Ace had often wondered what it would have been like. Most Post-Rainbow children had, it was part of the curriculum in almost every school in the NCR after all.

Indeed that very statement seemed so normal. An education, school, university. The feel of sunshine on your fur, safety, monsters and raiders in far off places you never had to visit. A warm well built home, three meals a day cooked with fresh ingredients...

And he felt it more than most. His parents would never, ever, want for anything. Together they ran half the country. He had butlers, a nanny, a tutor, personal trainers... every cop in the NCR would salute him, he just had to ask and all the resources of the Followers were available to him. Despite being quite honestly boring as hell and never having achieved a single thing of worth, photographers still tripped over themselves to get his picture.

These ponies... it hurt to think just how different their circumstances were to his.

One buck had gained a stone column cutie mark when he, through trial and error, successfully reinforced several unstable areas of the cave. He had used rock and dirt, he didn’t even understand what this strange marble stick on his flank meant until he had been shown a picture of the great citadel of Caraz and the towers of Canterlot, his eyes widening at a dream of beauty regained through him. Another caring for her sick brother had soon found herself looking after half a dozen of the most sick and injured, drawn to those in the very worst condition in an attempt to ease their pain just a little. Eventually her brother and two of the other patients had died, and she had been roused from her grief only by the appearance of a swarm of fireflies on her flank. Radhi had told her the story, of the fireflies of the land of shadows, freeing the dead from the pain of life and guiding lost souls towards the golden flame of eternity. Another had that very golden flame upon his flank, taking up a moth eaten holy book and preaching enthusiastically about dignity and salvation through good work and the preservation of life. Another had an unrolling roll of fabric, it was him who was responsible for the beautiful coloured lights that covered the cave.

There were so many, all making him feel worse about his own cutie mark. It was worse than being a blank flank. At least blank flanks could still have hope.

He had spent much of his time after settling in just exploring the caves, trying to avoid the other children and their inevitable questions. He hadn’t seen Zenai and Dust Kicker in a while and had no intent to seek them out, Zenai another case of why he found it difficult to get along with mares. Dust on the other hand was just... not in his experience. He had already mentioned being a rich kid born into peace and prosperity. That was a concept still in its youth, but even the adults had become used to their new circumstances. Dust hadn’t. He still lived out there in the bandit filled wastes, hadn’t become another fat corporate mercenary keeping the poor unwashed off the steps of Hoofbeats. That was hardcore, and very intimidating.

He found a lot to keep his attention anyway, and reassuringly a lot he could really help with. Their water systems were pre-war and clearly in a poor state of repair, the pipes didn’t have the pressure to get it up to the higher levels and the boiler and pump were held together with duct tape and spit. He was sure that given a few common materials and equipment he could at least jury rig something, with more time and effort perhaps rebuild the whole system. It was reassuring to see them boiling and straining their water at least, but it was hardly error proof and extremely labour intensive. The background radiation was fortunately only a little higher than Manehatten, he guessed given the high surface radiation that the caves must have been shielded somehow, either intentionally or due to some quality of the rock. Sanitation was basic but effective, unicorn assisted incineration with a chimney that was once used for ventilation. That meant they were losing water, but apparently rain was frequent enough to replenish the underground reservoirs.

As for the social situation? He understood a boiler a whole lot better than a pony, but it seemed chaotic but still working, for the moment at least. Most of the conversations were conducted in increasingly aggressive shouts, he saw some clear bullying and many of the foals seemed idle or actively counterproductive, but the leaders he saw around busied themselves efficiently and diligently in putting out such fires. Some of these leaders were younger than the ponies they were bossing around, still they were always obeyed with the minimum of argument. The ages really were varied, he saw a few newborns, alongside ponies all the way up to nineteen. About seventy percent of those here were ponies, alongside many zebra and one little buffalo he was rather amused to spot.

And as he turned a corner he was forced to add another creature to that list, a very strange and unusual creature standing among a gaggle of foals too young to be left unattended.

Ace tried not to stare, but honestly the mare was fascinating looking. At first he thought she might be a donkey, but the shape was wrong. Like them she was slightly chubby of face with pronounced cheeks, she however was lankier and even rougher of fur, with a strange hump reaching up from the middle of her back. It was this that finally clued him in, even though he had never seen even a picture of one before. One of the foals looked up at him, his large eyes questioning, “Wha’ you looking at?”

Ace blushed furiously at the child’s cunningly stated accusation, freezing for a second before shaking his head, “No! I... I just never seen...” He looked up, the strange mare having already spotted him and started to move over, “Uh...”

Niyada closed her eyes and gave a silent grin of amusement, after a moment speaking up to ease his embarrassment, “Please, pay no attention to them. They love to tease the new arrivals.” She watched his eyes drift to her hump, chuckling a little, “You have never seen a camel before?”

She nodded knowingly, her expression kind, “You are from Equestria yes? There really are none living there?”

“No.” Ace concluded, not really thinking it was that odd. Even if there had been survivors after the war, their numbers would have been too low to sustain a population. Camels could only breed with themselves, “I didn’t see any in Demonivore either.”

She nodded, smiling warmly at him, “Camels are very family orientated, they don’t tend to travel individually. Mostly they prefer to stay in their own lands, where they have guards, fine foods and comfortable beds. Many zebra have never met one, even if they deal with their traders every day.”

Ace looked down at the exited looking children by her feet, watching as she shooed them back to their toys. They certainly seemed to like her, “Then why are you here? Alone... I mean?”

She smiled at his somewhat awkward question, giving him a slightly chastising look, “Be careful asking about the life history of those here. None of us have many happy tales.”

