Sunset Over The Wastelandby Thunder-BoltChaptersChapter 1: Days Gone ByeChapter 2: Welcome To The CitadelChapter 3: Staking Out The PrizeChapter 4: The Plan/Meeting The WivesChapter 5: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 1)Chapter 6: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 2)Chapter 7: A Break at BartertownChapter 1: Days Gone ByeChapter 1 Twilight Sparkle burst through the twin doors of her castle, using whatever strength she had left to carry herself all the way to her bedroom. When she finally made it there, Twilight collapsed on the bed. She let out a long, exasperated sigh. She had been forced to spend the better part of the day fighting yet another monster trying to wreak havoc in Ponyville. It had been an excruciating fight, but a fight that had been won. The beast had been sent to Tartarus, and the town had settled back into it’s normal mid-evening routine. Twilight lay on her bed, her thoughts revisiting all the other wild animals and whatnot she and her friends had fought and beaten over the years. There was knock on her door. “Mm. Come in.” she said. It was Spike. “Hey, Twi. Saw you fighting that thing out there and I thought I’d whip up some food when you got back.” Spike explained with a smile. “Aw, thanks Spike. I could use something to eat right now” She replied. Twilight heaved herself off the bed and trotted downstairs, after Spike. He had indeed made her food that looked absolutely delicious. She sat down and started to eat. “You know Twilight” Spike started. “You’ve been on edge quite a bit lately.” Twilight looked up from her plate. “Have I?” She inquired. “Yeah you have. I mean with all the responsibility you’ve undertaken when you became a Princess, you just seem a lot more… I don’t wanna say cranky perse, but you definitely seem more… edgy.” “I see.” Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Well Spike, unfortunately it’s not like I can drop everything and go on vacation all of a sudden.” “Actually, you can.” “Huh?” Twilight was confused. Spike smiled. “Well, because I am your number one assistant, I decided to take matters into my own hands and packed your bags. Because you’re goin’ on a vacation!” Spike said enthusiastically. Twilight blinked. “But Spike, I haven't even agreed to go on a-” She was interrupted by Spike. “Twilight, the way I see it, you’re going to drive yourself mad at this point. Besides, I’ve already cleared up everything with the other princesses. Plus, Shining Armor has agreed to look over Ponyville. All you’ve got to do is pick where you wanna go.” Spike beamed, clearly proud that he’d been able to take care of all that himself. Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve certainly been busy.” Twilight sat back in her chair, still unbelieving in the fact that her unplanned vacation had come together so quickly. “Just some of the perks of being able to send letters anywhere in Equestria!” Spike joked. “So, where do you want to go?” “Hmmm.” Twilight pondered. “I haven’t seen my friends at Canterlot High in a while.” “Then it’s settled!” Spike said “I’ll go get your bags.” Twilight stopped him. “Spike, they’ll have everything I need over there.” Spike’s ears drooped. “You mean I did all that packing for nothing?” Twilight giggled “Sorry.” “Aww.” Spike complained, kicking the crystal floor in frustration. *** Twilight flipped the dusty switch and stepped back quickly. She listened to crackling of electricity and groaning of machinery as the portal sprung to life. It had taken some time to get the thing in working order again, but it would be worth the effort if she could get a break from the work of being co-ruler of Equestria. Spike had headed out to tell Twilight’s friends that she was leaving, all of them had since come by to see her off. “Don’t be a stranger.” Rainbow Dash mused. “Please be sure to take care of yourself darling.” Rarity said. “Ya’ll have a good time, now.” Applejack followed. “Be safe.” Fluttershy said. “HAVE AN AWESOME SUPER DUPER LUPER HUPER FANTASTIC VACATION!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Twilight jumped back a little as Pinkie got in her face, but let out a small chuckle. “Thank you everypony, I’ll be sure to have a good time.” Twilight replied. Spike walked up to her side and said, while smiling. “Pleeeeaaaaassse tell me I can come you!” Twilight turned to him. “Now Spike, we’ve discussed this.” Spike groaned. “But Twilight, I never get to go to Canterlot High with you anymore.” Twilight frowned at him. “Spike-” Spike grunted at her and crossed his scaly arms. “Yeah, yeah, the whole multiple Spike-alternate dimension bit.” Spike walked back to the larger group, still in a disappointed mood. Twilight looked back to her friends. “Well, I guess I’m off then.” She received hugs from each pony at different intensities. Several different “byes” were heard. Twilight looked to the swirling mass of the portal’s vortex held by the frame of the machine. She gave one final “goodbye” to her friends which was met by another round of goodbyes. She pushed herself inside the portal, leaving the world of Equestria behind her. *** Twilight landed with a light “pomf” onto the ground. She still needed to get used to the ride between worlds. She regained her bearings and got herself to her feet, startled to find herself covered in sand. She then looked up, of course expecting to see the school. But she didn’t. “What the…” Twilight shakily whispered. Her eyes became as wide as dinner plates when she realized she was right in the middle of a dessert. Dunes of sand were the only things that were visible. Twilight spun around only to see the Canterlot High statue half buried. Twilight backed up and ended up falling on her rump. She barely paid any mind to the fall, as she was still reeling from the shock of the change between what the human world looked like before and after she last left. She was made entirely of questions, and confusion. She still had the same clothes she always had every time she went through the portal. Something had gone wrong while she was away, that much was certain. She needed to get back to Equestria, and figure out what the hay was going on. She stumbled to her feet and practically flew to the statue. She slammed her body up against the thing, desperate to get back to her own world. However she found that the portal wouldn’t open to her. She pounded on the statue, again, and again, and again. Then she heaved her entire human body up against the statue. Twilight realized the portal wouldn’t open. “Come on! There has to be some way to open this thing!” She was frustrated beyond comparison. After several minutes of pounding the statue, she realized that the portal wasn’t going to open. Now she was scared, legitimately scared. Twilight turned to face the open desert. The reality of the dense heat suddenly hit her like a freight train. She went to wipe a few beads of sweat off her head. She figured that standing around in the middle of this dessert wasn’t going to help anybody. Best try and find civilization. “I need to move.” She said to herself. She decided to start walking to her left. As she walked, she struggled to find a good foothold in the sand. This whole thing was almost surreal. Unreal. She just had to figure out what was going on. She had to find her Canterlot High friends. However she was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of a car engine. Now she had heard car engines before, well before whatever happened here. But this engine sounded much, much more rugged. More worn. She spun on her heels, thanking Celestia that there was someone else out in this dessert. However, her thankfulness turned to dread when she got a good look at the car. And the men riding it. From what her friends had told her, before the last time she left, this frightening vehicle was a “Volkswagen Beetle”. This car looked like it shouldn’t have been running at all. It was completely rusted. It had a number of spikes lined across its frame. The tires had jagged metal plates covering the tires. The most horrifying aspect, however, were the men driving the car. They had milk white skin, wore only cargo pants, no t-shirt, and both wore goggles. The men, if they could be called that, had by now had taken notice of her and had started to drive their vehicle towards her. Every instinct in Twilight’s body told her to run her hardest and fastest. So, that’s exactly what Twilight did. She turned away and ran. And ran, and ran. She could hear the car’s engine steadily getting louder, getting closer. She didn’t dare look back, she had to concentrate on moving her legs and nothing else. She had never run this hard before, and due to her untrained body, she was losing momentum. By this point, the car’s motor had dissipated all other thought. This time she did look back, in time to see the rusted Volkswagen hit a dune. The car sailed over her head, she actually had to dive to avoid getting hit. Hitting the sand hard, she saw the vehicle land in front of her. It turned toward her as she got up.Twilight immediately knew she had been beat. There was no possible way to escape the car at this distance (15 feet). She decided to speak to the two men. Hoping they spoke English, she timidly asked “Who are you?” They just looked at her for a moment, as if processing the question. Then the man driving the Volkswagen cackled at the question. The man riding the in the back followed in the laughter, but was the first to speak. “Who are we?” The man riding the back questioned, leaving Twilight to answer. “Um… yes?” The man then continued to answer. “We are Slash.” He said, pointing to himself. “and Jawsnapper!” pointing to the man driving the car. It was the driver’s turn to speak. “We are the Warboys who serve Immortan Sombra!” Jawsnapper the driver finished the two warboys introduction. “Did he just say Immortan Sombra?” Twilight asked asked herself in her mind, but quickly shook away the thought. Jawsnapper asked Twilight. “Now the question is, who are you?” His voice obviously demanded an immediate answer. Twilight complied, “Twilight Sparkle.” She replied. The two warboys talked about something amongst themselves. Twilight slowly started to back up and prepared to run again. But Slash, the backseat rider took notice of Twilight’s motions, and called out to her. “STOP!!” he yelled. Twilight didn’t dare take another step. She waited for Slash’s next move on the sun baked sand. The warboy dropped from the back of the Volkswagen, feet first onto the sand. “Just where do you think you’re going?” Slash questioned. “Er… um…” Was all Twilight could mumble. The Warboy grinned. “Why, if you leave now, you’ll miss out on the honor of being one of Immortan Discord’s prized breeders!” The warboy smiled. Twilight didn’t get a chance to answer, and froze in fear as the warboy got off the back of the car, and moved toward her. He grabbed her by the arm. “You’re coming with us, now!” Twilight snapped out of her trance and was immediately even more terrified for her life than she had ever been before. She struggled to get away. “No, NO!!” Twilight screamed. She continued to pull against Slash’s grasp but he was much too strong. She tried and failed to get away from the two warboys as she was dragged to the rusty Volkswagen. Author's Note Thank you for reading the first chapter of my first Story! Like I said in the description, creative criticism is appreciated. Also, expect chapter length to extend as the story progresses. Chapter 2: Welcome To The CitadelChapter 2 It had taken several days, (Twilight had lost count), for she, Slash, and Jawbreaker to reach their destination. From what the poor mare could gather from the warboys constant bickering, she was in a desert known as the “Wasteland” and much of it was under control of this “Immortan Sombra.” At one point during the trip she had asked Slash, who was driving at the time, what he had meant by being a “prized breeder” of Immortan Sombra. “What do you think? It means you get to make more of us warboys! A tremendous honour indeed!” Twilight’s cheeks immediately turned sharp pink as she imagined, or rather, tried not to imagine what that would look like. Jawsnapper, having switched places with Slash, shouted from behind over the groining of the Volkswagen’s engine. “You should be proud! Breeders under the Immortan’s throne are given the cleanest water, the best food, and have the second biggest priority for medicine. Second only to Immortan Discord!” Jawbreaker said this with much enthusiasm, trying to get Twilight out of her sour mood. He knew the Immortan would not be pleased to see a breeder in such a mood. “Are you honestly trying to cheer me up?” Twilight spat at Jawbreaker. “After you’ve just kidnapped me, and are taking me to be a-” Twilight shuddered and didn’t bother to finish her sentence.. That conversation had taken place on the same day the warboys had captured Twilight. Know she entered the palace of the Immortan himself. By Equestrian standards, it was more like the kind of home Diamond Dogs would be proud to have. By Wasteland standards, however, the place was absolutely fit for a king. It was dug out of a plateau, with several heavily guarded entrances leading into the maze-like corridors of the palace. Along with the one plateau, two others formed a triangular shape, forming a sort of large courtyard. O O O There was also a gate and large fence that surrounded the perimeter, denying entry to intruders. The Beatle had to get through the gate. After a brief explanation to the gate keepers as to why they were back, the Volkswagen was allowed into the compound. Within the courtyard was where the villagers lived. Twilight had to look away to keep from all out bawling her eyes out. These men, women, and children looked like they on the brink of falling over and dying on the spot. Their cloths were made of rags hastily stitched together. Their homes were made of whatever the people could get their dusty hands on. Their bodies were completely covered in sweat, grime, and dirt. And their faces- “Dear Celestia, their faces.” Twilight thought. Their faces were ones that were broken, both quite literally, and in their eyes. Their eyes were shrouded in suffering and neglect. However, oddly enough, they didn’t look at the Beatle with envy or jealousy. They were more like looks of curiosity. The warboys had a strict schedule when it came to coming in and going out on patrols. A car coming early or going late was something to notice. The Volkswagen went down a road that went straight through to the citadel. The road was also bordered off from the reach of the villagers. The Beatle roared into one of the entrances, the entrance of the garage. The smell of gasoline was so pungent that it made Twilight’s eyes water. The garage was lit by torches and kerosene lamps. The Volkswagen rolled past rows cars of varying shapes and sizes. Rigs with gas producing tanks. Muscle cars with giant bug catchers. Trucks with buzz saws attached onto their flatbeds. Souped up sedans with harpoon guns fused to their backs. And many, many more. More than Twilight could ever hope to count. Yet, she could’ve done so rather easily. The cars were organized rather nicely, for such a primitive establishment. They were all lined up side-by-side, and back-to-back. The biggest of the vehicles were sorted to the far left of the garage’s entrance, the vehicles becoming smaller as one’s eyes swept from far left to far right. The Volkswagen had made a sharp right as soon as it entered the garage. Jawbreaker, the one who was driving at the moment, drove the vehicle into the second row from the farthest right you could go. He parked it in what looked like a pre-designated spot for the car. Slash hopped off the back, while Jaw removed the steering wheel from the steering axis. “Come on out, we’re here.” Jaw said to Twilight. He held the door for her and she got out. “Thank You” She said dryly. She didn’t smile, or even look at him. Slash rolled his eyes at Jaw’s unneeded kindness. “Quit the bloody chivalry Jawsnapper! She ain’t a breeder yet!” Slash called out to Jawsnapper. Jawsnapper looked down in shame. “Yes, of course.” Jaw replied. Slash grabbed Twilight’s arm and dragged her down the aisle of cars. Several times Twilight had to cover her eyes from flying sparks, as there were several mechanics making more modifications to the various vehicles. “Like they needed to look more menacing.” Twilight thought. “Back already?” A mechanic walked up to the two warboys, speaking to Slash. He was wiping some grime off his hands. “Indeed, Petrol,” Slash glanced towards Twilight. “Found ourselves a future breeder!” He gloated about their catch. Petrol, the mechanic, whistled. “She’s a beaut, I’d imagine the Immortan’ll be givin’ you a promotion.” He started to wipe some grime off his face. Slash nodded in agreement. “If you still had a leg, I’m sure you’d be in a combatant position.” he referred to the prosthetic that replaced half of Petrols leg. “Mmm, well, best get back to work then.” Petrol turned and walked off to the car he had just been working on. Twilight noted that Jawsnapper had remained silent for the entire conversation. Slash led Twilight all the way to the back of the garage, with Jawsnapper falling in behind the two. At the back was a rust- covered submarine door installed, obviously a means of keeping intruders out of the rest of the “citadel”. When the three came to a stop at the door, Slash rapped on the metal. A rectangular plate within the door slid to the left, revealing a pair of eyes. “Who is it!?” the eyes demanded. “It’s Slash, and Jawsnapper.” The eyes squinted. “The two of you are early, you weren’t supposed to be back until next week.” The eyes said. “We found a potential breeder, wandering in the desert.” Jawsnapper explained. “Probably was a survivor of a raided camp.” Slash finished. The eyes looked to Twilight, who was looking down at the dusty floor. They sized her up, knowing the Immortan always welcomed another breeder. The eyes looked back to the two warboys. The plate slid shut, the door squeaked open. Slash jerked hard on Twilight’s arm and led her inside the corridor. She looked back to see that the doorkeeper was dressed in complete black garments, from head to toe. “Must be pretty hot in those clothes, in this heat.” Twilight thought. As she did, she began to slow. Slash put an end to that quickly. He jerked on her arm hard, earning a gasp from Twilight. “Keep moving!!” Slash ordered. “Eyes forward!” Jawsnapper followed. Twilight did as told. She noted that the corridor was one that was all over the with its curves and twists. One would've had to grow up here or have made the tunnels to not get lost. It implied that the stone hallway had been dug out of the plateau itself. It even had a number of pipes leading up and down the tunnel, delivering precious water to the different parts of the citadel. As she heard the echos of conversation throughout the halls, she worked up the nerve to speak to Slash. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where exactly are we going?” Twilight inquired. Knowing Slash hated answering questions like that, Jawsnapper answered for him. “We are headed to the throne room” Jaw said. “of the glorious Immortan Sombra.” The warboy grinned as he finished his answer. It always gave him chills saying his grand leader’s name. Twilight gulped. The three came to a primitive looking elevator. All it was was a larger version of a hot-air balloon basket, attached to four ropes at the corners. Slash yanked Twilight into the basket, and Jawsnapper followed. Once all three were on board the basket, Slash yanked one of the ropes. The three waited for a few seconds, before the “elevator” began to move up. And up, and up and up. On the way, Twilight asked Jawsnapper “So, what does this thing run on? I don’t hear a generator or anything.” “Manpower, people turn the wheels that lift this.” Jaw answered, he himself becoming annoyed at Twilight’s dumb questions. “And no more questions.” He said. Twilight did as instructed. The elevator reached the culmination of the upwards journey. The three got out, into a hallway that was identical to the one at the bottom of the plateau. The continued to the left. The tunnel became wider as the throne room neared. The three finally came to the culmination point of the halls widening. Two giant doors, made completely out of car doors, roofs, and hoods welded together. The doors were to the right, and if you kept going past the doors, the hall would shrink back to its initial size. Slash left Jawsnapper to grab ahold of Twilight as he walked to the immediate right of the doors where there was a bright red button and a speaker above that. He pressed the button. “BING-BONG!!!” Twilight internally laughed at the ironic fact that the button was supposed to be a door bell. A voice bellowed from the small speaker. “Who goes there?!?” The voice was so deep and so loud that for a moment it looked like it would blow out the speaker. “The Great and Powerful Immortan Sombra, it is I, Slash” Slash said in his most respectful voice. ”and Jawsnapper.” Slash finished for Jaw. There was a small pause before, what was clearly Immortan Discord, spoke again. “The two of you are back early, you were not supposed to return until next week.” Discord reminded through the speaker. Twilight noticed that Slash and Jaw exchanged nervous glances. “You are absolutely correct in your statement your excellency, and we apologize for our premature return.” Slash replied. “But out wandering through the desert, we found a potential wife for you!” Slash said with enthusiasm in his voice. Another pause. “She may enter.” Discord finally said. “You and Jawsnapper will return to your patrol, immediately.” he commanded. “Yes your excellency.” Slash obeyed. Slash turned to Twilight. “You will stay right here.” He ordered. He looked to Jaw. “Let’s go,” Slash said. Jaw nodded and let go of Twilight. She could have run right there. But she knew that there was no way she could escape. She stood there, as told, and watched in anxiety as the two warboys walked down the hall from which they had come from. No sooner had the warboys exited from view, the large doors creaked open inwardly. Her nervousness grew with every passing second. Finally, when the doors stopped, she could see the greatly referred to Immortan Sombra. “Approach!” he boomed. Twilight did as instructed. As she moved into the throne room she see that there were several guards armed with belt-fed machine guns, plus bullet proof vests. The throne room itself was hardly extravagant, in that it was simply large room carved from the rock of plateau where the walls met up high in an upside down “v” formation. Immortan Sombra himself was a hideous sight. His rotting skin at the chest and back was protected by a bullet proof, plastic shell. His hair was black, long and stringy. His face was twisted beyond comparison. The arms were large and muscular. His waist held human heads tied to a belt by the hair. A tank on his back pumped steroids into his body through plastic tubes, which was probably why he was so muscular. However, it was the type of over-the-top muscular that looked, well, really disgusting actually. Twilight stopped at about about five feet from the steps that led up to the throne. Well, well,” Sombra said, as he got up from the throne. “What do we have here?” Twilight didn’t bless that question with an answer, especially since she knew that she going to have to “breed” with this guy. Sombra walked down the steps to meet her at the bottom. He then walked around Twilight, getting a good look at her. Sombra chuckled. “Yes, you will be an excellent addition to my breeders.” He said. “What is your name?” He asked. “Twilight Sparkle”. She replied, still looking down at the ground. “An excellent name”. He stuck a finger under Twilight’s chin and lifted it. “You are very beautiful”. He said with a smile. A terrible, twisted smile. “And you’re bucking ugly”. Twilight shot back. Sombras smile faded faded and turned into a frown “You will learn to respect me, as your husband!” Discord commanded. “If you think that’s gonna happen, you must be crazier than you look.” Twilight suddenly realized how sassy that sounded, and had no idea where that came from. Rainbow Dash’s influence? Sombra’s glare looked like it could burn a thousand Manehattans. “Take her to the safe!” Discord shouted to two guards to his left. Twilight offered no resistance, and allowed the guards to take her to the “safe”. … “What do you mean he didn’t give either one of us a promotion?” Jawsnapper asked for the third time. Slash turned his head. “I mean, he didn’t give either one of us a promotion.” Slash answered in annoyance, for the third time. “And if you ask again, one more time, I’ll feed you to the Cannibals of Beggar’s Pass!” Slash threatened. As the two warboys approached their vehicle, Jawsnapper continued to speak. “We should have at least been put on one of the rig crews. That would be something to be proud of!” Jaw said longingly. “We came back from the patrol early, apparently that was reason enough for the Immortan to not give us anything in return.” Slash said begrudgingly. Before Jawsnapper could reply, Slash turned, and slapped a hand over the other warboy’s mouth. “And don’t say ‘But we found a breeder’, or else.” Slash scolded. Jawsnapper nodded. Slash removed