An alarm clock stood on a nearby stand next to her bed. The screen flickered to 7 AM and Sunny popped out of her covers before the clock even sounded the alarm. Her fuchsia mane poofed around her head, but she didn't care. She quickly yawned before trotting over to her vanity desk. It was made by Izzy after the original one broke during Sprout's attack. She grabbed some teal hair bands from an orange drawer and snapped it around her newly combed hair. She smiled at her braided mane before walking to the door.
Sunny charged outside and slammed the door behind her. Right before she put on her favourite roller skates, she opened the door again and righted a picture frame that hung beside the door that tilted when the door slammed. She smiled again and quickly put on her roller skates. She yelled goodbye to her dad and skated away.
Sunny breezed past streets, bridges, and ponies before making a stop at her smoothie truck. Her boss pointed at a cart which she grabbed and hooked it up to herself. The orange mare smiled before skating around and delivering her refreshing drinks. She and her friends saved Equestria from the depletion of magic and united the three pony tribes and their efforts were rewarded with the various banners of harmony that was located around Maretime Bay.
Sunny skated past a pegasus flirting with an earth pony, a unicorn filly playing with a pegasus colt, and a unicorn mare playing with an earth pony colt. Sunny smiled at the sight of friendship and how nopony fought with each other anymore. She smiled as the couple called for some drinks, she delivered the smoothies with a flourish and the pegauss gave her some bits.
***
Sunny found Hitch Trailblazer in his office. He was directing some lost unicorn tourists to the recently built inn.
"Yes, Stony Jade. Canterlogic is down this street...yes, this street. Your welcome, Stony."
"Hitch!"
"Oh, hi Sunny. What brings you here? Can't you see I'm busy with tourists?" Hitch looked annoyed as he faced Sunny.
"Haven't you heard? Queen Haven is coming here in a few hours!" She ignored his tone because she knew it wasn't really directed at her.
"QUEEN HAVEN!? Why wasn't I told of this! I need to get the town prepared...I need to..."
"HITCH! Relax, I told you now. You have about 4 hours to get prepared...ooooor, now I guess."
The duo looked upwards to see three pegasi floating downwards to them. The lead pegasus was Queen Haven, followed by Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals behind them looking at her phone.
"Hey Sheriff, missed me?" Zipp looked at Hitch with a cocky grin.
"Sunny!" Pipp smiled at the orange mare, briefly glancing away from her phone.
Both earth ponies smiled at their friends, with various levels of embarrassment. When they landed, the four caught each other up on the latest news from Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay.
"So, why are you here? It can't be a friendly visit, otherwise why would the Queen be here?" Sunny asked.
"Maybe we should wait for Izzy. You know, do it together and..." Zipp said thoughtfully.
"I'm already here!" Izzy Moonbow bounced out of nowhere and landed in front of them with a flick of her purple tail. It took a while for everypony to calm down from their near heart attacks.
"So, now that we're all here, what do you want of us, Your Highness?" Sunny bowed her head slightly.
"Ah yes, Sunny, I have a letter addressed to you from a Pinkie Pie. I don't know anypony with that name, perhaps you know of her?" Queen Havan took no notice of Sunny's surprised expression.
"P-Pinkie Pie? I-I don't mean to be rude, but are you absolutely sure? Like positively sure?" Sunny took a step forward to the pegasus regent.
"Mmm, quite sure. Here you go," the white mare pulled out an envelope from her left wing and hoofed it over, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business elsewhere!"
***
The five friends stood around a table in Sunny's lighthouse. All 10 eyes stared at the envelope on the table wondering who's going to make the first move.
"Well, are you going to open it or should I?" Zipp shot a questioning glance to the orange earth pony, breaking the silence.
"N-no, I'll open it," Sunny slowly took the envelope and opened it.
"What so special about Pinkie Pie anyways? You looked like you saw a ghost when you heard that name? Ooooh, maybe she is a ghost!" Izzy said with a smile, "Having a ghost pen-pal would be so fun!"
"Pinkie Pie was one of Twilight's friends, the ponies saved the world many times. A pony from before magic was lost, but how can the letter be addressed to me?" Sunny just received non-committal noises and shrugs from her friends. She took a deep breath before finally opening the letter and gasped.
She read out loud: To Sunny Starscout! I hope we could've met, you seem such like a nice mare! Please tell Hitch that your birthday is coming up and that you like strawberry ice cream. Now you don't have much time left, but you should head out to the hut in Bridlewood. Izzy knows about it. Pinkie Pie P.S. Tell Zipp to step to the left.