He hesitated, feeling deeply embarrassed now. He really should have realised as much, how could he be so stupid? “I... um...”

“Don’t worry. I don’t mind.” She stated reassuringly, taking a short breath before explaining, “My family cheated High Steward Kholoqr, perhaps the single most powerful individual in Saddle Arabia. This was when I was very young and I’ve never really discovered the details, still it must have been very serious as all the adults were eventually executed for the crime. That’s not generally something done there you see.”

Ace raised an eyebrow. From what he heard the lords there generally held absolute power over life and death, and pretty much owned their populace from cradle to grave, “Really?”

“Oh yes. Most creatures in Saddle Arabia hesitate to kill, and Camels in particular have a dislike of violence.” She smiled, “Not that it makes them better morally. They like to think so, boasting how it rises them above their warlike Zebra neighbors, but really it’s more about the worth of a living captive over a dead one.”

Ace had heard this. It honestly... made him angry, and sick at the same time, “They practice slavery.”

“Yes.” She stated softly, “I’d never justify it, but again try not to judge too quickly. Slaves are generally taken from criminals, orphans and war prisoners, those with no family to support them or who aren’t trusted with their freedom. Their owner is supposed to care for them, teach and socialise them, and in return expect loyal service. In many cases it works very well, there are even many slave families who have dedicated their lives to a particular Lord for generations. They are granted great power and respect.”

“I... well High Steward Kholoqr was a very important camel and had many slaves, and really I have much to thank him for. I was the daughter of those who wronged him greatly yet he gave me an education, fed and dressed me well, brought me up with many friends. Still I was always a commodity to him, and eventually I was sold as a servant to a rich zebra merchant in this area.”

Ace hesitated to ask, still he couldn’t stop there, “And... you’re not with him anymore?”

Niyada dropped her head, a slight, far away smile still sitting on her lips. Eventually she looked up at him once more, shaking her head, “He wasn’t very kind. I escaped much of it, but the other servants suffered greatly. I still feel guilty about not being able to protect them, and one of them still blames me.”

Ace tensed, feeling the desire to go and beat some sense into whoever it was, “Didn’t protect him from your master, who could have you killed with a word?”

She gave him a chastising look, “They suffered abuse for years, forced to feel worthless and uncared for. I slept beside them and asked to be treated as an equal, but escaped the worst of it. Now I am considered important within Dusklight, yet they are treated as troublemakers.”

Ace considered her words, not really thinking of it like that. Maybe he should. He knew he should. His father (his mother briefly surfaced in his mind before he blocked her away) often spoke to him about considering other people before himself and remembering how small he was in comparison to the world, still it was hard to keep that in his mind when his perceptions really did begin and end with him, “That’s... very empathic of you.”

“Well... I can hardly take credit.” She stood primly and smart, a warm, welcoming smile on her face, “I’m a servant girl of Bardadin, well trained in anticipating the expectations and demands of a whole noble family. This is hardly a role I’m unprepared for.”

“Huh...” He thought she was being modest. Fluttershy and his father had trained him extensively to be more like them, and he was still as awkward and selfish as ever, “Well it’s certainly an asset to Dusklight.”

She nodded cheerfully, looking back at her foals, still busily playing and arguing behind, “I really like it here, I think the Princess and Radhi are doing great things.”

She chuckled softly at his comment, “Princess Luna is the smartest mare I have ever met, an unparalleled scholar and a fearsome warrior but her temperament is hardly suited to day to day governance. Radhi is often teased by her for being unimaginative, but he is a far more capable administrator.” She paused for a moment, considering for a second before nodding apologetically, “And both would scold me for not including Swift Crimson too. He’s not exactly known for his sense of humour and can be impossible to work with when the Princess is in the room, but he commands the army with a lot of experience. We owe all of our defence preparations to him.”

Ace Gold frowned, recognising the name instantly, “Isn’t he the douche who punched me?”

Niyada chuckled, giving a secretive little grin, “Yes. He’s a little too quick with his hooves it’s true, but give him a chance.” She grinned, “We disagree all the time, but even I can respect his good qualities.”

Ace was willing to accept that. He was hardly innocent of picking fights, and honestly had no desire for bad blood with anyone here so soon after his arrival. Besides he had other individuals on his mind, Niyada’s reminder of the fight bringing him back to the forefront. He felt a flicker of butterflies in his stomach as he asked his question, trying not to let it show in his voice, “I was hoping to speak to Radhi actually. Do you know where I would find him?”

“Radhi? Hmm...” She considered the question, “He’s often helping out around the caves, but in his downtime you can normally find him in the library. I suggest you try there.”

He kept his eye out for Radhi on the way to the library but no signs of the zebra presented themselves, Ace figuring he was headed in the right direction. He approached the closed door of the library and prepared himself, wondering exactly how to start conversation if Radhi was working. To be honest he wasn’t sure what he intended to achieve, bar some sort of communication between them. Maybe he should just go with his technical expertise and air his suggestions for improving water and sanitation, though he was wary of boring the zebra to death. Still, it was his best idea so far.

Such thoughts went firmly nowhere as he opened the door to nothing but the large, tar black figure of Princess Luna, bent over a table with magic at her horn.

He couldn’t help but feel cautious as he moved inside, though his pride demanded he tried to hide it. That caution at least was having to fight his increasing interest in what exactly she was doing, knowing enough about magic to detect a very complex spell formed at Luna’s horn. Despite that complexity there was actually very little magic there, not surprising as she would never be able to control it otherwise. He couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be doing exactly, it didn’t look like any viable spell he had ever seen.

