Fallout Equestria : Black And White

by Philweasel

Chapter 4.2 - The Lost Children

The sun shone above the small town, like so many in the zebra wasteland. A well, some crops, the shade of a mountain protecting from the dust... it wasn’t unique in any way. And for a short while at least, it was home.

The merchant trotted over, the bag of groceries held in her smiling mouth. She placed them down on the table, shining Signal Jammer a warm, neighborly look, "I included a little extra bitterroot, I know how your grandmother loves them. Got a nice big delivery yesterday, the trade has really started flowing since Starhammer went and marched down."

Jammer returned the smile, once more thankful for the kindness of strangers. It reminded her of the communities down on the Starlight Straights, where everypony was always eager to lend an ear and a hoof. She always considered zebra to be somewhat distant and self reliant, a stereotype that was quickly being broken down, "Thank you Anasi, they look lovely."

"No problem at all dear." The zebra replied with a knowing smile, "We never could have unpacked them all without the help of your boyfriend. He's strong as an ox that one."

Jammer blushed fiercely, shaking her head, "He's not... he's not my boyfriend."

"Really dear? A strong, honest stallion like that?"

She looked down, feeling the burn in her cheeks as her mind was brought back, to events long, long ago... "I... don't think he's interested."

¬

"Standard procedure my dear. Cut out all the useless flesh, replace with good reliable steel."

"Of course doctor." Jammer replied, though not with a little hesitation as she stepped towards the subject on the table. A pegasi, though massive for his race with broad shoulders and intimidating proportions, she failed to see how he even got off the ground.

The shackles that bound him were certainly particularly well reinforced, Doc Slaughter warning her as she approached, "Please be careful Jammer dear, this pegasi killed twenty eight of the slavers sent to bring him down, he's highly dangerous."

She looked into the pegasi's eyes, calm and focused as he stared straight at her, "Then why is he awake?"

"I need reliable data on his pain tolerance in order to calibrate his implants." Doc Slaughter answered, "Please, continue. We will be observing, and security teams are on standby."

Jammer gulped and advanced forward, the pony on the table giving her a broad smile, "Don't you worry darling, wouldn't hurt a little lady like you."

She readied the cutting saw, looking over at where the markings had been drawn all over his groin, "You might have second thoughts about that when I'm done..."

"Heh." He grinned, "Never really cared for it much anyway. Killn' slavers is a far more rarified pleasure."

She felt her whole body flush pale, deciding just to get on with it while she still had hooves. All in all, it was a remarkably simple operation.

¬

"And the android is down! Another victory for our invincible champion!"

Jammer rushed down the stairs in a panic as she saw Xenith cave Bitter Fennel's chest in with a final hard buck, throwing him across the area to crumple in a clatter of broken steel and bloody flesh. She heard Doctor Slaughter call out for her as she went, "Jammer dear, we can get the porters to bring up the body later. No need to strain yourself."

She didn't know why she was so insistent on reaching him, so driven by desperation. Maybe she had just spent so many hours on him that she couldn't bear to see that time wasted. Maybe she knew there would never be a test subject half as durable or formidable as him.

She burst out onto the area, flashing her badge to all those who challenged her. She immediately felt her heart leap into her throat as she saw the wreck before her. Xenith had been forced to break two of his legs, shatter his shoulder, beat in half his skull and shatter his ribs just to keep him down. There wasn't much left of the corpse.

She trotted forward to see if there was anything to salvage... and screamed as his hoof moved like lightning, seizing her around the shoulders and drawing her close to that tattered, bloody face... his breaths were ragged, his voice horse, "...make... me stronger..."

¬

She desperately willed the download to progress faster, looking back in panic as every explosion from above caused a rain of plaster to come tumbling down upon the empty lab. She cursed the other members of staff, even cursed Doc Slaughter himself, unable to understand why none of them had remained behind. This was their life’s work, and she would not let it be for nothing!

The door opened behind, Jammer turning in shock. She paled as she saw it was a female griffon, thinking for a moment it might have been Reggie Grimfeathers... but no, this one was older and more rugged, wearing a pair of jade tinted glasses. One of the slavers? "Excuse me, you're not authorized..."

The griffon lifted her pistol and shot Jammer in the shoulder, and then placed another bullet deep into her flank. Jammer gasped briefly before toppling, grasping desperately for the desk and only succeeding in bringing down a rain of technical manuals on top of her.

The griffon padded over, directing a cold glare down at her, "Why are you still here? The cathedral is lost, you were ordered to evacuate."

Jammer clasped a hoof to her shoulder wound, desperately trying to stem the bleeding, "I... it might be lost... but the cause..."

"Red Eye is dead. Littlepip killed him."

Jammer felt her world collapse, her body running cold, "No..."

"Your loyalty was pointless. It was all for nothing." The griffon stated harshly, before turning to the console as it rang out a clear tone. She gave a grim smile and plucked the data drive from the machine, holding it assessingly within her claws, "Hmph, so this is everything. How convenient."

Jammer felt the tears run down her cheek, fear grip her heart, "Please... I can help you... just... don't let me die..."

The griffon's expression turned to fury, looking down with contempt, "Really? Your hooves covered in blood, a thousand victims to your name, and you beg for mercy?"

"I... I was just an assistant..."

"You're down here, after you were told to evacuate, trying to save your data." The griffon stated with contempt, her eyes harsh and judgmental, "You believed in Red Eye's cause, and you're obviously smart enough to do so for logical reasons."

She had. Oh she had, "Yes, that's why... I can do so much good! Even with him gone, that data..."

"Don't you worry." She stated, leveling her pistol down at her, "I intend to see that it's used well."

She held her hoof up desperately, "Please, I...!"

...

......she was... in pain.

She opened her eyes, looking around at smoking wreckage, bodies, the ruins of enclave ships and the vast corpse of a cybernetic dragon. And she was moving, being carried by someone, "Mph..."

The movement stopped, then she found herself placed to the floor with a gentle shrug. It still hurt though, Jammer holding a hoof up to her aching head.

"I wouldn't do that darlin'."

She gasped, then looked up at the fierce visage above. Bitter Fennel stood there with a dangerous, cruel grin, his cybernetic eye sparking, wounds covering his mighty form. She froze in fear for a moment, her voice strangled, "How... you're out of your cage?"

He chuckled, deep and not at all comforting, "Doc Slaughter trigged the releases before he left. Mighty charitable of him."

"And I'm..."

"Found you in the lab missy. Some fella had shot you in the head." He chuckled again, seeming rather casual about the whole thing, "Fortunately I was able to find one of those fancy autodocs, got it to install one of those nice skull implants you put in me a way back." He proceeded to tap a hoof against his head, producing a dull clanging, "We got something in common now, 'aint that sweet?"

She didn't understand, "But why... save me?"

"You still remember all that fancy science?"

"I... I think so..."

"Good." He grinned, pointing up at his eye, "Took a bit of battle damage. And you know, I also had a few ideas for some upgrades I really want to try..."

¬

Jammer walked up to the fence, silently observing Bitter Fennel as he laughed and joked with the kids in the loading yard, grinning like a schoolboy as they tried to scale his armored form. Even after all these years she still couldn't work it out, how a pony capable of laying waste to armies could do it with such utter affability. How he could destroy injustice with such single minded intensity, yet never hold a grudge.

She had walked at his side for seventeen years, nineteen years since she had first seen him laid out upon her table. He was as close to her as family, and yet she was still no closer to figuring him out.

¬

"Perk up girl, look at that beautiful sky."

She wanted to, she really did. She understood how important this all was, the sky clear, rainbows spread across the horizon, the enclave defeated.

Still Jammer's cracked hooves, empty stomach and heavy injuries sapped her strength with every step, and thinking about what else she had lost... her home, her possessions, her employer... and what fate awaited ponies like her, who had sided with the loser.

Bitter Fennel strode ahead, looking like it was his birthday. The grin near split his face, his voice loud and booming, "I was hoping I would one day be strong enough to break out myself, but there's plenty of challenge out there for me yet. This is going to be great!"

She couldn't take it anymore. She gave up, "Sorry Fennel..."

He turned in shock as she let herself thud to the ground, breathing deep of the dusty soil and waiting for death. To be honest she just wanted to rest.

"Oh no, no lying down for you girl. I told you, I need you."

She summoned all her remaining strength simply to find the power to speak, "No you don't. You can find a hundred like me. Just let me die."

"Not a hundred." He snatched her off the ground in his teeth and threw her onto his back, not gently but certainly with intentions to carry her onwards. She settled there across the fur and chrome, watching silently as he continued his journey. Eventually she had to ask, "Why? Why me? I butchered you, made you into this machine."

"And I'm grateful."

