their faces hidden by helmets.

“State your business here.” One of them demanded, staring at me, then shifting his gaze to Autumn. He seemed to be examining her, probably looking at her armor and stature.

“We’re here to fix a linkage to a database that the front desk asked us to repair.” Midas said, stepping forward with her claws out in plain sight. “See, we’re unarmed, no reason to hold us at gunpoint.”

The Guard looked at Midas for a moment before he slowly lowered his rifle, his subordinates doing the same. “Are you from the Ministry or Stable-Tec?”

“Stable-Tec?” I asked

“Guessing you’re not from either of those then” he said with a sigh. “Look, we can’t just let you in, we have protocol and regulations we have to follow.”

“Captain Dusk, you can’t be serious! Shoot them, they are intruders, that is what Protocol and regulation demand!” the stallion said, popping his head out from behind the counter he was cowering behind.

“That is enough from you, we don’t go shooting unarmed creatures, dragons, robots, or… whatever the heck he is. Or not.”

“Wait wait, Stable-tec.” Autumn said, taking off her helmet. “I recognize those suits and that armor, you’re stable-tec security.”

“Yes, we are.” Dusk said, looking at Autumn with a chuckle. “You seem surprised.”

“Well, last time I saw Stable-Tec Security was before we were taken out of 66.” Autumn said with a chuckle. “So, there’s a stable down here?”

“Yes and no.” He said with a chuckle and shake of his head. “It’s not an official stable, a gift from Stable-Tec to the Ministry of Arcane Science, it’s not owned nor operated by Stable-Tec, nor does it have a number.”

“Aha, I’ve heard of Stables being given as gifts to the ministry.” Autumn said with a nod and smile. “So, you and I, we’re not too different.”

“I look forward to your stories.” Dusk said with a chuckle. “What is your name, by the way.”

“Autumn McIntosh.” She said with a chuckle. “Yours, other then Captain Dusk?”

“Just Dusk, that’s all anyone calls me down here anyway.” he said with a chuckle. “My name seems a parody of the Ministry mare’s so most just ignore it and settle for just that.”

“Parody of the Ministry Mare’s name… assuming you mean Twilight…” Autumn said, rubbing at her chin. “Dusk… Twinkle?... Dusk… Sparkle?...”

“Dusk Shine.” He said with a laugh.

“Two legendary names meeting face to face huh.” Midas said with a chuckle. “Next thing we know you two are going to get together and have secret foals together.”

“Please no, My wife would kill me,” Dusk said with a laugh. “Not to mention what my daughter would think.”

“Yeah, and I find it odd the first thing that your mind jumps to is children” Autumn said with a smirk at Midas. “Hinting at something?”

“Hey, we all have our biological clocks, and they’re going to keep ticking regardless of if you want them to or not.” Midas said with a smirk. “Either way, I was only teasing. Based on rumors that I got about a secret relationship between Twilight and Big McIntosh.”

“We’ve heard those rumors too.” Dusk said with a chuckle. “Though I am not related to Twilight, as far as we know anyway.”

“And while we have suspicion that I am related to Big McIntosh, it’s just that, suspicion and rumor.” Autumn said, shaking her head and laughing.

“Y’know I do it just to rock your boat, right Autumn?” Midas said with a chuckle.

“Oh I know.” Autumn said. “Anyway, back to the matters at hoof?”

“Right, We need to go and fix the link to the front desk so she can help us get up into Twilight’s room.” I said, looking to Dusk.

“What do you want in Twilight’s room?” Dusk asked as he took a seat and finally removed his helmet, letting me see his light gray coat, vibrant blue mane, and Magenta colored eyes. He looked, strangely familiar for some reason.

“There is a Journal that Twilight and her friends kept up there, and we were hired by a family member to recover it and return it to her.” Midas said with a chuckle. “So we need you to let us in so we can fix the link so the front desk will let us up to Twilight’s room.”

“Like I said, I’m sorry but we can’t let you any deeper into the area.” Dusk said with a sigh. “As much as I’d like to help, it’s just too dangerous to let anyone that isn’t Stable-Tec or MAS into the stable.”

“Why?” I asked, giving him a slight smile.

