Chapter 25 Build It Up With Sticks and Stones

Ravager Blitzfire

When we hopped through the portal we noticed that Ashe Erza and her team had already returned to Sanctuary. They had a deer pony with them, just as we had brought along Salem. I had thought I'd never see another radstag after leaving Cumberland, but here we were. However, I didn't think he was actually irradiated. He must be something else because he was not mutated like a radstag.

"Hello," I called to Ashe as we walked up.

"Good morning," Ashe smiled at us. "Glad to see everypony is alright."

"Glad to see you as well," the Guardian said. "Who's this you have with you?" he looked at the deer pony.

Ashe looked toward the black cat, "I could ask the same of you."

"I'm Salem Saberhagen." said Salem to Ashe and she lifted a hoof to shake his paw. He grabbed it and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "Nice to make your acquaintence." he gave her a look above his short snout.

"Oh, a pleasure indeed." Lady Ashe giggled.

"Flirt," Combat rolled his eyes.

"Oi, my name is Riggs Bailey," said the deer pony.

"I didn't think I'd ever meet another stag," I said behind a hoof to Capper.

"Me neither," Capper said.

"Me third," said Cheshire. "The only stag I know is Mist Haze on Cumber." he purred as he swirled around Riggs. The stag seemed unaware of Cheshire's presence, yet his nose twitched and he waved a hoof in subtle annoyance.

"I think I'm allergic to cats," he put a hoof to his face, scratching.

"Actually, you must be detecting the presence of Cheshire," said the Colonel.

"Ooohh!" Pumpkin Spice bounced up and down, "How cool! It's like he grows more and more real each day!"

"He is real," said Capper in response.

"Guardian," said Ashe Erza, "what can you tell me of the Museum of Witchcraft. I prefer to hear your news first, as it may lift my spirits."

Buck shook his head, "I can tell you we've got good news and bad news."

"Give me the bad news first."

"From what I gather, the Magistrate was definitely there. She attempted to awaken an ancient darkling entity in order to steal a very powerful book of magic. She was not successful. The bad news is that she was nowhere to be found anywhere in Manehattan."

"The good news?"

"The good news is that we managed to stop the darkling from capturing the book."

OJ shouted, "We put the Woogyman to rest! He can't hurt anypony anymore. And there are two sisters and a kitty-cat guarding it now."

"Two sisters?"

"My witch master, Sun and my brother's master Sand along with my brother Thackery Binx." Salem explained. "The Magistrate bitch that tried to steal the book was after the Book of the Damned. These fine stallions and mare managed to stop the evil ritual and restore the Book of Shadows. Now Sand and Sun guard it from the evil that once attempted to steal it in the first place."

"Can we hear your news now?" asked Buck, locking eyes with the Colonel.

"Of course, though I must warn it is with heavy heart that I must inform you of our next mission." said Erza.

"Is finding Priscilla no longer a priority?" asked OJ. Of course he'd be concerned about her. I really hoped we'd still try and find her.

"Priscilla?" Riggs stroked his chin. "I feel as though I've heard that name." he was bouncing from hoof to hoof, click-clack, click-clack, energetically.

"Strange sense of deja vu, huh?" asked Pumpkin Spice with a huge smile.

"Finding Prissy can be made a priority, once we find Ethan Bailey," Ashe Erza announced.

"Awe pone!" Orange Juice whined. Wonder went to comfort him.

"It'll be okay OJ. We'll find Prissy, don't you worry."

Riggs spoke up, addressing the Guardian and the Colonel, "Sir, ma'am, the only way we're going to find my son is to head to the Institute of Friendship. However, I don't know how to get there."

"What? But aren't you a synth?" Cherry asked.

"I am, and I did originate from the Institute, but that was a long time ago. Before I adopted Ethan, before I realized just how fucked up the Institute really is."

"You got that right!" Combat put in.

"How would we find out how to infiltrate the Institute?" asked Buck.

Capper held up a paw, "I think if there were any good leads to follow up on, we would start with either Piper or the Railroad."