He ventured inside and waited by a table as he watched her, realising it was rude but unable to help himself. He didn’t believe for a moment that this was really some... alicorn princess, but he had to admit she was very skilful.

He felt a little guilty as she extinguished her spell, turning to him with a slightly impatient expression, “Did you come to read, or just to stare at me?”

Ace fought against his blushes, “I was just wondering what you were casting there.”

“I wasn’t casting anything, not really.” Her annoyance faded, a small smile taking her face as she explained, “This is Twilight’s Box. It’s a series of linked spells, each of which will fall apart without others in the chain. You have to put it together, and then take it apart without losing the spell.”

“That sounds difficult.” Ace frowned, realising he was stating the obvious, “You’re training your magic?”

“I’m trying.” She sighed, curling her lip rather sulkily, “It’s easy enough when you’re standing in a library, but when you’re in battle control is not something that comes naturally.”

Ace Gold agreed with the effort. Loss of control had lost his opponents a lot of fights, “Battle should be like surgery. Find the right spot, and take your opponent apart bit by bit. Clinical.”

“Hmm, I find passion hard to escape.” Luna turned away, frustration playing upon her brow, “Are you a student of magic?”

Ace Gold frowned, wondering how to answer. He had never really studied magic as such but he was pretty good at science, and for a unicorn they tended to be the same thing in the end, “A little, yeah.”

To his surprise Luna giggled, light and girlish, her stiff, regal stance transforming into something far warmer and softer. She smiled at Ace, arresting and otherworldly, her eyes kind and playful, “You take yourself very seriously.”

He bristled, glancing around angrily for a moment before realising it was true. Didn’t mean he liked it brought up, “Maybe, yeah. What’s wrong with that?”

She grinned, her eyes wandering over his body with a little too much curiosity, “Nothing. I think it’s very cute.”

“You wanna see another trick I’ve learned?” Luna’s regal accent dropped for a moment as she lifted her horn, a bright, beautiful and desperately fragile helix of magic appearing at the tip. She span it round with subtle, delicate flashes of magic, weaving it in a sparkling circle before hurling it spinning at Ace. He felt his heart leap in his chest as he moved forward to catch it, keeping his magic as gentle as possible.

He caught it, gasping as it shook in his grasp, biting his lip as it threatened to veer away... and managed to just keep hold of it. He focused his mind and looked across to the grinning Luna, spinning the helix about and hurling it back at her.

She giggled, bright and girlish, her hooves cantering as she caught the spark and split it in two, weaving them about each other in increasingly complex shapes. Ace had to admit he was impressed. He knew she was powerful, and being powerful was no big deal in a way, Luna however was proving herself far more than that.

Her magic was beautiful. Subtle, carefully crafted and totally of the mare who had created it, everything his magic wasn’t. The way she laughed wasn’t how he ever considered Luna to be, but it was genuine in a way her ‘empress of the night’ thing wasn’t. She sent the helix bursting into a glorious map of stars that he realised had been woven into the magic from the very beginning, Luna sending them flying at him from every direction. He caught each in turn, his concentration absolute as he sent them back at her.

“You’re too stiff! Let yourself relax!” Luna grinned wildly her bright laugh filling the room as she danced through the stars, “You think this is a contest?”

Ace frowned at this as he tried to catch each star, wondering what else it was, “It isn’t?”

Luna grinned, jumping next to him and artfully skipping from one hoof to the other. She was really remarkable dexterous for such a large pony, Ace finding him somewhat entranced by the easy way in which she bounded around him. That was... weird, and slightly unsettling. She only seemed amused by what must have been a strange expression, grinning down at him, “We’re dancing.”

He really blushed now, for a moment even finding himself dwelling on the graceful curves of her midnight form. He quickly wiped that thought from his mind, “I don’t dance.”

“I can tell!” She laughed, her smile impish, “No pretty mares ever asked you to dance before Ace?”

Ace hated this shit. He had enough of it at school, this juvenile dick measuring contest that in his experience was normally built on furious bluffing, “Plenty. I’m not interested.”

She looked surprised at this, and a little disappointed, “Not interested in mares?”

“I...” Ace blanked for a moment, just wanting to get off this topic. It was a stupid discussion, of no practical value whatsoever, “No. I don’t care about any of that stuff. It’s all stupid.”

“Yes.” He asserted as firmly as he could, “I like to focus on more practical stuff.”

Luna chuckled quietly to herself before grinning at him once more, her expression chillingly calculating, “You want to help with practical stuff then?”

“Then I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself. Ebony has been asking us to raid a nearby hospital for ages now, and we’re finally in the position to send a group out.” She nodded, “I want you to join them.”

Ace couldn’t help but be suspicious, Luna was clearly teasing him somehow. Still he was eager to prove himself, and the mission sounded worthy, “Ok. What do I do?”

She looked pleased at his rapid acceptance, “Go down to the armoury on the second floor in two hours time, they’ll be waiting for you.” She paused for a second before continuing, her voice cute and sing song as she grinned at him, “Good luck Ace, I’ll be counting on you.”

Ace stepped out into the main chamber, considering this new assignment. To be honest he was eager to do something useful, and maybe pick up some parts for the boiler at the same time. It was certainly better than just hanging around here...

Ace looked up, his throat tightening a little as he saw Radhi standing just a few feet ahead. He was obviously hard at work, his mane rather distressed and his coat a little dirty, which only made him even more... reliable looking. A bookish scholar, willing to get his hooves dirty? That was cool, “Um... yes. Good morning.”

Ace froze, not knowing what else to say now he was here. He dug down into his chest and almost dragged something out to break the silence, “You... look like you’ve been busy.”

