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It also occurred to me that I was spending a fair amount of my time in the waists either injured or unconscious, I seriously hoped it was wasn’t going to be any more common than it already was but I doubted I would have any more luck than I did at not getting shot at.\nPulling myself back to the situation at hoof I tried, unsuccessfully, to move my hooves or even open my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long I had been laying on the ground but I knew I couldn’t stay there as pleasant an idea as that was at the moment. Failing to move a second time I decided I would have to use magic to move myself, reaching inside I tried pulling energy to my horn and instantly regretted it. The moment I connected to my magic well it felt like my head was trying to rip itself off.\nAs I realized I wasn’t going anywhere for a bit I tried to get my bearings any way that didn’t involve me moving. So I did the only thing I could I inhaled a big breath through my nose, that… was a mistake. The area I was in smelled of death and smelled it reeked, like whatever had died had been laying there for a day or two. Had I not been exhausted I would have vomited, as it was I just groaned heavily.\nBefore I could contemplate to long on how awful rotting pony smelled I heard somepony approaching me with… wings? Craning my ears I caught the tell-tale flap of wing beats which mostly ruled out the Vanguard since I hadn’t seen a single pegasus with them. As they drew closer though I began to worry about their intent, from what little I could hear they were coming straight for me but those thoughts were pushed aside as I felt them land gently next to me and push a small tablet into my mouth with not hooves but magic.\nWhile I tried to figure out who it was that was helping me I absentmindedly chewed up the tablet and tried to swallow. Looking back I realize how insane of an idea that was, I mean I had no idea where that tablet came from or what it did but at the time I was so exhausted and sore I wasn’t thinking clearly. After managing to swallow the chewed up fragments I felt a strange heat buildup in my body and a sudden unexpected burst of energy. Groaning a bit as even the pain in my horn dulled somewhat I was just beginning to wonder why somepony like Solaris would help me when I was bombarded by the cheeriest voice you could possibly imagine “Hey there sis! Boy you sure know how to throw a party!”\nUsing my newfound bit of strength my eyes snapped open and I found myself muzzle to muzzle the bubbliest alicorn I had ever seen, possibly even the bubbliest pony I had ever seen. Popping my chapped lips back open I questioned “W-who are you and how did you find me?”\nThe cyan filly pulled back in confusion for a moment “Huh? OH right I forgot the introductions! Hi big sis my name’s Zephyr and well… I guess I already know who you are.”\n“Um… look Zephyr it’s not like I don’t appreciate… whatever it was you did but I’m telling you I never had any siblings.”\nSlowly struggling to my hooves I took a moment to look over the strange pony as she seemed to ponder over what I had said. She was smaller than Solaris and her horn was shorter but her wings at least were the same size. The cyan color of her coat went well with her poofy white mane and tail while her soft pink eyes shimmered with what could only be described as unbridled giddiness. Seeing me stumble a bit as I pushed upright Zephyr enveloped me in a pink field of telekinesis and started hovering me towards the battered farmhouse. As we made our way into the building the cyan mare took a moment to stare at me “So Solaris really didn’t fill you in on anything did she?” at my confused headshake she sighed “Darn that grumpyhooves that’s just like her. Well it would take a bit too long to explain it all now and besides we need to get you inside. After whatever it was you did you must have a nasty burnout.”\nI didn’t have a clue what she was talking about but oh it felt wonderfully nice to lie on a bed after being outside for who knows how long. Looking over slightly I caught sight of her digging around through her saddlebags “Hey Zephyr I do have one question for you if ya don’t mind. What was that tablet you gave me?”\n“Hmm? Oh right that was a sparkle tablet, twilight invented them before she vanished. Their designed to add a little bit of charge to a pony’s magic well and ease the horn stress caused by magical burnout.”\n“I’m guessing that burnout is what, Aha, I’m going through right now.”\nThe alicorn nodded and pushed me back on the bed while pressing a fresh apple up to my mouth. I would have complained that I could do it myself but I was still weak and the pain in my horn had only lessened somewhat. After I took a bite form the apple Zephyr pushed it into my hooves so I could eat it while walked back outside to move those burned rangers. Trying to keep eating the apple my exhaustion got the better of me and I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.\n*** *** ***\nI awoke sometime later to a familiar voice and a hoof jogging my shoulder “Hey there Snowy you awake yet?”\nPopping my eyes open I’m greeted by the nervously smiling face of a friend “Glitter when did you get here!”\n“A few hours ago actually that really… bouncy alicorn let me in. Speaking of which what are you thinking of letting her get close to you like that? I know she seems all right but you don’t have any idea what it is she wants from us.”\nI pointed out that when she found me I was more or less comatose so if she had wanted to do something bad then would be the time. It also didn’t hurt that even now I could just barely move my legs and wings so I was in no position to fight her. This realization seemed to cow the mare a little and she blushed a bit before turning as the cyan alicorn from before stepped back through. Noticing I was awake she pushed herself into a nearby chair saying “Well I finished getting rid of all the bodies out front. Speaking of which I’m really curious what you used on them, when I popped one of their helmets the pony looked burnt to a crisp. So come on and spill, I want to know what you used to fricassee eight steel rangers.”\nGrunting a bit I pushed myself further up on my pillow “Well I did the only thing I could think of at the time which was it them with lightning. By the way how long is this burnout thing going to last and what is it anyway?”\nMy friend looked impressed and a bit scared but Zephyr’s reaction seemed more worrisome. The alicorn looked nervous and almost disbelieving “You mean you hit all of them with magic lightning?”\nHer statement confused me more than anything and when she went on to elaborate it just made things worse. I had no idea alicorns could shoot lightning from their horns but I had the feeling that wasn’t what I had done to the ranger so I tried my best to explain what had happened. My explanation barely got past the first sentence when the cyan pony practically shoved a hoof in my mouth to quiet me saying “Wait you mean you actually managed to pull clouds to you and called lightning down from the sky! I… what made you think you could even do it?”\nI looked over at my friend “Well it kinda came to me after I thought about my cutiemark. Glitter you remember the story I told you about it right?”\nThe mare started at my question, seeming a bit confused “Uh yes I do but what does that have to do with this situation?”\n“Wow Glitter, pay attention much? I got my mark when I made it snow in the stable’s apple orchard so I figure if I could make clouds snow maybe I could make them do other things. The rest of my not so brilliant plan just kinda spiraled off from that.”\nZephyr looked like I was trying to tell her that Princess Celestia had a fetish for bananas. If her jaw got any lower if would have probably hit the floor but thankfully she seemed to snap back to reality after a moment “T- that’s insane Solaris can’t even do that, no pony should be able to do that! Manipulating weather is one of the few things unicorn magic can’t do, at least not very well, so how is it that you were able to pull it off?”\nIn truth I was just a confused about it as she was so I decided shelve that little question for later and instead brought up my earlier query about magical burnout. According to Zephyr burnout happens when a unicorn uses a spell that requires most or all of their magic well. After that happens their body and magic well are drained and they can’t use any magic till they recover. Given how I was feeling I was inclined to agree with her my body hurt like I had been running for days and I couldn’t even use simple telekinesis let alone anything more difficult. \nThinking back to Zephyr’s appearance I remembered how the pill she had given had helped me feel a little better so I asked her for another. The alicorn had seemed a little confused and even scared during my story but now she was perking up again her smile was back and her eyes were bright. Even her mane seemed to be bouncing, that was when I realized that she was bouncing, directly in front of us, in place, for no apparent reason. That… had me confused I’ll admit but I didn’t have time to think about it too much as she was already replying in a rush of words “Ooh sorry big sis but I can’t give another one ya see their super addictive. Not to mention if ya take too many of them it’ll keep your magic well from replenishing naturally and that would be really, really bad. I mean then you wouldn’t be able to use any magic unless you take them all the time and I can’t imagine where you would find enough cause their really rare. But you know they’re not nearly as addictive as Party Time Mint-all’s but then again how could they be I mean those things are [b]good[/b]. Have you ever tried them they make you the life of the party and supper happy and…”\n“Zephyr!!”\n“Huh… oh sorry was I rambling again? I tend to do that sometimes if I get excited about something.”