the hand and continued walking to the Volkswagen, as did Jaw. Without another word the warboys got in the car. Slash hopped onto the back, Jawsnapper entered the driver’s seat. He placed the steering wheel into the axis, and gunned the engine. The Volkswagen set off to resume its patrol. Author's Note So, second chapter! After getting that many likes in such a short time span, I figured I'd give you guys a quicker update. As always, creative criticism is appreciated. Chapter 3: Staking Out The PrizeChapter 3 The two warboys lead Twilight down the rocky hallway, shouting for her to speed up if her step slowed. Even a little. As the three kept walking, Twilight asked the warboy on her right, what the “safe” was. “Shut it!” was the reply she got. Twilight kept her mouth shut for the rest of the way to the safe. As the three kept walking, Twilight witnessed something truly horrifying. As she passed by an entrance with no door, she saw something that made her gut churn and do flips. She only caught a glimpse of the sight, but it was enough. What she saw were several fat-bodied women sitting up in beds with no sheets. The only thing that covered these women, was a pair of panties. Attached to each of their breasts, was a suction cup that was sucking out milk into plastic medical tubes. Similar to the tubes used for blood transfusions, but slightly larger, the tubes deposited the milk into large tanks. The women had masks feeding them oxygen from tanks. They were clearly either asleep, or unconscious. Twilight felt that she about to puke and slowed; not a wise choice. “For the bloody last time! KEEP. MOVING.”The warboy on the left shouted. Twilight quickened her pace. The three of them finally reached the safe. Still shaken up from that last disturbing sight, she barely noticed that the safe was indeed a literal safe. The door had been removed from a bank, long gone now, and was providing the security for whatever was in it. Or maybe she was meant to be the only one in the safe. Then again, other breeders had been mentioned, so maybe Twilight wouldn’t be alone. The warboy on her right approached the safe and turned the wheel that unlocked the giant containers door, while the one the left gripped Twilight’s arm hard. The warboy opening the door held it open. One warboy gave Twilight white cloths that almost looked like bedsheets. “Put these on when you’re inside.” The other shoved Twilight into the safe. Twilight fell, eating dust. She got up quickly and looked behind her, just in time to see the giant door close with a loud Ca-chunk! *** Sigh “Sunset, you’ve really got to stop that sighing.” “Just be quiet, and keep looking.” Sunset Shimmer snapped back, sitting indian-style atop the hood of her modified 1971 Ford Mustang, binoculars to her eyes. “Well I could… if you stopped sighing.” Thunder Bolt said sarcastically, smirking . He brushed a hand through his brown hair. He wore a dusty, brown leather jacket. He also had a torn white T-shirt. Along with jeans and black military boots. He had grey skin and brown eyes. He was about five years older than Sunset. He let out a long breath. “Look who’s sighing now” Sunset joked, smirking. She had on a green camouflage jacket, cap, and pants, along a beige shirt. The jacket had its sleeves cut off long ago, exposing her arms. The pants and jacket had holes in them. Sunset also had brown military boots. “Oh, shut up.” Bolt grunted, placing his eye behind the scope of his Sako 85 hunting rifle, as he lay on the roof of his own 1969 Dodge Charger. The pair looked on, atop a tall, rocky cliff which provided a perch to observe the plateau’s which housed Immortan Sombras citadel. The two had been spying on the place from the cliff for almost a day now. They needed gas, and after the warboys at Gastown had been ordered to shoot Sunset and Bolt on sight, the pair of survivors were forced to resort to pillaging from others. They weren’t proud of the things they had done, just to stay alive. But they knew that, then again, there can’t be a whole lot of people in this wasteland who are proud of what they’ve done to stay alive either. Excluding warboys of course. This was a big leap for them, stealing from a tyrant like Sombra. Sunset and Bolt also understood that it was a stupid leap. But it was one that was necessary for their own survival. They hadn’t come across any other wanderers (the term used for small groups of survivors dwelling within the Wasteland) in two weeks. As such they had agreed the only other option was a hit-and-run heist for several gallons of gas. They still had a good relationship with the Bullet Farm, so they had managed to trade for a fifty-round belt and an M-60. A rogue warboy had said that the gas was stored in a tightly guarded safe near the garage. This made the task a little easier. Sunset Shimmer was to pose as a prisoner. The rogue would pretend to have captured her and then the two would sneak to where the gas was kept. Meanwhile, Thunder Bolt would be taking on the task of distracting all of the palace guards by hit-and-running the outer perimeter of the fortress’s defence. Thunder had been a military pilot before all this, so combat wasn’t a problem for him. The warboys would be distracted, so Sunset and the rogue warboy would have a chance to steal all the gas they could carry, make it to a vehicle, and make their getaway. They would rendezvous with Thunder at Bartertown. Of course, that was all well and good on paper. But to actually perform the robbery was pretty much suicide, the two wanderers knew this. But in this world, it was much better to die of a bullet or explosion trying to steal gas; than run out of it, and be left to the mercy of scavengers, cannibals, and the natural desert itself. They just needed to be patient, and wait for the perfect moment to strike. “I think I’m starting to see a pattern.” Sunset said. “Where?” Thunder asked, getting of the back of his Challenger and walking towards where Sunset was seated. “Right there.” She replied, pointing. Thunder knelt down on the dirt, next to the car, and held out a hand for the binoculars. She passed them down to him, from atop the hood. He looked through the binoculars to where she was pointing. It was the gate through the outer perimeter. At the moment that Bolt looked through the binoculars, a vehicle was let out of the gate. It was a Volkswagen Beetle. He kept looking at the gate as the vehicle drove out of view. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” Bolt hadn’t a clue what Sunset was interested in. “Look, you see the gate?” Sunset centered the binoculars on the gate. “Yeah,” He replied, still holding the binoculars. “And you see the guards hoisting it up now right?” “Yeah, I do.” Bolt wasn’t sure what she was trying to say. “It takes about four guys to lift that thing, the way they do it. So that means, while a lot of the guards will be distracted with closing the gate-” She paused a moment, and saw that Bolt had realized what she was trying to tell him. “-I can take a few pot shots at them, maybe even eliminate a lot of them with the M-60.” He finished, a smirk appearing on his face. “Nice thinking.” “We should radio our contact, now that we have a solid plan.” Sunset got up to get the walkie-talkie, but Bolt stopped her. “Nah, I’ll take care of it.” He headed for the passenger door of her Mustang. Opening the door he found the walkie-talkie on the seat and grabbed it. The seat in Sunset’s car had been modified to fold up for storage purposes, and could be locked in one position if need be. He sat down and turned on the the walkie-talkie’s power. A small light next to the antennae lit up, indicating it was operational. He turned two dials on the side of the walkie-talkie to the frequency their contact had agreed to communicate. “Rogue One, how do you read? Over.” He spoke into the radio, using their contacts code name. *** Jawsnapper gunned the engine and drove the Beetle out of the garage, with Slash standing on the platform in the rear. They approached the gate, and stopped to allow the guards to open it. Seconds later they were off into the wasteland. “Hey, Slash!” Jaw called over the noise of the engine. “What?” “Do you think we’ll find anyone else out there?” “Of course not! How many patrols have we done together?” Slash was still annoyed from Jaw’s earlier complaining. “Eighty-two!” “ Exactly! Do really think-” Slash paused. “Wait… really?” He had not been expecting an answer. “Yeah!” Jaw answered. “Well, if this was the one patrol on which we found someone, do you really think we’ll find anyone else?” “Well…” Jaw tried to think of a comeback. “It could happen!” Slash grunted in annoyance. Without warning, the radio in his utility belt started crackling. A voice came from it: “Rogue one, how do you read. Over.” He immediately reached down to it and brought it up to his mouth, and pressed the button to speak. Fortunately, the noise of the engine was so loud that Jaw hadn’t heard a thing. “I’m here.” Slash said into the radio. “Where are you?” *** As soon as Slash’s reply came over the air waves, Thunder turned to Sunset. “He wants to know where we are.” “Go ahead and tell him.” she replied. Thunder nodded and turned back to radio, still sitting in the car. “We’re on the cliff to the south of the citadel.” *** Slash got the reply, and turned to Jaw. “We have new orders!” The car nearly drowned out his words. “New orders?” Jaw turned his head, and replied. “What are they?” “Head for the cliffs to the south, more instructions to follow.” Slash answered. “Alright then!” Jaw turned the vehicle to the left, and drove to the southern cliffs. *** “Are they on their way?” Sunset asked. Thunder climbed out of her car, wiping a few beads of sweat of his forehead. He looked in the general direction of the citadel. “Sounds like it, but we’d better have a firearm on us, in case it’s a trap.” He walked to the driver side of his Charger. He opened the door, and grabbed his Auto Mag. Checking the magazine, he gave a satisfied grunt when he saw that it was full. He grabbed the only other magazine he had and stuffed it in one of his pockets. He put the Auto Mag into his right holster. He reached into the car again and grabbed a M1911, which had a half-full mag and two others that were full. He grabbed the pistol and the other ammunition. He headed back over to Sunset, who was currently taking inventory of the shotgun shells for her Winchester Model 97. “Here.” He offered the M1911. Sunset declined, showing she her M9 Beretta. Thunder nodded and put the pistol into his left holster, stuffing the other two magazines into another one of his pockets. *** Jaw guided the car to the cliffs, heading up the slope that led up to the top of the Earth-made structure. The Beetle had some difficulty climbing up to the top of the cliff. However, soon it was speeding across the hard rock of the cliff. Slash looked into the distance. He could barely make out the outline of two cars. “So, our orders are to keep going?” Jaw inquired. “Yep, keep her a’moving.” Slash answered. Soon,the ride of Slash’s life was about to begin. He could finally be rid of the Immortan’s grasp on his life. Soon, he would be free. *** Sunset had just finished checking the engine on her car, when she heard the faint sound of an engine to her right. She looked over her shoulder to see a Volkswagen Beetle, covered in spikes. She fast-walked to Thunder. “We’ve got company.” He looked up at her, realised what she was saying, and stopped what he had been doing (cleaning his Sako 85). He looked up to see the Beetle fast approaching. Both he and Sunset knew that this was Rogue One. Of course, that didn’t stop them from drawing their pistols. Thunder once again checked the clip in his Auto Mag, Sunset did the same for her M9. *** By this time, Jawsnapper had seen the two cars. His warboy instincts kicked in, and he accelerated to ram the vehicles. He was stopped by Slash. “No! Follow my lead!” Slash made sure Jaw heard that loud and clear. “Stop about twenty feet in front of ‘em.” The younger warboy gave him a confused look, but trusted him. He pulled to a stop in front of the vehicles, about twenty feet away. Two wanderers, a man and a woman, appeared from behind the cars. They remained behind them. *** Thunder and Sunset stayed behind the vehicles, wary of an ambush. Sunset looked to Thunder. “I’ll go ahead and talk to him, alright?” She said. “Alright,” Thunder replied. Sunset walked into full view from behind her Mustang, pistol tight in her grip. She looked between the two warboys, before finally speaking. “Which one of you is Rogue One?” “I am.” Slash replied. Jawsnapper was beyond confused. “What? Slash, what are you doing?” Jaw’s mind was reeling. What in the hell was going on? “Relax, trust me. Just get out of the car.” Slash’s hand went to his holster. “Wha- no, they’ll gun me dow-” The words caught in Jaw’s throat as Slash shoved his Ruger 9 millimeter in his face. “Get. Out.” He said darkly. Jaw complied, shaking. What was Slash thinking? Had he lost his mind? He climbed out of the driver’s seat and into the open desert. Slash continued to point his gun at Jaw’s head. Slash climbed down from the rear of the Beetle. As he did, he spoke loudly to the two wanderers. “You people have a plan for getting in?” Sunset replied. “Yeah, we do, we can discuss that right now.” Jaw turned his head in confuzzlement. “Plan? What’re you talking abou- URGH!!” Slash knocked out Jaw out with the handle of the pistol, before he could say more. His body fell to the sand. “We can discuss the plan after you give me a hand here.” Slash responded. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs, used for prisoners, and attached them to the unconscious Jaw’s hands. Thunder and Sunset eyed each other, and hesitantly walked up to the warboys. They weren’t entirely sure what to make of the situation. Just in case this was a pile of bullcrap, they still had their pistols in hand. Author's Note Well then! It appears Slash is not all that he seems... Thanks for reading. I'll go ahead and list all the cars and weapons that were mentioned in this story (In order of when they were named). Sako 85 M-60 Auto Mag M1911 Winchester Model 97 M9 Beretta Ruger 9 millimeter 1971 Ford Mustang 1969 Dodge Charger As always, creative criticism is appreciated. It helps my writing. Chapter 4: The Plan/Meeting The WivesChapter 4 Slash grunted as he grabbed ahold of Jaw’s unconscious body. He hoisted Jaw over his shoulder, and held him there. “You got someplace I could put ‘em in?” He asked, huffing slightly from the weight of the body. “Put him in?” Sunset gave him a skeptical look. “I tried getting a solo patrol, but he wanted to go with me again,” Slash explained, saying the word ‘again’ with added sourness. “I did what I could.” “Right... you can put him in the trunk of the Charger.” Thunder said, standing up from behind Sunset’s car and pointed a thumb behind his shoulder. He turned, leading Slash to the car, who was still hauling Jaw. Sunset followed closely behind, prepared to do anything in case the warboy was trying to pull a fast one. Thunder stopped at the trunk, Slash directly behind him, Sunset behind Slash. He reached down to just above where the license plate was supposed to be. Three switches lined up in a row were present. He flicked the left switch once, the right switch twice, and the center switch once. The trunk opened with an audible chunk, revealing the prized M-60, its bipod holding it up in the center of the storage space. Several knives were also stored in sheathes attached to the sides of the trunk. Just behind the M-60 was an extra gas tank, situated in the rear of the space. Thunder reached a hand into the trunk, and grabbed the machine gun. He threw the carry strap over his shoulder, securing the gun against his body. “You can put him in here.” Slash grunted as he tossed Jaw into the trunk. He double checked the handcuffs, before allowing Thunder to slam down the trunk’s lid. “Okay, let’s go over the plan.” Sunset said. She led to Slash to the space between the Charger and Mustang. She sat down on her car’s hood, while Thunder did the same for his own. Slash stood between them. “So, what exactly is the plan?” Slash inquired. The two wanderers went over it in detail. Thunder Bolt’s distraction. Slash and Sunset getting through the gate undetected. Getting the gas, and then making a break for it. “We meet back up at Bartertown.” Sunset finished. Slash’s face didn’t look pleased. “Ah, jeez…” Slash realized this plan had issues, issues that neither Sunset nor Thunder were aware of. “This plan isn’t going to work, at least not for another week.” “What do you mean?” Thunder asked. “Thing is… is that we warboys have a schedule when it comes to patrols,” He explained. “Me and Jaw weren’t supposed to be back until next week. We ended up finding someone in the desert, that’s why we just left the citadel.” Slash let that sink in for a moment. “If I suddenly come back with you in tow,” He motioned to Sunset. “without Jaw, it’ll look suspicious.” “That’s a bit of a problem.” Thunder sighed. “Relax, we don’t have to attack now, we can wait a few days.” Sunset suggested. “We have enough food and water to camp out here.” Slash’s face seemed to light up in realization. “That’s right, I have enough rations for another few days,” Slash added. “combine that with your stuff, we’ll be able to stay out here until the end of the patrol period.” “I don’t know, what about the other patrols?” Thunder didn’t like just sitting around for a few days. “Wouldn’t they be able to see us?” “Don’t worry about that, we’re standing on neutral ground between Immortan Sombra and the Buzzards, no one from either side gets to drive through” Slash explained. “Even if they did see us, they wouldn’t care to pursue us.” “Okay,” Thunder replied, still unsure. Slash looked him in the eye. “I’m getting something out of this too: my freedom, I’m telling the truth.” Thunder looked his face over. “Okay, alright.” Thunder answered. Suddenly Sunset got up, and got up in Slash’s face. “If I see you trying to pull any type of bullshit,” She whipped out a combat knife from her belt, forcefully pinned him against the Mustang, and held it up near his neck to prove her point. “This goes in your throat.” Slash put his hands up in surrender. Doing so in the warboy ranks was considered blasphemy, but he didn’t give a damn about the warboys any more. He only cared for his liberty now. “You got it.” He replied. “Jesus, Sunset!” Thunder shouted. He quickly got up, and grabbed her shoulder. “Hey, we need him! Pointing a knife in face isn’t gonna help anything!” “I’m just making sure he knows we aren’t to be fucked with.” She replied coldly, without looking back at her partner. She continued to hold the knife to Slash’s neck. Thunder Bolt sighed, and took his hand off her shoulder, but wasn’t done talking. “Did you not just hear him?! He getting something out of this just as much as we are.” Thunder stopped there however. He didn’t like starting an argument with her, he disliked personal conflict. He sighed “Look, if you feel like you need to intimidate him, fine. Just be careful to not slit his throat or something.” Sunset eased off of Slash, and put the knife back into its sheath. She gave him a final glare before saying “We should gather all the food and water we have and ration it out, divide it up for every day.” “Alright,” Thunder responded before getting up and opening the door of the Charger, and started gathering up said food from his own car. Slash walked to the Volkswagen, but Sunset followed right behind him. He glanced back and sighed. “Oh for the Immortan’s sake, don’t worry about me! I’m not dumb enough to try anything!” He put his hands up in the air in frustration. “How do I know that?” She asked, and crossed her arms. “Because I… you… ERGH!!” Slash grunted loudly. “Fine! Do whatever the bloody hell you want!” He turned around and stopped off back towards his car to grab the rations he (and Jawsnapper) had. He had to make two trips to grab them all. The three placed all of their food in a somewhat organized pile, that sat on the passenger seat and floor of Sunset’s Mustang. “Alright, like I said before,” Sunset reminded. “We need to split up the food for each day, let’s get on that.” “Okay,” Thunder agreed. It was funny, after all this time in the wasteland, Sunset had become the one to remind the two (or rather three in this situation) of the tasks they had to accomplish day-to-day. Being in the military, one would think Thunder Bolt would be the one to handle that. But after he had taken her under his wing all that time ago, she had evolved and adapted. Of course that didn’t mean she was necessarily the leader of the two. There wasn’t really a clear leader between them. It was really more of a mutual bond. Thunder almost thought of her as his little sister, after spending so much time with her. He liked to think of it as if… she was the one who pushed the two beyond their limits, which she did often, and he was the silent protector, watching over her. She could take care of herself, he knew that. But that didn’t mean he didn’t care. He’d go to the moon and back to make sure she stayed alive. Especially after seeing her alone and abandoned all that time ago. In fact, he figured Sunset deserved to live more than he did. *** Meanwhile, inside the citadel... Twilight’s pupils shrank as she stared at the giant door, which had just closed. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. What was she supposed to do now? “Hello?” A voice called out. Twilight quickly spun around, to see who was speaking to her. The voice come from a woman, older than she was. She had light purple skin, similar to Twilight. She also had frost white hair that had purple stripe running down it. The woman also had the clothes that Twilight was “given” to by the guards. For a moment neither said a word, just sized the other person up. Finally, the woman spoke first. She cleared her throat first. “I’m Violet Flower, what’s your name?” She gave off a warm disposition, so Twilight answered. “Twilight Sparkle.” Violet nodded. “I see, well… welcome.” “Welcome to hell.” Another voice came from behind Violet. In annoyance she turned to face the speaker, who leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “Midnight-” Violet started to scold, but the other woman, who looked younger, held up a hand in dismissal. “Spare me the lecture alright? Don’t try to sugar coat it Violet, you know that this is basically hell.” As the two were arguing, Twilight had the opportunity to size up the room. It was dome shaped, with one door to the right and one door to the left. The entrance was behind her. Books scattered the ground. A pile here, a pile there, no real organization. The whole room was lit by kerosene lamps lining the circular walls. “It could be worse Midnight, we could be forced to drink the same water and food the villagers get.” Midnight rolled her eyes at Violet’s attempt to make her feel better. “Things could a lot better too,” She started to walk around Violet and to Twilight. “For one thing, we could not be forced to have sex with someone who only cares about his precious ‘heir to the throne’.” She retorted, making quotation marks. The younger woman glanced at Twilight. She held out a hand. “I’m Midnight Corsair, just so you know.” Twilight looked down at the hand and shook it. Midnight herself had dark blue skin, matching her dark blue hair, and dark blue eyes. Yep, she was all blue. She also wore the same clothes that Violet wore. Her voice sounded reminiscent of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash… Her friends… Twilight suddenly felt a wave of yearning in her gut, yearning to see her friends. She had to sit down. The feeling in her stomach was becoming too much to bear. “I gotta sit down.” She suddenly said, plopping down on the stone ground. Violet and Midnight had concerned looks on their faces. “You okay.” Violet asked as she knelt down next to Twilight. “Mmm… I think so… it’s just…” Twilight paused and thought over her words. “My friends…” She started, but as soon as the words left her mouth, Violet responded. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She rubbed her shoulder. “I know how that feels.” Twilight looked at her blankly, but realized what she was saying. Violet thought her friends had died. Of course, that’s not really what happened. But Twilight figured that her assuming her friends were dead, however morbid the thought, was better than explaining to her she was from another dimension. She would look like she belonged in the looney bin for sure. “No, no, it’s alright.” Twilight insisted. Midnight just stood there, watching the scene with her arms crossed. While Violet was tending to Twilight, she detected movement from the corner of her eye. She at the door to the right of the entrance, the entrance to their bunks. Standing just beyond the door frame, a girl who was even younger than Midnight. She had light pink skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. She had a confused look on her face, and looked up Midnight. “New girl.” Midnight mouthed. “Oh” The girl mouthed back. Violet was still looking after Twilight, so Midnight held out her hand, and made a motion for the girl to stand next to her. She hesitated for a moment, but obeyed. She walked up to Midnight, and silently stood beside her. Violet glanced up, and noticed that the only wife Twilight hadn't met was standing there. “Oh, Twilight?” Violet’s voice signaled Twilight to look up at her. “This is Sweet Breeze.” Twilight looked at the girl she was referring to. “Oh, hi.” She stood, despite the pit she still had in her stomach. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” Sweet Breeze took the hand and shook it. “Hey.” She replied simply. Her voice was surprisingly deep. Midnight chuckled and put an arm around Breeze. “As you can probably tell, Breezie here doesn't talk a whole lot.” Midnight snickered. “Not that she isn't still cool.” Breeze smirked in embarrassment, and looked down at the floor. “Mmm… yeah…” She replied cutely. Midnight removed her arm from Breezes back. “So Violet, we gonna show the new girl around?” She inquired. “Oh yes, of course.” She got up, and looked down at Twilight. Violet held out a hand. “Can you stand?” Twilight still felt a little uneasy, the pit in her gut hadn't subsided. She really missed her Equestria friends, but she decided to just suck it up and stand. “Yeah, I’m good.” “Alright, well, this is the main chamber.” Violet said, as she made a sweeping motion with her hand. “We don’t really have any organization methods for all these books,” She referred to paperbacks lying on the floor in small piles. “We just kind of leave them around.” Twilight looked around at the floor. “I could probably fix that, I’m a pretty good organizer.” She offered. “Could you? That’d be great!” Violet accepted gladly. “Yeah, it’s getting to be a pain in the ass trying to get around in here.” Midnight added. Violet glanced down at the white clothes Twilight was still holding. “Oh, we still need to get you dressed in those.” “Huh?” Twilight looked down at arms, remembering about the garments. “Oh… yeah.” She replied, remembering the guard’s orders. “That’s alright. You can dressed in the bedroom, that was next thing I going to show you anyway.” Violet made a motion for Twilight to follow. Midnight and Breeze stepped aside so that the two get to the bedroom. The door was another submarine door, like the one in the garage. Violet pulled it, it was already open a Crack from when Breeze exited from it. Violet stepped inside, and beckoned Twilight to follow. She did, and once inside she found that the room was quite uninteresting. It was simply a rectangular space with six neatly made beds. There were three on each side. “I'll help you out, okay?” Violet said, holding out her hands for the clothes. Twilight gave them to her, as she closed the door. “Thanks.” Twilight said gratefully. She didn't know if she could've gotten the clothes on the way the other wives did. *** Violet twisted the submarine door wheel, opening it up. Twilight came after her, clad in white. Midnight and Breeze looked up from separate books they were reading. “Lookin’ good Twi.” Midnight complimented with a grin. Breeze nodded in agreement. “You do look nice.” Twilight smiled, but the smile suddenly turned upside down. She sighed. Violet took notice of her demeanor. “Are you alright?” She asked. “Yeah… well, no actually… I really miss my friends.” Twilight confessed. Her heart felt like it had literally shattered into a million pieces. It was likely she would never see them again. At least in her mind. The portal hadn't worked, so should she have hope for it to work now? She sighed heavily again. “Oh, Twilight.” Violet pulled her into a hug. At first, Twilight was startled at the sudden contact. But after a moment of processing what was happening, she returned the embrace. Violet broke the hug. “Don't worry, you're with friends now.” She reassured. “Absolutely!” Midnight exclaimed from behind Twilight, while patting her back. “Us wives gotta stick together!” She added with a smirk. Behind Midnight, Breeze agreed with a smile and a nod. The warm feeling that replaced Twilight's heavy heart was so overwhelming that it brought tears to her eyelids. Honestly, she could tell these girls shared an unbreakable bond. The fact they were letting her into this bond so quickly touched her deeply. She looked into the faces of the wives, each had accepting looks in their eyes. “Thank you…” She said, as the tears started to fall. Author's Note Thanks for reading. If you want updates on Sunset Over The Wasteland, go ahead and follow me. Chapter 5: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 1)Chapter 5 One Week Later: Sunset Shimmer rolled over in her sleeping bag, groaning as she awoke from her slumber. Reluctantly, she forced open her eyes to see the blue sky was still cloudless. It was near dawn, the sun’s light making one side of the sky blue, and the other dark. She begrudgingly pulled herself from sleep, and climbed out of her sleeping bag. Sunset stretched her arms and legs, blinking several times to get the sleep out of her. They were still situated on the cliff, looking out towards the citadel. She picked up her M9, which had been lying next to her as she slept. Holstering it, she rolled up the sleeping bag and tossed it into the passenger side of her Mustang. She felt especially anxious this morning. With the upcoming heist that was to take place today, every little thing had to be ready. If it wasn’t, she and Thunder Bolt could kiss their asses goodbye. So, yeah. No pressure. After closing the car door, she looked up to see Thunder Bolt sitting lazily on the hood of his Charger. He was scoping out the citadel with his rifle. He let out a yawn, and brought his eye back to the scope. “Sleep well?” Sunset asked, cracking a smirk. Of course the military-man would be the one to be up first. Thunder glanced at her, not startled at the sudden invasion on his thoughts. “Mmm, yeah. I was just taking a look the citadel before we moved on it.” “Mmm… alright.” Sunset glanced back the Volkswagen still parked a ways from the Charger and Mustang. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Slash was still handcuffed to the bumper of the Beetle. He was still asleep, wrapped up in his own sleeping bag. “I think I’ll go wake up Slash.” She said, turning to do just that. She walked over to the Slash, who was snoring very loudly. One could only imagine how long it had taken him to fall asleep like that. She lightly tapped his face with her boot, and he woke up with a snort. “Grah! Ah, what?” Slash glanced around, only to look up and see Sunset looking down at him. “Wake up, sleepy head. We’ve got work to do.” She knelt down and grabbed the handcuff keys from her pocket. Sunset brought them to the hole of the cuffs, putting the key in and unlocking them. As soon as she did that, Slash quickly removed the cuffs. He cringed at his wrists, which had red indents on his skin from having them on for a night. He was surprised they weren’t bleeding. Sunset however, paid no mind as she was already walking back to her car to get some food before the heist. She glanced at Thunder. “Did you already eat?” He turned his head towards her, and nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m good.” She checked the storage space of the Mustang, to get a bite to eat. As she was about to get an MRE, she felt something brush up against her boot. It was very subtle, but she felt it. Looking down, she spied a two-headed lizard sitting right between her legs. “Hey there little guy.” She cooed, as she knelt down ever so slightly. In one quick motion, she grabbed the lizard from the dusty ground. The creature wriggled in her hand in a futile effort to escape. “Sorry little guy,” Sunset said. “But it looks like you’re gonna be my breakfast.” She quickly bit down onto both of the lizard’s heads, snapping them. With the small animal dead, she proceeded to much down on the fresh meat. It wasn’t the most appetizing thing in the world. But food was food. She had learned that a long time ago. So even if it wasn’t that tasty, it would help her survive in the long run. As soon as she finished, she looked over her shoulder just in time to Slash rolling up his sleeping bag. But as she looked at him, she remembered about Jawsnapper. “Hey, did you remember to feed Jaw?” Sunset asked. She was talking to Thunder. His eyebrows shifted upwards in realization. That’s right, Jaw did still need food for the morning. He slid himself off the hood of the Charger, and got right to work. Sunset smirked in amusement. That was always his answer to ‘Thunder, did you do this?’ If the answer was no, he would always just get up and do the job. Never speaking a word. Slash made his way next to the Mustang, where Sunset was standing. “Where should I put my bag?” He inquired. She pointed a thumb at the Mustang. He got the message as she opened the door for him. He tossed the bag inside. Neither spoke another word to each other. They weren’t really on speaking terms after Sunset had held a knife up to Slash’s neck. But, Sunset realized, they would need to be on speaking terms if the robbery was going to be a success. They couldn’t just make hand motions to each the whole time, now could they? She needed to get Slash to be able to talk to her comfortably. But she had to apologize first. That would be the hard part. In all honesty, she felt she was justified in her actions. Therefore, she shouldn’t have to apologize for defending herself and Thunder. But Slash was a stubborn fellow, and an apology was probably the only way to fix the lack of words between them. With nothing to lose, she summoned the courage to at least say something to him. “Hey, Slash.” She beckoned. The warboy turned his head to glance at her. He had one eyebrow raised, wondering what she wanted to say. Here we go. Sunset thought. She walked up to him, hoping that she get this right. “Okay, so you remember… when I put… a knife to… your throat?” She highly doubted he would forget that, but she had no better way to start the conversation. “Yeah?” He answered. There was annoyance in his voice, like he didn’t want to remember that. Sunset didn’t blame him. “Well, I wanted to apologize… for that.” She begged whatever God was still around to allow Slash to accept her amends. He just blinked a couple of times, but then his blank look shifted into one that was annoyed. “Good god Sunset, you don’t need to apologize.” He sounded like he was annoyed at the fact that Sunset just apologized to him. “Why are you saying sorry for something completely justified? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.” With that he turned and walked away to get something to eat. Sunset was… well… confused. Really confused. Why did Slash get annoyed when she tried to make amends with him , but then say her actions were justified. He seemed to be one of those guys that got miffed at the smallest things. Maybe he had thought about what she did over the weekend, realized what that was only trying to intimidate him, and shrugged it off. If that were the case, then apologizing for that in his mind would be a dumb thing to do. Interesting. “So, we’re good?” Sunset wanted to make sure that they on friendly terms. With an audible groan, Slash looked up from his MRE. “Yeah, we’re good.” He resumed eating. Sunset sighed in satisfaction. If he said they were good, then they were good. *** “Okay, so we all understand the plan to the letter, right?” Sunset looked between her friend and the warboy. “Yep.” The two said in unision. It was about noon time. The three of them had spent the whole morning preparing everything. Thunder had cleaned and loaded the M-60, and attached his rifle scope to the machine gun. He had also made sure his Sako 85 and Auto Mag were in good condition. Slash and Sunset had gone over every little thing that they would say when inside the citadel, so there would be no surprises. This was going to be difficult. None of them would deny that. But if… no… when they pulled through, the gain would be well worth the pain. The three of them set out towards their vehicles. Sunset Slash went for the Beatle, and Thunder got in his Charger. “Here, put these on on.” Slash passed a pair of handcuffs to Sunset, who immediately put them on. “So, once we’re inside, and close enough to the guzzoline, I’ll uncuff you and give you the shotgun.” He reminded himself. “Right.” Sunset confirmed, her hands bound by the cuffs. With a roar of the engine the Beetle set out to its destination, the Charger following close behind. So many thoughts were reeling through Slash’s head. They were doing it, they were actually going to steal guzzoline from the Immortan. Slash never, not in a million years, thought that this day would come. That is, until he had met Sunset and Thunder at Bartertown on one of his solo patrols. The deal, at first, had been quite shaky, neither the wanderers nor the warboy sure that they could trust each other. But over this past week, the trust had been built exponentially. No matter what, they would get through this. Together. Sunset and Thunder would have their gas, and Slash would have the freedom he had wanted ever since Sombra declared himself Immortan. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he and Sunset approached the gate. He played it cool, and relaxed his breathing. You’re escorting a prisoner. He thought. You’re just taking a prisoner to the holding cages. He rolled up to the giant doors, the car lurching slightly as it came to a halt. “Slash, good to see you again.” A gatekeeper greeted as he stepped forward to speak to the warboy. “Another prisoner?” He asked stepping up to the door window. “Yes.” Slash confirmed. “Not fit to be a wife, but she may serve a purpose yet.” He replied as he glanced back at his ‘prisoner’. Sunset just played along, keeping a defeated scowl on her face. “Mm.” The gatekeeper looked inside the car, and then glanced at the rear platform of the Beetle. He was looking for something. “Where’s Jawsnapper?” He inquired. Slash had seen this coming, and therefore was prepared for the question. He put his best sorrowful frown. “He… well… didn’t make it.” He paused to let his words sink. “I see…” The gatekeeper replied, his face shifted to one of grief. “May he ride shiny and chrome on the road to Valhalla.” He meshed his fingers together as he said those words. He then held his interlocked hands above his head. Slash did the same. “Indeed.” Slash replied in fake grieving. The gatekeeper backed up from the car, and glanced upwards to the sentries posted along the wall. “Let him through!” He shouted. Promptly, the giant doors creaked open, allowing entry for the vehicle. The Beetle’s engine groaned as it moved inside the walls of the citadel. No sooner had the vehicle entered, the gatekeeper received a bullet to the head. His body fell to the ground. The sentries posted on the wall… well… were in shock. Another sentry’s head was knocked back by another bullet. His body tumbled over the side of the wall, landing on the sand with a hard pomf. The rest were knocked from their stupor as multiple bullets landed on the metal wall, making loud pings and pangs. The men dove down for cover as lead soared overhead. One brave sentry peeked over the wall, and immediately saw the source of the attack. A single car, maybe a quarter mile away, was firing at the wall. “There!” The sentry shouted, pointing. “The attacker is over there- GUH!” He as well was shot in the head, brains splattered all over the ledge he was lying on. His body fell limp on the platform. But the others had seen the car too, and took the appropriate actions. “Sound the alarm!” The sentry captain shouted, safely behind the wall. “Send out the pursuit vehicles!” One of the sentries, in a fit of rage, grabbed an AK-47 from the weapons cache behind the wall. He climbed to the top of the sentry platform. “I’ll get the bastard!” He yelled out. Despite direct orders from the captain to not, he un-shouldered his rifle. Cocking the weapon, he aimed down the sights and started firing wildly. The AK-47 made a steady KRA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA!!! The guard’s blind rage kept him from thinking properly, resulting in two projectiles pounding his chest. The force of the impact tossed him of the platform. “AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!” He shouted helplessly, his neck snapping as he impacted the ground. “Dammit! Somebody get the pursuit vehicles!” The captain shouted. A sentry ran to him. “I’ll go sir!” He volunteered. “Go, go!” The captain ordered. He didn’t even have finish, as the guard was already running to the garage. *** Thunder kept up a straight face, making sure to fire the machine gun in short bursts. They only had fifty rounds, so conservation was essential. He had the gun propped up on the hood of his Charger, the bipod unfolded and providing stability for his shooting. He glanced down at the belt. He had used about fifteen rounds. Forty-five left. He looked down the scope, the same scope from the Sako 85, refitted onto the M-60. Thunder had certainly started a panic. If that one guy shooting the automatic rifle was any indication. If he really had started a panic, which he certainly would’ve, he should be getting into the Charger and starting the engine. Now. Without a second thought, Thunder wrapped the remaining bullets around the machine gun. He threw open the passenger door, and placed the machine gun inside the space. He did it quickly, but carefully. The seller of the M-60 said that it dated back to the Vietnam War, and that extra care was needed when handling it. Slamming the door shut, he dashed behind and around the car. Thunder opened up the driver’s door, got in, and started the engine. Then he closed the door. Alright, now all he had to do was wait for the pursuit vehicles to come after him. *** Slash guided the Beetle into the garage, heading back to the same spot it had always been parked in. He had heard the pops and snaps of Thunder’s machine gun pounding the walls, so he and Sunset had to move fast. As soon as he parked in the designated space for the vehicle, he grabbed the Model 97 and M1911 hastily. He shoved open the door and quickly rushed to get Sunset out of the vehicle. “Get out!” He shouted at her, both as part of the act and because he knew Thunder could only hold out for so long. He might’ve been a marine, but that didn’t mean he was invincible. Sunset obeyed, looking down the not-so-soft end of the shotgun. She stepped out getting a hard shove from Slash. She glanced back in annoyance, doing her best to remember this was all an act. The two went forward towards the back of the garage. None of the mechanics seemed to pay any mind, they thought it was just another prisoner. Slash continued to hold the weapon up against Sunsets head… but kept his finger off the trigger. No need for any messy accidents. The two reached the rear of the garage. Weird, Slash thought, glancing around for a moment. Normally Petrol would’ve stopped welding or fixing or repairing or doing whatever he was doing, and stopped to say hello. Slash hadn’t even seen him. I mean, he was pretty hard to miss, with the prosthetic leg. But he brushed away the thought from his head. He had work to do. He momentarily let the shotgun drop to his side, and bent around Sunset to knock on the submarine door. The metal plate slid, revealing the same pair of eyes that had met Twilight one week ago. They squinted. “Slash? Arrived back on time I see.” The eyes said sarcastically. “Save it, I have a prisoner here. She ain’t wife material, but she can serve other purposes.” Slash explained his catch to the eyes. They looked Sunset up and down through the rectangular slit of the door. “Mm…” The man behind the door seemed to agree. He glanced back at Slash. “Where is young Jawsnapper?” He inquired, squinting more than Slash thought was possible. He made sure to put on a sorrowful face. “He… is riding shiny and chrome to the gates of Valhalla as we speak.” He explained. Slash lowered his eyes to reinforce his ‘sorrow’. “I see… I’m sorry to hear of this.” The eyes looked down apologetically. However, they swiped back up to look at Slash. “Go on, take her inside to the cages.” Slash nodded and put the shotgun back up to Sunsets head. The door creaked open. “Move.” He ordered forcing, pressing the gun to her head slightly. Sunset quickly obeyed and walked inside. She didn’t bother to look back to see what the man looked like, as Slash ‘forced’ her down the hall. After a ways of walking through the tunnels, the two finally came to the elevator made of the hot air balloon basket. The two entered and Slash tugged on one of the ropes twice. Almost immediately, the basket was hoisted up. As it rose, Slash glanced at Sunset. “Alright, when we get close to the gas, I’ll uncuff you. Then you’ll get the shotgun.” He sighed in contentment with that plan. “Sounds good.” Sunset said quietly. The basket came to a slow stop at the only other floor in the entire plateau. Sunset, not seeing anyone else around, Sunset opened the gate on the basket despite having cuffs on her hands. Slash let her do so. However, once they were in the rocky hall again, Slash put the shotgun up against her head again. Of course, he still had his finger off the trigger. The hall split two different directions, left and right from the exit of the elevator. They went left, which was fortunately the direction that both gas and prisoners were kept. Even better was the fact that the gas was closer closer to them then the prison cells, which made the task so much easier. The duo continued down the hall. However, they ran by the giant safe door. The same safe that was holding Twilight, Midnight, Violet, and Breeze. The two passed by it without a second thought. They kept going for a while, before Slash stopped Sunset. He pulled her to side of the hall. He whipped out the keys from his pocket. Quickly he unlocked the restraints on Sunsets hands. Boy, Sunset thought, did it feel good to have those off her. She gave her wrists a good twist to loosen them out. She grabbed the shotgun from Slash, checking to make sure it was in proper condition. She looked to the warboy with a purpose. “Let’s book it.” She chided. Slash nodded in agreement as he drew his M1911. They looked back at the rest of the ways they had to go. Immediately, they ran down the rest of the hall to the gas storage room. *** Immortan Sombra sat in his throne, waiting for something that required his attention. Most days nothing would happen. Which was unfortunate for him, as he enjoyed the thrill of conquering his enemies with all of warboys and resources at his disposal. But as it turned out, nothing else exciting had happened in the last week. Of course, there was his new wife Twilight Sparkle. She was quite beautiful. But the downside was that his ‘quality time’ day with his wives had not come yet. He had to put an unbearable amount of restraint on his desires in order to keep up the image of basically being a god to his warboys. BING-BONG!!! The sudden assault on his ears knocked Sombra from his thoughts as he realized someone was trying to communicate with him. “Who goes there?!?!” He shouted into the microphone, situated right next to his throne. “The Great and Powerful Immortan Sombra, it is I, Frenzy.” He sounded panicked. Sombra took note of this. “State your business!” He commanded. “Immortan, the citadel is under attack!” He shouted through the speaker. Wait… what? WHAT!?!? “Who would dare attack the citadel of Immortan Sombra!?” He asked loudly into the receiver of the microphone. “I, I don’t know. But we’ve sent pursuit vehicles out to capture the transgressor. We should have him in a moment, sir!” The sentry, the same one that had volunteered to get the pursuit vehicles, hoped this would be enough to satisfy the Immortan’s bloodlust. Sombra put a hand to chin and rubbed it for a moment, thinking of what to do next. He turned back to the microphone. “Update me every ten minutes.” His order was unusually calm. It took a second for the Frenzy to process it. “Y-yes sir!” He said. Sombra heard no more from the sentry. He turned to one his guards on the right. “Take another man, get my wives, and bring them to me here.” He commanded. The guard immediately turned to him and saluted. “Yes, Immortan Sombra!” The guard did an about-face and took another man, as Sombra ordered, to the wives’ safe. *** Slash knelt down in front of the lock, looking at it in confuzzlement. Sunset was right right behind him. She kept her shotgun up and primed, ready to blast away any guards that came their way. “Let’s see…” He mumbled, working the lock carefully in his hands. “Three left, two right, eleven right.” The warboy yanked on the lock. It unlocked with an audible chunk. Slash released a satisfied grunt, and pulled open the wooden door. It’s handle had been replaced by the lock. Slash opened up the door, and tapped Sunset’s shoulder to follow. She shouldered the shotgun and ran inside, right behind Slash. As she entered, well, she swore in her mind that she could hear the choir of angels singing a song of praise to… whatever God still cared for this world anymore. The space was quite large, it went up about two stories. It was about as long as two buses. On every rack was gallons upon gallons upon gallons… upon gallons of guzzoline. Sunset had never seen so much gas in her life. And it was all for the taking. However, Sunset forced herself out of her stupor. “Okay, get what you can.” She ordered Slash. He nodded, and set off to do just that. Sunsets eyes swept over the space before finding two bags, big enough to carry two gas containers each. She set her Model 97 down, before grabbing the bags. She ran up to the nearest shelf and grabbed two containers of gas. She picked up one of the bags by one strap, and put the two containers in the bag separately. She repeated for the other bag and two more containers. She heaved one bag across her shoulder, and the other across the other shoulder. Damn, these were heavy. No doubt about it. But pushing through and getting what had to be done, done, would be its own reward. She ran back to the entrance, where she saw Slash waiting. And boy, did he have quite a load. He carried two poles across his shoulders, both poles holding six containers, . Twelve containers in all. Slash was visibly struggling under the weight. “Alright, you good?” Sunset asked. Slash grunted, which sounded like a yes. Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You sure?” Slash nodded his head rapidly. She left it at that. They hardly had time to argue over how much Slash could lift. Sunset just hoped that he knew his limit. Sunset kicked open the door and walked through, pointing her gun left then right. Sunset glanced behind her to make Slash was good. He was. With that confirmation, she dashed the hall to the right, Slash was right behind her. They kept a steady pace, put that proved difficult due to the four containers weighing her down. And Slash was carrying three times more than she was. Good thing he was so strong. Just when she thought they were home free, Sunset saw the the thing that she needed to be seeing. Two guards, armed with machine guns, were transporting four women down the hall. They had their backs to them, but as Sunset came to a halt, the sound scraping gravel and dirt caused one guard to glance back. He saw it all, the two holding an insurmountable amount of guzzoline. Far more than the amount that was allowed to be taken at a time. He quickly turned and shouted for them to halt, but Sunset was quicker on the draw. Her shotgun flew up to meet her face as she took aim BLAM!!! Chak-chak BLAM!!! Chak-chak Both guards were knocked to the ground. Sunset looked up at the women, who had terrified looks on their faces. All but one, she had an expression of stark shock. It was one that Sunset recognized, but didn’t believe was there. She lowered her shotgun, ever so slightly. Enough so that Sunset could get a good look at the woman. She looked exactly like Twilight Sparkle. But… at the same time… it couldn’t be Twilight. Twilight Sparkle was dead. At least, last time Sunset checked. Author's Note Whew! That took a while! This chapter took longer to write than I had originally anticipated. If you follow my blog you now that I said the chapter would be up by Saturday or sunday. So I apologize for that. But what's this? Twilight is DEAD!?!? *Dramatic gasping* Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Sunset Over The Wasteland! If you would like updates of when the next chapters shall be out, go ahead and follow me! Chapter 6: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 2)Sunset Over The Wasteland Written by: Thunder Bolt Chapter 6 Sunset just stared. Twilight stared right back. It was mostly the camouflage, and the gun that caught Twi off guard. That… and the fact that Sunset literally just murdered the two guards that were escorting her. But it was her! It was Sunset Shimmer! She didn’t think she’d see her again. “Sunset…” Twilight took a step towards her. Sunset lifted her shotgun back up, and stared down the barrel into Twilight’s confused look. “Prove that you’re real.” “What?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Sunset, it’s me-” “PROVE IT OR I’LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!!!” She shouted a little too loudly. Slash nervously looked behind him. He leaned over into Sunset’s ear. “Sunset, what are you doing?” He grunted under the weight of the gas containers. Sunset’s breathing became heavy. She let out a low growl, before lowering the gun completely. “C’mon.” She made a gesture for the wives to follow. At first none of them moved, but Midnight was the first to speak up. “Guys, this is the moment we’ve been waiting on for years. Let’s go!” She ran forward past Sunset and Slash. Sweet Breeze and Violet Flower looked at each other, but came to their senses and followed. As they ran for the elevator, Slash glared at Sunset. “What the hell are you doing?” “You have a better plan?” “Yeah, I do! Let’s leave them!” “No, Twilight’s my friend.” “That’s pretty easy to believe, considering that you wanted to blow her head off a moment ago!” Slash spat. “They’re coming with us.” Sunset put blatantly. “How do you even know them?” He pressed. “Trust me on this, okay?” Slash glared more intensely, but realized they didn’t have time to argue. He let out a sigh. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’ll be in if the Immortan catches us?” “Yeah.” Sunset answered knowingly. As Slash followed the wives to the elevator, Sunset looked back at Twilight. “Sunset?” Twilight gave her questioning look. “Join the others, I'll catch up.” She told sternly. Twilight looked unsure, and started to go to join the rest. But Sunset grabbed her shoulder. “It's good to see you again.” She said without so much as cracking a grin. Twilight nodded with a smile, and went to join the others. Sunset was now alone. Really only fifteen feet away from the elevator everyone else was waiting at, but alone with her thoughts. And her memories. “Sunset, help!” “Twilight no!” BRAKA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA!!! “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Sunset cringed at the memory. Her breath got caught in her throat, but she pushed it out of her mouth. She mentally berated herself, reminding her that there were more important things to do. They had to get the hell out of here. She fast walked to where the bigger group was waiting. The elevator was almost on the way up. Nobody had said anything to each other. There was an awkward air between them all. The wives cast nervous glances down both ends of the rocky hall. Slash and Sunset kept up watchful eyes. The elevator finally got to the top. The basket was quite large, so they all fit inside without a problem. Once all were inside, Slash tugged on the rope again. The basket started to move downwards. The awkward air was replaced with one of apprehenshen. “So… what’re your names?” Slash asked suddenly. “Violet Flower.” “Midnight Corsair.” “...Sweet Breeze…” “Twilight Sparkle.” The question answered, Slash nodded to no one in particular. “Alright… I’m Slash.” Violet raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re a warboy?” Violet asked. The other girls looked at him, surprised. Sunset simply glanced back, she was going to let to let Slash handle this. “Well… not anymore.” He answered honestly. Now both of Violets eyebrows were raised. She had never heard of a rogue warboy. This was very odd indeed. All of the Immortan’s soldiers were raised from birth to be loyal to their leader. Slash was odd indeed. She wanted to know more. It was similar to how a different leader before her time ran things. Adolf Hitler, she had read about him in a book called The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich. Apparently, the man had brought death and destruction to all that stood in his way. Similar to the leader Violet was trying to escape from. A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Slash, we’re going to need a truck to get them out.” Sunset referred to the wives. “Do you have anything?” Slash nodded. “Yeah, we have a- Ah!” One of the poles suspending the containers in the air slipped from his shoulder. Fortunately, Slash managed to keep a grip on it and nothing spilled. “Lemme get that!” Midnight offered. As Slash tried to get the gas himself, Midnight picked it up from the floor herself. Slash’s widened slightly as the girl hoisted the pole over her shoulders and behind her neck, seemingly with little effort. The only thing that escaped Midnight’s mouth was a small grunt. Slash stared for a moment before turning back to Sunset. “Yeah, I used to be a truck driver before I was assigned to patrols.” He replied. “The trucks are on the other side of other side of the garage though, we’ll have to use the west entrance.” “Alright.” Sunset sighed. The basket reached the bottom of the shaft, and the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened, happened. A warboy was waiting at the bottom. Once the elevator landed, the soldier looked at group in disbelief. But Sunset was quick to act. She jumped the door of the basket, and dove at the warboy. She tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth with her hand. “Mmff! Mff!!!” His screams were muffled and went unheard. The poor warboys eyes widened in fear as Sunset drew her knife, pulled back, and plunged it into his neck. The warboys eyes became like dinner plates, as blood spilled into his throat and out his neck. The blood choked him of life as he began spasming. Sunset kept a strong grip, until the spasms died. Sighing, she drew her blood-soaked knife and hands away from the warboys face. His eyes were still locked in a soulless stare that seemed to look into the space itself. Sunset glanced up at the others. The wives, well, weren’t taking it very nicely. Sweet Breeze and Twi were trying oh so desperately to keep their breakfast in. Violet and Midnight had mortified looks on their faces. Slash didn’t have a remote trace of emotion on his face. He just stared at the body. “Let’s go. Now!” Sunset commanded. Everybody seemed to get themselves together, and got off the elevator. As Breeze passed the body, she couldn’t help but take a long look at it. “Come on Breeze…” Twi chided. Breeze looked at her and nodded. “Coming…” Slash glanced over at Sunset as they ran. “There’s another guard at the door. You’re gonna have have to blast him.” He explained. “Alright,” She acknowledged, bringing the gun to her shoulder as the group kept running. Sunset began to think of how she was going to talk to Twilight after they got out of there. Thing is… she had no how. Sunset just killed several warboys in front of Twilight, and she passed it off like it was nothing. Sure, that was an average occurrence for Sunset. But what would Twilight think? Would she think Sunset was some kind of lunatic? She did threaten to kill her. But that was out of shock, and not knowing how to deal with it. Twilight would understand, right? Right? Sunset hoped so. As the group came to the end of the hall, they slowed. Sunset halted at the corner, and signaled for everyone to crouch. Everyone did. Sunset peeked around the corner ever so slowly. She saw a guard that was in the exact same attire as the guard at the east garage entrance. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they were roommates. She leaned over to Slash, who still had the pole held behind his neck. “I’ll take him out,” She said preparing to charge the guard. Put Slash shook his head quickly. “Uh uh, I’ll do it.” He replied and gently let down the pole and the containers to the ground. Sunset was about to argue, she didn’t want Slash using his pistol except in emergencies. But before she could, Slash had gotten up and was leaning around the corner to his bearings on the situation. He was too far away to say anything and not be heard. Slash glanced around the edge of the corridor, and eyed the guard for a moment. He gathered up what he would say. Taking in a deep breath, he cleared the end of the tunnel and walked towards the guard. The sentry looked up to see Slash approaching. He cast him a smile, glad to see an old friend. “Hey there Slash, where ya headed?” He asked in a friendly tone. Slash didn’t answer, he just kept walking towards the guard. He gave Slash a confused look. “Hey, are ya ears dead? I was askin’ where you were headed.” Slash furrowed his eyebrow as he continued to approach. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, before quickly bringing his gun at his former friends head and firing twice. The guards body fell to the floor. Slash stood there for a moment. He stared down at the body, watched the blood drizzle down from the guards head. Slash had known him in his past life. Way back when he was a truck driver, this was the face that greeted him everyday. He remembered what this guard had been like. He had been friendly, even when everyone was mean to him. He always was cracking some sort of joke, no matter how good or bad. He had been one of Slash’s closest friends when he had been a transport truck driver. And he just killed him. “Hey, Slash.” He looked over his shoulder to see Sunset gripping the pole behind her head, the wives right behind her. “Nice job, your lead now.” Sunset waited for him to take the lead. Slash had to bring himself out of his mourning and flared his nostrils with newly-found determination. “Follow me.” He ordered, moving to the submarine door and began to open it. Thunder Bolt got into the driver’s seat of Sunset’s Mustang. And waited. And waited. And waited. There. That’s what he was looking for. Three pursuit vehicles exited the large gate, and headed straight towards his car. Well, it was really Sunset’s car. But he’d give it back. Thunder estimated that he had a good thirty second head start before the vehicles could get to him. After making this calculation he immediately slammed down on the gas pedal. The engine produced a loud roar before he sped off. He pulled a hard right on the steering wheel and made like a bunny away from a pack of foxes. The Mustang was a very fast car. But it couldn’t keep pace with the nitrogen pumped engines that were in the warboys cars. Eventually, the vehicles did catch up to Thunder. He swerved about in an attempt to prevent the vehicles from getting good positioning on him. He looked back to see that a warboy was preparing to leap onto his car. Oh hell no. Just as the warboy lept, Thunder pulled another hard right, and avoided any unwanted passengers. The warboy fell, and seemed to zoom away like he was on a conveyer belt of sand. The cars were going that fast. Up until now, the pursuit had been taking place around the metal wall of the Citadels perimeter. Thunder was trying to stay in that general area, prepared to follow Sunset if she made it out with the gas. The key word being “if”. They had agreed that if she was not back outside within twenty minutes of entering, Thunder had full reason to assume she died and he was to escape by himself. However, Thunder had complete faith that it wouldn’t come to that. He just had to make sure that he held off the pursuit vehicles. CLUNK! Thunder looked up at the ceiling of the car, just in time to hear: “I’m on his car!” “Ah shit.” He muttered. Slash held his pistol out in front of him, ready to shoot any mechanics unlucky enough to find themselves behind the row of vehicles the group was currently sneaking behind. They were quite literally between a rock and a hard place. The trucks had hard metal, and the wall was made of rock. Most of the garage’s occupants were kept busy on the other side of the garage with the threat of Thunder’s ambush. The other side of the garage was almost barren. But it never hurt to be safe, especially in the wasteland. Eventually, about more than half way through the line of trucks and tankers, Slash found what he was looking for. The M35 military transport truck. It was a large transport truck that had been used as a means to carry troops to and from battles during the World Ending War. It had been heavily modified from its original form, turning it into a menacing looking machine. Slash held up a hand for everyone to stop, and looked down the space between the truck they were taking and another vehicle. Clear. He then edged along the back of the truck to the other side. He poked his head around the corner. Clear. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked back to see Sunset and the wives waiting for him to signal that the area was clear. Slash put up a thumbs up and his mouth curled into a smile. Sunset took that as ‘all clear’, and signaled the wives to follow to the rear of the truck. Sunset and Slash quietly opened the swing doors of the truck, which revealed an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun. It was mounted on a pole fused to the flatbed of the truck. Wasting no time, Sunset beckoned the wives to enter the rear of the truck. They obeyed. Once they all piled inside, and had gotten comfortable on the benches that flanked both sides of the flatbed, Slash and Sunset closed the doors as quietly as possible. They waited for the sound of footsteps to come to them, signaling that someone was investigating any noise they had made. None came. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sunset sneaked along the side of the truck to the passenger seat. She started to hear the pattering of running footsteps. She held her breath as a warboy ran by along the row of trucks, not even noticing her. Letting out a shaky breath, Sunset creeped to the passenger door. Seeing that Slash was already in the cabin was alleviating for her. She climbed in, and quietly closed the door. “Get in the back with the wives, until we’re outside the walls.” Slash ordered. Sunset, seeing no reason to argue that, climbed in the back with the wives. She put a finger up to her lips, signalling for them to be quiet. They nodded in conformation. Sunset noticed that Twilight was holding Sweet Breeze in a hug. Not surprising, Sunset thought, this whole escapade was a huge change in pace for them. They had probably only dreamt of escaping during the time they held captive here. It was likely that they had never actually believed they could leave. Up front, Slash gunned the engine. The wheel had been left on the steering axis carelessly, probably by a younger crew. With a blast of fumes from it’s tall exhaust pipe, the truck pulled out of the space it had been parked in and turned right. Headed to the exit of the garage. Slash had to turn left into the main road that linked all the rows into something like a parking lot. Only difference was that this parking lot was dug out from a plateau. The truck then made another right out of the exit into the blazing sun of the desert. It opened up into a wide dirt road that was shrinked in size as it moved past the two other plateaus, and approached the gate. It was a straight road, no curves at all. Slash guided the vehicle to the gate, passing the villagers that were camped out beside the road. Or rather below the road, since the dirt had been piled up in order to create an elevated path. The transport slowed to a stop in front of the gate. A guard ran up to the driver’s door and looked up at the truck’s driver. Slash looked down at the guard. As the sentry was about to ask what was in the truck, he suddenly stopped mid sentence and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Slash?” He questioned. “Yep.” Slash confirmed. “What are you- I thought you were a patrol driver!?” He exclaimed in confusion. “Yeah, but they needed someone to drive the transport,” Slash pointed his thumb back at the garage. “So they got me, since there was no one else.” He explained. The guard seemed to accept the explanation, to which Slash was grateful. “I got a whole load of warboys in here, ready take down that intruder.” Slash answered the guards question before he even asked. “Alright, go get ‘em!” He encouraged. He gave a hard slap to the metal which made up the flatbed covering the flatbed, producing a loud CLANG. That wasn’t good. That slap to the metal was a common warboy gesture for: Kill ‘em all. It was quick sign of encouragement from the guards to the warboys, it was even thought of as good luck by some. And it was considered rude for the warboys in the vehicle to not return the favor. For a split second Slash panicked. But in the next second, he gathered himself and looked back into the holding area. “Bang on the metal!” He called out in hushed importance. The wives gave him a funny look, even Sunset raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Anybody home?” The guard questioned, in an insulted manner. He started to walk around to the back of the truck, to see why they hadn’t returned the action. “Now! He’s gonna find you!” Slash demanded. Realizing that they were about to be found out, all of the wives, and Sunset, started rapping on the metal as hard as they could. Twilight had to free her arms from the hug she was giving Breeze, but more than made up for it by making the most noise. “Ah, there we are!” The guard said contently, coming back around to the front. “Yeah, they’re a bit riled up, itching to get out and fight,” Slash explained. “Gate?” “Yeah.” The guard answered. He turned to the workers who were manning the giant cranks that opened the giant doors. He cupped his hands around his mouth “Open up, we got a transport coming through!” Immediately, the workers turned the handholds of the cranks, resulting in the large gate splitting inward as it opened. As soon as it was wide enough, Slash shifted into drive, stepped on the gas and drove forward. He honked the horn, causing the workers on the door to let several yells and hollers as the truck moved into the open Wasteland. Sunset got up from the bench and moved to the front cabin. She didn’t sit down, instead she grabbed ahold of of the passenger seat and leaned on it as she looked out into the dry landscape. “We need to find Thunder.” She put simply. Slash grunted in annoyance. “I know that.” A large part of Sunset wanted to say that she was just trying to keep things on task. But knowing Slash, it would just lead to an argument. And that was the LAST thing they needed right now. Slash guided the truck along the fence, in search of the former pilot. As they continued to drive, they started to hear the sound of car engines approaching. Around the next bend, Thunder’s car sped into view. At first Sunset was relieved that they had found him. But that relief turned to dread as she realized Thunder was driving along the fence like they were. And they were going to crash. “TURN GOD DAMMIT!!” She shouted. However Slash had already started turning the wheel. The truck was going extremely fast, and as Thunder’s car drove by unharmed, the truck started to tip from the g-forces of the turn. “Crap crap crap crap crap crap!” Slash gritted his teeth as he yanked the wheel in the other direction, just barely managed to get the truck back on all four wheels. As soon as he did, he braked hard. The truck slid across the sand a few feet before coming to a stop. Sunset and Slash were breathing heavily. They stared straight ahead for a moment before Sunset turned around. The wives were looking amongst themselves in confusion. As Sunset turned to them, Violet looked up at her from the bench. “What just happened?” Sunset calmed her breathing to answer. “We had to swerve to avoid a collision. We’re good.” That seemed to calm Violet, and she turned to the other breeders to relay the message. Sunset turned back into the cabin. She looked at Slash who was still breathing heavily and kept staring forward. “Hey.” Sunset reached a hand down and shook his shoulder. That seemed to knock the warboy out of his stupor. “Yeah, yeah, I know…” Slash reached a hand down to the shifter, and pressed down on the gas. The truck lurched forward to the left to chase down Thunder’s pursuers. Although the pace of his breathing had returned to normal levels, he continued to stare out in front, his eyes still extremely wide. Sunset picked up on it. She sat down on the passenger seat. “You okay?” She questioned. Slash nodded robotically, his eyes still snapped wide open. Sunset’s eyes went half-lidded with a look of skepticism. “Bullshit.” She poked Slash’s shoulder again as he drove. “Come on, what is it.” “Well…” Slash explained. “It’s just been a while since I’ve done something like that.” His eyes became more relaxed as he spoke. “Guess I’ve been pretty used to how mellow the patrols are.” Sunset blinked. She really hadn’t expected that. But warboys were crazy characters, and anything they did was unexpected. It was something she had learned in her time roaming the Wasteland. Though, Slash was quite different. He seemed to get annoyed at a lot of things, but put his mind in the present at all times. He liked things to go according to plan. Now that she thought about it, that could be why he had tried holding up an argument in the citadel when she had told the wives to come with them. She glanced out on the road, realizing they were fast approaching Thunder’s car. “Get on the machine gun.” Slash ordered suddenly. Sunset was ripped from her thoughts and looked at him for a moment. “The machine gun?” “You heard me.” Slash confirmed, keeping his eyes on path ahead of them. “But, I don’t even know how to-” “I’ll talk you through it.” Slash said quickly. “We don’t have time. Were almost right behind the pursuiters.” Indeed, the truck’s engine was steadily pulling the vehicle closer to the rear of the cars pursuing Thunder. They were only about 50 meters away. Realizing there wasn’t time for arguing, Sunset got up and slowly walked to the machine gun welded onto the bed. It was a Browning .50 caliber machine gun. Sunset had seen plenty of these in the past, fixed or welded onto burnt-out tanks from the war. Or mounted on the