Chapter Seven: The Fire and the Flames
“I guess anger's like other feelings. It's not about having them. It's what you do with them.”
“Drink.”
Eden accepted the potion bottle from Emerald Mirage and downed it. The cold liquid numbed her tongue, then her throat as it traveled down her gullet to her stomach. From there, the numbness spread through her body until she couldn’t feel anything at all.
“Feel anything?” Emerald asked.
“No,” Eden replied, though her numb tongue made it difficult.
“Good. Lay on your stomach for me. I need to remove the warped flesh from your shoulder so it will heal correctly.”
Eden quickly did as she was told and settled down on her underside, chin resting on her forehooves. Emerald’s medic station was in the back of the general store, and she could hear hooves click against the cobblestone street as ponies came and went, but the two mares were secluded in the dim light of the back room. She could also hear the click of metal as Emerald fetched her surgical tools, followed by the sound of those tools carving through her corrupted flesh, but thankfully she couldn’t feel a thing. The noises alone were almost enough to make her shudder.
“You look like you’ve been through hell, Eden. Almost can’t believe you’re here on my floor,” Emerald said.
Eden fought the urge to shrug her injured shoulder. “Eh. I’ve survived worse.”
Emerald chuckled. “I doubt that. Hiking all day on an almost-severed hoof and a shredded shoulder… You’re lucky we’re not talking about amputation. Permanent disability isn’t off the table at this point either…”
“Beats being shot in the head again,” Eden mumbled, nonplussed. “Already lived through that once. Not fun.”
“Ah. So that’s what that’s from,” Emerald gestured to the scar across Eden’s forehead. “Didn’t want to be the one to bring it up.”
“That obvious, huh?” Eden sighed. “I’ve accepted the fact that I won’t be winning any beauty pageants in my life.”
“Just makes you fit in better around here. Locals appreciate a few scars. Everybody’s got at least one big one.”
“I hope so. I’m just hoping that staging an entire rescue mission is enough for them to actually want to say good morning back to me.”
“That’ll come with time,” Emerald said as her shears clicked together, and a piece of corrupted flesh fell to the floor. “I was in the same boat as you are right now, back in the day. This town’s full of the most stubborn ponies you’ll ever meet, and outsiders like us are a big mystery bag that they don’t want to deal with. But you saw how they were singing your praises when you walked through the front gate with a dozen rescued hostages. Nopony can possibly deny that you’ve done Oasis a massive help, without prompting and without reward.”
“Singing my praises? You’re acting like they threw me a parade down main street. At best, I got a few nods.”
“Around here, a nod is practically an award. Don’t let it get to you. You did what none of the other ponies would even dare try doing. They can’t deny that you pulled off something they thought was impossible. They’ll have to look at you differently after this. It’s just a matter of time before they warm up to you. They did the same for me, and now I run the place. Me, an outsider.”
“I guess you’ve got a point. How’d you do it? Get them to like you, I mean.”
“Being a damn good medic, mostly. Ponies tend to be nicer to you when you’re the only one around that’ll prevent them from passing on the next time they get in a nasty fight. And who in their right mind disobeys a doctor’s orders? Soon, almost everypony was used to me telling them what to do, and I was a bona fide townspony myself. You just need some patience and some perseverance.”
“Guess I’ll just have to keep working at it.”
“After you spend a few days on bedrest,” Emerald said as she sanitized her tools and put them away. “Doctor’s orders. Your body’s been through enough trauma for a month, it needs time to heal.”
Eden smirked. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen, Doc. Sorry in advance.”
“What did I just say about disobeying the doctor’s orders, Eden?” Emerald sighed.
Eden gestured to her scarred forehead. “I’m not exactly in the right mind, I’m allowed.”
“You’re fitting in a little too well already,” Emerald snorted. “Stubborn as the sea. All I can ask is that you take it easy. Or easier, at least.”
“I’ll try.”
“Atta girl,” Emerald said as she held out a health potion. “Here, drink this.”
Eden obediently guzzled it down once the bottle was pressed to her lips. The healing magic coursing through her battered, broken body almost made her moan aloud in bliss, but she thankfully clamped down on the embarrassing sound before it left her muzzle. Without the magical corruption in her shoulder, she could watch the flesh and skin start to slide and fuse back together in real time. The same thing happened simultaneously in her hind leg, as her body filled in the gaping hole above her fetlock. Bruises, aches, and fly-der stings faded away, and soon all that was left of the harrowing experience was a bit of an itch where the two worst injuries were.
It couldn’t heal everything though. After the potion’s effects faded, Eden reached a hoof up to her horn and gently traced the length of her scar from horn tip to temple. Still there, and as fresh and angry as ever. No amount of healing potions would ever make it disappear; the injury had so traumatically affected her horn that her magic blocked any attempt by the potion to heal it. The wound was a part of her now. A constant reminder of how close she’d come to death, and to never take living life for granted.
“How do I look?” Eden asked.
Emerald smiled. “Good as new. Your clothing will need to be stitched back together, and the blood will need to be rinsed out, but other than that? It’s like it never happened.”
Eden gingerly rose up onto her hooves once again. The numbing potion was already starting to fade, but it was still a bit difficult to feel the floor against her frogs. She couldn’t know just how much pain was still left until it lost its effectiveness for good, but she’d dealt with plenty of aches before. She just hoped she didn’t have to buy another health potion to fully heal herself. Those things were expensive.
“Thanks again, doc,” Eden said.
“Anytime,” Emerald replied. “I would say that I hope to not see you back here again, but given how stubborn you are? I’ll just say I hope your future injuries are less serious.”
“I appreciate the kind words too,” Eden said with a wink. “See ya.”
Eden stepped out of the medic station and out through the front door of the general store. Now out on the main street of Oasis, the drizzling rain began to patter down onto her stringy mane, dampening it down and sticking it to her forehead. Faust alive, she desperately needed a bath. And a long sleep. And lots to eat.