\nThe mare in front of us da been bouncing faster and faster as she spoke till she was nearly vibrating which is when I had shouted at her. Now she seemed more or less back to normal so I decided now would be the best time to find something out that had been nagging at me. But before I could manage it the earth-pony sitting beside me jumped a bit in her chair and nervously looked over at me “Hey Snowy I really hate to do this but I have to leave.”\n“What! But you just got here why do you have to go anywhere?”\nGlitter fidgeted around nervously, glancing over at the alicorn next to us “Well I didn’t want to say anything but the um ghouls we saved asked me to help them get to the next town. So I was leading them there but decided to try and find you for a moment. I’d like to stay but they need my help ya know?”\nI would have tried to argue or at least go with her but the pain in my head and the look Zephyr gave me told me I wasn’t going anywhere for at least another day. So I conceded defeat and let her head out on her way, I was confused why the Fields’ would need to go stay somewhere ells but it occurred to me that I didn’t know how Ruby felt about ghouls so there might have been a problem.\nAs soon as she left I realized I had no idea what to do for the rest of the time I would be weak and Zephyr’s suggestion of a party didn’t sound to appealing at the moment. Pushing my forehoof up I checked over my pip-buck, thankfully it seemed to have weathered the fall mostly unscathed so I popped on the third recording of Nurse Rosepetal.\n[i]“Well here go’s it’s me again and this is my third journal entry. Allot has happened since the last time I recorded so I’ll try and get it all covered. First off the debate, I you could call it that is over and that Shadow Hooves guy is supposed to be running things now. Nopony has seen princess Cadence since the shield went up around the palace so I’m guessing that’s where she is but I was more surprised that prince Blueblood didn’t try and take over. He had always been complaining about how his aunts ran things but he took one look at Shadow Hooves and ran for the hills… what a coward.\nI even go to meet Shadow Hooves the other day. I had been at the Manehatten hub for the M.O.P. when he came in. apparently he had been taking tours of all the Ministry hubs to try and get a feel for them. He seemed… odd when I met him, he was very kind and polite and he spouted off a whole bunch of stuff about making a memorial for the victims of the Ponyville incident and winning the war in their honor but something was just kinda… off about hem the whole time like there was something he was hiding.\nIn any event I suppose it’s obvious by now that we haven’t been blown up in a zebra attack yet. I’ve no idea how but the M.O.I. managed to stem the flow of information and kept the zebras in the dark about everything. I’m not really sure what to do now though, now that the shock has disappeared everypony is pulling themselves back together and continuing the war like nothing happened. \nBut I…I just can’t p-pretend it didn’t happen I lost the two p-ponies I cared the most about in Ponyville… and e-everypony else just wants to forget…\nRed Heart… I… I miss you so m-much and… I can’t do this right now I s-should go back to work.”[/i]\nBlinking a bit I realized I was crying a little by the end of the recording and I was suddenly glad I didn’t have a special somepony back in the stable. The opening door snapped me back to reality, I hadn’t realized Zephyr had left the room during the recoding but my face must have betrayed me because she bounced over and put a hoof over my shoulder “Aww its ok sis what’s got you so down? Was it that mare on your pip-buck or something and who was she anyway?”\n“Her name was Rosepetal Zephyr she was a nurse in the M.O.P. 200 years ago.”\nThe alicorn hugged me a little tighter and used a hoof to wipe my tears “How come she sounded so sad then? I wasn’t trying to listen in because that would be rude but I did hear a little bit and she seemed real upset about something and now that something has you upset too.”\n“Well you see she lost her special somepony in whatever happened in Ponyville and it just made me think of how sad I would be if I had somepony I cared about and I couldn’t ever see them again. That’s why I’m glad I never really made friends in the stable. The closest I ever came was Emerald and at least he’s out here with me.” \nFor a little while we stayed like that and I have to admit as odd as it was it felt kinds nice to have somepony trying to comfort me. After a few minutes though she pushed away and gently bonked me on the head saying that I shouldn’t be so sad and that I still needed sleep. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how tired I still was so after thanking her again for the help I lay back on my pillow and was out in moments.\n*** *** ***\nThe second day passed much like the first and by the end of it I was more or less back to my old self. Though my horn wouldn’t be calling down anymore lightning yet but it was a start. Hearing Zephyr come through the door I slid myself up on the pillows just as she entered and glanced over at me “Hey big sis you’re looking way better today.”\n“I do feel much better honestly; I won’t be lifting this house with magic but I’m more or less back to my old self.” I noticed she had her saddlebags back on which she hadn’t used since we met “Are you going somewhere already I was hoping you could stay a bit longer. Speaking of which I never asked you what you were doing out here in the first place I you don’t mind telling me.”\nI was really being serious about wanting her to stay, sure she was insanely bubbly and bouncy but she had this infectious charm that made you have to like her. That charm disappeared at my questions however. I had seen her confused and even scared but at that moment she seemed to visibly deflate, her smile vanished, she stopped bouncing, and even her mane and tail seemed to slump “Um ya I have to get back soon sis. If I stay much longer Solaris will come looking for me and you don’t need that grumpyhooves here while you’re trying to get better. As for what I was doing… well I didn’t find you by accident… I was sent here to…” she frowned miserably as she slid a large silver, gem encrusted revolver from her bags “Sorry big sis… I was sent here to try and kill you.”\n*** *** ***\nHaving guns pointed at you in the waists was almost an everyday thing but seeing somepony like Zephyr holding a weapon still unsettled me for a moment “Y-you what!”\nThe mare looked thoroughly disgusted with herself as she replied “I… I have to try and kill you sis. Solaris is tracking your movements, I don’t know how but she is, and when she saw that you had stopped for a while she sent me out here to… to test you and see what your capable of.”\nI had no idea why that mule of an alicorn would want me dead but I had more pressing issues at the moment that I had to worry about. Zephyr looked like she wanted to fling the gun out the window instead of use it so I assumed I could talk her down but I had to think quickly.\nCasting my mind around I quickly made a plan “Wait! Zephyr if you’re just here to test me then we don’t have to fight.”\nThe alicorn hesitated for a moment, taking a small step backwards, and raised an eyebrow in confusion “What do you mean? Is there something I could do instead, I can’t just leave so please if you have an idea please let me know.”\n“Well you already saw that I can call down lightning so why not just go back and tell her that. It is something she would want to hear right?”\nZephyr looked like I’d told her hearths’ warming had come early, relief spread over her features and she pulled the shaking gun from my face. I let myself relax as well while she slid the gun back into her bag so it was surprising when she threw her hooves around me crying “T- thanks big sis I… I really didn’t want to have to fight you. I hate fighting but I have to do what she tells me… it’s not fair and… and I hope you can forgive me.”\nA few hours had passed since Zephyr had regained her composure and left. Packing my gear up I was about to follow her since I had been here for at least three days since the Vanguard showed up. Slinging everything back on I walked out the door one final time before walking a few feet and taking to the air heading northwest.\nIt felt wonderful to stretch my wings after two days in bed and the night air was cool and refreshing. The night was dark even with the moon, what little you could see of it through the clouds, appearing to be full but my vision seemed sharper than it had been before so the shadows held no secrets from me.\nFlapping my wings I gained a little altitude till I was just under the cloud ceiling and continued on my way. Green Meadows was a day away from the old farmhouse but that was by hoof with my wings I figured it would only take most of the night to get there.\nRealizing I had some time to kill I tried to find something to occupy myself when a thought struck me. I was flying, I had time to myself, and I didn’t have anypony with me which meant I could do something special, I could finally see the sky.\nPulling myself into a climb I braced for a moment and pushed above the clouds.\n*** *** ***\nIt was breathtaking, I had wondered for a time if the sky would actually be like it was in my story books but the truth was it was even better. My wings failed me and had I not been able to walk on them I would have fallen right back through the clouds as I gazed up at the majesty of Luna’s night.\nAbove me uncountable stars sparkled in hundreds if not thousands of patterns I couldn’t begin to name and in the center of it all the great alabaster disk of the moon made its graceful arc through the sky.\nFor a while I just sat there basking in the star’s glow and trying to figure out how the cloud underneath me managed to feel rock solid and wonderfully soft simultaneously. Gazing up at the vastness of the night I took some time to ponder over what little explanation I could get out of Zephyr once she had calmed down.\nAccording to her she and I were related though not through blood. She had said that near the end of the war there was a large amount of ponies that were not happy with how Shadow Hooves was running Equestria so the Ministry of Arcane Science formed a secretive project to make alicorns like the missing princess. Both Zephyr and Solaris were some of the results of that project and somehow it also had something to do with my transformation.