Sunny looked confused and awed at the same time, reading and rereading the letter to see if this was a prank. Then she looked up to Zipp and saw that she did in fact step to the left when suddenly a hoofball came flying in from an opened window hitting exactly where the pegasus just stood.
All five slowly turned to the letter with mouths hanging.
***
"Why are we going this way again?" Hitch asked with a slight tremor in his voice.
"Aw, is the Sheriff scared?" Zipp looked just as uneasy, but kept her head high.
They were following the bouncy unicorn through a creepy section of the forest. Izzy said that this place was off limits because it was haunted by a cursed parasprite, doomed to roam the trees forever! In the heart of the forest, lies a cabin as old as time, with roses lining the sidewalk that can come to life at any moment!
"Are we there yet? I can't get any bars in here!" Pipp held out her phone in various angles, oblivious to the creepy shadows.
Izzy just grinned, "Just a hop, a skip, and a jump," She demonstrated to the others what she meant. When she landed her jump, her grin went even wider when she saw the shack standing in the middle of a clearing surrounded by roses.
"Sunny? Please don't tell me we're going in?" Hitch looked at her with pleading eyes.
"We've got this far already, we can't give up now!" Pipp was now invested with what was happening and decided to butt in.
"Here goes nothing," Sunny took another breath before trotting up to the door and knocking three times. She quickly took a couple steps back just in case. Beside her was a curious looking Izzy, a supportive Pipp, and a Hitch who hid behind Zipp while she poofed out her wings, trying to look as big as possible.
The door opened up to reveal a small grey unicorn with a blond mane. She had a strange thing attached to her left forehoof that glowed a bright green. She glanced up at the five in surprise before lowering her head, "Well, fuck."
Sunny Starscout stood in silent shock to seeing a small unicorn instead of a cursed parasprite despite them not knowing what a parasprite is.
"Blackjack! Ponies found us again!" The small mare called behind her. She was answered by grumbling and a bunch of rustling. Sunny could see in the dim light another unicorn holding a bottle of something in a telekinetic grip.
"Aw shit, not again. If you could turn and face me, this will be all over quickly. Just let me finish my whiskey..." The strange mare took a large sip of the bottle before sauntering over to us, "What do we have here...two pegasi, two earth ponies, and a unicorn...that's a first...WAIT!"
Her sudden outburst jump scared everypony, including herself it seems as her telekinetic grip faltered, letting her bottle fall to the ground.
"Ah fuck...Littlepip! Don't you see! Ponies from all three tribes back together again! Our plan must've worked then!" The white mare started grinning wildly while shaking the other mare back and forth, much to her annoyance.
"LEMME GO!" A magical green hue enveloped the other unicorn and she got launched to the other side of the room. She sighed before turning to us with curious look, "They do seem to be friends, maybe our plan did work after all..."
"What plan!?" Izzy bounced forward, her excitement at an all time high seeing two unicorns who know who to use magic.
"To save Equestria from total annihilation for the third time...maybe the fourth time, I can't keep track," The white unicorn muttered as she picked herself out of the boxes she landed in.
"Blackjack! These ponies don't need to know!"
"Know what? That I can't keep track of how many we do together?" Blackjack said almost too innocently which triggered a furious blush with the smaller mare, much to the confusion of Sunny and her friends.
"Save Equestria? What do you mean?" Sunny whispered curiously as she leaned in closer.
"Filly, you don't need to know about our troubles, especially private ones!" the grey unicorn glared at the other unicorn, who just grinned and drank more of her drink.
"I'm not a filly! I'm 21!" Sunny looked annoyed with a little blush in her cheeks.
"Yeah, sure. I'm 1024, I think. It's hard keeping track over the years," The mare answered tersely and then chugged the rest of her drink, "Anyways, why can't these foals know? Equestria has their magic again and friendship is starting all over again! We can finally rest for a bit...do we have any more Wild Pegasus?"
The smaller mare sighed and motioned behind her before replying, "Blackjack, yes, maybe magic has returned and friendship has been restored, but for how long?"
"Relax Pippy, last time it took 300 years before wars started breaking out again. It's our time to rest!"
"I'm sorry, what?" Pipp looked at the red and black maned pony with a curious look.
"Huh? I wasn't talking to you," The white mare rummaged through a bunch of boxes before pulling out another bottle of Wild Pegasus. She took a deep sip before sighing contentedly.
"But you said Pipp, that's my name," The princess sounded very confused.
"Naw, was talking about Littlepip here!" She waved her bottle at the other mare.
"Speaking of names, who are you?" Hitch finally came out of Zipp's shadow and confronted the two strange unicorns.
"Look at that, the Sheriff has come out of hiding!" Zipp nudged the stallion, making him chuckle uneasily.
