Fallout: Equestria - Change

by MetalGearSamus

Chapter 20: Fallout

“It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.”

I woke up in ruins. The sky was red, and growing dark.

I took in a single breath, and then burst into tears. It took several seconds of sobbing for me to feel the pain in my body. My back ached, my limbs felt like rubber, and bright spurts of pain shot through my chest on every inhale. I curled into a ball and kept weeping. I stared at the ground in front of me, thinking of nothing. The wind howled in the distance. The air grew colder.

As I grieved, a small part of my mind began to take stock of my situation. I was undisguised. My energy was low. I must have hurt myself badly in the fall. I must have regenerated as much as I could. I had let go of Midnight too late to fly away from the collapsing tower, but early enough to avoid splattering myself on the ground. I did not want to think about Midnight’s body.

Midnight. Midnight was dead. My friend was gone.

Death, for the Hive, had hurt. Chrysalis raged and wept over every child she lost. That pain was spread out over our minds. We had shared it, borne it for her, and kept moving. I had been a drone then. I had loved my family, but I had not known what it was to think for myself. I still missed Maggy. I was horrified at what Fugax had done. But Midnight, now, hurt the most. I had no one to share this pain with. No other mind to held me bare the loss—

I jerked up, dread coursing through me.

Hairpins!? Pitch!?

Silence. The tower had fallen at an angle, listing over before cracking in half. The legs still stood, supporting a jagged mess of dull crystal. Rock had split and spewed out into the southern part of the city. I was at the western edge of that streak of destruction, still near the castle. I cried out again for Hairpins and Pitch, and heard only my echo. My vision blurred again.

Help...

I snapped my head toward the mind I felt. The shadows were growing long across the ground, making it almost impossible to see anything in the ruins of the tower. I stumbled forward, picking my way slowly over the large stones and boulders that now littered the central plaza. I felt the mind respond to the noise I made.

Pitch? Hairpins?

Ah... my child...

Chrysalis lay only a few paces before me, utterly ruined. Her body was full of holes and deep gashes where Sombra’s crystals had clung to her. Her wings were in tatters, all her legs broken. Cracks ran from her neck up to her horn, leaking a faint white substance. She was covered in dust and small rocks, miraculously spared from the tower’s collapse; or perhaps one of her shields had been enough. But her energy was now spent completely. She was barely able to raise her head to look at me—the soft glow of eyes was already fading. I stared at her, and shuddered.

I am... sorry, she stated. I was deceived.

I could not muster up the rage I wished to feel. I could blame her for Midnight’s death, for Sombra’s return, for my whole lot in life up to this point if I really wanted to. Yet I found I could not be angry at her anymore. I knew the effort to take all those experiences and place them before her would not bring me peace. Hate would not drive away sorrow. Justice would not undo the damage already dealt.

I felt, in that moment, that our past was moot. Midnight was dead. I did not know where my friends were. What did Chrysalis mean to me in light of my current misery? What would causing her more pain do for me?

We have the Heart now... we can fix you, I thought. I need... I need to find it...

I am sorry, my child, Chrysalis said again. I... the moment we stepped close enough; the moment he was in range of the last shard of his being, he overwhelmed me. Before I understood what happened, I was teleporting outside of the caves. He would have taken the Heart... it was only the Wendigos that stopped him... I should have sensed his presence. I should have known... I should not have lost a battle of the mind to such a foul creature...

She struggled to rise, or to move closer. I shook my head, already looking away and searching for the Heart.

Don’t move. I might be able to save you. I might...

“My child...” she said, her voice ragged. “I am sorry.”

“Stop!” I shouted, venom in my voice. “I don’t care anymore. I can’t... I can fix you. I need... I just need the heart...”

Hairpins? Pitch!?

I squeezed my eyes shut, trembling. It had happened again. Rolling Stone. Surprise... Just as I had learned to be better. Just as I had finally made friends, it was all gone. My efforts amounted to nothing in the face of the powers around me. Gleaming, Unity, the Wendigos, Sombra... I had survived them all, but I had lost my friends in the process. I had been powerless to help them, even as they had saved me. I would be alone again. I would have to start over, or die in this cold wasteland—

“Pitch!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Hairpins!?”

“Hello? Rarity!?”

The voice came from behind me, still distant. I turned around, disguising reflexively. I felt a cold presence surge into my mind, but I shoved it back down into my saddlebags. A blue figure climbed into view, emerging from behind a pack of rubble with a grunt. Rainbow Dash looked up at me, her face and mind flooding with relief. My heart leapt to my throat: Hairpins was slumped over her back, unconscious but breathing steadily. I let out a sob of relief.

“Rarity! Thank Celestia!” Rainbow started to pick her way toward me. She had taken the time to don Hairpin’s gear. The battle-saddle fit loosely around her, and I saw the Crystal Heart poking out of her saddlebags. I was again flooded with emotion. Maybe I could fix this. Maybe this time would be different... Maybe Midnight had saved us all...

