//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: The Patriarch. 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: Tales of a Courier Reloaded 
// by a friendly hobo 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 11: The Patriarch.




"A weighty choice is yours to make, a right selection or a big mistake. If a wrong choice you choose to pursue the foundations of home will crumble without you."



The weight of my equipment seemed oddly comforting. We’d packed a lot less than usual, considering we probably wouldn’t be gone more than a few hours. We packed some ammunition and water but left plenty of room for our loot and didn’t weigh nearly as much. I dug my pipbuck out of my packs and replaced the duct tape on it, fastening it around my hoof. It flickered to life, showing my vitals. 

Ace’s packs looked just as light as mine. Then again, she only had to carry shotgun shells and the machete sheathed on her back. The blade ran from her shoulders all the way down to her tail, that beautiful tail, swaying from side to side as she walked ahead of me into the hallway. 

“I see nothing’s changed,” a husky voice said from behind me. I snapped out of my stupor, and turned to see Lollipop grinning. “Eyes on the prize, eh?” the lime unicorn said with a smirk.

Eyes on th- oh! Nonononono, I wasn’t staring at her rump, I was staring at her tail! Actually, that didn’t help much.

Before I could respond or gibber like an idiot, Ace piped up. “You’re just jealous, doc,” she said as she turned and smirked at me. She leaned in close. “You were checking me out, weren’t ya?” She fluttered her eyelids at me before bonking me on the head with a hoof. “Fucking stop it.” With that, she turned and trotted to the elevator and took it down. She didn’t even wait for us.

I could probably tell why, what with Lollipop on the ground laughing. She was giggling to herself. Kicking her in the shin seemed like a great idea, but not exactly a good way to treat new friends. 

“Please stop,” I asked politely. Tinges of anger, impatience, and embarrassment weaved into my voice, and I think Lollipop picked up on them.

She stopped giggling and cleared her throat, though she kept her grin. “Sorry, it’s just funny,” she said, and fixed her mohawk. The lime green unicorn wore her khaki uniform. It was a unique set of barding, with the patches ripped off, and still maintained its dark-armoured plates on the forelegs and shoulders. Of course, it had been modified; she’d armored a few sections with what looked like scrap, but they blended almost perfectly.

I, on the other hoof, still wore the armour the Resistance team had given me. My riot barding was pretty much an armoured jumpsuit. The plates weren’t metal, but more of a firm plastic. At least, I thought it was plastic. It felt hard, but it certainly wasn’t metal. Light too. The light grey pads covered my chest, shoulders, forelegs, and hind legs. Under that was the darker grey jumpsuit. Despite its looks, and the hole in the chest plate, I felt pretty darn comfy. I never really thought I’d see the day where I’d find armour comfortable.

I’d honestly forgotten to check if that shot had left a scar on my chest. The scar on my head was still there, same with the one in my thigh from when the Separatist had shot me. Luckily, Snake Eyes’ powder stuff worked like a charm. The pain was there, but it was so dull that I barely noticed it if I wasn’t thinking about it. My clipped ear still stung, though. Not much I could do about that.

Then there was the brown coat Snake Eyes had given me. It kept my riot armour fairly clean, and helped me blend in with the rest of the wasteland rabble out in the Ponave. Half of the ponies out there had duster coats, and the majority of them wore brown. I was like a desert cowpony ninja.

“So what’s the deal with you and Ace, eh?” Lollipop asked in a singsong voice, prodding my chest. “You two a thing, or are you two a thang?” She waved her hooves to emphasize the last word.

I shrugged and started my way over to the elevator. “Dunno,” I muttered as I pressed the call button. “She, uh... she needs to think.” I heard Lollipop hiss behind me, and almost felt her cringe.

“Oh, honey...” Lollipop said as I turned around, still wincing. “She needs to think about it?”

“What’s so bad about that?” I asked, pressing the button again. Could the lift be any slower? “I mean, I’m hopeful at least. She said she liked me and we hugged and stuff.”

The pink-maned mare patted my back. “You two are pretty cute, I’ll give you that,” she said. Her face went from a wince into a grin and she snickered. “Sure don’t sound cute though, in fact you two sounded downright nasty!”

“Why the hell were you listening anyway?!” I snapped. That was definitely not the right thing to do, and I knew it even as the words left my mouth. My mouth clamped shut after and my eyes went to the size of dinner plates, and my hoof covered my mouth. “Sorry,” I muffled. 

The medical mare seemed shocked for a brief moment. “I couldn’t avoid it really... I had to sleep on the other side of a 200-year-old wall...” Her ears flopped down and she looked away. I couldn’t quite tell the emotions on her face. Anger? Shame? Sorrow? It was tough to tell, honestly. “You’re right though. I shouldn’t have listened.”

It was my turn to pat her back. “Sorry, it’s not your fault.” I tried my best to comfort the mare. From what she told me, she must have been lonely since her husband died. “It’s just a touchy subject right now and I barely know you. I mean, I’ve known you for what? Two days?” And she’s already listening to me and Ace going at it. Of course, I didn’t outright say that, but it was implied. 

“I know... I’m sorry.” She looked back at me and gave a tiny smile. “It won’t happen again. I’ll make some earplugs or change rooms or something.”

“Thanks,” I said, stepping into the elevator. “Probably won’t have to anytime soon though. Don’t think me and Ace will be, um...” I pressed the ground button a few more times. “SO! This Stable we’re going to. How about that, huh?” 

Lollipop ran a hoof over her mohawk as she thought. “Well, the Stables were built by an Equestrian-based company to protect ponies from the apocalypse.” She shrugged and checked her gear as we went down. “From what I can guess, it’s like a massive underground vault. Sealed off from the world. Uh... probably a bit mazelike. Hopefully there’s signs. I’ve never seen one myself.” She opened a large ammo box and fed it into her machine gun and loaded it. It was an impressive machine gun. More than capable of firing more than a hundred bullets before reloading, and fairly accurately if Lollipop stood firm enough. It was bulky, though.

“Better than nothing,” I replied. “Wonder what this one’s like.” Probably the exact same, but probably not so sterile, considering it had to have opened at some point. Maybe with a few plants dotted around the place. Nothing Ace’s machete couldn’t handle. 

The lift dinged and the doors opened into the fancy lobby. Ace stood, looking at the lift, her hoof tapping impatiently. “Took your sweet time.” 

“You left us behind,” Lollipop said with an obvious lack of amusement, marching past her. “Don’t blame us.”

“Bitch,” Ace muttered.

“Takes one to know one.”

“Anyway!” I called out, changing the subject before somepony got filled with bullets or cut up with a machete. “Do we have everything we need?” 

“Almost...” Ace grumbled. “I’ll be right back.” She walked off to a door with a little mare on it and slammed it shut.

Lollipop chuckled, “That explains it.” She looked at me. I didn’t say anything because toilet humour wasn’t really my thing. “Nevermind.”

I trotted over to one of the couches in the lobby and sat down. Lollipop sat down across from me. “Here’s a question.” 

“Yeah?” I asked, looking up at her.

She looked at me for a moment, then smirked. “Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Uh, a Stable.”

“A Stable where?”

“...uh...”

Dammit.

“No matter,” I said with the wave of a hoof. “You can ask one of the guards, or something.” 

Lollipop blinked. “Me? Why me? Can’t you?”

“I could,” I replied. “But I don’t wanna.” I sat back and looked toward the little mare’s room. Ace was certainly taking her time.

“Why?” the lime green unicorn asked. “You chicken?”

I nodded. “Yup, that’s it.” I looked back at her. “Not gonna lie. I don’t like ponies that can hurt me.” Which was pretty much everypony other than a foal, the elderly, the comatose, and most cripples. Sometimes.

Lollipop just rolled her eyes. “Wimp.”

“You bothering Daisy?” Ace asked, prancing to us from the bathrooms. She wore a massive grin. “You dare mock the queen?!” She reared up and pretended to faint. 

The medic mare just stared. “What...” She looked at me and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. Ace just grinned at both of us. Did she just shit out her demons or something?

I had my eyes closed for a good few seconds and sighed, “Yes, I am Daisy, queen of the fireants.” I opened my eyes. “At least that’s what Ace calls me, and what Zippo thinks I am.” I shivered, remembering how we’d met that ant. And after I fell into that egg cluster and got all... egg-y. “Where is that little fella anyway?” I asked, looking around. “Is he still with Tallie?” 

Ace nodded. “Your humble subject remained with Princess Tallie.” 

“Quit it.”

“No.”

“Fine.” I stood up. “I doubt we’ll need him anyway. Close quarters, flammable plants, and fire probably don’t mix well.” Ace skipped past me and toward the main doors, then out into the warm afternoon. I watched her bound with each skip. Mmmm... stoppit!

My belly was full of grub, I’d had a good night’s sleep, and it was a wonderful day! Not much could ruin it for me. The air was warm as we stepped outside. I was more partial to cold, really. At least with cold you could add more layers, but when you’re naked and it’s still too warm, you’re screwed. That was my reasoning, at least. Most ponies went naked anyway. Hid their naughties well, too. Not that I was looking.

“So, you want me to find out where we’re going?” Lollipop asked from behind me. I looked back and nodded. “Okay then, I guess. I’ll head over to the guard ho-”

“I got it!” Ace grinned and bounced off down the road. 

The other unicorn watched her go. “What the hell?” she asked, perplexed. “It’s like Discord’s possessed her or something.” She looked back at me. “Is she always like this?”

“This is the second time it’s happened,” I admitted, looking from Ace’s glorious, curvy... depart, to the pink maned mare. “First time was after she used your bathroom. She must just get real crabby when she needs to use the potty.” 

Lollipop snorted in amusement. “Potty.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “So anyway, we should probably follow he-”

She was cut off by the ground shaking, as a deep rumbling echoed from down the road. A few seconds later, a green box about twice the size of me, with a sloped front turned a corner and headed for us. The massive machine moved on treads, and was covered in repair patches welded to the hull and painted nearly the same colour as the original steel.. It ground to a halt in front of Lollipop, who stood in front of me, as if she could shield me from the metal monstrosity. 

The top hatch popped open, and out sprang Ace. “Hey!” she called down with a grin. “I got us a ride!” 

A ride. She got us a fucking armoured thing. A big fucking armoured thing. On treads. I didn’t even know what to call it, until the rear door lowered, revealing two lines of seats, some occupied. I guess that made it an Armoured Pony Carrier. APC, or something. 

I looked at Lollipop, she looked at me, then at Ace. “Good enough for me,” she said, jumping into the back and sitting down on one of the seats. The other ponies, all Iron Defenders, smiled at her as she did. One of them beckoned me in, too. A pretty mare, with an orange mane and white coat. 

“Are you going our way?” I asked, still standing outside. “I don’t want us to get in your way...”

“It’s nothing, mate!” A massive hoof clapped my back, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I tried to hide it as I looked up at a massive pony in Iron City fatigues and a black beret. Thunderhoof Facecracker. “We’re heading that way anyway. Least we could do is help the tourists!” He gave a hearty laugh and walked up the ramp. “C’mon, mate! Let’s go sightseein’!” 

I didn’t want to disagree with a pony named after cracking faces. I walked up the ramp and took a seat next to Lollipop. Cargo nets above the seats supported all sorts of equipment, ranging from ammo boxes, shovels, a couple of guns, to even larger, tube-like weapons. Sort of like Gaz’s bazooka thing, but different. Ace climbed down from a raised platform and sat across from us. I saw the back of a machine gun outside the hatch, ready to be used if we needed it.

Thunderhoof disappeared into the cab and cables hooked up to some sort of gem powered engine started to glow along the ceiling as the vehicle started to move. Small viewports opened up along the sides of the vehicle, and light flooded the interior. I peered through them and watched ponies marvel at the green monstrosity. I even spotted that little colt on the trike beam up at it, with his mother who chuckled before trundling off. 

We passed the main gates of Iron City, and accelerated off into the desert. Not much to see but dirt, more dirt, sand, blue skies, and the odd cactus. And dirt. Some would call that pretty, but I called it boring. And full of dirt.

The clouds were nice, though. Little fluffy clouds of fluff lazily floated across the big blue sky. I sighed as I sat back down to face reality. There was a high probability that I wouldn’t survive much longer in the wasteland. I’d already almost died three times, and now there were armed ponies hunting me. Except one, but who the hell knew where Hired Gun was? Enjoying what I had was probably the only option I had left.

What did I have? I had a friend who had my back (after she forced me to fight for her honour and stuff) even though I’d accidentally slept with her. I had new friends in Lollipop, Tallie, and even Zippo.

Lollipop was a nice mare, albeit a little weird, and Tallie was smart. From what I could tell, she’d had an extremely tough life until we found her, but somehow she’d become good with machines. I looked forward to seeing more of her little surprises.

 Zippo was... just Zippo. Loyal, helpful, and with zero fucks to give about anything. Sometimes I wished I could have been a mindless drone like him. Was he even mindless? 

I still had friends out in the Apple Plains, I supposed. Would I ever see them again? Something told me the Feds wouldn’t like that, what with me being involved with the Resistance and all. If I survived long enough, and got my revenge, I’d think about heading back. 

I’d lost so much in the past few days, but I couldn’t have been the only one. Tallie lost her innocence long ago. You could see it in her pretty red eyes. The sparkle in the eye of every child, gone from hers. I wouldn’t doubt that the first time she’d really smiled was in the past few days.