The grey mare sighed before replying, "I'm Littlepip and that drunkard is Blackjack. Now excuse my bluntness, but who the fuck are you?"
"What is that strange word? Fuck?" Izzy scrunched up her face, thinking very hard.
"We memory wiped cuss words from everypony's minds, what 200 years ago?" Blackjack said while glancing questioningly to Littlepip.
"More like 300 years ago...mmm, maybe it was 200 years ago. Argh, does it matter?"
"Yes."
"Wait wait wait, you guys keep on talking about hundreds of years like you've actually been alive for that long. How is that possible?" Zipp asked with a strange glint in her eyes.
"Filly, it is very much possible," Blackjack didn't say anything else and drank more of her Wild Pegasus.
"But how?"
"Don't ask, I once knew a pony who couldn't die at all! Oh, and a pony who became a tank after I killed him, he happened to be the father of the pony who couldn't die. The mother of the deathless pony used to be a soldier, 200 years before she became an adult and that's not even the weirdest thing."
"You have to tell me everything!" Zipp's eyes glowed and her mouth was curled upwards.
"Wow, I've never seen my sister smile that much, but how can we trust you? How do we know that you aren't lying about living for hundreds of years?" Pipp asked with suspicion.
"FUCK! They don't have a sparkle!" Izzy gasped, interrupting the purple princess.
"Please don't say that Izzy, it sounds so wrong...wait, what do you mean they don't have a sparkle?" Sunny asked with a confused expression.
"Everypony has a sparkle, Zipp's is really bright right now, Hiitch's is dull, Pipp's looks normal, yours is fine as well...but those two don't have any."
"But how is that even possible?" Hitch missed or ignored his dull sparkle comment and leaned in so he could hear better.
"I'm not sure..." Izzy patted her chin with a hoof as she tried to think on how this was possible.
"What is this 'sparkle?'" Blackjack said as she leaned in with a strange grin.
"I think she means our aura, maybe our spirit. Something that makes us, us," Littlepip reasoned with a nod.
"HA! That's funny, please go on!" The white unicorn chuckled before chugging more Wild Pegasus.
"Umm, that wasn't a joke. That is what a sparkle is! Who are you and why don't you have a sparkle?" Izzy asked seriously and stared at the duo with an expression Sunny has never seen before.
"Oh filly, haven't we told you? We are immortal. Our original bodies are gone, our minds have been transferred to these blank copies of our bodies," Blackjack mused.
"Either that or it's probably because we've seen and done too much," Littlepip offered her own suggestion.
"What have you done that was so bad that your sparkle disappears? Surely it couldn't have been that bad?" Sunny asked not comprehending the horrors of Equestria's past.
"Oh ho filly, the simplest story would give you nightmares for weeks and the harshest? Years on ends, maybe even millennia. I should know, I've lived them," Blackjack murmured with a tired sigh.
"We can handle it, come on, tell us something!" Zipp said fearlessly, eager to hear about how the three tribes separated.
"Filly, I'm not messing with you, I still get nightmares from the deeds I did 1000 years ago. Once you dive in, there is no going back."
"Actually..."
"Shush Pip, I'm trying to dissuade them," Blackjack stared back at them with serious eyes.
"If we are together, we can do anything!" Sunny chanted with a smile.
"Faith in Twilight Sparkle I see. Come on over, instead of telling the story, I'm going to show you some." Littlepip said grimly sending shivers down the friend's spines.
"What do you mean show us?" Zipp asked with her head tilted to one side.
"OOH, are you going to reenact it?" Izzy asked with a smile. "I love reenactments!"
"Filly, if we were to reenact what we are about to show you, Bridlewood would burn down. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it would at least destroy this house. Oh no, we are going to do something much more safer but a whole lot more traumatizing," Blackjack answered seriously. She and Littlepip trotted over to a bookshelf with only two books and a few plastic box thingies on the shelves, "Follow us and don't touch anything."
The five nodded and watch as the smaller of the unicorns flared her horn. A magical green aura surrounded the bookshelf and the whole thing shifted. Littlepip only stopped when the bookshelf was considerably farther from where it was previously. Curious, the friends gathered around the small mare and saw a tunnel leading downwards.
"Is this safe?" Hitch asked, his left ear twitching nervously.
"Aw, come on Sheriff, it's not even that dark!" Zipp nudged him closer to the tunnel much to his annoyance and Blackjack's amusement.
"Sheriff...I used to have a name like that. Security I was called, yeah, those were the good ol' days..." Blackjack's face went slack as she reminisced about the past, "Hey Littlepip, what were you called back then?"