"Wh... what?"

"You made me strong, powerful. I'm better than I ever was before." He paused for a moment before speaking further, "And you were always my favorite."

Jammer just didn't understand. He should have hated her, "Why?"

"You were always gentle, and you always took time to speak to me as a pony." He answered, giving her a smile, "You're a good pony at heart, I could see that. Not many of those around anymore. And there's so many folk that need killing, why waste time on old grudges?"

¬

Jammer sighed and continued on, moving towards the run down house on the outskirts of the town. It had been abandoned when they had arrived, quarantined due to disease. She had instantly identified the malady, joining her magic with Dream Star to sterilize the property before together shoring the building up and making it livable. In gratitude the zebra of the town had accepted them enthusiastically into the community, and Jammer had to admit she was enjoying being here. In a small wasteland settlement like this a wasteland survivor with medical, scientific and engineering skills was a celebrity, and she in turn had nothing but good things to say about the locals.

Jammer had explained that they were here to look after their grandmother, who was very sick and needed time to recover. It wasn't a story without some element of truth to it, opening the door and calling out as she crossed the threshold, "Dream Star?"

The mare was laying upon the sofa, her patchy fur damp upon her withered body. She was tightly wrapped in a horribly cheerful blanket that clashed horribly with just about every other part of the room.

Jammer had hoped would help liven up the place. Cheer Dream Star up a little.

It didn't.

¬

Jammer walked alongside Fennel, feeling a little better now after some chance to rest. She had found a broken mirror shard and inspected her head, having to admit Fennel and the autodocs had done a pretty good job. The headaches were gone at least, and she could remember her birthday, parents and could still calculate square roots in her head. That added up to a lot more than she could hope for after being shot through the brain, even if she had to admit a moment of wounded vanity when she saw her bald head and the dome of chromed metal that healed flesh was just starting to creep across. Maybe she could get a hood or something.

Ahead was their best chance of getting something like that, a refugee camp of tents and huddled ponies sitting on the outskirts of the everfree forest. They had been told by travelers along the road that ponyville had been occupied by a huge force of hellhounds, and they had intentionally avoided the second closest for rumors of heavy violence between the former slaves and former slavers. This at least looked peaceful, though painfully poor at first glance.

Naturally there were some worried glances thrown in Bitter Fennel's direction, still he conducted himself appropriately and Jammer was able to convince the leader of the refugees that she was a doctor, soon being put to work caring for the most vulnerable. For the most part it was the elderly, mostly slaves, a small group of older ponies having gathered in the centre of camp around the fire.

Except for one, a pony sitting alone a distance off, huddled into a dirty blanket for warmth. Jammer walked past the lone figure several times, each time figuring that it was their own business if they wanted to lay in the cold, yet finding her eyes drawn that way with every passing. Eventually she was forced to go over and see if she was ok, a closer look revealing something that genuinely surprised Jammer. She wondered if it was a ghoul for a moment, seeing the withered skin and white hair of a mare of truly advanced years. That was not something seen often in the wasteland.

And she wasn't dead at least, but didn't look far off. The mare's eyes stared unblinking into the far distance, the marks on her face making it obvious she had been crying. Her fur looked unkempt and the cloak was dirty, the scars of a lifetime of beatings clear across her dry, cracked flesh.

Jammer couldn't take it any longer, walking over and taking a bottle of water from her pack. The elder pony didn't even look up as she approached so she gave a cough, the elder's eyes slowly turning to her. Jammer gave a nervous smile, offering the bottle, "Um, hello miss. I was wondering if you wanted some water."

The mare gave the bottle a suspicious look, still it soon softened. Her voice was gravely, but with a softer quality that spoke of genuine emotion, "That's kind of you."

She grinned happily, "No problem."

"Don't see much of it these days."

"Well that's going to change isn't it?" Bitter Fennel commented cheerfully from behind, Jammer turning to see him standing there with a broad, cheerful grin. She frowned at his unexpected stealth, moving aside as he gave a booming laugh and moved to join them, "The sky is clear, and Red Eye, the Enclave and the Goddess are all defeated. The dawn of a new age!"

The elderly mare scoffed, "Is that what you think?"

Jammer looked down at the elder mare, "You disagree?"

"Ponies destroyed the world young lady, and ponies... ponies never change." She gave the sky a bitter, hateful look, "All those folk you spoke of... they were ponies. And who is going stop them fucking shit up all over again?"

Bitter Fennel's grin didn't waver, "That's ok with me. Ponies burn the world and ponies will fix it, that's how the world works."

"Oh really?" A ghost of a smile formed on her lips, something dark, cruel and hateful behind her expression, "An endless cycle of conflict, ponies dying in droves as the world descends into chaos, and then throwing their lives away to bring harmony back?"

Bitter Fennel grinned, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Jammer glared at him with little effect, then turned back to the old mare, "There must be a better way."

"My dear, I've travelled all over these wastes, uncovered the greatest secrets of the old world, been hero, villain and everything in between." She fixed Jammer with a harsh, unyielding stare, "Believe me... there isn't. There are no happy endings, we all end in smoke and dust eventually. There's no point whatsoever, to anything we do."

"Who cares?" Bitter Fennel replied with far too much cheer, "The moment is good enough for me."

The elder mare dropped her head, deep in thought. After a moment she smirked, opening her mouth to speak, "I..."

"All of you, turn out your valuables!"

They all looked to the side, a brutish group of ponies in slaver armor marching through the camp. They were all fully armed and dangerous looking, swinging their weapons around and silencing any opposition with firm glares, "Do what we say and you walk out of this, get to enjoy your wonderful new world!"

"And you guys want a headstart, that it?" Bitter Fennel called, standing and marching over with a grin, "I guess your old career is looking a little suspect."

The leader of the group took aim on Fennel's head, the others all following his lead, "And what of it? You fuckers deserve it, you don't know how many of my buddies were killed back there!"

"You reap what you sow boys." The elder mare stated as she stood, her bony form straightening out as she looked across their ranks, "You believe the strong must dominate the weak... but now that philosophy has been reversed on you hasn't it?"

The slaver swung his rifle over at her, "Back off bitch!"

"What's the matter?" She smirked, her withered form cutting a rather odd sight squared off against the musclebound slavers, "Scared of an old woman?"

Bitter Fennel turned to look at her, his eyes tinged with respect, "You're..."

"Leave them to me boy." She stated as she advanced past him, "They're not worth your time."

The slaver swore angrily and fired upon her... his gun exploding against his side and shredding his torso open. He screamed and went down with a gurgle, the old mare grinning maliciously as she continued walking, "Anypony else?"

Another slaver exploded this one stupid enough to try and fire upon her with a mouth held pistol.

Jammer saw where this was going, desperately shouting for them, "Throw down your weapons!"

The slavers did so, quivering and terrified as she continued towards them. Her eyes stared at each in turn, wild and cruel, a dark smirk across her face, "Typical, only brave when you have the upper hand. Scum, scum and dirt. The world would be better off..."

One of the slavers suddenly drew a knife and lunged at her, her head moving with terrifying speed. The slaver was bones and ash before he even got within a foot of her, clattering to the ground in a heap.

Her horn was still smoking, her head turning towards the small group of slavers that was still left, "And what to do with you?"

A group of refugees had gathered now, Jammer looking between them before deciding to make her voice known, "Maybe we should lock them up...?"

"And let law and order prevail?" The old mare cried in mockery, mouth curled in a brutal sneer, "Because that's so common around here!"

Jammer pursed her lips, admitting the truth of her argument but... "It could be."

The mare paused at this, drawing back and looking angrily at the ground. After a moment she turned to the crowds that had gathered, calling out to them, "And what do you think should be done with this scum?! Who locked you up, who beat and raped you?!"

They looked at each other for a little while before a older pony with the greasy fur of a mechanic finally emerged from the crowd and nodded to a group of burly looking fellow slaves, "We lock them up, conduct a pitdog trial, same as we do for any one of us."

The crowd murmured their agreement, the ponies moving forward to take the slavers into custody. The older mare looked at the leader of the slaves as he passed, shaking her head, "Kindness will get you killed."

"I'd rather die than live another moment in this wretched world." He responded, then looked at the clear sky above, "But it seems a new world is dawning. I'd willingly give up my life to make it a better one."

The elderly mare just watched them being taken away, eventually turning aside with a snort and heading back to her corner. Jammer moved to intercept, not about to just accept all that without comment, "How... I mean... I've never seen magic that powerful!"

The elderly mare just smirked bitterly, "It's amazing what tricks you can pick up over a couple of centuries."

She shook her head, she just didn't understand, "If you're this powerful, then why...?"