Lollipop had lost a husband the day she was tried for treason. That must have torn her up inside, considering it drove her to change everything about herself. But wasn’t that because the Feds were after her? Why were they after her...?

Something must have happened to Ace in her past, too. Something has to make ponies use bitchiness as a defence. Sure, she was sometimes nice to me, but she was a complete bitch to other ponies. She claimed it was a form of defense. From what? I looked over at her. She seemed happy, smiling as she looked out the window. 

The wasteland takes but it rarely gives back. It takes loved ones, innocence, and joy, replacing them with hate, suffering, and war. Could it be changed? Something told me it couldn’t, not without a fuckton of effort; effort which I could only hope would be worth it.

Something to consider...


--- --- ---




In the early afternoon, maybe half an hour after we’d left, we trundled into a large canyon a few miles from Iron City. I wasn’t keeping track of time. I was too busy playing a game I found on my duct-taped pipbuck. I controlled a snake on screen, and when it ate a piece of fruit, it would grow. It died when its head collided with its body, though, so it got really annoying when the snake got too long. I didn’t even notice the canyon until Lollipop nudged me and nodded at the viewports.

Large red cliff faces rose high above us on each side of the APC. It was nice and shady too. Not much unique about them. That was the trouble with living in a desert; not much new to look at. 

It wasn’t long before we ground to a halt beside a small compound that walled the canyon off, effectively denying us any further progress 

Ace bounced out of the rear door of the APC before it had fully opened, and pranced her way over to the compound’s huge iron gate. “Maybe we should knock?” she asked, turning to us with a huge grin as we made our way out of the APC. 

“Won’t work,” Facecracker said with a smile as he stretched. It must have been awfully cramped for the drivers with his massive bulk in the cab. Oh... those poor drivers. At least they could breathe now.

The stallion marched over to the gate, flanked by soldiers from the APC. Lollipop and I followed; five us in total, six if I included the over-excited Ace. She was acting like a foal with candy, that one. Hopping around, grinning like a fool. 

Thunderhoof stopped in front of the gate. The gate shuddered and slowly screeched open in front of us, revealing the inside of the large compound. There was a similar gate on the opposite side of the compound. On one side sat three small buildings while on the other was a large building with a tower rising above it. Four large guard towers sat on the far wall. “Welcome to Outpost Bravo, kiddies,” Thunderhoof announced. “First and last defense before Stable 70. Want to take a look around?”

“Not really,” Lollipop said, walking past him. “We have a job to do, sir.” She trotted past the smaller buildings, Ace bouncing in tow. “Thanks for the lift, though!”

“Job?” Thunderhoof asked, looking at me. “Thought you guys were sightseeing.” I shook my head. “Then... why else-” He narrowed his eyes down at me. I think my heart stopped for a split-second. “You’re wanting to go into Stable 70, aren’t you?”

I timidly nodded. “Y-Yes. Professor Spring Flowers wanted us to-”

“Professor Spring Flowers is a quack,” the yellow stallion said in an annoyed tone. “He probably told you it was safe and all, too.”

“It’s... not?” I asked as my stomach tied itself up. “But... he told us...”

Thunderhoof snorted. “Why do you think we have the guard towers?” he asked, gesturing to the large towers. “Like I said, this is the first and last defense before Stable 70. We aren’t defending it, we’re defending against it.”

“W-Why?” I asked, looking past him and to my friends who were trying to get a guard to open up. 

Thunderhoof took off his beret, revealing a cropped light-green mane. “One of the plants dragged a soldier off a few months ago. We couldn’t get to him in time before the plants closed up.” He stared off toward the door. “We could hear his screams from behind the plant wall...”

I gulped hard. Fuck that shit! I nodded at the large stallion and made my way over to Lollipop and Ace. “Mission’s off. They have killer plants.”

“That’s what Private Fancy here’s telling me,” my lime-green friend said, gesturing at a young pink soldier.

“It’s Private Pearly...” the mare said in a small voice.

“Yeah, that.” Lollipop looked at me. “I don’t reckon they’ll get us.” She gave me her wolfish grin. “After all, we know what we’re up against, and we have weapons to take care of it.” She nodded at Ace who had her machete floating above her. 

“But... killer plants!” I whined, stamping my hooves. I didn’t want to go in there at all! 

Lollipop rolled her eyes. “Clover, listen. It’s not like you’re going in alone. You have me and Ace, and we aren’t going to let you get dragged off.” She looked at Thunderhoof. “Now open the gate, please.”

“No.” That was a simple answer. “I’m not letting you civilians past this gate. It’s far too dangerous.”

Lollipop seemed offended. “Sir, I have military and survival training. I was a combat medic in the Federation army before I was discharged.” She stood tall. “I’m not going to let any plants get me when I know what they are capable of doing.” She turned me around, forcefully, and dragged my knife, Silent Reaper, out of its sheath. Oh hey, I had a knife! “We are also geared up for going in.”

Thunderhoof frowned deeply. “The mayor would kill me if he knew I let some civvies go in there alone. What are you planning on doing in there?”

“Saving Iron City’s farms,” Ace said mid-bounce. She stopped and serious'd up. “Iron City’s soil is dying- Clover confirmed that. The only thing that can save it is, apparently, in this Stable.” 

Thunderhoof looked at me. “Why would you know?”

“I, uh... I used to be a farmer.” I smiled. “Grew the best apples in the Federation.” I missed those days. Working hard in the warm sun, slamming my hooves into a tree to make the apples fall into my brother’s cart and him wheeling it away. “My father was a scientist and he taught me all about soil. Iron City Farms’ soil is going sterile, I don't know how or what but something is making it less fertile."

Thunderhoof looked up at the gate, frowning. “You have training... you have weapons...” He put a hoof on his forehead and sighed, “I don’t know... if you’re convinced that the fix for our soil, if that even is a problem...” He looked at the gate again. “No hostile activity recently...” He looked down at my friends and me. One had a machete, and the other had my knife. “Fine.”

Lollipop nodded. “Right. Thank you.” 

“But!” Thunderhoof said, raising a hoof. “We’re doing a purge this evening with the flamers.” He pointed at the guard towers. Each one had a flamer attached, a pony sitting near it. “Gotta keep the plants back.”

“Keep them back?” Ace tilted her head at the stallion. “What do you mean?”

“They grow really fast, mate,” he said in a low tone. “Got to purge once a week.”

“Then let’s go, already!” Lollipop said, pointing at the gate. “Stop wasting time, and open up!”

Thunderhoof clenched his jaw, thinking. He sighed and looked up at the control tower. He subtly nodded and a few seconds later the gate opened. “Thanks!” Ace said before bouncing through. 

I hesitantly poked my head through the gate. The entire canyon from then on was covered in plant life. Green, luscious leaves and large flowers of all colours. “Whoa,” I exclaimed, walking through. Ace had stopped to marvel as well, but I walked past her. “Pretty...”

Ace looked around some more with her machete out, while Lollipop walked past us, my knife floating beside her, machine gun ready. She stopped at the end of the cavern. “Doesn’t look like we can get in,” she muttered. A massive wall of plant life blocked access to the Stable. Getting in would be hard.

I admired the plant life some more while I tried to think of a way in. The flowers were beautiful! Reds, purples, yellows, blues, almost all the colours of the rainbow painted the canyon. Smelled good, too! I leaned in to sniff a puffy purple one. 

It smelled gorgeous. Like a summer day in the apple fields. A mix of sweet apple, healthy trees, and dry, clean air. Just like back home. I sighed and was about to turn away when the flower started contracting. “Eh?” I blinked and leaned in close again. The flower retracted oddly on its stalk and quivering. Was it afraid? 

It suddenly opened up again and shot a purple cloud of spores into my face. I stumbled back and tripped over a vine, landing on my back. I rubbed my nose with my eyes clenched shut. Sounds started to become muffled as I lay there, trying to get my wits about me. When I opened my eyes, the world had a haze of purple over it. 

Something was wrong though. There were no plants. Instead there were ponies hustling down into the canyon. Soldiers stood on either side, directing them. The soldiers wore yellow fatigues with brown armoured plates. One wore heavier armor than the others, fully enclosed, with a tinted glass faceplate that obscured his whole face. On his back lay a large rocket launcher and a carbine. Only three of the other soldiers wore the same armour, but they had  faces scratched into the plate. One looked like a cat, while the other two had skulls. I liked the kitty one more.

From where I stood, I could read his name on the front of the armour: Pvt. Valentine. Valentine... I’d heard that before, but where...?

“Why do you think we’re going to a Stable?” a mare near me asked. I turned and saw a mare trotting beside a larger stallion wearing a flat cap. “It’s not... is it?” She looked apprehensive, looking at the other ponies. Mares, stallions, and foals all walked together toward the Stable. 

“It’s probably nothin’,” the stallion replied in a thick Emerald accent. “Another drill, most likely.”

“How can you be sure?” the mare asked, looking increasingly worried. “The fighting is getting closer and closer, thanks to Equestria. How do you know this isn’t the end?”

The stallion smiled at the mare and gave her a light kiss. “It’ll never be the end while we’re together, Dew.” He chuckled, “Besides, Equestria’s just paranoid, hence the Stables. I’m sure our boys will kick the zebras back to where they belong. Ever seen the Emerald Battalion?” The mare shook her head. “Aye, proud bunch o’ lads, they are. They’ll fight to the last breath.” He smiled widely. “And that’s why I think we’re safe as houses. Our guys have the tenacity to win.”

The mare nuzzled him, and calmed slightly. “Why do you have to be so damned confident?” she asked, smiling. 

“C’mon, ponies! Get moving!” a griffin called from above them, ruining their moment. I looked up at him and blinked. Was that Gaz? He was wearing the bulky armour with the cool helmet, but it couldn’t be Gaz... no way. Oh, no, it couldn’t be. It was a female griffin, or a male with a feminine voice. Nevermind! The two lovebirds nodded and got back to moving down the canyon. 

“Clover!” 

I heard a voice call from nearby. “Clover! Snap out of it, you idiot!” I felt something collide with my jaw and I snapped out of it, the world turning back to normal. Ace had just fucking punched me in the face! 

“Ow!” I yelped, holding my jaw. “What was that for?!”

“Because you just got hit with hallucinogenic spores!” Lollipop said with a laugh. “You were tripping balls, dude!” She laughed some more before calming down. “Nothing too serious. Should go away in a little bit.”

I grumbled a little and got to my hooves. Ace shook her hoof and blew on it. And that’s why you don’t punch me, I thought. You hurt your hooves. And my face. Ow.

I shook my head to clear up the stuffiness. It helped a bit, but my head still felt like a pillowcase stuffed with fog, which annoyed me. Sighing, I looked between my companions. “Found a way-”

“Come.” 

“What the hell?” I blinked and looked around. “Did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Ace asked, tapping my head. “You still hallucinating, Daisy?”

Was it just in my head? It was a commanding, deep voice. There was no way they couldn’t have heard it! I guess that meant it was in my head. 

I heard the sound of rustling down the canyon toward the entrance, and the plants were starting to shift and move away from the door. It caught the attention of the mares as they looked over. “There’s our way in!” Ace beamed and trotted toward it. “You two comin’?”

“Sure...” I muttered, and followed. Normally, I’d try to stop her, but something... something just seemed so right about going in. My curiosity dragged me along with it into the Stable. I was oddly fascinated. I didn’t object, I just followed. It was like something deep within me had drowned out all of my other emotions and just pushed me forward. I kind of liked it...


--- --- ---




The inside of the Stable was not what I had anticipated. The walls were orange with rust and decay, I barely noticed it under the walls of vines and exotic flowers that filled the air with a delightful, sweet scent. The Stable lights flickered overhead, but it was offset by some of the strangest plants I’d ever seen. Some of the plants had glowing flowers on them, lighting up the space around them.

“Euch,” Lollipop exclaimed, walking past a bunch of red flowers with yellow and black petals.  She trudged along behind Ace, who lead us in, hacking and slashing any vines in our way. 

“It’s not that strong,” Ace called back over her shoulder. See, I can be tactical. I took rear guard so I would not be distracted by Ace, and instead I could keep my focus on the area around us. “Better than most of the smelly wastes. Besides, you can barely smell it.”

The mohawked mare in front of me snorted and stepped over a vine. “I’d rather have the smell of powder and hot lead than the sweet-as-fuck smells in here. And what do you mean, ‘not strong?’ It’s, like, all the strong.” She got her hoof caught and cursed. She shifted, then tilted her head.

I trotted up beside her, holstering my SMG. The chattering of my teeth on the gun’s grip was starting to hurt. Yes, I was scared. What else was new? “What’s up?” I asked, looking down.

Lollipop moved a few leaves. “I felt something.” The medical mare shifted some more leaves and frowned. “See that?” she asked, prodding two long grooves and frowning. “That’s weird.” The lime unicorn looked forward, “They lead off down there.” She pointed down a hallway with a flickering sign above it reading ‘Dorms’. 

Ace looked down it. “I have no clue where to go,” she admitted. Well, wasn’t much of an admission, considering none of us were expected to have any idea. “So that way is better than any way.” She took off ahead of us, wildly swinging her machete. 

This route seemed warmer than the other one we had been following. The entrance with the huge cog-like door felt cold after walking in from the desert, cold with the sense of abandonment. The air became warmer and warmer the further we ventured into the stable, becoming more inviting.

Lollipop cut into the vines under us with my knife and traced the grooves. They looked like long grooves in the cold, rusty metal floor.  “Odd,” I muttered. 