\nI had a hard time believing that two hundred year old M.A.S. experiment was responsible for me but Zephyr had said that I would have to ask the pissy white alicorn I first met if I wanted more info. Seeing as I had no idea where she was and she [b]did[/b] try to have me killed I figured my questions would have to wait. \nI had just pulled myself to my hooves deciding to get back to my flight towards town when I heard the flapping of wings and saw two specks heading in my direction fast.\nWhen I had made it outside and found out almost all pegesi had hidden themselves above the clouds I had thought about how I would meet them. Of all the scenarios that had played in my head none of them involved me diving into the clouds to try and avoid the fast approaching figures. Checking my E.F.S. the bars that represented the ponies were blue but that didn’t mean they would stay that way. While I was debating about if I should run a cool, slightly mechanical female voice cut through the night “Uh… you know we can see you through the clouds right? Just come out without any weapons and nopony has to get hurt.”\nToo late I realized that if they were here then they must have known where I was before arriving here. Figuring it couldn’t hurt I activated the glamor spell Ruby had taught me and shivered as I felt the ripple of energy pass over me then slowly pushed myself back above the cloud I was in.\nIt took me a moment to realize that the two armored figures in front of me were in fact pegesi. Whereas the Steele Rangers armor was large and bulky this stuff was sleek and light with ceramics used instead of metal. Taking a moment to look at one another the pony on my left, the female, spoke up to break the silence “You’re not from Thunderhead and your crude armor reeks of dirt-pony so would you care to identify yourself and explain what you’re doing in Enclave airspace?”\n“Um well I have no idea what the Enclave is but I’m sorry for being in your… airspace was it? Anyway my name is Snowy Flanks and I’m not a dirt-pony at least I don’t think I am? I did come from a stable though if that’s what you mean.”\nI could practically hear the slight *thunk* of their mouths hitting the bottoms of their helmets. Realizing how insane I must have just sounded I tried to rephrase my statement when the mare cut me off “Look I would call liar… but nopony this oblivious could be lying. In any case we need to talk but we can’t do it here so I recommend you follow us back down.”\nA slight feeling of unease crept over me as followed the two pegesi back through the clouds and towards a building that looked to have been a station on an old railway. Once inside the other one closed the door and flicked a switch on the wall causing some old lights to flicker to life. The room appeared to have been converted into some sort of domicile, there were storage chests for weapons and gear, two beds, a table, a bathroom, and even an impromptu kitchen.\nGlancing about the room I brought my vision back to the mare in front of me just as she popped off her helmet. Her orange coat went well with her cute brown mane and eyes, though the cute effect was lost somewhat with the large scar down her right eye. As she sat her helmet on one of the beds the other pegasus moved to stand next to her. Before I could ask any questions the orange mare gave me a slightly reassuring smile “Well I suppose we should get this started, I’m 1st Lieutenant Windy Wings of the 1st Neighvarro Special Operations Division and this is Corporal Stormcloud, he’s also of the 1st S.O.D.” \nWhen she indicated the pony on her left he just pawed at the floor a bit and nodded slightly which was one of the few things I hadn’t been expecting form them. Seeming to notice my look the mare just chuckled a moment before saying “Don’t mind him he just has a tendency to get nervous around other mares, especially the ones he finds kinda cute. Regardless how about you drop that spell you got up and show us what you really look like.”\nI was planning on picking my jaw up off the floor when I was blindsided by a comment from Stormcloud “Mom! Don’t say things like that in front of the… oh… uh oops.”\n“Wait… you two are related and how could you possibly know about me?! I have a spell to hide my horn so… how?”\nThe mare just chuckled and nudged the other pony’s shoulder “Yep Storm here is my boy, mothers got to look after her son somehow right? Also even if I didn’t already have a pretty good idea who you are I could still tell. You carry yourself with the confidence of somepony with magic.”\nMy feelings of unease came back with a vengeance but like before they were the ones with the weird gem tipped things on their armor. I wasn’t sure if they were guns of some sort and I didn’t want to find out. Besides if Windy knew who I was from the start and wanted me dead she probably would have killed me so against my better judgment I let the spell drop around me saying “Well here you go but I still want to ask some questions. Like what the Enclave is and how you know me.”\n“Well the easiest way to explain it is that the Enclave is more or less the pegesi governmental power here above the clouds. Like the Vanguard we’re remnants of old Equestria, in this case pegesi and a small number of unicorns that were caught in the bio-domes when the bombs dropped.”\n“That explanation certainly asked more questions than it answered. Look I don’t mean to be rude but you’re going to have to give me way more detail.”\nWindy nodded and offered me a seat at her table before taking one herself and even getting Storm to join us. Once seated the stallion finally removed his helmet and set it on the table. He had most of the looks of his mother except for his eyes, his shiny forest green eyes… and the crimson blush on his cheeks. Nudging her son’s shoulder again and smirking slightly the orange mare continued her explanation “I’ll try my best but a lot of our history is classified to anypony not in the Enclave. I suppose the easiest place to start is the bio-domes, as I’m sure you know once the war got bad enough Stable-Tec started work on the stables to keep ponies safe if the worst happened. Since you’ve been in one you’d know that they weren’t made with pegesi in mind so when the Ministry Of Awesome, which was founded by Rainbow Dash, spent most of their time and resources to make something better.”\n*** *** ***\nThe concept of the Bio-Domes, large landmasses with towns and even city’s on them surrounded by a magic shield and floating up in the sky, fascinated me to no end. “But hang on; if they built all of them in the sky wouldn’t the zebras have been able to find them easily?”\nBefore the mare could even begin to formulate and answer there was a small crackling noise and a tiny voice came from her discarded helmet [i]“1st Lieutenant come in this is Thunderhead base. Have you dealt with the intruder yet, if so return to base immediately. I repeat if the threat has been neutralized return to base immediately.”[/i]\nWalking over to the bed the mare made a quick reply into her helmet and turned back to us “Damn looks like I’m out of time. Something’s come up and H.Q. wants up topside on the double so we’ll have to continue this later but first take my advice, stay below the clouds. While the Enclave isn’t your enemy they certainly aren’t your friends either, so if you go back up there and meet another group of pegesi they might still attack you.”\nWith that the two flyers hurriedly left and I was once again alone. Feeling frustrated that I mostly just got more questions out of that conversation I slipped out the door and, making sure to push the lock back on, took wing once again. \nOnce more the night air swirled around me as I processed what little I had learned from Windy. At the very least I knew that there were still ponies above the clouds and that they must exist in a relatively large number. On the other hoof though I was extremely worried about the surveillance they were doing on me, even more so since I didn’t know how it worked but there wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment so I just kept flying.\n*** *** ***\nWinging my way to the north the flight was relaxing and uneventful, something which I was extremely grateful for given my recent amount of excitement. The relaxing properties of flight were muted somewhat by my own racing thoughts; it would appear the four separate groups were interested in me. There was the Vanguard who wanted me captured for some reason, the mysterious pony named D who sent a merc after me, my supposed sisters who seemed to want to hug me and kill me in equal measure, and finally the Enclave who so far were just monitoring me.\nSlowing down I catch sight of a tall building on the horizon. It was at least ten stories tall and must have been well built to survive this long. Below it noticed the indistinct shape of a much smaller complex of some kind but I was still too far away to make it out.\nNot wanting to be caught with my horn hanging out so to speak I landed and reactivated the disguise spell, feeling that strange tingle wash over my head I pressed forward. I stopped my trot as I came to a fork in the road. Above me a large two-part sign jutted out of the darkness of what I assumed to be early morning.\nGlancing at the rusty and pitted sign I caught the name of Green Meadows on the first one. I started to trot on through but stopped myself long enough to look over the second sign, whereas Green Meadows looked at least freshly painted if not freshly repaired the second sigh had all of its original lettering scratched out and replaced by a small crudely written word Horntown.\nMaking a note to examine the other town at a later date I kept walking till the sun started to rise behind the clouds and the building came into focus. It seemed like it had been a very nice resort at one time though its grandeur had been lessoned by years of neglect and a massive hole in a corner of the sixth floor. Getting closer to the building I could see that a small wall had been built around the tower.