Pip and Tia: Moral Core
By Numbername
They tracked through the marsh with heads held low, keeping watchful eyes on the trees. Armed ponies stood to every side with battle saddles ready for the common trouble in the Wasteland. twelve caravans and dozens of hardy folk and mercs who were no strangers to this type of trip.
Leading them was a dark stallion in a duster and Cowpony hat, whose one good eye scanned the marsh from side to side. He grunted then raised his hoof into the air making the entire caravan stop, he made a circular motion that every pony understood. Without hesitation every pony started falling into place, the carts forcibly pulled through the mud into a circular wall that shielded its occupants, and ponies took up firing positions behind the wood and sheets of the carts.
From the center, the hardened leader just waited for the slightest signs of movement to strike. Minutes went by, and no pony moved or talked, the sounds of crickets being the only words spoken.
Slight brushes to the east promoted a hailstorm of fire that turned the marsh into a smoky haze. Trees broken leaves burned, and the entire marsh became a band of gunfire. But all fell silent when the leader gave a loud whistle.
A tree fell to the murky marsh, its base torn to shreds. The leader signaled to an orange mare merc to scout out the brush, she nodded and slowly trotted into the smoking marsh. The defenders held ready, no pony going an inch from their angle patiently waiting for the moment of action, when the orange mare returned signaling the all clear the defenders let out a sigh of relief. That relaxation ended when a pony’s head exploded.
Within seconds chaos filled the circle as ponies started dropping into the mud from quick shots from all sides. Ponies tried to find cover, others tried to fire back, but the mercs patiently waited for something. Looking around at their panicking comrades they gave their fellow mercs a nod before turning their weapons on their allies.
It was a bloodbath of betrayal as merc tore caravaneers apart with rifles and pistols in a stampede of gore. The leader of his part tried to flee but he was shot through the neck by the twin battle saddle of the orange mare's carbines.
The cleanup was a quick fair the mercs suffering no losses, they began pillaging the dead when from the trees of the marsh came griffins abord in black combat armor wielding sniper rifles with the symbol of a talon on their chest. The oldest and grittiest of their flock landed next to the orange mare where both nodded to each other in respect, their raid going off without a hit.
With the caravaneers dead their slayers set about taking the contents of their trade, opening the sheets of the carts to bond and chained ponies. Slaves, almost a hundred, the young to the old, the mares to the stallions, all kept chained to each other and kept in horrid conditions.
The slaves greeted their new masters with the same fear and shock as their former, only to have their expectations shattered when the mercs began using the slaver's keys to unchain the bounded ponies. The slaves were confused, they did not know how to respond as the mercs led them from their cages.
An elderly mare who was worn by the treatment of the slavers but still carried confidence in her walk approached the Orange mare and battle-worn Griffin. She bowed her head in praise of the two. “Thank you, we owe you everything. Thank the Lightbringer for you.”
The two mercenaries seemed out of their element for getting this kind of praise but that didn’t stop the faint hit of smiles at the appreciation. The orange mare approach the elder, placing a hoof on the bowing mare and giving her a warm smile. “Just friendly neighborhood Talons and Spiked Horns helping out miss.”
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Little Pip watched as the mercenaries gave comfort and aid to the free slaves, a little surprised yet relieved that she didn’t have to bring down the wrath of the skies upon them. She let out a breath she was holding and then closed the window into the world below.
“Another rescue?” Pip turned to see the towering beautiful white alicorn standing behind her with a questioning look.
“Third time this month. At this rate we’ll be out of the job Tia, our only duty being weather control.”
“That’s great to me, means more time for Space Mares.” Celestia joked as several more screens right next to her showed various places across the Equestrian Wasteland. “Not even the only one today, heard reports of several slaver caravans being hit, even an encampment.”
“By Celestia.” Pip blushed when the Alicorn looked over at her. “Sorry, eh this been happening a lot lately.” For almost a year slavery had gone from a high-paying trade to a very deadly business thanks in large parts to the overwhelming efforts of almost any pony Pip could think of, mercenaries, townfolk, factions or groups, hell even Raiders were getting in on not just killing slavers but freeing slaves it was amazing. “Guess any pony and person just decided they had enough with them.”
“Or.” Celestia looked down at Pip with a smirk. “They're taking after you.”
Pip nayed at that. “I know I inspired a lot of ponies during my adventure but this is next level, Tia. It’s like the entire Wasteland has turned against slavers. Like literally plotting to stop them”
Celestia giggled and motioned Pip to the screens she opened. On them was footage of Slaver caravans being hit by lightning, their encampments being hailed on, and raids being stopped by blizzards.
“I think a certain little mare’s judgments have left quite an impression on the Equestrian Wasteland. The raining snakes onto that one guild of slavers probably has everyone calling you an angry goddess”
“I think I might have gone a bit far in a few cases.” Pip blushed at the idea that she and Celesia may be in the same boat as some ponies. It felt wrong to her, she wasn’t a Princess just a mare who did what was right.