"...do I look like a hobo?" The mare's eyes came up to meet Jammer’s, cold and hateful, "Because the world is shit, and I haven't even got the guts to throw myself off a bridge like any reasonable pony."

"This world is beautiful!"

Jammer just shook her head as Bitter Fennel came over with his customary enthusiasm, this not being remotely the time for his insanity. The old mare herself looked rather shocked, then followed his pointed hoof towards the rainbow on the horizon, "A... rainbow? How gauche..."

Bitter Fennel gave a laugh, stamping his hoof, "Are you kidding!? That's a new world out there, full of adventure and new experiences! And we're strong enough to see it all!" He grinned enthusiastically at her, "You'd have to be mad to miss out!"

"Mad indeed..." She commented, before chuckling lightly, "Maybe I will stick around with you for a while. It might wile away the tedium at least."

Jammer didn't see how that had worked, but she wasn't about to knock it. She offered a hoof, "Signal Jammer. This is Bitter Fennel."

"Dream Star." She answered, grinning at them, "Pleased to meet you."

¬

Jammer finally got back into her old career a week later, the town visited by a traveling junk dealer carrying a whole sack full of electronic components. She eagerly brought up near half of them and got to work, soon managing to construct a working motivator and nerve interface. She already had her patient in mind, an old caravan driver called Green Plains who had lost his leg many years ago.

He agreed to the procedure after some convincing and she had him on her table, feeling the old instincts kick in as she carefully measured the cybernetic leg she had made for him. She carefully wove in each connection, fused each attachment with the most expert perfection. She cleaned the area, tested the reactions, eventually stepping back and nodding in satisfaction at her achievement. He woke up an hour later and she took him on his first walk around the clinic, having to admit tearing up a little as he hugged her and gave her the most effusive thanks.

She watched him go, reminded of the days when she had dreamed of healing the wasteland. She also considered the fact that she was good at this, and the fact that those techniques weren't patented and protected by a dozen trademarks beyond the borders of the NCR. That she could do what she was born for.

The next caravan arrived a few days later, Jammer heading straight down to see if there were any more bargains to be found. She soon noticed the shouting of exited kids however, drawn over to the crowd gathered at the edge of the marketplace by sheer curiosity.

She wasn't expecting what she found there, but really she should have been considering she knew they had been waiting for his arrival. And you could always trust in him to draw a crowd.

He was a brown earth pony of middle years, not particularly unusual in any fashion bar the grace of his movements as he effortlessly jugged a dozen brightly colored plastic balls. The kids around whooped as he danced and span through the colorful arcs, finally grinning and winking at one of the kids before throwing one of the balls in a slow arc towards her. They continued in sequence, each child rushing forward to catch their own ball, the entertainer finally finishing with a flourish and shining a big grin at the crowd, "Try breaking them open."

The kids looked down at the balls, the first breaking his apart after a moment and giving a loud whoop as he pulled a small toy from the remains. The others enthusiastically started on their own toys and soon the parents and other adults came forward to shower him with caps, Jammer grinning happily and wafting for him to finish.

He finally was allowed to leave by the crowd, once more a quiet, plain looking pony as he walked away to gather his things. Jammer finally saw fit to call to him, "Sunshine!"

He looked round and gave a broad grin, eyes lighting up in happiness, "Signal!" He chuckled disarmingly as he came over and gave her a warm hug, "You guys are hard to find."

¬

Jammer screamed as she ducked forward and rolled into cover, throwing knives sparking off the stone and imbedding themselves into the dirt at her hooves. She ducked back out of cover and took a few shots at the jester, his earth pony form still clad in his garish clowning outfit as he span on the spot and struck Bitter Fennel's hooves out from under him. The Jester leaned back and cartwheeled backwards with the same movement, avoiding her bullets and flinging a dagger that struck her in the shoulder and knocked her to the ground, "Yow! Shit!"

"Your learning and logic are no good here!" The Grand Clown fighting Dream Star screamed as he angled his horn to the sky, Dream Star's spells exploding into quacking ducks and confetti. He swung it back down before her and an outsized truckers hat appeared upon her head, Dream Star growling in frustration and attempting to tackle him backwards. He dodged her clumsy attack and struck her with a squeaky mallet, flattening her against the ground hard enough to crack the stone, "The age of Littlepip is over! Now Discord reigns supreme!"

Jammer pulled the dagger from her shoulder with her teeth, looking up at Spike's cavern high above. It was now decorated with a vast, discordant castle, decorated with pictures of a unicorn mare's cheerfully smiling face, her kindly, yellow furred form promising hope and acceptance to all the lost souls in the wasteland.

She would have believed it, if not for the similarly yellow scaled chaos god hovering above the castle, power crackling outwards to change clouds to cotton candy and screams, her booming laugher shaking the earth at her hooves. Sunny Smiles, now empowered with all the energies of harmony, unrivaled and unbeatable.

Unbeatable... by anyone accept for the one pony she had placed her trust in, that she had never seen defeated in battle. And no matter how terrible the odds, she knew she could win her now.

And at that thought the High Clown's head exploded, Dream Star crushing it between two rubber ducks with her telekinesis. She growled and sent another shooting at the Jester, he anticipated and somersaulted backwards to land on splayed hooves a short distance away from them, "Foul agents of order... I will never yield!"

Jammer decided to pop out from behind the rock, nervously helping Bitter Fennel to his hooves and moving behind Dream Star. Dream didn't pause to acknowledge their presence, her attention only on the Jester in front, "Really? Your little knives and acrobatics are going to help you against me?"

It matters not!" He shouted, a set of shining silver daggers appearing in his left hoof as he prepared for the throw, "My life belongs to Discord, and to the exalted Sunny Smiles, his representative on earth! Your time is en...!"

And then there was a burst of shining rainbow light above, all of their attention drawn to the summit. The ground vibrated and Jammer's horn sang in resonance, rainbow light shining from every window of the castle above. The dragon thing that had once been Sunny Smiles flew upwards in a fury and directed all of her magic down at her citadel, shattering it apart with a colossal explosion of chaos energy that forced Jammer to avert her eyes for a moment.

When she looked back there were six pony shaped shadows, standing within a shining ball of rainbow light. Sunny Smiles' magic broke against that light, harmlessly deflected away even as her expression became more furious. She shouted something but it was lost to the sky, six glowing objects of rainbow light flying away from the suspended ponies to retreat inside the mountain below.

And the mountain trembled, shook... and exploded in glorious light, expanding outwards across the sky in a roar. It's upwards path sent the magic flowing into the six ponies hovering above, building up around them for a moment before blasting into Sunny Smiles in the form of a shining rainbow of light. It flowed into her and she screamed, her body burning away as the energy roared outwards.

Then silence, Jammer watching the six ponies slowly descend down upon the summit of the mountain as the light faded away. A moment later and she was forced to look down at her hooves, eyes widening as she saw flowers start to bloom from the dirt there, "I don't believe it..."

The Jester continued to look upwards in horror, "I don't understand. What was that light?"

Jammer moved to the edge of the plateau, looking down at a once brown and blasted Equestria slowly starting to bloom again with verdant green. It could only be one thing, "The Gardens... the Gardens of Equestria. Somepony must have activated it."

"NO!"

She looked back at Dream Star and the Jester, both sinking to the ground as one as they screamed skyward in frustration and despair.

¬

They all sat within the Cathedral, full of the wounded and dispossessed that had been fallen victim to recent events. For the most part it didn't seem it had dampened their spirits any, the crowds near united in celebration. After all the miraculous had occurred. The Elements of Harmony had gathered in the hooves of six new bearers, the gardens of Equestria had been activated and Sunny Smiles and the Screwball Conspiracy were no more.

There were only a few exceptions to the euphoric atmosphere.

"My parents were killed by raiders when I was just seven years old." The Jester explained, now stripped of his costume and makeup to reveal an oddly anonymous looking brown pony, one she wouldn't have looked twice at on the street. His voice too was soft, normal, robbed of its former power, "Sunny Smiles took me in, taught me how make chaos my friend rather than my enemy. She gave my life purpose, took away my pain."

Jammer smiled kindly at him, "I can understand that."

"They all say she was a villain, but to me she was the kindest mare I ever met."

Jammer looked up at the statue of Red Eye that stood at the far end of the Cathedral, his hooves laid upon two proud looking foals in front, "In my experience ponies are more complicated that many would like to think."

He looked round, taking in the statue behind, "You... knew him?"

Jammer nodded, placing a hoof at her breast, "I truly believe he wanted what was best for the world..." She sighed deeply, "...and even if he didn't, it doesn't change what he gave to me."

The Jester regarded her for a moment before smiling, an oddly sincere and beautiful thing upon the face of a psychotic killer, "You are a kind mare."