Radhi looked down at his coat, giving an embarrassed little smile and quickly brushing himself down, “Ah yes, sorry about that. I’ve been helping out with the farming, reading up on some new techniques we can try. As I mentioned earlier, I’m eager for us to be self sufficient. Among other things it will allow us to reduce the taxes on the surrounding villages, or at least redirect them to other projects.”

Ace tried to calm his nerves. He was sure Radhi must have been able to see it, even behind Ace’s sunglasses, “Um... I had some ideas actually...” He tried to relax his shoulders as he continued to explain, “About the boiler. Fixing it... or making it better.”

“Oh, that would be very helpful.” Radhi sighed, shrugging his shoulders, “I’m not really mechanically minded, and none of the others are knowledgeable about plumbing either. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Oh, excellent.” Radhi smiled appreciatively, making Ace’s heart flutter just a little, “Please, tell me when you have any progress, or need any help. I’ll let you get on.”

Ace watched him leave, feeling that it had gone... well. At least he had made some kind of a good impression, “Yeah... right.”

Ace emerged into the preparation room at the two hour mark as instructed, the place iron doored and very heavily guarded, understandable given what was inside. These kids were certainly well armed, dozens of weapons on display and likely more in the boxes lying around. Most of them didn’t look like they were in great condition, some of them inexpertly dismantled on the tables. Still they were all serviceable and some even looked pretty nice, impressive considering they lacked the resources of Caesar or the NCR and were... well, children.

There were four figures there, a slim, small female zebra, a tall mop haired pony buck with a triple hayseed cutie mark, a pony mare with a swept back purple mane and a cutie mark of a firing assault rifle and...

Swift Crimson looked up at him, the buck visibly wincing. After a second to get his composure back he addressed Ace, formally and without malice, “What do you need?”

“I’m part of the team apparently.” Ace looked across at the buck questioningly, “Is that a problem?”

“No. I...” He noticed the others staring and glared angrily at them, “Get on with your prep! I’ve got to talk with the new blood.”

Ace let Swift Crimson lead him out, not noticing any signs of deception in the pony. He seemed frustrated and twitchy, but it really didn’t seem directed at him as such. They moved into the corridor, Swift stopping there and giving a big sigh. Ace decided to make the first move for him, “You alright man?”

Swift smiled as he turned to look at Ace, pausing for a moment before nodding appreciatively, “Yeah. And thanks. And sorry.”

Swift replied simply, and with no obvious emotion, “My father. He was an anti-slavery campaigner, fought against the tribe that lived here for years.”

Swift Crimson gave a grim nod, “Yeah. Took me captive afterwards, me and a whole bunch of other kids.”

“Killed them all... tore apart our cages and led us into the main encampment.” Swift slapped a hoof against his chest, pride in his stance and in his eyes, “I saved her life twice that day, she saved mine a hundred times more. We led fourteen foals into a camp of fifty trained killers and lost two. She wept over both of them, asked their names and histories, called them heroes... and I swore my allegiance to her right there on bended knee.”

Ace was only convinced once more that this mare was insane, but that she was also very dangerous and inspiringly sincere in her beliefs. Leading a bunch of scared foals into battle? She certainly didn’t shy from a fight, “She’s certainly unlike anypony I’ve met before.”

“Yeah... and no.” Swift glared softly, “She’s still just a pony. And she can... be a bitch sometimes.”

Ace was really not prepared for this line of questioning, totally flustered now. To be honest he had been too shellshocked to fully process the event at the time, meaning it fell straight against him now with its full weight, “I... um... I’m not...”

Swift averted his eyes in sympathy, “It’s ok man, don’t let her get to you.”

Ace shivered a little, Luna really having gotten under his skin. He had actually been kinda tempted, which felt profoundly weird. She certainly had an arresting force of personality, “Has... has she flirted with you?”

Swift’s mouth fluttered dramatically between amusement and despair, his eyes eventually falling and a small tear rolling down his face. He wiped it away quickly, taking a moment to compose himself. He took a deep breath, looking embarrassed as he spoke, “She fucking... gets under my skin.”

Ace wondered if he should take the buck’s shoulder or something. He was too socially awkward however, just trying his best to look stoically sensitive, “Girls do that. They enjoy it I think.”

“Just...” Swift looked up at him with a cold glare, trying his best to retain some of his mystique, “Go near her and I’ll kill you, ok? She’s not available.”

Ace nodded quickly, silently considering his words. It certainly looked like Swift had it bad, explaining his initially hostile response to them, having as he said hurt Princess Luna in the past. It was a rather odd paring, given that she was almost three times his size and much, much older. Luna clearly knew, but he honestly wondered if she reciprocated.

“Let’s get back.” Swift spoke up, breaking the silence, “I want to get started before it gets too late.”

They had more than a fair share of armoured outfits, many of them in great condition and some indeed quite expensive looking. In the end he settled for light riot armour with a plain brown leather jacket draped over it, the more elaborate zebra military outfits not really his style. As for weapons, he had absolutely no need for anything but what he had already had. He stood expectantly as one of his team mates, the mop haired stallion called Cotton, dug through a box their weapons had been stored in.

“Don’t worry, we took real good care of them.” He stated as he handed the two pistols across, placing them down on the table before Ace. He looked down at them once more as Ace retrieved them, his eyebrows raised, “Nice weapons. Like the 45. Matador, though I don’t get why the barrels are so darn long.”

“Better accuracy, and the heavy slide absorbs recoil. My levitation is strong, so the weight isn’t a problem.”

Swift grunted in response as he armed up himself, “You say, but weight isn’t just a factor in combat. Carrying those two pistols on your flanks has got to wear you out.”

