Meeting
“I fight for the hope in ponies' hearts. Hope gives them reason to smile and laugh.”
I stood before the murdered stallion, watching in horror as his pooling blood touched my hooves,” N-No, I didn’t mean to. I was just trying to,” I whispered The blood was now on my hooves. I lifted my right forehoof to look at it in terror. The blood lingered there, like it was staining my hoof. In vain, I tried to shake the blood off, trying my best to wipe it away, but it stayed there. I panted as I tried to run away from the blood on the floor, but the pool kept following me.
“Look at that, guess she’s a monster after all,” I heard the voice of Diamond Tiara taunting me like we used to do when we were kids.
My eyes opened in horror as the voice continued, “No, I-”
“A little monster who kills ponies,” the other voice, Silver Spoon, said.
“No!” I yelled, finding myself growing younger. “I’m not a monster, I never wanted to kill him! Please, I didn’t want to-”
“Just a little monster,” said the voice, her mocking tone getting louder.
“Monster, monster. Hey everypony, let’s mock the little monster,” the partner voice teased.
“How can you protect the ponies you care about if you are a murderer?”
“No,No, no!” I whimpered, finding mirrors surrounding, each with an image of myself... no, it wasn’t me. It was Nightmare Moon, standing over the dead bodies of ponies and in front of it all, was my mother.
“Guess you are just a monster,” I hear my mom say, “Go away and never come back.”
I stepped back, and shook my head, “Mom, not you too... please.”
Thankfully, I was brought out of the nightmare by a distant yet loud noise in the distance. As the music came closer to me, I began to recognize it. It was the song that Pinkie Pie played once at my birthday, the same music she played when I came home from guard training. The ‘Parasprite Polka’ she called it. With a hopeful smile, I lifted my head from my hooves, praying that last night was some horrible nightmare. That everything that had happend: the war, the loss of my friends and family, the devastation of Ponyville, and...the murder, were all just horrible fantasies. But, when I opened my eyes and looked around, I saw that this wasn’t the case. The desolation of Ponyville was still there, laying underneath a grey cloud cover that blocked out the sunlight. A sad sigh escaped my muzzle as I shook my head at the desolation before me, my home now nothing but a bunch of ruined dreams and lives.
I sighed as I looked up at the old tree that I was resting next to. It was burnt, blackened, and very dead much like the town that rested below the hill. I laid there for a few more minutes, just looking at the town covered in the faint green mist of morning. All over, I could see the ruins of the town, broken walls and destroyed houses. Rubble littered the streets and once in a while one of those monster ponies would run in between the houses. At that point, I just wanted to lay down and give up.
"Come on, what is with that?" my inner voice called out to me.
"I'm quitting. There's nothing for me here, I don't belong here," I said to myself.
"Don't you start with that! Didn't mom give us a quest?" my inner voice asked me.
"Find out what happened to her and the bearers and finish the memorial book," I said, looking up and giving a nod. "But, where do I even start?"
"How about looking in mom's book? You're going to be writing in it, might as well read it," my little inner voice said.
I let out a chuckle as I reached in my saddle and pulled out mom's book, "I better stop talking to myself, soon. I might go nuts." Looking at the book in front of me, I ran my hoof along the gold lettering that was written on the soft purple cover, " The Journal of Friendship: The Story of the Elements. Cheesy mom, real cheesy," I giggled, not having it any other way. Opening up the book, I began to read through it, skimming over the first pages that were mainly introduction and dedications. The part that I was more interested in, was the first chapter that I got to, "Chapter 1: The Laughter of Pinkie Pie. Why did mom put Pinkie first?" A gasp escaped my lips as I realized why...
"Maybe the ponies of Ponyville have some interesting stories to tell?"
"Hello,"Twilight said to the pink mare
"GASP!"
"She didn't really," I started off as I looked ahead in the book, only to confirm what I thought she did. The next chapter was Applejack, followed by Rainbow Dash, then Rarity, and then Fluttershy. She put them in the order that they met, with mom being the last chapter in the book most likely. Going back to the first chapter in the book, I began to read it throughly, hoping for some sort of clue to begin searching for her.
Reaching near the end, I could feel myself tear up a little as I could see the beginnings of Pinkie's little addictions an how they were messing her up. I wanted to erase that part of the story, but what mom said about "mistakes " stopped me from doing so. But, I read one part that interested me, the part that talked about her ministery hub back in Manehatten. It mentioned how she had been going there a lot before this book had been written, just a few months before the bombs fell. My eyes opened wide at this clue, and I quickly closed the book, "Well, it may not be a definite location, but it is something to go on!" and with that, I stood up and put the book back into my saddle.
Turning to look at the hazy green mist that covered town, I took one last long look at the ruined buildings and once living town. My eyes searched over the places like the school house, the city hall, and the library, all in various states of ruin. I could see inside some of them without even needing to go through the door, or in the case of some of the buildings, only one wall stood as a reminder of what once was a home. Even Sweet Apple Acres looked as dead as the land around it. With a heavy sigh, I told myself, "Don't look back. We can't go home again."
I took a few steps away from the tree and looked at my wings. I smiled as I gave them a few test flaps to make sure that they were in perfect working order. The healing spell I had placed on myself the night before helped with the majority of the injuries, but I could still feel a sharp stinging sensation where the bullets had grazed me. Setting my wings to my side, I slowly crouched and squinted in determination, reflecting on the words that Aunt Rainbow once said to me.
“Nyx, listen, if you’re ever feeling down and like a piece of slime, just do what I do,” she said confidently, running a hoof through her mane.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking up from my book on flying for beginners.