“Rarity, what the hell is going on? Who is this mare? What was that on the tower? Why was Sombra here? Why are we here—?” She stopped, eyes narrowing. She took a step back, and pointed her guns at something behind me. I blinked in surprise, turning to look. Chrysalis had shifted into view, managing to rest her head against a nearby boulder. Blood coated the ground around her.

“What is that!?” Rainbow asked.

“Help...” was all Chrysalis could manage.

I turned back to Rainbow Dash, my mind clicking slowly back into gear. Hairpins was alive. Rainbow Dash had the Heart. She had no reason to suspect me now, but she would know about changelings. I had no idea what she was going through, besides utter confusion, but she believed me to be her friend. I needed to calm her down, use the Heart to heal Chrysalis, if I could, and then we could work things out. Honesty would come last; I couldn’t risk whatever her reaction might be if I confessed everything right away.

“Rainbow,” I started. “Please, calm down. She’s not dangerous. She’s very hurt. I need your help to heal her.”

“I... okay... but, Rarity, what is she?” The mare took a step closer.

“She is... an alicorn.”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not... that’s not either of the Goddesses... Rarity, what the hell do you mean?”

Chrysalis started to speak, but I urged her quite with my mind.

“No, she’s not one of the Goddesses... Rainbow, she’s... well, it’s hard to explain, but... Twilight made her.” I tried to dig through what I had gleaned from Trixie’s mind when I had connected to Unity. An experiment gone wrong... that was all I remembered. “She was trying... to help the war effort.” I could think of no other reason for trying to manufacture alicorns.

“Twilight...?” Rainbow Dash blinked. “Wait, where is Twilight? Where’s everypony else? ” I knew she was referring to her friends. I felt the fear in her gut, but I also had her trust. She looked at me with a desperate expression, like a lost child looking for their mother. I took a deep breath in.

“Rainbow, how much do you... remember... from before now?”

“I... I had just left Canterlot. The pegasi...” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Those numbskulls... they’d closed off the sky. Like that was going to help anypony. Gilda was waiting for me, and I was out of gas. I... fuck, Gilda... I’m so sorry.” She swallowed a sob. “I realized, I could clear the sky... they could shut me out, but they couldn’t do anything against a Sonic Rainboom. But I was so tired... I didn’t think I was going to last much longer, so I... I took everything. And I aimed for the center of Equestria...” She shook her head, looking at me again. “Rarity, did it work? Is that why I’m here? Did I clear the skies? Did I overshoot?”

I felt pressure from the statuettes as they resonated with her grief.

I bit my lip, unsure on how to proceed. I felt her hope, I felt her despair. How could I possibly start to tell her what had happened? “Rainbow, we don’t have time to explain what you did—but you did do something. Right now, I want to save her.” I pointed to Chrysalis. “Because she is injured, and I’m tired of ponies dying around me. The Crystal Heart might be able to do it. Can you give it to me?”

“I... sure... okay. One thing at a time. I get it.” She nodded, still blinking back tears. She craned her neck back to grab the Heart, and took a step closer to me. I reached out with my magic—

The cold magic of the statuettes gripped me for just a moment. All of their strength, and they pulled the channels of my magic just a step off from the path I had intended. It was enough. My disguise fell. Rainbow and I froze, staring wide-eyed at each other. Rage erupted across her features.

“You—!”

“I can explain—!”

I dodged a buck from her legs and she whipped around, pulling the Heart away from me just as I tried to grasp it. I flung my saddlebags away, cursing my luck. I managed to keep only a single knife gripped in my magic. The statuettes had survived all my ordeals only to betray me—had I not tried to be better? Could they not see that I was trying to be a good person? Or did they only sense Changeling and automatically work against me? A fraction of a soul, split and frozen across dozens of immutable fetishes must not have the capacity for change or forgiveness.

“Don’t shoot!” I cried, holding the knife before my face as a desperate shield. I was only partially hidden behind a pile of cracked crystal. Rainbow stared daggers at me, her barrels leveled.

“Start talking, Changeling! Why the fuck are we here? What have you done with Rarity?”

“Nothing! I was only using her image to avoid this situation—!”

“Is she still alive—!?”

“Yes! Otherwise I couldn’t disguise as her, I swear—!”

“What are trying to do with the Heart? Why the hell was Sombra here!?”

“I swear, I just want to heal her—”

“What is that thing, really!?”

“An alicorn, I wasn’t lying about Twilight—”

“Where is Twilight? Where is anyone?” She shrugged Hairpins off her back, and stepped away, suddenly fearful. “Is this pony real? How many of you are there?”

“Just me, I promise! Please, calm down, I don’t want to fight—”

“I know you can’t fight! All you and your queen do is trick us! You need to explain—everything starting now. Why are you here? Why was Sombra here? Why—” She glanced around, seeming to take in where she was for the first time. “Where are all the Crystal Ponies? Where is Cadence? Where is Shining? Are you trying to—?”

