"Oh, what a power is motherhood, possessing a potent spell. Love, light, blessings." -Euripides
I was so tired. I swore as soon as this war was over, I was going to sleep for two months.
When I awoke, I was lying on my side. It took a few seconds to open my eyes, since the lights in Moondancer's lab were so bright. I noticed I was on one of her tables. Redd sat next to me, but faced the others. They were gathered around my mother, who no longer wore the helmet or the oxygen mask. She was still unconscious.
"Redd?" I called, weakly.
He quickly put his nose to mine, affectionately. "Sia."
I returned the gesture, slowly lifting my head. "What happened?"
"We don't know. The necklace had attached itself to Hope, then your eyes went all white, and you stayed like that for an hour." He said. Then, he whispered. "How are you feeling? Do you think we should ask Moondancer to check the foal?"
I shook my head. "I'm just super nauseous. I think it's okay." I smiled, sweetly.
"Do you want a trash can? A pillow? Some water?" He looked me over.
"I'm fine, Redd." I chuckled, putting a hoof on the side of his face. "I promise we are okay."
He grinned. "You scared me. Just take it easy. Don't-"
I climbed off the table, wobbling a bit from the dizziness.
"-get up too quickly." He finished with a sigh. Supporting my side, he walked me towards the others.
"Sia, welcome back!" Violet grabbed my cheeks, smooshing them. "I guess Prince Charming's kiss awakened you, after all."
I blushed earning looks from the others.
"How is my mother?" I looked to Fleece.
She smiled. "I don't know what happened with that necklace, but it saved her life. It kept her stable long enough for the memories to implant back into her brain." She pointed to eleven, black orbs. They sat on the table next to her, the magic no longer inside of them.
My tense shoulders calmed. Thank you, Rarity.
Gale began to stir. I stood next to her, hoping she would really be on our side. She propped herself onto her elbows, rubbing her head. "Where... am I?"
I swallowed, nervously. That's not good.
She looked around, then her eyes settled on me. She looked at me, puzzled, but at least there was recognition etched onto her features.
"Mom?" I said.
She slowly got to her hooves, still staring at me.
"Do you... know who I am?"
She nodded. "I... I can never forget my Marshmallow."
Tears filled my eyes as I smiled. The tension in the room evacuated, quickly.
"Marshmallow." Pepper repeated, snickering.
I didn't even care. I was happy to have my mom back with me. I hugged her, tightly. She rubbed my back.
"So, does this mean you're on our side, now?" Violet asked.
Mom pulled away, addressing the green pegasus. "I suppose so. I still hate the Enclave and wish to see its destruction, but... for now, maybe I will try a different approach." She held my wing in hers. "As a family."
My face was stretched as far as it would go with my smile.
"So you remember everything?" Nico questioned. "What can you tell us about Blight?"
An urgent look suddenly took over her. "Blight. She plans to take The Beacon."
My heart dropped. The Beacon?
"When?" I asked.
"It was supposed to be only a couple of days, but she's since learned of an armory in Shattered Hoof. She'll be going there, first. I'm afraid she will be hard to defeat. Those machines. They're unlike anything I've ever seen. I shouldn't have handed them over, but... I had to get your body back before she destroyed it."
"What do you mean destroyed it?" Redd asked.
Mom continued. "Blight can't survive in a flesh and blood body. She has to be in something that can withstand her power. And as long as she has the rainbow pearls, she can conform the harvesters into any form."
"Great." Pepper said. "So doom-tractor is an understatement."
"Were there any guides or plans for the tractors? Anything that can give us a weak spot?" I asked.
Mom shook her head. "She destroyed them."
"Damn it. There has to be a way to beat her. We have a rocket launcher on hoof, but I don't want to waste anything if it's not going to work." I stomped.
"You may be able to slow down her weapons, but it won't completely destroy her." She said.
I rubbed my chest. It was as good as we were gonna get.
"The only thing we can do is fight and pray to Luna we can come up with something better." Fleece said. "I have faith in you all. If anypony can win this, it's you."
My chest and neck began to tense, again. That wasn't enough. I needed a plan. I had to have a plan! If this didn't go our way, I'd be risking a lot of lives. My baby's included. I began to hyperventilate, trying to keep it to myself. Redd noticed, though. He wrapped his wing around me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Everything will be okay." He whispered.