“Just find someplace quite, spread your wings wide, and then take off! I tell you, it does wonders for me!” Rainbow Dash chuckled as she flew off.
I smiled to myself as I felt the loose ground move beneath me, creating little divots around my hooves. Crouching low enough to let my stomach touch the ground, I gave my wings a few more flaps to get them ready. Feeling the air beneath my wings blowing gently with each flap, I pushed legs against the ground with all of my might to send me soaring high into the sky. Stretching out my legs ahead of me, I kept them pointed toward my intended target like an arrow. Squinting in sheer determination, I flap my wings in order to pick up the speed to pierce the barrier. Within a few short moments, I pierced the clouds with all my speed and left behind a me-sized hole within the depressing sheet. Once on the other side, I let out a small bit of laughter in spite of myself.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I am ashamed to be an alicorn. Ok, sometimes I am, there are times when I wished I had lost the wings and was born just a normal unicorn. But right now, at this moment, I was glad to have my wings. The feeling of being high in the sky, being so far away from the trouble down below or the hell that my Equestria had become, was one of the greatest feelings that I could ever had. Taking in a deep breath, the air felt less sick up here, less decayed. With a smile, I leaned back and let the light of the moon bathe me.
I never could figure out why ponies in the past feared the night, or why the Zebras would call me and Luna devils because of our connection to the stars. I loved the night, some of my favorite memories came from the night: my first meeting with my mother, the time I found my cutie mark, the first time I flew, my first fight as a cadet, and my first, and only, time I ever disobeyed my mom. As I leaned back, I looked behind me and saw what looked like a cloud city behind me. This proves that there must be surviving pegasi out there, so why was the barrier here?
I ignored this thought for now, they must have had a good reason for all of this. They had to... right?
Shaking my head of this thought for now, I turned over and dived back beneath the cloud barrier. Blinking my eyes to wipe away the leftover cloud fluff, I turned my head to look at the me shaped hole in the barrier. Letting out a childish giggle at the sight, I turned my head to look down at the ground as I flew over it, looking over at how the Equestrian landscape had changed in the past 200 years. To my left, I saw Canterlot standing tall on the side of the mountain, or once standing tall. Now it looks like just a broken down castle, looking as ruined as the Castle of the Two Sisters; although, although, how the city changed in two hundred years was an idea worth checking out one day.
Opting to continue to enjoy my flight, I looked to where I remembered Whitetail woods once existed, and I was shocked to see it nothing more than a creator, “Did the zebras just unleash every missile that they had on one spot?” I asked myself aloud.
As I let myself coast along the hot air currents, I scanned the ground for a little bit, trying to see if I could see anypony on the ground or if there was any grassland left. As I looked around, I thought I had caught sight of a rust colored pegasus flying with a small caravan. Seeing that pegasus helped to solidify my theory that the cloud city that I had saw earlier was just a small collection of ruins and that the pegasi were just too small in number to fix the clouds. Not knowing if he saw me or not, I waved a hoof to the rust-colored stallion down below. I smiled at the black hat he wore, thinking back to my aunt Applejack. Looking ahead, I continued my flight before deciding to finally stop and land for a moment.
With all four of my hooves on the ground, I took another whiff of the air around me. It still smelled, repugnant. Like if somepony decided to poison the entire planet and I was just smelling the decaying remains. It was horrible to experience, and I hoped that someday, there would be some way to fix all of this.
Looking around me, I noticed a small cave not too far from where I had landed. It wasn't a spot thatI had found myself exploring al that much when I was younger, so seeing it was a surprised. My curiosity was piqued, so I took a walk inside.
The cave was cool and a little damp, with the air blowing lightly over my fur and feathers. As I walked through the large cavern, the only noise I could hear, beyond my own hooves against the stone and gravel, was the dripping of water from the stalactite landing on the stalagmites. I had to admit, as I looked around the wide open cave, that there was something mysterious about it, a mystery that needed solving. A grin came to my face as I ran a little quicker, my mind racing with the possibilities of what would be in this cave: A dragon, a treasure, or maybe mole ponies?
... Ok, the last one was my mind running away with me. But still, my inquisitive mind was on full speed and there was no stopping it.
After a few short minutes of running, I came to a sudden stop in front of the cave wall and a large steel door, “A stable!” I exclaimed in utter happiness. I smiled as I realized that stables would house ponies, and ponies meant companionship. That meant I wouldn’t have to be alone any more! I could have a place to stay, friends to make this world worth living for, and a place to get back to when I finished mom’s mission. I giggled like a school filly while walking alongside the large door. My first thought was to open it up with my magic, but I quickly thought against it since I quickly remembered how strong these doors could be.
“All right, Nyx, ready?” Applebloom asked, hiding behind glass shielding.
“Ready!” I responded, charging my horn and making it crackle with lighting.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Applebloom looked to her with a furrowed brow, “Well, yeah! Ah mean, if we want the ponies to be safe, the doors have to be a strong as they can get!”
“No, I mean having an alicorn blasting doors in a small room. Are you sure this is-” the white mare’s words were quickly cut off by a large explosion from my shot.
“Perfect,” I said with a triumphant smile, though my feathers were ruffled. At least the door was still standing.
I smiled at the memory, working with my best friends was probably the only good thing about my ‘resignation’ and the part I enjoyed. Looking at the small console before me, I quickly typed in the code “CMC3BFF”
“Why only three? Don’t I count?”
“Of course you do, Nyx!” Scootaloo said as she sat in front of us at the table. “But, when the CMC got started, there was only three of us and we three are the founding members. So it’s kind of like-”
“The three of us will be watching over all the new fillies and colts that’ll be born in the stables. Watching over them and seeing that they all got their cutie marks and face a new future,” said Applebloom.