Motion in the sky above us. My eyes were drawn to it automatically, and Rainbow followed my gaze. She jumped into the air, turning, expecting some new threat. A black streak crested the southeastern ridge of clouds, and started spiraling slowly inward toward the remains of the Empire. Rainbow glanced at me, but I shook my head, as clueless as she.

“I don’t know. Rainbow Dash, I swear I just want to—”

“Shut up!” She continued to hover, keeping both me and the incoming blob of black within view. A minute passed in silence. I stewed in my anxiety. I could hear Chrysalis’ breathing grow more ragged. Yet I knew I could not fight Rainbow Dash in the open, not with how tired I was. The new apparition grew close enough to resolve itself. I sank to my haunches in despair.

Five Enclave pegasi flew toward the castle, each fully clad in their signature black armor.

“Fuck,” Rainbow cursed.

“Let me help you,” I begged. “We can take them. We can hide in the castle legs and—”

“Shut up, dammit!” Rainbow looked between me and the incoming pegasi, face contorting as she struggled to make a decision. I watched the Enclave soldiers begin their descent. They were almost to the threshold of the city proper. I did not know how long it would take them to spot us, but they could reach the castle in a matter of seconds if they aimed right for it.

“Fuck!” Rainbow flew away, low to the ground, sweeping under the remains of the castle and vanishing behind it. I glanced back at the pegasi. They had started to circle the city, scanning every inch before moving inward on their next pass. I was grateful for their caution. I did not hesitate to hoist Hairpins onto my back, checking quickly to see that she had no major injuries. I scrambled over to Chrysalis, and summoned what slime I could muster from the back of my throat. Though it would not repair her body, I could use bits of cocoon to dress the worst of her injuries. Or so I hoped.

My child... thank you...

“Save your strength, Chrysalis,” I urged her. “The Enclave is here.”

Ah. I felt a flicker of rage ignite in her ailing mind. I see.

I spat out the last of my reserves, and stumbled away without waiting for the patches to harden. I made for the closest leg of the castle, hoping that I would not be seen. I did not have time to glance back, not with Hairpins weighing me down. I kept low, pressing myself close to the largest rocks I could find, using the long shadows of the growing dusk to keep myself obscured.

I cursed my luck. I cursed the Enclave. It did not surprise me that they had been attracted here. A massive energy orb, a Sonic Rainboom, and the Crystal Heart’s light? If they’d had so much as a blind foal monitoring any part of the nearby sky they would have noticed something amiss. But why must they come now? Why not minutes earlier, when their firepower might have helped delay Sombra? Why not an hour later, after I might have talked Rainbow Dash down?

Sudden grief ran through my thoughts, and I snarled, cursing my lot in life. I was trying to do better. All I wanted were some friends. I was trying to help. Did I not deserve happiness? Had I not earned at least a respite between my miseries?

The world was silent. But I did not stop.

The stairs were before me, only two pony-lengths away. I stepped forward, and three Enclave soldiers landed before me. I heard the other two touch down behind me. I grit my teeth and sighed. All their weapons were aimed at me. I dropped the knife I had been carrying.

“Holy shit, sarge. It’s a fuckin’ Changeling.” The pony who spoke was directly in front of me.

“I can see that, private.” The pony who answered was behind and to my right. I could barely tell them apart by their voices; they all looked identical.

“What the hell is one doing here?” The pony to my left.

“Let’s ask it,” the sergeant said, stepping around to face me. A thin red patch across his chest was all that distinguished him. “Changeling. Why are you here?”

I stared at the strange bug-like eyes of the sergeant's suit. I found that I was not scared, nor could I feel the hate or sadness that had filled me moments before. I had to find a way out of this situation, or my fate would be death or worse, but my emotions had disconnected from that fact. I tried to reach out with my mind, but all I could sense around me was a vague hostility. I sighed, my numbness turning to a great weariness.

“I was trying to help,” I said.

“Help who?”

“Equestria,” I stated. “The Crystal Heart is supposed to restore ponies’ happiness.”

“Is that what those energy events were? Did you activate the Heart?”

“Yes.”

“You’re trying to find love? Is that why you did it?”

I sighed. Of course they would know how Changelings worked. They had dissected us.

“I had love. I had friends.” I motioned to Hairpins on my back. “One of them died. I wanted... I just wanted to help.”

“Huh. And here I thought you bugs were supposed to be good at lying. What caused the tower to collapse? The Heart does not have that kind of power.”

“It was old, bound to topple. The Heart just gave it the right nudge.” There was no way they would believe me if I brought up Sombra.

They were silent for a moment. Then the sergeant shook his head. I saw small movements from the other Enclave around me. I cursed to myself. They were using their radios to talk. I would get no insight from them. My skills were useless here. I doubted I could kill even one of them, what with their armor to block my teeth and horn. I saw no path out of this predicament.

Pitch? I called. Pitch are you there?

Nothing.

“Changeling,” the sergeant’s voice was suddenly threatening. “Where is the Heart?”

“I don’t have it—”

“Where is it?”

“I... someone else took it. She flew away. I don’t know where she went.”