I nodded, then looked at Moondancer. "Please tell me you have an estimated time when she will be here."
Her eyes lit up. "Calculating the distance to the closest armory in Shattered Hoof and back comes out to two and a half days. That is not adding the variable of time it would take for her to gather her weapons. It's already been almost a day, so I'd say one and a half at least, give or take a few hours."
"Oookay." Violet said. "Do you want to go let the troops know?"
"You're faster than I am. I think you should be in charge of that." I told her. "Tell Gladys to get The Fucker ready."
She saluted and zoomed out the door.
"I'm gonna go check on the defenses for Floater. Something tells me they're gonna need all the guns they can get." As I headed back towards the tunnel, a sudden dizzy spell hit me, making me sway on my hooves.
True to his promises, Redd rushed to my side. I waved him off, shaking the dizziness away.
Fleece walked beside us. "You need to rest. You flew all night and walked half of the day. I will take care of security."
"But, what can I do? I'm tired of feeling useless."
"You're not useless, but if you don't rest your body, you'll be paying for it later." She said, sternly. "Tomorrow, you should be up and ready to get things done."
I sullenly let out a breath.
"She's right, Sia. Come on, we'll get you a room at the hotel." Redd told me.
I followed behind him, reluctantly. "What about-"
"No." He told me. "You are going to sleep."
I grunted through my teeth. "Fine, but I am not going to sleep peacefully."
In a way, I was glad to be a little selfish. If I were to walk farther than the hotel, I would have collapsed. My legs shook with each step, but I didn't dare say anything to anyone. I was only a few weeks along, too. I dreaded the symptoms that accompanied a giant, swollen belly. My chest began to feel tight as I thought about it. How many mares died giving birth in this place? Was I trying to do more than I should? I breathed slowly, trying not to think about it. I'd just have to keep telling myself that everything was going to be okay. Besides, giving birth wasn't supposed to be scarier than fighting Blight's killing machine.
Then, why is bringing life into the world the scariest thing I can think of, right now?!
"Sienna!" My mom's voice carried over the ponies walking in the street. She flew behind Redd and me, trying to catch up.
I stopped and waited. "Mom?"
"Sienna, do you think I could talk to you?" She asked, nervously. This was definitely not the confident, belligerent pony I had previously known as Hope.
Redd narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust her. I wouldn't object to his distrust, either.
Mom looked away from him. "It won't take but a few moments."
He nodded to me. "I'll go ahead and get your room."
When he was across the way, the yellow pegasus chuckled, lightly. "Lightning's boy certainly has a fondness for you."
"I'd hope so." I told her. "We're sort of... together."
She brightened. "I'm happy for you, both."
"You... didn't come to talk about my relationships, did you?"
Mom sighed, hanging her head. "No. I... I want to say I'm sorry." Before I could say anything, she stopped me. "This is something I wanted to say, but not in front of the others. I know they will probably never trust me. You probably don't trust me. If they decide that I should be exiled, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am. I have done so much. I don't deserve a second chance from you. When you were a filly, I left you. You saw the memory." She clenched her jaw as her eyes watered. "But then, you found your way down to this wasteland. I saw you. When you were being carried to this town by that unicorn, I knew. I knew in my heart that it was you."
"But, why didn't you come to me? Why did you kidnap me and... use me?" I glared at the dirt under me. "I really needed you."
She shook her head. "I-I'm so sorry, Marshmallow. I wanted to go to you. I wanted to hold you and tell you how much I missed you." She covered her eyes with her wings. "The coven. If they had known you were of my flesh and blood, they would have doubted my leadership. I was afraid that... If they didn't trust me, they would have killed me and you, both. This was the only way I could guarantee no harm would come to you by them."
"The chloroform. I almost died..." My chest burned. That was a memory I hoped to never relive.
"I had no idea. Please, believe me. When I learned what Chem Trail had done..." Her angry growl definitely gave away the rest of that statement. "She won't hurt anypony, ever again."
I swallowed. "Did you-"
"Never mind that." She changed her tone. "Everything that's happened to you... My heart had never ached as much as it has been. I know that's why I was so set on finding those pearls. If I could just rid the world of the bastards who hurt you. The ones who betrayed you. Blight sought to destroy them, too. It's why I thought joining her would only get me closer to that goal."