\nMy advance came to a sudden halt when I was greeted by three heavily armed earth-ponies standing at either side and on top of what had to be the gate into the town. I heard the distinctive sound of rounds being pushed into chambers as I finished my approach and the stallion on the mounted gun above the gated barked out gruffly “What do you want featherbrain? We already made it clear we don’t want no Enclave here so why don’t you just turn around and go back where ya came from.”\nSizing up the opposition it didn’t take long to realize I was a bit outclassed. Sure I could drop my spell and bring my rifle to bear but that would utterly defeat the purpose of my disguise anyway, with that in mind all I had at my disposal was my tiny little pea shooter. Taking these factors into account I figured I should at least try to talk to them “Um excuse me sir but I believe you’re mistaken. I’m not part of the Enclave; all I want is just a place to rest after being on the road.”\n“Oh you don’t say. Listen how in Equestria am I supposed to believe a pegasus I’ve never seen before. If you want to rest here you’ll have to give me a pretty good excuse.”\nBefore I could reply a second stallion trotted into view atop the wall saying “Well I’d like to think that the fact that she’s not wearing any power armor or carrying around a huge buck-off magical energy weapon was all the proof you needed Scattershot but I guess you just too thick to see it.”\nI could see the pony on the mounted gun round angrily on the other stallion as the two of them began a heated, if whispered, conversation. The other two just stood there with their battle-saddles trained on me while we waited for them to finish because, honestly, where was I going to go?\n*** *** ***\nMuch sooner than I expected the gate slowly opened and I got a good look at the buck that had come, more or less, to my defense. His deep black coat and blue-green eyes went well with his smooth voice though the odd green of his mane and tail was slightly off putting. Giving a ghost of a smile he ushered me inside and introduced himself as Dusk.\nHeading inside the large building I was caught by just how extravagant the place seemed to be. Sure it was about two hundred years out of date and slightly worn but the large lobby we found ourselves in was still the ritziest place I had ever been bar none. My head spun as I tried to inspect every part of the room at once. From the large lounge area with its multiple chairs and tables to the smattering of shops and a small café set into the walls of the building, all of it decked out in marble and expensive looking wood.\nEverywhere around me ponies dressed in what would have been high fashion before the war went about their daily business. Although it would have been easier to enjoy the pomp and grandeur if it wert for the fact that everypony in the place seemed to be staring at me like I had some kind of plague (which would have been a valid concern now that I think about it) and all the armed earth-ponies working a security looked like they were a hairsbreadth from turning me to Swiss cheese.\nSensing my unease at the situation Dusk chuckled a bit and led me up a large staircase to what appeared to be a small metal room set in the wall. At my questioning look the stallion stepped inside and motioned for me to follow, once I did the door closed behind me and at press of a button the room began to move “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen an elevator before Snowy.”\nPulling myself from behind him I blushed scarlet, in truth I hadn’t seen anything like it before as there were none in the stable and every building I had been in thus far was under three stories. Hearing that Dusk put a hoof on my shoulder and explained how the thing worked. As I listened to the explanation a sudden thought jumped out at me “Hey Dusk I was wondering so far I’ve just seen earth-ponies here.”\nThe black stallion rubbed a hoof through his mane nervously “Well that would be because there are only earth-ponies here in Green Meadows.”\n“How did you manage that I know pegesi are rare but shouldn’t there be at least one unicorn here or something?”\nBefore he could answer the elevator stopped and the door opened into a room with a large desk and two hallways leading off on either side. The mare sitting at the desk had the decency to not stare at me in slack-jawed terror but she still looked nervous none the less. Dusk strode into the room saying “Hey there Lily this mare is here on the Mayor’s orders and she needs a room all right?”\nWith that he spun on his hoof and after bidding me farewell with the promise to speak later he left me there alone. Giving my own nervous laugh I took a few steps forward “Well hello there miss my names Snowy. Sorry to barge in on you like this I really could use a room and I have plenty of bottle caps for payment.”\nThe white mare blinked a few times before turning to me “Uh… well it’s nice to meet you Snowy I’m Calla Lily but everypony just calls me Lily. Anyway welcome to the Green Meadow inn. Don’t worry about payment if Dusk says you’re here to see the mayor I’ll get my bottle caps.”\n“Um actually Dusk never told me why he let me in come to think of it.”\nLily sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation “That doesn’t surprise me very much to be honest. He doesn’t seem like a bad stallion but there’s something strange about him. Anyway I’ve got plenty of free rooms so let’s get you a place to sleep.”\nAs she stood up from her haunches and walked around the desk I heard a sound from her I was all too familiar with. A slight added weight to one hoof and a tiny metallic clunk, the same noise came from my own prosthetic hoof. Sure enough when she rounded the side I caught the telltale gleam of steel on her back right leg. Catching my stare the mare just sighed “Bet you’re glad to know you’re not the only pony with a bit of metal in them hmm.”\nLeading me down the hallway I tried my best not to stare at her prosthetic leg… or her the way her curled yellow-orange tail was… never mind. Eventually we made our way to a room far down the hall and Lily took a key from the chain on her neck and set it in my hoof, looking at the keys on her neck and counting how many doors we passed it was pretty clear she didn’t get many visitors.\nWalking inside I was surprised when she fallowed me in and hoped on my bed saying “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get yours?”\n“Well I suppose it’s ok if I can do the same. It wasn’t anything exciting or anything I just got into a bad tussle with a nightstalker.”\nShe waited till I sat next to her replying “Well mine has a bit of a story behind it, in fact it actually has a lot to do with my cutiemark here.”\nLooking down I was greeted by the picture of a revolver with a long stemmed calla lily wound around the barrel and cylinder “I got this when I was very young unfortunately. Back then I was living with my grandmother in a small town out west of Manehatten when one day a group of raiders attacked us trying to steal our food and supplies. Once they got into town they started killing everypony and I was scared but I didn’t want them to hurt my grandma so in desperation I grabbed my father’s old revolvers from the mantle for when they came to my house. That was the day I killed my first pony.”\n“Wait how were you able to use two pistols at once?”\nThe mare grinned slightly, her teal eyes shining with mischief, and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially “I’m not going to tell ya… yet. Got to save some surprises right?”\n“Regardless after the town pulled itself back together I started practicing with my guns as much as I could, trying to get better at using them, and when I came of age I set out on my own. See some of the raiders that attacked my town survived and got out when the fight turned against them. So full of vengeful anger I set out to find them.”\n*** *** ***\nListening to her tale of vengeance I was reminded once again how unforgiving the wasteland could be. It also occurred to me just how much I didn’t have a goal out here, at first I had just wanted freedom but now the closest thing I had to a mission was trying to find Glitter and Emerald. Technically I was still heading to Ponyville though I was becoming increasingly unsure if that was a wise thing to do. However since I had no clue where my friends were other than Glitter saying she would be here somewhere it seemed like I was still headed towards the strange crater… right after I found out what the mayor wanted from me.\nLily apparently noticed my lack of attentiveness as I suddenly felt a small nudge and turned to see her walking out of the room saying “I’m sure you have a lot on your mind. I’ll finish the story another time. Meanwhile you should try and get some rest; if the mayor wants to see you you’re probably going to need it.”\nHearing the door close I quickly walked over and flipped the lock before letting my disguise drop and falling back on the bed. I had been resting a fair amount the last two days but my mind was swirling with all the information I had been given so some sleep sounded nice.\nPulling my gear off my head hit the pillow and I drifted off into a restful sleep.\n[b][i]Footnote: 26% to next level[/i] [/b]\n(Authors note: first off I’d like to apologize to everypony for taking so long. Real life got in the way fallowed by some massive writers block and the start of a second project. Regardless of this chapter eight will take much less time than this and should be out next Monday.\nSecondly thanks for the likes and favorites from everypony. Also don’t forget to post some comment I’d love to hear what you guys think.\nAnyway thanks for the patience everybody, hope to see ya soon.)\n Fallout Equestria © to Kkat\nMy Little Pony: Fim © to Hasbro\nSnowy flanks and other oc’s © Me\n \n\n \n \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n ", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Chapter 7: Head in the clouds