However, she had a few errands to run first. She ignited her horn and lifted her broken combat rifle out of her saddlebags to look it over. The barrel was still pierced and warped where the trapper’s ethereal dagger had stabbed it, leaving a giant ugly hole in the side that looked a bit like how her shoulder had looked a few minutes before. Bolt Action was the only one in town who could fix it. However, he wasn’t exactly happy with her after the last time they spoke. Fleecing a businesspony for all the caps you can is an effective way to make sure they don’t want to talk to you ever again. Maybe he’d appreciate getting some of his caps back to fix her gun?
Eden gingerly made her way over to the gunsmith’s store, where the navy and maroon stallion was busy cleaning his merchandise like usual. Bolt Action looked up at the sound of her hoofsteps, and his eyes narrowed.
“Outsider,” Bolt said.
Eden sighed. “Y’know, I’m a bit tired of being called that. When’s the point where I stop being ‘outsider’ and start being ‘Eden’?”
“Never. You’re not born and raised here? You’ll never be one of us.”
“Really? You seem to call Emerald ‘Captain’ just fine.”
Bolt’s gaze became sharp as daggers. “What do you want?”
Eden levitated her rifle onto his countertop. “Can you fix this?”
Bolt took the gun into his own magic to look it over, examining the damage from all angles. “...I recognize this kind of damage. A trapper do this?”
“Mmhm. One with ethereal daggers and a huge superiority complex.”
“And you killed him?”
“He won’t be a problem any longer.”
“Well, I’ll be damned…” Bolt whistled. “I’ll fix this for you. But only as a favor for ridding the city of that filth.”
Eden blinked. “Well… Thanks. You knew him?”
“He used to be a townspony,” Bolt said as his magic got to work removing the damaged barrel. “Head of security. Did too many patrols outside the walls, and the Mist infected his mind. He was too weak to resist. Ended up betraying us and joining the trappers… and he foalnapped all those townsponies to buy his way into their good graces. City’s a lot better without that traitor in it.”
“Well, he’s gone, along with every other trapper that was hanging out at the Tower. Does that mean your trapper problem is solved now?”
Bolt scoffed as he attached a replacement barrel. “I wish. That was only one of their strongholds. You’ve really put a dent in their numbers, if that’s the case, but they always seem to have more. Just takes a slaver party from Vanhoover to accidentally travel too far south, or a townspony to get too careless outside the gates, or an outsider to wander places where she shouldn’t, and they’ve got another member.”
“Well, maybe I’ll go and make sure the trappers are nothing more than a bad memory. Permanently.”
“You got lucky once, outsider. I wouldn’t risk it twice. Or you could go ahead and try it anyway, no skin off my back. My problems go away either way.”
Eden narrowed her eyes. “You don’t want me as a problem, Bolt. Nopony’s managed to solve me yet.”
“We’ll see,” Bolt said as he floated her rifle back to her. “Here you are. Don’t go waving it around too much.”
Eden traded a small helping of caps for the rifle with a barely disguised scowl. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
As she walked away, Eden made sure to keep her head high and her shoulders back, not wanting Bolt Action to pick up any possible tell that his conversation had rattled her. He was not an easy pony to get along with. In a town full of grumpy ponies, he had to be the worst of them all. And it didn’t help that ponies looked up to him like he was the ringleader of shitty attitudes. Any attempt at fully getting on this town’s good side would have to involve winning him over. She just couldn't possibly dream up a way of doing so.
With her repaired rifle slung over her shoulder, Eden made her way to the Fireside Taproom, where her rented room was located on the second floor. She had dreams of finally stripping out of her Stable barding, rinsing all the blood and muck out of her fur and mane, and collapsing into bed… but as she stepped into the ground floor tavern, a familiar sight in a familiar spot caught her eye instead. Ridgeline was sitting alone in the exact same spot where she had first seen him, nursing a mug of cider and staring at nothing.
Eden instantly detoured to sit in the chair across from him. He had made it through the expedition relatively unscathed, with only a bandage across the scrape on his cheek. However, his eyes immediately hardened at the sight of her, and he looked away with a groan.
“Go away.”
“Aww. C’mon, Ridge. Don’t be like that,” Eden teased.
Ridge folded his forelegs. “I mean it. This working relationship is over. I’m done helping you.”
“But we did so much good together! We saved so many lives. And we can save so much more if you help me.”
“And you nearly got yourself, me, and everypony else killed in the process. Really, we made it out despite your best efforts to doom us. You displayed blatant disregard for the three rules I laid out for you very clearly, and your mind clearly can’t resist the Mist’s influence. You’re a ticking time bomb every time you step outside those gates. I should make good on my promise and lock you in your room for your own good.”
Eden scoffed. “Hey, that’s not fair. I was still inexperienced; I didn’t know what to expect. I know better now, I’ll do better.”
“It doesn’t get any easier, outsider. It only gets worse.”
“I’ll pay you.”
“I don’t need your caps. Hauling you around the city isn’t worth my life and peace of mind.”
Eden blinked. Is he serious? “What, your peaceful life sitting here and drinking all day? You can’t just hide out in this corner and pretend nothing’s wrong with the world. I certainly don’t have that luxury. Not when there’s a threat out there in this city that I need to fix.”
“Again, a threat that you have no idea even exists. All you have is a random letter from a random pony you haven’t even found.”
Eden paused and took a deep breath. Bombshell time. “I saw her, Ridge.”
“Who?”
“The Mare in the Mist. She talked to me.”
Ridgeline scoffed. “Bullshit.”
“Nope, it was real. I got cornered by the fly-ders, and she saved me. Yanked me away with her magic and lit them all on fire before waltzing off like it was nothing. Then she confirmed she was the one who sent the letter before disappearing.”