I held back my own sobs.
"When I was inside my own memories, I had realized something: I was the one who betrayed you, first. I... I should have just kept my muzzle shut in front of the council. There could have been another way, but... I just- I..." She finally broke down. "I put this wretched world above my baby."
I sniffed. "Please, don't..."
"Let me have this guilt. Let me suffer under this heavy burden, Sienna. Don't tell me you forgive me. At least, for now, just let me suffer. I deserve it after all of this." The yellow and gray strands of her mane fell into her eyes.
That statement was so similar to how I constantly felt. I wanted to feel guilt for a lot of things, too. It ate me up on the inside, but oftentimes I would just ignore it. I would go on with life like the guilt was just another tingly sensation or a small ache in my heart. I didn't even see it as a real emotion because I tried so hard to make it a figment of my imagination that it just wasn't real to me. Yet, right in front of me, I was seeing a fragment of that very emotion.
"I don't deserve to be called a mother." The mare all but sunk into her hooves. Her inner torment made me sympathize with her.
My wings fidgeted. Did I forgive her? There was so much I wanted to say. So much I wanted to feel, but was any of it true forgiveness?
Mom...
"Gale?" My stomach dropped at my dad's voice. He wasn't supposed to see her, yet!
I am so done trying to keep any secrets.
Mom looked passed me, her eyes already wide.
Redd landed next to me. "I tried to stop him, I swear!"
"Thunder?" Mom stepped t forward.
The busy ponies around us glanced our way as they walked. Mom and Dad were either filled with joy or awkwardness. They watched each other like they were waiting for somepony to make a move. The latter finally walked towards us, not blinking. My tongue fought to break the silence, but I also wanted to see how this would play out. Would Dad be angry? Would Mom run away from him? I eased my eyes to Redd, who seemed to have the same thoughts as I did.
"I-I can't believe it..." Dad said, breathlessly.
Mom hung her head, tears falling into the dirt. "You probably don't want to see me. I... I-I'm so sorry, Thunder Cloud."
Before she could say anything else, he grabbed her as fast as he could and held her. He was already crying. "Oh, my goddesses. I missed you. I missed you, so much! I was so scared something had happened to you. Please, know that I never stopped loving you. I still love you, sweetheart."
Her shocked expression took a while to turn to relief. Both of them had tears falling by the time a few minutes went by. I wiped my own eyes and nudged Redd. "Come on. Let's give them some space."
Truth be told, I wanted to join the embrace. I was so happy to have both of my parents here and alive. Unfortunately, I would have to wait for my foalhood wish. I wanted them to sort out their own dealings. We headed inside, giving them what them what they, so desperately, needed. In The Beacon, ponies were still doing what they always did: Gambled and drank. It was too early to do that, but hey, who was I to judge?
"Redd, I'm going to get a Sparkle Cola from the bar." I told him. "I know I'm supposed to 'rest' but, my throat's kind of dry."
"Okay, but you can't keep putting it off." He nickered.
Both of us took a seat at the very end of the long counter. My hoof tapped the counter to get the attention of the bartender. Just as she stopped in front of me, an earth pony with security armor hurriedly got my attention. "Are you Fear Fighter?"
I sighed. "Seriously? The name is Sienna, but yes. That is me."
"I need you to come with me. Fast." His gruff voice urged.
"What for?" Redd erected his ears.
"There are raiders outside the city. They have some kind of catapult and a massive amount of spark grenades." He said. "We need you!"
Spark grenades?
"Get ole' Sparky! These birds are gonna get cooked!"
My head started pounding as I grabbed at it.
"Raptor 27, this is Lieutenant Sienna. Do you copy?"
I heard the echo of a loud electrical buzz.
"Wick! Chaser!"
I gasped, almost falling off the stool. "No! No, no, no!"
"What is it?" Redd held my foreleg.
I breathed quickly, dragging Redd to my level. "Go get the others!"
"You can't possibly be thinking what I think you're thinking." He furrowed his brow.
"Now! Redd, please!" I teared up.
He swore, obeying my orders and zooming out the entrance.
I looked back at the security buck. "Show me."