"I would also be a good resource," Press seemingly appeared out of nowhere and I jumped, startled. "As we have the capabilities of setting up settlements we can continue to spread across the Broncston Wastes and help you put an end to anarchy here."

"It would make travelling through the wasteland a lot easier," commented Ashe.

Guardian said, "We'll get back to you on that. I want to head to the Railroad first."

"Head to the North Church," I said, "there's a hidden passageway inside that leads directly to the Railroad HQ."

"Once we get there I could set up a fast travel gate." Erza nodded.

"Sounds like y'all got everything settled then." said Capper.

"Indeed!" Pumpkin Spice was bouncing in place.

I watched as OJ shuffled off, Wonder on his tail. He was down in the dumps about Priscilla and we were all obviously ignoring him. I bit my lip and looked around at the Fort ponies, how they all continued to make plans and ignore OJ just as they always seemed to have done. This is why I hated the Guardian program, he wasn't a true Guardian to that colt, he was his military Sergeant and nothing more. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. He gave a grunt and I felt eyes on me as I left the scene.

"OJ!" I called as I approached. Wonder glanced up and narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry hotshot, I'm not here to steal your coltfriend. I've already got a tomfriend." I gave a short scowl then smiled at OJ. "Hey bud…"

"I don't want to talk to you right now." spat OJ.

"Hear that, he doesn't want to talk to you." Wonder snapped.

"Alright, but I guess that means you don't want to hear what I have to say about Priscilla?"

OJ's ears perked up but he didn't stop staring at the ground. I knew I had piqued his interest. "What is it then?" he mumbled underneath his breath. I saw Wonder roll his eyes and get up to leave. He stretched his back and stared at me for a moment.

"I'm going to Double Diamond City soon, to talk to Piper. If you'd like to come I'm sure she'd know a thing or two about Priscilla's situation."

"She would?" OJ looked up at me, finally making eye contact.

Wonder rolled his eyes and brayed, "Oh how nice of you to finally acknowledge OJ's feelings." OJ looked confused.

"Look, I know the way I left was a bit rushed but I had no other choice."

"You had a choice pal and you chose to leave OJ in the dust. Don't you know how much that hurt him?"

"I don't know about all that but I can easily observe the lot of you hurting him every second of every day you're with him."

"How? How do we hurt him, explain it then."

"STOP!" OJ shouted, "Just stop…" we both blinked at him. "Blitz is right Wonder…"

"Wh-what?" Wonder choked.

"You guys seem to forget that I'm here all the damn time!" OJ cried. "You talk about me like I'm some kind of child and that I don't matter. Well I'm not a child. Not anymore. I'm 28 years old for Faust damn sake."

"I know that OJ, I'm sorry."

OJ stood abruptly. "Don't be." and he shoved past both of us, heading toward the Guardian. Wonder and I blinked at each other…

Orange Juice

I huffed and puffed angrily as I stomped toward Buck. My oh so glorified Guardian. Did anypony ever stop to think about how I might feel? No! Because to them I was just some kid who needed to be babied. I wasn't fresh out of the Stable and I wasn't born yesterday. I was so sick of it. Yeah, maybe I was immature sometimes but if the situation called for it, I could be just as mature as the rest of them. Why couldn't anypony see that? I shouldn't have to explain it.

"I'm going with Blitz to talk to Piper," I announced as I approached the Guardian and Lady Ashe.

There conversation stopped suddenly and Buck stared at me like I was crazy, "OJ, I'm sorry but I'm heading to the Railroad HQ with Ashe."

I lost it, "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GOING TO TARTARUS WITH FAUST HERSELF. I'M GOING TO DOUBLE DIAMOND CITY WITH BLITZ AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT." I had my hooves spread in a defensive position and my breath was heavy.

"It appears as though the Prince has spoken," Ashe nudged the Guardian with a smile on her face.

"Don't you patronize me," I glared daggers at her and she backed up a step. Her expression faltered and she looked genuinely intimidated. I realized I had both my wings spread to their full wingspan.