“Imagine what this place must have been like,” Ace said whimsically, “before it went to shit.” She hacked and slashed her way further into the complex, looking up and down the walls. There wasn’t much to slash really, just the odd hanging vine or oversized leaf. 

My vision slowly blurred, and I blinked and narrowed my eyes to correct it. Something weird was happening again, and my head started to feel light. I began hearing voices as my vision cleared. Ace and Lollipop were gone, along with all the branches and vines. 

There was that Emerald Isles pony again. The one who was getting lovey-dovey with the mare. He seemed fairly pleased with himself. He was wearing some sort of jumpsuit, but the colours were distorted with the purple haze. His smile only widened as a little mare in a fancier jumpsuit came charging down the hallway, looking absolutely furious. She was flanked by two ponies in body armour and helmets. 

“Top o’ the mornin’, Overmare,” the stallion said with a pleasant smile. “Fine day we’re having, eh?”

“Cut the bullshit, Chip,” the mare growled. She had a very pretty mane that bobbed as she grumbled. “Why haven’t you fixed the ventilation yet?” She seemed to spit her words at him.

The stallion- Chip, I assumed- furrowed his eyebrows. “I did, three days ago. Aye, there was somethin’ wrong with the fans on the fourth level.” He scratched his shaggy purple-green mane. “What’s wrong now?”

The mare rolled her eyes with her obvious impatience. “More weird noises on the third level, a weird smell in the lower levels, and the heating is busted in the bottom levels.” She prodded him in the chest. “Fix. It.”

The stallion smiled. Holy hell, he had a lot of patience. “Aye, I’ll hop to it. Lemme go get my tools and my team.”

“Your team is already working on it,” the mare growled. “Now get your lazy ass down there you potato-munching peabrain!” With that, she stomped off.

The stallion twitched at her words, then sighed. “Bitch...” He smiled and started whistling an old tune I recognised, then skipped off down the hall. His patience had been really something to behold. 

“Clover!” a voice called out.

The purple haze lifted and the plants slowly materialised in my vision. Lollipop was standing over me, cutting away a vine that was starting to creep over me. “Huh? What?” I asked in a stupor, then realised the situation. I don’t think I ever got to my feet quite as quickly. “What the bloody fuck?!”

Lollipop cut the vine and kicked it away. “In case either of you haven’t noticed, these plants aren’t exactly natural.”

“You don’t say?” I shouted, scooting away from the vine. “Fuck me, that’s creepy...” 

“The quicker we find what we’re looking for, the faster we can get out,” Ace stated from up the hall. She had successfully cut through the wall of vines up ahead and returned to us, shaking off the dew and water from her blade. “We have to be getting close.”

“I hope so,” Lollipop said. “All these smells are really starting to bug me.” She shifted her battle saddle, then took point. Ace wasn’t far behind with her shotgun. She’d turned from happy and bouncy to agitated and generally pissed-off. 

“Doesn’t look like we’ll find much loot,” Ace grumbled, pissed off by the vines covering just about anything. “Can’t find anything in this shit.” She hacked and slashed at the vines, looking more agitated by the moment. 

Lollipop looked back. “Ace, I need you up front.” She nodded forward to a large wall of vines, blocking our path. Apparently we were coming up on an intersection: left to the dorms, right to the atrium. “We can probably find loot after we find out what caused all this. If it’s a machine, we shut it down and take it back to the Professor or destroy it. Either way, we will get your loot.”

Ace grumbled as she stomped forward, driving her machete into the vines, and Lollipop fell back a little toward me. “I think we should go through the dorms first,” she whispered and looked over her shoulder at Ace. “She’s getting pissed, and I don’t think she’s feeling too well. Better please her desire for loot before going on.”

I thought about that for a few moments. It would delay us, but it would stop Ace from lashing out at us. “Okay, yeah,” I said and nodded. It was a fairly good idea, and she was right. Ace didn’t look like she was feeling well. I couldn’t tell what it was. I think it was in her eyes.

She roared in triumph as she broke through. “Fuck you, vines! You can suck my dick!” she yelled, then stamped on the remains.

Lollipop nudged Ace and nodded ahead of them. She looked deadly serious. “I don’t think we should be insulting them.” She moved a few vines out of the way and stopped. “Don’t want to end up like him.”

What I saw made me go lightheaded and made my blood run cold. Ahead of us at the intersection was a pony- an Iron Defender from the torn armour and fatigues. He was dead, at least I seriously hoped he was, and from the marks on his hooves, he was the one who’d made the grooves in the floor. The vines had pinned him to the wall, and plants were growing out of his chest cavity. Flowers of pink, blue, and yellow dotted around his body, protruding from the flesh and bone. Flowers had even bloomed from his eye sockets.

Ace winced. “Ouch.” She didn’t look away or anything, but actually walked up to it and rummaged around his neck. She pulled off his dog tags and deposited them in one of the pockets on her leather jacket. “What a way to go...” She looked him over one more time and looked to Lollipop. “Ever seen anything like this?”

The medical mare shook her head. “No.” She took a closer look. “Whatever is causing these plants to grow so quickly has made them carnivorous.” She looked between Ace and me. “Perhaps some sort of military experiment?”

Ace rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.” She raised an eyebrow and smirked at Lollipop. “I seriously doubt that. What are you, a conspiracy theorist?” 

“I dunno, Ace,” Lollipop replied, looking at the body. “They were up to some pretty fucked up shit during the war.”

Ace rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Probably just a mutation.” She looked up and down the hall. “So. Which way now?”

The pink-mohawked mare jerked her head toward the dorms. “Probably something down this way. Let’s go.” She started her march down the hall. Ace produced something like a squeeing noise and darted off after her, leaving me staring at the corpse, white as a sheet. It wasn’t long before they realised I was frozen and dragged me with them.

It took me several moments to actually come to terms with what I’d just seen. A pony had been... dissected and used as some sort of incubator for plants. My head spun at the very thought, and it took a lot of effort to put up mental barriers against the images. “Can we leave?” I whimpered, holding my head. I didn’t even know where we were.

I felt a strong hoof on my shoulder and looked up to see Lollipop. “Hey, it’s not as bad as you think,” she said, stooping down beside me. “Think of it this way. He was forced to live in this hell-hole we call a home. The wasteland. Where death is around every corner.” She looked up toward the ceiling. “But now he’s up there, sitting on a cloud watching over it, laughing as he’s surrounded by beautiful mares and all the luxuries you and I couldn’t even begin to imagine.” She looked back at me. “There is a better place after death.” She patted my shoulder and stood up. “Hell, anywhere’s better than here.” The lime unicorn offered me her hoof. 

Taking it, I stood up and took a deep breath. “I... I guess,” I muttered. Home was better than this, but I guessed I didn’t even have that anymore. I was quite literally homeless. How about that. I had nothing at all to my name, other than the things in my hotel room. I sighed and looked around to see where we were.

Ace dove into one of the rooms along the hallway I was standing in, and Lollipop took the other side. I had friends. Possibly more than a friend in one of them. Ace, Lollipop, and Tallie. Some ponies didn’t have even one friend out there. Mostly by choice, though. At least my luck had held out long enough for me to possibly keep them.

“Where are we?” I finally asked. The hall looked just the same as the other ones we’d been through. Dark, flickering lights and vines crept up the walls. Most of the lights in here were still operational, but the light flowers helped.

“Dorms,” Ace said with a grin, trotting out of one of the rooms. Her saddle packs looked a little heavier. “Good loot.” She opened her bag and let me look inside. She had managed to find a few blue and yellow jumpsuits, a few tools that Tallie might like, an old radio, and a snow globe.

I gave the snow globe a little shake after pulling it out of Ace’s bag. It had a large city with a huge tower poking out the middle of it. The tower’s top was shaped like my cutie mark, a four-leafed clover. Normally, I’d be suspicious, but a four-leafed clover means luck so it was probably just coincidence. Among the swirling snow was a tiny grey pegasus with a blonde mane flying around with a huge grin on her face. There must have been a manufacturing error because one of her eyes was looking in the wrong direction. It was adorable nonetheless, even after it bonked against the tower’s shaft. 

“Cute,” I muttered and put it back. “What are you planning to do with all of this?” 

Ace rolled her eyes. “Sell it, obviously.” She marched into the next room. From that one she salvaged another jumpsuit, some manedressing tools, and an old pipbuck. 

“Can I take a look at that?” I asked, gesturing at the pipbuck.

Ace looked at me, then to my foreleg. “But you’ve already got one,” she said with a pout. I just looked at my hoof, then back to her. She looked at her bag and bit her lip in thought. “Ugh, fine, but you aren’t keeping it.”

I pulled it out and looked it over. It was broken and the screen was smashed, but the clasp looked like it more than worked. “It’s busted,” I said, giving it back to Ace, “but we can probably get mine fixed with parts from that one.”

“Or vice-versa!” Ace said, taking it back. “We can use parts from yours to fix mine!”

My ears drooped. “But... mine already works...” She wouldn’t take it away from me, would she? I liked it, even if I didn’t use it. I should use it more... 

Ace just stared at me, then sighed, “Fine.”

“Maybe Tallie might be able to do something with it,” Lollipop said, emerging from another room, grinning. “She’s pretty good at fixing things.”

“Find anything?” my beige unicorn friend asked. 

Lollipop nods. “Yep. Jumpsuits, some jewelry, and a pistol.” 

“Nice!” Ace looked at me. “We have more rooms to check. Get to it!”

And so I trotted off to find my own loot from the remaining rooms. The rooms were all the same but in various degrees of disrepair. One had a wall caved in, overrun with vines, while the next one along was fine, and then the one after that had vines growing through the middle of the mattress. They all had jumpsuits and a some good salvage like some scrap metal, some glue, some writing utensils- just the regular stuff.

What made me sad was one of the surviving things in this Stable. A child’s drawing hung up above a little desk. It featured three ponies, a unicorn stallion, an earth pony mare, and a small pink child. Looking around the room, I knew the child was dead but I hoped they didn’t die in this place. Hopefully they got out and led a good, long life and died of old age.

Sometimes I thought I was the only one with hope. A lot of ponies just don’t think of the future and live in the present. They’d been conditioned by the wastes. They know they don’t have a lot of time in this world. Hope was probably going to be the thing to keep me going, hope that one day my life would go back to normal. As normal as it could be, all alone.

It wasn’t long before each room was searched and our saddle bags were full of loot. Components, jumpsuits, miscellaneous stuff, and more general loot. Nothing really noteworthy. “So how much do you think we’ll get for all of this?” Ace asked, tightening her saddlebags. 

“I dunno...” Lollipop said, thinking. “Uh... I think maybe about five hundred to a thousand caps, depending on how you barter.”

Ace grinned. “Bet you I’ll get more.”

“You’re on.”

“Can we go now?” I piped up, quietly. “I don’t like it here...”

Lollipop looked at me and chuckled, “Alright, let’s head to the atrium, then call it a day.” She started walking down the hallway with my knife in her magic. “I have vine samples and flowers and stuff. Hopefully that’ll be enough for the Professor.”

“You sure about that?” I asked, following. “I mean... I hope it is... I don’t like it here... but are you sure?”

Lollipop shrugged. “No clue, but it should be.”

We passed under the sign for the dorms and walked toward the atrium. Lollipop had taken us a different way, thankfully. I couldn’t see that stallion again. Not like that. 

“Well... if you think it’ll work... then-”

The world around me turned purple for the third time as we turned a corner. That same Emerald Isles stallion sprinted past me and up the metal stairs up ahead. My hooves decided to disobey my brain and follow the stallion up the stairs and into a massive room. 

The room had several supports and catwalks lining the upper floor. Ponies were chanting with large picket signs up at a large, round window. That bitchy mare was staring down at the crowd looking very worried. I looked over at one of the signs. It read ‘We want answers’. Another read ‘We want a new Overmare’. From the signs to the chants, I think that they were pissed at a lack of communication.

“We asked, and we get nothing back!” one of them yelled. “What is going on in the maintenance levels?! The noise is driving us nuts! Tell us!” 

The Emerald stallion was sweating as he looked between the window and the crowd. “Ponies, please!” he yelled, getting most of their attention. “We’ve only just received replacement ventilation parts from Stable-Tec! We are in the process of repairing them!” How were they getting parts? Had the world ended yet, or were they only here to escape the war? Probably all lies...

“Then why wouldn’t the Overmare answer when we asked?!” one shouted, followed by an uproar. 

The stallion had a hard time trying to calm everyone down. “My little ponies! Please! Remain calm!” He waited for the noise to die down. “The Overmare has been swamped trying t’organise the delivery and Stable-Tec has said there would be consequences if the residents found out about any faulty parts. I can assure ye these are the only parts that were faulty. My team and I have run every diagnostic, and everythin’ will be back t’ normal soon.” He looked up at the mare, who looked absolutely stunned. “Don’t blame the Overmare. She’s been working damn hard t’ make sure we all live.” He turned back to the crowd. “Blame Stable-Tec for their operations.”

All the ponies looked at one another, then up to the Overmare. “I still don’t trust her...” one muttered, then looked at the Emerald stallion, “but if you say so, Chip... I guess we’ll see...” They started to file out of the atrium one by one. The stallion breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the mare, who was utterly perplexed. 

“If only it were true...” he muttered.