Outside, the town residents ran into their houses or held their weapons in front of them. I was led behind the giant building, where a couple of security were already standing. One of them held binoculars, looking into the distance. Gladys was there, too. Her eyes focused on the small specks on the horizon.
"How many are there?" I asked the griffon.
"Four-eyes, over here, counted about thirty. I say there's forty." She said. She wasn't joking.
"Damn it." I felt for Bob. It was in my holster, still.
"'Damn it' is right. They got a spark bomb, too." The griffon clicked her beak, warily.
Images of the Typhoon on the ground flooded my mind, threatening to force my hooves to run. I shook away the incoming migraine. If they launched that into the town, a lot of ponies would get electrocuted. I flapped my wings, pacing in the air. "Fuck! Not now! Why now?!"
"We can always use The Fucker." Gladys shrugged.
"No. I'd rather save that for Blight. Bullets will kill these raiders, but we have to get to them before they can get to the town." I said.
She pulled out twin revolvers and smirked. "What are we waiting for, then?"
"I-I don't want anyone to die! We already have so much going on and now this?! Fuck!!" I grit my teeth, not even anxious anymore. Now, I was just pissed off.
"We volunteered for this, Fear Fighter." One of the security ponies said.
Gladys rolled her eyes. "I live for these fights. What are your orders, fearful one?"
I looked around at the small group of ponies and the griffon. We couldn't wait for the others. By the time they got there, the raiders would have launched the spark bomb.
"Ugh! Let's get this over with!" I yelled through anger.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" She squawked, whistling for the unseen griffons overhead. I zoomed after them, pistol ready to shoot. The three security ponies ran behind me.
"If it gets too dangerous, fall back!" I barked.
Ignored, I rolled my eyes and flapped harder so I could keep up with the large creatures. My heart pounded, already. That nap would just have to wait. I was a extremely nervous, too. I swallowed, mentally apologizing to Redd. He would be furious that I charged into battle like this. I didn't blame him, but what was he expecting I do when Blight came along? Sit and watch? This was my fight to begin with and I wasn't about to let anyone else die for me. A panic attack threatened to crawl through my body.
When we were close to them, I stopped and hovered above our group to get a better look. There were a little over three dozen of the crazy ponies coming our way. I squinted getting a good look at the giant, ancient catapult and the giant ball of silver ready to be launched. It was a massive group of spark grenades crudely taped and stuck together. It was ridiculous-looking, like it shouldn't even work. I wasn't going to doubt that it did, though. I knew it worked. I knew it was deadly.
"Alright, we need to focus on not letting them hit the switch on that thing. Gladys, how many of your griffons have sniper rifles?"
She counted from the five behind her. "Three of them."
I nodded. "Have them stay back from a distance and pick off any who get near the catapult."
"You guys hear that?" She barked at them. They saluted, holding long, sniper rifles in their talons.
"You, the rest of the griffons, guards, and I can try to get what we can from the outside. Try to stay as far away from them as possible unless absolutely necessary." I instructed the others. I inhaled. I exhaled. "Do. Not. Die!"
Once Gladys had her snipers set, the rest of us got a little closer to the raiders before we started firing rounds. That's when all hell broke loose. Gunshots rained from every direction. It took a lot of energy to dodge. I was barely able to keep in the air. A group of four came after me, half of them wielding bats. I stayed well above them as they swung. The other half had a pistol and a hunting rifle. I held the Pipbuck in front of my stomach, to prevent any shot from getting through. Bob lit up as I fired a beam at the one with the rifle. Her hoof caught the shot, then it began to burn. She screamed, but still kept her focus on me. Three more shots rang out as they buzzed passed my ear and shoulder. Another beam and she was turned to ash. I bit down, aiming for the one with the pistol. She held up a rusty piece of metal to shield herself.
Crap.
Her pistol spit bullet after bullet as I zig-zagged out of the way. My wings were throbbing from fatigue. I had to land. I backed away from them, far enough where I could take a few seconds to catch my breath. They charged after me. Dodging, I took the opening and zapped one that was holding a bat.
"Fear Fighter, watch out!" The security pony warned.
The pistol raider shot at me as the other batter swung the rusty nails at me. It almost made contact with my skull, but I was able to get out of the way.
