//------------------------------// // Tranquil Crossroads // Story: Labyrinth of Madness // by Speven Dillberg //------------------------------// Tranquil Crossroads “You sure you’re okay Scarlet?” Celestia concernly asked before the two humans and ponies recover from their fight. “I’m fine, that stalker just scratched the already fading paint on my armor,” Scarlet answered, as she began to walk towards the entrance of the other narrow path, starting to squeeze her way into the cracked gap between the columns. “Dash, what about you?” Aeron went over to Dash, who was looking over her hoof. “Celestia fixed it up. But, it kind of stings... I thought you could do better than that, Princess.” The pegasus’ magenta eyes gazed up at the pony ruler in inquire. “It was spur of the moment healing, I can fix it better if you want.” “Alright then.” Dash held out her hoof, awaiting the magic to fix the scarring. Celestia’s horn basked in its yellow glow as a light washed over the hoof, but nothing changed. Celestia frowned at this. “Something’s not right.” She tried once again with the same result. “Don’t tell me that little moment in the radiation is already affecting your magic,” Scarlet said as she stopped fidgeting to get through the opening. “No, it takes more than a few rads for my magic to start fading already ,” Celestia stated. She thought for a moment. “As I was entering into this realm, I sensed very powerful Chaos magic flowing freely in the realm, maybe that’s what is affecting my powers.” “Great,” Scarlet sorely said, “it’s a good thing you have your spear at least.” Scarlet went back on trying to move through the path. “A bit tighter than before,” she mumbled under her breath. “Hrm. Intriguing. Radiation will affect the magic of your species. Wonder what else it does. Besides mutation.” Aeron noted, tending to Dash’s hoof. “Only in high levels though, roughly five hundred rads for me, two hundred and fifty for anypony else.” “I’m intrigued how you know that much. But, perhaps we should press forward and question it later. I feel like we have something far more interesting in that room ahead of us than in this one. Last thing I want to deal with is another robotic monster.” Aeron stood up and brushed his hand through Rainbow Dash’s hair - who gave him a frown in response to doing so. The four lead themselves through the dark and pillared room and to its exit. Upon leaving through its small doorway, a rock door closed and encased them in the next room. Surprised, Aeron scanned the room with his light, seeing six torches of varying colours - blue, green, red, yellow, orange, and violet. Under each torch was a different object - a gold necklace, a stone carving of a human head, a rainbow quilt, a broken tv, a rotten apple and a rusted bicycle. Next to all the torches, at the far left, was a radio. Well, well. Just in time for the show! The voice of Kata had appeared to them. The same cackling followed it. “What do you want, lady?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Yeah. Pulling us here to be little puppets isn’t fun.” Aeron crossed his arms in annoyance. “Plus, considering we’re going to shoot you on the first sight, you better let us go.” Girls, girls, calm down! Oh, right, there’s a boy here. The voice giggled, mocking Aeron. Anyways, you’re all here because I’m bored. Thought I told you this? Also, this room is a fun little puzzle I set up. If you can figure out what all these items and torches link to, and touch them in the correct order, you get to leave this room! “And if we don’t?” Rainbow frowned. Let’s say a very painful death will greet you. Another giggle, Below you is a bunch of holes. Each hole contains large spikes that will force their way up upon you guessing incorrectly. You get two guesses at this, and then BOOM, you’re dead! A horrid laugh filled the room, literally making it shake. The flames upon the torches all swayed in a non-existent wind blowing through the small room, then the laughing stopped. Anyways, I got stuff to do, so, I’ll be watching! Bad luck to all of you! Hope you die! Scarlet looked at the others. “Well, any idea how to guess the right combination without getting impaled through the ass? There’s only a thousand different combinations to try.” “Well, we coul--” before Aeron could finish, the radio sparked to life, emitting a very irritating tune. “What the fuck?” Aeron glared at the radio, the tune instantly becoming irritating. “What kind of music is that?” Scarlet crossly inquired. “Sounds like something my mother would listen to...” Rainbow Dash facehoofed, folding her ears back in annoyance. Did I mention that this would be playing? Good luck! Childish laughter imbedded itself into their minds as the voice announced its presence once more. Scarlet glared bitterly at the radio. “Well,” she pulled out Maria, “this is one problem I know how to fix.” She aimed down the sights and targeted the radio. Celestia’s spear pushed against Scarlet’s arm moving the gun away. “I think that would be a bad idea, considering this is part of Kata’s plan, it might set off the trap prematurely.” “I have to agree with the Princess,” Aeron started, “for all we know, that radio is a key to this puzzle. Sadly, that music is annoying and we have to deal with it.” “Fine,” Scarlet reluctantly replied, “but if I hear any beeping noise, I’m shooting it anyways.” She holstered her pistol and crossed her arms as she studied the items in the room.. Aeron approached the items, examining each one with his eyes. Half of them look like they’re found in the Wastes. The other half, he’s never laid eyes on before. “There’s something that connects these to the torches, and to each other. The stone head, TV and bike are all found in the Wastes. I’ve never seen the other things before.” Aeron looked at the torch’s flickering flames. “The others are a golden necklace commonly found in Equestria, the apple is the remains of a zap apple, also found in Equestria, the rainbow quilt well, it could also be from Equestria.” Celestia stated. “So they come from both of our worlds, how does that help with finding the right order,” Scarlet asked. Aeron looked them over once more, then back to the torches, “If they relate to us, that’s a little bit of a clue. Somehow, they relate to these torches, and must be touched in some sort of order.” “Well,” Scarlet looked up, “they’re the colors of the rainbow so in the order they appeared on a rainbow is my