Ace looked down at the weapons, having to admit they were a pain to carry. Still, the benefits he felt were worth it, “What about your revolver? It looks heavier than mine.”

“It slings under my stomach when I’m flying, and it’s smaller and lighter than a rifle.” He slung the weapon across his body, fastening the holster in place, “It’s sighted for sniping, and has a mouth and hoof grip. Took this piece off a bandit leader, I always use it on patrol.”

“He’s most effective with it, this is true,” The zebra mare, Xeni stated, her voice calm to the point of sounding distinctively medicated, “I am a traditionalist, I am truly comfortable with the autocrossbows of my people.”

Ace raised an eyebrow as she indeed slung a collapsible crossbow over her shoulder, looking extremely low tech compared to their weapons, “A... crossbow?”

“Fucking good if the enemy has access to healing potions.” Swift smirked, “They’re designed to melt bullets, but they can’t do a thing for those thick shafts. They have to yank them out, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Silent too.”

“And inaccurate, and slow, and worthless against heavy armour.” The purple haired mare, Briar, snarked as she brought up her own weapon. It certainly stood as a stark defiance of their current topic of discussion. Indeed the large, bullpup zebra assault rifle was almost bigger than her, Ace recognising it as a elite, late war design designed for zebra assault troops. It had seen much better days, scratched, patched, taped and with large areas a totally different color than others, still the modifications and repairs looked reasonably well done. She certainly seemed happy with it, displaying it proudly and using a toothpick to clean out the cavities, “This on the other hand is a weapon that doesn’t need any fancy cheating bullshit to kill ponies.”

Ace figured she was that kind of mare, “I guess that explains the cutie mark.”

“My special talent? Yeah, it’s shooting assault rifles on full auto.” She giggled wildly, brushing her hair back with a sweep of her hoof, “Simple, effective, badass.”

“Aha, don’t let ‘er fool ya.” Cotton drawled, grinning at Ace, “She’s a great shot. Only pony I’ve ever seen can fire a full burst and hit with all three shots.”

Briar chuckled wildly, displaying him a mouth full of gem encrusted braces as she flicked her hair back once more, “Just try not to get in my way kid. Wouldn’t want to take your head off on your first patrol.”

Swift grunted impatiently and moved to the front, raising a hoof to get their attention, “Ok, enough chatter. Everyone ready?”

The park was still as creepy as ever, Ace feeling his heart ache with every twisted diorama and broken ride. Like most foals of his generation he had visited ‘Golden Tail’s World Of Adventure’ and had fond memories of it, which made seeing this twisted skeleton of a once fine theme park that much creepier. They passed a half collapsed booth festooned in rotting fliers, Ace picking up one he saw was in reasonably good condition and staring at the brightly colored pictures of carnival games and happy foals.

He looked up at Swift, nodding as he let the flier flutter away, “What’s the route anyway?”

“Don’t know.” Swift smirked, looking back knowingly, “Gonna ask one of the ghosts.”

“Really.” Swift’s smile became soft and calm, “Have you never met one before?”

“Really, well...” Ace started to say before he heard the hoofstep behind him and a sharp, raspy draw of breath. He tried not to jump, preparing himself as he inched round to face the new arrival...

He tried not to look surprised, or disgusted, or frightened, feeding his body the knowledge that he had seen millions of them and this one wasn’t even that bad. Indeed he was... small, even smaller than him, thin and underdeveloped with half his face rotted away to reveal yellowish baby teeth. Ace inspected this new arrival fully, a black toga covering light leathers, a customised sniper carbine slung across his shoulder. He looked old, a ghoul having once shown him how to tell. At least a hundred years if the signs were any indication. He paused for a moment before offering a hoof to the new arrival, “Um... you’re our guide?”

The zebra ghoul looked surprised for a few moments before laughing, his voice rough and raspy but still holding a high, childish quality, “No fair, you ruined their fun.”

“I would be insulted, if you had known me. If you hadn’t... hey, rotten flesh, creepy grin. I’m not ignorant of how I look to normies.” The zebra gave him a sharp, smirking look, “Which makes me think I’m not the first ghost you’ve met.”

“Ghoul, and no.” Ace stated simply, “One of my favorite teachers back home is a ghoul. One of the Elements of Harmony and a long time family friend is a ghoul too.”

“You know the elements of harmony?” Briar exclaimed behind him, Ace turning to see all four of them looking deeply interested.

Him and his big mouth... “Some of them... sort of. I’ve met them occasionally.”

“I knew you were from Equestria, but wow, that’s pretty cool stuff Ace.” Briar continued, slicking her hair back and staring at him in interest, “Your family must be real important huh?”

“No! I...” Ace started, increasingly irritated by the subject. He didn’t want to talk about the Elements of Harmony. He left home to get away from this shit, “They might be. But I’m just me. So what the Element Bearers might have spoken to me once or twice, what’s the big deal? Doesn’t make me any more special than the rest of you.”

“Well said.” The ghoul zebra said suddenly, moving forward to face Ace and shoot him a reassuring smile, “I think we should continue on. Follow me everyone, I’ll lead you to the best spot for approaching the hospital.”

The others all nodded and continued, Ace silently falling into place. The ghoul zebra soon approached him and Ace gave him an awkward smile, trying to communicate his sincerity, “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I know what it’s like.” The zebra grinned at him again, Ace quickly getting used to his odd, toothy smile, “Kaizanti. Or Kai, if you don’t want to make me wince.”

Ace returned the smile, “Ace Gold. So you’re one of the ghosts protecting this place?”