Ridgeline leaned forward, and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “The Mare in the Mist has never gotten that close to anypony, let alone talked to anypony. Not even the most salt-addicted boaster in this town would brag about something like that happening to them. That easily could’ve been another Mist-fueled vision, trying to lure you back out there.”
“I had just taken RadAway, Ridge. My mind was clear.” Eden leaned in as well. “It happened. And now that I’ve seen her, I can’t just stop looking for her. Not when I know that I’m here for a real purpose now.”
“It’s still not safe, outsider. You almost died a few hours ago.”
“And it would be even less safe without you tagging along. But I’m going, with or without you. It’s up to you if you want to guide me through it or not, but I’m going anyway. Your choice.”
Ridgeline leaned back with a scowl, but Eden could tell she’d broken him. His hooves once again folded across his chest in a last futile attempt at looking defiant, and his eyes turned to the darkening horizon. “Celestia alive, you’re just like her…”
Eden tilted her head in confusion. “What’s that?”
Before Ridgeline could say anything further, a voice behind Eden interrupted them. “E-Excuse me? Miss Eden?”
Eden turned to face the new voice. Standing there was the kirin filly she had rescued, Vestige. She was standing in the shadow of a larger kirin, a familiar one as well: the one that had been part of the fishing expedition that was attacked outside the gates. The one that the rest of the fisherponies blamed for the attack. Halcyon was her name, if she remembered correctly. White fur, blue and pink mane, and blue scales scattered across her back like a dragon.
Eden smiled at the filly first. “Hey, Vestige.”
Vestige smiled back, but the taller kirin took charge. “I’m her mother, Halcyon. I-I apologize if I’m intruding or interrupting, but I just wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. She means the world to me, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost her.”
“It was the right thing to do. We were happy to help,” Eden said before turning to her partner. “Right, Ridgeline?”
Ridgeline’s face froze in shock at being included in the conversation, but he managed a stiff nod in agreement. “Yes. It needed to be done.”
“I just… I don't know how I could even begin to repay you,” Halcyon continued. “My fishing expeditions haven’t been very fruitful, s-since I’ve been so distracted from Vestige’s foalnapping. A-And then there was that attack a couple of nights ago, and we’ve had to completely start over—”
Eden waved a hoof dismissively. “It’s fine, really. No payment necessary. I’m not a mercenary, or a gun for hire. Just a mare trying to do the right thing.”
Halcyon blinked. “O-Oh! I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insinuate that you were.”
“There’s no need to apologize either,” Eden chuckled.
“S-Sorry about that as well,” Halcyon squeaked. “Well, uhm, if it’s not too much to ask, I’d be honored to have you two over for dinner. It’s the least I can do to give thanks. And Vestige would love to spend time with you again.”
Ridgeline’s face froze again. “Uh…”
Before he could come up with a response, Eden jumped in for him. “We’d love to! That sounds like a lot of fun. We’ll both be there.”
Halcyon brightened up. “Oh good! Okay. My apartment is on the third floor above Sapphira’s shop. J-Just stop by at sundown, or whenever you’re free. Doesn’t matter.”
“Sounds good! See you then, Halcyon. And Vestige,” Eden said.
Eden gave Vestige’s mane an affectionate ruffle before the two kirin trotted off to Sapphira’s magic store as promised. Eden watched them go with a smile, but when she looked over at Ridgeline, the stallion had an annoyed look plastered over his face.
“The things you keep getting me into, outsider…” Ridgeline groaned once they were out of earshot.
“What? Free food, friendly conversation? Surely not even you can complain about that,” Eden replied.
“I like my alone time, and my privacy. I’d appreciate it if you kept that in mind in the future.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll have all the free time in the world once we save the city and I get out of your mane for good.” Eden stood up and tapped the table with a hoof. “I’ve gotta go freshen up. See you in a bit.”
The thick fog and overcast skies that blanketed Tall Tale day in and day out ensured that the days were sufficiently dim, and that the nights were oppressively dark. There was no hope of seeing the stars, and not even the moonlight was strong enough to pierce through most of the time. All that kept Oasis illuminated was the red neon signage that still managed to remain operational after all these years, turning the street into a river of blood.
That same red shone through the blinds in Halcyon’s apartment as she welcomed Eden and Ridgeline inside. It was a small place, with only a modest kitchen and one bedroom where Halcyon and Vestige both slept. The power that kept the neon signage running clearly wasn’t provided to the residents as well, as there was nothing but sparse candles keeping the room lit.
The four ponies sat in a circle around a square-shaped table. Eden had finally managed to wash the blood and mud out of her fur, and her mane was brushed so it was no longer frizzy and filled with tangles. Ridgeline wore the same black cloak he always wore, and he looked around with barely disguised displeasure at the situation.
The food that Halcyon dished out was fried fish straight from the fisher’s bay. Perhaps ones the kirin had caught herself. It was simple, and each bite made her PipBuck’s rad detector click slightly, but Eden dug in greedily all the same. Some ponies would cringe at the idea of eating meat, but not her. Growing up in the Badlands meant growing up with barely any plants in a harsh desert environment. That meant a diet entirely of meat and pre-war food. And after a long day without much to eat, and a battered body that desperately needed nourishment to recover? She was barely able to hold herself together and keep her table manners.
“This is delicious, Halcyon. Thank you,” Eden said between bites.
“Mmhm. It’s not bad,” Ridgeline muttered in agreement, in the typical townspony style.
Halcyon beamed. “Oh, good! T-There’s not much in terms of spices or flavorings around here anymore, but I do what I can.”
“That’s always appreciated around here,” Ridgeline said. “Live your whole life in Tall Tale, and you eat enough fish that you start growing gills yourself. Any variation is a good thing.”