“Kind of like when we helped you,” Sweetie Belle smiled.
I looked back at my cutie mark, remembering how I was upset over not having one during my little ‘rebellious stage (It’s what we began calling a certain event in my life that I can assume, dear reader, you are familiar with?), “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Stable 16,” I read aloud as the door slowly opened with a slow groan. Standing back, I watched in awe as the machinery went to work, moving the massive door open and allowing me inside of the stable. Straightening myself up, I took my first steps into the shelter, hoping that whoever lived in here would not mind the appearance of an alicorn in their midst.
As I walked in, I noticed that the place was awfully... quiet. Oh, I expected a little silence because of my unexpected appearance, but I saw no guards or anypony watching the door. I had at least expected the Overmare to be here or a welcoming party to see me in. But there was nothing, not a sound of life or a sign that any pony had made it. A sad and sorrowful sigh escaped my lips, as I began to think that the ponies didn’t make it to the stable in time-
*CRUNCH*
The loud sound stopped me dead in my tracks, and I looked down at what I had stepped on. I let out a gasp of shock and fear. Down beneath me, was a pony skull that was crushed and cracked thanks to me. Judging from the shape and the spiral horn at top, it was a unicorn, but that wasn’t what shocked me. I could see the top of what was left of the skull, there was a bullet hole on the top. Lifting up the skull to look closer at the bullet wound, I took a good long look at the hole. I looked closely at the way that the bullet had caved in, trying to see if I could figure out where the bullet had entered into the skull.
Then the skull suddenly changed into the face of the pony I had killed earlier, his face was slowly decaying with a dangling eye looking at me, blaming me. I nearly dropped the skull in horror as I tried to wipe the image from my head. Feeling my breath coming in short pants, I steadied the skull and tried to look at it some more. Sadly, since I never was one for forensics, the only thing I could figure out was the bullet entry point and nothing else. Lowering the head slowly, I tried to figure out who did this and why. Was it an accident? Did somepony go mad? Or did the pony kill itself.
My walk took me further into the stable, the same feeling of dread and lifelessness that hit me at the beginning of the place hit me again. It was just too silent and the sounds my hooves made along the metal corridors, echoing off the walls, did little to remove the feeling of loneliness. I breathed slowly in there, trying to resist the urge to call out for somepony, not wanting to alert the ones who killed the ponies if they were still inside the building. What if it had been a monster, or something worse. What if somepony found their way into the stable and turned it into their personal playground.
I soon stopped by what was once the cafeteria and took a steps into the room, and then almost ran back out in fear. Sitting there, with bullet wounds in their skulls and rib cages, looking like they were just about to enjoy supper, were several ponies. Judging from the way that the bodies were strung about, it looked like that this attack was unexpected. Some, looked like they were killed before they knew what was happening, while others looked like they were trying to run away from whatever it was that did this. All in all, I saw at least 15 bodies.
“By the goddess, who could’ve done this to foals?” I thought to myself as I walked around the cafeteria, trying my best to not think about the carnage around me and let my anger boil. Instead, I stepped past the eating section and instead to the kitchen, where I found a small freezer. Opening it up, it revealed some frozen sandwiches and a small water bottle. Looking for a bit, I took the water bottle and left the food behind, wanting to find something else before I tried eating the frozen food.
Besides, all stables had an orchard anyway, so I might find some food there.
Getting myself out of the cafeteria, I smiled as I looked down the hallway and saw that the orchard was just down the hall. A little smile came across my face as I ran inside and grabbed a few apples for myself and ate a few on the spot. Taking some of the others off the branches, I quickly placed them into my bags and walked away. After a few minutes of searching, I had finally discovered where the overmare would be.
As I walked down the long corridor, I had this strange feeling of being watched. Maybe if I had paid more attention to my surroundings, I would’ve been able to have heard the sounds of something watching me. But I was far too focused on the state of the stable to see it. As my hooves made echoing sounds along the hallways, I got glimpses into some of the rooms, seeing that some of the positions of the skeletons of the ponies were just sitting around as they were shot or doing some...’adult’ activities before they were gunned down.
My mind began to wonder who did it, an inside job? No, a pony could never do that.
Maybe, one of those ‘cruel’ ponies I met back in Ponyville? No, they couldn’t have broken in that easily.
Maybe a group of ponies found it and broke in? No, if that was the case, then they would’ve helped the ponies. Like the Steel Rangers would probably do if they are still around.
Shaking my head of these thoughts and wanting to focus on getting to the Overmare, I soon found her office and opened the door. Once inside I found the skeleton of a pony, lying in her chair in a fetal position. By this point, I am sad to say, had seen so many skeletons that one more in here did not phase me all that much. A part of pulled back at that thought, praying that this wouldn’t be a normal thing for me. That I would pass death off as something trival.
I ignored that little thought, pushing it far off into the back of my head as I went to the Overmare’s computer, which seemed to still be on at the moment. “Thank Celestia,” I said out loud. As much as I love computers and messing around with them, I did not feel like spending a few minutes hacking another pony’s computer. Scrolling up to the top of the page, I began to read-
I am so sorry, so sorry. Please, goddesses forgive me for what I have done, forgive me... I just wanted to try and prepare them for what lied ahead, for when the stable would fall. To what, you ask? I don’t know, but I know that it will happen, it will always happen. Empires, Kingdoms, and nations fall, so why not stables?
I had to, they would never be prepared for the fall if it wasn’t for me, for my ideas. Oh yes.