many cars they had come across. Again she had experience firing such a weapon. But, then again, there’s a first time everything. The wives glanced at her as she looked the gun over. “How do I load it?” Sunset shouted. Slash looked back into the flatbed as the truck pulled closer to the pursuit vehicles. “Do you see a two small buttons that are parallel to each other, near the handles?” Sunset looked, spotting two buttons that were indeed parallel to each other. “Yeah!” “Push those together, and pull up.” Slash explained. She pinched the two buttons, and pulled. The cover for the where the ammunition belt was supposed to go lifted forward away from her. Sunset really wanted to get this done ASAP. She could see they were fast approaching the vehicles. At the rate they were going, they would reach the vehicles, and their element of surprise would be compromised. Sunset kept the cover up, and fast-walked back to the cabin. “Let me take the wheel.” Sunset ordered. “What? No, you need to-” Sunset turned backwards and leaned against the console, looking into Slash’s eyes. “Shut up and listen, at the rate I was going, our element of surprise would’ve been out the window.” She quickly explained. “You know how to load the thing…” She suddenly pulled Slash from the driver’s seat, grabbed his shoulders, and shoved into the flatbed. He landed on his rear, uttering an ‘oof’. “...so load it.” She finished, sitting down and taking control of the truck. Slash grunted and looked up. He was about to try and challenge Sunset, but Violet got in his way. She put a hand up to his chest and applied pressure. “Hey,” She glared. “Load the damn gun.” Slash wasn’t sure why, but the way Violet stared him down made his eyebrows raise slightly. He backed off. He didn’t know what it was about Violet that made him do so. She just had this no-BS; all business look. And it struck him hard in his soul. He immediately turned and started loading the weapon. Twilight leaned over as he worked and spoke to Violet. “How did you get him to do that?” Violet smirked, and glanced at Midnight Corsair. “I’ve had to deal with this idiot for years.” Midnight looked at her, and picked up on who she was referring to. “Hey!” She retaliated. “Shut up.” Violet’s smirk grew even more. “Don’t even try.” She chided. Midnight folded her arms, and furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. “Shurt urp.” She mumbled. Violet snorted in amusement. Slash worked quickly. He first grabbed a case of ammo off the floor. He attached the case to the latch that held it in place next to the chamber. He grabbed the belt and placed the first bullet in the chamber. He then slammed the cover down with loud CHUNK. He then grabbed the charging handle and pulled it back. Slash let the handle spring forward, priming the weapon to fire. He made sure the safety was off, and then ran back into the cabin. “Hey, it’s ready.” He pointed a thumb behind him. “Alright,” Sunset replied. She got up, and moved around Slash. He took the wheel. Sunset grabbed the handles with both hands in preparation to fire. Slash maneuvered the truck around the three pursuit vehicles. He pulled down on the truck’s horn cord, producing an Earth-shattering HOOOOOOOOONNNK!!! “Yeah! Woohoo! Give it to ‘em!” Warboys riding on the cars shouted in delight as Slash kept driving. He pulled alongside one of the cars and leaned out the window. “Hey!” He shouted, catching the attention of a warboy riding in the rear of a roaring muscle car. “Yeah, what?” The goon responded. “I’m gonna pull ahead and land some warboys on him!” The other man nodded and grinned maniacally. “Go! Destroy him and bring forth the carcass of his machine!” He shouted. “Yeah!” Slash replied in maniacal glee. Slash then pressed further down on the gas pedal and sped ahead. He moved past the pursuit cars, and pulled aside Thunder’s car. Thunder glanced up, spotting Slash in the driver’s seat. He blinked, as Slash glanced over at him, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. Thunder just stared as Slash pulled the truck around in front of Sunset’s Mustang. “Uh…” Thunder stared with a deadpan expression on his face. “...the hell is he doing?” All he could see was the rear of the transport, driving right in front of his car. Inside, Sunset braced herself for the coming onslaught of bullets that was coming. She crouched, lining up her eyes with the guns sights. She calmed her breathing, steadying her movements so that she could focus on firing. The wives had been moved to the very back of the transport. They huddled together, keeping as far from the line of fire as possible. Midnight stood at the double doors, waiting for Sunset’s signal… Twilight looked up at Sunset, then Midnight. She knew what was coming next. It was time to face the music. “OPEN IT NOW!!!” Midnight threw open the doors and immediately dove for the floor, gritting her teeth as she covered her head. Sunset fired the gun, producing a steady THU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU!!! Sunset gnashed her teeth together, squinting her eyes as the machine gun shook back and forth. She had never felt such incredible power from a weapon before. It was exhilarating. The warboys eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as bullets ricocheted of the cars. Most dove for cover, but a few unlucky soldiers were peppered with projectiles. As she kept shooting, Sunset steadily aimed the gun at the driver of the car closest to Thunder Bolt. The bullets tore through the drivers head, and due to their size, completely obliterated his brain and skull. Nothing but a bunch of gray matter and bone shards remained of his head. The body rolled of the right, moving the steering wheel in the same direction. The car veered away, rolling right into the path of the second closest car. The driver didn’t have time to react as the second vehicle ran right into the side of the first. The force of the crash flipped the second car into the air, before it crashed on the other side of the first car on the roof. As the three remaining cars drove away, the second car exploded in a wave of fire. In turn, the first car exploded into nothing but a mess of ash and twisted metal. Meanwhile, the third car had pulled up and was returning fire. Sunset barely had time to dive for the wall in order to press herself as hard as she could to it. She gritted her teeth together as bullets flew past and landed on the back end of the transport. “AAAAAAAAHHH!!” The wives screeched as projectiles were just barely missing. Midnight was still pinned to the ground and was still covering her head with her hands. She opened her squeezed-shut eyes for a moment to see Sunset pinned to the wall as bullets continued to shoot past. “What do we do!?” She shouted desperately. At this moment, Midnight was fearing for her life. She was naturally a very stubborn individual who talked a big game. But this was the first time she was getting a real taste of a Wasteland battle. Sunset looked down at the woman, a terrified look plastered to her face. Sunset glanced behind her to see that her shotgun was lying on the flatbed, rattling slightly from the movement of the truck. Her eyes widened as she realized what her next course of action should be. “Toss me my shotgun!” She ordered. Midnight looked to her left to see the shotgun on the ground. As quickly she could, she grabbed the gun and passed to her other hand. She quickly slid the gun to Sunset. She grabbed it, and pinned herself to the wall just in time for another flurry of bullets whizzed by. “STAY STRONG!” Violet shouted over the noise. She pulled Twilight and Breeze tighter in the huddle in the corner of the flatbed. Once the onslaught of bullets had stopped, she dove from the wall to the floor. She slid until she was just barely over the edge of the rear entrance. However, she witnessed an odd sight when she peered outside with the shotgun ready to fire. The third car wasn’t pursuing. In fact, it had stopped completely. It was like it had stopped pursuing altogether and let the transport speed away. The car continued to shrink in size as the two vehicles drove away from the citadel. Sunset tilted her head to the side as she lay on the edge of the door frame. “What?” She called out in confusion. Thunder saw the doors open, and his widened as he saw Sunset at the helm of the machine gun. As she opened fire on the cars pursuing just behind him, he instinctively ducked his head. But after realizing that all of the bullets were flying over his car, he relaxed slightly. He looked behind to see the car closest to him veer to the right and caused the second closest car to crash, flip over it, and explode. The wreck got smaller as the remaining three vehicles drove away. Thunder locked his eyes on the path ahead of him. He felt his muscles tense as the sound of a roaring engine met his ears. He looked out to the left just in time to see the third car pull up next to him. A warboy on the rear platform of the car started firing an assault rifle at the truck. Thunder could hear the pings and pangs of bullets stitching holes in the transport. “Oh hell no…” His nostrils flared as he grabbed his Auto Mag from his holster. Without hesitating, he rested his shooting arm on his left arm, which was managing the steering wheel. He took careful aim out the car window at the shooter as he reloaded. He fired once. A miss. The shooter heard the shot and looked to his right. His eyes grew wide as he saw Thunder holding up the pistol. But the shock was short lived as Thunder fired again, the bullet striking the warboy square in the chest. “Gurgh!” He fell backwards as the force of the impact knocked him off the rear of the car. His body tumbled onto the sand. Thunder’s eyes locked onto another warboy trying to climb from the front passenger seat, onto the rear to get the rifle. Again, Thunder adjusted his aim to him and fired twice. Both bullets were met with metal. They both missed. Thunder mentally berated himself for firing an unnecessary extra bullet. He really couldn’t do things like that. The rule he always tried to follow was to fire one bullet at a time, and try not to go nuts on the trigger. It was extremely important to conserve resources as possible. The warboy continued to climb onto the rear. Thunder glanced out the front to the path the transport was following, which in turn Thunder was following. He turned back, surprised to see that the warboy was crawling on the rear, going for the rifle. “Nope…” He whispered, as he fired. The bullet struck the warboy in the head, shooting gray matter out the other side if his head. His body fell limp. Thunder let out a sigh, of both relief, and getting in air. He had holding in a breath to steady his shot. He remembered he had fired four shots, which meant he had three left. He looked back to the left, just in time to see the other car ram into his. “AH!” The force of the impact made Thunder lose his bearings for just a moment. But as he regained a feel on his surroundings, he realized that the other driver was forcing his vehicle against the Mustang. Immediately taking control of the wheel, Thunder turned his car against the other car, pushing it in the direction. He looked up into the eyes of the driver. They locked together for a moment. In that moment, their eyes said one thing to the other. “I’m going to kill you.” However, Thunder was quicker to do so. He pointed his AutoMag through the window causing the driver’s eyes grew wide. “No!” Was what he managed to shout before his head was thrown back from the force of a bullet passing through it. As the driver’s body fell over limp the steering wheel, his foot lifted off the gas pedal. The car veered away, slowed, and stopped as the transport and the Mustang drove away, leaving the citadel in the dust. Meanwhile… Jawsnapper continued to wriggle and squirm as the knife continued to make the same scrapping noises that he’d been hearing for the past week. Then, just when was about to give out, he heard the heavenly sound metal landing on metal. The handcuff chain had been broken. His eyebrows raised up in surprise. He brought them around so he could look at them. He twisted and turned his shoulders, loosening them from being cooped up in the trunk of the Challenger. Without missing a beat, Jaw positioned his body to be vertical to the trunk of the car. As hard as he could, he slammed his legs against the trunk. Nothing. Again, and again, and again he kicked at the trunk. Only with one final kick was he able to get the trunk to fly open. Sunlight poured inside, blinding him for a moment. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he crawled out, getting a feel for the ground. Once his eyes adjusted completely, he looked around. He found he was standing by the cliff he had been knocked out on. He turned around, the citadel coming into his field of view. Without hesitating, he started running along to edge of the cliff back to the citadel. Author's Note Hey, sorry for the long update. But as you can see this is my longest chapter yet, so hopefully you got a treat out of that! So, basically, I just wanted to say that this story is going on hiatus. Not because it's dead. It isn't, I would be cancelling it if it were. But I have another writing project I want to get to. It's a short one, don't worry. But this going to be the last chapter for a while. And to ransom username, sorry I didn't run this through you first. I just wanted to get this chapter out there ASAP. Until next time, Aim High. -Thunder Bolt Chapter 7: A Break at BartertownSunset Over The Wasteland Written by: Thunder Bolt Chapter 7 Sunset was barely hanging off the edge of the speeding truck, as it drove away from the idle pursuit car that had stopped. She looked at Thunder as he drove her Mustang, which was following close behind, and noticed that he had his Auto Mag drawn. She put two and two together. She realised that while she had been taking cover, Thunder must’ve shot the warboys and driver. She smiled as she pulled herself back onto the flatbed of the transport, cradling her shotgun in her lap. A sudden weight of realization hit her. They had done it. They got the gas they needed. And they got away with it. They just robbed Immortan Sombra right from under his nose. At that thought, Sunset cracked a gigantic smirk. She felt really smug all of a sudden. Before, when she and Thunder had been robbing other wanderers for gas, it made the both of them feel horrible about themselves. Once, and only once, did they have to kill an innocent man to get away with the gas. It was a blow to the both of them emotionally. But this was different. Sombra and his cronies had ruled this side of the wasteland with an iron fist. They would never hesitate to kill to get what they wanted, Slash being an obvious exception. And stealing from such monsters was very satisfying. It had taken an incredible amount of luck. An even greater amount of skill, quick wit, and trusting instincts. But the deed had been done, and it felt GREAT. If not for Slash, she and Thunder probably wouldn’t have even gotten through the front gate. He had been imperative to the mission, she couldn’t forget that. But… that did leave the question… What now? Was Slash going to just leave them? After all they had been through together? It was what they had originally planned, for Slash to take a half gallon and go his own path. But that seemed a little… abrupt. For him to leave all of a sudden. Of course, they could sort it out when they got back to the camp, packed up, and headed for Bartertown. But then again, that did leave the question of what was to happen to the wives. … Wait a second, wives? Sunset looked around at the four women who had different levels of shock written on their faces. Violet Flower was staring out the entryway of the flatbed, the doors still creaking back and forth in the desert wind. Midnight Corsair was leaning up against the corner of the transport, arms crossed, brow flat. She looked to be thinking about something. Twilight had her hands planted on Sweet Breeze’s shoulders, who had a startled look on her face. Wives? Wives. Wives! Oh shit… Another, much less pleasant feeling wave of realization hit Sunset as if it were a bus. They had stolen the Immortans prized breeders! Now technically, they had really freed them from sex slavery. But it was best to look at it from Sombra’s point of view. Sunset’s eyes darted about the space in the transport’s flatbed as her mind raced on what to do next. But it came up blank. She hadn’t even thought about the possible consequences of doing something like that. She should have! Even with Twilight there, she have thought it through. And the reality of their situation came down on her even more when she realized someone had been thinking things through. Slash. He was thinking. He hadn’t made any rash decisions. She cringed at herself as his words echoed through her mind. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’ll be in if the Immortan catches us?” Dumbstruck by reality, she stared straight ahead as the truck drove to the cliff so that Thunder could get his Challenger back. Immortan Sombra sat in his throne, staring at the large throne room door. His patience continued to dwindle, he was just barely containing his frustration. “What is keeping them!?” He shouted, rising out of the large chair. He was going to see what was the matter himself, but before he could… BING-BONG! He stared at the door on the other side of the room, the guards looking to it themselves. A voice came over the intercom next to the Immortans throne. “Sir!” A nervous sounding warboys voice crackled through the speaker. Sombra immediately pressed one large finger to the button. “Report!” He commanded. At first, there was nothing. But as Sombra was about to command him again, his voice was heard again. “S-sir… the wives! T-they, uh, they…” He stuttered over his words, trying to put the news un-angering as possible. “Dammit soldier, pick your words, and say them to me!” Sombra berated. He was not in the mood for this. “Sir! Your wives, they’ve been taken!” At first, Sombra let the words flow through his brain. He processed them. His wives. Were stolen. No. No! NO! “WHERE ARE THEIR GUARDS!?!?” He raged into the speaker. “Dead, sir.” The war boy replied simply. Sombra paused for a moment. He remembered that he still hadn’t heard anything about the ruffian who had tried to coax the war boys into following him. “What of the wanderer who fired at the wall?” He asked. “He wasn’t alone. We found that some gas was missing from the vault. We figure that whoever stole the gas took your breeders too.” The war boy answered. Upon hearing this, the Immortan leaned back from the intercom. He squinted his eyes, and massaged his temple while thinking things over. Stolen wives, missing gas, and armed looters who just got away with taking those things. He knew what to do. He pressed his finger back to the intercom. “Send out a scouting party, find out where they went.” He ordered. “Yes, sir.” The warboy answered. Meanwhile, the group successfully retrieved Thunder’s Challenger from the cliff. Sunset got in her own vehicle, and Slash continued to drive the military transport. When Thunder discovered that Jawsnapper had escaped, Sunset decided that they should go over their next course of action once they restocked on gas, food and water at Bartertown. Of course, she still had the issue of explaining to the rest that she and Twilight were from another dimension. With Thunder’s Charger traveling at the front, the transport in the middle, and Sunset’s Mustang bringing up the rear, in a single file line, the group pulled up next to the entrance of Bartertown. The town, as the name suggested, was fully reliant on the business it created with survivors of the nuclear apocalypse coming in and out to sell and trade their wares. The entire town itself was in between a long line of rocks which was connected to one big mountain. The town was tucked in between the two geological forms. The entrance was a long tunnel that had been used for mining. Inside, the place was made entirely of huts and tents that allowed individuals to sell whatever they had in exchange for whatever it was that they wanted. At the very center of Bartertown was a huge, caged dome made of iron rods that formed upwards at the center of the dome. And next to that was a bar in which all sorts of alcoholic drinks were sold. Albeit, at insanely huge prices. The Charger pulled up near the entrance of Bartertown. Thunder waited for the transport and Sunset to pull up and park alongside. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts. They had done it. They had ACTUALLY done it! They got the gas they needed and got away nearly unharmed. At least he did, he hadn’t gotten a very good look at Sunset who practically pulled him out of the car in the rush to switch vehicles. But he felt confident that she was alright. She was a tough girl, she had proven that throughout their travels in the Wasteland. And if there was someone driving the transport, it was safe to assume that Slash was alive as well. Though he didn’t feel nearly as uplifted at that truth, at least everyone was safe. And by the looks of the transport, they must’ve gotten their hands on all sorts of useful goods. They could probably even trade for even better supplies while they were here! The familiar rumble of car engines met his ears. He glanced to the right in time to see Sunset park next to him. She looked over at him, and smiled. Thunder smiled back. And next to Sunset’s Mustang, Slash parked the transport. Thunder could just barely see him through the window of the truck’s cabin, as the roof of Sunset’s car blocked some of the view. As soon as the transport was parked, Thunder got out of the car and walked up to Sunset’s car. She also got out of her vehicle. As she got out she looked up at Thunder who was standing two feet away from her. They gave each other a three-second long stare before Sunset spoke. “So… we did it.” “Yep.” Thunder replied. “Yeah…” She sighed. Her expression dropped slightly, and Thunder saw it immediately. “Hey.” He grabbed her shoulder as she tried walked by. “Something wrong?” She was about to say no, but knew it would be pointless since he would find out anyway. “Yeah… there is.” She answered honestly. “What? What is it?” Thunder asked, concern tainting his voice. “Well…” Sunset trailed off. “You should see for yourself.” “Uh, okay?” Thunder felt anxious. Did Slash do something? No, probably not. If that were the case, Sunset would’ve likely killed him. And he was still alive, climbing out of the transport’s cabin at this point. Sunset pulled Thunder by the hand away from their cars, and towards the transport. He swallowed on the spit lactating in his mouth. Sunset stood him in front of the double doors of the loading section of the transport. “Just… don’t freak out.” Sunset warned. Thunder flattened his brow as his concern grew. Sunset pulled open the doors, and what Thunder saw inside nearly made his jaw drop. Four women were sitting inside on double benches that lined the sides of the transport. Thunder’s mind raced, trying to figure out who they were. But then it hit him. The white clothes, the nearly untouched features of their bodies. There was only one person in the entire Wasteland who could keep someone in such prime condition. And that person just happened to be the ones they robbed from. “Did… did you steal… Immortan Sombra’s wives?” Thunder whispered slowly. Sunset cringed as she confirmed the dire reality. “Yeah, we did.” Thunder slowly clasped his hands around the back of his head. His eyes stared into space, as he walked back to his car in a dazed state. “Is he alright?” Twilight asked, standing from the bench. “Oh he’ll be fine… I just need to talk to him.” Sunset answered while looking at her partner. She turned, and spoke to Twilight directly. “I’ll talk to you in a moment.” Violet raised an eyebrow when Sunset walked off. “Do you know her?” She inquired to Twilight. “Yeah…” Twilight sighed and sat back down. “You could say that.” Thunder had slumped himself up against the bumper of the Charger and was staring off into space. Sunset approached him from his left, and knelt down beside him. “Thunder?” She called out. He didn’t answer, his eyes were glued to the sky. “Thunder, I know we’re in a bad situation. But we can work through it, we’ve done it bef-” She started, but Thunder sharply turned his towards her with a harsh glare. “What, in the actual shit, was going through your head when you decided to ‘rescue’ these people?” He asked bitterly. Sunset blinked. She had NOT been expecting such a strident response. However, before she could respond, he turned his eyes back up towards the sky. This time though, his brow was flat, and his mouth was scowling. “I-” Sunset tried to think of some sort of plausible reason. Something that would make Thunder believe why she did it. But her mind came up blank. She, under normal circumstances, had acted foolishly. She had put both of their lives at risk. But it was for someone she had known. But as Sunset’s mind raced, she realized something: she didn’t have to lie. The truth made the most sense. She had brought the wives because she knew one of them. That reason, the truth, put her mind at ease as she came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t have to