Halcyon nodded in agreement. “Mmhm. I remember Retrospect used to always come in, and his face would get so crestfallen when he saw we were having fish for dinner again. I-I got into using all these flavorings just so I wouldn’t have to look at his pouty face when he walked through the door…”
The look on Halcyon’s face gave away most of the story, but Eden figured she’d ask anyway. “Who’s he?”
Halcyon paused. “He… was my husband. Vestige’s father. He volunteered to be part of the rescue team when Vestige was taken. He didn’t make it back.”
Eden’s mind went back to the attack on the Lunar Monument. The trappers had strung bodies up above the entrance and desecrated them as a warning to trespassers. One of those bodies had been a kirin stallion.
You little twat. Watching your father die wasn’t enough to make you behave?
Eden’s heart shattered. “I’m so sorry.”
“I-I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost Vestige in the same way… which is why I’m so glad you succeeded,” Halcyon said.
Eden placed a comforting hoof on one of Halcyon’s cloven ones. “She’s safe now. And your husband’s killers were brought to justice. He can rest now.”
“And may his killers rot in the bowels of the Great Serpent.” Halcyon spat on the floor.
Eden swore the temperature in the room rose a few degrees. The frog of her hoof tingled with the sensation of heat against Halcyon’s fur. Next to her, she felt Ridgeline’s sympathy turn to unease.
However, the moment ended as quickly as it started, and Halcyon stared down at her half-eaten plate with a sigh. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t want to turn this into a pity party. You’ve already done so much for us.”
“You’re not,” Eden said with a squeeze of her hoof. “It’s okay to grieve. We’re here for you. Both of you,” she added with a smile at Vestige.
“You’re a gem, Eden. W-What did we do to deserve somepony like you joining our town?” Halcyon asked.
“Just trying to spread a little kindness and hope is all,” Eden replied.
Halcyon smiled. “The Serpent knows we need more of that around here.”
Eden smiled back before opening her forelegs in a wordless offer. Halcyon accepted it, and she pulled the kirin into a warm, comforting hug. After a moment's hesitation, Vestige joined in, and the three mares just embraced each other in a moment that stretched on. It wasn’t enough to make up for all the hurt, all the loss the two kirin had been through. Not even close. But it was a step in the right direction, and it was all Eden could offer. She knew first-hoof that the emptiness of loss could never be cured with some magic combination of encouraging words. All you could do was be there for them until they could heal on their own.
Finally, Halcyon pulls away from the hug. “Before you go… I-If it’s okay, I have one more favor to ask of you. You’ve already done so much, so I don’t want to be overbearing, but if you have the time—”
Eden put up her hooves to stop her rambling. “Alright, alright. Let’s hear it.”
Halcyon blinked. “Right. Well, a couple of days ago, I was on a fishing expedition on the waterfront, a-and we got attacked. In the confusion, we had to flee to Oasis with the wounded, and we left our fishing supplies there on the shore. I-I don’t dare go back to get it myself, since the creatures that attacked us might still be wandering around there… but enough time has passed that it might be safe now. S-So, I was wondering if you two could accompany me out there, as an extra pair of guns? Just a simple trip there and back to get the tools. It wouldn’t take up much of your time. I promise.”
“Sounds easy enough. This is something that can wait until tomorrow though, right?” Eden asked.
“Oh, yes yes yes. It’s m-much too dark to go outside the walls now. We can go tomorrow. Or whenever you want. It’s no bother,” Halcyon said.
“Tomorrow works for me. It’s not like I’ve got much on my schedule at the moment,” Eden said.
Halcyon beamed. “Oh! Great. I promise, t-this is the last time I’ll have you running around doing something for me. J-Just stop by whenever you’re ready to go out.”
“Will do. Thanks again for having us over, Halcyon. Good to see you, Vestige.”
Eden gave both kirin one last small hug before taking her leave. Ridgeline simply nodded silently before following her. He hadn’t said a word since she’d noticed his unease, Eden realized. Not that he talked much to begin with. But something had spooked him.
And as soon as they made it down to the street, Ridgeline stopped her with a hoof to the chest. “You need to be careful around the kirin.”
Eden blinked. “Why? Vestige is a sweet filly. Halcyon looks like she’s never hurt a fly in her life. And none of the rest even seem interested in talking.”
“Well, let’s just say that the townsponies’ distrust of them isn’t solely based on petty prejudice. Their tempers can really flare, and that’s bad news for everypony.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on getting on her bad side,” Eden said. “I’m helping her. Are you coming with us?”
Ridgeline hesitated, then sighed. “I’ll come. But only because it’s a quick trip.”
Eden smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good to hear. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her home burned.
Eden stood rooted in fear as flames clawed at the heavens above her. Pre-war wood and salvaged steel homes crumbled, and the screams of their inhabitants filled the air like a hellish choir. Siege machines churned and groaned outside the collapsed walls, and invaders poured in through the created holes. Salt Lick City had fallen, and there was nothing she could do to save it.
A mare in a deep black cloak and mist swirling around her figure stalked the streets of the doomed town. Her horn flashed, and a pony was immolated in seconds. Ponies in dark masks with glowing green eyes wielded long spears and dark magic as they followed her. The stars above were disfigured by smoke. Not even the heavens could escape the horror. Not even Faust could save Her ponies.
A pony a few hooflengths from her was the next to be ignited, and Eden finally found that her hooves were ready to respond. She sprung to action. She didn’t care that the fire was hot enough to melt the desert sand below to glass, or that it scorched her hooves and clothes immediately when she grabbed hold of the pony to drag them out. All that mattered was saving this pony’s life, no matter what.
Just as she yanked the burning pony from the blaze, the flames flashed green.
Eden was consumed by the second wave. It was a baptism by fire. Her fur ignited and disintegrated into ash. Her skin boiled, then charred. Her horn melted. Her last scream was stolen from her throat as the inferno robbed the oxygen from her lungs to fuel its rage.