“Ever since I died.” Kai stated simply, not seeming entirely joking about the statement, “I was in that big Hall of Mirrors over there when the megaspell hit.”

“Yeah.” Kai smiled sadly, looking around the burnt out remains, “I still remember this place, how it was before. Don’t remember my parent’s faces, or their voices... but I remember this place.”

Ace looked at the spot where Kai had indicated. It didn’t seem too far from the impact site, and most of the structure was burnt and fused to the ground, “How did you survive?”

Kai grinned in remembrance, “My bodyguard Shira did his job, jumped on top of me and shielded me with his body. When I came to I tried to look for help, found a few others who had survived the blast, adults and children. We tried to call for help, the authorities, our parents, the military... nothing.”

“No. Many of them retreated into the Stables.” Kai shrugged his shoulders, “Left us behind. Don’t really blame them, must have thought we were dead. We really were I suppose, so close to the blast.”

“I’ve done alright for myself I think. Despite everything.” Kai shrugged his shoulders, smiling at Ace, “My father hated ponies. He was one of the main financial backers for the Megaspells, ached to fire them at Equestria and wipe all of you out. I guess I would have turned out just like him eventually. We would never be having this conversation.”

“Not necessarily.” Ace grimaced, “I have no intention of turning out like my father.”

Kai smiled, “I guess from what you said he’s a pretty important pony too. Knowing the elements of harmony and all.”

“I hated my father when I was a foal, thought he was a smug, emotionally distant bully. But everyone was always telling me what a great zebra he was, how I needed to live up to his example. When I first became a ghoul I tried to cling to the lessons he had taught me, become cold and hard, hate my enemies, control my allies.” Kai shook his head, “It... gave me the strength I needed to survive. But two hundred years is a long time to be someone else. And if I still hated ponies then I would never had met half the dearest friends I’ve had during my life. And I would never be here now, protecting Princess Luna and her tribe.”

Ace looked back at the little group trudging along behind, “They came here looking for shelter?”

Kai nodded, “Me and the others, we always tried to maintain this place as our sanctuary. We would venture out into the world, but we could always come back here to hide from it.” He took a deep breath and gave Ace a broad smile, “But this place was made for foals, and seeing those tired, scared looking kids... well it inspired something in me I haven’t felt for a long time.”

Ace thought on that for a little while, eventually feeling a little itch grow at the back of his mind. He needed to air it, knowing he was being unfair, ungrateful, “My father isn’t a bad stallion. He’s a lot better than I am. If he was here, all of this would already have been sorted. He would have raced in, beat the bad guys and be relaxing back at the base with the best girl in the house and a bottle of whiskey.”

Ace grunted, “Don’t get me wrong, he’s got a lot to answer for... my mother too. And one day, I’m going to be enough of a pony to look them in the eye and tell them that.”

Kai chuckled and they advanced in silence, leaving Ace with his thoughts. He wondered if it was childish, but ultimately he had no choice. His parents were always telling him to talk to them, tell them what was wrong... but it was always a child, talking to two legendary heroes. He couldn’t shout at them, he couldn’t tell them what he was feeling. They would always be looking down on him.

“Right everypony, we’re approaching the edge of the park.” Swift called out loudly, loosening the straps on his pistol, “I want you all to keep your eyes out and... fuck!”

Cotton yelled out and fell, the retort of the rifle echoing across the ashes. The others dashed to cover, another bullet taking Xeni’s leg and sending her thumping into the ground. Swift opened his wings and was there in a moment, picking the zebra up by the scruff of her neck and dumping her behind a rock before landing himself. A bullet fragmented against a rock as Ace ran into cover, desperately looking over at Kai, “Where’s that coming from?”

Kai peered over the rock, his voice shaking for a second as he confirmed the firing position, “Dinkie the Dragon statue, due west. But... that isn’t good.”

Ace looked over at the statue himself, quickly ducking down as a bullet struck the rock nearby, “Why not?”

“Because one of the other ghosts is supposed to be stationed there... wait a second.” Kai took a deep breath, took his rifle in his hooves... and stood, his eye at the sight, hoof on the trigger. A second passed in silence before the rifle shuddered from the recoil, a slight smile edging across Kai’s face, “Down. He looked like a bandit.”

Swift growled, “What’s a fucking bandit doing in the park? Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring the entrances?”

Kai shook his head slowly, clear worry on his face, “Natako was watching the entrance on this side. She was stationed in that statue.”

“Then the mission has changed.” Swift motioned them all to follow, loosening the straps on his revolver, “I’m not letting bandits near the cave. We scope out what’s happened to Natako, and we hunt every one of the fucking bastards down. Got that?”

The journey to the statue... was suspiciously uneventful. Everypony took it in turns to scour the horizon while the others moved, to their increasing discomfort however nothing seemed to be alive out there. Cotton eventually had to speak up, “Maybe there was just one guy, and Kai got him?”

“That would be nice, but assumptions get you killed.” Swift scanned his team before nodding to each in turn, “Cotton, Briar, Xani, stay here and keep your eyes open. Don’t let us get surrounded.”

Cotton gave a firm nod, resting his rifle on a fallen shard of metal plating, “Got it boss.”

“Kai, new blood, you’re on my flanks.” He turned and stared up at the dragon statue before him, its inner skeleton revealed by centuries of abuse, it’s great metal scales fallen around it. He prepared himself and advanced towards the base, peering up the stairs that led into its superstructure, “Cover me, I’m going in.”

Ace did as he was told, even though truth be told he wasn’t really sure how to cover someone. He kept his weapons high and his eyes open however, following Kai and Swift up the stairs. They eventually made it into a small room at its chest, a hole in the plating looking out onto the park beyond.