She chuckled, "Many would say different... I was an orphan too actually. My parents were taken by disease."

"I'm sorry."

"I wanted to make a better pony. One that could face the wasteland without fear. Eliminate all disease, all pain." She smiled at the memory of more innocent days, "I apprenticed with the town doctor, together we resolved to revolutionize medicine. We performed hundreds of experiments, healed countless ponies. Soon they came from all across the wasteland to seek our knowledge and skill."

He looked at her, clearly understanding, "What happened?"

"A pony found his way into our basement, found the experiments we were performing there, the... details... of the treatments we had carried out." She shivered slightly, feeling the anger and guilt grow within her, "They misunderstood, they... killed my teacher, and drove me out."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head, smiling at him, "Red Eye took me in, Doctor Slaughter accepted me like a long lost daughter and together we did things I had never even dreamed of. And those things we did together, Doctor Slaughter has used them to save countless lives." She shrugged, giving him a warm nod, "Perhaps the things you did together with Sunny Smiles will one day do the same."

"If you don't mind me asking..." The Jester started, looking up at her with a concerned expression, "...why aren't you with Doc Slaughter now?"

"A... couple of reasons." She pursed her lips, feeling her heart sink, "Given the Doctor's former employment, they're rather cautious about hiring other members of his Fillydephia team. And by acknowledging my credentials, they will also be acknowledging my part ownership of several Equestrian Innovations patents."

"Which means... you invented their technology, but they don't pay you for it?"

She sighed, shaking her head. Many would call it just reward for her crimes, "I killed a lot of ponies, and I justified it by saying it was all for the sake of future generations. I'm not sure I have any grounds to complain."

The Jester nodded sadly, "It seems we have a lot in common."

"We all do." She looked across at Dream Star, huddled in a corner with her hood covering her eyes, "I wish we could have got there in time, activated the elements. It was all she wanted, to finally live up to her legacy. They stole her dreams from her, and no pony will ever care."

The Jester looked back at her, studying her for many long seconds. Finally he spoke, his voice soft, "She wanted to be a hero?"

"She thinks she has to be one I think." Jammer answered, wishing she had an easy answer, "She's an orphan too. Her parents and brother died when she was a child, she's the last member of her family."

"They were important ponies?"

She looked at the Dream Star, at the patches of pink fur that still remained on her withered body, "Her great great grandmother wore a crown."

¬

"So she's back here again?" Sunshine stated with a sigh, taking in a sip of green tea as he sat across from her on the benches outside the house, "She hasn't lost the war yet, one simple defeat should not..."

"Fluttershy used the Stare on her I think." Jammer answered, feeling a wave of quite unjustified hate towards the mare at the very thought of it, "Twice actually. The first time Dream Star shook it off, but this time... I think it's truly broken her."

"Nonsense. The mistress is unbreakable." Sunshine answered with a huff, then grinned wide as he proudly declared his beliefs, "You'll see, this is as passing as any of her moods. She'll be up and fighting again by the end of the week."

"I don't know..." She sighed, thinking long and hard before finally deciding to give voice to the thoughts that had gripped her for months now, only growing stronger with every disaster, "...don't you think it's time to... stop?"

"Stop?" He answered with a tone of mock offense.

She nodded, feeling like a traitor already, "I like it here, and I know Bitter Fennel does too. And neither of us are as young as we used to be." She sighed deeply, "And Rusty Needle and Spark Plug, they're both settling in at Tenpony. Dream Star talks about this big plan but so many have already died, and she still won't tell us what it's really about."

He gave an understanding nod, "Your concerns are not unjustified."

"To be honest... Dream Star has been getting more and more erratic than ever, and I worry if she's trying to get herself killed sometimes." She shook her head, "We all deserve whatever fate has in store for us, but those two... they're both so young, and have so much potential."

¬

Jammer had had far too many guns pointed at her during her short life, it starting to become a somewhat weekly occurrence. Unfortunately today seemed to particularly prolific on that front, "Why do I let you get me into these situations?"

The approach behind was swarming with ponies, a dozen marching down from the balconies of the main vault hall. Ahead stood a single shaking security guard blocking the exit, a callow youth not more past eighteen. After a moment a loud booming voice came out over the speaker, "Rusty Needle, do not let them past! Reinforcements are on their way!"

The guard shook, keeping his little 9mm trained on them, "Don't make any more trouble for yourself, please! This... this will all sort itself out..."

Bitter Fennel scanned the boy, then the ponies up behind, "Want me to...?"

"No." Dream Star quickly answered, studying the boy ahead with interest, "Rusty Needle right? A record player cutie mark, an ear for sound... yet they have you playing security guard?"

His raised hoof slackened a little, "Overseer Mach Cone believes music is a bad influence on the young, that it promotes slacking and daydreaming."

"Do you?"

He looked increasingly nervous at the questioning, "I... it doesn't matter. He's the boss."

Dream Star chuckled, "But you've broken the rules before haven't you?"

"What?"

"I found it, in your room." She levated the CD out of her saddlebag, the surface glittering in the harsh vault lights, "This is Vinyl Scratch's third CD, Rainbow and Rooted. Prohibited material."

His eyes went wide, "No... please, if the Overseer finds out..."

Dream Star smirked, "He won't."

Jammer looked behind. The guards had reached the doors but their strikes, gunshots and desperate hacking attempts just bounced off the thick glow of pink energy that surrounded them.

"Here." Dream Star stated cheerfully, moving toward Rusty Needle without a hint of fear and offering him the CD, "I have a better idea. Why don't we go on up to the Overseer's office, stick that in the player, and let the whole vault hear just what they've been missing."

Rusty Needle gasped, backing up a little, "I can't do that!"

"You have to do this!" Dream Star countered with a cheerful shout, "Look at that cutie mark! A record player? A name like Rusty Needle? You are the modern day Vinyl Scratch, the successor to DJ Pon3! It is your destiny, to play rocking tunes to the poor, culturally destitute masses!"

"I... I..." Rusty Needle's eyes suddenly went wide, hoof pointing at the glass. Jammer turned, seeing the guards were all retreating down a side corridor with just a few left guarding the hall. Rusty soon confirmed what they were doing, "They're moving to surround us, loop round and cut off our exit!"

"Then we will have to delay them." Dream Star looked to Bitter Fennel and Sunshine, "You, Sunshine and I, we will move to head them off. Jammer, if you would escort our young DJ to the overseer's office, make sure there are no attempts to block his signal?"

She hesitantly nodded, no sure she wanted to be alone with a pony whose allegiance was still in flux. Still few got far second guessing Dream Star, "Um... ok." She turned, smiling nervously at him, "Lead the way."

¬

They made their way down the service corridor in silence. Rusty Needle clearly had a lot to think about, and she didn't want to interfere. Eventually he spoke, sounding a little angry, "Can I trust any of you?"

"That's a... difficult question."

Rusty Needle gave her a skeptical look as they ascended towards the overseer's office, "That's not really the answer I needed to hear."

"I know..." She sighed, feeling once again that she was rather out of her depth, "But... look, you can't trust her. She's as fickle as the wind, and her whims drive her more often than not."

He turned, pulling a face.

"But she's always right, and ultimately her main joy in life seems to be pushing others into making the decisions they should have made years ago." Jammer smiled at him, "And I'm happier to have met her."

Rusty Needle's head dropped, turning and continuing on, "I guess you're right. But why? Why does she care?"

Jammer sighed. It was a good question, "I honestly don't know. I honestly think deep down, she cares deeply about everypony in the wasteland."

"And you?"

She smiled nervously, "Me? Well I... I just don't want to see ponies suffer. And Fennel hates injustice more than anything. Sunshine... um..."

"I used to read about heroes like you." Rusty stated softly as they reached the access door at the end of the corridor. He tapped the code into the door, looking back at her, "I never believed you actually existed."

Jammer wasn't so sure she was a hero. She had seen enough of the world to know it was a lot more complicated than that.

"Hold it."

"Shit!"

Jammer looked up as she heard Rusty swear, looking across the vault's command section to where a single mare in a maintenance uniform stood at a console. She had her hoof paused over a large red button, her manner chilly and businesslike. Her voice was similarly cool, and direct, "Take another step and I flush the air from this section."

"That would kill you too." Jammer pointed out.

"And you think that will stop me?"

Rusty reached out a hoof, "Sparks..."

"Don't speak to me like that." She responded to Rusty's advance, anger marking her features despite her still calm voice, "I don't understand what is wrong with you. We went to school together, we grew up together. And now you associate with these terrorists?"

"They are not terrorists Sparks." Rusty responded, taking a step forward and defying her glare, "The Overseer is lying to us, you have to realize that!"