At first, it started with drills. I would alert the ponies to false dangers, like being invaded or the water talisman breaking. But soon, that failed. They just were not afraid of the false dangers anymore, they had become complacent. Calm and relaxed when I would sound the alert, like it was a game for them. I couldn’t have that, not anymore, oh no. So, I arranged for the bots to take care of the drills and act like actual invaders.
Once a week, at midnight, the robots would go out and fire at the ponies. It would be like a real assault from the outside, soon, they would all be ready for it. Of course, the robots were all equipped with rubber bullets so no pony would die...
Nopony was to die, they were all supposed to be fine...
But, again, they became complacent. It was turning into a game for them, a...a...a sport! They were placing bets, giggling, and laughing about my tests! Why could they not see the seriousness of this, that this was meant to test them and their readiness. How in the world was I to protect these ponies when they thought that the danger was a joke. I couldn’t protect them, not like this. They needed to know of the real danger that lied beyond the walls, to know of the danger of falling.
So I...so I...
Live rounds, that was the answer. The only answer! The robots has to be calculated to shoot only at the least vital of spots, easy to fix and I could operate the master switch.
But...
But...
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.
I wanted to protect them
No pony...was supposed to die.
Something went wrong, I made a mistake in calculations or programming and the robots went out to kill everypony.
But not me. As soon as the death began and my kill switch broke, I hid here. I did not deserve to die with my ponies, but die here. Alone and broken. That is my fate, that is what the poison will do. Goddess...
Oh...
I am so sorry...
I stepped back from the computer screen in shock and horror. She didn’t need to do it this way, there had to have been a better-
Beep
I turned my head up at the sound and looked at the clock, a look of dread coming over my face as I began to realize that the beeping was coming from the clock on the wall, “Oh, buck me...” I said aloud as I read the clock with one minute to midnight, and the sign that read
Invasion drill starts in one minute.
Turning my head back to the door I came in from, I moved to try and close the door and wait out the rest of the scenario. That plan was ruined rather quickly as I watched one of the guard bots walk through the door and point towards me. As I heard the guns cocking and getting ready to shoot at me, I looked behind me and used the only piece of cover open to me: the overmare’s desk. Leaping over it as the bullets began to fly, I quickly ducked and covered my head.
As the bullets whizzed over my mane, I quickly began to think of a plan to destroy the bot. Luckily, he wasn’t a pony, so I had no problem unleashing my full magic on him. Concentrating, I charged my horn with a lightning spell. I breathed slowly as I focused my lighting mana on my horn, hearing the crackle and snap of the small bolts as they cascaded in a cage on my horn. Rolling out from my cover, before the robot had time to react to me, I fired the long lighting bolt straight into the robot, frying it on the spot.
I let out a prideful chuckle as I walked over to the bot and began to scavenge it. After all, it could have some useful material for me in there. After some searching, I could only turn up some bullets for the robot’s gun. I may not have much training in guns, but I might find a pony to trade something good for it. I then looked behind me at the Overmare’s failed ‘kill switch’. Figuring I had time before other bots came gunning for me, I walked quickly to the button and began to try and repair it.
After about twenty minutes of trying, and ripping the back off with my magic (Note to self: Find a screw driver in this place so I don’t need to rip metal plates again), I had the kill switch fixed and ready to go. But, before I could press the button, four bullets went by my right hoof and right into the kill switch. A few more bullets past by me, with one managing to cut through my right leg.
Before more could tear through me, I rolled back to my cover behind the Overmare’s desk. As I laid behind the desk, I watched as the blood trickled down my leg from the small hole. A few pants escaped my lips as the sounds of the robots approaching slowly came closer and closer. I then rolled onto my belly and listened for the sounds of shooting to stop, and the bots to reload.
.Wincing from the pain in my right leg, I charged up another lighting spell in my horn and risked peeking my head from behind the desk to fire a chain lightning spell at the bots, frying both into scrap. With a limp, I walked over to the fired bots and grabbed whatever scrap that was left over with my magic. As I watch the broken kill switch fizz and spark, I let out a long sigh at the loss of the ability to get this done within a few short moments. I then turned my head to the Overmare’s door and ran out of the room, “Here! Shoot this for a bit!” I yelled to the three robots I knew would be on my left. Keeping their friend’s scrap up with my magic, I used it as a shield as I ran down the hallway to find somewhere to hide and think of a new plan.
However, I could feel that the shield wouldn’t last for too long, as I could hear the bullets pierce the metal shield and begun to whiz pass me. Some of them even managing to whizzing past my side or the side of my head. Racing down the hallway, I could feel the hot bullets flying by me, most nearly missing me, but some of them managed to hit my shoulder and side. Looking to my left, I saw what looked like to be a med-bay and leapt inside, closing the door behind me. I stood there, panting for a few moments as I looked around the room, trying to see if I could find something to stop the bleeding or at least, long enough to try and use a healing spell to fix me.
Resting against the cold metal door, I began to curse the current situation I was in, as I began to take account of my magic level. I had already used a lot of my magic with those lightning bolts and I knew that my healing spells takes some of my mana to perform. I took a deep breath and began to look through some of the cabinets for some potions and other helpful items. A smile came to my face as I opened the cabinet and found two healing potions along with a small orange pack labeled “rad-away”. I never tried the stuff myself, but I remember mom telling me about the Flim-Flam bros. invention that is supposed to help with radiation poisoning. I had also found a small canteen for water, and thank goodness for that. I realized that I hadn’t drunk much of anything for the past day and needed it. I opened it quickly and took a drink of it after I had drunk some of the health potions.