He cocked his head. “You’re saying a pegasus took it? Private, are there any deserters known to lurk around this area?”

“No, Sir.”

“Changeling. Do not insult our nation in your lies.”

I sighed again, lowering my head to the ground. Another patriot. Another kingdom hoping to dominate the Wasteland. I was so tired.

“I’m not lying. She’s not from here. She’s from very far away. That’s all I know. But she flew away just after you showed up. She’s very fast. If you don’t start looking now, I don’t think you’ll find her.”

“Do not worry about us, Changeling. And do not think we can’t see through your lies. You have yet to mention what happened to the frozen ponies in this city, and we know the castle was stable. We also observed energy events with significantly different signatures. You need to start from the beginning, and explain in full. Or I will wake up your friend—” He pointed the guns mounted at his sides at Hairpins. “—and start breaking her legs. Talk.”

I looked up at him, more exhausted by his cruelty than afraid. My cheeks hurt, but I swallowed my sadness.

“If I told you Sombra came back, would you believe me?”

“Sombra?” Another moment of silent radio chatter. “Changeling, are you insane?”

“Or Rainbow Dash? What if I told you that four out of the six ministry mares are still alive, in one sense or another.”

He barked out a laugh. “Is this your recourse? Are you playing the mental patient?”

“I’ll talk all you want,” I said. “But those are the only answers I can offer. I won’t resist. But please don’t hurt my friend. She’s just a normal pony.”

The sergeant clicked his tongue. “This is an odd specimen. But at least I believe you will be compliant. T-ought, T-sev, do another sweep. See if we missed any other heat signatures. Four, two, prepare the prisoners for extrication.”

Two of the ponies before me lifted off as the others stepped closer. They lifted Hairpins off my back, and set her on the ground. They brought out a strange metallic device that clamped onto my shell. I felt a strange, soft fire course through me, and my wings cramped. I found myself unable to bring them away from my sides. Whatever magic or technology this was, it meant I wouldn’t be flying of my own power any time soon. They did not seem to have any null rings, however.

A gunshot rang out.

The three Enclave soldiers were on alert. One of the privates pushed me to the ground, standing over me and keeping me pinned with a hoof while they scanned the sky, weapons ready. The three soldiers twitched their heads left and right, ears flicking in a nervous gesture. I felt anxiety in the one holding me down, but barely a hint of feeling from the sergeant. Another gunshot echoed from behind the tower. A jolt of shock came from the pony above me. Seconds later, I heard the distant thud of heavy metal impacting the ground. One of the Enclave had fallen.

The sound of gunfire reverberated across the city.

Rainbow Dash? I tried to reach out to her. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say, but I desperately wanted her to understand I was on her side. But I could not find her mind. She was too closed off. Instead I only felt the flickering consciousness of Chrysalis, barely aware of what was transpiring.

“Move it, Changeling!” I yelped as the soldier bit down on my neck and heaved me to my feet. She shoved me toward the castle stairs as her companion carried Hairpins forward. The sergeant was backing up, tracking the air with his weapons as if he were trying to aim through the castle remains. When we reached the castle I was shoved rudely against the wall, and again pinned by my captors. The other private dumped Hairpins next to us and leapt into the sky, vanishing from my vision. The sergeant followed.

The sporadic gunfire became a constant rattle as the sound bounced back and forth off the ruins before us. I covered my ears and squirmed under the hoof of the last Enclave soldier.

“Stay still, Changeling,” she demanded, anger seeping into her voice. “We can always take the other one prisoner instead.

“I’m the only one left,” I said. “Hairpins is a real pony, I swear. Test her. I’m sure you have a way to do that.”

“Do you think we’re stupid, bug?” I felt her rage break through her calm veneer. “You idiots can look like anypony, and you decide to look like a 200-year-old dead mare? Fucking morons.” I grunted as she pushed her hoof into my back.

I blinked in confusion. “You mean... Rainbow Dash?” Did she not realize I had been trying to defend Hairpins? Did that mean she already believed she was a real pony? Outside, the gunfire lessened for a moment.

“You fucker!” I felt her emotions spike again. This time she kicked me. “This was supposed to be a recon job. How the fuck... Your ‘Rainbow Dash’ just killed another one of my friends! Drop the act or I’ll fucking gut you right now.”

“I swear—”

“Actually, no. You know what? I think I’ll get the sarge to take her in alive. Then you can watch as we dissect her, layer by layer. Yeah... yeah, that sounds good to me. We’ll see how much of a pony your ‘Rainbow Dash’ is on the inside.” She pressed down harder, and I cried out in pain. Despair rushed through me, and I gave myself over to weeping again. I just wanted my friends to be safe. I just wanted the misery to end. What was the point of this cruelty?

A new presence in my mind silenced me. I gasped. In my focus on the soldiers around me, I had not felt Hairpins waking up. She was scanning my mind, catching up on the details she had missed since the tower’s collapse: Enclave. Captured.