“It’s because there are experiments going on in there that nopony outside of stable-tec and the MAS can see.” Dusk said, giving a shake of his head. “To let you in would be a total violation of everything we stood for down here.”

“Wait, the Ministry is still operating down here?” Autumn said, looking a mixture of confused and surprised.

“Makes sense.” Midas said with a shrug. “Put all your staff in one building with a stable in its basement, also makes the enchantment make sense - if the tower collapsed on the stable it’s likely that it would be crushed under all that unsupported weight.”

“Keeps all your best and brightest minds safe and sound so that everything keeps going without interruption.” Autumn said, slowly nodding her head.

“All, except a few, though one has returned to us.” Dusk said with a chuckle. “It’s sad that Twilight as well as a few other members of the Maripony research facility didn’t make it down here, but we have honored their name and kept working to bring pride to their legacy.”

“Over two hundred years after the bombs fell, the fall of Equestria, and yet somehow the Ministry of Arcane Science keeps going.” Midas said with a smirk. “I knew Twilight was a control freak and planned for everything, but this is a bit in the extreme.”

“What would it take for us to be allowed in.” I asked, sitting and rubbing at the side of my head.

“Well, I think you’re okay, but your friends need to stay out here.” Dusk said with a sigh. “Robots can be controlled and trusted that they aren’t going to sell information if they are told not to.”

I went to argue with him about the robot thing, but i decided it would be a bad idea to make him think I was rebellious or capable of violating any sort of basic robotic laws that he believed I had.

“Well, I can’t do it without Midas.” I said, glancing back at Midas with a slight smile.

“Why is that.” Dusk said crossing his forelegs across his chest.

“Because she is my technician.” I said. “Not to mention she is a certified Stable-Tec technician as well, she even has a pipbuck.”

“Is that so.” Dusk said, looking at Midas.

“Yep, didn’t want to brag or anything.” Midas said with a chuckle, moving her tail to show the pipbuck.

“Fine, you two can enter, the other two need to stay out here.” Dusk said, chuckling as he looked to Alabaster and Autumn. “Guess we’ll have plenty of time to hear each other’s stories.”

Autumn nodded and smiled over to Alabaster, who simply shrugged and sat down with his back against the wall. The stallion that started all this sighing as he got to his hooves, motioning for the both of us to follow.

Many of the rooms in the hallways had blinds drawn over the windows, blocking us from seeing inside. Unsure if it was for security, or if perhaps light sensitive experiments were being carried out within the darkness of the rooms behind. Speeding up and walking beside Dusk, giving him a smile when he looked to me.

“So, What all have you been working with down here?” I asked, to which Dusk looked to me with a lightly confused look. “What? It’s just a little curiosity, that’s all.”

“I get that, just, never seen a robot express it.” Dusk said with a sigh. “Learn things every day, next thing I know I’ll find out that you have fully fledged emotions.”

“Actually, I do.” I said with a chuckle.

“She was designed from the ground up with realism in mind.” Midas said, trying to sound official. “She has simulated emotions, and much about her is designed to mimic and mirror a living pony. So much so that she can even confuse the S.A.T.S. on the Pipbucks, unsure if she is alive or robot.”

“I see.” Dusk said, looking to me. “So, you can think and feel and behave like a living pony, what limitations do you have?”

“I… Honestly don’t know, I guess not many.” I said, taking a moment to think about his question. “I mean, I can survive drops from usually fatal heights, I am stronger than most earth ponies, I am faster than most pegasi, My magic is… rudimentary at most though, so I guess I can’t do everything unicorns can”

“Or Fly.” Midas said with a snicker. “Or need I remind you your run in with gravity recently?”

“Do I even want to know?” Dusk said with a chuckle and shake of his head. “I feel you two are going to drive me nuts at this rate.”

“Well, once the database connection is repaired, we’ll be out of your mane and on our way.” Midas said “Though I am concerned about this other pony, The receptionist upstairs talked about her, and you down here too, saying one returned.”

“Ah, yes.” Dusk said, looking back to Midas. “One of the ponies believed to have been killed in the Maripony detonation has made several appearances recently”

“Oh?” I said, stopping and looking at Dusk. “Did you happen to catch her name?”