guess.” “Hrm...” Looking over at Rainbow Dash, Aeron gazed at her mane - it being closest to that of a rainbow, “looks like we’re in luck. So, the order is that of Dash’s mane. Its a matter of what order we touch the items in, now. We only have two chances, so...” Aeron decided to take a chance. He gazed at the order of Rainbow Dash’s mane - red came first, and the quilt was underneath that torch. Touching it, it let off an annoying tune that appeared to match the radio’s. However, a loud buzz was let off as if he got it wrong. Ooo, there goes one! C’mon, fail! Let me see you die! More childish laughter filled the room and added to the nuisance of the music. “Uhg... It’s already annoying to deal with this music. Can’t you shut up?” The pegasus cringed as the music started to repeat itself. “Wait...the music itself might be the answer...,” Scarlet mumbled out. “Well, now the order is completely screwed up. I guess we need to listen to the song if we’re to figure this out... sadly.” Aeron sighed as he sat himself on the floor. Scarlet paced as she listened carefully to the music. “That quilt made a noise that matched one of the tones in the song...maybe each item does the same thing. If we play it in the order of the song, that might be it.” “Hrm. That’s probably what it is... colours make different notes of music, as well. Anyone here know how music correlates to colours?” Aeron glanced at the three others in the room. “I’ve only played with a harmonica, and that’s mostly by ear,” Scarlet stated. “If the song relates to the tones that the items play, then why not place them in the category of weight, rather than the colours? I mean, the stone head would be a heavier note than the necklace.” Aeron just stared at Rainbow Dash when she gave such an answer. “Wow, Dash. Didn’t expect that to come out of you.” Dash blushed softly, letting out a tomboyish giggle. “Yeah... Hang around a egghead long enough, you get used to it.” Aeron nodded, and looked to the others. “So that means the apple has the highest tone, the quilt will be lower than that, then the necklace, the bike, the TV, and then finally the head.” Scarlet stated orderly. “Well. It’s either that, or die. So, are we up for trying that?” Aeron questioned. “Yeah,” Scarlet closed her eyes as she closely listen to the music once more, “let’s do this.” She opened her eyes and walked towards the necklace, took a deep breath and reached her hand out. A tone rang out, but not a familiar buzz. A sigh of relief came out Scarlet lips. She went to the next item, the bike, and touched it, again no buzz. “Doing good so far...” Aeron bit his nails in anticipation. Scarlet then went to stone head, then the apple, quilt, and finally the TV. There was a ringing of a bell and a door opened. Well poo... you solved it. Well that just means you get to face my other deadly rooms later on, have fun. A smirk formed on Scarlet’s face. “And Boone said my harmonica playing would get me nowhere.” “Well done everyone,” Celestia praised as they left the room. The song was still playing on the radio, but the sound of single gunshot echoed its way around the room and the front of the radio erupted apart, filling the air with peaceful silence. A hole in the wall of the room had opened shortly after Kata’s voice had vanished and without any other leads, the group set off down the dark corridor within. Thomas and Ethan had simultaneously decided that they’d be the one to take the lead, luckily the hallway was wide enough for them to walk side by side without any real issues. An uneasy silence had fallen over the group and Twilight was the first to break it, albeit quietly. “Sorry about Ethan, he’s nice once you get to know him,” Twilight whispered to Luna. “I see,” Luna replied evenly as she glanced at the man walking beside Thomas. “Is he always this arrogant and foolish?” she asked “Yes, although most of it is an act,” Twilight replied with a shake of her head. “An act?” Luna asked in surprise. “Yes, an act,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Ethan’s not the kind of person to take things seriously, but he’s not as stupid as he appears to be. In fact, he’s a lot smarter than he looks.” “Then why does he act so...” Luna trailed off hoping to avoid offending Twilight. “Stupid, irrational, idiotic?” Twilight filled in with a small smile. “Yes... that,” Luna said. “Honestly Luna, it depends on the situation. Sometimes it’s to catch people off guard, sometimes it’s for his own enjoyment, and sometimes it’s a defense mechanism. Not that he’d ever admit that of course,” Twilight replied with a shrug. “A defense mechanism from what?” Luna asked curiously. “He’s been through a lot, Luna, he may not show it, but he’s damaged. He keeps up the happy and unpredictable act so that no one sees it. I worry about him...” Twilight said softly. “You care for him a great deal, don’t you?” Luna asked. “Yes, he’s been with me through a lot of shit and made sure that I came out safe on the other side,” Twilight replied. “For a loose definition of ‘safe’,” Luna said with a nod towards Twilight’s leg and eye. “No one’s perfect Luna, no matter how much he wishes that he were.” Twilight said with sigh. Then she shook her head to clear it of depressing thoughts and asked. “So what’s the deal with you and Thomas?” “The first time he came to Equestria, he helped us deal with the Changelings. The second time, he, the Lone Wanderer and Scribe Veronica fought alongside Equestrian and Griffic forces against the Diamond Dogs,” Luna replied. “Ah, but what I meant is; why are you here with him instead of somepony else?” Twilight said. “Well... I’m the pony that he knows the best, except perhaps for Knight-Commander Armor, so I suppose that that’s why I’m here,” Luna replied with a nod. “Wait, do you mean Shining Armor, as in my brother?” Twilight asked. “Yes, he now leads the most magically-powerful force of unicorns in the Guard,” Luna explained. “He had them formed shortly after his wedding.” “I’ll have to mention that to my brother, he’s always looking for ways to improve the Guard,” Twilight said with a nod. “Anyways back to Thomas. You fucked him, didn’t you?