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"G-Gamma... Stable 34... We've gotta go! I'VE gotta go!!" The pip-buck latched on my foreleg continued to play out the distress signal as I dropped my saddlebags to the floor, the pair of rifles on the battle saddle swinging about as I sifted through and grabbed all the healing potions and packs of radaway I could find. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and ears - my Stable, my home, it was being flooded with radiation. And I was all the way here. Sliding my re-organized saddlebags back on with the pile of junk left on the floor, I passed Minty an exasperated glance, panting. My sight was starting to get a bit blurry as I blinked, taking a short breath and sliding Gamma's pistol into it's holster. "Get all the healing potions and Radaway you can find, catch up to me on the road back to Emerald Ridge. I..." Minty nodded, lifting a hoof up and resting it on my shoulder.
"It's going to be alright, Twintails. Go and help your Stable." He flashed me a quick smile - comforting, to say the least - and levitated off his saddlebags. I turned and bolted out the door of the room, just in time to nearly plow over Bloodbeak. The city seemed as empty as ever as I darted out through it, light from the arcane lanterns casting long shadows over the snowy streets as I felt my hooves leave the frozen ground, wings slicing through the freezing air. I hardly even noticed how high I'd gotten above the roads and buildings, having a good deal of clearance between myself and the Mooscow Wall as my wings carried me ever faster and faster, running off of some limitless energy as my mind focused in on the road ahead, the one we'd gone down so long ago, when I first stepped out and came across the crazy unicorn who'd been firing that goop-stuff at me. What'd I think it was again? Kind of what Mr Skritters would have looked like after being caught and blasted with all that radia-...
Snapping my wings backwards, I sped on through the early dawn, the sub-zero temperatures freezing the tears that were blown back in my mane. I had to get to my Stable.
I had to get to Gamma Ray.
The road from Emerald Ridge to Mooscow wound away, and I found myself flying straight, the little pointer on my EFS aimed right in the direction of Stable 34. I just flew higher and higher as I passed over the snowdrifts and mountains - vertigo be damned. I couldn't think about altitude at a time like this. everything had blurred together into a greyish-white as the tears kept flowing, the wind blasting it off of my face as the ground passed by in a blur, the decrepit remains of the small town appearing on the ridge. I didn't stop, but I did find the ground to be closer, speeding along at a pace where I could wind with the mountainside road easily. Swinging myself around as the old wooden door at the cave's entrance slid into view, my momentum and the hoof connecting it it made rather short work of gaining entrance to my Stable's cavernous entrance, the icy wind flowing in just seeming all the colder.
I rushed to the control panel, tears blurring my vision as I wrestled with it - Oh, I wish I had Minty here to help get this damned thing open - just as the cog door screeched loudly, rolling away. I took a step back, an overwhelming mix of fear, worry, sadness and surprise racking my heart madly, throwing myself in through the crack between cog and door frame, looking in at the entrance hall. I heard the ticking of my Pip-buck's Geiger counter, and the red meter hop up on my EFS, my eyes meeting with Tablet's as she sucked dry a packet of radaway. She jumped back from the interior controls in surprise, the drained pack dropping from her mouth.
"T-Twintails! You're alive!" She jumped over the railing, looking over myself with jaw agape. My eyes stung badly, things starting to become brighter as I blinked them clear, looking up at her. behind her, on the wall, was the mural I'd watched her start; 'Twintails, the heroic martyr of Stable 34.' Wow, well, gee, thanks for the optimism. The crippling irony of how I seemed to be depicted leading everypony out into the world above was almost too much to bear, faced with the current situation. Tablet ran up and hugged around my neck, looking back at the doorway leading to the rest of the Stable. I sniffed in, looking into her eyes as she rested her hoof on my shoulder. They'd begun to glow. "We've gotta get everypony out of here. Junebug set off this w-weird bomb in the atrium, and now the entire Stable's ticking. Gamma went down to the Reactor to st-stabilize it or something, I don't kn-" She jumped out of my way as I plowed through the interior entrance door, immediately being greeted with the ominous, foreboding ticking of radiation striking my pip-buck's geiger counter. Watching the number slowly climb as I rushed through the sections of the Stable I could remember at this point, my mind went to Stable biology and science classes. 100 rads to a Gray, 1-2 Gray means sickness in hours, 2-6 Gy means sickness in an hour, 6-8 Gy is sickness in half an hour, anything past without immediate treatment means death. Swallowing down a hoofful of the bitter pills and following them with a satchel of the tangy orange radaway, I pressed further into the deserted hallways, one mare on my mind.
Bypassing the Atrium through some of the maintenance hallways, I must've passed by several of the living quarters of the other residents - I couldn't really tell. Only a few lights were on in the hallways, making them all eerily dark and unwelcoming, even with the way my eyes seemed to be glowing like lightbulbs. It didn't help that every now and again I'd pass by a door and hear a poor soul moaning behind it, breathing their last few breaths as they succumbed... Gamma Ray, I have to get to Gamma Ray. She'll, she'll know how to make this stop, she'll know how to make everything better, I just need to get her out of here as fast as I can. This isn't my Stable, this isn't real, it can't be. I'm going to wake up screaming any moment, wake up from this nightmare in my cosy bed with the sheets covering me, and Gamma Ray'll rush in and hug me closely to herself, and-and she'll rub my head and wings gently, and everything will be just fine. I just need to keep running out of this horrible nightmare.