Without wasting a moment she sprang up, slamming into the Enclave soldier with all her weight. The pegasus only staggered, but it was enough for me to roll out from underneath her. I channeled my meager magic reserves. I could not generate a laser, but I had just enough to heat up my horn. I stabbed at her neck, screaming as melting metal seared my scalp. But I pierced her armor, and the rush of blood that came when I jerked out was enough to cool the molten glob before it could drip any farther down. I kept screaming as I ripped it off with my magic. I clutched at my forehead and scalp, feeling the blood bubble up from the mess of chitin, skin, and exposed bone.

“Fuck! Fuck!” I could do little else but scream and cry.

Hold on, now. Keep yer calm! I watched through my mind’s eye as Hairpins fiddled with the dead mare’s suit. I recalled where Pitch had searched when examining Rainbow Dash and directed her to the medical compartment. We were lucky: the Enclave soldier had a single healing potion jacked into her suit. Hairpins popped it open and helped pour it into my wound. I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt my scalp stitch back together. The pain subsided enough for me to open my eyes.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t ya’ worry about it,” Hairpins said, giving me a weak smile. “Ah jus’ don’t want t’ lose another friend.” A pulse of grief went through us both, but we could not afford to indulge it. I stood up, wobbly on my feet. Hairpins fiddled with my wing restraints until she found the release button. I breathed a sigh of relief as they clattered to the ground.

“Help me get her armor off. If I can help Rainbow Dash—”

I heard another crash from outside. I glanced up from the dead pegasus to see what it was. My heart sank in my chest.

Rainbow Dash lay in a pile of rubble, struggling to stand. Blood stained her coat, coming from innumerable scrapes and cuts where bullets had grazed her skin. Her left eye was swollen shut, and her wings had lost clumps of feathers. I saw two bullets had hit their mark: one hole on her foreleg oozed blood, another had obliterated her left ear, leaving half her face covered in red. Another volley of gunshots rang out, and somehow she managed to scramble behind a rock just in time. Hairpins ground her teeth.

“A damn bug, wearing the skin of a traitor, kills three of my soldiers,” the sergeant's voice boomed from the sky. “You’ll die slowly, Changeling! You and all your kind: the last scourge of the old world.”

Hairpins and I pressed ourselves against the entrance to the castle. The sergeant and the remaining private hovered in the air a ways away, weapons trained on Rainbow Dash’s location. The blue mare looked over at us, her face contorted in pain. Her eyes moved to the dead Enclave soldier, and I felt her surprise. I reached out my mind again, and found that now she was receptive.

Rainbow Dash.

Changeling. I’m sorry. She didn’t seem to care that I suddenly had access to her thoughts. I don’t know what the fuck is going on here. I need some help.

How many bullets ya’ got left? Hairpins asked.

One clip.

I glanced at the ground. My knife was halfway between Rainbow Dash and I. I started thinking of options.

There’s three of us and two of them...

But only two of us are any threat.

If ah jus’ had a gun...

Rainbow Dash started to loosen the straps on her battle saddle.

If I had my suit...

The Enclave soldiers moved before we could consider other options. Rainbow Dash rushed into the air, letting the battle saddle clatter to the ground. I jumped up as well, flapping with all my might toward the sergeant. Hairpins ran forward, scooping up the knife in her mouth before leaping toward the battle-saddle. Rainbow Dash had flown in the opposite direction from us, drawing the Enclave’s attention. I made it half-way to the sergeant before he noticed me. He turned in the air, bringing his weapons to bear on me, but I had enough velocity to make it inside of his range before he could fire. I saw Rainbow Dash change her trajectory and aim for the other soldier the moment before I crashed into him. The sergeant and I tumbled through the air. I fought to cling to him and grab at his wings while he tried to push me off and stab at me with his tail. I did not register the blows as I focused on disrupting his flight. We crashed into the ground and flew apart. I bounced once and crashed into a nearby rock, the wind leaving my chest.

I heard a burst of gunfire I sensed elation from Hairpins.

I gasped for breath, feeling like I was drowning. I felt blood seeping from my back and neck. The sergeant's tail had punched me several times, but not deeply. I watched helplessly as he rose from where he had landed. He staggered, but did not fall again. He swiveled his head, looking for where I had fallen. It seemed the growing darkness had obscured me. It bought me a second of time.

Hairpins...

Ah’m comin’!

“Fucking... bug...” I grabbed one of his gun barrels in my magic and jerked him off-balance, and he fell onto his side. I had bought another second.

“Fucking! Bug!” His rage was a boiling sea. In desperation I tried to drink it, but the power backfired, sending a wave of nausea through me. I fired a laser but it went wide, and pain shot through my horn as the foul energy left me. Whatever torrent Cadance had forced through me, it had not given me the same tolerance Fuagx must have acquired from years of leeching negative emotions.

The sergeant finally managed to stand, only to be slammed to the ground again, this time by Rainbow Dash. She rolled away, clearly as beaten as I. I could sense Hairpins nearing us. The rubble impeded her, but she was only moments away. Again I tried to rise to no avail.