When I finally woke up from playing storm-bringer it felt like my whole body had been run through the stable’s waste disposal. It also occurred to me that I was spending a fair amount of my time in the waists either injured or unconscious, I seriously hoped it was wasn’t going to be any more common than it already was but I doubted I would have any more luck than I did at not getting shot at.
Pulling myself back to the situation at hoof I tried, unsuccessfully, to move my hooves or even open my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long I had been laying on the ground but I knew I couldn’t stay there as pleasant an idea as that was at the moment. Failing to move a second time I decided I would have to use magic to move myself, reaching inside I tried pulling energy to my horn and instantly regretted it. The moment I connected to my magic well it felt like my head was trying to rip itself off.
As I realized I wasn’t going anywhere for a bit I tried to get my bearings any way that didn’t involve me moving. So I did the only thing I could I inhaled a big breath through my nose, that… was a mistake. The area I was in smelled of death and smelled it reeked, like whatever had died had been laying there for a day or two. Had I not been exhausted I would have vomited, as it was I just groaned heavily.
Before I could contemplate to long on how awful rotting pony smelled I heard somepony approaching me with… wings? Craning my ears I caught the tell-tale flap of wing beats which mostly ruled out the Vanguard since I hadn’t seen a single pegasus with them. As they drew closer though I began to worry about their intent, from what little I could hear they were coming straight for me but those thoughts were pushed aside as I felt them land gently next to me and push a small tablet into my mouth with not hooves but magic.
While I tried to figure out who it was that was helping me I absentmindedly chewed up the tablet and tried to swallow. Looking back I realize how insane of an idea that was, I mean I had no idea where that tablet came from or what it did but at the time I was so exhausted and sore I wasn’t thinking clearly. After managing to swallow the chewed up fragments I felt a strange heat buildup in my body and a sudden unexpected burst of energy. Groaning a bit as even the pain in my horn dulled somewhat I was just beginning to wonder why somepony like Solaris would help me when I was bombarded by the cheeriest  voice you could possibly imagine “Hey there sis! Boy you sure know how to throw a party!”
Using my newfound bit of strength my eyes snapped open and I found myself muzzle to muzzle the bubbliest alicorn I had ever seen, possibly even the bubbliest pony I had ever seen. Popping my chapped lips back open I questioned “W-who are you and how did you find me?”
The cyan filly pulled back in confusion for a moment “Huh? OH right I forgot the introductions! Hi big sis my name’s Zephyr and well… I guess I already know who you are.”
“Um… look Zephyr it’s not like I don’t appreciate… whatever it was you did but I’m telling you I never had any siblings.”
Slowly struggling to my hooves I took a moment to look over the strange pony as she seemed to ponder over what I had said. She was smaller than Solaris and her horn was shorter but her wings at least were the same size. The cyan color of her coat went well with her poofy white mane and tail while her soft pink eyes shimmered with what could only be described as unbridled giddiness. Seeing me stumble a bit as I pushed upright Zephyr enveloped me in a pink field of telekinesis and started hovering me towards the battered farmhouse. As we made our way into the building the cyan mare took a moment to stare at me “So Solaris really didn’t fill you in on anything did she?” at my confused headshake she sighed “Darn that grumpyhooves that’s just like her. Well it would take a bit too long to explain it all now and besides we need to get you inside. After whatever it was you did you must have a nasty burnout.”
I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about but oh it felt wonderfully nice to lie on a bed after being outside for who knows how long. Looking over slightly I caught sight of her digging around through her saddlebags “Hey Zephyr I do have one question for you if ya don’t mind. What was that tablet you gave me?”
“Hmm? Oh right that was a sparkle tablet, twilight invented them before she vanished. Their designed to add a little bit of charge to a pony’s magic well and ease the horn stress caused by magical burnout.”
“I’m guessing that burnout is what, Aha, I’m going through right now.”
The alicorn nodded and pushed me back on the bed while pressing a fresh apple up to my mouth. I would have complained that I could do it myself but I was still weak and the pain in my horn had only lessened somewhat. After I took a bite form the apple Zephyr pushed it into my hooves so I could eat it while walked back outside to move those burned rangers. Trying to keep eating the apple my exhaustion got the better of me and I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.
*** *** ***
I awoke sometime later to a familiar voice and a hoof jogging my shoulder “Hey there Snowy you awake yet?”
Popping my eyes open I’m greeted by the nervously smiling face of a friend “Glitter when did you get here!”
“A few hours ago actually that really… bouncy alicorn let me in. Speaking of which what are you thinking of letting her get close to you like that? I know she seems all right but you don’t have any idea what it is she wants from us.”
I pointed out that when she found me I was more or less comatose so if she had wanted to do something bad then would be the time. It also didn’t hurt that even now I could just barely move my legs and wings so I was in no position to fight her. This realization seemed to cow the mare a little and she blushed a bit before turning as the cyan alicorn from before stepped back through. Noticing I was awake she pushed herself into a nearby chair saying “Well I finished getting rid of all the bodies out front. Speaking of which I’m really curious what you used on them, when I popped one of their helmets the pony looked burnt to a crisp. So come on and spill, I want to know what you used to fricassee eight steel rangers.”
Grunting a bit I pushed myself further up on my pillow “Well I did the only thing I could think of at the time which was it them with lightning. By the way how long is this burnout thing going to last and what is it anyway?”
My friend looked impressed and a bit scared but Zephyr’s reaction seemed more worrisome. The alicorn looked nervous and almost disbelieving “You mean you hit all of them with magic lightning?”
Her statement confused me more than anything and when she went on to elaborate it just made things worse. I had no idea alicorns could shoot lightning from their horns but I had the feeling that wasn’t what I had done to the ranger so I tried my best to explain what had happened. My explanation barely got past the first sentence when the cyan pony practically shoved a hoof in my mouth to quiet me saying “Wait you mean you actually managed to pull clouds to you and called lightning down from the sky!  I… what made you think you could even do it?”
I looked over at my friend “Well it kinda came to me after I thought about my cutiemark. Glitter you remember the story I told you about it right?”
The mare started at my question, seeming a bit confused “Uh yes I do but what does that have to do with this situation?”
“Wow Glitter, pay attention much? I got my mark when I made it snow in the stable’s apple orchard so I figure if I could make clouds snow maybe I could make them do other things. The rest of my not so brilliant plan just kinda spiraled off from that.”
Zephyr looked like I was trying to tell her that Princess Celestia had a fetish for bananas. If her jaw got any lower if would have probably hit the floor but thankfully she seemed to snap back to reality after a moment “T- that’s insane Solaris can’t even do that, no pony should be able to do that! Manipulating weather is one of the few things unicorn magic can’t do, at least not very well, so how is it that you were able to pull it off?”
In truth I was just a confused about it as she was so I decided shelve that little question for later and instead brought up my earlier query about magical burnout. According to Zephyr burnout happens when a unicorn uses a spell that requires most or all of their magic well. After that happens their body and magic well are drained and they can’t use any magic till they recover. Given how I was feeling I was inclined to agree with her my body hurt like I had been running for days and I couldn’t even use simple telekinesis let alone anything more difficult.
Thinking back to Zephyr’s appearance I remembered how the pill she had given had helped me feel a little better so I asked her for another. The alicorn had seemed a little confused and even scared during my story but now she was perking up again her smile was back and her eyes were bright. Even her mane seemed to be bouncing, that was when I realized that she was bouncing, directly in front of us, in place, for no apparent reason. That… had me confused I’ll admit but I didn’t have time to think about it too much as she was already replying in a rush of words “Ooh sorry big sis but I can’t give another one ya see their super addictive. Not to mention if ya take too many of them it’ll keep your magic well from replenishing naturally and that would be really, really bad. I mean then you wouldn’t be able to use any magic unless you take them all the time and I can’t imagine where you would find enough cause their really rare. But you know they’re not nearly as addictive as Party Time Mint-all’s but then again how could they be I mean those things are good. Have you ever tried them they make you the life of the party and supper happy and…”
“Zephyr!!”
“Huh… oh sorry was I rambling again? I tend to do that sometimes if I get excited about something.”