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. “Wha-but-how?” Luna sputtered. “How would you know about that?” she asked once she’d regained her voice. “Because it’s what our Luna wanted to do with Ethan before she found out that he’s happily married,” Twilight said with a shrug. “To be honest Luna I was joking,” she added with a light chuckle. “You are not like the Twilight I know at all,” Luna said with a shake of her head. “Blame Ethan for that,” Twilight replied with a small chuckle. “Well blame him, and my time in the Wasteland anyways,” she added with a frown. “It was... traumatic, I take it,”Luna guessed. “In more ways than one” Twilight replied with a slight shudder. “I woke up to the sight of several raiders trying to eat me, and then Ethan showed up and killed them without breaking a sweat, things got worse from there,” she told the alicorn who regarded her intensely. “By now I’ve killed more people than anyone else in Equestria with the exception of Tia and my Luna, and the only reason that they’re ahead is the fact that they’ve been alive a few thousand years longer than I have.” Twilight continued. “The odd thing is that... with only a few exceptions I’ve stopped caring about the killing, it’s stopped affecting me. Sometimes it makes me wonder...” The unicorn trailed off in a small quiet voice. Luna looked at the purple unicorn in concern. “Twilight Sparkle I may not know who you are here, but where I come from Twilight Sparkle is an amazing mare with a good heart. There is no reason for you to be any different. Don’t doubt yourself, Twilight,” Luna reassured her with a smile. Twilight shook her head once. “Thanks Luna; sorry that I’m being melodramatic enough to make Rarity gag right now,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s quite alright Twilight,” Luna replied. Meanwhile a completely different conversation had been taking place between Thomas and Ethan. They’d been walking for several minutes in silence when Ethan heard Twilight begin to talk to Luna, so he took the initiative and turned to Thomas who regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “What?” Thomas asked. “Well... I kind of want to apologize,” Ethan said as he scratched the back of his head with his off hand. “And they say miracles don’t happen,” he replied with a chuckle. “Yeah, sorry, I get like this when stuff as crazy as this happens,” Ethan replied with a chuckle of his own. “I don’t even want to know what the hell you’ve been through before.” Thomas looked at the other man warily. “Would you believe me if I told you that being abducted by aliens is actually one of the more sane things?” Ethan asked with a smirk. “Considering where we are right now, I actually can. And that worries me a little.” He stuffed his hand back into his duster. “And I don’t have much ammo left, either.” “Well you looked pretty good with that power fist, that one of those saturnite ones from the Big Empty?” Ethan asked with a nod towards the gauntlet. “Yeah. I’d prefer a displacer glove right now, though. I don’t even want to get too close, though. Who knows what’ll happen if one of those things bites us.” “You’re immune to poison though, right? So you shouldn’t have to worry about that at least.” Ethan said with an upbeat smile. “Actually, I’m only safe against spinal injuries right now. Got the fake heart switched out last time I was at the Think Tank. I’m regretting that now.” “Yeah I can see why; Cassie always keeps her fake stuff in, says that she’s so used to it that she can’t tell the difference anymore,” Ethan replied. “Really? The fact that she doesn’t have a heartbeat isn’t weird to you?” Thomas asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well kind of, but honestly if it keeps her alive then I’m willing to put up with a little weirdness,” Ethan said with a shrug. “This Cassie, your wife. What’s she like?” “Intense. Really, really intense. But she has a soft side once you get to know her, and she’s the most beautiful girl i’ve ever met; although that could be a bit subjective,” Ethan replied with a chuckle. “She’s a real demon in bed too,” he added with a wag of his eyebrows. “I don’t want to know about your sex life, thank you very much,” he replied flatly. “And that wasn’t what I meant. What did she do with Vegas? Being a woman, she wouldn’t have handed it to Caesar...” “Oh, that’s what you meant. And no, she did not hand it over to Caesar,” Ethan said with a hard grin. “No, she’s the current Queen, although she hates it when I call it that.” “She took over? Hell, I have enough trouble keeping the local raiders in check and making sure the Lucky 38 makes enough money.” “Remember what I said about her castrating raiders? Well that’s only the tip of the iceberg as far as her punishments go...” Ethan said before he trailed off. “Besides she lets Yes Man do the small stuff and she handles the bigger problems.” “That creepy robot? I shot him three times before I decided to stop wasting armour-piercing rounds.” “Yeah I can understand that, Yes Man is pretty damn creepy. But she keeps him under a tight leash and she runs the city and the surrounding area better than the NCR could. Besides, they’ve got more than enough land as it is,” Ethan said. “I dunno, between the Followers and the Kings keeping them in check the NCR is doing a decent job in my Vegas. I have to step in every now and then, though.” He chuckled softly. “And I kept the Platinum Chip. They make the wrong move, and I have an entire army of robots.” “It definitely comes with some advantages,” Ethan said with a nod. “So, and ignore me if this is too personal but I’d like to know if you’re willing to share, but does the name Elijah ring a bell to you?” “Elijah?” Thomas asked back before chuckling darkly. “I gave that bastard everything he deserved. When I was done, he couldn’t even put himself out of his own misery.” “Ah, well I’m not exactly surprised that you did that. If everything that my wife told me about the bastard is true then he deserved everything he got,” Ethan told him with a shrug, then he caught sight of a doorway ahead. “Hey it looks like we’re coming to a new room, look alive everyone!” He called back to the two mares. The four walked into a room that was very unlike the stone hallway that they’d been traveling through. It looked like a slightly dusty, pre-war living room. There were several objects that stood out, scattered around the room in plain sight. A Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle, an Equestrian Royal Knight helmet, a microfusion cell, a dress saddle draped over a small table, a baby carriage and a bouquet of colourful flowers in a small vase. “Oh fuck, not this, anything but this!” Ethan moaned, “Not only is she copying Braun’s creepy voice