The unicorn looked up and got misty eyed, "I was the Stable Dweller. Those days were simpler, weren't they? What I wouldn't give to live those times again," She sighed deeply and swiped away a tear before anypony could notice.
"Do you mean nicknames?" Sunny asked the unicorns, waiting her turn to go into the tunnel.
"I suppose it was a nickname...more like our superhero name. We were feared back then, ponies beheld our names in awe, and the smart ponies didn't mess with us," Blackjack took a swig from her Wild Pegasus before answering.
"Too bad there were very few smart ponies," Littlepip chuckled.
"Sunny, are you coming?" Pipp's voice rang out from the tunnel causing the orange mare to stumble forwards. Blackjack came up behind her with Littlepip in the back.
The seven ponies trotted through the tunnel before Izzy, the pony at the front, saw light. She grinned and took off at a canter without telling anypony. Before long, she gasped out loud, making Sunny jealous that Izzy saw it first. She slowly pushed through her friends and saw what all the fuss was about. When she pulled through Zipp and Hitch, her gasp echoed throughout the cavern.
The five friends gazed at the strange looking devices scattered around the cave. The cave in itself was interesting as it beheld a large red stalactite hanging from the ceiling , the walls were multicoloured, ranging from grey to blue, and the far wall had drawings that Sunny couldn't make out.
"What is this place? It's awesome!" Zipp walked around in a trance, looking at everything.
"Stable 101, or what's left of it," Blackjack pointed at a large metal cog that was embedded in the wall. In the middle were the numbers, 101, in a large yellow font.
"What's a Stable?" Izzy asked while bouncing around.
"A Stable is a bunker that were built to withstand destructive megaspells that shredded old Equestria. I came from Stable 99 and Pippy came from Stable 2. We both knew a pony who came from this Stable, Red Eye. That cunt enslaved everypony in Filly. Most Stables though were death traps."
"I've been thinking, how the buck did you find us? Every once in a while, a lost pony wanders up to our door asking directions, but you didn't seem lost at all. Who are you?" Littlepip interrupted whatever Zipp was about to say and stared at them intensely, her horn glowing green. Sunny glanced around trying to see what the small unicorn was trying to grab but saw nothing.
"Sorry madam, my name is Hitch Trailblazer, those pegasi are called Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals respectively. The other earth pony is Sunny Starscout, and the unicorn is Izzy Moonbow. We hope we didn't cause too much trouble, and as for why we're here is beca...."
Sunny interrupted, "Because we were sent by Pinkie Pie. Here's the letter if you need proof. If you don't know who Pinkie Pie was, she was a..."
"Filly, we know who Pinkie Pie was. We probably know more about her then you do. In fact, most of what you were told about Pinkie was most likely a lie told by us," Blackjack butted in with a sigh. She tried to take another swig of her drink, but then grunted when she found nothing was left.
"What do you mean a lie? My father spent his whole life researching Twilight and her friends! He knew everything there was to know about them!" Sunny shouted at the white unicorn.
"Sunny, we did it for the good of Equestria. If you knew what we know, then you would've gone mad or at the very least suicidal. Believe me, Blackjack and I have been there. More times then we care to admit," Littlepip said soothingly.
"Hmph, I don't believe you. I don't believe any of this, you being more then 1000 years old? Impossible! Bunkers built all around Equestria to prevent a megaspell holocaust? I don't even know what that means! Ponies who can't die? How does anypony live with that?" Sunny looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown.
"Filly, nopony lived like that. After a while, you realize that life has no meaning, so then you start looking for a way to end it all," Blackjack said very seriously. The first time Sunny heard her say something serious in fact.
"Sunny, what you need to understand is that old Equestria was not what you think it was. It was a time of war, death, deception, and madness. It's not too late to turn back," Littlepip's voice also took a serious tone.
"M-maybe we should head back?" The orange mare turned back to her friends, her desire to leave was as plain as a bright sunny day.
"Oh come on Sunny, I thought you wanted to know what the past held. If your dad was wrong, wouldn't it be great to finally know the truth?" Pipp said encouragingly. "Hoof to Heart. We're doing this together, anything they throw at us, we can endure it, right guys?"
Hitch nodded immediately echoed by Izzy and finally Zipp saying 'Hoof to Heart.'
"Bucking optimists," Blackjack muttered sadly, only soft enough for Littlepip to hear, "Okay, head inside the Stable and we'll show you the Wasteland!"
"So why are we in the Stable?" Zipp said in awe, looking at the old walls and inspecting each door to see if it could be opened or not. She did find one but before she could look inside, Littlepip shut the door with her magic saying that was private stuff.