The mare in front of us da been bouncing faster and faster as she spoke till she was nearly vibrating which is when I had shouted at her. Now she seemed more or less back to normal so I decided now would be the best time to find something out that had been nagging at me. But before I could manage it the earth-pony sitting beside me jumped a bit in her chair and nervously looked over at me “Hey Snowy I really hate to do this but I have to leave.”
“What! But you just got here why do you have to go anywhere?”
Glitter fidgeted around nervously, glancing over at the alicorn next to us “Well I didn’t want to say anything but the um ghouls we saved asked me to help them get to the next town. So I was leading them there but decided to try and find you for a moment. I’d like to stay but they need my help ya know?”
I would have tried to argue or at least go with her but the pain in my head and the look Zephyr gave me told me I wasn’t going anywhere for at least another day. So I conceded defeat and let her head out on her way, I was confused why the Fields’ would need to go stay somewhere ells but it occurred to me that I didn’t know how Ruby felt about ghouls so there might have been a problem.
As soon as she left I realized I had no idea what to do for the rest of the time I would be weak and Zephyr’s suggestion of a party didn’t sound to appealing at the moment. Pushing my forehoof up I checked over my pip-buck, thankfully it seemed to have weathered the fall mostly unscathed so I popped on the third recording of Nurse Rosepetal.
“Well here go’s it’s me again and this is my third journal entry. Allot has happened since the last time I recorded so I’ll try and get it all covered. First off the debate, I you could call it that is over and that Shadow Hooves guy is supposed to be running things now. Nopony has seen princess Cadence since the shield went up around the palace so I’m guessing that’s where she is but I was more surprised that prince Blueblood didn’t try and take over. He had always been complaining about how his aunts ran things but he took one look at Shadow Hooves and ran for the hills… what a coward.
I even go to meet Shadow Hooves the other day. I had been at the Manehatten hub for the M.O.P. when he came in. apparently he had been taking tours of all the Ministry hubs to try and get a feel for them. He seemed… odd when I met him, he was very kind and polite and he spouted off a whole bunch of stuff about making a memorial for the victims of the Ponyville incident and winning the war in their honor but something was just kinda… off about hem the whole time like there was something he was hiding.
In any event I suppose it’s obvious by now that we haven’t been blown up in a zebra attack yet. I’ve no idea how but the M.O.I. managed to stem the flow of information and kept the zebras in the dark about everything. I’m not really sure what to do now though, now that the shock has disappeared everypony is pulling themselves back together and continuing the war like nothing happened.
But I…I just can’t p-pretend it didn’t happen I lost the two p-ponies I cared the most about in Ponyville… and e-everypony else just wants to forget…
Red Heart… I… I miss you so m-much and… I can’t do this right now I s-should go back to work.”
Blinking a bit I realized I was crying a little by the end of the recording and I was suddenly glad I didn’t have a special somepony back in the stable. The opening door snapped me back to reality, I hadn’t realized Zephyr had left the room during the recoding but my face must have betrayed me because she bounced over and put a hoof over my shoulder “Aww its ok sis what’s got you so down? Was it that mare on your pip-buck or something and who was she anyway?”
“Her name was Rosepetal Zephyr she was a nurse in the M.O.P. 200 years ago.”
The alicorn hugged me a little tighter and used a hoof to wipe my tears “How come she sounded so sad then? I wasn’t trying to listen in because that would be rude but I did hear a little bit and she seemed real upset about something and now that something has you upset too.”
“Well you see she lost her special somepony in whatever happened in Ponyville and it just made me think of how sad I would be if I had somepony I cared about and I couldn’t ever see them again. That’s why I’m glad I never really made friends in the stable. The closest I ever came was Emerald and at least he’s out here with me.”
For a little while we stayed like that and I have to admit as odd as it was it felt kinds nice to have somepony trying to comfort me. After a few minutes though she pushed away and gently bonked me on the head saying that I shouldn’t be so sad and that I still needed sleep. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how tired I still was so after thanking her again for the help I lay back on my pillow and was out in moments.
*** *** ***
The second day passed much like the first and by the end of it I was more or less back to my old self. Though my horn wouldn’t be calling down anymore lightning yet but it was a start. Hearing Zephyr come through the door I slid myself up on the pillows just as she entered and glanced over at me “Hey big sis you’re looking way better today.”
“I do feel much better honestly; I won’t be lifting this house with magic but I’m more or less back to my old self.” I noticed she had her saddlebags back on which she hadn’t used since we met “Are you going somewhere already I was hoping you could stay a bit longer. Speaking of which I never asked you what you were doing out here in the first place I you don’t mind telling me.”
I was really being serious about wanting her to stay, sure she was insanely bubbly and bouncy but she had this infectious charm that made you have to like her. That charm disappeared at my questions however. I had seen her confused and even scared but at that moment she seemed to visibly deflate, her smile vanished, she stopped bouncing, and even her mane and tail seemed to slump “Um ya I have to get back soon sis. If I stay much longer Solaris will come looking for me and you don’t need that grumpyhooves here while you’re trying to get better. As for what I was doing… well I didn’t find you by accident… I was sent here to…” she frowned miserably as she slid a large silver, gem encrusted revolver from her bags “Sorry big sis… I was sent here to try and kill you.”
*** *** ***
Having guns pointed at you in the waists was almost an everyday thing but seeing somepony like Zephyr holding a weapon still unsettled me for a moment “Y-you what!”
The mare looked thoroughly disgusted with herself as she replied “I… I have to try and kill you sis. Solaris is tracking your movements, I don’t know how but she is, and when she saw that you had stopped for a while she sent me out here to… to test you and see what your capable of.”
I had no idea why that mule of an alicorn would want me dead but I had more pressing issues at the moment that I had to worry about. Zephyr looked like she wanted to fling the gun out the window instead of use it so I assumed I could talk her down but I had to think quickly.
Casting my mind around I quickly made a plan “Wait! Zephyr if you’re just here to test me then we don’t have to fight.”
The alicorn hesitated for a moment, taking a small step backwards, and raised an eyebrow in confusion “What do you mean? Is there something I could do instead, I can’t just leave so please if you have an idea please let me know.”
“Well you already saw that I can call down lightning so why not just go back and tell her that. It is something she would want to hear right?”
Zephyr looked like I’d told her hearths’ warming had come early, relief spread over her features and she pulled the shaking gun from my face. I let myself relax as well while she slid the gun back into her bag so it was surprising when she threw her hooves around me crying “T- thanks big sis I… I really didn’t want to have to fight you. I hate fighting but I have to do what she tells me… it’s not fair and… and I hope you can forgive me.”
A few hours had passed since Zephyr had regained her composure and left. Packing my gear up I was about to follow her since I had been here for at least three days since the Vanguard showed up.  Slinging everything back on I walked out the door one final time before walking a few feet and taking to the air heading northwest.
It felt wonderful to stretch my wings after two days in bed and the night air was cool and refreshing. The night was dark even with the moon, what little you could see of it through the clouds, appearing to be full but my vision seemed sharper than it had been before so the shadows held no secrets from me.
Flapping my wings I gained a little altitude till I was just under the cloud ceiling and continued on my way. Green Meadows was a day away from the old farmhouse but that was by hoof with my wings I figured it would only take most of the night to get there.
Realizing I had some time to kill I tried to find something to occupy myself when a thought struck me. I was flying, I had time to myself, and I didn’t have anypony with me which meant I could do something special, I could finally see the sky.
Pulling myself into a climb I braced for a moment and pushed above the clouds.
*** *** ***
It was breathtaking, I had wondered for a time if the sky would actually be like it was in my story books but the truth was it was even better. My wings failed me and had I not been able to walk on them I would have fallen right back through the clouds as I gazed up at the majesty of Luna’s night.
Above me uncountable stars sparkled in hundreds if not thousands of patterns I couldn’t begin to name and in the center of it all the great alabaster disk of the moon made its graceful arc through the sky.
For a while I just sat there basking in the star’s glow and trying to figure out how the cloud underneath me managed to feel rock solid and wonderfully soft simultaneously. Gazing up at the vastness of the night I took some time to ponder over what little explanation I could get out of Zephyr once she had calmed down.
According to her she and I were related though not through blood. She had said that near the end of the war there was a large amount of ponies that were not happy with how Shadow Hooves was running Equestria so the Ministry of Arcane Science formed a secretive project to make alicorns like the missing princess. Both Zephyr and Solaris were some of the results of that project and somehow it also had something to do with my transformation.