After I had finished emptying the canteen, I put it and some of the other medical supplies into my bags. Before I had a chance to look through the rest of the cabinet, The door behind me blew open thanks to the force of the robot from the other side. Flying up to dodge some of the bullets, I grabbed the flying door with my magic and threw it into the body of the robot to crush and destroy it. Deciding that it was time for me to leave, I looked one way and the next from within the door. Looking down the hallway I came from, I could see some more of the robots coming at me. Muttering a silent prayer to the goddesses, I began to hope that this was the last set.
Charging my horn, I felt it turn slightly cold from some of the ice magic I began to pump through it. Breathing slowly, I covered the floor of the hallway with a thin sheet of ice. A smirk came to me as I watched the robots activate their traction and began to move through the ice. Making my horn glow red, I began to melt the ice until it became a small lake at the bots treads. I then flew up to the ceiling and fired my lighting bolt into the water, causing an electrical surge that fried the group.
I let out a small triumphant chuckle as I landed on the non-electric part of the hallway, but I found out the laugh came a bit too early as I felt five rounds go into my side. I let out a painful yell as I turned to look at the last robot; I fried him with one last lightning bolt. Panting, wincing, and groaning with each step, I dragged my body into the nearest room, praying that there was a bed. I smiled when my luck was fortunate to provide one in whatever room it was and I slowly crawled to it. My right leg hanging limply at my side as I fell into bed, the blood still oozing out from my sides and shoulders where the bullets had pierced me. I knew for a fact that, if I wasn’t an alicorn, some of these might have killed me. However, that didn’t stop them from hurting like hell. Using my magic, I bearly had enough to lift up a healing potion to my lips and drank it.
I decided to just lay onto the bed, hoping that my alicorn healing magic will fix up the most severe of my wounds, and fell asleep.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I walked down the hall of the barracks with a smile on my face, hearing the sounds of congrats from my peers, “Hey, nice job priv-I mean major.”
“Yeah, and how long have been in the guard?” a pony with a thick accent asked.
“3 years, Unimpressive,” I answered with a coy smirk.
“Careful, if the alicorn keeps this up,” a stalliongrad mare smirked as she walked behind me, “It’s gonna be she, who we’ll be calling sir!”
I let out a chuckle, “Oh, don't worry, I don’t think it’ll be that bad.”
“That was what we said about your uncle, and now look where he is,” came a gruff pegasus from down the hall.
I let the ponies continue their talks with each other, glad to be in the company of such good friends; although, there are days when I miss the CMC. But, that’s life: Scootaloo is doing that Rad Racer thing, Applebloom has her little business and Sweetie Belle-
Ooo child
Things are gonna get easier
Oooo child
Things’ll get better
Ooh child
Things are gonna get easier
oooh child
things’ll get brighter
Got to be the hearthrob of many of the recruits. I had to stifle a giggle as I wonder how the unicorn would react to know just how many of these boys talk about her in the barracks.
“TWILY, You can't expect me to-!” Shouted Shining Armor. Curious about the sudden outburst, I walked to my uncle’s front door and listen closely.
“Shining, Its excatly what I want you to do. You heard me” my Mom yelled at him.
“But Twily, you can’t just-”
“The hell I can't! Shining Armor, I want you to discharge Nyx and get her out of the royal guard,” Mom said, keeping calm.
My eyes opened wide in shock as the impact of the words hit me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I sat up in the bed as I awoke from my little flashback. A little chuckle came to me as I remembered what happened after that day, it was one of the few times that me and mom had ever had a fight. No, fight is too generous, it was a small scale war. The entire Equestria/Zebra conflict seemed like a school yard fight in comparison to the war me and Mom had over me staying in the guard. I was surprised that we didn’t start going into a magic duel.
...It was good thing we didn’t, mom would’ve mopped the floor with me before I could even think of a starting spell.
As the memories of the fight washed over me, I raised my left hoof and placed it on my forehead, letting out a small chuckle as I did, “It was such a stupid fight,” I said out loud through my chuckles. And, in truth, it kind of was. She was trying to watch out for me when she took me out of the service, and it did lead me to Stabletech, which lead me to helping out my friends and making the stables.
“Yep! Those wonderful stables that helped saved ponies, protected them from the apocalypse and kept them from dying. That’s why Mom took me away from where I was meant to be, my destiny, and what my special talent said I was the best at,” I let out another chuckle, not even noticing the tears forming in my eyes. “To help my friends and develop helpful stables like this one, where an Overmare goes mad and kills everypony. Yep, Mom did a wonderful job with that one! She took me away from the front and put me into a place where...” I stopped myself for just a moment. “She knew I would be safe, and happy. Where at least I did something related to my mark.”
“I mean, just because this place was ruined, doesn’t mean that all of the stables mess up, right? The percentage has to be very low. It has to be,” another chuckle escaped my lips. “Mom, just wanted me alive. She just thought that, keeping me from the front was the best way. She didn’t think this would happen,” I then ran my hoof across my eyes and wiped the tears away.
Laying back onto the bed, I turned to my side and looked at my wounds. I breathed softly in relief as I saw my bullet wounds had all disappeared, only small black dots remained and those would soon also fade into my coat.
Confident that I was fully healed, I took the time to look around the area where I slept. Upon a quick reflection of my surroundings, I could figure that I was in a Pipbuck technician’s office. There was even a little bench where he would work from and some, admittedly broken, Pipbucks laying about here and there. Getting off the bed, I walked off the bench and picked up a screwdriver (just in case I ever need to get a vent open) and left behind the rest of the materials on the bench.
After filling up the canteen with some water from a faucet in the nearby bathroom and taking some apples from the stable’s orchard, I made my way to the exit. Before I walked through the looming gate, I looked over my shoulder one last time at the ill-fated stable and sighed. I felt so sorry for the innocent ponies in there and I hoped that they would find their peace at last. Typing in the code to seal in the door, I left the cave and stable behind me.