I leapt into the service elevator, my eyes watering and throat dry, smashing the button for the reactor level before moving to the corner. Letting myself fall to my haunches, I looked down at the small needle up in the corner of my Pip-buck. 400 rads... 4 Gray, 3 radaway. Sifting through the supplies I had left in my saddlebags, I pulled out all of the anti-radiation medicine I had, letting it fall to the floor of the elevator. 3 bottles of Rad-X, just two packs of Radaway... Minty's coming with more Radaway, focus you feather-brained pegasus! Gamma Ray is sick, she's stuck down here, and I need to get her out. I need to save her. She always kept some extra anti-radiation medicine down in the reactor room, in that leadened cabinet, she's been using that probably, there's enough to keep her alive in there, for sure.
The elevator jolted, letting off a ding that cut through the background ticking that's become another part of the Stable's new ambiance. I poured the bottles of Rad-X into the top of my saddlebags, starting to feel lightheaded. Was, was that the radiation? Was I going to die before I could even get to her? No, now stop you idiot, take a breath, calm yourself down, you're hyperventilating. Pick up the two radaway packets, get into the reactor control room and get Gamma out of there. I raced down the hallway, finding a small reprieve as the ticking began to slow down... but it didn't stop. Small exposure was one thing, but continuous, even with Radaway and Rad-X...
"Gamma!" I threw open the door to the reactor room, spotting the light-blue mare hunched over the control panel, sitting in the seat next to a pool of... was... no, no, it isn't, she's going to be fine. I rushed to her side, wrapping my hooves around her and lifting her to a sitting position, my eyes watering again as she coughed and spat to the side, opening her eyes to a slit and looking at myself with her orange-glowing pupils. She drew in a heavily labored breath, lifting a hoof up towards myself and making a smile upon her face. Leaning myself forwards, she wrapped her hoof weakly around my neck, hugging myself to her chest. Squeezing her back, I felt myself sputtering, tears starting to flow freely down my cheeks as I listened to the sound of her weak breathing. "Oh, G-Gamma... y-you're going to b-be fine..." The ticking of both our geiger counters and the sound of the warning signals sounding were muted, both of us embracing each other in the soft blue glow of Bruce. Gamma picked up one of the packs of Radaway I'd dropped in her lap, slowly - strugglingly - gulping it down. I looked down at the dial on her pip-buck, watching as it slowly crept back from the red, hovering just under the 500 mark. Radaway and Rad-X, she's going to be fine.
"T-Twintails... It's so good to see you again, Twinnie..." She patted against the back of my head, before gently lifting my head up to look at hers. Her eyes were glowing rather brightly, the smile on her muzzle weak and strained, but comforting all the same. I sniffled, rubbing my eyes dry and leaning in as she drew in another labored breath. "C-can you carry me to your room... I need to rest, let this stuff work..." She leaned forwards, her forehead and mane falling against mine gently, muzzles pressing together as she let off a gentle sigh. I lifted her up onto my back, keeping her stable between my wings and holding onto one of her hooves, rushing as carefully as I could through the bottom-level hallways. My room was never that far away from hers or the reactor, but it was very definitely welcoming to see that the radiation wasn't this far on in. The door slid open, myself quick to trot through and lay Gamma down on the bed, pulling out the second pack of radaway and gingerly feeding it to her, watching as she gently swallowed it down. Yeah... yeah, she was going to be fine, just fine.
I looked around my old bedroom, beginning to go through my old belongings, trying to find things that could help her. Out of the corner of my eye, up on the small shelf above the bed's headboard, there was a light glint of orange and yellow porcelain, something I'd forgotten was there. I stalled for a moment, rubbing tears out of my eyes before moving and picking up the small statuette, looking it over in my hooves. I never really noticed it before - it was so very lifelike, that earth pony mare in the stetson, trio of apples adorning her flank, bucking at something in the air. A tiny recreation of one of the Ministry Mares, set on an inscripted base, made to inspire. 'Be Strong'... as I slid the figurine into my saddlebags gingerly, I felt a veil of sorts lift itself from my mind - I was going to be strong, I was going to save my Stable. I was going to get Gamma Ray out of here.
Looking back at her weakened self laying on the bed, I nodded once, running back into the reactor control room. She had to have a few packets of Radaway left in the cabinet, she just was too weak to get up and grab them, that's it. The heavy doors swung open, revealing the small cache of ten of the bright-orange packets and five bottles of the pills, which I was fast in dumping into my saddlebags and rushing back out with. Even as the meter crept upwards, I felt a sort of new-found strength in myself, the world fading down to objectives and markers in my head. Get Gamma Ray out of here safely and back to good health, move the rest of the Stable to... to, well, somewhere that isn't radioactive, and then live happily ever after with Gamma and Minty and everypony else up above where we aren't going to have to worry about ponies who kill their own homes because they just don't see how their actions would harm others, and things like what's happening to us now wouldn't happen to good, innocent ponies who just want to live their lives and die of old age like everypony else. I sniffled once, opening up my bedroom door again and shutting it tightly behind myself. Gamma Ray was resting, breathing softly and laying on her back, her Pip-buck's needle still far too high up than it should be.