The purple haze dropped and I was standing in the same huge room, but the walls were rusted; the catwalks, collapsed. Vines were hanging off everything, and a group of massive flowers, all various colors, were growing in a corner. The large, circular window was smashed and a huge branch was jutting out of it, covered in leaves. Skeletons of all shapes and sizes littered the room. Surprisingly, in my hallucinogenic state, I hadn’t stepped on one, but that didn’t stop me from gasping and backpedaling to the girls, who seemed marveled by something.

They were both staring at a massive hole that cut the room down the middle, which a massive tree was growing out of. The air was warm and humid, most of it coming from the massive hole. “Celestia’s hairy nipples!” I exclaimed, backpedaling again. “What the hell?!”

Ace looked between Lollipop and me. “My expert powers of deduction indicate that this is where all the fuck-uppery of this Stable is coming from.”

“No shit, Fetlock,” was Lollipop’s reply. She picked her way through the skeletons, toward the hole. Any one of these skeletons could have been Chip. The lime mare finally made it and peered into the hole. “That’s a long way down...” She kicked an old hoof-bone down. I didn’t hear anything, even several moments after.

“Was... was that necessary...?” I asked, navigating my way through the bones. “That was once somepony’s hoof...”

Lollipop looked over her shoulder at me. “These were just the scaffolds of their bodies. They aren’t ponies anymore.” She looked at the bones and sighed, “Just carbon and calcium deposits, if anything.”

I guess she was kinda right. They weren’t ponies anymore, just dust and bones. I slowly looked over the edge, basically hugging the floor. “...long way dow-”

A piercing screech lanced through my ears and I stumbled back. I could barely hear the screams of Lollipop and Ace as they both hit the floor, holding their ears. It felt like a million knives made of sound, stabbing into my brain. Ace slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious by the sonic assault, and Lollipop went down too. All that remained was the screech, me screaming, and the agonised howl of Trailblaze deep in the recesses of my brain. 

A smile slowly crept across my face as I fell. Trailblaze was in pain. Joy.

“This... is not the end,” a voice boomed in my head as a group of huge, off-colour vines crept out of the hole. No, not vines. Were they tentacles? They shone in the the light and looked a lot smoother than the vines. They wrapped around my companions and picked them up before returning back to the hole with Ace and Lollipop secured in their grip. Then it was my turn to be carried into the abyss. “A new beginning... awaits...”


--- --- ---




I must have passed out on the way down. It was like a dreamless sleep as I descended further into the depths of the hole. I moaned as my eyes creaked open. Thick vines covered the walls, but a few dim lights stuck out from the foliage, illuminating the area around them. I couldn’t tell how far down we were because looking up I only saw black. It was the same case with looking down. Where were we?

The purple haze descended on me again. I wasn’t in the shaft. It was some sort of corridor, but not as fancy as the other ones. Chip walked past me, muttering to himself and sweating. He checked each vent he passed and growled. “What the hell?” he yelled. Didn’t look like he’d fixed anything. 

I followed him, watching him grump and growl his way through the hall. He checked a few terminals and dials then growled in frustration. He sat down and sighed deeply, resting his head against the wall. “Overmare’s going t’ kill me...” he muttered to himself and closed his eyes. 

I frowned and stared at him. He didn’t look like the type to just give up, but by the look of him he looked like he’d been stressing about it. His mane seemed a little thinner and he looked older than before. 

He kept his eyes closed and hummed to himself, probably some form of stress reliever. It was cut off by the sound of a wrench hitting the cold, steel ground up the hall. Both of our heads snapped to the origin of the sound and saw the end of a white coat duck into a side passage.

“Oi!” Chip called out. “What’re ye playin’ at?!” He got up and sprinted after whoever it was.

We both sprinted down the hall, me more out of curiosity. We turned the corner but there was nopony there. Like they just vanished into the cement wall at the end. “The fuck?” Chip yelled, pulling his mane. He took a deep breath and slowly calmed down. “I know I’m not crazy...” 

I looked around. I was crazy, yeah, but not that crazy. Where’d he go?

“Aha!” Chip announced. He trotted forward, looking at some black hoofprints on the steel. The pony who ran through here knocked over an oil can and left a trail. We followed them until we hit the wall, which didn’t make sense unless it was a ghost. Chip started looking up and down the walls in a frustrated haste. “Making secret passages in my maintenance department?” he grumbled, padding along the pipes. “I don’t bloody think so...”

His hoof clicked on something and the wall started to silently swing backward. “Aha! Found ye!” He looked through the door, then stopped. The purple tinged stallion turned his head directly at me and blinked. “Hello?” he asked, his eyes dancing along me. 

“You... can see me?” I asked, taking a step back.

He continued to stare. “Hello? Anyone down there?” 

“I’m right here...” I said and side stepped. His eyes didn’t follow me as they looked down the hallway. 

Chip shrugged and shook his head. “Stress...” he muttered and walked through the door. We found ourselves on a catwalk in a huge, vertical chamber like an elevator shaft. There was a large door at the very end where you could have easily fit maybe six ponies through side-by-side. 

Chip stared. “That wasn’t in the plans...” He dipped his head over the guardrail and looked up and down into the darkness. “... that’s ridiculous... we’re only ten levels down...” he grumbled to himself as he marched toward the massive door. “Overmare’s gonna want me t’ install more lights, probably.” 

He looked up and down the massive door and looked for the release. After finding the little hoof pad at the side of the door, the whole thing slid open silently, bathing us in light. Sounds of machines and ponies filled the air, each hustling and bustling, too busy to notice the door. 

“This... this definitely wasn’t in the blueprint...” Chip said, glancing around.

Ponies in white coats stood at large terminals around the room, each looking to the back wall where one massive machine stood, pipes snaking out of both sides along with two huge tanks on the top. 

What grabbed my attention the most was what was in the corner. Contained in a massive, reinforced case was a beast that I couldn't have conjured up in my wildest dreams. Covered in chains the huge red serpentine-like creature lay on its side while massive pipes pumped green and yellow liquid was siphoned from its body as it lay there moaning softly. It had a large hump just behind its head and some sort of gill-like fins under its neck. Its powerful mandibles jutted out, boasting large, sharp teeth. It looked like it was in intense pain. 

The intercom crackled to life, and we looked up at a large booth to the side of the room. “Doctor Perfect, is the MRF sample ready?” The voice was a mare’s, and she sounded like she meant business. It was sharp and joyless.

Doctor Perfect? Like... like the one from the hospital?

“Just about, ma’am,” came another voice. I looked over and saw a vaguely familiar stallion. Completely unmutated wearing his doctor’s uniform, he was sitting at the huge machine, watching a screen. “It... it has to be absolutely... perfect...” He lightly tapped a few more buttons and grinned. “And there we have it.” The light-green unicorn looked up at the booth. “Perfection.”

“Very good, Doctor. You are living up to your expectations swimmingly,” the voice said with a smug tone. “Using Quarry Eels was ingenious.” 

The doctor took a bow with a sick grin on his face. “They are the... perfect... specimens, ma’am.” He grinned and clicked a few buttons on the console. “Their regeneration abilities and general tenacity blends perfectly with the MRF sample.” He pressed a few more buttons and a few lights blinked, followed by a soft ding. “Before we send it to the Equestrian branch, we simply must test it.” 

The chains rattled and clanked as the beast groaned deeply, the sound reverberating through the room. It writhed and rolled, trying to get free, but it gave up. It looked like it had been there for days, trying to fight its way out but to no avail. 

“What the bloody hell is this?” Chip said aloud, then gasped when he remembered he was speaking out loud. His eyes darted around as he covered his mouth and slowly started to back out of the room. 

A nearby scientist spun his head around and his eyes grew wide. “Security breach!” He yelled up at the booth. Another scientist near us sprinted to the door and slammed a hoof down on the door release making the massive door slide shut. 

Chip was then grabbed by two full-helmeted ponies wearing all black and dragged backwards. He tried to resist but it was futile. They were both too strong. Chip thrashed against them, yelling at them and telling them to let go of him.

“Chip, what are you doing down here?” a familiar voice asked after the guards finally released him. The Overmare was staring at him with an unamused face. “You don’t have authorization to be here.”

Chip deadpanned and looked around. “You’re responsible for this?! Torturing that animal?! What the hell is going on down here?!”

The Overmare sighed deeply. “No, and I can’t tell you.” She bit her lip and looked up at the booth, then back to Chip. “You aren’t supposed to be here, Chip.”

“Bullshit!” he shouted. “I’m the head of maintenance! Its my job to know this place inside and out, and this whole area isn’t on the blueprints!” He looked around and growled, “This is where the sounds are coming from, isn’t it!” 

The Overmare let out a long sigh and shook her head. “They... yes... we made the sounds... synthetic... experiment...” 

 “Petal,” the unamused voice from the booth said over the intercom. The Overmare looked up at the booth. “You know what to do.”

“But-”

“Do it.”

The Overmare looked at Chip, then the guards. She jerked her head and the guards grabbed poor Chip, dragging him to some sort of operation table. 

“What are you doing?!” he cried out as they started to strap him in. 

“You’re... you were just in the wrong place... at the wrong time...” the Overmare said softly.

Machines started to hum and come to life, and scientists started to attend their stations. “Test subject one ready,” one announced from his terminal.

“T-Test subject?” Chip stared at the Overmare. “What... what are you doing?!” Doctor Perfect took a few seeds from a compartment on the machine and dabbed one with a small drop of ooze from another port. He started to approach Chip. “Don’t do this!” he yelled, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. “Please!” He looked at the mare again, tears starting to brim in her eyes. “I defended you when the Stable turned against you! I helped you every step of the way! Please! Don’t do this!”

“I’m sorry...” the mare said quietly. “...so sorry.” She looked from the floor to him, tears starting to roll down her cheek. “We’ll tell Dew you died doing your duty.”

“No!” the stallion screamed, thrashing against his restraints. “Don- no! NO! NO!” Doctor Perfect grinned as he loomed over Chip. 

“I’m so sorry.” The mare looked away and stepped back.

Doctor Perfect grinned. “But you my friend, will become perfect...” He gave a sick, demented grin as he levitated the seed over Chip’s head. “Perfect.”

“Get the fuck away from me!” Chip yelled. He looked at the mare. “I won’t tell anypony! Just let me go and I’ll forget all about it!” He looked back at the seed, then to the mare, who was now ignoring him completely. “I can’t believe you’d betray me!” He yelled and thrashed. “Dew will know you did this! I won’t be around to stop them!”

“No,” the voice boomed over the intercom. “You won’t. But our guns will.”

“No! Please no!” Chip shrieked. The doctor grinned and shoved the seed down Chip’s throat and forced him to swallow it. “Ack! No! Get it out!” He screamed and thrashed more. 

The poor stallion started to convulse and writhe, his shrieks getting more and more pained. They were muffled by the vines and plants starting to sprout from his mouth and other orifices. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away. 

Plants erupted from his abdomen, silencing his last screaming breath. The last thing I saw was the Quarry Eel silently weeping at the sight.

The haze dissipated and the world went back to normal, or whatever passed for my version of normal. I looked down and could barely make out where the tentacles sprouted from. The catwalk down below had half-collapsed but that was definitely the same door that Chip had been locked in. I looked around for my companions, but both were still out cold. I hoped they were only out cold. 

I gulped and took a deep breath. Okay, being dragged down into the depths of hell where I’d watched poor Chip get murdered, horribly. The tentacle tightened around me when I tried to struggle out, so doing nothing was the best option.

“You...”

“Me,” I replied, staring down. “What... who... why?”

Then there was just silence as we continued our decent. It wasn’t long before we were dragged into the large room where Chip had been murdered. My eyes clamped shut, not wanting to meet whatever was down here. I didn’t even want to think about what it could possibly be. The room was hot, and the humidity matted my mane and made me sweat profusely. 

I felt a surge of warm air that smelled rather nice. Not sweet like flowers. More Bitter. I think my dad had cultivated something a little similar, but I didn’t remember what it was called. Began with an E, if I remembered right.

“Welcome,” the voice boomed near us. “Do not fear me.”

I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes, then screamed when I saw what the tentacles belonged to.

In front of me was a massive olive-green hybrid between a tree and a snake. It was long and huge but had no limbs, just tentacles protruding out of holes in bark like armoured spots. It didn’t have any leaves and its massive head loomed in front of us. Its body was coiled up with pipes running down it over small terminal monitors and wires that snaked in and out of its body.

The beast’s head was massive, green, and sported a strong lower jaw that protruded from it. It opened its mouth and bathed us in a green mist, which was what I had smelled before. Huge sharp teeth lined the inside of its maw, forcing another scream out of me. It lacked eyes or a nose, and its mouth took up a huge portion of its head.

I tried not to look at it, my head turning away from the monstrous beast before me. This was definitely the room from my hallucination. The rows of terminals had all been destroyed and the booth at the side looked like it had exploded. And there was the operation table. Plants covered it from the ribcage of an old, dusty skeleton. Poor Chip...

“What... what...” I whimpered, quivering. “... don’t eat me...”

The giant thing rumbled and a green mist seeped from its mouth. He slowly lifted Ace and turned its massive head toward her “This... unicorn...” he rumbled, more mist bellowing out. “... this unicorn is determined... headstrong. A soul and heart to match.” He flipped her upside down, looking her over. “But her mind is clouded... stormy...”

He turned his attention to Lollipop. “This one... is different... she is strange...” it rumbled, mist bellowing. “Caring... compassionate... rare virtues... but troubled...” it stared at her, examining her, and it was a long moment before it spoke again. “... locked away...”