I had a hard time believing that two hundred year old M.A.S. experiment was responsible for me but Zephyr had said that I would have to ask the pissy white alicorn I first met if I wanted more info. Seeing as I had no idea where she was and she did try to have me killed I figured my questions would have to wait.
I had just pulled myself to my hooves deciding to get back to my flight towards town when I heard the flapping of wings and saw two specks heading in my direction fast.
When I had made it outside and found out almost all pegesi had hidden themselves above the clouds I had thought about how I would meet them. Of all the scenarios that had played in my head none of them involved me diving into the clouds to try and avoid the fast approaching figures. Checking my E.F.S. the bars that represented the ponies were blue but that didn’t mean they would stay that way. While I was debating about if I should run a cool, slightly mechanical female voice cut through the night “Uh… you know we can see you through the clouds right? Just come out without any weapons and nopony has to get hurt.”
Too late I realized that if they were here then they must have known where I was before arriving here. Figuring it couldn’t hurt I activated the glamor spell Ruby had taught me and shivered as I felt the ripple of energy pass over me then slowly pushed myself back above the cloud I was in.
It took me a moment to realize that the two armored figures in front of me were in fact pegesi. Whereas the Steele Rangers armor was large and bulky this stuff was sleek and light with ceramics used instead of metal. Taking a moment to look at one another the pony on my left, the female, spoke up to break the silence “You’re not from Thunderhead and your crude armor reeks of dirt-pony so would you care to identify yourself and explain what you’re doing in Enclave airspace?”
“Um well I have no idea what the Enclave is but I’m sorry for being in your… airspace was it? Anyway my name is Snowy Flanks and I’m not a dirt-pony at least I don’t think I am? I did come from a stable though if that’s what you mean.”
I could practically hear the slight *thunk* of their mouths hitting the bottoms of their helmets. Realizing how insane I must have just sounded I tried to rephrase my statement when the mare cut me off “Look I would call liar… but nopony this oblivious could be lying. In any case we need to talk but we can’t do it here so I recommend you follow us back down.”
A slight feeling of unease crept over me as followed the two pegesi back through the clouds and towards a building that looked to have been a station on an old railway. Once inside the other one closed the door and flicked a switch on the wall causing some old lights to flicker to life. The room appeared to have been converted into some sort of domicile, there were storage chests for weapons and gear, two beds, a table, a bathroom, and even an impromptu kitchen.
Glancing about the room I brought my vision back to the mare in front of me just as she popped off her helmet. Her orange coat went well with her cute brown mane and eyes, though the cute effect was lost somewhat with the large scar down her right eye. As she sat her helmet on one of the beds the other pegasus moved to stand next to her. Before I could ask any questions the orange mare gave me a slightly reassuring smile “Well I suppose we should get this started, I’m 1st Lieutenant Windy Wings of the 1st Neighvarro Special Operations Division and this is Corporal Stormcloud, he’s also of the 1st S.O.D.”
When she indicated the pony on her left he just pawed at the floor a bit and nodded slightly which was one of the few things I hadn’t been expecting form them. Seeming to notice my look the mare just chuckled a moment before saying “Don’t mind him he just has a tendency to get nervous around other mares, especially the ones he finds kinda cute. Regardless how about you drop that spell you got up and show us what you really look like.”
I was planning on picking my jaw up off the floor when I was blindsided by a comment from Stormcloud “Mom! Don’t say things like that in front of the… oh… uh oops.”
“Wait… you two are related and how could you possibly know about me?! I have a spell to hide my horn so… how?”
The mare just chuckled and nudged the other pony’s shoulder “Yep Storm here is my boy, mothers got to look after her son somehow right? Also even if I didn’t already have a pretty good idea who you are I could still tell. You carry yourself with the confidence of somepony with magic.”
My feelings of unease came back with a vengeance but like before they were the ones with the weird gem tipped things on their armor. I wasn’t sure if they were guns of some sort and I didn’t want to find out. Besides if Windy knew who I was from the start and wanted me dead she probably would have killed me so against my better judgment I let the spell drop around me saying “Well here you go but I still want to ask some questions. Like what the Enclave is and how you know me.”
“Well the easiest way to explain it is that the Enclave is more or less the pegesi governmental power here above the clouds. Like the Vanguard we’re remnants of old Equestria, in this case pegesi and a small number of unicorns that were caught in the bio-domes when the bombs dropped.”
“That explanation certainly asked more questions than it answered. Look I don’t mean to be rude but you’re going to have to give me way more detail.”
Windy nodded and offered me a seat at her table before taking one herself and even getting Storm to join us. Once seated the stallion finally removed his helmet and set it on the table. He had most of the looks of his mother except for his eyes, his shiny forest green eyes… and the crimson blush on his cheeks. Nudging her son’s shoulder again and smirking slightly the orange mare continued her explanation “I’ll try my best but a lot of our history is classified to anypony not in the Enclave. I suppose the easiest place to start is the bio-domes, as I’m sure you know once the war got bad enough Stable-Tec started work on the stables to keep ponies safe if the worst happened. Since you’ve been in one you’d know that they weren’t made with pegesi in mind so when the Ministry Of Awesome, which was founded by Rainbow Dash, spent most of their time and resources to make something better.”
*** *** ***
The concept of the Bio-Domes, large landmasses with towns and even city’s on them surrounded by a magic shield and floating up in the sky, fascinated me to no end. “But hang on; if they built all of them in the sky wouldn’t the zebras have been able to find them easily?”
Before the mare could even begin to formulate and answer there was a small crackling noise and a tiny voice came from her discarded helmet “1st Lieutenant come in this is Thunderhead base. Have you dealt with the intruder yet, if so return to base immediately. I repeat if the threat has been neutralized return to base immediately.”
Walking over to the bed the mare made a quick reply into her helmet and turned back to us “Damn looks like I’m out of time. Something’s come up and H.Q. wants up topside on the double so we’ll have to continue this later but first take my advice, stay below the clouds. While the Enclave isn’t your enemy they certainly aren’t your friends either, so if you go back up there and meet another group of pegesi they might still attack you.”
With that the two flyers hurriedly left and I was once again alone. Feeling frustrated that I mostly just got more questions out of that conversation I slipped out the door and, making sure to push the lock back on, took wing once again.
Once more the night air swirled around me as I processed what little I had learned from Windy. At the very least I knew that there were still ponies above the clouds and that they must exist in a relatively large number. On the other hoof though I was extremely worried about the surveillance they were doing on me, even more so since I didn’t know how it worked but there wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment so I just kept flying.
*** *** ***
Winging my way to the north the flight was relaxing and uneventful, something which I was extremely grateful for given my recent amount of excitement. The relaxing properties of flight were muted somewhat by my own racing thoughts; it would appear the four separate groups were interested in me. There was the Vanguard who wanted me captured for some reason, the mysterious pony named D who sent a merc after me, my supposed sisters who seemed to want to hug me and kill me in equal measure, and finally the Enclave who so far were just monitoring me.
Slowing down I catch sight of a tall building on the horizon. It was at least ten stories tall and must have been well built to survive this long. Below it noticed the indistinct shape of a much smaller complex of some kind but I was still too far away to make it out.
Not wanting to be caught with my horn hanging out so to speak I landed and reactivated the disguise spell, feeling that strange tingle wash over my head I pressed forward. I stopped my trot as I came to a fork in the road. Above me a large two-part sign jutted out of the darkness of what I assumed to be early morning.
Glancing at the rusty and pitted sign I caught the name of Green Meadows on the first one. I started to trot on through but stopped myself long enough to look over the second sign, whereas Green Meadows looked at least freshly painted if not freshly repaired the second sigh had all of its original lettering scratched out and replaced by a small crudely written word Horntown.
Making a note to examine the other town at a later date I kept walking till the sun started to rise behind the clouds and the building came into focus. It seemed like it had been a very nice resort at one time though its grandeur had been lessoned by years of neglect and a massive hole in a corner of the sixth floor. Getting closer to the building I could see that a small wall had been built around the tower.