When I had made my way out of the cave and into the open air, a part of me had wished to go back inside the stable and forget all about the mission. The air still contained that almost poisonous smell and the lack of sunlight didn’t help to brighten the mood of the place. It still felt and smelled like a pony just grabbed a ball of poison gas and covered it with a big thick grey blanket.
As I stared up at the cloud barrier, I could see little specks of sunlight peeking through parts of the barrier. This cloud barrier kept striking me as weird, even if the pegasi had all but vanished, this type of cloud barrier blocking out the sun is just not natural. At least, there should be one day of sunshine or something! Not all of this... cloud.
While I looked up at the sky, I noticed an approaching little shillouette nearing me. Trying my best to figure out what it was, I waved the being down. I figured that the dot had to have been a pegasus that as passing by. Who knows, maybe she was a friendly pegasus and wasn’t like those... those ...
The pony laid there before me, bleeding from his gunshot wound.
I quickly banished the memory from my mind and watched with a smile as the pegasus saw me and flew down to me. When she landed, however, I let out a gasp of horror and backed up in shock when I laid eyes on the greying and decaying pegasus in front of me. I held back the urge to scream in horror as I looked over the rotting flesh and defeathered wings of the pony. Then I caught the sight of her unaligned eyes, the way one floated to one direction and to the opposite.
“D-Ditzy? DITZY DOO!?” I said under a small gasp. My face then brightened into a Pinkie-esque smile as the mare quickly nodded in agreement. Even though she only had wisps of a blonde mane left, and I could see her bones through her rotting flesh, it was still Ditzy. It didn’t care how or why, but it was still Ditzy, “Oh, I am so glad to see you!” I said, running over and giving her the biggest dang hug that I could possibly give. I let out a chuckle as I felt the cold fur touch me, “Hehe, you're...you’re awfully squishy.” I stood in that hug for a few good minutes, just enjoying her touch.
“NYX! NYX! Look what happened!” Dinky said, running to me, “I just got a teaching position!”
“Congratulations Dinky!” I cheered, hugging the unicorn as I prepared to go back to the barracks. “Where did you get it?”
Dinky looked at me with a smug grin, being so prideful of herself, “Luna’s school for gifted unicorns. The princess really liked my thesis and thinks I could teach the foals almost as well as she could.”
“Well, you did help me and Sweetie Belle in some of our magic. So, think of what you could teach those kids,” I smiled at her, giving a cute wink.
“Hey, you’ll see! I am going to turn those kids into the best magicians in the world!” Dinky said.
“Oh, Ditzy, you don’t know how I needed to see a smiling face,” I said pulling away and smiling at the pegasus.
I ran to my three best friends, as they all stood in a circle, “Hey girls! What did you want to talk to me about?”
“It’s Dinky...” Sweetie Belle said, he eyes full of tears.
“What?”
Applebloom stood in front of them, her face looking down in a somber look, “They just released the list of ponies who died at Luna’s school...Dinky was-”
“N-no. I thought she was staying home today, that she was sick.”
Scootaloo interrupted me, “ She told me that she had to go, that she needed to be there to help her students. It’s... what her mom would’ve done. So, she was there when-”
“Not Dinky... no,” I whimpered as I felt the tears come to my eyes. I blinked the tears away as I raised my head and looked to the three girls before me, “ H-how’s Ditzy taking it?”
“She’s practically catatonic,” Applebloom said, comforting Sweetie Belle. “She hasn’t come outside since she got the news.
I nodded in understanding, and after promising my friends that I would talk to them and cry with them, I flew to Ditzy’s house. I remembered how Uncle Shining would comfort the families of guards who lost their lives and how he would talk to them for a moment. Dinky, may not have been a guard, but she was one of my best friends and her mother was one of the few ponies outside my family (That includes Spike, the bearers, Uncle Shining and Auntie Cadence, my grandparents, and my mom) to see me as more than a monster. She didn’t have her Shining Armor to comfort her.
I knocked on the door, and watched it open slowly. Walking in, I saw Ditzy sitting there on her couch, looking over the family photo album. I walked slowly to the couch, leaning my head over her shoulder to see which photos that she was looking at. I smiled tearfully as I looked at the photo, the one that was taken when me and the other four graduated from Cheerilee’s school. We all laid together on the grass in a group pile, making sure that we were showing off our hard earned cutie marks. I looked across from that photo to one where Dinky and I shared a birthday muffin together, “I’m going to miss her too. If you need a friend, I’m-”
Ditzy dropped her photo book as she lowered her head to her forelegs and began to cry, “I need my daughter back, I need her back...”
Saying nothing, I got onto the couch with Ditzy and wrapped her in my forelegs, letting her cry on my shoulder while I rubbed her back gently.
“But, how did you? Why are you?” it’s was then I noticed that she hadn’t said anything since she landed, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Before I could worry that I was talking to a ghost, I watched as the wall-eyed... ghoul? Slowly opened her mouth to show me a lack of a tongue, and at first I believed it to be gone thanks to decay. However, I then took a look at the tongue and noticed that it had the evidence that it was cut off. I didn’t know who or what, but I did know whoever did was going to suffer long and hard. I quickly put that thought away as I looked over to Ditzy, “So, how did you get here? What are you doing here?”
I watched as the mare reached behind her and pulled out a blackboard with some chalk, then she began to write down on it as quickly as possible
Long story, but I am the owner of “Absolutely Everything!”
“Absolutely Everything?” I asked, looking at the cart behind her.
Ditzy gave a quick nod and then wrote,
I sell various knick knacks and stuff to ponies. Anything you need? I got!