"If these are the kind of ponies there are out there, maybe it's for the best." She responded, turning her eyes to Jammer, "It's as the Overseer says, here we are safe, warm and fed. To open the vault to all is to invite chaos into our society."

Rusty paused for a moment before speaking again, "Maybe a little chaos is good."

"Rusty." She shook her head, brow tightening, "You have gone mad."

He shook his head at her, moving forward unconcerned, "Madness is relative Sparks. Look at it out there, look at all the ponies molded into nothing more than cogs in a machine. Yes, they're safe, but what for? There's no music, no stories, no joy. We've built a sterile mockery of life, denied everything a pony should be. And for what? To survive? They've rebuilt society out there Sparks, and we still struggle to keep ourselves fed!"

Sparks hesitated, her hoof drifting back to the ground, "I understand that the Overseer's rule has been... inefficient."

"He's hurting everypony." Jammer offered, "He's making a mockery of his own rules."

"I know that." She gave a look of frustration, "But you will not fix that by adding to the chaos, hurting more ponies."

He shook his head, "You can trust me enough to know I would never do that Sparks. All I want to do is use the intercom."

After a moment’s thought she stepped away from the console, giving him access. He moved over, Jammer going to join him before being dissuaded by a riot prod Sparks pulled from her saddle bag. Sparks waved it in her direction for a moment before attaching it to her hoof and pointing it at Rusty's back, "Try anything and I'll stick this up your rear end Rusty."

He chuckled nervously, "I didn't think you were that type of girl Sparks..."

"Don't get cute."

He took a deep breath, looking over to Jammer with a look of nervous hopefulness on his face, "Here I go."

"Just do what feels natural Rusty." Jammer stated with a genuine smile, never more sure that they were on the right path, "Don't let anyone stop you from being who you want to be."

He nodded, then took his tape and inserted it into the machine. It clicked and whirred for a moment, the monitors eventually lighting up with a playlist. He looked up at this in shock, shaking his head in confusion, "It's... all set up. This system shouldn't be capable of doing that according to its technical specifications."

"Yes, I know." Sparks stated from behind, "That's why I let you access it."

Rusty turned his head to her in shock, "Spark Plug, you knew?"

She gave him a soft bow, lip curling slightly in what looked like regret, "A past Overmare had the console modified in defiance of Stable-tech rules, allowing it to play music. Mach Cone tried to have those modifications removed, but he could never work out how to do it without breaking important systems. Instead he simply asked me to... destroy the music tapes we had in storage."

Rusty's face opened in a big smile, "Sparks, you're the best friend ever."

She blushed, shaking her head, "I'm a terrible pony. My mother always told me to tell the truth, I always boasted of my loyalty to stable and overmare... but I'm just as corrupted and deviant as you. I don't know why I did it, why I gave those tapes to you. Maybe I just couldn't stand seeing valuable resources lost..."

"Perhaps you always knew Mach Cone was wrong." Jammer interjected with a smile, "You know that the stables were all a social experiment, designed to help those who came after to find the perfect society?"

They both looked at her, "What?"

"It's true." She confirmed, "Yours was filled with musicians and dreamers, yet equipped with no instruments or sound equipment, and furnished with an overmare and security staff who were explicitly biased against all forms of self expression."

"That's... mad." Rusty finally managed.

"I agree, and I make a point of traveling with crazy ponies." She answered, nodding encouragingly towards Rusty, "But your grandparents loved music, and they passed that trait down to all of you. Help them remember Rusty, fulfill the promise of your cutie mark."

He looked unsure for a brief moment before his eyes firmed, "Yeah... I think... that makes sense to me."

"I've hooked up all speakers in the stable Rusty, and adjusted audio levels for the perfect acoustic performance."

They all turned to look at Sparks, currently adjusting knobs at a nearby console, "Sparks?"

Sparks simply stared back as they all turned to look at her, looking defiant, "I have a cutie mark too, one I've always been proud of." She nodded down to the knotted wires on her flank, "Technology, joining others together. My parents might have been security ponies, but that doesn't mean I can't support my friends."

Rusty grinned, "Thank you Sparks. So... lets go I guess... ahem..." He took the microphone, closing his eyes for a moment before his features firmed and he sprouted a grin that stretched from ear to ear, "Hello Stable 16! I hope you can all hear me, because today I have a message of hope and harmony that once made a whole nation move! This is Rusty Needle and tonight I'm here to show you a world you've never imagined, traveling straight from the hooves and voices of Equestria and straight into your hearts! From Octavia Melody to Sapphire Shores, open your ears and listen, because this is radio sixteen! And spinning on the tape first, this is Sapphire Shore's message of hope to all of you, The Sun Cannot Hide Forever!"

Jammer smiled, wishing that every day could end like this one.

¬

"I wish we could still hear him." Jammer commented with regret, slumping herself against the table, "It never feels right when we're apart."

Sunshine nodded gravely, "To be true, the difference in Dream when the young stable dwellers are present is all too obvious. We are old monsters, but they... they connect her heart to the innocent ponies of the wasteland, remind her of what is important."

Jammer didn't answer, not always sure that was a good thing. Yes, Dream Star was happier with them around, but she always felt that they were the reason behind their one, most ill advised adventure. That it was their influence that convinced Dream Star that there was still hope for her, that she too could be what she dreamed of being.

But it had been a lie. There had been no salvation there.

¬

Jammer looked around the lab in horror, never in her most horrible nightmares ever imagining she would stand here. It was worse than she could imagine, the machinery caked in dried blood and calcified flesh, the rad counter on her Pipbuck clicking away like crazy. She could see the vat room through the broken window at the side, exposing further horrors beyond her logical comprehension, "Dream Star... this is insane."

"Do you have no scientific curiosity?" Dream Star stated with a combination of scorn and mockery, marching across the broken floor without a hint of caution, "Most scientists would give their right hoof to stand here."

"In the centre of a megaspell detonation, in a facility boasting a hundred years of atrocity?"

Dream Star cackled, then nodded in appreciation as several lights came on with a loud bang, only a few of them instantly dying a second later. Blue lights came on at the consoles too, just a few short moments before Spark Plug's voice came in over the radio, "Power is on. Do you have blue lights at the consoles?"

"Roger Sparks." Jammer confirmed, moving over to the nearest, "What next?"

"I'm radioing Rusty to boot up the mainframe. Stand by."

She took a deep breath and stood in waiting, the area not any nicer in the light. She noticed an alicorn skeleton a little way distant, feeling once again the deep sadness that they had pretty much been left where they lay. Most of the wasteland had been cleaned up now of course, bodies given a proper cremation. The bones here though had never been touched, even though the radiation really wasn't all that bad anymore.

She looked round as Dream Star rammed the door of the control bay open with her shoulder, stepping out into the vat room, "Dream Star!"

"She's dead Jammer." Dream Star answered with a note of bitter regret in her voice, "They all are."

She watched from the broken window, watching as Dream Star stepped into the centre of the facility, the vat where the Goddess had ruled from. She didn't follow, Dream Star's hollow, bitter expression convincing her that this was a private moment.

The lights on the consoles turned to green, Rusty Needle's voice coming in, "Mainframe fully booted."

Spark Plug answered after a moment, "Jammer, you may turn on the consoles."

Jammer moved over as Spark Plug had instructed, flicking the switches on the sides and waiting as they each booted with a succession of loud coughing sounds. The ministry of science logos spread wide across the working monitors, a static filled musical note sounding out.

The first console finally finished its boot up cycle, Jammer quickly concluding this one monitored the various vats. As expected none of them were functional, and the Goddesses' still registered as being 'clogged with organic material'. The next monitored the general workings of the facility, this was surprisingly positive. She had to admire the ponies who built this place, hit with numerous megaspell impacts and it still had working water, power and ventilation. Most doors were still functional. Looking at it she was amazed to see the megaspell explosion had done very little to the facility itself, rather it had collapsed the cave network and caused Maripony to fall deep into the valley. It had likely been blunt force impact that had killed the Goddess.

The third console was the one she was most interested in, giving access to the central databanks. She quickly located and hacked into the files of one T.SPK and the result was unexpected and deeply disturbing, the documents folder listing out hundreds of files recorded right up to the death of the goddess. Many of them were corrupted but she eventually opened one that was still viable, her lips narrowing as she read the text scrolling down her screen.

---

My children die and I remember loss, the loss of my children, the loss...

These... these are false memories. We never had any children. Any of us. We never had husbands, we are alone. We were alone.

Singer was rebellious. She never listened to our song, she loved to shout above us, to sing a different tune. We angered, and we loved her. She was our child, and we loved her. She is gone.