“Of course I have, though I don’t see why you’d want it.” Dusk said, looking at me with a quirked brow “Or is this just that curiosity simulation you got going?”

“I’d like to know, that’s all.” I said with a nervous smile. “For posterity’s sake”

“Trixie.” Dusk said in a matter of fact tone. “Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Wait, I read Littlepip’s book, Trixie was a part of the goddess, and was killed, how is she here?” Midas said, looking at Dusk with a perplexed gaze. “I mean, I suppose it is possible that Trixie did what Twilight did, but that’s far fetched, at least, I think so…”

“You’ll have to fill me in on the details later” I said with a chuckle.

“I as well, I have no clue what you’re talking about, who is the goddess?” Dusk said, looking at that dragon with an equally perplexed expression. “What did Twilight do?”

“Long story, will tell you later.” Midas said with a laugh. “Lets get to the database and see what we gotta do to fix it before the receptionist has a hissy or changes her mind.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it, I’m expected back at my quarters for an early dinner. See you Later?” Dusk said, as he started to turn and walk away.

“Oh, for sure.” I said with a smile, Midas however groaned and shook her head, never stopping walking.

We followed the signs on the wall for a while, till we reached a large room filled with row upon row of what looked to be some sort of computer. Walking along the rows it was easy to tell which were working and which weren't. We stopped every now and then to investigate the ones that were dark, finding most of them had been simply switched off.

It all felt, off, like perhaps it was a setup.

“Midas, I don’t like this.” I said, looking around.

“Neither do I, I know a trap when I see one, and trust me, we just walked straight into one.” Midas said with a sigh. “Question is, who, and why.”

“Isn’t it obvious.” A familiar stallion’s voice from behind, turning round to see its the scientist from before. “I wanted to capture our visitor from the Ministry, I felt this kind of ‘malfunction’ would be more than enough to catch her attention.”

“But, why?” I asked.

“Because the Ministry is dead!” He proclaimed. “The ministry died over two hundred years ago, and now somepony is walking around flashing a badge and pretending to be us, an Alicorn at no less. Surely just looking for a way to get her hooves on more IMP or ways to bring back their precious goddess. Well, not on my watch!”

“How do you know that, if you’ve been trapped down here all this time.” Midas said, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Simple, the receptionist and I have a little fling going, I shut off the forcefield, and she comes in and gets her hooves on some tasty commodities.” He said with a smirk. “But now you two have crawled into my trap, and while I suppose I can just reset and wait for her to come back, getting a couple false stable-tec representatives is a good runners up prize.”

“Okay, fine, you caught us, now what are you going to do?” Midas said, “Stop us from leaving? Call in the security to get them to arrest us? You have no proof. Nothing you try and do would stick.”

“Oh, No no, see, another thing my friend up at the front desk taught me.” He said, his horn starting to glow and levitating out a rifle. “Is you do not leave the inept security to do, what a bullet could do much better.”

We both dived for cover, looking at Midas, she seemed calm.

“Look dude, you don’t want to be doing this.” She called out. “Imagine if you shot at us and missed, you could take out generations of data in one shot alone, do you really want to risk that?”

“I’m not going to miss.” He said with a chuckle. “I didn’t always live down here in the stable, I used to be on the surface, but like I said, the receptionist took a liking to me, didn’t want me to leave, so she negotiated for me to get into the stable and stay.”

“I knew that mare wasn’t telling us everything…” I said under my breath, giving a shake of my head before looking back to Midas.

“Okay, you’re not going to miss, what about the blast from the gun, think the security isn’t going to hear it?” Midas said, trying to come up with some way to defuse the situation.

“Enchantments, on both the gun and the room, no sounds come in, no sounds go out.” He said, chuckling. “It’s amazing how loud a server room can get, seems having one in a stable got a bit, unbearable for the occupants.”

“So then what?” Midas said. “You going to kill us, then what are you going to do with the bodies? Can’t just drag them out through the stable, you’ll be found out and kicked out.”

“True…” He said, stopping to think for a moment. “I suppose that was one undersight to my genius plan.”

“So how about you put that rifle down, and we talk about this, alright?”