I smiled at the thought, “Great! I need some clothes and some-” as I talked I pulled out some bits for her, but then watched as she pushed my outstretched hoof.
No bits, caps are currency.
“Caps? You mean... bottle caps?”
Ditzy gave a quick nod and pulled out a shiny bottle cap from her bag.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any-”
For you, Free today. I’ll even give you 50 caps, As long as you bring me a muffin when we see each other again.
I smiled wide and gave Ditzy another squishy hug, “Thanks Ditzy. Here, take these ammo boxes that I scavenged and the bits, “I said, handing over the loot I had collected from my journey. Then I began to look into her cart, “So, do you have any Royal Guard armor or old armor in here?”
Back at my shop, but I do have some barding. No wing holes though.
I looked back at my wings and sighed. This was another one of those times I wish I was just a normal unicorn, I didn’t need to modify everything for myself. Looking at the barding in the cart, I shook my head and pulled it to me, “I’ll take it. I can make some mods for me later. Now, lets see what else you got.” After a few minutes of searching, I picked up a small radio with some ear bud and then walked in front of Ditzy, “Thanks for the barding and radio, Ditzy. If I need anything else, I’ll see if I can find you.”
Wait, take this. I give it to all my customers
I smiled as Ditzy reached behind her and pulled out a book. She then handed it to me and smiled, “Wasteland Survival Guide, by Ditzy Doo,” I read out loud. “Thanks Ditzy, if there is anything you nee-”
Just promise to see me again one day, please.
I said nothing as I hugged the ghoul tightly and then walked away from her. Turning my head over my shoulder, I watched as she flied away from me and smiled at her happily. Turning around, I began a long walk to Manehatten, as I let the music from my radio play on
Someday, yeah, put it together and we get it done
Someday, will be walking through the rains in the sun
Someday when the world is much brighter
OOh child, things are gonna get easier
OOh child, things are gonna get brighter.
Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Spell-slinger: Your spellcasting has improved quite significantly! Casting a spell now only takes 20% as long as it normally would.
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
1,046 users online
229,969 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yes first!
Also keep going this story is awesome!
Nice, can't wait to see the next chapter, hope she meets Littlepip.
So what was your original idea for the stable.
4939273
Maybe
4938961
Thanks
4939406
I was thinking about a sort of children of the corn scenario or a really bad population control. But after some time on the boards, I realized how out of cannon it would be.
4939432 I can see that but was this a social experiment or was this just the over mare going insane. Also I can't wait to see what kinda friends you have in store for nyx.
Now the story feels like a FO, when dose she start making friends?
Yay, an update! However:
"Blood" is also mentioned way too many times.
Also, when Nyx saw Calamity, was this when Calamity was escorting the caravan that Little Pip ended up intercepting? And did Ditzy already return to New Appleloosa after Little Pip saved her, since at this point, the ghoul already has stuff to sell?
4940181
Well, this is mainly set two years before the cannon story line. So This was another Caravan Calamity was helping and Ditzy was on a normal delivery run
Also, I now realize the need for a thesars for blood, thank you
4939995
Yay! Mission accomplished! Also, the companions should be coming in a few chapters from now
4940833 Okey doke
Take yer time 
Poor Nyx, I don't think she's going to take it very well when she finds the manufactured alicorns who have a (redacted for spoilers) hivemind. Gosh.
So far, so good! Yay Ditzy!
4941300
Oh yes, it is going to be hard for or little alicorn. And I am going to feel bad about it!
Loving this story can't wait for more.
Also to the comments bellow I agree also going to be a heart breaker when she finds out what happens to twilight and how she mixed up in the whole unity mess
Stand by for constructive criticism!
At the beginning of Nyx's dialogue, you use the wrong opening quotation marks and they're offset with a space
It should look like this:
Note I added a period instead of the comma because it's the end of a sentence. That said, the dialogue should start on a line of its own.
Try replacing the period and the comma in the dialogue with an ellipsis respectively. I think it would add more tension and drama.
Personally I would word it like this for purely reflective drama.
The stuttering adds impact to the realization. Also, rogue capital "T" in there as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revise use of comma's.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dialogue should come after 'I hear a small, taunting voice.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Space the second 'no' apart, decapitalize it too, and the quotation marks don't need to be bold if it's just the word you're wanting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's worth mentioning that Nyx has come out of hibernation or whatever she was doing for 200 years and I'm pretty sure she's never seen a spritebot I'd say.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: A spritebot doesn't 'read' newspapers, I'm pretty sure they're just scouting drones of some description. If they do carry knowledge, they would already have it programmed into them. If it's watcher, on the other hand (AKA Spike), then he was there firs hand and would have recounted what happened from his perspective, not something he read out of a newspaper.
2: As far as the stated timeline, it leaves me confused. When Pen Stroke wrote Past Sins, that was after the events of season one. When season two finished, he re-wrote it somewhat to make it all fit better.
Three years after NMM would have been beaten would have been 997 years before the events of the first season.
As for the two weeks when the sun didn't rise, that would have been when Nyx reigned over the land. This and my last point are mutually exclusive
What do you mean 'return of the empire'? The crystal empire? I can't say that wasn't taken into account in Past Sins. Twilight didn't really adopt Nyx, she found her (which you said) but as far as Celestia knew Twilight introduced her as her cousin. Also, those things weren't recorded in a newspaper.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So if Nyx was in Golden Oaks Library for 200 years in a stasis field, why had no one found her?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stalactites go up, stalagmites go down. They should be the other way around.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nyx hasn't even seen a stable yet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I checked the FoE Wiki, and there wasn't a 'Stable 16' as far as I could see. I'm curious to see what purpose you assign it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nyx seems very nonchalant about being shot.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concluding.