It lifted me up when I squirmed a little and stared at me with its blank face. “But you... you are... unique...” It stared for a long moment. “Adaptive... sensitive... scared.” The beast smirked and rumbled a deep chuckle. “Two souls fighting for one body.” It flipped me upside down. “Two beings.... capable of such power...”

“...Wh-What....?” I whimpered, trying to make myself smaller. “Why... why am I here...?”

The beast rumbled deeply, the mist washing over me. “I require someone such as you... a being capable of such power.” he rumbled again, bringing me back to my upright position. “I require your assistance.”

I gasped and looked over at Chip’s skeleton. “No! Nononononono, you’re not turning me into an incubator for your plants! No! Never!”

“Silence!” the beast roared, his tentacles shaking. I could feel the bile starting to rise in my throat as the tentacles tightened, making my eyes bulge. “I brought you here for a reason!”

“Which is...?” Ace moaned, her head lolling as she started to wake up. She shook her head and opened her eyes. She stared at the monster for a long moment before whistling. “That’s new...”

“What is it?” I yelled at her after the tentacles loosened a little. 

“Hey, relax,” she replied. She looked over at me, then jerked her head at the monster. “You don’t want to piss this thing off, and if it wants something from us we should be safe.” I stared at her and she smirked. “Trust me.”

I did trust her, but this was a big fucking monster! But it was Ace. Sure, she lied to me when we met, but... okay. I just needed to calm down. 

“I require you...” the voice boomed, “for my freedom.” 

“Who and what are you?” Ace asked. She tried to shrug but couldn’t due to the tentacles around her body. “We ain’t helping you until we know.”

“I...?” it rumbled, then seemed to ponder. “I am the Patriarch... the father of all life in this stable...”

“So... so... so y-you... you killed... that Defender?” I asked, shaking.

The patriarch raised me up and brought me a little closer. “No. That was not my doing.” He raised me up and pulled a short distance away. “That... was the Tether.”

“Tether?” Ace asked, squirming a little. “What do you mean?” 

The Patriarch slowly moved to the side, revealing the huge machine behind him. Some of the screens were smashed and a lot of the hull had fallen off, but it looked like it was still working. One of the vats at the top had exploded and there were dents and holes all over it, like something was biting it. “My Tether. Created by the ponies... that tortured me...” He looked over at the skeleton. “The pain...”

Did he even have eyes? How could he see? Either way, it was hard to tell but I could sense such pain and sorrow in his voice. Pain, suffering, betrayal. Pre-war ponies were probably even more evil than ponies today, and had a lot more access to this sort of tech. Fuck them.

“And that is why I need you,” The Patriarch said, turning his attention back to Ace, an unconscious Lollipop, and me. “The Tether has turned my creations into monsters. I can only persuade them while the Tether sleeps.” He turned his massive head to me. “That is why you survived. I saw you coming and led you to safety.”

“So, what?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow and rolling her eyes. “You just want us to untether you and stuff? That it?”

“In a word...” the Patriarch rumbled, the corners of his mouth twitching in annoyance. “Yes.”

“Easy peasy,” my beige unicorn companion said, wriggling again trying to get free. “Let us go and we’ll shoot the shit out of it. It goes boom and bye-bye plants. Easy as one, two, three.”

“If it were that easy,” the olive green monster retorted, “I would have done it myself long ago.”

Ace rolled her eyes. “Here we go, the complicated part.”

“My children... my creations... will continue to kill and spread for as long as the Tether holds me here.” The monster looked up at the ceiling and all the vines crawling across it. “When the Tether is destroyed, I will be free and I will have full control of my children... no killing... only peace...”

“Bullshit,” Ace muttered, then piped up. “What do you need us to do exactly?”

“Destroy my Tether, so I may be free.”

“Yeah, we get that,” the unicorn mare sighed, “but this whole thing has holes in it. How do we do it, why should we do it, and better yet...” She smirked. “What’s in it for us?”

The Patriarch rumbled deeply, like he was agitated or displeased. “You will do it, so I can be free. Your lands are barren and infertile. I can change that.” He rumbled once more, his tentacles writhing around him. “And I will owe you the lives of my children, and my own.”

That would be a pretty huge favour he’d owe us. I could use that to my advantage to catch Double Down and kill him. Maybe he’d let me use one of those killer seeds. With anypony else, I wouldn’t think of it, but Double Down deserved nothing less. 

“And how do we destroy the Tether?” Ace asked, not even trying to get loose anymore. I think she had him by the balls, really. More like I hoped she did.

The giant mutated Quarry Eel looked at the machine and spoke; “I have tried for... decades... centuries... to destroy it, but the origin remains intact.” He looked back at us and sighed his green mist over us. Pity Lollipop was missing this whole thing. She’d probably be interested in this sort of thing. “The origin is what stops the Tether from breaking.”

“Origin?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. It wasn’t so much because I was curious but because I was slowly being tilted by the tentacle. “What or where is that? Why would that stop you?”

“This machine is worn down, broken, but still active,” The Patriarch rumbled. “Its husk remains, but I cannot stop its main function. The origin must be destroyed for the toxin to cease.”

“Okay, now you’re just making this more and more difficult with your enigmatic shit,” Ace snarled at the beast, writhing. She actually managed to get a hoof out of the tentacle. “Now answer straightforwardly. What is this toxin, where is the origin, and how do we destroy it?!”

The Patriarch roared loudly, thrashing his tail violently, producing a loud clang when it hit the metal wall. “You dare insult me?!” 

I was surprised Lollipop hadn’t woken up. I hoped she wasn’t dead. No, she wasn’t dead. She was snoring.

“Yeah, wanna know why?” Ace roared back. “Because you fucking need us to do this for you. Why else would you be giving us these speeches? Cut the crap already!”

The Patriarch calmed after several moments. “It is true that I need your help. My apologies. Being betrayed, experimented on, and centuries being trapped in this dungeon and in this body have left me sour.” He took a deep breath and nodded, calming further. “The Tether is in the MRF facility, I believe. In the heart of the city you call Mustang.”

“Oh shit...” Ace grumbled. “Mustang huh? That complicates things...” 

 “How?” I asked, now upside down. My hind hooves sort of wiggled subconsciously, trying to right themselves. “Ruins, right? Couldn’t be worse than Buckwheat.”

Ace looked over at me and sighed deeply, “I’ve heard stories from scavengers that go in there. Most come out saying it’s fucking cold and the air is poisonous, but a few of them say they saw things. Like out the corner of their eye.” She shrugged and waved her free hoof. “Probably just nuts from the air. Nopony knows why you can’t breathe and why it’s cold, but the whole place just radiates ‘bad.’” 

“And that is where you must go to free me,” The Patriarch rumbled and rolled me back over. My hooves dangled freely again, which felt good having blood back in my hoovsies. 

“That...” I whimpered, “sounds bad. Super bad. Really bad.” I pouted and looked at the Patriarch. What was it I said before? Something about the wasteland taking and never giving back. Something about somepony like me not being able to change it without a fuckton of effort. From what I’ve seen in this Stable, the Patriarch was probably capable of carrying out his promise. Some sort of... terraforming or something. Ultra farming. 

“Is it true what you said?” I asked, looking at the Patriarch. “You can make the wastes fertile?”

“It will take years to complete, decades... centuries...” He took a little moment to think. “But I can spread fertility faster than plants. I can fertilize the desert in a mere decade.”

I bit my lip and thought. Looking up at Ace, I sighed, “I think we should go for it.”

“And why’s that?” Ace asked in a surprised tone, eyebrows arched. “That’s not like you to go anywhere but a room full of rainbows and pillows.”

“Because...” I looked at The Patriarch, then back to Ace. “Because this might be what the wasteland needs. A breath of new life, y’know? Maybe it might stop taking and start giving?”

“You really haven’t been out here long, have you?” Ace asked as if I was a foal. “Clover, the wasteland is a complete shithole filled with wretched scum and villains. Your own brother was murdered by someone from here.” She gave me a soft-hearted look. “It’s taken everything from you. Why do you want to help it?”

I closed my eyes for a long moment. It was true, my brother had been murdered out here, and I’ve seen more murder and death than anypony should. “Ace... I have nothing. No hopes, no dreams, no family, nothing. Nothing but a desire for revenge.” I opened my eyes, blinking away the tears. “We need to save this dying land so nopony else needs to go through what I’m going through.”

“Wretched... scum... villains...” The Patriarch rumbled, lifting me higher, bringing Ace and I closer. “You say these things... but what I see before me is the opposite. Where others would turn to violence, this one turns to selflessness. Nothing to lose, but everything to gain.” 

“That’s not the same,” Ace said, looking at the beast. “I meant the ponies in the wasteland up there. The vile scumbags.”

“You are both of the wasteland, born of the ashes of a broken world.” The Patriarch let out a throaty chuckle. “But you are the opposite.”

Ace stared for a moment, then looked at me. She looked back and forth a few times, then let her gaze rest on me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded. “Yes. Who knows, it might even help the Resistance.” Truth be told, I didn’t want anypony but The Patriarch having control over the land. He’d probably run it the best, having no real relation to any political faction in the Ponave. “I’m willing to take the risk to do my part in changing this world.”

“Real noble of you...” Ace said, a little skeptical. She sighed and looked back at the olive-green plant eel. “I guess... I guess we’ll do it.” She frowned. “But I want a good long chat about our reward when we get back, got it?”

“Very well,” the beast replied with a smile. “I have high confidence in you three... four? A... griffin cub... yes... she will be useful to you.” 

“How...?” I began.

“I wouldn’t question him,” Ace cut me off.

I zipped my lip and stared at the beast. 

“Then you will go to the Origin, destroy my shackles and the Tether, and return to me. Then I will... I will be free...” He smiled broadly at the very thought of freedom. “Then we shall see about your reward.”

“A’ight, cool,” Ace said, nodding. “Well now that that’s all cleared up, let’s-”

“Sleep...” The Patriarch hissed. Instead of a green mist coming from him, it took on a blueish tinge and washed over us. My eyelids began to feel like lead as they slowly closed. The last thing I saw before falling into dreamland was the beast’s grin. The apparent gentle giant in an underground prison. 

Poetic, that.


--- --- ---




“And that is how you make a basic filter,” my father said as Shamrock stood beside him. They stood at the workbench right next to the house back on the Apple Plains. My father held up a small box with his magic. The salt-and-pepper-maned stallion smiled at Shamrock.

Shamrock nodded in appreciation. “Thanks dad.” He looked over his shoulder and spotted me. “Hey little brother!” he called and waved me over. 

Shamrock... dad... it must have been a dream, but I didn’t care. I sprinted over to them, regardless of the weight behind me. I saw my brother and father clear as day. Logic be damned, I wanted this. 

I flung my hooves around Shamrock and held him tight. “Woah! You’re awfully huggy today.” He patted my back and chuckled. “You can stop now. Take a look at what dad made.”

“Look at this, son,” Dad said, directing my attention to the little machine he built. “This is a basic filter, capable of sterilizing small amounts of water or food over the course of an hour.” He beamed with pride at his creation. “It is simple to make but hard to find the parts.” He nodded at Shamrock. “I was just showing your brother here how to make it.”

“Cool...” I said, looking the little box over. It had pipes hooked up into a weird-looking jar. “But why do we need it?” I looked back and kicked the apple cart behind me. “We have all sorts of fresh food out here.”

My father sighed and shook his head. “Not everypony does, son.” He picked it up and held it up. “There are ponies out there who’d kill for what we have, Clover.” He looked at me with his brilliant emerald eyes. “Ponies beyond the eastern border. In the Ponave.” He sighed and put the device down. “There’s a whole world out there, and they don’t have the Federation to protect them.” He put a hoof on my shoulder then hugged me. “Anything to make a difference.” 

A difference. Out there. No, out here. This may have been a dream, but I was very much in the Ponave. No wait, this wasn’t a dream, this was a memory! This was about three years ago. 

“Change makes the world go around,” Dad said, looking back at the filter. “The world ended with a huge change. A negative one. But what if there was a change that was that big but good?” He looked at me and smiled. “Son, I’ve lived by a few simple words. Be the change you want to see in the world.” 

Be the change I want to see in the world. Those were damn good words to live by.


--- --- ---




“Clover!” a particular voice yelled into my ear, instantly bringing me back from my sleep. “You seriously have to stop being so Luna-damned lazy!” Lollipop said with a large smile, then offered me her lime hoof. “C’mon. I don’t remember how we got here, but I think we should probably leave.”

“Uh...” I mumbled, taking the hoof. She hefted me up and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Where were we? Looking around, I noticed we were in the main entranceway to the Stable. Massive metal gear door and everything. “How...?”

“No clue!” Lollipop said, surprisingly chipper. “But I had one hell of a good sleep. Dunno much after getting into the atrium, but it was damn good.” She trotted over to Ace’s snoring form and wrapped a hoof around her belly. She yanked her up to her hooves. “Hup ya get, ya big lug!” She shouted in her ear. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey!” 

“Whattheshitmotherfucker?!” Ace yelled, flailing. “Y’arentgonnagetmehellspawn!” She blinked and looked at Lollipop. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Surprised?” the medimare asked with a giggle. “Now that you’re both up, do either of you know how the hell we got back up here?” She pointed at the main door and then the rest of the room. “This is the entrance, right?”

Ace looked around, blinked, looked around again, then shook her head. “Uh... yeah. That’s the entrance.” She looked over at me, her eyebrow arched. “Patriarch?”