Nightseer, soft, quiet Nightseer. She saw further, she saw a future for all of her. We loved her, for she saw the truth that we most desperately wished for. She wished only to help her sisters, make them the princesses they deserved to be.

She is gone.

There are only two now. Angry, righteous Justicar. Gentle, sweet Speaker. We fear for both of them, Speaker always so afraid to take action, to have faith in her own heart. We fear for her, trapped in that den of lies and corruption.

And Justicar, always so driven by emotion, so obsessed with fairness and law. We know it all too well. Neither exists in this world. And we fear her purity, her justice, will one day lead her from the unity, from the path we have given her. Lead her into darkness.

We fear for all our children. We sometimes dream of our death, and fear for what would happen to them without us. The world is cruel, and they are so innocent.

I fear for my children.

---

"This... isn't somewhere we should be Dream."

"We can complete her work Jammer." Dream Star stated firmly as she came back in through the door, looking unexpectedly serious for once, "The alicorns she made, we can save them! Fix their reproduction problems at the source, refine and perfect Sparkle's formula."

"Twilight Sparkle couldn't do it, what...?"

"You are a genius, I am a genius!" Dream Star cut her off harshly, her voice proud and angry, "We need to do this, I need to do this. You need to do this!"

Jammer stammered, "I... need...?"

Dream Star nodded, shrunken eyes creased in pain, "You always told me you wanted to make great advances in medicine, save lives. Well now here's your chance, and I... I'm begging you..."

Jammer looked at Dream Star's quivering, desperate form in shock, having never seen the mare this emotionally compromised. Dream Star was cynical, she was bitter, but looking at her now she looked like a quivering child, "I... of course Dream, I understand. But I'm not doing it for science, or ego."

Dream Star smirked at this, her eyes lighting up a little, "What else is there?"

Jammer smiled back at her, "I'm doing this because you're my friend Dream, and if you think this is worthwhile, then I believe you."

She smiled at this, rare and genuine, “Thank you.”

¬

It had taken many days and sleepless nights, burning through a steady supply of rad-away, Mint-alls and ammo as they continued their work. Rusty and Sparks fought a never ending battle to keep the crumbling facility halfway functional, Sunshine and Bitter Fennel fighting off a veritable army of corrupted animals and IMP monsters attracted by their intrusion into their domain.

It didn't help that although Jammer was a doctor she was primarily a cyberneticist, Dr Glue's department having been the primary team in charge of IMP study. She spent a couple of days just reading what notes the team here had left behind just to begin understanding the science, both awed and horrified by the implications of what they had been doing here.

Twilight Sparkle had been as crazy as she was brilliant. Indeed as she read further she couldn't help her eyes being drawn over to Dream Star, restlessly pacing the labs muttering to herself inaudibly. Twilight too had wanted to save the world, but Jammer couldn't help but wonder if either mare really knew what they were saving. Both had lived in self imposed isolation from society, and she questioned the sort of mind that could begin to comprehend the implications of this research.

Still one thing continued to focus her attention. The certainty that both were good mares, and the both were capable of great things with the support of their friends.

And so they stood here now, Jammer making final checks on all specifications as she looked through the broken window looking down into the testing chamber. Dream Star stood there, naked of her usual cloak and revealing just how much age had withered her. Still strong muscles (grown and maintained artificially by an implanted hormone regulator Jammer had implanted) strained against dry, papery skin, her pink fur patchy and lifeless. Her spine twisted slightly and her shoulders and haunches were asymmetrical to each other, the legacy of a lifetime of abuse (and the reason for the Med-X implant Jammer had also implanted directly into her spinal column).

And in front of her, held within a mechanical arm... was a small glass of pink fluid.

"May I drink it?"

"Not yet." Jammer responded, knowing she was just putting it off now, "I'm just running over the parameters one last time..."

"You've looked over them a dozen times." Dream Star responded, moving over to the glass, "You've done your calculations, I've done mine, we've quadruple checked everything."

Jammer had to admit, she was rapidly shifting her opinion on this being a good idea, "There's just too many variables..."

"I trust you Jammer. This will work." Dream Star smiled as she moved forward, levitating the glass out of the container and over to her mouth, "Immortality is within our grasp, and with it the salvation of the wasteland."

"Dream, I..."

But the mare ignored her, drinking the glass down in one gulp.

Jammer closed her eyes, terror overwhelming her. She grasped the console, tasting bile as she fought to retain control. Finally she looked back up, Dream Star having gone very pale and looking deeply pained, "Dream Star, are you ok?"

"I'm... fine." She responded, wincing a little, "I feel a little sick, and there's some discomfort as my DNA is restructured and my anatomy shifts. The Med-X is still functioning however, and..."

Her form expanded, shifting outwards as she grew taller and larger... all as had been expected. And their folly was already realized.

Screams filled the air, both hers and Dream's. Muscle and skin was torn apart as Dream's expanding skeleton broke free of its bonds, blood spraying the room as the mare crumbled into a thrashing heap. The skin and muscle finally caught up with the transformation, weaving cancerous lumpen strands across still shifting bone, bubbling and shifting before solidifying into twisted layers of scar tissue. Massive growths of splintered, misshapen bone and trailing flesh exploded from her sides in a rain of gore, Jammer realizing after a moment that those were her wings.

She grabbed the vial from the table next to her and vaulted through the window, Sunshine charging through the far door. She shouted desperately for him to hold her down, wrestled through the thrashing, bubbling flesh and drove the needle deep...

¬

"Mmmgh..."

Jammer turned in shock as she heard the sound behind her, looking down at the twisted, mutant thing lying on the bed covered in monitoring equipment. Said monitoring equipment promptly started bleeping madly, Jammer backing away as magic crackled in the air. The mana sensors attached to the horn suddenly struck dangerously into the red, flesh shifting beneath the stained bandages, "Dream Star!"

Bloodshot eyes opened beneath the bags of cancerous flesh. A harsh, strained voice emerged, "What happened to me...?"

She moved over so that Dream Star could see her, bowing in the deepest regret, "I'm so sorry Dream... I failed. My potion failed."

"No... I'm sorry." She muttered, gasping in pain for a moment before her eyes closed once more, "I was my selfish dream, and I made you feel responsible. Just like I always do."

"No...!"

"Leave me here Jammer." She stated bluntly, cutting her off, "I will keep repeating experiments until I die, and you don't need to see that. You all deserve to be free, free to find your own destiny. Not die for mine."

Jammer shook her head, pouting firmly, "I won't do that Dream."

"Why the hell not?"

Jammer smiled, taking out a vial of Med-x and injecting it into Dream Star's flank. She drew back, assessing its effectiveness for a moment before looking her straight in the eye, giving her an assuring nod, "I’m never going to abandon you Dream. We’re in this together, you know that."

Dream Star closed her eyes, “I’ll be the death of you Jammer. And when it happens... it will be for nothing.”

¬

"Just leave me on a rock to die Jammer. Don't they do that here?"

Jammer frowned, drawing her head up sternly and glaring at Dream's impassive form collapsed upon the sofa. She snorted angrily and continued her washing up, carefully drying and storing the beakers she had used for her latest medical treatment, "That's cruel propaganda, and beyond that base selfishness Dream."

"Tell me about it." Dream muttered back, tensing in frustration, "It wouldn't have worked anyway."

"What wouldn't?"

"My plan. For the artificial intelligence." Dream Star drew her head up, a bitter smile on her face, "If I think about it, it was pretty much the same idea as the Steel Rangers. Just more complicated and scientific."

"You were going to take over the wasteland and rule as a princess?"

Dream Star chuckled at her question, "I could care less about the wasteland. I would have given them Equestria."

Jammer paused, for a moment wondering if she could have done it, "Equestria's gone."

"Equestria already lies within my hooves Jammer." Dream Star responded with a spark of her old strength creeping back into her voice, "All I needed was a way to bring everypony there. And that machine, that... Puppy... it would have given me that power."

Jammer sighed, "That almost sounds worth it."

"Yes." Dream sighed, sinking back into the sofa, "Yes it does."

¬

Jammer really had had far too many guns pointed at her during her short life. It didn't help that this time they comprised of miniguns and grenade launchers, mounted on top line power armor.

It did help that she was starting to feel sorry for them, darting out and firing a charged blast of her disruption magic that instantly sent the two nearest brothers shorting out and collapsing to their knees under the weight of the now powerless armor. Bitter Fennel blew a hole through another, Sunshine calmly slipping a knife back into his harness as he emerged from a security hub with a lanyard of access cards hung around his neck.

And Dream Star advanced ahead through the chaos and smoke, bullets bouncing harmlessly off her shields. A missile flew at her but she dismantled it mid flight with her telekinesis, trigging the explosives in the crates sitting at the nearby checkpoint and blowing it into smoking fragments.