"We are going to show you a little bit of the Wasteland...well, more like after the Wasteland? Umm..." Littlepip stammered, trying to think, then she muttered under her breath, "I do miss those Mint-als."
"What Pippy is trying to say is that we are going to show you five what Equestria used to look like a few hundred years ago, but you're not mentally capable to witness the horror of actual Wasteland...or something like that. Littlepip had me memorize this script, dunno." Blackjack's horn glowed white again, from the room that Littlepip said was private, a bottle of Wild Pegasus floated out. "Right, this way fillies and colt!"
"We are not fillies!" Pipp stomped her hood in frustration with Hitch chiming in agreement.
"Pippy 2, you are 1000 years younger then me. I have seen nations rise and fall, I even made some of them rise and fall. I can call you however and you can't do anything about it!" Blackjack said with a grin, sloshing around her bottle before taking a huge sip.
"And don't call me Pippy 2!" Pipp pouted with shimmering eyes.
"Uh oh, maybe we should fall back a bit?" Zipp whispered to Sunny and Izzy, "The Sheriff can handle himself."
"Well Littlepip was here first, so she's Pippy 1. It's simple really." Blackjack said quite pleasantly, much to Littlepip's embarrassment. No pony saw the trio trotting ever so slower to escape whatever Pipp might unleash.
"Everypony, stop! Blackjack, please stop. We're just around the corner, no need to fight before anything's actually shown!" The small mare barged in between the pegasus and unicorn, much to Hitch's relief as he was right behind them.
The six of them followed Littlepip as she opened a door. Inside there were six pods surrounding a strange looking pedestal. The mare urged everypony to sit inside a pod each and assured that everything is fine. Then she frowned and said try to refrain from throwing up all over. That received many strange looks which Littlepip ignored. After the five ponies got into their pods, the grey mare started counting down.
"Wait! I want in!" Blackjack's magic wrapped around Littlepip's hoof preventing her to hit the button. She held the annoyed mare's hoof while she crawled awkwardly inside the last pod.
ooo000OOO000ooo
What is happening? Sunny thought as she stared out at a green hill. Then she yelped as she started moving without thinking. Then she yelped again as she realized that she wasn't actually yelping.
Welcome fillies and colt to the our memories! Everything you hear and see is from the past. Blackjack's voice rang in her head causing Sunny to flinch...well, she tried to flinch as her body wasn't responding.
What do you mean memories? Zipp's voice rang out as well.
I mean our memories. How much more do I have to say? And I thought I was the not smart one...
"Blackjack, why are we here again?" Sunny yelped for the third time as she felt her mouth move but with a different voice. Then her head turned to the right to see Blackjack trotting beside her with strange clothing and a weird looking small metal object.
What are those? Hitch's voice sounded curious.
That is my trusty revolver; Duty! Her sister should be somewhere in my bag.. Blackjack explained with her disembodied voice.
What's a revolver? Izzy asked. And what's her sister's name?
Are all young'uns so curious? Her name is Sacrifice, a revolver is a gun, and now be queit! The white unicorn's voice took a deeper tone, silencing them.
"We're here to help the Enlightened! They promised us great rewards for helping them, and I saw a crate of Wild Pegasus!" Blackjack said with a grin.
"But who are the Enlightened? We've heard nothing of who they are or what their intentions are, how do you know we can trust them?" Sunny's mouth moved. After more thinking, she decided that she was in the body of Littlepip and is sharing what she experienced way back then. After that thought, she got a splitting headache. How is this possible!?
I said shush!
"Eh, we'll give them a chance. If they have bad intensomethingsomething, then we shoot them. We've survived worse." Blackjack reasoned.
"Hmph, softest heart in the wasteland!"
"Hey, only Rampage can say that!" The white unicorn sighed, pulled out a bottle and started drinking.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"It's alright, now let's go find some Enlightened!"
***
Woah, what happened? Pipp's voice rang out, sounding very confused. Other voice chorused after her, also very confused.
Littelpip is skipping some parts. Probably doesn't want us to see the embarrassing bits. ISN'T THAT RIGHT, PIPPY!? Blackjack chuckled.
The scenery changed to a mountain top that looked a little familiar.
Hey, isn't that Zephyr Heights? Zipp asked with surprise.
But it can't be Zephyr Heights silly. Zephyr Heights is a castle with pegasi flying around and TV's all around. Izzy teased.
I suppose this is where Zephyr Heights is going to be. This used to be Canterlot, you know. In this memory however, this mountain was called Point Pleasant. Blackjack explained.
Canterlot? Wasn't this the place where Princess Twilight lived? Sunny asked, hoping to receive some confirmation that her father was right.
Nope, now be quiet and watch!