gimmick, but she’s copying his fucking puzzles too. You could at least try being original for once invisicunt!” He shouted at the air. I thought you’d like it, Kata said, her obnoxiously sweet voice in their heads. “Does this mean that when we solve it an army of unkillable Chinese holograms are going to attack us?” He asked with a role of his eyes. No, that’s what happens if you can’t solve it, she replied sweetly. “And I thought the damn Sierra Madre was bad enough...” Thomas muttered. “At least it can’t get any wor- ” He cut himself off at the last second, a moment before Ethan’s hand leapt over to cover his mouth. “Never, ever, ever say that,” Ethan told him in a dangerously quiet voice. “It’s just asking for the Wasteland to bitchslap you.” “That’s why I cut myself off,” he replied, removing the other man’s hand. “If you two would stop your bickering, perhaps we can begin to solve this dilemma?” Luna questioned, looking at them irritatedly. “Actually Luna, he’s right, you never say things like that.” Twilight told the alicorn with a shake of her head. “Bad things happen when you say them...” “I’m well aware of that, Twilight Sparkle, but arguing will get us nowhere.” The princess turned to the Wanderer. “How was this puzzle solved before, Ethan?” “Umm, about that...” Ethan said trailing off. “You just pressed random ones until it worked didn’t you?” Twilight asked with a sigh. “Yeah...” Ethan admitted with as his cheeks turned slightly red. I wouldn’t advise that this time, Kata suggested. “Did we ask for your opinion?” Ethan retorted. All right then, fine, the voice replied. Don’t come crying to me when you get killed because you decided to ignore me when I tried to inform you of the rules. “Ethan, shut up,” Thomas ordered. “Now.” “She probably would’ve lied, we’re here so that she can torture us after all.” Ethan replied with a shrug. But it’s more fun to watch you die when you came so close to success instead of just flailing blindly in the dark, Kata retorted. “Nonetheless, we should listen,” Luna said. “Even if she lies, she may reveal the method we need to use to pass this... puzzle.” “Fine, oh Miss Invisicunt, would you kindly explain the rules of this little game to us? We’d be ever so grateful to you if you saw fit to bestow this knowledge upon us,” Ethan asked in a sickly sweet voice. Oh, it’s very simple. You just need to touch the objects there in the right order, she explained as a light came from nowhere and illuminated the random clutter. You do that, and you get to progress. “And how are we meant to know the correct order?” Luna questioned. A song in the key of lock, she answered cryptically. “A musical tone will sound when you touch each thing,” Ethan told Luna while ignoring the invisible voice. “I don’t remember the proper order though so that’s about all the help I’ll be, this isn’t my area of expertise.” “How are we meant to know what the ‘key’ will be?” Thomas asked loudly. Oh, I’m glad you asked! Kata all but squealed. Without any other warning, music began to play from hidden speakers. Luna just stared at a wall for a moment. “... What.” “This is by far the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Thomas muttered. “Make it stop, good God please make it stop!” Ethan shouted clutching his ears in pain. “Ethan it’s just a song, calm down,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Although it has got to be one of the worst things I’ve ever heard,” she said with a nod to Thomas. “Enough delaying,” Luna said “Let us solve this so that we may continue on our way.” You have two chances. Make them count. Kata taunted over the music. “Typically, we’re meant to get three,” Thomas countered. After ten seconds without a response, he turned to the things. “We don’t even know what sounds each thing makes.” “It’s rigged,” Ethan said with an annoyed growl. “So anyone got any ideas?” “Well...” Twilight began before trailing off as she scanned the room. “...It looks like there are six objects, three from Equestria and three from the Wasteland, so that could be significant.” “How the hell is an empty bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla significant?” Thomas asked, reaching out to grab it. The moment his hand brushed it, there was a strange noise akin to a someone blowing into an empty bottle. “Huh?” “That’s the sound that we’re looking for, good job kid,” Ethan said with a nod to the black man. “Just be careful, I doubt that we’ll be that lucky in the future.” Just thought you should know, this counts as your first guess. “How is that fair!?” When did I ever say I was going to play fair? Kata asked with a dark chuckle. “Well Invisicunt, you’re the one who said that you wanted us to get farther, so if you want that to happen then you should give us more hints, I mean there’s not much fun in watching us get killed by holograms is there?” Ethan asked with a small smirk. Not when I can resurrect you again. And again. And again... She trailed off before laughing. “Well then there’s no point in us even trying is there?” Ethan asked “After all if you can just revive us repeatedly then - ” Just solve the puzzle! Kata told him angrily, obviously annoyed with the man’s constant questions. “Ethan please shut up,” Twilight told him with a roll of her eyes. “Okay, here’s what we know so far. There are six objects in the room that make a musical note when we press them in the right order. Two are obviously from Equestria, although I don’t know where that helmet is from although it’s clearly Equestrian by design, and three are from the Wasteland,” Twilight said “That’s one of the Knight helmets,” Thomas explained. “What it’s doing here, though...” “Hmm. I’ll just chalk it up to Kata screwing with us,” the unicorn replied with a shrug before she continued. “Anyways thanks to Thomas we know that the bottle is the first thing we need to press. We also know that we have two tries, one of which we’re in the middle of. That means that we only have five objects to go and two mistakes to make.” “Good summarization Sparky,” Ethan told her with a chuckle. “Alright so, what now?” He asked. Thomas brushed a hand against each other object, making sure to memorise the sound they all made. And that’s your first guess wasted, Kata said suddenly. “Not exactly wasted, we now know which ones make which sound,” Twilight replied with a small smirk. “Yes, but we still don’t know the proper order,” Luna said with a frown. Thomas just stood