My advance came to a sudden halt when I was greeted by three heavily armed earth-ponies standing at either side and on top of what had to be the gate into the town. I heard the distinctive sound of rounds being pushed into chambers as I finished my approach and the stallion on the mounted gun above the gated barked out gruffly “What do you want featherbrain? We already made it clear we don’t want no Enclave here so why don’t you just turn around and go back where ya came from.”
Sizing up the opposition it didn’t take long to realize I was a bit outclassed. Sure I could drop my spell and bring my rifle to bear but that would utterly defeat the purpose of my disguise anyway, with that in mind all I had at my disposal was my tiny little pea shooter. Taking these factors into account I figured I should at least try to talk to them “Um excuse me sir but I believe you’re mistaken. I’m not part of the Enclave; all I want is just a place to rest after being on the road.”
“Oh you don’t say. Listen how in Equestria am I supposed to believe a pegasus I’ve never seen before. If you want to rest here you’ll have to give me a pretty good excuse.”
Before I could reply a second stallion trotted into view atop the wall saying “Well I’d like to think that the fact that she’s not wearing any power armor or carrying around a huge buck-off magical energy weapon was all the proof you needed Scattershot but I guess you just too thick to see it.”
I could see the pony on the mounted gun round angrily on the other stallion as the two of them began a heated, if whispered, conversation. The other two just stood there with their battle-saddles trained on me while we waited for them to finish because, honestly, where was I going to go?
*** *** ***
Much sooner than I expected the gate slowly opened and I got a good look at the buck that had come, more or less, to my defense. His deep black coat and blue-green eyes went well with his smooth voice though the odd green of his mane and tail was slightly off putting. Giving a ghost of a smile he ushered me inside and introduced himself as Dusk.
Heading inside the large building I was caught by just how extravagant the place seemed to be. Sure it was about two hundred years out of date and slightly worn but the large lobby we found ourselves in was still the ritziest place I had ever been bar none. My head spun as I tried to inspect every part of the room at once. From the large lounge area with its multiple chairs and tables to the smattering of shops and a small café set into the walls of the building, all of it decked out in marble and expensive looking wood.
Everywhere around me ponies dressed in what would have been high fashion before the war went about their daily business. Although it would have been easier to enjoy the pomp and grandeur if it wert for the fact that everypony in the place seemed to be staring at me like I had some kind of plague (which would have been a valid concern now that I think about it) and all the armed earth-ponies working a security looked like they were a hairsbreadth from turning me to Swiss cheese.
Sensing my unease at the situation Dusk chuckled a bit and led me up a large staircase to what appeared to be a small metal room set in the wall. At my questioning look the stallion stepped inside and motioned for me to follow, once I did the door closed behind me and at press of a button the room began to move “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen an elevator before Snowy.”
Pulling myself from behind him I blushed scarlet, in truth I hadn’t seen anything like it before as there were none in the stable and every building I had been in thus far was under three stories. Hearing that Dusk put a hoof on my shoulder and explained how the thing worked. As I listened to the explanation a sudden thought jumped out at me “Hey Dusk I was wondering so far I’ve just seen earth-ponies here.”
The black stallion rubbed a hoof through his mane nervously “Well that would be because there are only earth-ponies here in Green Meadows.”
“How did you manage that I know pegesi are rare but shouldn’t there be at least one unicorn here or something?”
Before he could answer the elevator stopped and the door opened into a room with a large desk and two hallways leading off on either side. The mare sitting at the desk had the decency to not stare at me in slack-jawed terror but she still looked nervous none the less. Dusk strode into the room saying “Hey there Lily this mare is here on the Mayor’s orders and she needs a room all right?”
With that he spun on his hoof and after bidding me farewell with the promise to speak later he left me there alone.  Giving my own nervous laugh I took a few steps forward “Well hello there miss my names Snowy. Sorry to barge in on you like this I really could use a room and I have plenty of bottle caps for payment.”
The white mare blinked a few times before turning to me “Uh… well it’s nice to meet you Snowy I’m Calla Lily but everypony just calls me Lily. Anyway welcome to the Green Meadow inn. Don’t worry about payment if Dusk says you’re here to see the mayor I’ll get my bottle caps.”
“Um actually Dusk never told me why he let me in come to think of it.”
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation “That doesn’t surprise me very much to be honest. He doesn’t seem like a bad stallion but there’s something strange about him. Anyway I’ve got plenty of free rooms so let’s get you a place to sleep.”
As she stood up from her haunches and walked around the desk I heard a sound from her I was all too familiar with. A slight added weight to one hoof and a tiny metallic clunk, the same noise came from my own prosthetic hoof. Sure enough when she rounded the side I caught the telltale gleam of steel on her back right leg. Catching my stare the mare just sighed “Bet you’re glad to know you’re not the only pony with a bit of metal in them hmm.”
Leading me down the hallway I tried my best not to stare at her prosthetic leg… or her the way her curled yellow-orange tail was… never mind. Eventually we made our way to a room far down the hall and Lily took a key from the chain on her neck and set it in my hoof, looking at the keys on her neck and counting how many doors we passed it was pretty clear she didn’t get many visitors.
Walking inside I was surprised when she fallowed me in and hoped on my bed saying “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get yours?”
“Well I suppose it’s ok if I can do the same. It wasn’t anything exciting or anything I just got into a bad tussle with a nightstalker.”
She waited till I sat next to her replying “Well mine has a bit of a story behind it, in fact it actually has a lot to do with my cutiemark here.”
Looking down I was greeted by the picture of a revolver with a long stemmed calla lily wound around the barrel and cylinder “I got this when I was very young unfortunately. Back then I was living with my grandmother in a small town out west of Manehatten when one day a group of raiders attacked us trying to steal our food and supplies. Once they got into town they started killing everypony and I was scared but I didn’t want them to hurt my grandma so in desperation I grabbed my father’s old revolvers from the mantle for when they came to my house. That was the day I killed my first pony.”
“Wait how were you able to use two pistols at once?”
The mare grinned slightly, her teal eyes shining with mischief, and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially “I’m not going to tell ya… yet. Got to save some surprises right?”
“Regardless after the town pulled itself back together I started practicing with my guns as much as I could, trying to get better at using them, and when I came of age I set out on my own. See some of the raiders that attacked my town survived and got out when the fight turned against them. So full of vengeful anger I set out to find them.”
*** *** ***
Listening to her tale of vengeance I was reminded once again how unforgiving the wasteland could be. It also occurred to me just how much I didn’t have a goal out here, at first I had just wanted freedom but now the closest thing I had to a mission was trying to find Glitter and Emerald. Technically I was still heading to Ponyville though I was becoming increasingly unsure if that was a wise thing to do. However since I had no clue where my friends were other than Glitter saying she would be here somewhere it seemed like I was still headed towards the strange crater… right after I found out what the mayor wanted from me.
Lily apparently noticed my lack of attentiveness as I suddenly felt a small nudge and turned to see her walking out of the room saying “I’m sure you have a lot on your mind. I’ll finish the story another time. Meanwhile you should try and get some rest; if the mayor wants to see you you’re probably going to need it.”
Hearing the door close I quickly walked over and flipped the lock before letting my disguise drop and falling back on the bed. I had been resting a fair amount the last two days but my mind was swirling with all the information I had been given so some sleep sounded nice.
Pulling my gear off my head hit the pillow and I drifted off into a restful sleep.
Footnote: 26% to next level
(Authors note: first off I’d like to apologize to everypony for taking so long. Real life got in the way fallowed by some massive writers block and the start of a second project. Regardless of this chapter eight will take much less time than this and should be out next Monday.
Secondly thanks for the likes and favorites from everypony. Also don’t forget to post some comment I’d love to hear what you guys think.
Anyway thanks for the patience everybody, hope to see ya soon.)
 Fallout Equestria © to Kkat
My Little Pony: Fim © to Hasbro
Snowy flanks and other oc’s © Me
    

 
            


              
            
      
    
            
    
  
        
    
                  

 
  
 
    
                
    
                  


    

                  
 
  

 
          
                  
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