"Copper Pot! No!" Another voice shouted. I turned for a split second to see one of the security guards lying in a pool of blood.
No...
"Damn it! I told you to fall back if it was too much!" I yelled.
I whipped around to shoot again, but got a face full of hoof. I was knocked off my hooves, sliding on my back. The unicorn with the bat smiled, horribly and shrieked. "You are a baaaaad pony!" She swung the piece of wood with nails at the same time that I held up my naked foreleg. Hot, stinging pain rolled through my entire leg. I hissed, instantly feeling like I would pass out. I felt a tug as she tried to remove the bat. It was stuck in my leg!
"Hey! Give me that!" She snarled.
I reached for the knife that Tonno Weights had given me. Flicking it open, I slashed the blade across her face, cutting her cheek and snout. The gray unicorn mare wiped the blood trickling around her jaw and bared her teeth. I swallowed, as she lifted the bat with her magic, snatching it out of my hide with a nasty sound. It took a lot of precision, but once she let the bat fall, time suddenly slowed to a crawling pace.
"What the-?" I said.
I could suddenly see her body parts and a percentage of some sorts. I panicked as I shook the image away. What the hell was that? It was like I had went into a trance! Too bad I didn't dodge in time. The weapon dug into my shoulder. It hurt. A lot. Blood poured down my armor. I couldn't tell how deep the wound was. The bat was stuck again, though. I took the opportunity and jammed the knife into her throat. As she gurgled, I quickly snatched the knife and looked away.
"Sorry." I whispered.
Ignoring her deadly struggle, I bit down on Bob, shooting the crude pistol out of the other mare's mouth. Another zap later, and she was turned to ashes, too. I didn't waste any time flapping my wings and getting to the air. My blood dripped down my foreleg and onto the dirt, below. I was going to have to bite the bullet and deal with it.
"Damn, Sienna. Maybe you should head back." Gladys said, soaring over me. Her pistols fired into a crowd of nine raiders.
"No..." I grunted. "This is... -nngh- my fight."
She shook her head, but kept firing.
The numbers were diminishing, thankfully. It went from forty, then thirty-four. Then twenty-eight and now, there were nineteen. I didn't bother to aim my pistol, anymore. I just aimed and shot where I thought there were raiders. Two down. Four down. Ten... and a half? I didn't know anymore. The land became an ocean as it began to roll like waves. I needed to get to the ground.
With a few more uncoordinated shots and a throw of my knife, later, I finally landed. Hard. My legs gave out. I was losing blood. I picked my knife up off the ground. Did I even hit anyone with it?
An explosion thundered around me. A cloud of dust rolled through all of us. Gun shots stilled for a small minute, but resumed in slower succession. I dizzily twisted my head towards the source. Dirt stung my eyes. I tried not to wipe them, instead letting tears wash way the debris.
"Blast! Blast!" I heard Gladys' scream from somewhere. Her mournful roar echoed in my head. Rapid fire rained into the remaining raiders, only managing to hit some of them. "You fucking bastards!"
I watched Gladys stand over her fallen companion.
Blast? She's...
The familiar, sweet sound of energy rifles almost deafened me. I shakily stood on all fours, aiming my pistol again. I bit down but was rewarded with a hiss of a burned out cartridge. "Damn it!"
The cavalry had arrived.
Violet, Pepper, Redd, and Nico charged towards the dwindling army. Nico stood in front of me, picking them off with his rifle. Violet struck raider after raider in her lightening-like attacks. Her sword slashed through them like old meat. Redd annihilated a large number of them, zapping them like bugs.
"Drink, now!" Pepper forced me to look at her and all but threw a healing potion to me. I wasted no time chugging the nasty thing.
"What were you thinking?!" Nico yelled at me.
I threw the empty glass on the ground.
"Why didn't you wait for us?" Pepper asked, less angry than him.
I took slow breaths, letting the potion do its work. "I-I'm sorry! I couldn't let them do to Floater what they did to Chaser and Wick!" I argued.
"Violet, your right!" Redd yelled.
I watched the ninja pony decapitate an axe-wielding stallion. True badass.
My ears swiveled to hooves pounding behind us. I flapped my wings and barreled into two raiders that were coming up behind us. One of them caught my hoof in their throat and the other had the misfortune of getting my knife in their eye.