there, nodding his head in tune with the music. Then his eyes widened and he smiled. “I think I’ve got it,” he exclaimed. “Really?” Twilight asked. “Yeah. The annoying song playing right now has the same tune as the objects. The only thing we could possibly do is match the tune of the song,” Thomas stated academically. “And here I thought Sparky was smart,” Ethan snickered, Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m not exactly well versed in music, Ethan, and that song is so annoying that I’m having trouble believing that my ears aren’t bleeding right now,” Twilight replied with am annoyed snort. “And how exactly do we know that it will work?” Luna questioned. “You’ll just have to trust me,” Thomas replied. He rubbed his hands together before he strode over to the Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle and touched it. The accompanying musical note sounded and the man nodded to himself. He moved among the objects at a calm pace touching each and every one of them in a very specific sequence. After the bottle came the Knight helmet. Following that was the microfusion cell, then the baby carriage. The vase of flowers came next, then the dress saddle, and finally the small vase again. As he touched them the objects emitted a different sound that matched the tune of the song playing in the background. Once he was done the song finally stopped, opening a door in the wall Well done, you solved it, you should feel honored that you’re all among of the hundreds of thousands of beings that I’ve brought here who’ve managed to solve my little puzzle, congratulations, Kata said sarcastically. Now you get to move onto my more dangerous rooms! “Nice going kid,” Ethan told Thomas with a grin. “Yes, exceptional job Thomas,” Luna agreed with a nod. “Thanks, now let’s get out of here,” Thomas said with a nod towards the doorway. Kata’s voice suddenly spoke as they started towards the doorway. ’\Play nice out there, she said told them with a giggle. “What the fuck does that mean?” Ethan asked. “I do not know,” Luna answered with shake of her head. “However I doubt that it is a sign of good things to come.” “Well whatever the hell she meant we won’t find it out waiting in here, let’s go,” Thomas said. “Yes, let’s,” Twilight agreed with a nod. “Hey Aeron, is your Pip-boy losing its map data?” Scarlet asked as she stared at the RobCo device strapped on her left arm. Aeron glanced at his Pip-boy and switched to its map function. The screen showed a green outline of the short hallway that they’d just finished walking through in order to get to their current room. The room that they were in was bold and clear on the screen but even as he watched the hallway behind them was starting to fade away entirely. “It’s lost all of it completely. But what do you expect for being in a different, dark, and uncharted area?” The man asked with a snort. “Well I was at least hoping to see where we’ve been so far while trying to figure out this maze.” “We could use thread. That worked for a lot of people in ancient history,” the black man replied. The woman glanced up with a “are you serious” look on her face, rolling her eyes. However, her eyes soon stopped on her compass. “I’m picking up others on my radar.” “So am I,” Aeron said “They don’t appear to be hostiles.” “Still,” Scarlet pulled out her sniper rifle and armed it, “it never hurts to be cautious.” “Agreed.” Aeron said as he pulled out his own rifle. Celestia also nodded her head in agreement and readied her spear. Suddenly one of the nearby walls split open and slowly slid down to reveal a group of four. “TIA!” One of them shouted in a mare’s voice, before a blur of purple shot by the other three’s vision and charged Celestia muzzle first. “Twilight!?” Scarlet cried out, recognizing the mare instantly as she sped by Twilight Sparkle reached Celestia, who had a look of shock on her face at the sight of her student, and then pulled the taller mare’s head down into a deep kiss. There was tongue involved, or there was from Twilight anyways. Scarlet’s mouth dropped open in awe while Celestia eyes shot wide open in bewilderment. Rainbow Dash caught one look at the kiss and turned away from the sight. Thomas, for his part, hastily moved his hand to cover the growing bulge in his pants. Luna caught sight of this and rolled her eyes in disgust. “Sparky, by the shocked look in her eyes I’d say that that’s not your Tia, but go for what you can get, I guess,” an amused man’s voice said from the whole in the wall as a brown haired man in a suit of riot gear stepped through the gap and into the room. He was followed by a black man and an alicorn who appeared to be Princess Luna. Twilight finished her kiss with Celestia and pulled her head away from the still shocked Sun Princess. A deep crimson blush was playing its way across her face and she nervously backed away. “Um, sorry, heh, heh, I thought you were somepony else...” Twilight stuttered before she trailed off. Celestia was still speechless, almost as if she couldn’t process what had just happened to her. Scarlet walked up to her and placed a hand on the back of Celestia’s neck. “Wow, I knew Twilight looked up to you, but not that much.” “It’s... It’s okay Twilight,” Celestia finally said shaking her head as if to shake a thought off her mind. “Well now that we’ve got that bit of awkwardness out of the way,” the man in the riot gear said as he stepped forward. “I suppose that it’s time for introductions, the mare who just did the tonsil tornado with Sunny over there is Sparky, aka Twilight Sparkle,” He said with a nod towards Twilight who was still blushing furiously. “The man with the power fist is Thomas the Courier with his version of Princess Luna,” he continued with a nod towards them. “And I’m Ethan Smith, the Lone Wanderer, sup?” Scarlet’s eyes narrowed as Ethan mentioned Thomas as the Courier. “The Courier?” Her eyes studied the man’s gear, deftly spotting the NCR Ranger Sequoia. “Funny, that’s one of my names, but I mostly go by the name Scarlet.” She steadied her rifle down, but still held it with her finger not far from the trigger. “Well given the way that the groups appear to be split up, that would mean that the dirtbag wearing the Talon Company armor would be the other me,” Ethan said. “Fucking perfect,” he added under his breath. “Quite intelligent of you to point that out. How many brain cells did you lose doing so? And the name is Aeron by the way.” “Not too many considering that you’re wearing that armor.” Ethan replied with a shrug. “Hey, why is that Rainbow Dash crying?” He added catching sight of the distraught pegasus. Aeron glanced back, “Most likely Twilight is her companion back in her world.” “Oh, well she shouldn’t be upset about it, that’s not her Twilight.” Ethan said with a shrug before turning his attention to Scarlet. “So you’re a courier too huh?