It was mid-morning by the time the three ponies got underway. Eden donned her washed, stitched-up stable barding, and her fixed combat rifle floated in front of her. Ridgeline led the way as usual, and he weaved them through safe streets and shortcuts on the way to the waterfront. Halcyon took the middle. In her magical grasp was a double-barrel shotgun that looked every bit of its centuries-old age. Every noise made her flinch.
“Are we still going the right way?” Eden asked.
“Yes,” Ridgeline and Halcyon answered at the same time. Halcyon then squeaked and looked away with an embarrassed flush.
“You said it was on the edge of the waterfront, right?” Ridgeline asked.
“Yes. And with the Serpent’s blessing, it will still be there,” Halcyon said.
“You’ve mentioned that a lot. The Great Serpent. What is it?” Eden asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just an old kirin story we haven’t managed to let go of,” Halcyon said.
Ridgeline scoffed. “It’s just their version of Celestia and Luna. Or whoever it is you keep talking about, Outsider.”
Eden glared at his backside, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“W-Well, not exactly,” Halcyon corrected. “It’s more folklore than religion. The Great Serpent isn’t exactly a deity.”
“I’d love to hear about it. If you’re willing to talk about it, that is,” Eden said.
Halcyon sighed. “Well… ever since before the war, the Kirin had a legend. They spoke of a massive serpent-like being who lived underground. They said he had the ability to carve tunnels through the earth, and he could travel anywhere on Equus without appearing above ground. He was impossible to find or track, except for the finest vibrations in the soil when he grew close. They said that his diet consisted of Kirin, ponies, and other creatures who committed evil, selfish, or destructive acts. Only those who devoted themselves to a selfless, righteous lifestyle would escape its wrath. And that tradition stuck around to the present day.”
“See? Just another unseen, unproven God,” Ridgeline snorted.
Eden scowled. “Ridge, be respectful.”
“A-Again, it’s not a deity. Just a part of the Kirin culture,” Halcyon said.
“Whatever. It’s all the same to me,” Ridgeline said.
“You don’t even believe in Celestia and Luna?” Eden asked.
Ridgeline shrugged. “Sure, I use their names in vain, I say the prayer when we push our dead into the Sound… but it’s hard to believe in a higher power or a divine plan when the world is so full of darkness and death. Especially our slice of it. They either don’t have the power, or they don’t care enough to fix our situation, and I don’t know which option is worse. Hell, we can’t even bask in their comforting presence, since the Mist covers up the sun and moon most of the time. No prayers get out, no blessings come in. So no, I don’t believe in Celestia and Luna.”
“And that’s your choice. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t ridicule ponies who do. Because although you may not care, it means a lot to me,” Eden said firmly.
Ridgeline rolled his shoulders back. “Fine. Whatever.”
“Thank you,” Eden said as her hackles lowered.
The three continued onwards in uneasy silence for a little bit before Halcyon broke it. “Y-You believe in Celestia then, Eden?”
“Well, sort of,” Eden said. “I actually worship the Mother Goddess, Faust. Celestia and Luna are Her children.”
Halcyon blinked. “Oh! That’s a… new one on me. Sorry.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to know about Her. It’s a bit of a… niche religion. Only from my part of the world.”
“W-Well, I told you about mine, so… it’s only fair that I listen to yours.”
“Well, my hometown was made up of descendants from a pre-war Stable. The original settlers were rather religious to start with, but once the bombs fell and the Stable doors sealed, the Overseer made an announcement: Celestia and Luna worship would be banned inside the Stable. There were protests, there were riots, there were escape attempts, but the Overseer held firm. Apparently, these were orders directly from StableTech itself.”
“Banning religion? Why would they do that?” Halcyon asked.
“The most plausible theory? Some ponies believed that the deification of the Sisters led to increased nationalism and caused the Great War to become inevitable. Maybe StableTech wanted to stop those feelings from persisting in the surviving population. But maybe we were simply lab rats, and that was a variable they wanted to test. Hard to say for certain.”
“So what did they do?”
“Well, they weren’t allowed to worship Celestia and Luna… so they found the next best thing: Faust, the mother of the two royal sisters, creator of Equus and the Princess of Realities. Thus, Faustianism was born. And even after they were released from the Stable into the wasteland, the religion stuck around.”
“I didn't realize Celestia and Luna had a mother,” Halcyon said.
“Me neither,” Ridgeline added. “I guess I just assumed they… simply came into being.”
“Yeah, it’s not exactly widespread knowledge. But one of the Stable dwellers had access to an obscure text about the history of the world, and it mentioned Faust as the architect of the universe. That’s how it started,” Eden said.
“Just sounds like Celestia worship but with extra steps,” Ridgeline said.
“There’s a lot of similarities, sure. But there’s some key differences. Followers are meant to keep their conduct clean. No swearing, no alcohol, no drug usage, no… promiscuity. Anything that would keep our focus away from Faust and dampen our connection with Her. But it really didn’t spread much outside of the Stable’s settlement, Salt Lick City.”
“What made you come up north, then?” Halcyon asked.
Eden’s eyes lost their focus as memories flashed through her mind. “It was destroyed. I was one of the only survivors.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Halcyon said softly, and the trio once again fell into silence.
Soon, the three ponies reached the waterfront, where the inky black water lapped against the wooden supports of the boardwalk. The large Ferris wheel loomed above the water to their right, but it was dwarfed by the Lunar Monument that silhouetted the horizon. Out in the Ponget Sound, Eden could spot the half-sunken cargo ship that had netted her a sizable chunk of Bolt Action’s fortune. Absent was the large kraken that had nearly eaten her, but just because she couldn’t see it didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Eden shuddered and moved on.