fabricate some crazy story to justify a spur-of-the-moment action. She let out a relaxed sigh, and looked back at Thunder. “I know one of them.” She stated. He quickly turned towards her, with a sceptical look on his face. As if he hadn’t believed what he heard. “What?” “I-” She hesitated, realizing just how unbelievable she sounded. “-know one of them.” “What in the hell do you mean you know one of them?” Thunder squinted his eyelids, trying to comprehend what had just been said. “I just-” Sunset sighed and looked down at the sand in frustration. “-I just do.” “So what? Were you friends before the war?” Thunder questioned. “It’s… a bit more complicated than that.” She explained as best she could. “Complicated?” Thunder cocked an eyebrow. “Look, I’ll explain everything later. Right now, I need you to trust me. I need to head into Bartertown and get as much food and water as we can.” She stood up and looked down at Thunder, who was still sitting up against the bumper of the Charger. “Can you fill up the cars with the gas we got?” He looked up at his friend. Thunder had no idea what Sunset was getting at when she said ‘I’ll explain later’. Was there some sort of bigger picture he wasn’t getting? He was still questioning Sunset’s decision of rescuing the wives. But she was requesting him to trust her. They had been together in the Wasteland for so long, trusting her was second nature to him. But this was different, they had never been on the run from someone as powerful as Immortan Sombra. In this case, he felt conflicted. On one hand, he had to trust her. If he didn’t, what if they were locked in combat with the Immortan’s forces? If his trust wasn’t absolute in such a situation, it could get both he and Sunset, and maybe even Slash, killed. But on the other hand, how could he trust her to make smart decisions again? She had gone and done something as crazy as taking the Immortan’s WIVES for crying out loud! It was one of the craziest things anyone could do. He never thought Sunset would do something as STUPID as that. She did say she knew one of them… but was that really good enough of an excuse? But Thunder remembered that she said that she was going to explain her whole reasoning later, so… it looked like he was going to have to place his trust in her until that point. Yes, he would trust her. For now. He looked up at Sunset and looked her in the eye. “I’ll take care of it.” He replied. Sunset smiled. “Good, the gas is in the transport.” With that, she headed to her Mustang to grab whatever tradables she would need to get food, water and ammunition. Thunder watched her walk away before getting up himself, and headed for the transports flatbed to get the gas. As he walked up to the flatbed, he saw Slash in the cabin of the transport. It looked like he was making repairs or modifications of some sort, but Thunder was too far to see. He stopped in front of the entrance to the flatbed and paused. He laid his eyes on the wives for the second time, and honestly, he could see why they were so valuable to Immortan Sombra. These women were beautiful. He tried not to stare. But as he got a jerry can of fuel for the vehicles, he couldn’t help but linger a bit on the on the one with pinkish skin, and brown hair. He gave an awkward, half-hearted wave before heading off to refill the Mustang and Charger with gas. The four watched him walk away, before going back to just sitting in the transport. Twilight leaned up against the corner, Sweet Breeze tried to get in a more comfortable position while sitting upright. Midnight just flopped back on the bench and started to take a nap. Violet stared off into space for a little while, thinking. All of what had just happened in the past hour had been such a rush, she didn’t really have time to think about it all. But she realized that she and the other wives really weren’t accustomed at all to life out here. They had always been bathed, fed, clothed. They had been taken care of. Out here, it was a dog-eat-dog world. Merciless. She hoped that the people who saved them would at least teach them the ways of survival. They seemed like the types to do that anyways. Or was that just wishful thinking? Either way, she was certain that her fellow wives were probably thinking about the exact same things. Probably in their own way, since Midnight had hit the hay for a few minutes, and Breeze was awkwardly shuffling on the bench trying to get in a more comfortable position. And Twilight was leaned up against the corner But no matter what happened, Violet would look out for them. No matter what. She let out a sigh before looking around. She didn’t like just sitting around and doing nothing for who knows how long. She’d really like to know how long this stop was going to be. So she got up from her seat and started to head outside, but a voice met her ears from behind. “Where are you going?” Twilight asked. Violet turned towards her. “Just going to see how long the wait is going to be.” She turned and climbed out of the flatbed. “I think I’ll join you.” Twilight got up from the bench and followed after Violet. Sweet Breeze watched them leave. She glanced at Midnight, who was fast asleep. Sunset slammed the car door shut, and lugged her pack over her shoulder. She had collected a plethora of nonessentials for them that would be essential for someone else. With that she headed off to join the crowd of Wastelanders moving in and out of the entrance to Bartertown. Most people heading in and out had some manner of raggedy clothing on them. Almost all carried a bag, or a pack in which they carried their tradables. There was a foul stench in the air. One that made it clear that a lot of the people surrounding Sunset hadn’t had a bath in a long time. It had been some time since she had last come here. They had come here every once in a while to trade whatever they had stolen that wasn’t valuable to get something more useful. Of course, with the shortage of other survivors they had actually come across, they didn’t really have a need to come here. The feeling she had from coming back here wasn’t exactly nostalgia. That implied that it felt good to remember. That wasn’t the case here. It was just… familiar. Nothing more. As she entered the shade of the entrance to Bartertown, she eyed a series of metal bars that were lined across the tunnel, which were placed there as a wall to bar unwanted entry into the twon, and at the center was gate being manned by a heavy set man who was letting people into Bartertown. Beside the entrance gate, was an exit gate that only swung one way. The entrance gate was sort of a way to make sure that all of those entering the town weren’t going to disturb the peace. As Sunset waited in line to enter, she glanced to the right at two men standing by the rocky wall of the tunnel. They wore bullet proof vest, camouflage pants, and were armed with assault rifles. The one on the right held an AK-74, the left held an AR-15. Their bald heads had paint covering them in interesting patterns, possibly as a way to tell who was who. Sunset didn’t know. Those men were part of the police force maintaining the peace in Bartertown. Sunset had only seen them in action once, and that had been during she and Thunder Bolt’s second trip here. They had been called upon to break up a fight between two traders, and when one had pulled a gun, they quickly shot him down. Sunset had to assume that most of them were ex-military, like Thunder. All of a sudden she was next to walk up to fat man. She came up to him, as he stood behind a small podium, and beside the podium was a tray that was attached to the side of the podium. He wore glasses that looked like they were going to fall of the edge of his nose. Another Bartertown guard stood behind the fat man. The man eyed Sunset for a moment before looking down at her bag. “State your intentions.” The fat man said plainly. “To trade.” Sunset replied, looking the man in the eye. The man nodded. “I assume your tradables are located in that bag?” “Yes.” She answered. Again the man nodded. “Place any weapons you have in this tray.” He pointed to the tray attached to the podium. Sunset complied, pulling out her Beretta M9 pistol and knife. She placed them in the tray. Immediately, the guard took the tray off the podium and walked over to the left side of the tunnel. He opened a chute built into the rock and dumped the gun and knife inside. To the upper right of the chute was a small window with a sign above it that said “WEAPONS RETRIEVAL”. Beside the window was a locked door that was barred from entry by two other guards. Immediately after the guard took the tray, the fat man looked at Sunset. “You may enter.” Sunset nodded, before a guard behind the gate opened it for her. Sunset walked by, nodding at the guard. All he returned was an intimidating stare. Sunset turned away and continued walking into Bartertown. Before she got inside, she could make out hints of chatter here and there. But as she exited the tunnel, and made her into the actual town, all of that changed. A cacophony of sound met her ears. People haggling, trades being made, live stock making their natural sounds. If one had gone inside for the first time, it was sure to be overwhelming. Fortunately for Sunset, this wasn’t the first time. She knew exactly where to go. Taking confident strides, she set off for the Guns n’ Ammo section of the town. Violet and Twilight stepped out of the rear of the transport, their bare feet making prints in the sand below. Violet being in front, walked alongside the truck until both she Twilight reached the cabin. Slash didn’t notice them, both his legs were hanging out the door. He was manipulating a wrench and screwdriver beneath the dashboard, making some kind adjustment or modification. Not knowing what else to do, Violet tugged on the cloth of the former warboys pants. He stopped working and looked at them with an annoyed look, as if he didn’t want to be bothered from his work. “Yeah?” He asked. Violet hesitated for a moment, noticing his disapproving look. But she answered anyway. “Is there anything we could be doing right now?” Slash went right back to working. “No.” He said monotonously. “If I were you, I’d get back into the transport right now. Sombra’s probably got his scouts out lookin’ for us. “But couldn’t we at least-” “No.” Slash replied a little louder to emphasize his point. Violet flared her nostrils, disappointed that she didn’t have anything useful to do. She and Twilight turned and walked back. “It does make sense. Sombra can’t be too happy about us escaping.” Twilight spoke up, as the two climbed into the flatbed. “It’s only for safety purposes.” Breeze glanced up at them as she lay on her side. “Yeah, I just wish I had something to do other than sit around.” Violet replied. “Then lie down, save your energy.” Midnight very suddenly suggested, her eyes still closed as she lay on the bench. “I guess that’s all we can really do.” Twilight accepted. She sat down on the same bench as Breeze, and leaned back until she was laid flat against the bench. Her feet were barely touching Breeze. Violet did the same, except she sat up against the wall the door to the cabin occupied. She propped her feet up on the bench, and tried to get some rest. A car rolled up to the right side of the entrance to Bartertown. It bore the markings of Immortan Sombra, and it had spikes and all sorts of nasty modifications made to it. It halted, allowing two warboys to jump out. One of the scouts turned back to the driver. “You keep the car runnin’ in case we don’t find anything. Every second of this search counts!” “You got it!” The driver obeyed, flashing a mock salute and a goofy grin. The warboy rolled his eyes. “Ugh, let’s go.” He ordered the other scout. And the two headed into entrance of the town. The driver leaned back, and started humming a tune as the engine grumbled, ready to do it’s job should the need arise. “There’s your water.” Sunset handed a half-filled bottle of water to the man whom she just received .44 magnum bullets from. She pocketed the ten rounds into her jacket pocket. Looking around at the booths that were trading for various types of weaponry and ammunition, she decided that she had gotten enough supplies to help with defense. She twisted and turned through the crowd, navigating the ever changing paths of the multitude of traders. And just when she reached the less crowded area in which the Thunderdome was located, a large dome shaped cage meant for holding fights, she laid her eyes on a sight that made her heart skip a beat. There, on the other side of the dome, were two warboys. It looked like they conversing with anyone who passed by. Holding out a piece of paper in their faces, it definitely looked like they were trying to find something… The wives. Taking in a long breath of air, and exhaling, she walked along the edge of the Thunderdome. She tried to take the way around the dome that wouldn’t make them come into her path, lest she risk that they recognize her. One of them, through the bars of the dome, made eye contact with her. She quickly looked away. She mentally kicked herself for looking at them for so long. She had to remain casual. Sunset kept walking until she was almost past the dome, then it would be a straight shot to the exit. “Hey!” Seemingly from nowhere, a hand grabbed Sunset’s shoulder and stopped her right then. She almost reverted to her instinct to draw her knife, but realized she had no weapons. Before she could turn around, the warboy who grabbed her shoulder walked around in front of Sunset. He held up a piece of paper in her face. “Have you seen these four women?” He asked urgently. The paper displayed four detailed drawings of the Immortans wives Sunset blinked, before realizing what he was saying. She sidestepped quickly and gave a rushed “No.” Picking up the pace on her walking, she headed back into the cave, this time to exit. She neared the exit gate, a lone guard standing by it. As she neared it, the guard opened it for her silently. As Sunset passed through, she gave the guard a nod as a ‘thank you’. The guard didn’t reply in the least bit. As fast as she could go without drawing attention, she went for the window in the rock wall to retrieve her weapons. She came to a stop in front of it. Inside was a older man wearing a hard scowl. Right behind him was a large stand on which several rifles were resting. Handguns were strewn about on the shelf just below the stand, and on the far right of the room was where the knives were kept in sheaths on another specially made shelf. “You picking up?” The scowling man asked in a gravely voice. “Yeah, I had a 9 millimeter Beretta, and a bayonet knife.” Sunset answered quickly. “Gimme a second.” The man headed off to get the knife first. Sunset waited anxiously, glancing through the bars of the make-shift wall at the warboys holding up the pictures. She really hoped nobody had seen the wives as they had gone in. Because if they did, Sunset and the others were in deep shit. “There you go, one Beretta and one bayonet.” The man placed the weapons firmly onto the stone counter before Sunset. Without hesitation, Sunset grabbed her weapons and hurried back to the others. “You need any help?” Thunder asked, walking up to Slash as he was still working on the dashboard of the transport. “No.” He replied monotonously, annoyed at the unwanted attention. Especially after he had just told Violet and Twilight he didn’t need any help. “Okay.” Thunder Bolt leaned up against the side of the transports cabin, right next to the door where Slash’s legs were still hanging out. He glanced at the former warboy in curiosity. “What are you working on?” “Uh…” Slash didn’t answer at first as he was finishing connecting two wires. “Gas pedal lock.” “A what-now?” Thunder looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “It locks the pedal in the accelerating position without the need for a foot. It’s handy if said driver gets caught in a squabble.” “Huh, cool.” Thunder relaxed against the side of the truck before he heard the sound of running footsteps. He looked to his right to see Sunset running towards them with a panicked look on her face. Immediately knowing something was wrong, he stopped leaning and walked towards her as she ran to him. “What’s wron-” He began but Sunset cut him off. “We have to leave NOW!” Sunset ordered before taking off for her Mustang. “What? Wait, what?” Thunder stammered. He ran after her and caught up with her as they came up to her car. “What do you-” “I saw Sombra’s scouts in Bartertown.” She stated as she threw all of what she had gotten into the passenger seat of the Mustang. Thunder immediately understood. “Oh shit.” He muttered to himself. He ran up to the rear of the transport where the wives were all (trying) to get some rest. “Listen up!” He shouted. His voice carried such urgency that he immediately gained the attention of all of the wives. “Sunset just spotted Sombra’s scouts in Bartown. We gotta go!” He then slammed the transport doors shut before they could say anything. Inside the transport, the women looked amongst themselves in confusion. “Uhh…” Midnight was first to speak. “Okay, I guess nap time is over.” Thunder then ran up the side of the transport where Slash was working and shook his legs. “What’re you-” He started, but Thunder shut him up. “We need to move. Sunset just ran into Sombra’s scouts in Bartertown.” As Thunder ran off to get his Charger started up, Slash took a second to process what was just said. But it only took a second, as he was already packing away his tools. Thunder made sure the M-60 and his Sako hunting rifle were stowed away in the trunk. He looked up at Sunset who was making sure she had her shotgun and pistol. “You good?” He asked hurriedly. It took Sunset a moment to respond, but she finally did. “Yeah, I have everything. Let’s get outta here.” She slid across the hood of her car and practically dove into the driver’s side. Thunder did the same. Sunset and Thunder made last minute checks to make sure everything was in place. Sunset looked up in time to see that Slash had already started the engine on the transport. The engine let out a mighty roar as it’s inner parts began to work together. Sunset did the same for her car, turning the key. As did Thunder. Now with all three vehicles ready to roll out, Sunset honked her horn as a way of saying she was going first. Since the vehicles were parked right outside the entrance to Bartertown, a few wanderers heading inside the stone entryway were startled by the sudden noise. But Sunset, Thunder, nor Slash cared. Their engines roared as they pulled away from the town towards the open desert. Sunset in the lead, Thunder second, and Slash’s transport last. The vehicles accelerated away. Leaving the town in the dust. Author's Note Well! That was certainly quick escape. This chapter is for the hardcore Mad Max fans who have seen the old movies as well as the new. Bartertown was interesting the write. I tried to put a creative spin on the town so it wasn't a direct copy from Beyond Thunderdome. Looks like Sunset and Twi will have some explaining to do with the whole alternate dimension deal. That was a pretty close call, good thing no one saw the wives before they went in. And that new pedal might come in handy in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading! I know this chapter took awhile, but just remember that I still have real life to take care of. Aim High, Thunder Bolt
Chapter 1: Days Gone ByeChapter 1 Twilight Sparkle burst through the twin doors of her castle, using whatever strength she had left to carry herself all the way to her bedroom. When she finally made it there, Twilight collapsed on the bed. She let out a long, exasperated sigh. She had been forced to spend the better part of the day fighting yet another monster trying to wreak havoc in Ponyville. It had been an excruciating fight, but a fight that had been won. The beast had been sent to Tartarus, and the town had settled back into it’s normal mid-evening routine. Twilight lay on her bed, her thoughts revisiting all the other wild animals and whatnot she and her friends had fought and beaten over the years. There was knock on her door. “Mm. Come in.” she said. It was Spike. “Hey, Twi. Saw you fighting that thing out there and I thought I’d whip up some food when you got back.” Spike explained with a smile. “Aw, thanks Spike. I could use something to eat right now” She replied. Twilight heaved herself off the bed and trotted downstairs, after Spike. He had indeed made her food that looked absolutely delicious. She sat down and started to eat. “You know Twilight” Spike started. “You’ve been on edge quite a bit lately.” Twilight looked up from her plate. “Have I?” She inquired. “Yeah you have. I mean with all the responsibility you’ve undertaken when you became a Princess, you just seem a lot more… I don’t wanna say cranky perse, but you definitely seem more… edgy.” “I see.” Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Well Spike, unfortunately it’s not like I can drop everything and go on vacation all of a sudden.” “Actually, you can.” “Huh?” Twilight was confused. Spike smiled. “Well, because I am your number one assistant, I decided to take matters into my own hands and packed your bags. Because you’re goin’ on a vacation!” Spike said enthusiastically. Twilight blinked. “But Spike, I haven't even agreed to go on a-” She was interrupted by Spike. “Twilight, the way I see it, you’re going to drive yourself mad at this point. Besides, I’ve already cleared up everything with the other princesses. Plus, Shining Armor has agreed to look over Ponyville. All you’ve got to do is pick where you wanna go.” Spike beamed, clearly proud that he’d been able to take care of all that himself. Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve certainly been busy.” Twilight sat back in her chair, still unbelieving in the fact that her unplanned vacation had come together so quickly. “Just some of the perks of being able to send letters anywhere in Equestria!” Spike joked. “So, where do you want to go?” “Hmmm.” Twilight pondered. “I haven’t seen my friends at Canterlot High in a while.” “Then it’s settled!” Spike said “I’ll go get your bags.” Twilight stopped him. “Spike, they’ll have everything I need over there.” Spike’s ears drooped. “You mean I did all that packing for nothing?” Twilight giggled “Sorry.” “Aww.” Spike complained, kicking the crystal floor in frustration. *** Twilight flipped the dusty switch and stepped back quickly. She listened to crackling of electricity and groaning of machinery as the portal sprung to life. It had taken some time to get the thing in working order again, but it would be worth the effort if she could get a break from the work of being co-ruler of Equestria. Spike had headed out to tell Twilight’s friends that she was leaving, all of them had since come by to see her off. “Don’t be a stranger.” Rainbow Dash mused. “Please be sure to take care of yourself darling.” Rarity said. “Ya’ll have a good time, now.” Applejack followed. “Be safe.” Fluttershy said. “HAVE AN AWESOME SUPER DUPER LUPER HUPER FANTASTIC VACATION!