“I’ll put the rifle down, but we’re not talking about anything.” He said with a sneer to his voice. “I will simply come down there, and hunt you down like the dogs you are.”

“Sounds like a Raider talking.” Midas said, lightly smirking. “Was that who you used to be before you got down here? Some Raider gang member?”

“Warlord is more like it.” He said. Neither of us were willing to look to see if he standing still, but his voice sounded like it was coming closer. “I got tired of all the blood and guts, decided I wanted something more simple, peaceful, serene.”

“So you slept with a ghoul receptionist and convinced her to let you into a stable.” Midas said with a chuckle. “So you picked the easy way out.”

“Easy way, sure, it was easy.” He said. “But not as easy as it will be to take care of you two.”

“What makes you so sure of th-” Midas said before I heard the sound of metal on flesh, I looked over to see her collapsed on the floor, he smirked up at me, he had been levitating around the room, holding himself in his own magic.

“Hello there, Toaster.” He said with a coy smirk. “Get up, come over here, and kill her.”

“No.”

“Get up, and come kill her now.” He said, his smirk turning to a frown.

“No.”

“Okay, You want to play this the hard way.” He said, dropping himself from his magic and picking up the wrench he had used on Midas. “Fine, we can play this the hard way.”

Bringing it down, I heard the sound of metal on metal as the wrench impacted the side of my face. The sound of shattering glass followed next, when I opened my eyes I could see one of my lenses had been shattered.

“You shouldn’t of done that.” I said.

“Oh really, what are you going to do little worthless hunk of junk.” He said, his smirk returning.

“Run.” I said, getting to my hooves, glaring down that smug stallion.

“And why would I do that, you’re unarmed and she’s knocked out cold.” He said with a chuckle.

“Let’s just say, the claims of us being unarmed, were greatly exaggerated.”

“You’re a terrible Liar.” He said, swinging that wrench again, this time I caught it with my leg, He took a second to look at it then back to me, that smirk fading away once more. “What the hell!”

“Run. Now.” I demanded.

“Why would I do that, so what, you blocked one of my shots you’re not going to get so lucky every time.” He said, I could hear fear starting to well up in his voice.

I didn’t speak, I let the sounds of whirring motors and hissing hydraulics do the talking for me, Panels on my back sliding free, and deploying those now all too familiar gatling lasers. As they unfolded I felt, anger welling up inside, clouding my mind, my judgement, I just wanted to see this Stallion dead more than anything.

“What the!” He said, quickly getting to his hooves and staring at me, his horror evident.

“I said RUN!” I shouted, the barrels starting to spool, that green energy turning red as it flowed into the two weapons.

Stumbling backwards his eyes only got wider and wider the faster the barrels spun, as the glow built he turned and started to run. “What in the blazes are you!” He called out as he ran.

“Something you will wish you never had anything to do with.” I said, I could feel the smirk coming across my face as the first bolts let rip, hitting the wall behind him making him freeze and turn back to face me.

I didn’t stop, the bolts just kept coming and soon enough the sound of searing flesh and cries of pain were heard, I kept firing, he wasn’t down yet and I wasn’t done yet. It felt like forever, but it was no more than a couple of moments. His body collapsed on the floor, riddled with multiple burn marks and bleeding wounds, lightly convulsing as I walked over to him.

“M-Mercy.” He said, looking up to me, the fear and pain in his eyes all too real.

I looked down at him, red fading back to green, I felt myself feeling horrible for what I did to him.

“I…” I said, stumbling over my words. “I’m sorry…”

“P-Please… Don’t kill me.” he said between coughs.

“I.. I didn’t mean to… Oh goddesses I am so sorry…” I said, reaching out and gently touching his cheek.

As my hoof gently touched his face, he flinched, and I saw in his eyes for a moment, just what a real monster looked like. Not him, but my reflection. The shattered lense having fallen entirely out in the heat of the moment, guns still deployed.

“J-Just, hold on.” I said, stowing my weapons and getting to my hooves, rushing over to Midas to see how she was doing, digging into her bag and pulling out a healing potion. “Sorry… but somepony else needs this more.”