A zebra ghoul, small and childlike, lay in the center. Her throat had clearly been cut, and the blood had already congealed. Kai gave a shout of pain and ran to her side, Ace too surprised by his loss of composure to yell out the warning in time, “Kai, don’t...”

Kai leaned down and touched the dead ghoul’s shoulders, lifting her just enough to release the pressure on the landmine hidden underneath. It armed with a click, Ace simply tensing in anticipation and covering his face with his hooves...

He didn’t remember the explosion, only opening his eyes to blood and gore spread all around. He checked himself over but seemed to be unharmed, Swift grimacing nearby as he tended to a shoulder wound. Kai was sprawled on the ground, unmoving.

Ace immediately hurried over to Kai’s side, noting to his relief that the ghoul was still alive. That was a nasty trick, often employed by raiders, all NCR troops were trained to never approach a body that had been left by your opponents. Obviously not a trick commonly used here though, unless Kai was really lucky to have lived this long or had got damn careless. Fortunately the trap had been poorly set, too far under Natako and so defusing the force of the blast. He fed Kai a healing potion from his saddlebag, looking over to Swift next, “You ok Swift Crimson?”

Gunshots and yelling filled the air, Swift grunting in aggravation as he took his fallen pistol in his mouth and ran over to the hole in the wall, “No... fuck, fuck!” He stood up on his back hooves, raising his pistol and scanning the area. He fired a couple of shots before swinging his body back into cover, teeth gritted, “How the hell... I’ve led us all straight into a trap...”

“No fucking idea!” Swift waved a hoof at Ace, increasingly frustrated, “Get down there and give them some fucking cover!”

Ace did as he was told, jogging down the stairs and ducking behind the wall. The group were all pinned down, surrounded by what look like surprisingly organised bandits. They were clearly outnumbered, Ace furthermore unsure if he could get a good shot on any of them.

“Ai... want some, get some.” Xani spoke the words in a surprisingly calm tone, unclipping a grenade and hurling it towards the bandits. It was immediately washed in crimson light and flung back towards the group, Cotton and Briar hitting the ground as it exploded nearby.

Unicorn magic huh? They thought they were the only ones with a unicorn? Ace grabbed his own grenade and let it fly, waiting until they had caught this one as well before applying a surge of his own magic and flinging it forwards. There were yells and the bandits scattered, Ace drawing his pistols and blasting at them. One fell, two others clearly hit and wounded. Xani stood and fired her crossbow, scoring a hit on the hip of one bandit. He fell sprawling and struggled for the shaft, Briar finishing him off. Cotton spotted another aiming at her and opened fire, landing a hit and sending the bandit back into cover.

Ace was just feeling the elation rise when Cotton took a bullet in the shoulder, Briar looking around in shock at his yell and immediately taking a hard blast to the back that slammed her into the ground with painful force. Ace tried to cover them as Xani raced in to provide healing potions, only to feel a deep well of fear open up as swarms of bandits charged their position with weapons blazing.

A loud crack of wind sounded above and Swift emerged, wings flapping as he soared left and right, firing shots into the hoard. They turned their weapons to him and Ace took the opportunity to charge forward, taking a low calibre shot like it was nothing and laying the first bandit out with a firm right hook. Xani came in beside him and her body flowed like water, tiptoeing across the ash and gently slamming her hoof into another of the bandits. He instantly contorted in pain and impact, flying into a large rock with a yell and a crack of stone on bone. Swift cartwheeled above and dived in, slamming all four hooves into the ground and sending forth a huge shockwave that sent bandits spinning.

They backed away together, positioning rocks between them and the quickly recovering bandits. A shot from above proved Kai was back in the game, the bullet striking a zebra in the face and sending him howling back towards his lines. Xani broke cover to tend to Briar, feeding her a healing potion and inspecting the unconscious mare. After a moment she called out, still sounding bizarrely calm despite the situation, “I have fed Briar a healing potion, but she will need medical treatment before she can walk again.”

“Ah, bad news on my part as well boss.” Cotton poked his head out from a block of fallen masonry, looking like his composure was beginning to crack, “My rifle jammed when I dropped it there. I’m done.”

“Bullshit soldier! You’re done when I say you’re done!” Swift grabbed Briar’s assault rifle by the stock and flung it to Cotton, the buck catching it with a surprised expression. Swift then turned to the others, waving them back, “Retreat! I’ll carry Briar!”

They ran, Cotton laying down fire to cover their retreat and Ace trying not to trip over the rough ground as bullets whistled past his ear. He heard a soft ‘owch’ behind and Xani stumbled a bit, Ace darting over to give her a little support as they hurried away.

He looked around, the bandits using their greater size and strength to outpace them. This wasn’t going to work, “Swift!”

“I see it.” He growled, galloping over to Cotton and hurling Briar onto his back, “Cotton, run! Make for the cave!”

“Give them something to shoot at.” He stated simply, galloping backwards and sliding into the cover of a fallen diorama, leaning out to land a well placed bullet upon the leg of a charging zebra, “Go!”

Ace spotted another bandit fall to sniper fire, either Kai’s work or that of another ghost. He left Xeni and moved round to flank the bandits, firing a couple of sneaky shots from the mouthhole of a cardboard manticore. As hoped the bandits backed off, realising they were walking straight into crossfire. It gave him enough time to wave at the hesitating zebra behind, “You heard him Xeni.”

Xeni clutched a bandage to her bleeding side, slight pain behind her emotionless eyes, “He meant you as well.”