“You... fucking... insolent bugs...” The sergeant rolled to his hooves, wings spread to balance himself. All I could do was hiss angrily. I needed his attention on me. Hairpins was almost in range—

Rainbow Dash rushed him, prancing on her three good legs. He pivoted, firing just a moment before she would have impacted and leaping backwards. The one bullet ripped through her chest, the other entered her mouth and blew out the back of her skull. She fell to the ground, dead.

“You annoying—” The sergeant’s comment was cut off by Hairpin’s shot. She pierced his right wing, and he cried out as he crashed to the ground besides Rainbow Dash. Another shot cut through his foreleg, and he curled up in pain.

“Well shit... ah’m out a’ bullets.”

Hairpins stood at the top of a small ridge of rubble. She tossed my knife down to me as I finally managed to stand, having carried it in her mouth even as she had fired her battle-saddle. I gripped it in my mouth and moved forward. I stood over the sergeant.

“You’ve only delayed the inevitable, bug. The Enclave will—”

I stabbed downwards, aiming for a weak point near the joints around his neck. He jerked once.

I fell back on my haunches. I stared at Rainbow Dash’s ruined form. Something about it felt fake, like her appearance had all been a hallucination. The sight of her corpse should have revolted me; saddened me; but again I only felt numb. The Crystal Heart was on the ground next to her, having spilled out when she had fallen. Hairpins trotted to my side, and sat with me. Now that the battle was over, she was crying.

“Why’m ah always th’ one t’ live? Ah been through th’ shit so many times, ah...”

I shook my head, not knowing what to say.

“Oh, Tumble... an’ Midnight too... it’s always th’ younger ones... ah feel like ah’m leechin’ everypony else’s life away...”

I put a hoof on her shoulder as we leaned on each other for support. I could barely see the bodies in front of me anymore. The daylight was almost gone.

Worker...?

Pitch? For a moment I was happy. Then a crushing despair gripped me. Pitch. I’m so sorry...

Worker, why? What—oh no—no!

I did not keep her from my mind. Midight’s death, and now Rainbow Dash’s, they both hit her at the same moment. I let her grief flood all of us. I felt Hairpins grip onto it, and we wept together in silence.

Pitch, I’m so sorry, there was nothing we could do—

No! No no no! Nononononononono—!

To my horror, I felt her grief grow into something worse. She was still in the tower ruins, working her way outside, but the revelation had stopped her dead in her tracks. Her mind whirled with memories: of watching Rainbow Dash as a foal, of wanting so badly to fly, of watching her brothers Yaw and Roll soar above her while she was stuck on the ground. Rainbow Dash had been the foundation for so much of her life before and during the war, and now here she was: unceremoniously dead, lost, and alone. Emotions spiraled into dark depths I had never seen before, and I felt her mind following.

Nonononononononono—!

I tried to reach out to her. I tried to bring her back from the edge. But I did not know what to do. I saw the structure of her thoughts disintegrating around me. The strings that had woven themselves into the tapestry of her being were fraying and unfurling into nothing. It was like watching the chaos of unity, but formed from only one splintering mind. I was appalled. This was not a melt down; this was not grief; this was Pitch’s obliteration.

I realized what I was seeing: she was becoming a zombie. This last straw had broken her.

Pitch? Pitch!? Hairpins and I cried out for her. But I could only sense the chaos. Sadness and rage, unfocused. A brilliant machine reduced to molten slag. Pitch!? I felt sick to my stomach.

My child... let me... try...

I sensed what Chrysalis wanted to do. She pushed into my mind. I let her. I let her fall past me, out of her dying body and into Pitch’s empty husk. I could not stop myself. I had no way to sense her true intentions, but I had no other hope but to let her in and trust her.

She could have taken over the body, as she had done with the alicorn. She could have used that broken chaos to build herself a new housing, and eked out some life where she might have earned my forgiveness. But she did not. I felt her magic work its way through Pitch. I felt her pick up the threads of memory and emotion and tie them back together. It was a slow process, and her being was fading even now. Without a body to retreat to, each piece she rebuilt pushed her that much farther out of the mental space she was occupying.

I reached out to help her. I followed what she did, and copied her steps. I found myself growing stronger each moment, more confident in my motions. Soon she was only guiding me. The structure grew, and then I was only helping it as it reformed. Pitch’s mind blinked back into existence, and the remaining fibers snapped into place. We had acted in time.

Ah, Worker, I... oh, it’s so horrible... I had hoped I was done with such tragedy in my life...

I breathed a sigh of relief. We were still in pain. Our sadness was immense. But we were stable. Pitch was back. Hairpins had survived. Midnight had not died in vain.

Thank you, mother, I thought.

No response came. I reached out as far as I could, but her mind was gone. I knew I should not have expected any differently. There was no space for her left. The alicorn had died the moment she had left it, and just as a body could not go help but wither without a mind, how could a mind persist without a body?