Littlepip and Blackjack were walking towards a group of strange looking ponies while they were talking mentally. The ponies had red robes and torches floating around in magical grips.
"Enlightened! We meet again!" Past Blackjack trotted up to them with a wide grin and her revolver stowed away.
"Blackjack, we are glad you have arrived. The Equinox is upon us, we need to light the pyres and protect them at all costs!" A grey unicorn stepped forward. His blue eyes sparkled with knowledge and his beard showed his age.
So what's happening? Pipp asked, sounding a little bored.
This is where we got prepared for the upcoming fight. Blackjack's voice changed. It sounded more...happy. Sunny didn't know what to think about that.
When you mean fight, you mean with hooves and maybe sticks, right? Hitch asked with hope in his voice.
Oh, you silly colt. Back then we used blood, sweat, and steel! Blackjack was definitely a lot more happier. Maybe the whiskey was getting to her?
"Blackjack, are you sure we should do this? I mean these ponies are completely unknown to us and are worshipping a strange race called Changelings. I don't know what Changelings are! Do you!?" Past Littlepip confronted Past Blackjack while she was preparing her gear.
"Aw, come on Pippy! We haven't had anything to do in years! All we got to do is protect the pyres, easy enough. This is nothing compared to what we've done in the past. Battle for Hoofington? The Day of Sunshine and Rainbows? This will be a cakewalk!" Blackjack grinned as she tightened a strap on her barding.
"We had friends back then! Allies! For this, the Enlightened won't even lift a single hoof to help and don't you dare bring up that day!"
"Why not? It's been 700 years, the pain must've lessened a while ago."
"No. It hasn't."
"Yeah. It hasn't," Blackjack and Littlepip held each other for a little bit, a few tears shed for the friends they've lost, before getting back up and ignoring what just happened.
"Alright, five pyres. One in church and the other four are scattered in a circle around the church. How should we do this?" Littlepip muttered, trying to think strategy.
"Shoot whoever shoots us, simple," Blackjack finished with barding and with her magic, took out a bottle of Wild Pegasus and Duty.
"Fair maidens, the night is upon us!" The bearded pony shouted to the duo before galloping to the castle with a few more Enlightened after him.
Ugh, Observer Faithful. Hated that pony. Blackjack muttered, her happiness toned down a notch for which Sunny was grateful for.
Just because he called you a maiden? That doesn't make much sense. Izzy said with confusion.
A pony called me a maiden once. My friends killed him, after he almost destroyed the whole planet using a rocket called Tom. Long story. Remind me to not tell you it.
While they were muttering telepathically, Blackjack and Littlepip appeared to agreed to something as the former trotted off with her bottle. The latter stood in front of a pyre with her head held up high as she gazed around her. The six watchers could see the darkness of night obscuring the scenery. Wrecked buildings were harder to see, trees and bushes became a darker shade, and stars were glinting up in the sky.
Then they heard it. An unearthy roar. Everypony's blood froze.
"Star-spawn..." Littlepip whispered with fear. She glanced at her pyre and then the direction that Blackjack headed off to, before making the decision and galloped off. The Enlightened who was watching the pyre didn't even react to the roar nor to Littlepip leaving.
Loud thumping shook the earth as the Star-spawn came closer and closer while Littlepip searched for Blackjack in vain.
Where are you during all this? Sunny asked. And what's a Star-spawn?
I think I was drunk, can't remember much of this, that's why I wanted to go in with you guys. As for the Star-spawn, that's an Ursa Minor. A giant constellation bear. I've never met one, but Pippy has.
The latest roar sounded a whole lot closer. Littlepip glanced upwards and gasped. Sunny would've tilted her head in confusion if she could but she couldn't as she was in Littlepip's body. Why did she gasp? There is nothing there...the stars moved. THE STARS MOVED!
"Oh, fuck me twice with Luna's sword! BLAAACKJAAACK! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!"
"Fuck you cunt, I was trying to flirt with this pony here!" Littlepip whipper her head to Blackjack who was looking at the Star-spawn. She groaned inwardly when she realized that the white unicorn was drunk and lying on an Enlightened who looked very uncomfortable.
The six watched, in horror and glee, through Littlepip's eyes as Blackjack launched herself towards the beast. The bear was momentarily stunned, then growled and tried to step on the unicorn. Pipp shrieked mentally into their minds as they saw the giant invisible paw cracked the ground. Then a glow on top of the Star-spawn captured Littlepip's attention. Blackjack teleported onto it's back. Even from this far away, they could hear Blackjack laughing. The unicorn found her footing and started galloping upwards towards the head.