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “Was. Head chairman of New Vegas is my main job now.” She replied as she looked over at Ethan. “Why do you ask?” “Oh well you look like my wife is all; all you’re missing is the green eyes and the fact that Cassie doesn’t have a scar like you do,” The man replied with a shrug. “Well, it’s a small world then. You also look like someone I know, though you’re missing the Arroyo spear, tribal tattoos, and the leather armor.” “I’m more of a swordsman myself.” Ethan told her with a chuckle. “And I graduated out of my leather armor the second that I killed my first Talon Merc.” He added with a smirk aimed towards Aeron. “Besides, would you want me to deface a handsome face like mine with a tattoo?” Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Define handsome.” She quickly raised a hand up seeing Ethan was going to answer, “That was a rhetorical question.” “Heh, I like you Scar.” Ethan said with a chuckle. Scarlet suddenly gave Ethan a hard glare . “It’s Scarlet, not Scar. I don’t need a nickname for a nickname.” “Whatever you say Scar.” Ethan told her with a shrug, either missing or entirely ignoring the woman’s obvious agitation. “Don’t try to fight it,” Twilight called. “It saves you a headache in the long run,” she added with a shake of her head from where she was talking to the other three ponies. “Fine Vault Boy, if you want it to be that way.” Scarlet retaliated. “Vault Boy huh?” Ethan asked. “Well honestly I prefered Toaster Repair Man, that was a title with some meaning behind it, but I suppose Vault Boy isn’t too bad.” He finished with a grin. Scarlet rolled her eyes once more as she looked towards the other Courier, who was staring right back at her. “So, I’m guessing you sided with the NCR in taking over Vegas?” “Yeah, you have a problem with that?” Thomas asked. “A bit, but it really doesn't matter, it’s not my Vegas to worry about. I’m just glad you’re not part of the Legion otherwise you would’ve lost your head the moment I saw you.” Thomas snorted in disgust. “Fuck the Legion. Child-raping pieces of shit...” A smile from on Scarlet’s lips. “At least we agree on something.” Aeron and pulled Rainbow Dash away from the group and decided to tend to the pegasus. He was kneeling down next to her; his hand gently brushing up and down her back. “Everything alright?” He spoke softly. “Yeah. Just hurt to see that happen.” She sighed. “It’s not your Twilight, Rainbow. So, don’t worry about it.” Dash looked over at him and nodded. “Yeah, good point. I just miss her already.” Aeron let off a small smile to the pegasus. “You’ll see her in good time.” Standing back up, Aeron watched Rainbow Dash rejoin the group, his arms crossed as they all conversed. That’s my alternate-self. By the looks of it, one of the “good guys” back home. Just puts a bigger burden on my already insane mind, Aeron sighed deeply as he clicked through his Pip-Boy, looking over some basic information. As he scanned through, he realized that all of the accumulated radiation from the room with the gecko in it had dropped to zero. It wouldn’t have been odd if he’d taken a rad-away, but, he hadn’t. Rejoining the group, Aeron continued to fiddle with his Pip-Boy, before realizing that it wasn’t giving inaccurate data. “All of my radiation has dispersed from me entirely.” Aeron stated. “What, from the gecko room?” Scarlet raised a brow to him. “Indeed. I would’ve guess I collected one-hundred rads. Now, I have zero. I assume the maze blessed us with that.” He then crossed his arms and looked towards the others for response. “Blessed?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow. “More like cursed in my opinion, it means that my bones won’t immediately snap back into place and that my healing factor is much lower...” The man continued with a grimace. “Since when do people rely on radiation to do their healing? Still if you ever get hurt Vault Boy I can always patch you up.” Scarlet said. “I’ve relied on it since Moira’s experiment ‘backfired’ while i was helping write the Wasteland Survival Guide.” Ethan replied with a shrug. “I still have the scars that writing that book gave me...” “Wait, the Wasteland Survival Guide? You co-wrote it?” “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” Thomas said. “The Wanderer where I’m from was at least sensible.” “Yep.” Ethan said with a grin as he pulled out his mini version from a pocket in his armor and handed it to her to look at. Scarlet look at the cover and indeed it was the same copy as the ones in the Mojave. “Wow, I guess if I ever meet the Wanderer from my world I should thank him. It did give me some help, especially with the land mines.” “Ah Minefield, nothing I like better than a morning spent crawling along the ground disarming mines while a crazy old asshole shoots at you with a sniper rifle.” Ethan replied with a shake of his head. “It’s a good thing the person didn’t know how to use a sniper rifle properly. You’re still alive.” “Well he was like sixty, also he wasn’t exactly shooting at me at first, he was just shooting cars, which then exploded... which then made the mines explode. I still have shrapnel from that place lodged in me...” he said before trailing off with a grimace. “Age really has nothing to do with it, I met a sixty five year old man who could still hit a bloatfly with a 9mm. And Celestia met a man in his late seventies who could still kill raiders like he was still young.” “One of Arcade’s old ‘friend's’?