“Don’t feel too overwhelmed by it Pip, just the natural state of what you’ve become.” Pip looked at her Alicorn friend with a bit of bewilderment. “You’ve become more than just a role model. You're becoming a Moral Core of Wasteland society.”
Now Pip was completely lost. “A Moral Core?”
“Yes, you see society builds itself around fundamental ideas Pip. These ideas are economic, social, governmental, religious, and moral. What thing you buy and sell or produce and trade how creatures in a society conduct themselves in between each other, how your lands are ruled, what the creatures of the land believe in, and what they think is right and wrong.
The void in which the two stood transformed into a vibrant colorful kingdom, towns dotted the landscape with a mountain standing in the middle. Atop that mountain was a castle-like structure, the former capital of Equestria before the bombs dropped. “For Equestria, those building blocks are what kept it peaceful for so long, A kingdom built on ideals of friendship, virtues of harmony, selfless commercialism, but the most important is a strong Moral Core.”
Pip started to piece together what Tia was getting at. “Is that why you were Princess for so long?” It made sense on some level. Even before Pip met Tia she had grown up being told of Goddess Celestia and Goddess Luna, they both moved the Sun and Moon through the sky, and they protected ponies for a thousand years as their Princesses. They were holy being so above ponykind that all ponies could do was follow in their wake. “Did you want it to be that way?
“Not at first, in the beginning, I just ruled Equestria as Princess. But as the centuries went on I came to understand the nature of society in many ways, ponies more than any other race follow what they see as their natural leader of the herd. Who is the strongest, smartest, charmest, and most importantly can protect them, they will follow that pony unquestionably. So I promoted myself as that after a while, I treated myself as a mother to all ponies, I traveled to every town, I partook in every culture, I even started calling everybody my little ponies. After a while ponies went from just letting me rule to seeing me as what they should be.”
“Isn’t that a little controlling?” Even a former worshiper of Goddess Celestia, Pip found the idea a bit off-putting.
“To build a good society you need a foundation for people to take after. Part of the reason Wasteland society is so.. barbaric is that ponies and creatures were basing their morality on whoever was the best at surviving, that meant raiders or simply whoever did what it took to stay alive.”
The image of the kingdom turned from its colorful and beautiful view into a brownish scared frame with ruined towns and dead forests. The Castle that stood atop the mountain was filled with cracked ruins with pink mist pouring from every worn of it.
“Without a good Moral Core when society faces problems it doesn’t know how to respond, every solution is right even when it makes the world worst.” Celestia looked at Pip with weight in her words. “It was under any solution is right your former enemies committed Atrocities in the name of a better future. If those ponies won they would have been the Moral Core of all the Wasteland.”
That was a haunting thought, the idea of a world run by the morality of either Red Eye or The Goddess was a nightmare she was glad she stopped. But the idea that Pip would be that their Celestia still rubbed her the wrong way. “I’m not sure if I want to take their place.”
Celestia gently laid a hoof on her little hero. “Ah, you aren’t Pip, you aren’t any different than great people throughout history. Take Griffins for example, their hardyness and don’t give a crap attitude can be traced back to their greatest leader, Hilda Skyfall. In much the same way your that, the example of the perfect pony for future Wastelanders to look up to, like Ceaser for Zebras or Dusty Trails for the Buffalo.”
“I think Ponies took my adventurer to heart a bit too much.” Pip cringed at the thought of every pony in the Wasteland trying to be Stable Dweller part 2.
“Didn’t you choose to stay in this tower to be a symbol of sacrifice for ponies?”
“Yeah, but that was to motivate ponies to be better not to be like a goddess. And it was also to keep a certain mare company.” That got a chuckle from the Alicorn who just patted the smaller mare on the back.
“Thanks for that.” Tia warmly smiled. “And I’m here to be your friend and advice giver, so take my advice and get ready for ponies to start praying to you.” The audible groan from the smaller mare was a joy Celestia wanted. “Be the Moral Core to their societies, led, protect, be their guardian. Do that and the Wasteland will be filled with Little Pips in no time.”
The map of the Equestrian Wasteland faded away replaced by a steel hexagon pattern corridor with glowing floors. Windows to the outside showed an endless void of space and a field of stars all around. Alien hisses could be heard coming down from the corridors. Heavy dense golden armor formed around Celestia with giant guns mounted on her sides. “Now enough of this, let’s take our minds off deep philosophical ideals with good Xeno blasting.” She galloped down the corridor like a mare out of hell. “Winner gets endless food from the loser!”
Little Pip took a minute to take in her friend’s words. Like it or not she was a pony the Wasteland looked up to, but hey if it made ponies do good who was she to complain? “Hey you cheating Mule, points don’t count until we both start.” In a flash the same armor surrounded Pip as she followed suit, putting thoughts of worldly matters aside to be with her friend.