The Star-spawn however was having other plans. Before Blackjack could reach the top, the beast shook violently causing Blackjack to tumble off. She flew past Littlepip with curses flowing from her mouth before crashing through a wall. After checking Blackjack was ok, Littlepip glared upwards and took something out of her saddlebags. He green glow levitated out a very large tube looking thing.
Ah, that's why I can't remember. Oh by the way, thats a rocket launcher. Blackjack didn't explain any further and shushed Zipp who tried to ask.
Littlepip aimed with the rocket launcher before triggering it. It arced upwards and hit the Star-spawn with a blast so bright that the bear was visible for just a second before flickering away. Littlepip cussed again and reloaded the launcher. The Star-spawn roared and stepped on a building, crushing it to rubble. The grey mare grabbed the debris that was headed towards her with her magic. Izzy gasped at the telekinetic mastery.
Littlepip threw the rocks at the bear, distracting it for a bit, and aimed properly before firing. The flew straight and true, hitting the beast in the eye. At least that's what Sunny thought. A small hissing filled the air, then a large explosion. After the clouds dispersed, the mental link was filled with screaming.
The five friends scrambled out of their sleep pods and promptly threw up all over the place. Pipp was crying, Izzy was shaking, Zipp and Hitch were holding each other, and Sunny was catatonic.
"Well that could've gone better," Blackjack muttered as she trotted over to a confused Littlepip.
"Why are they acting like this! This was probably one of my kindest memories, maybe I should've shown them that time we went to the moon. I suppose that was passive," Littlepip thought out loud.
***
"So, you feeling much better now?" Littlepip dragged everypony, including Blackjack, to their lounge area and set them on various seating places which consisted of two couches, a beanbag, a comfy chair, and three large pillows.
She got shaky nods and tearful eyes, except Sunny who was still catatonic.
"Should we worry about that orange mare? Sunny was it?" Blackjack waved a hoof in front of her face getting no response. She snorted, pulled back her hoof and plopped down on the chair.
"This was nothing! How are you so devastated? You said you could handle it, ponies of their word, I see," the smaller unicorn muttered.
"Hey you! What we just saw is not natural! It's one thing to talk about death, it's a whole new level to actually see it! WE WERE IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOU! WE FELT YOU SHOOT WHATEVER A STAR-SPAWN IS!" with each sentence, Zipp seemed to hyperventilate more. By the end, she was struggling to stand from the lack of oxygen.
"Pippy, you know how much I like a good fight, but maybe this was too violent? Maybe something...less bloody? Maybe something when you were watching a battle instead of participating?" Blackjack cringed as if the thought of not fighting hurt her.
"If you say so...what about the battle for Stable Hill? We didn't do much but watch," both Littlepip and Blackjack thought about what the small unicorn just said.
"Maybe, you did shoot that one stallion."
"Hey! He was going to hurt that innocent mare!" Littlepip glared at the other unicorn.
"Excuse me? C-can we not g-go into that thing again? L-like ever?" Pipp stuttered, still shaking. Izzy and Hitch huddled with the pegasus while Zipp trotted around muttering angrily. Sunny hasn't moved an inch after she got out, it was beginning to worry the others.
"But it's the best way to show you the wastes and the horrors we had to endure," Littlepip tilted her head, confused to why the five friends weren't appreciating history.
"W-who said we ever wanted to know about this!" Hitch shakily got to his hooves and yelled at the unicorn duo.
"Your friend Sunny said she wanted to kn..."
"Not about war or death! Just facts!" Hitch's voice was getting higher with every word.
"Fuck your ideas Pippy, 'go to Filly' you said, 'grab Aurora's projection orbs, modify them so we can transfer our own memories.' Great plan, really," Blackjack snorted before taking another swig.
"Well how else were we supposed to show the newer generation about the Equestrian Wasteland, Hoofington, and all those other places! The Homelands? Caledonia? How Blackjack, how?" Littlepip moved closer and closer to the white unicorn.
"Why do ponies always ask me that question? I'm not a smart pony!" to prove her point, Blackjack downed the whole bottle before levitating it onto her horn and grinned.
"C-Caledonia?" a soft voice startled everypony in the room and glanced around to find the speaker. Sunny has came out of her trance and was staring intently at Littlepip. After the initial shock, her friends rushed over and asked multitudes of questions which the poor mare struggled to answer. After a while, the others backed off after seeing the overwhelmed expression on her face. She took some time to regain a few breaths before trotting closer to the duo with questions in her eyes, but also a healthy amount of fear and awe.
"Ah, the sleeper awakens, what do you want to know filly?" Blackjack's voice took a strange accent and did a mock bow, the bottle still over her horn.