I nodded then started for the exit. “Probably, yeah. Now let’s get the fuck out of here.” I looked over my shoulder at the mares. “Please?”

Without even a yes, Ace went zooming past me out into the sunlight. She stood and took a long, deep breath, looking up into the evening sky. “Freedom...” she said, spinning. “No more Stable... no more plants...” 

“Get out of there!” a familiar voice yelled from ahead of us. Searchlights flicked on as Lollipop and I stepped over the door indents and pushed through the vines. “We gotta purge!” It had to be Thunderhoof, no other pony had a voice that commanding. 

“Purge?” I yelled up the cavern. “What do yo- ack!” A large flower bulb with vines flowing out of the base grabbed me around the neck. The bulb slowly opened, revealing it wasn’t a flower but instead had five large sets of razor-sharp teeth. “What the balls?!”

As quickly as the thing grabbed me, its... head, I guess, exploded into a shower of green ichor and residue. I looked at Ace who was levitating her signature shotgun and growling something fierce. She mumbled something, but I couldn’t quite hear it. Probably some form of profanity.

“Run!” Lollipop yelled, following a burst of machinegun fire. The plants were coming to life and boy were they pissed. More of the carnivorous bulbs began to emerge and the vines were starting to creep up on us from behind. 

Without anything more than a whimper, I sprinted after Ace and was quickly followed by Lollipop. The vines whipped and tried to curl around our hooves as we ran, and more than one monster bulb tried to bite us, but we were just too damn fast for them. 

With one more mighty leap, we dove through the gates to the outpost just before they slammed shut behind us. The high-pitched hiss of flamethrowers warming up filled the air followed by an angry roar of fire shooting down the cavern toward the stable door. 

“And that’s another successful barbeque,” the behemoth that was Thunderhoof announced as he marched over to us, his heavy hoof-falls shaking the dirt around my face as I covered my head to avoid being singed. The flamers might have been behind me with no chance of burning my butt, let alone my head, but it was still scary. “Glad ya made it out alive, mates!”

“Barely,” Ace replied, pulling me up by the collar of my coat. “Up ya get, Clove.” She dusted off my shoulders and forelegs, then smirked at me, then turned to the giant pony. “There’s stuff in there you wouldn’t even begin to believe!”

“Stuff I still don’t believe...” I muttered, dusting the rest of my body off. “There’s a fine line between what’s real and what’s just insanity, and I’m teetering on the edge as it is.” Trotting up beside Ace, I glanced at her. “And apparently all that was real.”

Thunderhoof scratched his head with a hoof. “What are you lot on about?” The other Iron Defenders were leaning over their towers to examine their handiwork and cheered in victory over the plants. I wondered if The Patriarch could feel any of that. 

My lime-coated medical friend trotted up beside us and tilted her head, giving us a puzzled look. “What are you guys talking about. We were asleep the whole time we were in there.”

“Not all of us were...” Ace muttered, rolling her eyes. “C’mon, we’ll brief both of you.” She started to trot over to the nearby control building.

It wasn’t long at all before we were seated at an old, wooden table and sipping on cold water from a bridge. Fresh water, too! Joy of joys! Ace was recounting the tales of the Stable. She spoke of the vines and flowers that lined the halls and handed over the dog tags when she talked about the soldier that was stuck to the wall. Thunderhoof took them with a heavy heart and put them in his pocket. My beige companion then talked about how I started tripping balls then the screeching sound that knocked all three of us out.

Lollipop was on the edge of her seat when Ace started to talk about The Patriarch. She went into great detail describing his long, snake-like body with the protruding cables, pipes, and monitors, and its huge mouth-head. She explained The Patriarch’s predicament and the job he had given us.

“So in order to save the city and the balance of power in the Ponave, we need to help him,” she said, bringing her speech to a close. She downed the rest of her drink in a single gulp and panted, catching her breath.

“What you’re telling me is...” Thunderhoof said, leaning on the table and arching his hooves in front of him, “that this... Patriarch... can fertilize soil and make plant life spring up anywhere... but the thing that’s making them deadly is the machine he’s ‘tethered’ to?” Ace and I nodded. “Okay, you’re both crazy.”

“It’s true!” I protested. “Equestrian scientists were using the Stable to experiment on something, and the Quarry Eel was being tortured for it.” I frowned deeply and my voice started to rise. “And I watched a pony die after being the test subject, the same way your soldier died. Plants literally exploded from him after being force-fed an engineered seed made by that machine.”

The guard pony remained calm. He sighed and looked at the wall beside us, thinking. “Okay... there were rumours of experiments in Stables, and I guess if this Patriarch is the Quarry Eel...” He shook his head. “I dunno, kids... I mean, how did you see the experiments? CCTV?”

I shook my head. “I was experiencing some sort of flashbacks from the spores that sprayed me.” Thunderhoof just stared at me. “What? It could have been The Patriarch giving me those visions! He was around, and he did seem to be able to wriggle into our minds.”

“Wait, what?” Ace asked, looking at me. “Since when?” 

“You were still passed out, but he said a lot of stuff about us that was true, and some stuff that I haven’t heard before,” I explained. “Like how you’re headstrong and determined, and how Lollipop’s caring and stuff.” I looked at the medic. “One thing I don’t get is that he said you were locked away... whatever that means...”

Lollipop just shrugged. “I’ve heard of some weird shit, but this is pretty high up there.” 

Thunderhoof sat back, thinking again. “... okay, look, I’ll talk to the mayor, but I am really against going into Mustang...”

“Why’s that?” I asked. Ace had told me about it before, but I didn’t expect Thunderhoof to be scared of it.

The defense chief sighed and rubbed his forehead. “A, it’s outside our jurisdiction. We’d need to have an excuse to start operations that far out without the Feds or Resistance getting involved. B, the stories that come from there are damn convincing. The eternal cold and unbreathable air being some of them. And, C, we barely know you three.” He looked at each of us in turn. “I don’t know if I can commit resources to this.” He looked deep into my eyes. “Something tells me that you guys can do it. Hell, you came out of the Stable without a scratch... but we’ll have to see.” 

“It’s for a better future, Thunderhoof,” I said, putting my hoof on the table lightly. “Like my father always said: ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’ I guess that means be proactive in changing this desert, and this is the best way.”

“Did The Patriarch possess him or something?” Lollipop asked, nudging Ace. “Cause he seems way too into this...”

I looked at the mohawked pony and nodded. “Times are changing faster than I’d like, but I have to adapt to survive, just like anypony else. The attitude helps.” Even if this whole mission had me metaphorically shitting myself. 

“Well, let’s get you three back to town anyway... you have loot to sell,” Thunderhoof chuckled as he stood up and motioned for the door. “After you.” 

We walked out and thanked Thunderhoof for his hospitality, then it was time for another ride in the APC. The armoured, gem-powered machine rumbled through the desert sand and cracked asphalt roads as we started our journey back to the city. I showed Ace the game I’d found on my pipbuck and she spent the entire time yanking my hoof in front of her face to play it. I couldn’t really protest, considering she’d been so cool about what happened the night before. 

Just a matter of getting comfy. Even if that was sitting just a millimeter away from her. Okay, yes, I spent the trip blushing furiously. Being so close to a mare was still new to me!


--- --- ---




The sun had gone down, but that didn’t stop the sky from lighting up. Iron City’s buildings were illuminated brightly, even with the deterioration they’d suffered. The Iron City ponies did a damn fine job of maintaining everything, I’ll give them that.

“And that’s the ballgame,” the driver announced from the armoured cabin at the front of the transport. “Welcome back, campers!” Thunderhoof had already climbed out the top hatch after bidding us farewell. I bet he only wanted to show off his muscles. 

The ramp at the rear of the vehicle started its descent, squeaking as it fell. Impressive as it was that this transport had weathered through the centuries and ran as well as it did, its door could have used an oiling. 

My beige spellcasting friend bounded out of the APC and into the street. She took in a deep breath and sighed, her eyes half-lidded. “Smell that night air!” she remarked, and looked at me. I was tugging on my coat’s belt loop that had gotten stuck to a piece of protruding metal next to my seat. She found endless enjoyment when I finally pulled myself free and tumbled down the ramp. “You okay?” she asked, trotting over and extending a hoof to me. That pretty hoof...

“Just dandy,” I replied, climbing back onto my hooves. I looked up at the night sky and marvelled at the stars above. They were dimmed by the contrast of the lights of Iron City, but they were still pretty. The moon outlined the sparse clouds with its white light and shone down over the wastes, illuminating the far hills and mountains. The lights of the city were even more impressive now that I’d gotten out of the APC, and boy were they pretty. 

Ponies milled about the streets, coming to and fro, heading home after a long shift at work or heading out for a night on the town. Two couples passed us by. One was a crimson mare with a grey and white mane trotting alongside a tan unicorn stallion with a black mane. The other couple had a small child with them but was asleep on his mother’s back. It was the same colt with the helicopter hat. Had to be, considering the stallion was carrying his trike. 

Such a vibrant city, thriving in the middle of a hellish place. It took my breath away as I thought about it. All of these ponies were having the time of their lives, enjoying their safety while there were ponies out there suffering. Suffering from the wasteland, and suffering from the war. I’d been caught in just a little skirmish, and it’d taken half of my ear and scarred me, physically and mentally. 

A lime-green hoof waving in front of my eyes brought me back to the reality at hoof. Maybe not reality but the ignorant bliss that this place had deluded its inhabitants with. Safety. Unity. The good stuff. “We should go pick up Tallie,” Lollipop said, elbowing me in the ribs. “She should still be with the professor. I hope she isn’t brewing some sort of potion that, like, raises the dead or something.” She chuckled and trotted on in front of us.

“Hey, Clover,” Ace said, trotting up beside me. We began to walk together, a few paces behind Lollipop along the cobble streets. “I forgot to ask, but did we end up getting another room, or is it just the two?” 

“Uh... I don’t think so,” I replied, looking at the magical pony. “Why’s that?” Our hooves clipped and clopped down the streets of the city, not quite drowned out by the matching sounds from other ponies. A few soot-faced mining ponies laughed as they passed us, making a beeline for a pub on the street corner. Drinks after a hard day’s work? My kind of ponies!

Ace looked down the street, then back to me, a little red around the edges. “Well, we only have one bed, which means we need to share.” She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. “I’m fine with sharing on two conditions. It’s as friends, and you stay on your side.” 

Oh right. “Uh...” My face started to feel warmer, which meant I was probably blushing furiously. “... gee... well... um...” I looked away from the beautiful mare. “Nice night, isn’t it?” I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

Ace laughed and slugged me on the shoulder. “Hey, chill dude. Seriously, I’m okay with it. I’ll be fully clothed, and so will you. No funny business.” She trotted ahead of me, laughing all the way until she caught up with Lollipop. 

“I guess that means yes...” I said in a tiny voice as I watched the mare trot along. Looked like I was going to be shacking up with Ace. No way could it be awkward at all!

It wasn’t long at all before we reached the mechanic shop above the Professor's lab. The disgruntled metal-wearing mare was there to greet us (or grunt at us, either way) and let us in. A blast of hot air whooshed past us as the door in the floor opened up. That time I didn’t fall down the stairs! Progress! I took off my leather coat as we walked down the hallway. I was taking the lead with the mares in tow, and soon we reached the Professor himself. 

The room looked different. It was brighter and cleaner. The plants looked like they’d been sorted properly and cleaned up, along with the walls and floors. I could hear a faint muffled singing as I made my way further inside. “Hello?” I called out.

A little griffin head poked out of a large machine beside the main terminal. She grinned at us and climbed out, then turned and slammed a wrench against it. The machine sputtered and came to life, much to Tallie’s delight. “Perfect!” she squealed and turned to us.

“Having fun, kiddo?” I asked with a smile. 

Tallie nodded. “Yeah! Fixed Spring Flowers’ generator, evaporator, and irrigation!” She smiled smugly and leaned against the large machine behind her. “Yeah, I’m pretty good, no big deal or anythin’.” 

Lollipop chuckled behind me, “Well ain’t that nice? Where’s Zippo and the Professor?”

“Right here!” Spring Flowers said, coming out of a door on the other side of the room. He wore a huge smile on his face and was cleaning his hooves with an old rag. “That griffin’s fixed damn near everything in this place!” He beamed with joy. “Now I might be able to actually work at a decent pace!”

“Maybe,” I replied as Zippo scuttled out from behind the evaporator, the first machine Tallie fixed. “About that Stable of yours...”

“Oh yes!” the older stallion exclaimed and trotted over to us. “Tell me everything! What did you see? Did you find what’s making those plants grow? Tell me, boy, tell me!”

“Alright, alright!” I said, holding up my hooves so he wouldn’t try to maul me for information. “Just take a seat- we have a lot to get through.”

He sat down in his old lab chair and steepled his hooves, ready to listen, and oh what a tale we had to tell. Ace and Lollipop helped me describe the adventure we’d been through, from laughing about me tripping balls to the more sombre tones of the soldier’s demise. Tallie was absolutely captivated when we got to the part about the screeching and getting knocked out. 

They stayed silent for a few moments after we described The Patriarch and our conversation with him, and then our quest, as it were. “Fascinating...” Spring Flowers murmured, leaning back on his chair and twirling his moustache. “Simply fascinating... carnivorous plants... that’s new.” 