Rushing back to his side, when I got there, I noticed he had gone limp, and he wasn’t breathing anymore. Starting to panic I tried my hardest to revive him, compressing his chest and doing whatever I could to help him take a breath. Minutes felt like seconds, and I kept going, I kept trying, till I felt a claw on my shoulder.

Looking up I saw Midas, lightly rubbing her head but smiling apologetically down at me.

“It’s okay Sweets, he’s in a better place.” She said softly.

I just stared at her for a second, then down to the body of the stallion, then I simply stood and wrapped my legs around her, burying my face against her scales as I started to cry.

“It’s alright Sweets.” She said, taken by surprise at first, but slowly returning the embrace. “It’s not easy, the first time you have to do that.”

“I didn’t have to! He was running!” I cried out.

Midas stopped for a moment and looked down at me, claw gently moving to the dent at the side of my head. “He hit you?”

I sighed, and softly nodded.

“Maybe, it was a self protection system, maybe it wasn’t your fault.” Midas said, hugging me even tighter.

It didn’t matter to me what it was, what I had done is permanent, a pony is dead because of me. Every now and then I tried to look back at the body, but Midas would gently turn my head back and shield my eyes.

“It’s okay Sweets… It was bound to happen eventually… emotions are a complex thing, and they can make you act crazy when they get the best of you.” She said softly.

“I don’t want them anymore..” I said, sobbing lightly against her scales.

“Sometimes I didn’t want mine anymore either, but they are as much a part of you as everything else, you can’t live without them.”

“But, Mine are just programmed, all I need to do is shut off the program that simulates them…”

“And lose out on your laughter, and happiness, and love, all because you’re afraid of the fear, anger, and pain?” She said, leaning back and smiling down at me. “There is a old tune from the old world, My dad used to sing it to me, said it got passed around a bit.”

“W-what’s that” I said, between sniffles.

“Sometimes you gotta let it rain.” She said softly. “Giving up your happiness because you’re scared of the bad stuff, isn’t the way to go, you gotta let it sometimes, how else are you going to enjoy the rainbow?”

I sighed, and looked up into her eyes, she was right. Giving up on everything good because I am scared of the bad isn’t the way to live life. Looking back to his body once more, Midas again trying to stop me but this time I simply pulled free.

Walking to his side, I gently moved him into a more peaceful position, his eyes still wide open. Sighing as my horn glowed, using my magic to gently shut his eyes, placing a hoof on his chest.

“Life is full of stories, all stories are worth remembering, the good and the bad.” I said, smiling down upon the corpse. “Your story has ended, but it will not be forgotten. You have my word.”

“Sweets…” Midas said, walking up behind me.

Looking up to her, and giving a smile. “Remembrance is one of the most important things. It’s something I was built on, something I was designed to do. I might of been the one to end his story, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be the one to remember his story and help others remember it too.”

“But some stories are meant to be left behind… and not retold.” Midas said with a sigh.

“He surely had a lot of lessons learned in his life.” I said, looking back down his body. “I don’t know what life is like as a Raider, but he decided he wanted something new, something better, something to take pride in, that tells a lot about who and what he was.”

Midas just stood there, silently looking down at him with me. Reaching for his Pipbuck and turning it on, I found logs dating back quite the while, back to when he was a raider, back to when he left his home, Stable 13.

“He was a stable dweller.” I said softly, “A stallion of wisdom and science, pushed to his extremes… he let his emotions get the better of him and gave in to addiction and desire… but he redeemed himself, he wanted to be a part of something bigger, something better, something larger than himself.”

“I guess you’re right.” Midas said with a slight smile. “That old saying still holds some water, surprisingly enough.”

“What? Never judge a book by its cover?” I said with a smile. “I wish this Pipbuck had his full name, it just says Mr. Sparkle.”

“Maybe Midnight will know more, She’s from the Sparkle family out of Stable 13.” Midas said, giving a light shrug.

“Who knows, maybe it was her uncle or something.” I said, smiling up before I got to my hooves and walked over to a nearby panel, pressing the button I called out for Medical and security to the server room.

Some time passed before we heard the door swing open, looking up we saw Dusk’s familiar face, flanked by a mare and a small filly. I smiled a little up at him before I looked to the body of ‘Mr. Sparkle.’