"Come on, Gamma, I'm going to get you out of here." I slid a hoof behind her head, lifting it up and pulling out one of the packs of Radaway, placing the spout to her mouth and watching as she slowly gulped it down, some of the orange liquid dribbling out the sides of her mouth. Slowly the needle retreated from the red zone once more, falling back down under 200 Rad by the fourth pack I gently fed to her. She grunted, easing herself up and looking at myself, her eyes still having yet to give up the glow. The way she smiled as she wiped the excess Radaway from her mouth ushered a relieved sigh from myself, each of us embracing one another in a gentle hug once more. Gamma was fine, everything was going to be alright now, the nightmare was over. I was going to wake up in my cosy Stable bed with Gamma Ray hugging me just like she was now, not having to worry about radiation, or ponies with lasers or guns, or who wanted to tear my wings off, or wanted to smash my skull open and eat my brains, or anything else ever again in the world. I was going to open my eyes, and everything would be back to normal.
I wish life worked that way.
Gamma eased herself off of the bed, smiling comfortingly as I gathered what I could after breaking the hug. I knew having junk around and so many ideas would come in handy some day, my desk being rather thoroughly emptied and saddlebags quite filled by the time I turned back to face Gamma. She coughed slightly, grunting and looking towards the door. "Twintails... I-I really am sorry for just sending you off like that. Mayflower was paranoid, Junebug didn't help any, and... and I was unsure, too. If we didn't get you out s-sooner..." I trotted up to her, raising a hoof underneath her chin gently and looking into her glowing eyes. They were growing damp as she blinked tears out of them, sniffling and sputtering, even as I drew her into another comforting hug, gently rubbing a hoof down the back of her mane. Strands of her neon-green hair fell out and caught upon her jumper.
"That's in the past, now. Gamma, we need to get out of the Stable, the longer we stay the worse everypony here will be... including yourself." I held her out, turning to the door and lifting it open. Our Geiger counters began their steady ticking again, rising to the tone of slow, agonizing death as we clambered to the elevator, Gamma already winded by the time the doors slid shut behind us. I helped hold her up, nuzzling against her warm cheek gently as she moved a hoof around my neck, the elevator bringing us both back up to the top level of the Stable. The lights were still out in the hallways, though we were still able to just barely find our way through between the glow from both of our eyes. We moved as quickly as we could, the little indicator on both of our EFSs reading out a persistent dosage of 2-3 Rads per second, slowly creeping up the scale as our bodies were bombarded with the persistent radiation. Gamma coughed heavily - oh, please just be mucus - her retort making me realize something I hadn't noticed when we first stepped into the hall; it was quiet. Nopony was screaming in agony anymore. Goddesses...
We stepped through the entrance to the Stable's door, being greeted with the sight of an augmented unicorn and a blood-stained griffon standing in the cavern with saddlebags positively loaded. Gamma blinked in surprise, watching as the pair stepped forwards, winded but ready for action. Minty trotted up to both of us, extending his metallic hoof to Gamma with a smile. "We got your distress signal, guessing you're Twintails' Gamma Ray?" She shook his hoof, nodding and giving a smile as she turned back to myself, Tablet going up to Bloodbeak and starting to explain the situation... or marvel at the sight of a live gryphon, I wasn't sure. I smiled back at Gamma, letting her rest back on her own hooves in the non-contaminated Stable entryway.
"So, I guess you made some friends up there, Twinnie..." She chuckled, carefully trotting down the steps leading through the doorway. Bloodbeak stepped up alongside her, wrapping a wing around her and helping her outside, leaving myself and Minty to handle the rest of the Stable. Several packets of radaway levitated over into my saddlebags, and with a shared nod we moved into the hallway leading to Stable 34's atrium. The clicking on both of our counters steadily increased as we drew nearer, soon turning into a steady drone. Quickly the supplies of radaway were being tapped into, a juggling act between keeping us both from seizing up and making progress to save everypony else. Minty began looking around as we stepped into the main hall's second story, rushing ahead to the Stable's medical bay. I slowed down behind, looking down from the upper walkway, taking note of the red indicator in my vision; ten Rad per second. You'd think she set off a megaspell, going by that...
"Minty? I think most of the fragments are-" I was cut off by a sudden crashing and breaking sound, turning from the railing and looking down to the infirmary, seeing that augmented unicorn blowing through the doorway with a large metal cabinet levitated in his magic, the doors crashing together as he rushed forwards to myself. There was a radioactive trefoil on the one door - ah, that must have been the thing they used to sterilize the needles and stuff, but, why did he have it again? I mean, the stuff inside would've probably been useful, but it's just a heavy, dense, lead-lined-... what a clever bastard. I let off a laugh, smiling and turning to look down into the main area of the atrium. "Toss it down there, on that one table. The largest fragments are all around that scorch mark, I think. Safe bet." The cabinet fell with a heavy thud, Minty turning back to face myself.
"You're alright now, right? Gamma Ray- what the hell!?" He began blinking in surprise, levitating forwards his glasses and examining them over for some reason, our Geiger counters still ticking upwards. I looked at them with him, mostly just taken aback, before looking past the spectacles and at the unicorn who they belonged to. I stifled a snicker, sucking on another pack of the orange anti-radiation medicine. Welcome to the glowing-eyes-club, buddy.