“Awesome!” Tallie yelled, jumping up. “Damn, wish I came with ya. Bet there were cool machines and awesome junk and stuff.”

Lollipop shook her head. “Not really, honestly. The ones I saw were covered in vines and plants. Totally busted.”

Tallie pouted and sighed, “Oh well. At least I had the Prof’s stuff to fix.”

“So... this Patriarch...” Spring Flowers said, bringing us back on subject. “He wants you to go into Mustang and stop whatever it is tethering him? Did he tell you where to go?”

I blinked and groaned, “No...” Dammit! Wait. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. That time I was hallucinating, one of the ponies said MRF... “Something to do with MRF. That’s what’s causing it, I reckon.”

“MRF...” Spring Flowers muttered, thinking. He spun around and tapped his keyboard, then started reading. “Aha!” he exclaimed, turning back to us after a few moments. “Mustang Research Facility.”

I nodded. “That sounds like the place, yeah.” Ace and Lollipop looked at me then shrugged. They probably knew a whole lot less about this than I did.

The older stallion turned back to his console and started typing away. “Right... I’ll upload a map to your pipbuck...” A few seconds later, my pipbuck beeped and a new map appeared. I only gave it a quick glance before Spring Flowers distracted me. “I guess you’re going through with this?”

I nodded. “Well, if we can pull it off, think of the rewards. Iron City gets longevity in its farm, and the Ponave might get a little greener.”

“And you might die trying,” Spring said, completely straight-faced. “It’s really cold there, and the air is poisonous. Not to mention it plays with your head.”

I blinked and tilted my head in confusion at the stallion. “Plays with your head? What do you mean?”

“Scavengers who actually do come out of there say they keep seeing things. I dunno, maybe they’re just paranoid or something.”

“Okay...” I murmured. Nopony told me about that. “Then we’ll buy some more warm coats, and… uh…” How exactly do we not breathe in poisonous air? Gas masks maybe? “Buy some gas masks, or something.”

“I think Hammer might have a few in his shop…” Spring Flowers muttered into his hooves, thinking intently. “Well, if you are serious about going to Mustang, I suppose you should procure some proper equipment.” He opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a little rectangular booklet. “And since I sent you into that Stable, I shall fund your expedition with my own caps.”

Ace and I looked at each other, then back to Spring Flowers. He was fully willing to give us money for equipment and stuff that we could potentially run off with? Not that we would, but I would certainly be wary of it.

“He’s giving you money for stuff,” Tallie explained, prodding me with her talon. “Dude, take the offer. I would.” She smiled up at me. She was actually quite adorable when she wasn’t scaring me with her bouts of distressing attitude. Her big red eyes beamed with happiness and her little yellow beak curled up in a big smile.

I gave her a careful pat on the back and smiled at her. “Okay,” I said and walked over to the Professor’s desk. “My life counsellor advises me to take the offer.”

Tallie just looked at me and tilted her head with confusion. “Life counsellor?” She tapped her chin and grinned. “I’ll take that position. My next set of advice is feeding me.”

“Maybe later,” I called back and looked at the older stallion. “So what do we need for this ‘expedition’?”

Spring Flowers looked up at me and mused to himself, resting his head on his hooves. “Gas masks and warm clothing are a must. Maybe some weapons, some bigger bags for salvage... do you have explosives?”

Ace and I looked at Lollipop. “What?” she asked, shrugging. The lime-green unicorn rolled her eyes. “I’m a gunner, not an explosives expert.”

“Can I make things go boom?!” Tallie asked, climbing up Ace’s foreleg and onto her back. “I know a little about explosives. Read all about ‘em!”

“I’ll take that as a no...” the old blue stallion muttered. “I guess you’ll have to buy some or take somepony who knows how to use them along with you.” He clapped his hooves together and sat up. “In either case, I should probably get you some support from Thunderhoof. Now, if you are quite done here, you should probably head to Hammer’s and get your gear.”

“Sounds good...” I said. I was exhausted! I just wanted to sit down and have a drink or something, not go shopping for equipment and junk!

“Wait!” Ace called out from beside me. “What about our cash reward? And how about a reward for Tallie’s hard work, eh?” 

Spring Flowers stared at her for a few long minutes. “I just... you... the...” His ears flattened when he registered the complete unamusement in Ace’s eyes. She must have been pissed about heading into the Stable for pretty much nothing. “Fine. Two hundred caps, as agreed, and... a hundred for the griffin.” Tallie beamed with excitement.

Caps exchanged hooves and we thanked the old professor, then made our way out of the heat and into the brisk night air. Tallie breathed in a deep breath of cold air and sighed. “Warm as all fuck in there, wasn’t it?”

“Language, for Celestia’s sake!” Lollipop barked. She’d barked at Tallie for it before, but the griffin didn’t care much then.

“You’re not the boss of me!” Tallie barked back. She shivered, as if she was unsure if she was doing the right thing. Was she scared of shouting back?

Ace giggled and ruffled her head feathers, to which Tallie batted her hoof away and pulled her feathers into a little ponytail with an elastic band. “Kids will be kids, Lollipop. Besides, this is the fuckin’ wasteland! Swearing’s the least of our problems.”

Tallie smiled and stuck her tongue out at Lollipop, who just rolled her eyes and walked past. “Right, so, Hammer’s should be in the market square, right?” she asked after turning to face the group. The pink-maned mare had brightened up and smiled her wolfish smile. It kinda creeped me out...

“I guess...” I muttered as my on- and-a-half ears flopped. I missed the tip of my left ear... it wasn’t of any use, but it was still part of my body. 

Tallie looked over at me and tilted her avian head with curiosity. “Are you okay, Mr. Clover?”

I shook my head to clear it and let my ears flop around a little, then looked at the griffin. “Just tired is all. Been a long day.”

“Tell ya what,” Ace said, slugging me in the shoulder, producing a little ‘ow’ from me. “How about we take the loot to Hammer’s, sell it, and start the process of getting our new gear sorted.” She looked me over as I rubbed my foreleg where she hit me. “Give us your gear too, might need to alter it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, a little baffled that she’d do that for me. “You’d really do that for me?” 

Ace nodded. “Sure. You’re new to the waste and still a little kitten. Can’t expect you to go gallivanting off on adventures, where you meet massive mutants and get high as fuck, and not be tired as balls afterwards.” She gave me a sweet smile and held out her hooves. I reached back and took off my rifle’s harness, my SMG holster, and my saddlepacks and hoofed them over. Tallie leaped off Ace’s back with a little squawk as the beige mare slung most of it over her back, almost hitting the griffin. The griffin adolescent gave Ace a dagger-filled stare. “Whoops, sorry,” Ace said with a smile.

“Whatever...” The griffin stretched out on my back and looked up at the stars. “Dear Floyd am I thirsty.”

I looked back, then to the mares. “I’ll go get a drink with Tallie, then meet you back at the hotel in about an hour?” I asked, smiling. I would finally get that drink and a nice seat!

Lollipop nodded. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” She smiled and turned, trotting down the road. “C’mon, slow poke! Times ‘a wastin!”

Ace frowned. “Wait up, ya speedy bitch!” She called after Lollipop and started trotting. Lollipop laughed and they started to talk,

“Wanna get some apple juice?” I asked Tallie, who had sprawled out on my back.

“Really?” she asked, rolling over and looking at me. “I’ve never had apple juice.” 

“Then you’re missing out!” I said with a laugh, trotting down the road. I wanted to check out that pub that those miners were heading to. 

We walked and talked about apple juice and how it was made before something caught my eye. A somewhat familiar, squat building between a butcher’s shop and a produce distributor. Three huge letters were embossed in the stone. ‘PEC’, and underneath read “Ponave Express Couriers.”

I gasped as it hit me. I was a courier! I was sent on a job! My employers didn’t know where I was! “Oh shit...” I groaned and facehoofed. 

“What’s up, Mr. Clover?” Tallie asked, peeking around the side of my head. 

“I just remembered nopony from home knows where I am...” I muttered and looked at the building. “Being a courier was what brought me out here in the first place.” 

“I thought you were a farmer?”

“I was,” I sighed. “But when dad died, the Federation took the farm and Shamrock and I needed to find more work. The courier’s office was hiring so we took the jobs.” I looked at her with slight sorrow and closed my eyes. “Being a courier got him killed.”

“Oh...” was the griffin’s reply. “Well... maybe you should send a letter back?”

I turned my attention back to the courier’s office and thought to myself. Should I? Not much to lose... “I don’t see why not.”

The building looked like it had seen better days. The windows were dusty, but the open sign was still lit up. I opened the door and was blasted with the smell of dust, age, and whiskey. Along the sides of the shop were empty crates and old posters, along with courier information like prices for packages. Local, inter-city, inter-territory, and international. Ten, twenty five, forty, and one hundred caps. 

At the counter was an old-looking stallion who had a hoof on an old book. His cold, yellow-tinged eyes stared at me through a scowl, but he said nothing. Maybe he was a statue? He was old, grey, and looked a lot like stone...

“Um... hi...” I said, slowly walking to the counter. 

The stallion stared at me, then creaked his old mouth open. “What do you want?” he asked in a very agitated tone, his voice old and rusty.

I blinked and took a step back. “I need to send a letter...”

It was the older stallion’s turn to blink, but more in surprise really. “Wait, what? Really?” He slowly sat up, resulting in several cracks and creaks, then stared at me. “You need a courier?” 

Tallie looked at me in confusion, then hid behind me when she looked back at the old stallion. “Why is that so surprising?” I asked.

The aged stallion slowly leaned forward against the counter. “Nopony wants couriers these days, what with the damn war and everything. I’ve had to let go of all but one of my couriers, and she’s only here because she doesn’t want to leave me all by my lonesome.”

“That’s nice of her...” I said, stepping toward the counter. “Well, I need to send a letter to the Apple Plains in Federation territory. Should avoid all the combat zones.”

The stallion stared and narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re not pulling my old leg, are you?” I shook my head and smiled my most genuine smile. “Then happy days, we got business!” He pulled out an old notebook and a pen, then shoved them across the counter at me. “Whoops!” He said, not meaning to actually shove the book. “There ya go. If you could write your message, address, and everything, that would be great.”

I nodded and began to scribble a letter down. My mouthwriting wasn’t the neatest, but it was still legible. It was a hard letter to write, especially with all that had happened to me.

Dear friends,

It is my utmost regret to inform you that package 209X3A has been lost. Courier Shamrock and I were robbed at gunpoint and the package was stolen. My brother Shamrock lost his life to these murderers and I nearly joined him. It pains me dearly to inform you of this, and I have vowed to bring justice to the perpetrators. I will not be returning home soon. 

I am still alive, though barely. Over the past week I have brushed death more times than anypony has any right to, but I now have new friends to help me, including a mare with combat medic training, another mare who is definitely not afraid to protect a friend in need, and an excellent griffin mechanic. These are not the only friends I have made in my journey, but they are my closest friends so far. It has been a very tough week, and it is sure to get tougher.

There isn’t much left at home for me anymore. I really do hope to see you all again, but for the near future, that seems unlikely. I miss you all, and I hope that you are all well. 

I am also sending this as my letter of resignation from the Apple Plains Federation Express Courier’s office. 

Shamrock has been buried. I myself saw to this arduous task. The exact coordinates of his grave are grid reference 025407 in the El Diablo dry lake. As I will not be returning to the Apple Plains soon, I request that any of my pay that has accumulated be used to finding the grave and taking my brother home to the Plains. May he rest in peace at home. 

If this task can be completed, please tell me. I will be staying in Iron City for the next week. 

Thank you. 

- Clover

I stared at the letter for a good five minutes. The past week, summed up on one piece of paper. I wiped my nose and wrote down the address of the pub my father, brother, and I frequented. It would be a sad day when they read that letter. 

“Okie dokie,” the stallion said with a smile. “That’s interterritory, so it’ll cost you a good forty caps.”

“About that,” I said and pointed to the price listings. “Is it true you do international packages?”

The stallion blinked and nodded. “Why yes, we do. Never had to do one, but my courier says she’s more than capable. Why? Are you considering sending something out of the Ponave?”

I nodded and started to write another letter and an order. The order was for a full case of Golden Harp from the Apple Plains, and both it and the letter was bound for the place called Dise. I wanted to thank the merc that had declined the job to kill me. I guess that Hired Gun fellow really was going to get a drink on me. 

The stallion took both letters and sealed them up. “Alright, that’s one hundred and forty caps all together.” I took out the caps plus another twenty for the case and smiled. The stallion grinned and jumped for joy. “Yeehaw! Sunny! Git down here!”

I heard a thump come from above, and soon a yellow pegasus with a green mane came floating down the stairs. She wore two braces, one around her left hind leg and one around her right front. The legs looked crooked and withered, so I guess she was lucky to have wings.

“Yeah, Post Box?” she said when she reached the bottom. She bowed her head and smiled a sweet smile when she spotted Tallie and I. “Oh, howdy. Name’s Sunny Smiles. How can I help you?”

“They’re customers!” the old stallion cheered. “International ones too!” 

The pegasus looked at me, then to the old stallion. “No way, you’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?” He showed her the addresses and the caps. They both grinned.

The pegasus might have been disabled, but she flew over the desk and wrapped her hooves around my neck faster than I could say ‘die, Double Down, die.’ I would probably have enjoyed it, if it wasn’t for the brace choking me.

“It’s... fine...” I managed to choke out. “Brace... choking...”