It's a good story in all honesty, but you need to revise a lot of the grammar and things like that. Patch up some of the plot holes, and give explanations rather than the "that happened" way of going about it.
If you would like me to pre-read your work (even though this lengthy comment may or may not be unwelcome) just flick me a PM.
The main problem for Nyx is that... well, alicorns are not exactly flavour of the month in the Wastelands. Littlepip destroyed the Goddess but they've been causing trouble for too long for ponies to look at Nyx with anything other than suspicion. I'm also wondering if Spike might too wonder how Nyx may change with time and the demands of survival, which is why he has been... curiously reticent about identifying himself.
I'm sure some of the stables turned out okay but sometimes it doesn't seem like it. I'm fairly sure that Scootaloo was going mad towards the end so, some of the 'experiments' she introduced to some of the Stables were basically slow-motion disasters waiting to happen.
I wonder when Ditzy is planning to tell Nyx that she's now the Bearer of the Element of Generosity?
[edit]
Oh! I hadn't realised that this was pre-Fo:E. That can only make Nyx's problems worse, what with the Goddess still extant and Red-Eye running around and the like!
Two issues, you were saying Lighting when you meant Lightning and Applebloom's company is Stable-Tec.
Besides those issues i am liking this and memory flash backs give a good look into Nyx's prewar life.
It'll be fun to see how she'll react to feral ghouls, slavers, the mutations and the other things such as cyborgs and bio-mechanoids.
4941919
Heh, oh I am so going to make people cry when the time comes
4942267
Thanks, and I'll remember that about the lighting
4942191
Ditzy's laughter. And yes, Nyx's problems are going to be many
4942083
My favorite kind. Lets do this!!
I thought that Spritebots were a Ministry of Wartime technology and were around before the bombs hit?
Watcher is usually mysterious, and I was keeping his usual personality.
When it comes to Nyx and her timeline, I am mainly refering to this post where Pen Stroke says that Past Sins were set after the events of the Crystal Empire. The later points, all I can say is keep reading and things will be explained.
Excuse me...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This is why I never pt those things into my fics!!
Ah, good question....
....
...
I'll get to that
Thank you, and I will take all of that into consideration and use it to better this and later chapters.
Are you kidding? I love a good constructive comment!
IT's what helps me to improve on my work and to deliver great material. So thank you for the comment.
4942393
I had a look on the wiki, and it didn't say how long they've been around exactly. Have a look for yourself.
Getting Watcher's knowledge from erroneous sources doesn't keep with his personality.
Even so, it would still be a good idea to have a third party proof read to make sure everything fits well.
When Nyx was in the vault, you didn't have too much interaction with the vault itself. Since you sid it's Stable 16, I immediately looked in the FoE Wiki to see if it had a purpose. It hasn't. Dude, you totally should've jumped the gun and had Nyx greatly explore it! Give it a purpose, a function! That much let me down in that respect.
4944083
I see, thanks for pointing that out.
and...
Maybe I will for the next chapter.
Again, thanks for the comments, they help me out a lot to make these things better.
But I will use some of the things you mentioned before for some small edits to the backstory and timeline.
4944113
I'd be glad to help proof it if you'd like
I have to agree, she had quite the opportunity to get a pipbuck of her own, surely the technicians booth had one or two lying around in working order, if not the various corpses lying about.
All things considered however, at least now you are moving some things along, a shame that particular overmare went bonkers
Was wondering if you were going to connect to the original FOE and project horizons where twilight got into a relationship with big Mac which lewd to the the main character black jack or is its own spin off
Dinky
I cried... poor Dinky... and Derpy is still cute XD
4939273 oh she will, if you remember there is a Black Alicorn in fillydalphia that little pip blows up when she makes her escape
4942083
4942393
actually the author had it right stalactites hang from the ceiling and stalagmites come from the ground. easy way to remember is that, "stalactites hold on tight"
stalagmite/stalactite difference
Awesome so far! But will Nyxc every run into Spike via Watcher or in person? If so I can't wait to be blown into submission by the feels! And you better make it really emotional, otherwise I'll send my army of pugs to your house and have them nibble away at your ankle while one sneaks a dead horse's head into your bed as you sleep!
Hehe... I think I maaay have gone a little toooooo far with that last part... but they're practically brother and sister! I just can't imagine them not breaking down into sobs of emotion and joy in seeing each other after being seperated! Unless if you have something else in store, that is. As of which, I'll just keep on reading on.
Amazing fanfic, by the way! Love it how you crossed two of my favorite fanfics together! Now all it needs is badass sexy Lycan Octavia and then it'll be a hell of a story! HAHA! I'm just kidding, that was a joke! But anyways, can't wait to see what else the Wasteland has instore for Nyx! I hope one of the main conflicts is gonna be her "past sins" coming back to haunt her as she struggles to survive throughout the Equestrian wastes. Now that'll be one hell of a conflict for her! There are some minor grammatical and spelling errors here and there, but it isn't enough to ruin the fanfic or bring it down a little for me. Keep up the great work, man!
Excuse me?
Also, it's "Stable-Tec" not "Stabletech", "RadAway" not "Rad-away"
Nyx, Y U No PipBuck?!
Damn...
DAMN!
I'm guessing this takes place before Lil'pip comes outta Stable 2?
6306720 Eeyup
What Spike scene?
6306720
Puppy smiles: 180 year
Nyx: 200 years
Little Pip: 300 years
Do you know how odd that sounds?
I don't think anyone who just came from before the nukes cames down would say, "Here take these ammo boxes I took" with a straight face. It sounds like someone saying this,
And then they go off with a perfectly normal life.