“What happened.” He said, attempting to catch his breath.

“We were attacked by him, apparently he’s been shutting off servers in hopes to lure Trixie down here so he could capture and kill her.” Midas said, with a sigh she shook her head. “We walked right into his trap and he decided we’d be just as good, claimed we weren’t stable-tec representatives and said he’d kill us because a bullet can do your job better than you can.”

“I mean… I can’t say I am surprised.” Dusk said with a sigh. “I was always nervous about letting him in here, he always had more… extremist ideas that clashed with a lot of other ponies.”

“Is that why you were more strict about protocol earlier?” I asked

“Yeah, you only make that kind of mistake once, I nearly lost my rank multiple times because of his antics, though, I have to say it’s a shame this is how it came to an end.” Dusk said, looking down to the corpse.

“What are you going to do with him? I asked.

“Well, same thing we do with all dead, incinerate them.” Dusk said with a frown. “I hate that, I wish we could just bury them and give them a proper grave.”

“Well, I looked through his Pipbuck, he’s from a stable, Stable 13, there are a couple other stable 13 dwellers with the same name he had, maybe they’re related, perhaps they’d like to take custody of the body and handle things in their traditional ways?” Midas said, tapping her chin. “I mean, If you’d like, we have a ship we can transport, free of cost.”

“Right…” Dusk said, looking at us for a couple minutes, I could see it in his eyes that he was contemplating and judging us silently. “Okay… I’ll see if there is any paperwork on the release of a body to the family, you’re promising me that you’ll bring him home.”

“On our lives.” I said with a smile.

“Alright…” Dusk said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “Honestly, I don’t like any of this, but I feel like I have to ask you some questions, make sure everything adds up.”

“We have nothing to hide.” Midas said, giving that Stallion a glare. “I explained to you what he said, what he was going to do, we did it in self defense.”

“I can’t exactly ask him now can I!” Dusk yelled, spinning round to face us. “He’s dead, I have two strangers with the body, one of them even openly admitted to searching his corpse before calling for Security.”

“Look at the dent on Sweetie! The broken lens!” Midas said pointing at me.

“You could of done that to cover your backsides.” Dusk said.

“Oh yes, because I am totally strong enough to dent metal that fell several stories and smacked the ground without much of a scratch.” Midas said with a roll of her eyes.

“Excuse me. But I do keep a short term recording…” I said, with a sigh. “Though I am afraid it might incriminate me more.”

“What do you mean?” Dusk said, looking at me curiously.

“Short term memory, basically..” I said. “I automatically record everything and keep it in a short term buffer.”

“And what about the incriminating part.”

“He attacked us… But, I attacked back, I told him to run, and he was running… and I opened fire on him.” I said with a sigh. “I murdered him in cold blood.”

“Robots don’t have blood.” Dusk said with a sigh. “Well, that simplifies the matter, if you can produce the evidence, it means you two are free to go.”

“But!” I said, jumping to my hooves.

“But what?” He said. “Robots are bound by their programming, and if you are the one that did this, then it is excusable, you acted on programming, not malcontent.”

It felt like hours later, I had followed Dusk to the security room, leaving Midas to go back and join Alabaster and Autumn at the entrance. Sitting in a room alone, having my head plugged into the wall. It felt, so wrong on multiple levels.

Eventually, Dusk came back in. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks were wet, I looked at him and gently reached out. “What’s wrong?”

“Despite his assaulting you, despite his intent on murder, you still tried everything you could to save his life.” Dusk said softly. Slumping down into the chair opposite of mine.

“You didn’t take anything, you didn’t steal anything, you just wanted to know more about him, so you could tell others his story.” Dusk continued. “That’s, honorable, and very heart warming Sweetie.”

“Just doing what my father built me to do.” I said with a weak smile.

“You’re still free to go, but, I wanted to thank you, you did everything you could to right the wrong in your mind. But he was to blame.” Dusk said, leaning over and looking at me. “You did what you did in self defense, you went out of your way to try and save his life, no one asked you to, no one expected you to, if you walked up and crushed his head in there is nothing I could of done to convict you, you killed because you were threatened.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” I said, looking at him more curiously. “I murdered a pony, self defense or not, I did it in anger.”