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow. “The man I met was a former NCR ranger, Celestia’s was just some wanderer she ran into 75 years ago, in my world’s perception of time of course.” “Oh time, what a crazy thing eh?” the man asked with a chuckle. “Anyways it’s nice to meet you Scar,” he said. “Yeah, it was nice talking to you too Vault Boy,” she replied. Then she turned to Thomas. “So how do you feel about all this?” she asked the other Courier. “If you mean who we’re with, then I’m not exactly happy being around him,” Thomas replied, nodding at Aeron. “I’ve heard about some of the things Talon Company did. On par with the Legion, only they’d do it for money. If you mean where we are, then we need to work together.” “Yeah fuck Talon Company, but I agree, we’ve got to work together if we want to get out of here alive.” Ethan agreed with a nod. Meanwhile the ponies had been talking among themselves as well. “So um, sorry again Sunny.” Twilight told Celestia with another blush. “I’ve been under a lot of stress since we got here so when I saw you...” She trailed off with another small blush. “Oh and you’re not a bad kisser,” She added with a small smile. “It’s alright Twilight, I understand. You just took me by surprise, though I must say I wasn’t even trying with our little...incident.” Celestia trailed off with last word. She shakes her head, “but that is all behind us now.” “I guess it just comes naturally to a goddess,” Twilight said with a shrug. Luna snorted. “But yes, it’s all behind us.” Celestia slightly wince when Twilight mentioned goddess. “I would prefer for you to not to use that word, I am no goddess. Just a pony who was given a special gift.” “Who can also raise the sun by herself.” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. “Any pony who is very skilled in magic can.” Celestia answered. “The rules must be different where I’m from Sunny, because my Tia is definitely a goddess.” Twilight replied with a slightly dreamy smile on her face as she thought of her lover, then she coughed and blushed again. Doubt rose in Celestia’s mind, but she didn’t show it. “Well, it appears so...” “Rainbow Dash, how is it you are associated with... him?” Luna asked, glancing at the man in the black combat armour who was standing apart from the other three humans. “Yeah, he doesn’t exactly look like the trustworthy type,” Twilight agreed. “Although that could just be because my first run in with someone wearing Talon armor involved one of them holding a gun to my head,” she added with a shrug of her armored shoulder. “Heh... Well...” Rainbow Dash looked over at Aeron for a moment - he was standing with his arms crossed in inquiry, only listening to the other humans. “I kind of went flying one day - it was a real storm, and somehow I was dragged to his world. I don’t understand how it worked out, but, the force that brought me there thought I was some crazy religious being.” The pegasus sighed softly. “Aeron and I have been through a lot... He’s taught me and showed me things I’ve never wanted to experience, but they’ve bettered me in a way,” looking back over to the ponies, she smiled softly, “he’s really a nice guy, in my opinion. He’s just... Misunderstood. He did all he could to get me home and in return, I did what I could to learn and survive. In the end, I was transported back by some ancient book, and I was really happy. I owe him my life, really.” After finishing, Rainbow Dash just sighed, and awaited for the others to response. “I understand, aspects of good and evil are not as clear in their world as they are in ours. War has devastated their world, and it’s aftermath is still affecting them. Even if someone wants to bring order, they can be as evil as the person who kills for fun.” Celestia said with a sigh. Rainbow Dash nodded to Celestia, deciding to ask her own question, “So, who exactly are the others? They don’t look too fun to me, either.” “Well the asshat who introduced us is named Ethan, he kept me from being eaten, raped and then killed by a group of raiders, yes in that order, when I first got thrown into the Wasteland and then helped me get back home,” Twilight said with a shrug. “He seems like an idiot but trust me, he’s a lot smarter than he looks,” She said. “Oh, and he helped prevent a war and kicked the Nightmare’s ass.” She added with a chuckle. “The Nightmare? As in Nightmare Moon?” Rainbow Dash’s brow raised slightly in confusion. “No, just the Nightmare, the Moon part implies that Luna was involved.” Twilight replied with a shrug. Celestia turned to regard the man talking to Scarlet with a raised eyebrow. “That is most... surprising. Ethan must have a strong will to resist a Nightmare’s will.” Celestia said. “Yeah, he is,” Twilight said with a small smile. “So how about you Celestia, how did you end up with Scarlet over there?” Twilight “Scarlet was pulled from her our world into mine by an old foe of mine, who wanted her to complete his plan for a new version of Equestria. She actually met with Applejack, Braeburn, and Strongheart first before I ever met her. Applejack sent a letter asking for my help, and I knew what a human from what the Wasteland could do. I hastily flew to Appleloosa to check on her to make sure she wasn’t a threat to my subjects. To my relief, I could tell that she wasn’t a bad woman the moment I could study her eyes.” “They are the windows to the soul.” Twilight agreed with a nod. “Of course if you try that with me then you’ll only be able to see half of it.” She added with a self deprecating chuckle as she brought her metal hoof up to her robotic eye and tapped it gently. “How did that happen? Luna asked. “Your companion was rather vague before.” “Well we were walking along the road to the Citadel, no sign of trouble anywhere when suddenly a missile came out of nowhere and smashed into the road in front of me. It took my eye and my leg with it in the explosion and I’m lucky to be alive.” Twilight replied with a shrug. “Ethan made the Brotherhood of Steel replace my missing pieces with these prosthetics and I’ve had them ever since.” Twilight finished with a smile “Did you ever find out who caused you so much pain?” Luna asked “Yep, and I pulled one of her legs off and stabbed her through the eye with the joint of said leg.” Twilight replied with a smile. A pregnant pause followed this remark as the other three ponies stared at her with various expressions of shock on their faces. “What?” Twilight asked. “The bitch totally deserved it, besides she almost managed to kill Ethan, his wife, my brother, and me at the same time while she regenerated constantly. I just wanted to make sure that she would stay dead,” Twilight said with a shrug. “Oh, and I thought that the irony was a nice touch,” she admitted “You are definitely not the same Twilight that I know...,” Celestia said. She turn towards Luna. “So what’s the story behind Thomas?” “Thomas appeared in our world after a mishap with a device called the ‘Transportalponder’,” Luna