"Clean up the fragments of the bomb as best as you can, I'm going to get on the Stable's PA system and try to get everypony left to get out. Hopefully." Minty fitted his glasses back on, blinking a few times before nodding and turning to look over the railing, his horn glowing and getting to work. I rushed down the side of the walkway, the door to Mayflower's office sticking as I tried to lift it open. Come on you bastard, my Stable's dying from the inside out! Must have been what Gamma was trying to do, the hydraulics aren't working... perfect. With a few more strong tugs, the door finally pulled open far enough for me to squeeze through... and promptly receive an uppercut from a clipboard. Is it 'beat on the pegasus' week or something!? I stumbled a bit, turning and looking at the very surprised Overmare who promptly dropped the clipboard from her mouth and stepped back away from me, a combined look of shock and horror on her face. I suppose maybe having two high-caliber rifles on my sides didn't help my situation. "So... who owes who an apology now?" She fell to the wall of her office, dropping to her haunches and starting to bawl, pulling her legs in to herself and curling up in a fetal position. Okay, that might have been a bit much, but, hell, she almost caused Gamma Ray to die, for crying out loud! I stepped up to her desk, pressing down on the intercom button and being greeted with a comforting retort of static. From the window, I could see Minty shutting the doors of the cabinet, flipping it upside down and pushing it off into a far corner with his magic. letting off a sigh, I turned back to the microphone, thinking over what I wanted to say.
"Attention Stable 34 residents, attention Stable 34 residents. The, uh, most of the fragments of the bomb have been cleaned up, and the radiation in the atrium should be dropped back to, um, survivable levels. Evacuate the Stable immediately, and, and... well, just be as fast as you can when you reach the atrium. There's a Griffon outside, and a unicorn with a metal horn there to greet you, just, hurry yourselves. Um... Twintails, off." I let go of the button, stepping back and looking at Mayflower; her face was being marred as her eyeliner ran down it with her tears, really, kind of pitiful for an Overmare... well, an Overmare whose child killed her Stable, and herself in the process... alright, alright, I get it, I'm really not playing the good guy here. Guh, being a hero is hard work. Trotting up to the crying figure, I stopped, extending a hoof out to her reach, which she seemed hesitant to take - frankly, I would be too, if somepony also had two .30 caliber rifles aimed on me at the same time.
"I'm sorry about Junebug, but... you either stay here and die like she did, or come and lead your Stable. Which is it?" Mayflower wiped her tears, sputtering softly and looking up at myself with her makeup-smeared face, grabbing onto my outstretched hoof and lifting herself up. I nodded once, turning and running back to the door. The sound of confused shuffling had begun to fill the hallways, Minty barking out orders every now and again as myself and Mayflower squeezed underneath the doorway. The first few other residents appeared, walking briskly to the Stable's front exit, Mayflower following in behind as I pushed forwards to the other side, helping to guide the flow through and out. The levels did drop a bit after Minty did the cleanup - 7 Rad per second - but it still wasn't something you wanted to linger in for too long. Drinking packs of Radaway like Sparkle-Cola, the last few ponies filtered out through the doors, mothers and fathers carrying foals on their backs, makeshift saddlebags carrying whatever possessions they had with them at the time. Even as a practical recluse, the sight was still heartbreaking...
"I think that's everypony. Or, well, I hope it is, anyways..." Minty appeared from behind the last wave of residents, meeting myself on the bridge crossing the upper floor of the atrium. Our Geiger counters continued to click on, myself giving a grim nod and beginning to head for the exit, stopping to take one last look at the inside of the Stable - my Stable - letting off a sigh. So many memories here, trapped forever by a cloud of a bunch of angry little atoms. I suppose, at least, we won't have to worry about anypony coming across it and just downright raiding it... some sort of upside to an otherwise horrible situation. Mooscow's going to get a distinct population bump, though.
We stepped outside to the small crowd of seventy or so stallions, mares, and foals, all murmuring concerned words, or crying out in fear, most complaining about the cold. A tent had been erected, Dr. Lonelyheart stepping out of it and scanning over what remained of the Stable's population for a moment, then trotting over to myself. His expression was just as solemn as always, but... something in his eyes... "Erm, Twintails? You'd better come with me... it's Gamma." I blinked idly, starting to follow him through the crowd, feeling an emptiness start to take hold in my chest. Gamma was supposed to be fine, I got her out of the Stable, she was doing great the last time I saw her! I'm sure she just wanted to see me again, is all, make sure that I was still alright after walking through all that radiation, yeah, that's it. But... if that -was- it... why was that pit in my chest getting deeper?
Lonelyheart lifted up the flap of the tent, letting myself trot inside, seeing Gamma laying on a makeshift cot with a blanket draped over her body, her mane falling off in strands as she shifted around. She coughed and turned to the side, blood staining the sheets and dripping over to the floor as she spat it out. I rushed to her side, feeling my breaths quicken, that pit turning bottomless. No... no, no, she's fine, it's just, just... something she ate! yeah, she's just got food poisoning, that's it. She's going to recover, and we're going to move to Mooscow, and we're all going to be happy together forever. Stupid eyes, stop tearing up, she's going to be fine, don't you see? She's going to... she looked up at me, drawing in a wheezing breath as I stood over her, wrapping my hooves about her in loving embrace. One of her hooves gently patted against the back of my head, and I lifted my face from her chest and looked at hers; her eyes were half-closed, and a smile hung on her face as she took another deep breath.