The fire suppression system triggered now, filling the corridor with a fine mist. Jammer shifted her wet hair from her face, looking to their leader, "What next?"

"The central core." Dream Star confirmed, continuing onwards with determination in her eyes, "We'll be able to get the location of the Puppy OS from the databanks there."

"And what makes you think I will let you?"

Dream Star grinned as the deep, booming voice echoed from the speakers above, "What makes you think you have any choice? I destroyed your robots, we've beaten your tin men."

The voice didn't answer, Dream Star smirking and slamming the door in front open with her telekinesis.

This room had to be the central core, a circle of consoles surrounding a 3D map of the facility, more consoles and data streams surrounding the room and mounted on walkways situated above. Hanging from the center of the room was the unmistakable outlines of a crusader mainframe, the words 'SolOS Hub' painted clearly on the side. Cameras focused on them as they approached, the voice booming out once again, "Base insects."

"That your best?" Dream Star smirked, "So tell me, how are you going to stop us now?"

The doors slammed shut, a hissing emerging from the ventilation system. Jammer didn't need to sniff the air to know it was nothing good.

"Really?" Dream Star stated dismissively as she erected an airtight shield around each of them, "You'll have to do better than that."

"Gladly." SolOS intoned as turrets deployed from the roof and walls, carpeting their position in a dozen varieties of death. Dream Star instantly teleported them to different sides of the room, turrets struggling to track them as they took them out one by one. Jammer shut down the one nearest before running for an access port, sticking her horn into the socket and shorting out the ventilation. SolOS simply growled in frustration as the fans powered down with a whine, "That is not all I have!"

"P7 units powering up!" A cheerful, squeaky voice declared as sections of the wall slid open and a small army of bubblegum pink assault droids charged out into the room and began blasting, "Party favors deployed!"

Jammer squealed as a pinkie bomb went off just beside her, showering her in burning sparks. She span and blasted the nearest with a jamming bolt as it toppled, only for three others to take it's place, "Oh shit, shit...!"

Dream Star appeared next to her, throwing up a shield and knocking the P7 units back with a burst of energy. Jammer was just about to follow up when Dream Star hooked a hoof around her and drew her close, pressing the tip of her horn against hers. Jammer felt a blush on her cheeks, wondering what the heck Dream was doing... before the power flowed through her, more power than she had ever felt before. Her jamming spell welled up within her horn, so powerful that she felt it was about to explode... Dream Star swung her towards the Crusader Mainframe and angled her like a weapon, the force of the discharging energy throwing her backwards.

She smacked rear end first into the tiles, a deep burning sensation running right up her horn. The whole room was bathed in a deep, blue glow, a deafening silence eventually giving way to the whining of failing machinery and the sparking of electrical equipment. The lights cut out, Jammer wondering if she was blind for a moment before Dream Star threw a ball of illumination up into the air.

The Crusader Mainframe was dark, and there were deep holes in its surface where it looked like components had literally exploded out of it. The P7 units lay in smoking heaps, the various consoles similarly shattered and burned out. Jammer looked upon the destruction in horror, "I... I just destroyed a Crusader Mainframe..."

"I honestly thought they were supposed to be invincible." Dream Star stated, seeming to find it all very amusing, "Give yourself a pat on the back Jammer, you just did what a thousand engineers thought impossible."

Jammer pursed her lips, not exactly feeling like celebrating. As she looked across at the ruin in front she couldn't help but wonder the worth of such a item, a priceless artifact of the old world now gone.

"I believe the labs are this way." Sunshine announced from nearby, "Hopefully the internal security should have shut down along with the mainframe."

Jammer followed them as they travelled onwards, sparing a final look at the broken SolOS mainframe behind. It all seemed like such a shame.

¬

Jammer looked around the central lab, taking in every aspect. This specific one had been fairly easy to find, most of the other labs abandoned and locked up. There had been a few others working simulations and mechanical engineering for the AI's frame, still all signs pointed to this room as being where the primary testing was being carried out.

It was... neat. Tidy to a fault. Several large consoles dominated the right side of the room, all shut down, an empty maintenance harness for power armor at the far end. A desk and several filing cabinets stood next to them, Sunshine instantly moving over and picking up one of the books neatly stacked there. His eyes soon narrowed, "This must be some sort of code... there is no writing here, only small raised dots."

Jammer walked over, soon confirming his findings. She was familiar with it, "It's braile. It's a form of writing that allows blind ponies to read."

Sunshine gave her an interested look, "So the chief scientist here was blind?"

Jammer looked around, noting the large open space, lack of clutter, and the fact that there didn't seem to be any writing material around. If this scientist was anything like another blind scientist she knew, they would keep most of their work on audio tape... she located a tape holder next to the desk, noting with frustration that it was empty. That was itself unusual, had somepony intentionally cleared this place out?

"Somepony charged up a suit of power armor here, recently." Bitter Fennel noted, sniffing the air near the frame.

"And somepony has just dropped a fiberoptic cable here." Dream Star added, her lips firming in irritation, "Quickly! They must be trying to evacuate the AI from the facility in some sort of container!"

Dream Star threw the far door open with her telekinesis and darted through, the others all moving to follow. Jammer followed along as they ran through the corridors, assisted by Fennel's keen nose, "It's near, just beyond that door!"

Fennel ran forward and broke through with a shoulder check, the door bursting open with a crash. Jammer was instantly faced by sleek black armor, standing just beyond the door with weapons spinning up.

As expected a grenade instantly flew at them, Sunshine deflecting it with a flung knife before diving forward as bullets tore the corridor apart. Jammer found cover behind a art deco couch, peeking out a little to see a pony incased in sleek, advanced looking armor, sporting a heavily modified assault rifle and grenade launcher attachments. His voice boomed out as he advanced into the corridor, sending out pinpoint bursts that winged Sunshine and sent him limping into cover with multiple bleeding wounds, "Stand down! I assure you, this is the most powerful armor prototype in the NCR, and I have plenty of ammo!"

At that Dream Star simply cackled, leaping out and firing a focused blast of her horn straight at him. As it neared several round plates on the armor suddenly started glowing blue, the energy striking an invisible barrier just a inch short of the pony and dissipating into sparks. Another voice promptly emerged from the black armored pony, this one chirpy and female just like the P7 robots, "Deploying anti-magic countermeasures, SATS engaged!"

The assault rifle pivoted, a red light blinking on the side of the gun and a full burst of glowing bullets striking Dream Star's shield. It quickly buckled and she yelled out in fear as it shattered around her, teleporting behind a metal planter with a flash of light. The armored pony shouted as he pinned her down with further fire, moving closer to their position, "What did I tell you? Surrender!"

"Or you could just kill them." The perky female voice exclaimed, her voice becoming deadly polite as she continued, "We could sell their bodies to medical science, use the cash to repair all this damage."

"Right, had enough of you." Bitter Fennel stated with a firm determination, advancing forward and firing bursts of his heavy rifle. The black armored pony just threw his hoof up however, a shield of energy appearing in front that caused the shots to swerve away. At the same time he continued firing his assault rifle, scoring a hit on Fennel's knee and dropping him to the floor, "Agh! Son of a..."

"What you see here is the finest the Steel Rangers have to offer criminal scum, you have no chance to win." He fired a grenade that tore through their cover in a fierce spray of shrapnel, pumping bullets into Fennel's struggling form, "I am Star Paladin Lucky Days, I've fought in three wars, countless battles!"

"And I am P7." The female voice proclaimed, "And if you've hurt SolOS, so help me..."

This wasn't going well. That suit seemed near imperious, and Jammer knew that if it protected against Dream Star's magic it would protect against her's as well. But maybe if she used it indirectly... she waited for him to move a little further, watched him effortlessly defect attacks made by Sunshine and Dream Star. She could see the panel on the wall next to him, track the lines of circuitry...

She directed her magic, overloading the systems in the console beside her, pushing the surge through the system. It was hard to contain but she fought through the strain, letting it build up energy as it raced through the system, finally releasing it as it reached the conduit next to Lucky Days. He looked round but it was too late, the conduit exploding with a loud crack and shattering the whole wall into fragments as systems burst from the force of the magic running through it. Lucky Days was caught hard and crashed rolling to the floor, his armor smoking and dented, large areas shorn away. A moment later and he was knocked back further as a blast of energy from Dream Star tore away a big chunk of the side, a thrown dagger from Sunshine cutting a line of exposed wiring and sending it sparking.

"All systems compromised Mr Lucky." The female voice stated with a trembling voice as he staggered back, "Detecting critical injury, and my healing potion injectors aren't working."