explained. “After saving Rainbow Dash from a pair of manticores, he led a one man assault on a Diamond Dog warren to rescue your friends’ sisters.” “Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?” Twilight inquired. “And a third, Scootaloo I believe,” Luna said with a nod. “Well it’s not like you can keep the three of them away from one another.” Twilight said with a small chuckle. “Quite, their friendship is unbreakable,” Celestia added. “It sounds similar to what happened when Ethan first came to Equestria,” Twilight said with thoughtful look. “Of course Applebloom almost died then, but she’s made a full recovery since then,” She said with a shrug. “I’m glad to say the three fillies haven’t met any fate like that, but Rarity has... she’s still lost in her mind but is slowly coming back.” Celestia sorrowfully said. “A mind is a terrible thing to lose, and get lost in as the case may be.” Twilight agreed with a nod. “How’d that happen? If you don’t mind me asking.” The unicorn asked. “Cadbury, the pony who brought Scarlet to Equestria, captured her without me or her friends ever noticing. He used her as a focus in opening the portal between Equestria and Earth. By the time we rescued her she along with a few others were almost dead, from both weariness and radiation poisoning.” “Well I hope you killed him.” Twilight said with a slight snarl at the idea of someone hurting one of her friends that badly, even if it wasn’t ‘her’ Rarity. “Don’t worry, he’s long dead now, Scarlet made sure of it. The problem is, long ago I had the chance to finish him, but I didn’t... now many of my ponies have paid the price of my misjudgment.” “Do not blame yourself sis-Celestia, nopony can see the future. I should know that better than most,” Luna told Celestia comfortingly. “I know, still it doesn’t ease the pain in my heart.” “Mercy is the mark of a great pony, few know what it is like to have that same mark twisted in such a cruel manner.” Luna said with a slight sigh. “So, onto happier topics that shouldn’t cause angst, how are your love lives?” Twilight asked changing subjects. “I mean I know that Luna over there is already fucking Thomas, and I’m sleeping with my version of Celestia, but what about you two?” She asked looking at Celestia and Rainbow Dash. Celestia looked towards Luna, slightly shock of the info she was given. “I’m with no one. I haven’t bothered to pursue any sort of relationship since I became an Alicorn.” “I feel sorry for you Sunny.” Twilight told her with a kind smile. “You shouldn’t be, Twilight, my love for my subjects has given me more joy than with just one pony ever could.” “Well that’s good I suppose,” Twilight said. “And what about you Dash, you’ve been silent?” Twilight asked the pegasus. “Well,” Dash rubbed the back of her neck, “In my Equestria, I guess, I’m with you, Twilight.” A small, unnoticeable, blush gently arose to her cheeks. Twilight’s mouth formed a very small ‘oh’ of understanding before she shut it again. “Also, I’m just being quiet because it’s weird... I’ve already experienced enough of fighting in the Wasteland just to come back to another version of it.” She sighed, brushing a hoof through her mane. “I can see why that would make you quiet.” Luna said with a small nod. “It must be very disheartening to be right back where you started in a sense.” “Yeah... I just hope nothing too bad happens between all of us...” The pegasus gently gazed over at Aeron, who was still in his “thinking” pose. “Oh I’m sure things’ll be fine, Ethan only kills people if they give him a good reason, or out of principle, or if- actually nevermind....” Twilight said trailing off. “If Ethan has had experiences similar to what Paladin Dominica went through, then caution would be best,” Luna suggested. “Scarlet might act cold and menacing, but she is okay once she warms up to you, as long you don’t attempt to look too deep into her past,” Celestia stated. “That could be a problem with Ethan, he makes it his prerogative to learn about your past when you travel with him. He says it keeps problems from sprouting up later on,” Twilight said with a slight frown. “It may be in your best interests to not ask about Thomas’ time in the Sierra Madre...” “If it’s anything like Scarlet’s time in the Madre, I understand.” “Sierra Madre, that’s the place that’s the place that Ethan said gave his wife nightmares for weeks.” Twilight said with a shiver. “Sounds awful...” Dash stated. “At least it sounds slightly better than what Ethan’s told me about the Dunwich Building,” Twilight muttered. “Please, don’t talk about that place...” The pegasus shivered severely at the mention of its name. “Did this Dominica mention it?” Twilight asked turning to Luna. “Not to my knowledge, no,” the alicorn replied. “I think we’ve had enough small talk. Maybe we should go back to the others?” Dash suggested. “Couldn’t agree more,” Scarlet’s voice spoke out. The four ponies turned towards her voice to see Scarlet standing not far from them along with the other three humans. “Now that introductions are over, we should continue making our way out of this maze.” An excellent idea Scarlet. Kata’s voice said from overhead. Now I’m going to test something that some of you hold very dear, your morality! The voice said with a slight giggle at the word dear. Up ahead is a room full of hostages, how you deal with them is up to you, but you must do it without magic, have fun. the voice called before vanishing once more, leaving silence in its wake. “‘Test our morality’?” Thomas asked, looking at the other humans. “Why does that sound bad?” “Probably because one of us doesn’t care too much,” Aeron sighed softly. Ethan gave the man a hard look but sighed. “If they’re unarmed don’t kill them,” was all he said. “Unarmed doesn’t mean harmless,” Thomas said in response. “Whoever the hostages are, have your guns ready,” Scarlet said readying Maria. “Kata has some sort of twist to this, and we might need to kill the hostages no matter what.” “Yes, but that’s not our first response, there’s almost always a better option than that,” Ethan said sternly. “It’s my only option.” Aeron stated bluntly. Ethan just gave a steely glare at Aeron but a doorway materialised in the wall in front of them before he had time to say anything. “Well lets see what’s in store for us,” Scarlet was the first to enter through the door. As they walked through the doorway Ethan and Thomas let out horrified gasps at what they saw.