“But…” Dusk said, shaking his head.

“But nothing Dusk, nothing is going to take away the emptiness I feel, nothing is going to take away the sadness and self loathing of watching as something I did ended another.” I said, scowling slightly. “Don’t try to soften it, don’t try and candy coat it to make it a little easier to go down. I killed, and maybe Midas is right, maybe I’ll have to kill again, maybe that’s just the way of the wasteland.”

“But it doesn’t mean it has to cost you who you are.” Dusk said softly. “Your a kind hearted pony, or robot, or whatever you are. You have only the best in your mind when you come into something, and when pushed you are capable of breaking just like everyone else.”

I just sat there, staring at him for a moment, trying to process what he said.

“What do you mean.” I eventually said, still confused.

“Sweetie, you tried to bring back a dead pony, for over half an hour.” He said softly. Looking up at me with a smile. “You may of been the one that killed them, but you still tried to save a life, and when you couldn’t, you saved something almost as important, his life story.”

“How does that make it any better?” I asked.

“Because Sweetie, The wasteland gets into you, changes your heart and turns you into a monster.” Dusk said. “I spent many nights with him, trying to help him through his demons, and it seems like in the end, you can take a wastelander out of the wasteland, but you can’t take the wasteland out of the wastelander. It was bound to come down to this, if not you then it would of been Ms. Lulamoon.”

“I see…” I said, looking down at my hooves.

“We turned the servers back on.” Dusk continued, taking a deep breath and lifting up a old leather bag with gold trimming. Placing it on the table and sliding it across to me. “And we got you your book. You’re free to go.”

“I stared for a moment, at the bag and then to him. Taking a moment to lift the flap and looking inside I could see a purple bound book with gold trim, pulling it out on the top there was a large golden hoofprint, with a six pointed star in the center and five smaller different colored gems on the hoofprint itself.

“Thank you, Dusk.” I said, putting the book back in the bag and smiling at him.

“One last thing, we found this in the room as well.” He said, placing a piece of folded paper down on the table and sliding it to me. “It was addressed to a Ms. Sweetie, I don’t know if it’s for you or for somepony who hasn’t been around in a very long time, but it felt right to give it to you.”

“I see, thank you again.” I said, slipping out of the chair and standing, taking a moment to unplug myself from the wall, shuttering as the lines fell free before I picked up and put the bag on my back.

“Will you be coming back?” Dusk said with a little smile. “I put you and your friends into the shield, you guys can come and go as you please.”

I stopped and looked at him for a moment. “Why?” I asked.

“Because I wanted to, I felt it was right.” He said, sitting up, his smile growing more bold. “I might have to answer to the headmare about this, but I think she’ll agree with my reasoning.”

“Headmare? Don’t you mean Overmare?” I said with a little chuckle.

“Remember? This was made by stable-tec, not owned or operated by it, and here in the Ministry, we do things differently.” He said with a smile. “Not to mention I looked in that book of yours, and found a few clues to who I am.”

“Oh?” I said, looking at him.

“It was a running gag that I was Twilight’s descendant, that she had another secret foal with another pony, turns out, rumors are wrong.” He said, stepping up, looking prouder than ever. “I’m the descendant of her older brother, Shining Armor.”

“Glad you have some answers.” I said with a smile.

“And I hope you can find some of yours.” Dusk said, which caused me to look at him even more confused. “What? I talked with Midas and she told me what you’re after.”

“Okay, anything else you did while I was in here plugged into the wall like some worthless appliance?” I said with a groan.

“Nope, that pretty much covers it” He said with a smile before he walked to the door and swung it open. “Take care Sweetie, and make sure you stay who you are, and trust the magic in that little robotic heart of yours. The wasteland can be cruel, but if your choice of friends is any evidence, you’ll be alright.”

I stopped and smiled at him for a moment before nodding and walking out that door to rejoin my friends. I couldn’t help but take a moment to think about how much of a crazy roller coaster it has been. How things are happening so fast that it’s hard to just keep your head above water, but I think Dusk is right, I think everything is going to be alright in the end.

Or, at least I hope.