"Twintails... you know how much I loved you... never forget that. Never forget... that you're a good pony." I could feel myself whimpering, sputtering, looking down at the aged mare I held in my hooves oh so gently, blood staining the side of her face where it splashed back when she coughed. She took another wheezing breath, this one weaker, myself moving a hoof to rub her mane gently, leaning my head against her chest. Her heart was beating... faintly.
"D-d-don't s-say things like th-that, y-you... you're..." I could hardly form a sentence through my tears, my cheek pressing against her light-blue chest as she gently rubbed my own mane, her hooves keeping me close to herself, her breaths slowly getting shallower. She coughed again, wheezing and lifting myself up off of her, letting free a sigh and still following myself with her eyes. She closed her mouth, starting to hum softly... Vera's song. Her hooves began to gently rock myself back and forth, managing to push down the tears long enough to join her in it. She started singing on the last few verses, each word from her mouth a heavenly tone between her wheezing... dying... breaths.
"...we'll meet again, don't know where... don't know when..."
"But I know we'll meet again,"
"Some sun-ny..."
"...day..." Gamma had rested her hooves back against her chest, and let off a long sigh. I'd begun to whimper softly again, leaning over her, looking down at how her eyes laid shut, her gentle, reassuring smile stayed on her face, and her thinning mane fell gently over her eyelids. The tears began to pour out, the weight of her body falling heavy against my hooves, the silence not being broken by her wheezing breaths again. I layed myself against her body, hugging it's lifeless form tightly, as if I could squeeze whatever was still hurting her out, and everything would be okay for us all again, and we could move to Mooscow, and live our lives together happily, and nothing would hurt anymore. As I layed there, nuzzling into the body of the mare I'd grown up looking up to, wetting her coat with the waterfall of tears that flowed from my eyes, that pit in my stomach began to fill again. Everything seemed to hurt.
Dr. Lonelyheart covered up Gamma with the blanket, looking at my whimpering, sniffling self, a frown across his face as well. He turned back to her body, myself keeping my head hung low as I walked through the tent's flap, my eyes stinging with the tears that were still flowing out of them, my running nose beginning to freeze over in the icy chill of the wasteland. A gentle snow had begun to fall, eliciting cries of astonishment from the crowd, Minty trotting up between them and resting a hoof on my shoulder. I looked up into his face, blinking the blur out of my eyes, watching as he came into focus in front of myself. The pit in my stomach continued to fill, my gaze moving to scan over the crowd, a voice I'd long forgotten about in the back of my head beginning to push forwards. Gamma had always been there for me whenever it began speaking to me, but, now...
'Look at that... none of them care. You saved their lives, Gamma Ray is dead, and you're the only one crying. They didn't care about what happened to you when you left, they wouldn't care about what happened to you now.' That voice... that grating, annoying voice... it had a point. But, what about- 'Minty? Really, after coming out crying like a little filly, you think he'd want to still be your friend? You're weak, Twintails, you're a coward. You were just lucky you survived out here for so long.' I looked over to the augmented unicorn who was standing beside me, a concerned expression on his face as he stared into my eyes. He cares, I know he- 'You're a liability to him, you freak. He'll learn it eventually. You should save him the trouble now.' But... but I know that he... he... 'Come on. It'll be quick. You know what a big round like the one those rifles at your sides loads could do to a head. You wouldn't feel a thing.' Tears staining my vision once again as Minty wore a frown, I shuddered. Gamma would have been rubbing my head and making the voice go away by now.
But Gamma was dead.
I snapped my wings, propelling off up into the air in a fast arc and running away. I was running away from the ponies who didn't care about me, the reality I didn't want to face, and the voice... 'I'm impressed, I guess you do have a brain in here. No need to traumatize the little foals any more by blowing your head off with the same rifles they were so scared of when you showed up with them from the outside. You want the pain to stop? It'll stop when you find the place to do it.' With a burst of speed that blew more cold tears from my eyes, I kept on running.
The snow erupted in a plume as I landed against it, dragging my hooves through the snow and looking out off of the mountain I'd stopped on. You could almost see Mooscow from here... ponies didn't like pegasi in the wasteland, either. I sat myself down on a small ledge, a flat portion of rock on the mountain, letting off a shuddering breath as I looked out over the cold wasteland. Nopony cared about me, nopony would remember me. My story is just a... a snowflake in a blizzard. 'Wow, you're really thinking now, aren't you? That's really impressive.' The latches of the battle saddle came undone easy, the bit extending far enough out in front of the rifle barrel to fit, the bolt confirming a round in the chamber. 'Come on, you're not doing anypony any favors. Under the chin, that way it won't slip.' The wind picked up, whistling in my ears, carrying the sounds of the wasteland with it. Far away, shots rang out and explosives detonated, ponies lived and died. What's one more death out of the billions already?
The cold steel muzzlebrake of the single automatic rifle pressed underneath my head, the butt end digging into the snow and supporting myself as my weight pressed up against it. The bit rested in my mouth, and I gazed over the dead, icy, wide wasteland, my eyes starting to glaze over. 'Don't you want to see your precious Gamma Ray again? Don't you want to stop hurting? Come on, do it.' It was a beautiful sight, this could've been a scenic overlook before the war. A beautiful view for a last one.