Dream Star cackled, moving out from behind the rubble, "Maybe it's you who should surrender."

Lucky Days gasped in pain, his weapons going limp as the power failed. He glared through his shattered visor, considering his next move...

Jammer felt it, the surge of energy above, "Dream Star, bomb in the roof!"

Dream Star instantly drew them all close with her telekinesis, erecting a shield about them as the roof caved in with a terrific blast of magical energy. Dream Star struggled and collapsed but the shield held, Lucky Days backing towards the door with a look of shock and surprise on his face.

"Star Paladin!" P7's voice stated in desperate panic, "Somepony has trigged the facilities self destruct sequence, and opened us a route to the surface."

"SolOS?"

"I don't know, but we need to go!"

Lucky Days nodded, turning to run. Jammer wanted to pursue but the shield around them was the only thing keeping a half ton of metal and concrete from flattening them. Worse she could now tell from her magical senses that P7 was right, the facility was self destructing.

She looked round as the door slid shut behind, magnetic locks engaging, "Dream Star, they're locking us in!"

"Heh heh..." Dream chuckled, slowly making it back to her hooves, "They're willing to blow the whole facility, just to take us out. I'm flattered."

"Dream!"

"Ugh, don't panic." She flung the rubble away with a burst of magic, then sent chunks of it rotating around herself, "Jammer, your assistance please."

Jammer moved to help, stabilizing the lines of magic as Dream Star weaved them with expert precision. Runes of energy were carved across the rotating blocks of concrete, compressing and enhancing the magic within. More explosions sounded above, the room around them buckling and collapsing, "Dream... we don't have much..."

"Fine." She declared, sealing the megaspell shut with a final crack of powerful energy, "Hold on to your britches!"

Then they flew, a rushing, crushing, terrifying rollercoaster that reminded her with every moment that a miscast would strip the skin from their muscles. She instantly regretted rushing Dream Star, closed her eyes...

...and was ejected at high speed straight into a clod of dirt. This proved useful a second later when she smelt burning, looking behind to see her tail aflame. She quickly swung it over and heaped dirt upon it, stamping on it repeatedly to choke it out.

"Well that did not go as intended." Sunshine stated glumly, casually patting out his own smoldering fur, "We appear to be somewhere in the vicinity of Fillydephia. That is quite a way from Sun City."

"Ugh..." Dream Star gently poked her horn, still softly glowing from the strain. She grimaced as she looked at all of them, then at the horizon, "They'd really blow up the facility to stop us? How many of their own did they kill in there?"

"They're fanatics." Bitter Fennel pointed out, "Don't they dream of dying for the cause or something?"

Jammer didn't think that was right, wondering why they didn't just seal them in and blow that section. Still the damage was done, "Well we'll never be able to track the AI now. It could be anywhere."

"Ugh..." Dream Star grunted, "Get a message to Rusty Needle, use that rig of Homage's to scan for any mention of an injured paladin wearing black armor. I'm not ready to give up yet."

¬

Maybe it would have been better if they had given up. As far as Jammer was concerned, things had only gotten worse. Zenai had got hold of the armor through her father, and had promptly used it to spark what was quickly becoming a second great war. By all accounts she was still out there, fouling up a fragile peace with more idealistic foolishness. She... sympathized with such things a little, she had once been much the same, but still that possibly made it worse. She had seen first hoof how good intentions could get out of control.

It made her ache really. Zenai could have gone to Velvet Remedy, exposed the Steel Ranger's plot. Things could have been sorted out, and it wouldn't have all gone so wrong.

Dream Star could have settled down, stopped trying to prove herself, and with one fraction of her brainpower change the world forever. But she couldn't. She couldn't just let things be.

She cursed the stubbornness of ponies and continued down the street, aware all of a sudden of a excitement and movement that was certainly unusual. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and headed towards the village square where most of the commotion seemed to originate, seeing a group of well armed zebra standing proudly in the centre. The leader had a megaphone, addressing those around in a loud commanding voice, “Zebra of the wasteland, do you need a strong leader? Do you want a leader who would stand with you when the demons come, when Nightmare Moon comes for your children?! Then come forward, join us! The great Starhammer needs zebra of all professions, cooks, mechanics, doctors... and yes, soldiers. Zebra willing to bear arms and give their lives for the protection of all!”

Jammer grimaced. Yet more death and war. She had seen far too much of it in her...

“I wish to join.”

Jammer turned, eyes widening in shock and horror. The recruiter looked down at the pony who had spoken, narrowing his eyes in confusion at the small shrunken thing, her elderly form clad in a simple brown cloak, “What can you do for Star Hammer elder mother?”

Dream Star gave him a broad smirk, “More than you could believe possible.”

Comments

[Ocean Mist]

Dream Star seems like a hell of a lady. Fantastic as always!

[Philweasel]

6690057
Heh, she's certainly a character. After so long just sort of hanging around, she gets a lot more to do in the next arc. I'm glad I got the opportunity to flesh her out a little more, even if flashbacks are cheating.

[Kexisoc]

Dream Star, I believe now gave more grains of understanding from this chapter. There's being a hero, and there's being the first example that comes to mind with the word. She wants to be immortal in memory and name, but fully blind to the fact the weight of the awe, loyalty and respect among the close circle she has gathered over the years. A truly evil mare could not have faked the demeanor she displayed, nor inspire these ensemble of ponies to be willing to die for her. But I too see the dark implications she may have committed. Most likely allowing, even orchestrating tragedies for her to swoop in and fix. Twicefuld I've witnessed her anguish as the chance of being heralded as the fulcrum of Equestria's salvation was robbed from her. Frist from Littlepip, who did more in months than Dream accomplished in a century. And again by Xenith, who represents a legacy of Littlepip.

But I take a look at the followers she's gathered over time. Jammer, a rank and file collaborator with Red Eye, joining out of necessity, being a *true* believer instead of being a violent opportunist. Moreso admirable she kept her internal decency intact, demonstrated alone with her regretful apprehension operating on a notable patient continuously. But of course your shaded past, implied unethical experimentation to justify long term benefits for Equestria possibly attributed to her being among the first to join with Dream Star, who herself follows a similar doctrine. Can't imagine through with her project stolen, how torn Jammer felt whatever pain she knowingly caused in Red Eye's employ was rendered moot, making her actions monstrous instead of justified.

Bitter Fennel. Who knows who he was before being captured. Probably once part of an early Enclave expedition force who came to the realization he could be more more help to them than his own people. There's a scary eagerness with his willingness and nerve to mutilate himself further and further just to be a more effective bringer of justice. But a bright assurance that he sees the happy and good in everything (notably seeing the bright side of his surgical emasculation). He is a good judge of character in not holding resentment for Jammer, acknowledging she was only doing her duty in times of war. Though it's up to debate if his aligning with Dream Star is a lapse in perception, of if it was his optimism that was what nudged dream to give the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows and chance.

Sunshine, whom one cannot fault his initial alignment since he joined Sunny Smiles to find meaning in his life, unlike raiders who became what they are because they lost meaning. While I've not seen enough portrayals of Sunny Smiles, Sunshine probably served her faithfully because he did not know that evil people can show kindness. And depending on interpretation, though it was more from Jammer's consoling, he's following Dream Star for the same wrong reason. That being said, despite his chaotic transgressions in the past, in present time he managed to achieve happiness by making other happy with his performances.

Spark Plug, but especially Rusty Needle. If I recall correctly - unlike the other DJ's who were very biased about the Steel Ranger assassinations, Rusty stated the events with as much truth he can input into it. I've insufficient words to convey his flashback segment. Just that it sheds Dream Star's character in another light. I'll take Jammer's thoughts to heart in that Dream Star has a soft spot for Stable Ponies, or rather ponies untouched by the affairs of the surface's current politics. When she could've manipulated Rusty to be as politically patronizing as the other DJ's for her own ends, he seems to be the most honest character of them all.

The point of all this is, despite the horrible ambitions Dream Star have in mind, each one of her followers turned out for the better in some way or shape, when the likes of Starhammer or Silent Steel would've exploited them raw from the get-go. Dream Star is the type of antagonist I feel sorry for because the good she inadvertently nurtured among each of them arguably weighs as much as being a Equestria's messiah. But not to her. And the weight of her royal heritage lays upon her.

Still, this chapter was also a double edged sword in many ways to demonstrate that banded together, they possess the an unstoppable determination rivaling that as Dust and Star Swirl's party. This chapter alone cements the revelation I will mourn for any of their loss should they clash with Dust's party. And LASTLY, that very last line, really puts a new angle who may have been responsible for Tradash's death during the time-loop escapes in the previous chapters.

But damn would they be the wildcard to ruin Ivory's predictions.