The fisherponies had set up shop on one of the docks that jut out into the water. There was a large umbrella to protect from the rain, buckets to store their catches, chairs to sit and wait in. All of it had been upended and scattered from the chaos of the radamount attack that had killed over half the group. The rain had long since washed the blood away, but there were still spent bullet casings scattered across the dock that Eden took care to avoid stepping on. Any of the bodies that had been left behind had been dragged off into the mist to be feasted on.
But while Eden focused on the mist, Halcyon trotted over to the edge of the dock with an agitated whine. “Oh no… it’s not here.”
“What’s not here?” Eden asked.
“The fishing gear. Our poles, nets, hooks, bait, it’s all gone,” Halcyon cried out.
Eden hurried forward to reach the panicked kirin with Ridgeline close behind. The wood at the edge of the pier was lighter colored than the rest of the dock, and the splotches were organized in clumps and patterns. Something had been laying there on the wood to discolor it, but it had since been moved. There was no sign of the fishing equipment anywhere.
“Could the mist creatures have taken them? Or knocked them into the Sound?” Ridgeline asked.
Halcyon shook her head. “N-Not likely… They would’ve focused on us instead. We retreated pretty quickly towards the town.”
“Trappers must’ve gotten here first,” Ridgeline surmised with a curse.
“So they’re gone forever then,” Halcyon whimpered as she kicked a pebble into the murky water. “Might as well head back home. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
Eden wasn’t so easily dissuaded. “Where would the trappers have taken the gear, Ridge?”
Ridgeline paused to think. “The nearest hideout I know of is at old city hall. A few blocks inland from here.”
Eden’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Think we can take ‘em?”
Ridgeline looked at her incredulously. “Over fishing equipment? Really?”
“Why not? You’re letting the trappers take a chunk out of your only sustainable source of food production. You want to let them turn that equipment into traps to use on your town instead?” Eden asked.
“We can make more fishing gear. Fighting to save hostages is one thing, but I’m not too eager to lose my life over poles, bait, and nets,” Ridgeline said.
“It’s not just that. I’m sure wiping out their cell in the Tower has them on the ropes. Wouldn’t you want to finish them off while we’ve got the upper hoof? Eliminate another group of them, and this city will start feeling a whole lot safer, don’t you think?” Eden asked.
That started to create cracks in Ridgeline’s defense. He glanced up at the late morning sun as it shone weakly through the mist, as if judging if they had enough time to pull it off. “We can’t go while we have Halcyon with us.”
“We can take her back to Oasis, then head on without her. Wouldn’t take too long—”
“I-If you’re going, I’m coming with you,” Halcyon said firmly.
Eden and Ridgeline stopped and turned in unison. “Excuse me?”
“I won’t let you go and risk your lives for my sake while I sit back in safety. You already did that for me once. I won’t be that selfish again,” Halcyon said with a stomp of her cloven hoof.
Ridgeline looked the kirin over. “Do you even know how to handle yourself in a fight? I don’t want to babysit you. That would do more harm than good.”
“I know how to use a gun, a-and I’ll stay out of your way when I need to. I promise,” Halcyon said.
Eden and Ridgeline looked at each other for a few moments. Eden offered a wordless shrug of her shoulders. Why not?
Ridgeline sighed. “Fine. Just stick close and follow my lead. Let’s not run into any traps or mist creatures and make this any harder than it already is.”
Tall Tale felt like a city with two faces. On one side, the lack of damage from any balefire bombs meant some of the buildings and streets were as pristine as the ones in New Pegas. On the other side, some of the city was decaying and sinking in on itself. Maybe the mist was corrosive. Maybe the excess water had rotted the supports. Maybe time had caused it to simply wither away. In any case, Eden walked past an alternating line of pristine buildings and half-crumbled scrap heaps.
The further they got into the heart of the city, the taller the buildings became. Eden kept her head craned upward to scan the windows above for any Trappers who had set up an ambush, but Ridgeline didn’t seem too concerned. He trusted in his intuition to lead them on a safe route, and his eyes focused straight ahead at the churning mist they plowed through. Halcyon’s eyes flickered all over the place like a butterfly, though it seemed to be more from a nervous habit than an attempt at preparedness.
As Eden gave up on her search with a sigh, something on the street corner caught her eye. A blue cylinder sat on the sidewalk at the intersection, a little bit taller than her if she stood upright on her hind legs. The side sported a large red button atop a sliding door, and an unlit sign above the button said “occupied”. Peeling white paint atop the blue exterior labeled the cylinder as “SELF STORAGE.”
Eden went to take a step towards it, but remembered her experience with the mist from the previous day and stopped herself. Who knows if it’s even real? “Ridge? What’s that?”
Her voice seemed to knock Ridgeline out of a trance, and he turned his attention from the route to the cylinder. “Oh, that? It’s an emergency shelter. Damn things are scattered all over the city.”
“So it’s actually there?”
“Mmhm.”
With that reassurance, Eden tentatively stepped towards it, only continuing once she didn’t hear a reprimand from Ridgeline. She reached out with a hoof and pressed the red button, and the sliding door slid away counterclockwise around the cylinder to slowly reveal the interior. The first thing to greet her was a skeleton that spilled out as the door slid away, like it had been slumped against the entrance. Bones clattered on the pavement before her hooves, and Eden skittered back with a yelp before regaining her composure.
The inside was only large enough to accommodate one pony, and even then, it was a tight fit. The only furnishings were ventilation slits, a dangling oxygen mask, and a long suction tube for… something. No food, no water, no radiation medication.
A recorded message chimed in as the door slid fully into its open position. “Self Storage’s Straight Stalls! For your last-minute radiation protection needs.”
“Charming, isn’t it?” Ridgeline asked dryly.
“That’s one way to put it,” Eden replied. “Are these things even useful?”