My tongue rolled over the hard bit in my mouth, ears filling with the sounds of the wasteland again. I could faintly hear an electrical sparking, along with a faint screaming. Somepony was screaming my name... 'Don't you want to not have to listen to me anymore? Bite the bit. Pull the trigger. Stop the pain.'
I shut my eyes, feeling the cold tears running down my cheeks, the firing bit staying held in my mouth, but not being pressed. The electrical discharge and screaming drew closer. It was Minty... hmh. He probably was coming to take care of me himself. I shouldn't give him the pleasure.
'Bite the bit. Pull the trigger. Stop the pain.'
Letting out a shuddering breath, my jaw began to close on the bit, the wires offering some resistance.
"Twintails!"
'Bite the bit.'
Little by little, the lever pulled upwards, the barrel pressing more into my lower jaw as it moved, squeezing on the trigger.
"Twintails!!"
'Pull the trigger.'
The wires were taut. I just needed to squeeze a little more.
"TWINTAILS!!"
'Stop the pain.'
A dense piece of rubber-covered metal connected with my shoulder, my jaw clenching on the bit and discharging the rifle up into the air before it was torn from my mouth and thrown to the side, sputtering sobs coming from my mouth as I was held down. My body shuddered, the freezing snow catching in my mane, blurry eyes staring up into the face of an augmented unicorn with a prosthetic hoof. He leaned down into my view, keeping my front legs pinned under his hooves.
"TWINTAILS! What the hell did you think you were doing?! Why!?" I didn't realize I'd never really heard Minty so in a panic before. I sputtered, my nose starting to run as I tried to form words, make sentences. Explain myself. "What did you think doing... doing -this- would accomplish? What? It won't save your Stable, it won't bring Gamma back to life, it won't do anything but hurt everypony! What did you-"
"It would've made everything stop hurting!" I blurted it out, dropping my head to the side and going back to crying myself out. Minty stepped off of me, letting me alone as I curled up in the snow. I wanted Gamma Ray back. I wanted my Stable to go back to. I wanted my bed, and my room, and all the things I had before I went out into this wasteland. I wanted to go back to not having to be a hero to anypony. The snow crunched softly in front of my face, a field of magic dying around something small as it was set down. I opened up one eye, seeing an orange, porcelain mare wearing a stetson and bucking out into the air confidently in front of me, the base covered in the gentle snow that was falling from the clouds above. I reached a hoof out and picked up the statuette; Be Strong. I needed to be strong.
I cradled the statuette against my chest, sniffing and wiping my nose as I rose back up to my hooves. Minty looked at myself, the battle saddle layed across his back, along with my saddlebags. We looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, the chilly wind blowing our manes about and nipping at our coats. I drew in a sniffle, looking down at the statuette, then back up to Minty with a nod. He nodded back, giving me my saddlebags but keeping the rifles, beginning to trot down the mountainside. I followed behind, finding a pocket on the inside of the duster and sliding the small orange earth pony with the ponytail mane into it. It was kind of comforting... she reminded me a little of Gamma.
---
We soon met up with the rest of the Stable, Bloodbeak greeting us as we approached. Some of the families had begun to ready their saddlebags, helping to take down Lonelyheart's medical tent. I tried to not look at the mound of permafrost marked by a disabled pip-buck that was under it.
"Seventy-seven Stallions, Mares, and Foals. Mooscow hasn't had that much of a jump since Stable 92 opened up, over thirty or so years ago..." She looked between us, taking a sniff and turning towards myself for a moment. She had a frown upon her face, letting off a cloudy sigh before looking skywards. "We'd better get moving. The skies aren't looking happy today." Minty nodded to her, and we all moved back to the crowd. A voice spoke up in my head - this one was soft, comforting. It was almost Gamma.
'Everything'll be okay, sugarcube.'
-----
I trotted alongside Twintails, as Bloodbeak followed. Twintails stood before the crowd, looking it over, a solemn expression on his face. The large group of ponies muttered between themselves, a few attempting to warm and calm their children as a cold wind bit at their skin. Twintails took a deep breath, looking around at everyone. He sighed, lowering his head a little. “We... we need to head out to Mooscow immediately. The weather’s only going to get worse from here...” He trailed off as the muttering increased a little in volume. “The Stable’s still too radioactive to be safe. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to send a few ponies into it in a few days to gather your things, but...” He took another deep breath, the group gathering up what they had been able to drag outside. “Mooscow’s not far, we’ll find shelter soon.” He was about to turn away when Lonelyheart trotted up to him.
“Twintails... about Gamma... I think you should know some things.” His voice died, his bottom lip quivering a little. Twintails nodded and Lonelyheart turned back, trotting off, away from the group. Twintails started to follow him. I watched as he trotted away. Should I... he already tried once...
“Twintails!” I said, rushing up to him. I wrapped my forelegs around him and pulled him into a hug. “Just... don’t take too long, alright? Bloodbeak said a storm was on its way.” He put a hoof on my shoulder as my eyes started to water a little. “And, please... don’t do that again.” I squeezed him before letting him go. I smiled, wiping my eyes clear. He smiled back, his own eyes tearing up slightly. He was about to speak, but he only managed a small squeak before tears began to run down his cheek. He nodded, still smiling, before turning and heading back towards the tent.