The mare let go and gave me a sheepish smile. “Oh, right, sorry.” She floated in front of me, grinning. “I’m just ecstatic! We haven’t had a customer in a good six months, and we were about to lose everything!” She looked at the old timer and grinned. “We’re back in business!”

The stallion grinned back. “Hell yeah we are! Better get yourself together, Sunny, you’re heading over the mountains.”

Sunny lived up to her name and beamed. It was like she lit up the room around us. “No way! I haven’t been over the mountains in ages!” 

“Wait, over the mountains?” I asked, curious. “What mountains?”

“The Great Dividing range, silly!” 

“What?” Something about that sounded familiar. I was exhausted, too tired to really think straight, especially after those letters. 

“The mountains that separate the Ponave from Equestria, duh!” Oh right! Those mountains. “Gonna be cool to be back over there.” She beamed and picked up the letters. “Oh, Fed lands first? Well alright! I’ll go get my things and get these out ASAP!” She zipped off upstairs in a flurry of feathers.

“Is it safe? The journey, I mean,” I asked the old stallion. 

“Oh yeah, of course.” The stallion smiled. “Pegasi can rest on clouds, so she’ll be a-okay!”

“Good... good...” I smiled and prodded the young griffin on my back. “Still want that apple juice?” The timid griffin nodded slowly, looking small on my back. I turned my attention back to the stallion and nodded. “That’ll be all.”

“Hey, y’all come back now!” the stallion cheered. “Yer good for business!” 

I chuckled and turned to leave. I could still hear the stallion cheering and celebrating after I left and started back down the street. It felt good to help another pony out regardless if I knew them or not. 

“That was nice of you,” Tallie said with a curious tone in her voice. “Why’d you do it?”

“I didn’t really intend to help them at first,” I said, turning my head and looking at her on my back. “I needed to send letters to ponies, and they needed the money. It was a win-win.” I turned a corner and there was the pub just up ahead. It looked quiet too! “Still feels good.”

“Helping people feels good...” Tallie said to herself. “Hmm.” She peeked over my head as we entered the pub. It was a nice establishment with maybe ten ponies milling around and enjoying their drinks. The two miners were in a booth in the corner... making out. With all that dirt on their faces too! 

Shielding Tallie’s eyes from the two gentlecolts making out, I approached the bar. I was greeted by a one-eyed mule molly. “Way-ell howdy.” She said with a smile. “How can I help you?” 

“I’d like an apple juice and a pint, please,” I said with a smile. 

“We just got a case a’ Golden Harp,” the molly said with a wink... or was it a blink? “Think that’ll interest ya?”

“Very much so!” I said, nodding. “Thanks!” 

The molly ducked behind the bar and brought out a bottle of Golden Harp and a little apple juice box. She smiled and held out a hoof. “That’ll be seven caps, please.”

I counted out twenty five caps and handed them over, then Tallie and I found a nice booth to sit in. She looked the juice box over, then poked her straw through the top. She looked a little dubious about before taking a sip. She took it out and frowned, then her expression soon softened, then turned into a smile. “Mm!” she exclaimed, then started sipping more. “S’good.”

“Glad you like it,” I said with a chuckle. I myself had already uncapped my brew and had taken a sip. Ah, the taste of home. I smiled when I saw Mr. Harper’s face on the back of the bottle, winking. 

“So you’re from the Fed place?” Tallie asked, then sipped on her juice more. 

I nodded. “Yeah, the Apple Plains. I was an apple farmer mostly.” I leaned back in the both and sipped my beer. “So what about you? Where are you from?”

The little griffin stopped sipping her drink and stared at me. She stared for a few good moments, and only stopped when the molly put a little bowl of fried and salted potatoes down in front of us. “On tha house,” she said and chuckled, then went back to her duties. 

What a friendly bartender. Bartenders tended to be some of the best ponies in the world, in my experience. They kept the secrets that drunks told them, made sure they didn’t do anything dangerous, and were generally a benefit to the area they were in.

“I’m...” Tallie mumbled, taking a little potato chunk. She was finally going to open up, or at least I hoped she would. “I don’t know...” she mumbled. “My dad was a slaver... mom was a bitch...” She hid her eyes from me and went on. “They didn’t care about me... barely fed me when I was a cub...” She rubbed her eyes and looked back at me. Tears were leaking from her eyes. “I hated them for what they did to me. My dad hurt me when I didn’t obey.”

I blinked and stared. I was starting to feel a deep rage bubbling inside me. “Tallie... that’s... that’s horrible. How could they...?”

“Tell me about it,” she said with a sniff then sipped her juice. 

“You’re safe now,” I said, leaning on the table. “I’ll never hurt you, Tallie.”

She looked up at me and licked her beak. “Really?” I nodded. “...thanks.” She got out of the booth and walked to my side, then jumped back in. She scooted over and hesitantly hugged me. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.” 

I put a foreleg around her and nuzzled the top of her head. “Its okay, Tallie. Just remember that I’ll be here for you, okay?” 

“Do you mean it?” she asked, looking up at me again. 

“Yep. I saved you, so you’re my responsibility now.” I smiled at the cub. “Travelling with friends is better than travelling alone, right?”

Tallie smile and nodded. “You’re my best friend, Clover.” 

I chuckled and patted her back. “And you’re mine, Tallie.” 

“What about Ace?” She asked, looking up at me again. She sat herself down on my lap and grabbed her juice box. 

“Well,” I said, scratching the back of my neck, “she’s... it’s complicated...”

“Don’t gimme that bullcrap,” Tallie chuckled and prodded my chest. “Talk to me, C.”

I rolled my eyes. “She was my best friend, then I accidentally slept with her while drunk...” I sighed and looked down at the griffin. “Now, I don’t know if we’re more or less than we were before. Y’know, complicated.”

“Oosh,” Tallie said. “That’s heavy.” I nodded. “Still, at least she isn’t beating the stuffing outta ya, is she?”

I chuckled and gave her a little pat. “No, I guess not. Thanks kiddo.” I took another swig of beer. “What do you think of her? What about Lollipop?”

“I think she’s cool,” Tallie replied, crushing her box and putting it on the table before taking another bit of potato and chewing it. “She’s got attitude, a kickass shotgun, and a super cool knife. As for Lollipop...” She stroked her chin. “She’s okay, but she can get annoying.” 

“Only because she cares,” I said, taking a potato bit for myself. 

She shrugged. “I guess.” She looked up at me and grinned. “Zippo’s awesome! Love that ant!” 

I laughed and ate another potato. “Yeah, he really is. I think he thinks I’m his queen.”

“Why?” the griffin asked.

I spent the next half hour or so recounting how Ace and I had evaded that Federation patrol and had to deal with the ants. I described what it was like to be chased by them, then losing Ace and the whole feeling of being alone. Then how I met Zippo and how I’d fallen into the egg cluster and became the new queen. Only to him though, which was weird, really. Tallie giggled and laughed at some points and gasped at others. 

“Wow!” she exclaimed at the end. “So that’s why you’re called Queen Daisy!”

“Now don’t you start...”

“Too late!”

I rolled my eyes and sighed, eating the last potato. “Right, come on, time to see the others.” I lifted her up off my knee and we got out of the booth. She climbed up onto my back and we left the bar. Those stallions were still making out. 

The walk back was  enjoyable. Tallie and I talked about trivial things, like what stars are, and what makes the sky blue during the day. I could actually tell her about these things from what my dad had told me. Of course, some of it was pulled right out of my ass like telling her Celestia makes the stars, but I think Tallie still enjoyed it. 

We passed the hotel guard and gave him a curt nod. He chuckled in response and waved at us as we went up in the elevator.

“Good evening, Ponave! This is your host Mister Ponave coming to you live from Iron City. How are you all doing tonight? Great, I hope. Any luck in Neighgas? Heh, yeah, didn’t think so. Anyway, let’s get on with the news.

Another battle has broken out in Fifth Leg bay in the east as Federation soldiers clashed with Resistance fighters. Neither side is reported to be giving way, so civilians are advised to avoid the area. If you want my thoughts on it, I think they were heading to the dam up north. Moving on.

Reports suggest a new band of mercs might be skulking around in the south, but little is known about them other than their appearance. If anyone sees a pony dressed in all black with a black helmet on, please avoid them or talk to your local law enforcement official.”

“Or shoot to kill...” Tallie muttered on my back.

“One more piece here, good news too. Lazy Water port has opened up a new general store! So, if you’re in the area of Lazy Water, be sure to check it out! That’s it from me, folks! Here’s Sweetie Belle with Maybe, for the third time today. If anyone finds any music recordings out there, please please send them to Iron City. Thanks.”

War, mercs, and general stores. Sounds like the Ponave in a nutshell alright! Violence, dangerous ponies, and trade. Fun fun. 

The song drifted through the air of the lift from the speakers before the doors slid open. Tallie climbed down from my back and took the lead down the carpeted hallway. “Guess I’m with Lollipop again tonight?”

I nodded. “Looks like it. You okay with it?” 

She turned and smiled. “No problem. She said she’d tell me ghost stories tonight!” 

“Well ain’t that grand!” I said with a smile. We trotted along until we reached our rooms. 

Tallie turned around and gave me a little hug. “Thanks for the juice and potatoes, Clover.” Her talons dug into my coat a little as she rested her head against my chest. Her warm embrace felt nice and I returned the favour, wrapping a foreleg around her. 

“Get some sleep, Tallie.” I said and watched her enter her room. “G’night!”

“Good night!”

She closed the door and I entered my own room. It was still clear and clean from earlier, if you ignored the leather jacket on the bed’s banister. Ace was laying on the bed wearing an extremely comfy looking pair of sleeping pants.

“Oh hey!” she said, looking up from a book she was reading. “Have a nice time with Tallie?”

I nodded, taking off my coat and hanging it up. “Yeah, it was good. Had a drink, talked a little.” I smiled and looked over at the mare. “She’s a pretty cool cub.”

“I bet!” Ace rolled off the bed and onto her hooves. “Anyway, we sold the loot and managed to get upgrades on all of our equipment at Spring Flowers’ expense!” She grinned and dove into her saddle bags. “I got you something, by the way.” She pulled out a pair of blue trousers, like the ones she was wearing. “Sleeping pants! Great huh?!”

I took them in my hooves and... oh wow... so soft... so warm... “Where... where are these from?” I asked, rubbing the trousers against my face. So soft. The fibers massaged my skin and made me feel like I was rubbing a cloud against my face. 

“Apparently they’re made in Neighgas with synthetic fibers.” She smiled and shrugged. “I didn’t ask details! Now, put ‘em on while I tell you about what else we got done.”

I nodded and pulled off my armour, bit by bit. “So we managed to buy all of our needed equipment...” she said, then trailed off when I took the back half of my armour off. I didn’t realise, but I’d just pretty much flashed her. She averted her eyes and shook her head. “Anyway, we got the equipment we needed, like coats and gas masks and stuff, but they won’t be ready until tomorrow. Same with our gear, which we’re pretty much upgrading, thanks to Spring Flowers.

I put on my new trousers and closed my eyes. Oh goodness it felt good. Soft against my butt and smooth against my... legs. Ace hopped back into bed and put her book away. “And along with that, I got a couple of books, some ammo, these pants, and a few more odds and ends, y’know, the usual.” 

“I see...” I said, climbing into bed. I made sure I stayed way on my side of the bed. Didn’t want to touch hooves incase she thought I was getting fresh. “How many caps do you have left over from the loot?”

“About five hundred between the three of us.” Oh, that’s not bad. “Oh, also, he took the pipbuck and is pulling it apart for parts. He said he can fix your clasp!” 

“Oh cool!” I replied, resting my head against the pillow. “Wait, who?”

“Hammer,” Ace replied, rolling over to face me. “He’s a huge stallion. Pretty cool too! I don’t think he’s very bright though... sure, technical genius, but socially not so much...”

“So like me?” I asked, blushing a little. I was in bed with a hot mare! Not sexually, but still!

Ace giggled and shook her head. “Naw, he’s more over-friendly. He’s real nice though.” 

“That’s cool,” I said, rolling onto my side. “I guess I’ll meet him tomorrow.” 

Ace nodded. “Yep! Big day tomorrow. We’ll probably have to get tons of sleep. But first...” she said, giving me a very devious grin. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. Something bad was about to happen. “Pillow fight!” 

And then I was smacked in the face with a pillow. Thus was the beginning of the great war of hotel room 235. Hundreds of feathers were scattered that day, and more than one pillow lost its life, but it did not go in vain, for by the end of it all, Ace stood triumphant over a vanquished Clover. 

She then decided to smack me in the face again even after I accepted defeat. Ruthless tyrant! 







Footnote: Level up!


New perk: Foal at Heart


Bonding with Tallie has certainly opened up your inner foal. Also gives you an excuse to play like one too! Tag, and hide ‘n’ seek, here we come!


Special thanks to Kal, Adder1, Matkingos, and Julep for editing and art.


Another late chapter. Really really sorry, people, life’s been getting really annoying and I’ve had to tend to that. Hopefully soon it will be back to normal.

And happy birthday Tales of a Courier: Reloaded! On the 21st of February, it will turn one! Woo!


Also, happy birthday me! (25th of Feb)

If you’re still reading, I think people should give this fic a little attention, it being new and all. Enjoy!  http://www.fimfiction.net/story/53502/fallout-equestria-treasure-hunting


Be sure to stop by the ToaC tumblr and ask any of the Ponave inhabitants anything The Courier's Mailbag