“Nope. Which is why all their occupants are skeletons. It’ll give you a brief respite from the mist, but you’ve gotta go back out into it eventually.”
Eden pressed the button to close the cylinder once again. The door slid back to its locked position, and it clattered a few of the bones away as it did. Once it locked into place, the recorded jingle stopped, and the three ponies were left with only the whistling wind for company.
“Why are there so many of these things? Does Tall Tale not have a Stable?” Eden asked as they continued.
“There is one,” Ridgeline said. “Maybe ponies were worried there wasn’t enough space for everypony, so they made these cheap alternatives instead.”
Eden chuckled. “How ironic. The only city that didn’t get bombed is the one that invested in extra protection.”
“And apparently, we’re worse off than almost anywhere else in Equestria, despite making it out unscathed. Fate apparently has a sense of humor,” Ridgeline said.
“Fate makes jokes, but nopony laughs,” Halcyon whispered, and the trio let the kirin proverb hang in the air as they fell into silence once more.
By midday, the three had reached city hall. Planted between several high-reaching skyscrapers, the building’s magnificence didn’t come from its height. Instead, it was the expert masonry and elegant architecture that set itself apart from its glass-covered neighbors. It was long, wide, and imposing, lined with spires like the prongs of a fence, covered in dark windows like a spider with a thousand eyes. The large clock face placed upon the central spire was frozen in place at a specific time, the same time as the clock in Oasis: 9:47.
The once-beautiful structure had since been ransacked by trappers. The front walkway to the entrance was littered with traps, and visitors were warned away with heads adorned on spikes. Blood, gore, and barnacle-covered nets were scrawled across the brick exterior, and every window was shattered to let more of the mist inside. Trappers stalked around the main entrance, practically snarling and growling amongst one another like wild animals.
The three townsponies cowered behind a nearby carriage for protection as they scouted out the base. Eden leaned against a wheel while examining her PipBuck’s map of the interior, and Ridgeline and Halcyon scanned the exterior defenses with their eyes.
“What do you see?” Ridgeline asked.
“That’s the main entrance in front of us. Leads into a large lobby that branches off to the left and right,” Eden said as she scanned through her PipBuck.
“It also looks like most of their attention is on it. And most of their defenses. Not the best option. They’ve got watchguards, roaming patrols, traps, the whole works,” Ridgeline said.
“Alright, that’s plan A down…” Eden said as she continued to look. “There’s a secondary entrance on the far right side of the building. Maybe an emergency exit, or a service entrance.”
“It’ll probably be less defended. We could sneak in and take them by surprise,” Ridgeline said.
“But w-what if they’ve boarded it up?” Halcyon interjected. “Or booby-trapped it? Would they really leave an entry undefended?”
“They’ve mostly had to defend against creature attacks, not ponies. And mist creatures don’t know how to use doors. Perhaps they’ve overlooked it,” Ridgeline pointed out.
“And it doesn’t hurt to look. We can come up with another plan if it doesn’t work out,” Eden said.
“T-That makes sense,” Halcyon relented.
Ridgeline nodded. “Alright, follow me.”
The three slinked back away from their carriage cover and further into the shrouding embrace of the mist. Taking the long way around to the side of the building would take time, but the further back they went, the less likely it was that the trappers would spot them. The trappers might’ve worshipped the mist, but even they couldn’t see through it.
Soon, the town hall came back into view, and the side entrance along with it. Next came the armored figure of a lone guardpony, which made Ridgeline crouch behind the nearest carriage with Eden and Halcyon right behind him.
“Another guard on watch. Guess they aren’t that dumb,” Ridgeline said.
“It’s only one though. That’s a lot better than a dozen,” Eden pointed out.
“H-How are we gonna get past him, though?” Halcyon asked. “They’ll h-hear any gunshot. And he’ll see us if we try to sneak up.”
Eden slowly peaked her head out the side of the carriage. The trapper on guard looked as bored as a crazed pony could be, but he at least was keeping watch in the right direction, unfortunately for her. There weren’t any obstacles that she could hide behind to sneak up closer; the carriage they were behind was the last thing separating them and the town hall besides the cracked street between them.
The cracked street… She looked down at the pavement more closely. Like most streets in the fallout, the streets of Tall Tale were split apart in yawning chasms as the stress of hundreds of years split the concrete. Each crack was several inches wide and deep at least; not big enough to hide any creature larger than a rodent. But it could potentially hide a weapon…
Eden blinked. “I’ve got an idea. Be ready to go loud in case he catches on.”
Ridgeline and Halcyon nodded and readied their guns. Eden covered a horn with a hoof to hide its glow as she ignited it, and her combat knife slid from its sheath and levitated underneath the carriage slowly. When the trapper yawned and turned his attention away briefly, the knife slid into the crack and traversed across the road towards the guard just out of his eyesight. Eden’s horn strained as the knife neared the limit of her telekinesis range, but she gritted her teeth and stretched further.
Once the knife was behind him, it lifted into the air and slowly crept up on the guard. The ambient tingling noise of Eden’s magical aura finally caught his ear and he turned his head, but by that point it was too late. The disembodied combat knife slid into his neck and slit his throat in one fluid motion, spilling his blood onto the street as he fell with nothing more than a gurgle.
Halcyon gasped and looked away from the gushing red blood, but Ridgeline’s eyebrow quirked in intrigue. “That’s a neat trick, outsider,” the stallion said with a whistle.
Eden wiped the bloody knife on the dead trapper’s clothes before floating it back across the street and into her sheath. “Let’s move before his replacement shows up.”
The three hurried across the street and past the trapper’s body to the door. After consulting with Ridgeline’s talent to make sure the entrance was safe to go through, Eden slowly pushed the door open to reveal the inside of the town hall. The door was an emergency fire exit, but no alarm sounded when the door was opened; the fire suppression systems must’ve been disabled. By the wear of time or by the trappers, she couldn’t say, but it allowed the trio to slip inside undetected regardless.