I walked back to Bloodbeak, who was handing out a few scarves. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this many to have made it out alive. I hope we don’t lose anypony on the way.” She said. We double checked everypony was ready and began to lead the large group out of the ditch, and onto the long road to Mooscow.
“Twintails and Lonelyheart will bring up the rear; they’ll help with the stragglers.” I said, walking along side Bloodbeak, whose heat-lamp was shining through the early morning sky. We walked in silence for awhile, the only sounds coming from the bits of conversation we overheard from the group and the occasional explosion and gunfire, which was always followed by a swell of chatter. “So, why exactly are you named Bloodbeak? No offense, but it doesn’t exactly sound like something your parents would name you.” I asked, trying to find a topic of conversation.
Bloodbeak chuckled. “None taken. My given name’s Bladebeak, though that sort of got lost a few years ago. Razorwing and I were prospecting in Emerald Ridge, looking for some more merchandise for the shop. We were walking into one of the buildings when Razor set off a tripwire.” It was clear a couple of the ponies listening in were not enjoying the story as they exchanged worried looks with one and other. “Something swung from the ceiling and blindsided Razor. I think it was some large chunk of rebar. It got him right in the side of the head, knocked him unconscious. Three raiders ambushed me. I managed to shoot one down, but I was running out of ammo, so...” Her grin wavered a little. “Well, I can’t exactly say I’m proud of it, but I tore open the dead raiders chest and pulled out his heart. I, uh, sort of just took advantage of the situation and took a bite out of it. Heart meat is tough.” She chuckled again. “You should’ve seen how fast they ran out of there. Unfortunately for me, Razorwing was awake by then. He just started calling me Bloodbeak as a joke and it stuck. Funny thing though,” She licked her beak, smirking at me a little. “I can’t say I disliked the taste of pony flesh... never tried it again, though, if you were afraid of that.”
My eyes widened as the ponies who were eavesdropping all pulled faces of disgust, one holding a hoof up to his mouth as he made a retching sound. Ooookay, point taken: Don’t piss off the cannibalistic Gryphon. We continued down the road, Emerald Ridge coming into view around the corner. I looked back over Stable 34’s inhabitants, most unhappy and tired, but still trotting along. I saw a pair of ponies far at the back, one a bright yellow helping a kid keep up with the group. I relaxed a little, seeing that Twintails was alright. “What about you? What exactly went on in your Stable?” Bloodbeak asked.
“Aside from the obvious?” I asked, tapping my horn. “Well, everypony gets augmentations when they get their Pip-Buck. It’s not exactly a good idea to give super powered horns and skeletons to foals. The school taught us just about anything we needed to know for life in the Stable: Basic programming, some English, a bit of the arts, and how to maintain our new metal bits and pieces. Oh, and history of course.” I said as we approached the outskirts of Emerald Ridge. “If it weren’t for those bloody striped-skins, we wouldn’t be talking now.”
Bloodbeak raised an eyebrow. “Striped-ski- oh, Zebras? Well, yeah I guess that’s kind of true. You do know they weren’t the only ones slinging bombs around, right?” She asked. I rolled my eyes as we passed some corpses that were partially covered in snow. A couple large bloatsprites were chewing on the frozen flesh. The group of ponies all grouped closer together, staring at the creature warily.
“Of course I know that. You think Equestria would just let striped-skins make those Balefire Eggs without someway to combat them? Doesn’t change the fact they fired first, those foal-eating, mare-raping, flank-holes.” I said. Bloodbeak raised an eyebrow. I looked at her a little aghast. “You can’t honestly tell me you’re a Zebra sympathizer, Bloodbeak. What they did was disgusting, I could barely watch those videos in class. They kidnap foals, rape mares then they just stop sending coal to Equestria! Not to mention their stripes look absolutely awful.”
Bloodbeak rolled her eyes and looked back to one of the ponies who were walking directly behind us. The brown pony was wiping his mouth, a new yellow and green splotch in the snow at the side of the road. He looked to Bloodbeak, his face turning slightly greener when he saw the blood stains on her feathers and beak. “Say, stablepony who just tossed his lunch on the road, what do you think of Zebras?” She asked.
“Ugh... those flies...” He said, shaking his head, still looking a little queasy. “Sorry, Zebras? I don’t know. I’m not exactly a fan of them, but I don’t see why we needed to fling the Megaspells.” My jaw almost fell open. I can’t believe this; I just helped evacuate a stable of Zebra sympathizers! Well, at least Zebra apathetic-ers. “Obviously those Balefire Eggs and Megaspells didn’t exactly improve life around here...” The stable dweller said, shivering.
I grunted a little. I suppose he had a bit of a point there, the wasteland isn’t exactly my kind of idea for a summer getaway. “What about the coal trade? We had a perfectly good deal with them and they just stop sending us coal for no reason!” I snapped. This day didn’t start off well, and wasn’t getting any better. I took a deep breath, trying to relax. “Ah... sorry. I’m just worried about Twintails.”