"Sia, stop!" Violet called to me. "Let us handle it!"
Three more. Two charging and shooting at Violet and Redd. One was coming towards me. I flapped hard, my heart nearly beating at the speed of light. My back hoof impacted her jaw, sending her flying back. She slid across the dirt, leaving a trail. I knew she wasn't dead, but she would definitely be knocked out for some time.
"Or not..." My best friend muttered after she zoomed over to me.
The battle ended so fast. I looked out into the sea of dead raiders. They were drowned in a lake of blood. Seeing them didn't bring me relief. I was sad. No, I was angry. These were ponies. Someone's sons or daughters. Someone's sisters or brothers. They may have even been parents. I grabbed my aching chest, holding back tears to the point where my face had reddened.
"Why?!" I screamed at the bodies, as if they'd answer. "Why did you do this?!" I stomped my hooves, demanding an answer.
Why...
I was nauseous. I broke down sobbing. "Why? I hate this fucking wasteland! I hate Equestria!" I was so dizzy I couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or blood loss.
Violet rested her hoof on my shoulder blades. I turned and fell into her, crying. "Why? Violet, why do they do this? Why?" She rubbed my back, shushing me. My tears flowed so much. I meant every word. My brain scrapped and scraped for an answer, only to be disappointed by the lack thereof. I didn't understand any of it. So many had to die. So many who were just trying to survive. The emotion was overwhelming. I didn't even feel anger towards the raiders or slavers. I no longer felt hate for Hope's coven. I felt pity. They didn't know any better. What if they could have gotten help? What if somepony had just reached out to them? Maybe, just maybe...
"That's enough." Nico pulled me away from Violet. He held my shoulders, searching me. "Stop this, now."
I was so shocked I couldn't even continue my pity party.
Pepper sighed. "Nico, please-"
"No." He said, not looking away from me. "She needs to hear this." He gripped my shoulders tighter. "It's time you stop feeling sorry for everyone who chooses this life. And yes, I do mean choose this life."
"But they don't-"
"Yes they do!" He slammed his hoof into the dirt. "You are doing nothing but making excuses for this type of shit. I was raised in this same wasteland. I witnessed some fucked up shit in my life. As a colt, I lost a lot and I did make some bad decisions. You know what, though? None of those decisions brought me to kill an innocent pony. I never thought about being a raider or slaver. Don't you think they had a choice? Look at you! Take one fucking look at yourself, Sia! Look at Redd and look at Violet!" He gestured to each of us. "The Enclave is notorious. They wouldn't hesitate to exterminate us groundwalkers. But look at how you three have turned out. Did Violet come here to kill? She escaped the Enclave. You and Redd may have been sent here, but even then, you hesitated on your duties just because you saw us as ponies. It may have taken time, but you still wouldn't have killed, outright. Those raiders don't think twice about blowing our brains out! Their enjoyment is the huge difference between a normal pony and savage!"
I stared at him. "I..."
"Do you see, now?" He glared at me, hatefully. The resentment oozed from his words. "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself for defending a fucking town! You saved lives, you didn't end any! Those lives you thought you ended were over, anyway! They were about to kill hundreds! Stop! Just stop putting yourself in such a terrible place because you feel bad! That makes you selfish! You pity these evil beings, but does it make you any better than them?"
The buzz pierced my ears. Redd put his wing between Nico and me. "Shut your damn mouth."
The tan unicorn glanced at him with that cold gaze.
Nico looked back at me, drilling me with his stare. I saw anger. I saw his hatred, but I knew it wasn't directed towards me. I wanted to explain myself. To tell him what I had told my mother: There was another way. Would he have even listened? I looked over at the others. Violet glared at him, but said nothing. Pepper watched the dust beneath her hooves. She wouldn't object to him.
I put my wing around Redd, resting my body against him. "Let's go. I'm tired."
His rifles died down. Redd's fiery eyes were still blazoned. "Alright."
As we started to walk away, I didn't look behind. Was I wrong? Did it really not matter?
Level Up!
S- 5 (+1)
P- 6
E- 7
C- 4
I- 5
A- 4
L- 5
New Perk
Punch Out! - You do 10% more melee damage.