I opened my eyes to look up at the sky. It was night now, the first stars were starting to shine through the dark blue blanket above. At my feet the Crystal Heart was glowing gently. I felt a warm energy coming off of it.

It is an amplifier. It takes love and makes it stronger.

Love. Midnight’ last gift to me; to us. Genuine, and strong enough to kick-start the power of the Crystal Heart. I sighed, and found I had yet more tears to shed.

We wept for all we had lost until the stars faded into the dawn’s light.

* * * * *

It has been a long time since that night. I did not count the days, or the weeks, but the ice around us is gone now, and flowers bloom in grass that has overtaken the city streets.

We buried the bodies of Midnight, Chrysalis, and Rainbow Dash at the edge of the mountains, next to the resting place of my nameless sibling from so long ago. We dug them a grave as well. For markers, we used chunks of splintered crystal: blue sapphire, goldstone, opal, and Malachite. I had lain the statuettes with Rainbow Dash, and set her broken helmet on top of her marker. I found an old chisel the month before last, and have since been practicing making engravings. Once I feel confident enough I will engrave their names and their likenesses, so that everyone who finds them might know who they were. It is the least I can do for Midnight.

The enclave soldiers we buried nearby after stripping their armor. We used only black stone from the collapsed castle to mark them, and I have already given them their resting names: four Privates, and one Sergeant, all Enclave.

The corpses of the crystal ponies had ended up throughout the castle ruins. Those that had fallen straight into the crater below the tower had been the easiest to take care of: we simply burned them after sealing the hole above with a tarp. The rest we had mopped up from the stories above. It was sickening work, and I never quite grew numb to the sight of so much meat splattered onto rock. We only managed to finish cleaning in the past week, and in the end I simply scoured the rotting dregs from the rock with my laser; there was simply too little left to drag anywhere for burning.

The stench of rot and char will probably linger for months, if not years. I cleaned out what I could of the higher levels (or what remained of them). But it is impossible to assure we have removed every trace, and the tower’s collapse has sealed off certain sections that would have otherwise survived the collapse.

Pitch has spent as much of her time collecting as she has cleaning. The books that had survived so perfectly in the library are now at great risk. Whatever magic might have protected them is gone. We have decided the best place to store them is underground. Midnight's hunch had been right: the Empire had maintained stores of food and water. They were scattered throughout the city, under trap doors that lead to a large labyrinth of bunkers. The space meant for crystal ponies to take shelter in now housed their history, and the grains and preserves they had left could have fed a small town for centuries. They still might, if we are successful.

* * * * *

“Thanks for everything,” I said to Hairpins.

Pitch and I stood before her at the edge of the mountains, the graves of our comrades a few paces away. The entrance to the caves was just behind her. The day was bright and cloudless. Even the storm at the mountain’s peak seemed to be calm this morning.

“Ah, it’s nothin’. Ah’m jus’ glad ah’ve made up fer all th’ harm ah’ve caused ya’.” She smiled at me. I smiled back, drinking in her love. I had still yet to feel the claws of hunger return to my mind. Though we had endured deep loss, we had borne it together. Our friendship had only grown since that day, and I had never run short on energy. They both knew I drank from them, but their love was given, and so long as we remained friends it would be inexhaustible.

“Oh, do be safe,” Pitch said, stepping forward to give Hairpins a parting hug. “Are you absolutely sure I shouldn’t come with you? One pony alone is still dangerous.”

We had, during the past two weeks, slowly started to map out the caverns that had thus far trapped us here. I had wandered through that darkness, using the other’s minds as a beacon to find my way back, until I had finally found a connection to the path we had been on before the cavern collapsed around us. I had found another system of caves on the far side of the lake, and one off-shoot that slowly spiraled upwards. At its end I had found a cavern with our markings burned into the rock. Hairpins had seen the image in my mind, and was confident she could make the rest of the journey from there.

“Ah’ll be fine, ah swear. Even if they do recognize me, ah still got th’ best chance a’ gettin’ through to ‘em. They either gotta b’lieve ah somehow survived in th’ frozen wilderness fer months, or that ah really did find a connection. An’ ah guarantee ah’m a better shot than anypony they’ve got. ‘S not like they get any action up in these parts, hah!” She grinned at us, and with a final bow trotted off into the darkness.

She was not truly gone, and our mental link would last at least until she reached Snowbite, so this goodbye was more of formality. It would not be until she crossed the sea again that she would truly leave us.

“Well, back to work I guess,” Pitch said a moment later. I nodded. She rarely stopped moving these days. She did not need sleep or sustenance, but still her progress on moving the library underground had been slow. I spent my time dismantling the tower, stone by stone, rock by rock. I did not intend to bring down the remainder, but any loose material or completely ruined sections would, eventually, be cleared away. When I was done only the first three stories or so would still remain. My magic was strong, and on a good day I could cut out and carry away almost a room’s worth of material. I had nowhere to put it in particular, so I had simply started dumping it into the crater below the tower. The space was almost full now.