"Hey, Guardian," Pumpkin Spice tapped on his shoulder pauldron and he jumped, completely startled. I'd never seen a pony sneak up on him like that before, not even Pumpkin Spice. Something had him caught off guard. "Orange Juice and I are going with Blitz to Double Diamond City." I tried my best to regulate my breathing as I watched the Guardian go from tense to relaxed very slowly.

"O-Okay Pumpkin Spice…" he cleared his throat. "That sounds like a good plan to me. Take Wonder with you."

"Then we are off!" declared Lady Ashe. The two of them, followed by Cherry, Felia, Joyride, Salem and Combat entered the gate.

Double Diamond City was blanketed in a layer of snow when we stepped through the gate. I saw Capper adjust his sleeves and Blitz pull his vest collar over his neck. Pumpkin shifted her scarf and Wonder cast a spell. I had my wings but I could tell it was cold here. "Winter is here!" came a voice I recognized. I looked over and saw Piper waving a newspaper. "Here's a list of supplies to help you get through it!" she was shouted to anypony who would listen.

I smiled and skipped over to her. "I'll take a list! How much?" I was reaching into my saddlebags for my coin purse.

She looked at me, startled, "What you mean you actually want this garbage?"

"I don't think it's garbage," I told her. "I think it's wonderful that you write. Here, I'll give you 10 caps." I handed her the change and she slowly but surely relinquished her grip on the page.

"10 caps…" she breathed staring at them like they were a lost treasure she'd been searching for her whole life.

"Hey Piper," said Blitzfire as they approached her.

"H-Hi…" she breathed, still fascinated by the caps I had given her. She stuffed them into her pocket and smiled up at us. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"We're here to ask about Priscilla!" I proclaimed, getting ahead of myself.

"Not just yet Orange Juice," said Pumpkin Spice.

"We wanted to ask y'all, where might we find the Institute?" Capper leaned on a lamp post beside Piper's little burrow.

"Why are you looking for the Institute, detective?" she eyed us warily.

"A little pony, just a colt, got kidnapped!" Pumpkin Spice exclaimed.

"What!?" Piper's eyes went wide. "Who? Who got kidnapped?"

"His name was Ethan Bailey. He's a radstag," Capper said.

"And what does Priscilla have to do with it?" Piper turned to me.

"Well…she was a good pony but apparently she's using something called a moonstone and now she's evil." my lower lip quivered.

"Priscilla became a Courser Magistrate, we think she's the one who kidnapped that poor colt." Capper straightened up. I saw Cheshire swirling around him, snickering behind his paws. I stuck my tongue out.

"If Priscilla is a Courser then that's your next step," said Piper.

"What is?" asked Blitz.

Piper heaved a huge sigh, "Courser Magistrates are the only ponies capable of travelling to and from the Institute at will."

"Where might we find a Courser Magistrate, so we could find out how they travel that way?" asked Capper.

"I have no clue who in their right mind would want to travel to the Institute but if you're really so inclined then I would go to the School of Friendship in the Capital Wasteland." Piper pursed her lips. "One other thing: bring backup, and a lot of it. The school will be filled to the brim with synthetics."

"Will we find Priscilla there?" I asked her.

"You very well might. If her job in Equestria is incomplete then she'd have returned there to regroup and create a new plan. Where do you think all the synths come from?"

"Then we have to go to the School of Friendship at once!" I made a proclamation, hopefully my friends would agree.

We returned to Sanctuary through the fast travel gate and we had to wait a couple hours before the Guardian and his group returned. The time passed slowly and I felt very bored. I half wished that I could still play with Dime, but he and his parents were still stationed at Griffonstone Station. I kicked around a lost soccer ball as I waited.

Finally they came through the gate, but things weren't looking up. Every one of them had a grim expression set on their muzzles. Combat just looked pissed, scowling and snapping at anypony who got too close. Cherry was in a similar mood but he was less up front about it. Ashe Erza had a determined expression on her face.

"We must embark immediately," she was saying to Buck.

"Where are we going?" I asked them as they approached the Community Center.

The Guardian had a dark look on his face as he intoned, "We're heading to the School of Friendship…"