"Look out Sunny, bottles don't block magic! Tennis balls do though, does anypony have one?" Izzy whispered to her friends.
"There should be a tennis ball in the back," Littlepip gestured behind her. Izzy thanked her before galloping off.
"What are all those places you mentioned? Caledonia, Hoofington, and the rest?" Sunny plonked herself down on a pillow and got out her journal and prepared to take notes.
"Wouldn't you just want to see them instead? It's a whole lot ea..." Littlepip tried to say before she got interrupted.
"If you put any of us in that weird machine, I will have you arrested!" Hitch took a step forwards with a determined look in his brown eyes. Those eyes widened when he saw Blackjack rolling around, tears streaming down her face as she laughed hysterically, "umm...is she okay?"
"Nope, never was, never will be," Littlepip's magic floated the still giggling unicorn to a couch before turning to the orange earth pony, "there are many places in post-war Equestria, you got to be more specific."
"Were there any countries?" Sunny asked, her hoof gripping a pen.
"Caledonia was a country. The Homelands was a country I think. I'm not entirely sure, our zebra expert is passed out," and true to her words, Blackjack was indeed asleep with a silly smile, "Equestria obviously is still a country. Hoofington was more a state then a country...I haven't been there in years, maybe we should see what has changed..." Littlepip mused.
"Mortal enemy? What do you mean by that?" Zipp trotted up to them, her anger died down a bit.
"Equestria needed resources at the time and the Homelands had them, mistakes were made and all out war broke out. All lands were covered in blood within months, and soon that blood would be covered with megaspell balefire and radioactive snow. Families were driven apart, friends losing friends, treacheries and betrayals. Cloak and dagger became the only way to actually get things done, ponies and zebras alike, thought. Even the bloodthirsty became tired of the endless slaughter that beheld their lands. Then the world ended when the megaspells were fired. One by one, cities were annihilated. Entire populations gone in a blink. Those who survived, were never the same again."
Izzy came back from her tennis ball excursion, and took everything in. After a moment of indecision, she trotted over to where her friends were sitting and looked at Littlepip.
"What happened after the megaspells hit?" Pipp asked, seeming a while lot calmer then before.
"Radiation seeped into the land, tainting everything . Equestria was a harsh unforgiving place. Ponies, no matter how kind or cruel, turned into something they didn't want. Some turned into Ghouls from too much radiation, some were swallowed by the Goddess and got turned into Alicorns, some went completely mad and turned into Raiders. And that very small percent, those ponies were either enslaved, killed, or went to go make settlements. Very few settlements existed back then, and it took everything ponies had to keep their homes safe from the cruel outside."
"What were their names? The settlements I mean," Sunny wrote down a bunch of stuff in her journal before asking.
"New Appleloosa was my first friendly town, even if Calamity shot me," Littlepip chuckled then choked, she felt a stray tear slowly trace down her cheek. She sniffed, wiped away the tear and continued, "There was Tenpony Tower in Manehatten, friendly place. Friendship City, fucking Enclave had to ruin everything. Arbu, a town filled with cannibals. Ponyville was totally wiped out by raiders from what I've heard. Fillydelphia, the home of a million slavers and slaves. Bucklyn Cross, filled with Steel Rangers. Glyphmark, filled with Zebras, great place. Stable City, filled with Ghouls."
"Wow, that's a lot. What are Enclave or Steel Rangers?" Hitch tentatively asked.
"The Pegasus Enclave and Steel Rangers. Fucking cunts, all of them!" Littlepip snorted angrily.
"No need to get angry!" Hitch backed off, looking a bit pale.
"Sorry, I just hate them for being so selfish. Umm, where was I?"
"You were telling us about the settlements!" Izzy smiled helpfully.
"Ah yes. In the Hoofington section of Equestria, there were a lot. Chapel, Riverside, Megamart, the various Envlave stations, Reaper stadium, Meatlocker, and Flank. There are probably a few more, but I don't know much about Hoofington the Blackjack is. She was born there and suffered through it too. The worst place in all of Equus, Hoofington is."
"Hoofington sounds very big and scary," Pipp whimpered, causing Zipp to put a wing over her huddled body.
"I suppose, there is Caledonia with their few settlements. Dise, probably the largest city the wasteland had to offer. Marefort, Flankyard, Eye Glow, Karkhoof, Parasite Mound, Roam, and Bridle Hope. Again, I don't know much about the Caledonian Wastes as I've never been there. I just know what Spike told me."
"Who's Spike and how does he know so much?" Zipp asked.
"Ah, that is a secret. Any other questions before you make your journey home?"
"What I still don't get is why you wiped everypony's minds," Sunny asked, her eyes lost a bit of innocence.