The goal of Hairpin’s journey—our goal—was to find more ponies willing to help rebuild. Her first stop was Snowbite. It was the most promising place to start looking, as they already knew about the Empire and would only need to be convinced that the way in had been found. If that proved successful, she would escort them back, then return to the town and wait for Pipsqueak’s ship. Then she would be on her own, gathering recruits who wanted a reprieve from the misery of the Wasteland. We had decided that traveling alone was our best chance of making restoration a success: Unity had no grudge against her, the Steel Rangers and the Enclave would not take special interest in her, and she had the most experience surviving alone. She knew how to make friends fast.

Meanwhile, we would work. The underground bunker could serve as lodging for hundreds of ponies, but the seeds we had found in storage would need to be planted soon and tended to. Additional infrastructure would also need to be built: wells, irrigation channels, bath houses, sewage systems, forges, tailors—all the basic necessities of comfort and protection. Pitch and I were already working on a plan; all we needed was more horsepower to get it done. We would also need to start mining the rubble and mountainside for usable ore—we were severely lacking in bullets and guns. The Enclave had not sent more soldiers to investigate since that last deadly patrol. I did not know why they would have ignored the disappearance of one of their squads, but I did not question our luck. I knew it would run out eventually.

I took in a deep breath, and let it out. Every time I thought about how much work was still to be done it felt overwhelming, but each time I reflected on how much we had accomplished so far I grew hopeful. It could be done. Given enough time and effort, we could carve out our own paradise here. And we could share it with any who were willing to help.

I turned to follow Pitch. My eye caught the glint of metal, far off to my left. I tilted my head, curious, and trotted over to investigate. I let out a short burst of laughter when I saw what it was: a rusted spritebot. It must have been buried under the snow until the recent melt. I picked it up in my magic and stowed it in my saddlebags. I could probably turn it into a heater, or maybe a radio if enough of it was intact.

I galloped back toward the center of the city, full of nervous energy. We had been planning for Hairpin’s departure for the past week, but it still felt somewhat surreal. I made a note to practice a teleportation spell. If I had enough energy, perhaps distance wouldn’t be an issue and I could join her in a bind...

I shook my head. One thing at a time. I reached the center of the city. Today I wanted to finish cleaning up a twisted section of the upper ruins. I believed it would be enough to finish filling in the crater. Tomorrow I would start building a tiller for the northern fields, which Pitch said would be the best place to start our farmland.

I flew up, passing the balcony where Cadance had stood for so long. Although her bedchamber had survived, the hallway which it connected to had collapsed completely, and I had not yet started to clear it. The Crystal Heart hovered on a pillar where the bed used to be, still glowing gently. I had no idea if it’s power had done anything to the greater Equestira. Had our efforts changed anything? Or was its power truly limited to the Empire alone? I thought briefly of trying to contact Spike, but I had no idea if I could. It would be a challenge enough to build a radio, even with Pitch’s help.

A pang of sadness passed through my chest. I still thought of Midnight at least once a day, and every time I glanced upon the Heart. Her friendship had meant the world to me. I would never stop regretting that I couldn’t save her. She would have been ecstatic to see what we were building.

I hovered at the top of the castle ruins, thinking of which section I would cut away at today. I gave a shout of surprise as a sharp buzzing sound emanated from my saddlebags. I frowned and pulled out the spritebot, levitating it before me. It buzzed again, and sparked to life.

A voice I had never heard before spoke:

“Friends, ponies, rejoice! Although the world about you is bleak, scarred and poisoned by the war of honorless, thoughtless, inferior ponies of the past, we do not have to live in the shadow of their greed and wickedness. Together, we can raise Equestria back to its former beauty! Together, we can build a new kingdom where all live together in perfect unity! It’s already happening, my good ponies. Already, the foundation for a new and wonderful age is being built. Yes, it’s hard work, but don’t we owe it to ourselves, and to future generations of ponies, to be better? No, to be the best we can possibly be? I’m telling you now, as your friend, as your leader, that we can. We must. And we WILL!”

The spritebot gave one final wheeze and sputtered out, a puff of smoke rising from its belly. I shook my head, sighing. Another empire-builder. Another would-be king. I did not know who it was, or who they claimed to lead, but I decided not to worry about it. If they reached me, I would deal with them. Until then I would focus on building a home for Pitch, Hairpins, and I; and all who would join us.

I would not rebuild the castle, nor erect walls, nor carve new mazes. I did not wish to build another Empire. I would build my hive of friendship, one pony at a time. I would build a family. I would love and be loved, and wait for the Wasteland to join me. I stowed the dead spritebot and set to work.

For though war never changes, it is we who change, and we may always change for the better.

Footnote: Level up! (Max Level)
Telekinesis (Level 2) - You’re getting better. Slowly. You can now lift Medium objects with your magic. +1 to Big Guns.
Quest Perk: Busy as a Bee - You’ve taken on more jobs than most ponies can bear, but you’re up to the task. +5 to Repair skill.
Global Perk: The Crystal Heart - Denizens of Equestria with positive karma receive a +1 on all Luck rolls.