“Ok.” She looked like she was going to say something else for a moment but her mouth opened silently, and after a moment of looking concerned she galloped away with the others. Ace grunted in satisfaction and fired off a few more shots, grinning as a couple of bandits broke away from the main group to flush him out. He kicked away and they followed, Ace darting through broken tent poles and across collapsed carousels. The chase was on.

And it carried on for some time, Ace now starting to tire as the bandits swarmed everywhere, flushing him from one hiding place to the next. He now knew what Swift was talking about when he mentioned the weight of his weapons, feeling his shoulders ache as he tried desperately to catch his breath. These guys weren’t anything like the raiders he had heard about in the old stories, instead they were patient, methodical, clearly trained. Their weapons and armor were rubbish, but a bullet was a bullet.

And after a while he started to understand the reason they were finding him so easily, driving him from one hiding place to the next. The reason he now found himself walking between two large buildings, the gantries and scaffolding quickly filling with eager looking bandits. The reason one bandit in particular was walking out to meet him, his grin wide and wicked. He was being herded.

Ace faced off against the stallion, figuring it had to be an officer at the very least. The others were all backing away to watch, exited whispers directed towards the zebra standing arrogantly before him. He was young, younger than most of the others, though not exactly good looking and covered in scars. They were blade scars too, he was either really bad at shaving or he bathed his face in glass each morning. He was lean and agile looking, wearing light leathers that looked like they had been custom fitted to him.

He finally spoke, his voice high and scratchy, “You’re a pretty good killer kid. Where you learn to fight?”

How many zebra had asked him that today? “None of your business. My only business with you is my hoof to your face!”

The zebra laughed, his hoof scoring a long groove into the ground as he braced himself eagerly, “Really? THEN COME GET IT KID!”

The zebra charged in, all brute force and maximum aggression. Ace considered shooting him but knew the others would gun him down if he tried, settling with waiting for his opportunity to counter. He saw it the moment the zebra attacked, a thrusting punch with no subtlety or caution. Ace braced himself and leaned backwards, letting the punch sale past as he thrust himself upwards into a buck. The zebra grunted as he was sent upwards, thumping down a few feet away in a sprawling heap.

He quickly rose however, brushing himself down and grinning at Ace, “Good hit kid.”

The zebra had already charged, faster than Ace had originally thought. He darted left and right in a complex attack pattern, it truly unexpected this time when he leapt upwards in a summersault and dived hoof first at Ace’s spine. Ace managed to jump away but only just blocked a spinning hoof strike, the stallion’s greater size knocking him staggering with a sore hoof. Another thrusting hoof strike caught him on the cheek, Ace reeling back before jumping up and spinning his backhoof into the bandits face. The bandit yelled out and stumbled, Ace bouncing forward to repeatedly slam his scared face with repeated hoof strikes.

He was damn tough, Ace gave him that. He was eventually forced to back away, his hooves sore and his breathing heavy, the bandit releasing his guard to reveal a still grinning, if puffy and battered face. He observed Ace for a moment or two, pacing back and forth. Then he laughed, “You’re great at this kid, been a long time since any of these assholes gave me a real workout.”

Ace tried to slow his breathing, regain some of his strength for the inevitable round two, “So... come on and finish this!”

“Oh, I intend to.” The bandit chuckled to himself, the other bandits watching in keen expectation, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll even let you go if you beat me. On my honor, none of my clan will stop you.”

Ace was waiting for that. To be honest he wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to get out of here otherwise, “So what are you waiting for?”

“Absolutely nothing.” He grinned and charged once again, all power and speed and absolutely no subtlety. Ace wasn’t about to make the same mistake again and wear himself down, instead simply dodging backwards as the zebra swung his hoof round in a sideways slap.

And just at the last moment a catch released and a long sharp blade burst free from the end of that hoof, scoring a long, painful blow right across Ace’s face. He was fairly sure he screamed as his vision turned red, then black, his whole head feeling like it had just caught fire. He wanted to claw for his blooded eyes but fortunately couldn’t even find the composure to do that, simply staggering backwards in utter darkness.

Someone caught him, stabilising his wobbling form for the second it took to drive a blade deep into his chest. He gasped and fell as the weapon was withdrawn, his head in absolute agony as it thudded into the dirt. Consciousness started to fade, brief visions of his friends and family passing through his mind before...

“Load him up boys. And don’t bother wasting supplies on him, I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit him anywhere fatal. This one’s gonna be our little trump card in this war...”

And then he was gone, falling into the deep dark abyss past the edge of consciousness.

Footnote: Level up! (4)
Trait Discovered:
Gifted
You have more innate abilities than most, so you have not spent as much time honing your skills. All seven stats have a +1 modifier, but all skills are -8% and you receive 4 less skill points per level.

Perk Gained:
Travel Light
You’re at your best with the wind on your fur. While wearing light armor or no armor, you run 10% faster.

Wound Acquired:
Blinded
You’ve taken damage to your eyes, removing your sight entirely. You suffer a -20 point penalty on any action that requires you to see what you’re doing.

This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat, it is highly recommended that you read that first for context. Reading Fallout Equestria: Pink Eyes by Mimezinga will help understanding, but isn’t required.
Many of the characters and much of the setting are not mine but are on loan from the very awesome Kkat, or are taken from My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic by Hasbro. This story makes no pretentions at being canon with either, and is merely a ‘what-if’ set in the same world.
If you enjoy Fallout Equestria Side Stories, you will want to check the Fallout Equestria Side Stories post on Equestria Daily and the Fallout Equestria Side Stories thread on Ponychan.

Fallout Equestria : Black And White

by Philweasel

Chapter 2.7 - Growing Up Painfully