The colt flinched a little when I yelled, but looked back at the crowd, Twintails lost somewhere in it. “Sorry... I know what you mean though. Gamma and Twintails spent nearly everyday together, I can’t really imagine how this hit him.” We walked through the snow, the sky still its eternal gloomy appearance. The colt sighed. “I hope he’s ok too, he was looked up to in the Stable, everyone was expecting him to return with that chip or coil-thing heroically," He coughed, spitting up a small bit of blood. “I guess that bomb sort of changed our plans.”
I felt a small pit open in my stomach. The colt looked forward as I exchanged glances with Bloodbeak. I didn’t want to tell him about the real purpose of the coil-thingie, so I just fixed my eyes back on the road. We walked along, the rest of the group’s talking having died down, replaced by the chattering of teeth and occasional cursing of the clouds. Snow started to drift down from the sky, thankfully lightly. The fillies and colts looked up in awe, a few holding their mouths open and attempting catch a couple on their tongues. Those that did spit the snow out almost immediately. Fallout doesn’t exactly taste that good, I would imagine.
We were soon arriving at Mooscow, the Stable inhabitants all muttering thankfully and rubbing their eyes. Razorwing was sitting outside the barricade, attempting to keep himself awake. He looked up as we approached, snorting a little. “Oh, thank goodness!” He ran up and pulled Bloodbeak into a hug, squeezing her. “Is everypony ok?” He asked, stepping back, but not before Bloodbeak had returned the hug.
“Minty and Twintails are fine. Seventy seven survivors.” Bloodbeak said, looking back at the group who was still shivering. “They’re cold, hungry, a bit irradiated, and tired, but they should all be relatively alright. The hotel was fine with keeping them for a couple days?” She asked. Razorwing nodded, waving to the group.
“Stable 34? Follow me, there’s a hotel open you can all stay in for a few days. It’ll be crowded, but it’s better than the snow banks!” He shouted. He opened the doors, leading the group through the metal barricade. I searched through the crowd, spotting Twintails at the rear, still looking a little gloomy. I walked up to him as he came to a stop next to Bloodbeak.
Bloodbeak looked over her shoulder at us, preparing to shut the door. “You guys planning on staying? I still don’t like the look of the sky.” She said, looking up at the sky. The clouds had grown a little darker, the cold wind and snow picking up. I looked over at Twintails, watching him toss the idea around in his head.
“No... no, we need to get going. If that storm is as bad as you think it will be, we could be stuck here for awhile.” He looked through the opening in the barricade, the large group of ponies led by Razorwing turning the corner to the hotel. “And, well... I think I need to spend a little time alone. Or, as alone as I can be.” He looked over at me, smiling slightly.
I returned the smile, Bloodbeak looking concerned. “Alright, but make sure you get there and back as fast as you can, wherever you're going.” She said. She fished around in her saddle bags for a moment before pulling out a large lamp. It swung a bit on its handle. “Here, it’s my spare heat lamp. I always like having an extra in case this one dies out.” She patted the one currently hooked on her left wing. “Take good care of it, I’d rather not have to steal my brother’s to fix it.” She grinned a little.
I levitated the lamp up, hanging it in the air between Twintails and me. The talisman powered lamp flickered every now and then, but even its weak glow helped against the cold. “Thanks.” I said, Bloodbeak settling herself down in a makeshift tent. She hung her lamp up and tore open an MRE. We crunched through the snow, heading in the direction of NEAMO.
We walked quietly, the snow starting to fall a little harder as we approached the raider camp. There were a couple bloatsprites lazily hovering above a cleaned corpse, its bones shining slightly in the dirty snow. I pulled out my pistol, Twintails placing his mouth over the trigger to his machine guns. The sprites took notice as we approached them, one spitting some glob of acidic spit towards us. I fired my pistol a couple times, one sprite melting as Twintails swept the area with his big rifles. Uhm, overkill much? “Hmh, didn’t feel like using your fancy new rifle?” Twintails asked kicking aside one of the dead sprites.
“Saving ammo.” I said. “It wouldn’t hurt for us to stop by the factory, they might have some more batteries." Twintails tilted his head to the side a bit to acknowledge he heard me. “Hey... are you sure you’re feeling alright?” I asked. Twintails sighed, looking down at the ground. He didn’t respond for a while, just leaving me to scan the road for any raiders.
“I don’t know... I...” He searched for words to explain. “I think I just need to mope for awhile. Try and accept it.” I looked worriedly at him. He glanced over, trying to smile. “I’ll be ok, Minty. You... you'll make sure of that.” I grinned at him. He returned it, even if it was a little shaky. We walked along the side of the hill, kicking the occasional clump of ice into the valley.
Time seemed to pass slowly as we walked, though flipping on the Pip-Buck radio helped a little. As we passed the RobronCo facility, there was an especially long break between songs. There was a crackle of static before Hi-Fi’s voice came on. “Hey, all you wastelanders, just got some news in from Mooscow,” Her voice wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as it normally was during her broadcasts. “A personal friend of mine’s Stable was destroyed last night. He and some of his companions were able to rescue many ponies... except the one that mattered the most to him.” I looked over at Twintails, seeing his pupils shrink a little again, his eyes starting to well with tears. “If you’re listening to this, I just want you to know we’re all sorry for you... for what it’s worth, in this cold icebox, we’re all sorry.” The voice died, another song starting up. I watched as Twintails’ lip trembled as the familiar voice started up.
"We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again,
some sun-ny day..."