They entered at the end of a long hallway leading right into the atrium of the town hall. Doors and rooms lined the entire length of the hallway on either side, designating offices for representatives, secretaries, and all manner of elected ponies at one point. Now, all were converted into living spaces for the trappers, and the results were nothing less than horrific. Doors were torn off their hinges, windows were smashed, floors were stained with blood and other bodily fluids; they were content to live in their own filth. Luckily, the bedrooms seemed abandoned during daylight hours, so the three snuck by unnoticed towards the lobby.
As they got closer to the atrium, more of the scene was revealed. At least a dozen or two raiders stalked around the lobby as sunlight streamed through the windows to create beams of light in the mist. Some of them conversed amongst each other. Some of them ate strips of bloody flesh, soaking their muzzles red in the process; whether it was animal or pony flesh, Eden couldn’t tell, but she shuddered at the sight nonetheless. The rest worked on stripping a pile of fishing equipment for parts, removing the hooks from poles and fashioning makeshift traps out of netting and rope.
“I assume that’s the stolen stuff we’re looking for?” Eden whispered to Halcyon.
There was no response. Eden glanced over to see that Halcyon’s wide eyes weren’t looking at the fishing poles and nets; instead, they were focused up on the balcony of the second floor that overlooked the lobby. Hung from the banisters were the desecrated bodies of several ponies. Their bowels were eviscerated, intestines dangling, eyes gouged out, their limbs positioned in humiliating angles. Scrawled in blood on the wall underneath their suspended corpses was a phrase: THE MIST IS HEAVEN SENT. WE ARE ITS DISCIPLES.
Was this a display of warning to anypony who got too close? Or a display of pride for the trappers? Eden couldn’t tell. But she grimaced and glanced away all the same.
“...Blitz… Windy… Sonata…” Halcyon whimpered as she recognized each of the bodies on display.
“You know them?” Eden whispered back.
“T-They were the first to die in the attack on the docks. Killed by the radamounts before we could blink. I thought the animals would’ve… y’know…” Halcyon trailed off.
“But the trapper patrol who took the fishing gear found them as well,” Ridgeline deduced.
“T-This is somehow worse. Being eaten i-is terrible, but at least it’s natural. This… is barbaric,” Halcyon growled.
Eden suddenly felt warm enough to sweat in her Stable barding. She swore Halcyon’s irises and pupils disappeared into white nothingness, and her eyebrows turned to mini flames. The normally shy and reserved kirin looked ready to tear someone’s throat out. Next to her, Ridgeline’s expression changed from disgust to horror in an instant.
Their tempers can really flare, and that’s bad news for everypony.
Eden placed a comforting hoof on Halcyon’s shoulder. “We’re here to avenge them. I promise. But we need to come up with a plan before—”
Halcyon snarled and shrugged her off. “They were my friends. And we weren’t able to give them a proper burial because these monsters wanted to use them as DECORATIONS!”
That last word echoed through the tall space of the atrium, and every single trapper turned their head to face the source of the noise. Halcyon didn’t shrink away; instead, she stood up fully to reveal herself to the group while Eden and Ridgeline scrambled to stay out of sight. Her patchwork shotgun fell from her magical grasp. Sparks flew each time her cloven hooves made contact with the tile floor as she stepped forward. The trappers barked and pulled out their weapons, but she stood unflinching before them.
“Halcyon! Get back here!” Eden hissed, but the kirin was too far gone.
“You heard me!” Halcyon yelled. “You ponies are monsters, and none of you deserve to be alive! Freaks like you make me furious.”
With a final scream, Halcyon ceased to be. A tall column of magenta fire erupted from her body and flashed the room with burning heat, making both Eden and the trappers stumble back in pain. The fire continued upward to scorch the ceiling, and the column lifted up from the floor to reveal a whole new being of pure flame. What once was white fur was now black as coal. What once was her mane was now a hearth atop her head. Her eyes were voidless spaces. Her teeth were fangs. A form of pure anger and hatred had manifested before Eden’s eyes, and she couldn’t look away.
“Nirik! Nirik!” the trappers cried out in a rare moment of lucidity, but it was too late to run for help.
The new creature’s horn ignited, and half of the trapper’s guns were yanked out of their grasps and pulled towards her. The heat of her presence disintegrated the weapons into ash once they got close, and with a bestial scream, she leapt into action. Eden watched as she zig-zagged through the lobby in a blaze of heat, leaving a trail of flame in her wake that steadily burnt atop the tiled floor. Trappers boiled from the heat or fell with chunks torn out of their flesh from her sharp fangs; she was too fast for any of them to flee. The ones who still had their rifles fired blindly into the chaos, but the nirik was not dissuaded by any bullets. She was an unstoppable machine of death, leaving corpses and fire behind. The air smelled of charred flesh and was soon joined by the crackling of the wooden walls of the atrium.
In that instant, Eden was back in Salt Lick City, watching the world burn before her. Wood, steel, and bodies all burning and crumbling together along with her hopes and dreams. She could do nothing but stare, hooves locked to the burning tile, horror reflected in her wide eyes.
Only once every trapper had fallen did the nirik stop. Standing in the middle amongst fire and death, she snarled and panted for breath while daring any of the corpses to attack her again. None rose to the challenge. Only then did the flames raging in her mane die down, and Halcyon was returned to the world.
The kirin gasped as she regained her senses, standing in the middle of destruction while the building continued to burn. However, she didn’t return as pure as she had left; bullet holes riddled her scale-covered body, turning her white fur red from oozing blood. She looked down at her injuries with a squeak of surprise before looking up at the other two companions.
“Eden?...” was all Halcyon could get out before she collapsed in a puddle of her own blood, surrounded by a ring of fire.