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Twilight jumped back a little as Pinkie got in her face, but let out a small chuckle. “Thank you everypony, I’ll be sure to have a good time.” Twilight replied. Spike walked up to her side and said, while smiling. “Pleeeeaaaaassse tell me I can come you!” Twilight turned to him. “Now Spike, we’ve discussed this.” Spike groaned. “But Twilight, I never get to go to Canterlot High with you anymore.” Twilight frowned at him. “Spike-” Spike grunted at her and crossed his scaly arms. “Yeah, yeah, the whole multiple Spike-alternate dimension bit.” Spike walked back to the larger group, still in a disappointed mood. Twilight looked back to her friends. “Well, I guess I’m off then.” She received hugs from each pony at different intensities. Several different “byes” were heard. Twilight looked to the swirling mass of the portal’s vortex held by the frame of the machine. She gave one final “goodbye” to her friends which was met by another round of goodbyes. She pushed herself inside the portal, leaving the world of Equestria behind her. *** Twilight landed with a light “pomf” onto the ground. She still needed to get used to the ride between worlds. She regained her bearings and got herself to her feet, startled to find herself covered in sand. She then looked up, of course expecting to see the school. But she didn’t. “What the…” Twilight shakily whispered. Her eyes became as wide as dinner plates when she realized she was right in the middle of a dessert. Dunes of sand were the only things that were visible. Twilight spun around only to see the Canterlot High statue half buried. Twilight backed up and ended up falling on her rump. She barely paid any mind to the fall, as she was still reeling from the shock of the change between what the human world looked like before and after she last left. She was made entirely of questions, and confusion. She still had the same clothes she always had every time she went through the portal. Something had gone wrong while she was away, that much was certain. She needed to get back to Equestria, and figure out what the hay was going on. She stumbled to her feet and practically flew to the statue. She slammed her body up against the thing, desperate to get back to her own world. However she found that the portal wouldn’t open to her. She pounded on the statue, again, and again, and again. Then she heaved her entire human body up against the statue. Twilight realized the portal wouldn’t open. “Come on! There has to be some way to open this thing!” She was frustrated beyond comparison. After several minutes of pounding the statue, she realized that the portal wasn’t going to open. Now she was scared, legitimately scared. Twilight turned to face the open desert. The reality of the dense heat suddenly hit her like a freight train. She went to wipe a few beads of sweat off her head. She figured that standing around in the middle of this dessert wasn’t going to help anybody. Best try and find civilization. “I need to move.” She said to herself. She decided to start walking to her left. As she walked, she struggled to find a good foothold in the sand. This whole thing was almost surreal. Unreal. She just had to figure out what was going on. She had to find her Canterlot High friends. However she was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of a car engine. Now she had heard car engines before, well before whatever happened here. But this engine sounded much, much more rugged. More worn. She spun on her heels, thanking Celestia that there was someone else out in this dessert. However, her thankfulness turned to dread when she got a good look at the car. And the men riding it. From what her friends had told her, before the last time she left, this frightening vehicle was a “Volkswagen Beetle”. This car looked like it shouldn’t have been running at all. It was completely rusted. It had a number of spikes lined across its frame. The tires had jagged metal plates covering the tires. The most horrifying aspect, however, were the men driving the car. They had milk white skin, wore only cargo pants, no t-shirt, and both wore goggles. The men, if they could be called that, had by now had taken notice of her and had started to drive their vehicle towards her. Every instinct in Twilight’s body told her to run her hardest and fastest. So, that’s exactly what Twilight did. She turned away and ran. And ran, and ran. She could hear the car’s engine steadily getting louder, getting closer. She didn’t dare look back, she had to concentrate on moving her legs and nothing else. She had never run this hard before, and due to her untrained body, she was losing momentum. By this point, the car’s motor had dissipated all other thought. This time she did look back, in time to see the rusted Volkswagen hit a dune. The car sailed over her head, she actually had to dive to avoid getting hit. Hitting the sand hard, she saw the vehicle land in front of her. It turned toward her as she got up.Twilight immediately knew she had been beat. There was no possible way to escape the car at this distance (15 feet). She decided to speak to the two men. Hoping they spoke English, she timidly asked “Who are you?” They just looked at her for a moment, as if processing the question. Then the man driving the Volkswagen cackled at the question. The man riding the in the back followed in the laughter, but was the first to speak. “Who are we?” The man riding the back questioned, leaving Twilight to answer. “Um… yes?” The man then continued to answer. “We are Slash.” He said, pointing to himself. “and Jawsnapper!” pointing to the man driving the car. It was the driver’s turn to speak. “We are the Warboys who serve Immortan Sombra!” Jawsnapper the driver finished the two warboys introduction. “Did he just say Immortan Sombra?” Twilight asked asked herself in her mind, but quickly shook away the thought. Jawsnapper asked Twilight. “Now the question is, who are you?” His voice obviously demanded an immediate answer. Twilight complied, “Twilight Sparkle.” She replied. The two warboys talked about something amongst themselves. Twilight slowly started to back up and prepared to run again. But Slash, the backseat rider took notice of Twilight’s motions, and called out to her. “STOP!!” he yelled. Twilight didn’t dare take another step. She waited for Slash’s next move on the sun baked sand. The warboy dropped from the back of the Volkswagen, feet first onto the sand. “Just where do you think you’re going?” Slash questioned. “Er… um…” Was all Twilight could mumble. The Warboy grinned. “Why, if you leave now, you’ll miss out on the honor of being one of Immortan Discord’s prized breeders!” The warboy smiled. Twilight didn’t get a chance to answer, and froze in fear as the warboy got off the back of the car, and moved toward her. He grabbed her by the arm. “You’re coming with us, now!” Twilight snapped out of her trance and was immediately even more terrified for her life than she had ever been before. She struggled to get away. “No, NO!!” Twilight screamed. She continued to pull against Slash’s grasp but he was much too strong. She tried and failed to get away from the two warboys as she was dragged to the rusty Volkswagen. Author's Note Thank you for reading the first chapter of my first Story! Like I said in the description, creative criticism is appreciated. Also, expect chapter length to extend as the story progresses.
Chapter 2: Welcome To The CitadelChapter 2 It had taken several days, (Twilight had lost count), for she, Slash, and Jawbreaker to reach their destination. From what the poor mare could gather from the warboys constant bickering, she was in a desert known as the “Wasteland” and much of it was under control of this “Immortan Sombra.” At one point during the trip she had asked Slash, who was driving at the time, what he had meant by being a “prized breeder” of Immortan Sombra. “What do you think? It means you get to make more of us warboys! A tremendous honour indeed!” Twilight’s cheeks immediately turned sharp pink as she imagined, or rather, tried not to imagine what that would look like. Jawsnapper, having switched places with Slash, shouted from behind over the groining of the Volkswagen’s engine. “You should be proud! Breeders under the Immortan’s throne are given the cleanest water, the best food, and have the second biggest priority for medicine. Second only to Immortan Discord!” Jawbreaker said this with much enthusiasm, trying to get Twilight out of her sour mood. He knew the Immortan would not be pleased to see a breeder in such a mood. “Are you honestly trying to cheer me up?” Twilight spat at Jawbreaker. “After you’ve just kidnapped me, and are taking me to be a-” Twilight shuddered and didn’t bother to finish her sentence.. That conversation had taken place on the same day the warboys had captured Twilight. Know she entered the palace of the Immortan himself. By Equestrian standards, it was more like the kind of home Diamond Dogs would be proud to have. By Wasteland standards, however, the place was absolutely fit for a king. It was dug out of a plateau, with several heavily guarded entrances leading into the maze-like corridors of the palace. Along with the one plateau, two others formed a triangular shape, forming a sort of large courtyard. O O O There was also a gate and large fence that surrounded the perimeter, denying entry to intruders. The Beatle had to get through the gate. After a brief explanation to the gate keepers as to why they were back, the Volkswagen was allowed into the compound. Within the courtyard was where the villagers lived. Twilight had to look away to keep from all out bawling her eyes out. These men, women, and children looked like they on the brink of falling over and dying on the spot. Their cloths were made of rags hastily stitched together. Their homes were made of whatever the people could get their dusty hands on. Their bodies were completely covered in sweat, grime, and dirt. And their faces- “Dear Celestia, their faces.” Twilight thought. Their faces were ones that were broken, both quite literally, and in their eyes. Their eyes were shrouded in suffering and neglect. However, oddly enough, they didn’t look at the Beatle with envy or jealousy. They were more like looks of curiosity. The warboys had a strict schedule when it came to coming in and going out on patrols. A car coming early or going late was something to notice. The Volkswagen went down a road that went straight through to the citadel. The road was also bordered off from the reach of the villagers. The Beatle roared into one of the entrances, the entrance of the garage. The smell of gasoline was so pungent that it made Twilight’s eyes water. The garage was lit by torches and kerosene lamps. The Volkswagen rolled past rows cars of varying shapes and sizes. Rigs with gas producing tanks. Muscle cars with giant bug catchers. Trucks with buzz saws attached onto their flatbeds. Souped up sedans with harpoon guns fused to their backs. And many, many more. More than Twilight could ever hope to count. Yet, she could’ve done so rather easily. The cars were organized rather nicely, for such a primitive establishment. They were all lined up side-by-side, and back-to-back. The biggest of the vehicles were sorted to the far left of the garage’s entrance, the vehicles becoming smaller as one’s eyes swept from far left to far right. The Volkswagen had made a sharp right as soon as it entered the garage. Jawbreaker, the one who was driving at the moment, drove the vehicle into the second row from the farthest right you could go. He parked it in what looked like a pre-designated spot for the car. Slash hopped off the back, while Jaw removed the steering wheel from the steering axis. “Come on out, we’re here.” Jaw said to Twilight. He held the door for her and she got out. “Thank You” She said dryly. She didn’t smile, or even look at him. Slash rolled his eyes at Jaw’s unneeded kindness. “Quit the bloody chivalry Jawsnapper! She ain’t a breeder yet!” Slash called out to Jawsnapper. Jawsnapper looked down in shame. “Yes, of course.” Jaw replied. Slash grabbed Twilight’s arm and dragged her down the aisle of cars. Several times Twilight had to cover her eyes from flying sparks, as there were several mechanics making more modifications to the various vehicles. “Like they needed to look more menacing.” Twilight thought. “Back already?” A mechanic walked up to the two warboys, speaking to Slash. He was wiping some grime off his hands. “Indeed, Petrol,” Slash glanced towards Twilight. “Found ourselves a future breeder!” He gloated about their catch. Petrol, the mechanic, whistled. “She’s a beaut, I’d imagine the Immortan’ll be givin’ you a promotion.” He started to wipe some grime off his face. Slash nodded in agreement. “If you still had a leg, I’m sure you’d be in a combatant position.” he referred to the prosthetic that replaced half of Petrols leg. “Mmm, well, best get back to work then.” Petrol turned and walked off to the car he had just been working on. Twilight noted that Jawsnapper had remained silent for the entire conversation. Slash led Twilight all the way to the back of the garage, with Jawsnapper falling in behind the two. At the back was a rust- covered submarine door installed, obviously a means of keeping intruders out of the rest of the “citadel”. When the three came to a stop at the door, Slash rapped on the metal. A rectangular plate within the door slid to the left, revealing a pair of eyes. “Who is it!?” the eyes demanded. “It’s Slash, and Jawsnapper.” The eyes squinted. “The two of you are early, you weren’t supposed to be back until next week.” The eyes said. “We found a potential breeder, wandering in the desert.” Jawsnapper explained. “Probably was a survivor of a raided camp.” Slash finished. The eyes looked to Twilight, who was looking down at the dusty floor. They sized her up, knowing the Immortan always welcomed another breeder. The eyes looked back to the two warboys. The plate slid shut, the door squeaked open. Slash jerked hard on Twilight’s arm and led her inside the corridor. She looked back to see that the doorkeeper was dressed in complete black garments, from head to toe. “Must be pretty hot in those clothes, in this heat.” Twilight thought. As she did, she began to slow. Slash put an end to that quickly. He jerked on her arm hard, earning a gasp from Twilight. “Keep moving!!” Slash ordered. “Eyes forward!” Jawsnapper followed. Twilight did as told. She noted that the corridor was one that was all over the with its curves and twists. One would've had to grow up here or have made the tunnels to not get lost. It implied that the stone hallway had been dug out of the plateau itself. It even had a number of pipes leading up and down the tunnel, delivering precious water to the different parts of the citadel. As she heard the echos of conversation throughout the halls, she worked up the nerve to speak to Slash. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, where exactly are we going?” Twilight inquired. Knowing Slash hated answering questions like that, Jawsnapper answered for him. “We are headed to the throne room” Jaw said. “of the glorious Immortan Sombra.” The warboy grinned as he finished his answer. It always gave him chills saying his grand leader’s name. Twilight gulped. The three came to a primitive looking elevator. All it was was a larger version of a hot-air balloon basket, attached to four ropes at the corners. Slash yanked Twilight into the basket, and Jawsnapper followed. Once all three were on board the basket, Slash yanked one of the ropes. The three waited for a few seconds, before the “elevator” began to move up. And up, and up and up. On the way, Twilight asked Jawsnapper “So, what does this thing run on? I don’t hear a generator or anything.” “Manpower, people turn the wheels that lift this.” Jaw answered, he himself becoming annoyed at Twilight’s dumb questions. “And no more questions.” He said. Twilight did as instructed. The elevator reached the culmination of the upwards journey. The three got out, into a hallway that was identical to the one at the bottom of the plateau. The continued to the left. The tunnel became wider as the throne room neared. The three finally came to the culmination point of the halls widening. Two giant doors, made completely out of car doors, roofs, and hoods welded together. The doors were to the right, and if you kept going past the doors, the hall would shrink back to its initial size. Slash left Jawsnapper to grab ahold of Twilight as he walked to the immediate right of the doors where there was a bright red button and a speaker above that. He pressed the button. “BING-BONG!!!” Twilight internally laughed at the ironic fact that the button was supposed to be a door bell. A voice bellowed from the small speaker. “Who goes there?!?” The voice was so deep and so loud that for a moment it looked like it would blow out the speaker. “The Great and Powerful Immortan Sombra, it is I, Slash” Slash said in his most respectful voice. ”and Jawsnapper.” Slash finished for Jaw. There was a small pause before, what was clearly Immortan Discord, spoke again. “The two of you are back early, you were not supposed to return until next week.” Discord reminded through the speaker. Twilight noticed that Slash and Jaw exchanged nervous glances. “You are absolutely correct in your statement your excellency, and we apologize for our premature return.” Slash replied. “But out wandering through the desert, we found a potential wife for you!” Slash said with enthusiasm in his voice. Another pause. “She may enter.” Discord finally said. “You and Jawsnapper will return to your patrol, immediately.” he commanded. “Yes your excellency.” Slash obeyed. Slash turned to Twilight. “You will stay right here.” He ordered. He looked to Jaw. “Let’s go,” Slash said. Jaw nodded and let go of Twilight. She could have run right there. But she knew that there was no way she could escape. She stood there, as told, and watched in anxiety as the two warboys walked down the hall from which they had come from. No sooner had the warboys exited from view, the large doors creaked open inwardly. Her nervousness grew with every passing second. Finally, when the doors stopped, she could see the greatly referred to Immortan Sombra. “Approach!” he boomed. Twilight did as instructed. As she moved into the throne room she see that there were several guards armed with belt-fed machine guns, plus bullet proof vests. The throne room itself was hardly extravagant, in that it was simply large room carved from the rock of plateau where the walls met up high in an upside down “v” formation. Immortan Sombra himself was a hideous sight. His rotting skin at the chest and back was protected by a bullet proof, plastic shell. His hair was black, long and stringy. His face was twisted beyond comparison. The arms were large and muscular. His waist held human heads tied to a belt by the hair. A tank on his back pumped steroids into his body through plastic tubes, which was probably why he was so muscular. However, it was the type of over-the-top muscular that looked, well, really disgusting actually. Twilight stopped at about about five feet from the steps that led up to the throne. Well, well,” Sombra said, as he got up from the throne. “What do we have here?” Twilight didn’t bless that question with an answer, especially since she knew that she going to have to “breed” with this guy. Sombra walked down the steps to meet her at the bottom. He then walked around Twilight, getting a good look at her. Sombra chuckled. “Yes, you will be an excellent addition to my breeders.” He said. “What is your name?” He asked. “Twilight Sparkle”. She replied, still looking down at the ground. “An excellent name”. He stuck a finger under Twilight’s chin and lifted it. “You are very beautiful”. He said with a smile. A terrible, twisted smile. “And you’re bucking ugly”. Twilight shot back. Sombras smile faded faded and turned into a frown “You will learn to respect me, as your husband!” Discord commanded. “If you think that’s gonna happen, you must be crazier than you look.” Twilight suddenly realized how sassy that sounded, and had no idea where that came from. Rainbow Dash’s influence? Sombra’s glare looked like it could burn a thousand Manehattans. “Take her to the safe!” Discord shouted to two guards to his left. Twilight offered no resistance, and allowed the guards to take her to the “safe”. … “What do you mean he didn’t give either one of us a promotion?” Jawsnapper asked for the third time. Slash turned his head. “I mean, he didn’t give either one of us a promotion.” Slash answered in annoyance, for the third time. “And if you ask again, one more time, I’ll feed you to the Cannibals of Beggar’s Pass!” Slash threatened. As the two warboys approached their vehicle, Jawsnapper continued to speak. “We should have at least been put on one of the rig crews. That would be something to be proud of!” Jaw said longingly. “We came back from the patrol early, apparently that was reason enough for the Immortan to not give us anything in return.” Slash said begrudgingly. Before Jawsnapper could reply, Slash turned, and slapped a hand over the other warboy’s mouth. “And don’t say ‘But we found a breeder’, or else.” Slash scolded. Jawsnapper nodded. Slash removed the hand and continued walking to the Volkswagen, as did Jaw. Without another word the warboys got in the car. Slash hopped onto the back, Jawsnapper entered the driver’s seat. He placed the steering wheel into the axis, and gunned the engine. The Volkswagen set off to resume its patrol. Author's Note So, second chapter! After getting that many likes in such a short time span, I figured I'd give you guys a quicker update. As always, creative criticism is appreciated.
Chapter 3: Staking Out The PrizeChapter 3 The two warboys lead Twilight down the rocky hallway, shouting for her to speed up if her step slowed. Even a little. As the three kept walking, Twilight asked the warboy on her right, what the “safe” was. “Shut it!” was the reply she got. Twilight kept her mouth shut for the rest of the way to the safe. As the three kept walking, Twilight witnessed something truly horrifying. As she passed by an entrance with no door, she saw something that made her gut churn and do flips. She only caught a glimpse of the sight, but it was enough. What she saw were several fat-bodied women sitting up in beds with no sheets. The only thing that covered these women, was a pair of panties. Attached to each of their breasts, was a suction cup that was sucking out milk into plastic medical tubes. Similar to the tubes used for blood transfusions, but slightly larger, the tubes deposited the milk into large tanks. The women had masks feeding them oxygen from tanks. They were clearly either asleep, or unconscious. Twilight felt that she about to puke and slowed; not a wise choice. “For the bloody last time! KEEP. MOVING.”The warboy on the left shouted. Twilight quickened her pace. The three of them finally reached the safe. Still shaken up from that last disturbing sight, she barely noticed that the safe was indeed a literal safe. The door had been removed from a bank, long gone now, and was providing the security for whatever was in it. Or maybe she was meant to be the only one in the safe. Then again, other breeders had been mentioned, so maybe Twilight wouldn’t be alone. The warboy on her right approached the safe and turned the wheel that unlocked the giant containers door, while the one the left gripped Twilight’s arm hard. The warboy opening the door held it open. One warboy gave Twilight white cloths that almost looked like bedsheets. “Put these on when you’re inside.” The other shoved Twilight into the safe. Twilight fell, eating dust. She got up quickly and looked behind her, just in time to see the giant door close with a loud Ca-chunk! *** Sigh “Sunset, you’ve really got to stop that sighing.” “Just be quiet, and keep looking.” Sunset Shimmer snapped back, sitting indian-style atop the hood of her modified 1971 Ford Mustang, binoculars to her eyes. “Well I could… if you stopped sighing.” Thunder Bolt said sarcastically, smirking . He brushed a hand through his brown hair. He wore a dusty, brown leather jacket. He also had a torn white T-shirt. Along with jeans and black military boots. He had grey skin and brown eyes. He was about five years older than Sunset. He let out a long breath. “Look who’s sighing now” Sunset joked, smirking. She had on a green camouflage jacket, cap, and pants, along a beige shirt. The jacket had its sleeves cut off long ago, exposing her arms. The pants and jacket had holes in them. Sunset also had brown military boots. “Oh, shut up.” Bolt grunted, placing his eye behind the scope of his Sako 85 hunting rifle, as he lay on the roof of his own 1969 Dodge Charger. The pair looked on, atop a tall, rocky cliff which provided a perch to observe the plateau’s which housed Immortan Sombras citadel. The two had been spying on the place from the cliff for almost a day now. They needed gas, and after the warboys at Gastown had been ordered to shoot Sunset and Bolt on sight, the pair of survivors were forced to resort to pillaging from others. They weren’t proud of the things they had done, just to stay alive. But they knew that, then again, there can’t be a whole lot of people in this wasteland who are proud of what they’ve done to stay alive either. Excluding warboys of course. This was a big leap for them, stealing from a tyrant like Sombra. Sunset and Bolt also understood that it was a stupid leap. But it was one that was necessary for their own survival. They hadn’t come across any other wanderers (the term used for small groups of survivors dwelling within the Wasteland) in two weeks. As such they had agreed the only other option was a hit-and-run heist for several gallons of gas. They still had a good relationship with the Bullet Farm, so they had managed to trade for a fifty-round belt and an M-60. A rogue warboy had said that the gas was stored in a tightly guarded safe near the garage. This made the task a little easier. Sunset Shimmer was to pose as a prisoner. The rogue would pretend to have captured her and then the two would sneak to where the gas was kept. Meanwhile, Thunder Bolt would be taking on the task of distracting all of the palace guards by hit-and-running the outer perimeter of the fortress’s defence. Thunder had been a military pilot before all this, so combat wasn’t a problem for him. The warboys would be distracted, so Sunset and the rogue warboy would have a chance to steal all the gas they could carry, make it to a vehicle, and make their getaway. They would rendezvous with Thunder at Bartertown. Of course, that was all well and good on paper. But to actually perform the robbery was pretty much suicide, the two wanderers knew this. But in this world, it was much better to die of a bullet or explosion trying to steal gas; than run out of it, and be left to the mercy of scavengers, cannibals, and the natural desert itself. They just needed to be patient, and wait for the perfect moment to strike. “I think I’m starting to see a pattern.” Sunset said. “Where?” Thunder asked, getting of the back of his Challenger and walking towards where Sunset was seated. “Right there.” She replied, pointing. Thunder knelt down on the dirt, next to the car, and held out a hand for the binoculars. She passed them down to him, from atop the hood. He looked through the binoculars to where she was pointing. It was the gate through the outer perimeter. At the moment that Bolt looked through the binoculars, a vehicle was let out of the gate. It was a Volkswagen Beetle. He kept looking at the gate as the vehicle drove out of view. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” Bolt hadn’t a clue what Sunset was interested in. “Look, you see the gate?” Sunset centered the binoculars on the gate. “Yeah,” He replied, still holding the binoculars. “And you see the guards hoisting it up now right?” “Yeah, I do.” Bolt wasn’t sure what she was trying to say. “It takes about four guys to lift that thing, the way they do it. So that means, while a lot of the guards will be distracted with closing the gate-” She paused a moment, and saw that Bolt had realized what she was trying to tell him. “-I can take a few pot shots at them, maybe even eliminate a lot of them with the M-60.” He finished, a smirk appearing on his face. “Nice thinking.” “We should radio our contact, now that we have a solid plan.” Sunset got up to get the walkie-talkie, but Bolt stopped her. “Nah, I’ll take care of it.” He headed for the passenger door of her Mustang. Opening the door he found the walkie-talkie on the seat and grabbed it. The seat in Sunset’s car had been modified to fold up for storage purposes, and could be locked in one position if need be. He sat down and turned on the the walkie-talkie’s power. A small light next to the antennae lit up, indicating it was operational. He turned two dials on the side of the walkie-talkie to the frequency their contact had agreed to communicate. “Rogue One, how do you read? Over.” He spoke into the radio, using their contacts code name. *** Jawsnapper gunned the engine and drove the Beetle out of the garage, with Slash standing on the platform in the rear. They approached the gate, and stopped to allow the guards to open it. Seconds later they were off into the wasteland. “Hey, Slash!” Jaw called over the noise of the engine. “What?” “Do you think we’ll find anyone else out there?” “Of course not! How many patrols have we done together?” Slash was still annoyed from Jaw’s earlier complaining. “Eighty-two!” “ Exactly! Do really think-” Slash paused. “Wait… really?” He had not been expecting an answer. “Yeah!” Jaw answered. “Well, if this was the one patrol on which we found someone, do you really think we’ll find anyone else?” “Well…” Jaw tried to think of a comeback. “It could happen!” Slash grunted in annoyance. Without warning, the radio in his utility belt started crackling. A voice came from it: “Rogue one, how do you read. Over.” He immediately reached down to it and brought it up to his mouth, and pressed the button to speak. Fortunately, the noise of the engine was so loud that Jaw hadn’t heard a thing. “I’m here.” Slash said into the radio. “Where are you?” *** As soon as Slash’s reply came over the air waves, Thunder turned to Sunset. “He wants to know where we are.” “Go ahead and tell him.” she replied. Thunder nodded and turned back to radio, still sitting in the car. “We’re on the cliff to the south of the citadel.” *** Slash got the reply, and turned to Jaw. “We have new orders!” The car nearly drowned out his words. “New orders?” Jaw turned his head, and replied. “What are they?” “Head for the cliffs to the south, more instructions to follow.” Slash answered. “Alright then!” Jaw turned the vehicle to the left, and drove to the southern cliffs. *** “Are they on their way?” Sunset asked. Thunder climbed out of her car, wiping a few beads of sweat of his forehead. He looked in the general direction of the citadel. “Sounds like it, but we’d better have a firearm on us, in case it’s a trap.” He walked to the driver side of his Charger. He opened the door, and grabbed his Auto Mag. Checking the magazine, he gave a satisfied grunt when he saw that it was full. He grabbed the only other magazine he had and stuffed it in one of his pockets. He put the Auto Mag into his right holster. He reached into the car again and grabbed a M1911, which had a half-full mag and two others that were full. He grabbed the pistol and the other ammunition. He headed back over to Sunset, who was currently taking inventory of the shotgun shells for her Winchester Model 97. “Here.” He offered the M1911. Sunset declined, showing she her M9 Beretta. Thunder nodded and put the pistol into his left holster, stuffing the other two magazines into another one of his pockets. *** Jaw guided the car to the cliffs, heading up the slope that led up to the top of the Earth-made structure. The Beetle had some difficulty climbing up to the top of the cliff. However, soon it was speeding across the hard rock of the cliff. Slash looked into the distance. He could barely make out the outline of two cars. “So, our orders are to keep going?” Jaw inquired. “Yep, keep her a’moving.” Slash answered. Soon,the ride of Slash’s life was about to begin. He could finally be rid of the Immortan’s grasp on his life. Soon, he would be free. *** Sunset had just finished checking the engine on her car, when she heard the faint sound of an engine to her right. She looked over her shoulder to see a Volkswagen Beetle, covered in spikes. She fast-walked to Thunder. “We’ve got company.” He looked up at her, realised what she was saying, and stopped what he had been doing (cleaning his Sako 85). He looked up to see the Beetle fast approaching. Both he and Sunset knew that this was Rogue One. Of course, that didn’t stop them from drawing their pistols. Thunder once again checked the clip in his Auto Mag, Sunset did the same for her M9. *** By this time, Jawsnapper had seen the two cars. His warboy instincts kicked in, and he accelerated to ram the vehicles. He was stopped by Slash. “No! Follow my lead!” Slash made sure Jaw heard that loud and clear. “Stop about twenty feet in front of ‘em.” The younger warboy gave him a confused look, but trusted him. He pulled to a stop in front of the vehicles, about twenty feet away. Two wanderers, a man and a woman, appeared from behind the cars. They remained behind them. *** Thunder and Sunset stayed behind the vehicles, wary of an ambush. Sunset looked to Thunder. “I’ll go ahead and talk to him, alright?” She said. “Alright,” Thunder replied. Sunset walked into full view from behind her Mustang, pistol tight in her grip. She looked between the two warboys, before finally speaking. “Which one of you is Rogue One?” “I am.” Slash replied. Jawsnapper was beyond confused. “What? Slash, what are you doing?” Jaw’s mind was reeling. What in the hell was going on? “Relax, trust me. Just get out of the car.” Slash’s hand went to his holster. “Wha- no, they’ll gun me dow-” The words caught in Jaw’s throat as Slash shoved his Ruger 9 millimeter in his face. “Get. Out.” He said darkly. Jaw complied, shaking. What was Slash thinking? Had he lost his mind? He climbed out of the driver’s seat and into the open desert. Slash continued to point his gun at Jaw’s head. Slash climbed down from the rear of the Beetle. As he did, he spoke loudly to the two wanderers. “You people have a plan for getting in?” Sunset replied. “Yeah, we do, we can discuss that right now.” Jaw turned his head in confuzzlement. “Plan? What’re you talking abou- URGH!!” Slash knocked out Jaw out with the handle of the pistol, before he could say more. His body fell to the sand. “We can discuss the plan after you give me a hand here.” Slash responded. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs, used for prisoners, and attached them to the unconscious Jaw’s hands. Thunder and Sunset eyed each other, and hesitantly walked up to the warboys. They weren’t entirely sure what to make of the situation. Just in case this was a pile of bullcrap, they still had their pistols in hand. Author's Note Well then! It appears Slash is not all that he seems... Thanks for reading. I'll go ahead and list all the cars and weapons that were mentioned in this story (In order of when they were named). Sako 85 M-60 Auto Mag M1911 Winchester Model 97 M9 Beretta Ruger 9 millimeter 1971 Ford Mustang 1969 Dodge Charger As always, creative criticism is appreciated. It helps my writing.
Chapter 4: The Plan/Meeting The WivesChapter 4 Slash grunted as he grabbed ahold of Jaw’s unconscious body. He hoisted Jaw over his shoulder, and held him there. “You got someplace I could put ‘em in?” He asked, huffing slightly from the weight of the body. “Put him in?” Sunset gave him a skeptical look. “I tried getting a solo patrol, but he wanted to go with me again,” Slash explained, saying the word ‘again’ with added sourness. “I did what I could.” “Right... you can put him in the trunk of the Charger.” Thunder said, standing up from behind Sunset’s car and pointed a thumb behind his shoulder. He turned, leading Slash to the car, who was still hauling Jaw. Sunset followed closely behind, prepared to do anything in case the warboy was trying to pull a fast one. Thunder stopped at the trunk, Slash directly behind him, Sunset behind Slash. He reached down to just above where the license plate was supposed to be. Three switches lined up in a row were present. He flicked the left switch once, the right switch twice, and the center switch once. The trunk opened with an audible chunk, revealing the prized M-60, its bipod holding it up in the center of the storage space. Several knives were also stored in sheathes attached to the sides of the trunk. Just behind the M-60 was an extra gas tank, situated in the rear of the space. Thunder reached a hand into the trunk, and grabbed the machine gun. He threw the carry strap over his shoulder, securing the gun against his body. “You can put him in here.” Slash grunted as he tossed Jaw into the trunk. He double checked the handcuffs, before allowing Thunder to slam down the trunk’s lid. “Okay, let’s go over the plan.” Sunset said. She led to Slash to the space between the Charger and Mustang. She sat down on her car’s hood, while Thunder did the same for his own. Slash stood between them. “So, what exactly is the plan?” Slash inquired. The two wanderers went over it in detail. Thunder Bolt’s distraction. Slash and Sunset getting through the gate undetected. Getting the gas, and then making a break for it. “We meet back up at Bartertown.” Sunset finished. Slash’s face didn’t look pleased. “Ah, jeez…” Slash realized this plan had issues, issues that neither Sunset nor Thunder were aware of. “This plan isn’t going to work, at least not for another week.” “What do you mean?” Thunder asked. “Thing is… is that we warboys have a schedule when it comes to patrols,” He explained. “Me and Jaw weren’t supposed to be back until next week. We ended up finding someone in the desert, that’s why we just left the citadel.” Slash let that sink in for a moment. “If I suddenly come back with you in tow,” He motioned to Sunset. “without Jaw, it’ll look suspicious.” “That’s a bit of a problem.” Thunder sighed. “Relax, we don’t have to attack now, we can wait a few days.” Sunset suggested. “We have enough food and water to camp out here.” Slash’s face seemed to light up in realization. “That’s right, I have enough rations for another few days,” Slash added. “combine that with your stuff, we’ll be able to stay out here until the end of the patrol period.” “I don’t know, what about the other patrols?” Thunder didn’t like just sitting around for a few days. “Wouldn’t they be able to see us?” “Don’t worry about that, we’re standing on neutral ground between Immortan Sombra and the Buzzards, no one from either side gets to drive through” Slash explained. “Even if they did see us, they wouldn’t care to pursue us.” “Okay,” Thunder replied, still unsure. Slash looked him in the eye. “I’m getting something out of this too: my freedom, I’m telling the truth.” Thunder looked his face over. “Okay, alright.” Thunder answered. Suddenly Sunset got up, and got up in Slash’s face. “If I see you trying to pull any type of bullshit,” She whipped out a combat knife from her belt, forcefully pinned him against the Mustang, and held it up near his neck to prove her point. “This goes in your throat.” Slash put his hands up in surrender. Doing so in the warboy ranks was considered blasphemy, but he didn’t give a damn about the warboys any more. He only cared for his liberty now. “You got it.” He replied. “Jesus, Sunset!” Thunder shouted. He quickly got up, and grabbed her shoulder. “Hey, we need him! Pointing a knife in face isn’t gonna help anything!” “I’m just making sure he knows we aren’t to be fucked with.” She replied coldly, without looking back at her partner. She continued to hold the knife to Slash’s neck. Thunder Bolt sighed, and took his hand off her shoulder, but wasn’t done talking. “Did you not just hear him?! He getting something out of this just as much as we are.” Thunder stopped there however. He didn’t like starting an argument with her, he disliked personal conflict. He sighed “Look, if you feel like you need to intimidate him, fine. Just be careful to not slit his throat or something.” Sunset eased off of Slash, and put the knife back into its sheath. She gave him a final glare before saying “We should gather all the food and water we have and ration it out, divide it up for every day.” “Alright,” Thunder responded before getting up and opening the door of the Charger, and started gathering up said food from his own car. Slash walked to the Volkswagen, but Sunset followed right behind him. He glanced back and sighed. “Oh for the Immortan’s sake, don’t worry about me! I’m not dumb enough to try anything!” He put his hands up in the air in frustration. “How do I know that?” She asked, and crossed her arms. “Because I… you… ERGH!!” Slash grunted loudly. “Fine! Do whatever the bloody hell you want!” He turned around and stopped off back towards his car to grab the rations he (and Jawsnapper) had. He had to make two trips to grab them all. The three placed all of their food in a somewhat organized pile, that sat on the passenger seat and floor of Sunset’s Mustang. “Alright, like I said before,” Sunset reminded. “We need to split up the food for each day, let’s get on that.” “Okay,” Thunder agreed. It was funny, after all this time in the wasteland, Sunset had become the one to remind the two (or rather three in this situation) of the tasks they had to accomplish day-to-day. Being in the military, one would think Thunder Bolt would be the one to handle that. But after he had taken her under his wing all that time ago, she had evolved and adapted. Of course that didn’t mean she was necessarily the leader of the two. There wasn’t really a clear leader between them. It was really more of a mutual bond. Thunder almost thought of her as his little sister, after spending so much time with her. He liked to think of it as if… she was the one who pushed the two beyond their limits, which she did often, and he was the silent protector, watching over her. She could take care of herself, he knew that. But that didn’t mean he didn’t care. He’d go to the moon and back to make sure she stayed alive. Especially after seeing her alone and abandoned all that time ago. In fact, he figured Sunset deserved to live more than he did. *** Meanwhile, inside the citadel... Twilight’s pupils shrank as she stared at the giant door, which had just closed. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. What was she supposed to do now? “Hello?” A voice called out. Twilight quickly spun around, to see who was speaking to her. The voice come from a woman, older than she was. She had light purple skin, similar to Twilight. She also had frost white hair that had purple stripe running down it. The woman also had the clothes that Twilight was “given” to by the guards. For a moment neither said a word, just sized the other person up. Finally, the woman spoke first. She cleared her throat first. “I’m Violet Flower, what’s your name?” She gave off a warm disposition, so Twilight answered. “Twilight Sparkle.” Violet nodded. “I see, well… welcome.” “Welcome to hell.” Another voice came from behind Violet. In annoyance she turned to face the speaker, who leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “Midnight-” Violet started to scold, but the other woman, who looked younger, held up a hand in dismissal. “Spare me the lecture alright? Don’t try to sugar coat it Violet, you know that this is basically hell.” As the two were arguing, Twilight had the opportunity to size up the room. It was dome shaped, with one door to the right and one door to the left. The entrance was behind her. Books scattered the ground. A pile here, a pile there, no real organization. The whole room was lit by kerosene lamps lining the circular walls. “It could be worse Midnight, we could be forced to drink the same water and food the villagers get.” Midnight rolled her eyes at Violet’s attempt to make her feel better. “Things could a lot better too,” She started to walk around Violet and to Twilight. “For one thing, we could not be forced to have sex with someone who only cares about his precious ‘heir to the throne’.” She retorted, making quotation marks. The younger woman glanced at Twilight. She held out a hand. “I’m Midnight Corsair, just so you know.” Twilight looked down at the hand and shook it. Midnight herself had dark blue skin, matching her dark blue hair, and dark blue eyes. Yep, she was all blue. She also wore the same clothes that Violet wore. Her voice sounded reminiscent of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash… Her friends… Twilight suddenly felt a wave of yearning in her gut, yearning to see her friends. She had to sit down. The feeling in her stomach was becoming too much to bear. “I gotta sit down.” She suddenly said, plopping down on the stone ground. Violet and Midnight had concerned looks on their faces. “You okay.” Violet asked as she knelt down next to Twilight. “Mmm… I think so… it’s just…” Twilight paused and thought over her words. “My friends…” She started, but as soon as the words left her mouth, Violet responded. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She rubbed her shoulder. “I know how that feels.” Twilight looked at her blankly, but realized what she was saying. Violet thought her friends had died. Of course, that’s not really what happened. But Twilight figured that her assuming her friends were dead, however morbid the thought, was better than explaining to her she was from another dimension. She would look like she belonged in the looney bin for sure. “No, no, it’s alright.” Twilight insisted. Midnight just stood there, watching the scene with her arms crossed. While Violet was tending to Twilight, she detected movement from the corner of her eye. She at the door to the right of the entrance, the entrance to their bunks. Standing just beyond the door frame, a girl who was even younger than Midnight. She had light pink skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. She had a confused look on her face, and looked up Midnight. “New girl.” Midnight mouthed. “Oh” The girl mouthed back. Violet was still looking after Twilight, so Midnight held out her hand, and made a motion for the girl to stand next to her. She hesitated for a moment, but obeyed. She walked up to Midnight, and silently stood beside her. Violet glanced up, and noticed that the only wife Twilight hadn't met was standing there. “Oh, Twilight?” Violet’s voice signaled Twilight to look up at her. “This is Sweet Breeze.” Twilight looked at the girl she was referring to. “Oh, hi.” She stood, despite the pit she still had in her stomach. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” Sweet Breeze took the hand and shook it. “Hey.” She replied simply. Her voice was surprisingly deep. Midnight chuckled and put an arm around Breeze. “As you can probably tell, Breezie here doesn't talk a whole lot.” Midnight snickered. “Not that she isn't still cool.” Breeze smirked in embarrassment, and looked down at the floor. “Mmm… yeah…” She replied cutely. Midnight removed her arm from Breezes back. “So Violet, we gonna show the new girl around?” She inquired. “Oh yes, of course.” She got up, and looked down at Twilight. Violet held out a hand. “Can you stand?” Twilight still felt a little uneasy, the pit in her gut hadn't subsided. She really missed her Equestria friends, but she decided to just suck it up and stand. “Yeah, I’m good.” “Alright, well, this is the main chamber.” Violet said, as she made a sweeping motion with her hand. “We don’t really have any organization methods for all these books,” She referred to paperbacks lying on the floor in small piles. “We just kind of leave them around.” Twilight looked around at the floor. “I could probably fix that, I’m a pretty good organizer.” She offered. “Could you? That’d be great!” Violet accepted gladly. “Yeah, it’s getting to be a pain in the ass trying to get around in here.” Midnight added. Violet glanced down at the white clothes Twilight was still holding. “Oh, we still need to get you dressed in those.” “Huh?” Twilight looked down at arms, remembering about the garments. “Oh… yeah.” She replied, remembering the guard’s orders. “That’s alright. You can dressed in the bedroom, that was next thing I going to show you anyway.” Violet made a motion for Twilight to follow. Midnight and Breeze stepped aside so that the two get to the bedroom. The door was another submarine door, like the one in the garage. Violet pulled it, it was already open a Crack from when Breeze exited from it. Violet stepped inside, and beckoned Twilight to follow. She did, and once inside she found that the room was quite uninteresting. It was simply a rectangular space with six neatly made beds. There were three on each side. “I'll help you out, okay?” Violet said, holding out her hands for the clothes. Twilight gave them to her, as she closed the door. “Thanks.” Twilight said gratefully. She didn't know if she could've gotten the clothes on the way the other wives did. *** Violet twisted the submarine door wheel, opening it up. Twilight came after her, clad in white. Midnight and Breeze looked up from separate books they were reading. “Lookin’ good Twi.” Midnight complimented with a grin. Breeze nodded in agreement. “You do look nice.” Twilight smiled, but the smile suddenly turned upside down. She sighed. Violet took notice of her demeanor. “Are you alright?” She asked. “Yeah… well, no actually… I really miss my friends.” Twilight confessed. Her heart felt like it had literally shattered into a million pieces. It was likely she would never see them again. At least in her mind. The portal hadn't worked, so should she have hope for it to work now? She sighed heavily again. “Oh, Twilight.” Violet pulled her into a hug. At first, Twilight was startled at the sudden contact. But after a moment of processing what was happening, she returned the embrace. Violet broke the hug. “Don't worry, you're with friends now.” She reassured. “Absolutely!” Midnight exclaimed from behind Twilight, while patting her back. “Us wives gotta stick together!” She added with a smirk. Behind Midnight, Breeze agreed with a smile and a nod. The warm feeling that replaced Twilight's heavy heart was so overwhelming that it brought tears to her eyelids. Honestly, she could tell these girls shared an unbreakable bond. The fact they were letting her into this bond so quickly touched her deeply. She looked into the faces of the wives, each had accepting looks in their eyes. “Thank you…” She said, as the tears started to fall. Author's Note Thanks for reading. If you want updates on Sunset Over The Wasteland, go ahead and follow me.
Chapter 5: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 1)Chapter 5 One Week Later: Sunset Shimmer rolled over in her sleeping bag, groaning as she awoke from her slumber. Reluctantly, she forced open her eyes to see the blue sky was still cloudless. It was near dawn, the sun’s light making one side of the sky blue, and the other dark. She begrudgingly pulled herself from sleep, and climbed out of her sleeping bag. Sunset stretched her arms and legs, blinking several times to get the sleep out of her. They were still situated on the cliff, looking out towards the citadel. She picked up her M9, which had been lying next to her as she slept. Holstering it, she rolled up the sleeping bag and tossed it into the passenger side of her Mustang. She felt especially anxious this morning. With the upcoming heist that was to take place today, every little thing had to be ready. If it wasn’t, she and Thunder Bolt could kiss their asses goodbye. So, yeah. No pressure. After closing the car door, she looked up to see Thunder Bolt sitting lazily on the hood of his Charger. He was scoping out the citadel with his rifle. He let out a yawn, and brought his eye back to the scope. “Sleep well?” Sunset asked, cracking a smirk. Of course the military-man would be the one to be up first. Thunder glanced at her, not startled at the sudden invasion on his thoughts. “Mmm, yeah. I was just taking a look the citadel before we moved on it.” “Mmm… alright.” Sunset glanced back the Volkswagen still parked a ways from the Charger and Mustang. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Slash was still handcuffed to the bumper of the Beetle. He was still asleep, wrapped up in his own sleeping bag. “I think I’ll go wake up Slash.” She said, turning to do just that. She walked over to the Slash, who was snoring very loudly. One could only imagine how long it had taken him to fall asleep like that. She lightly tapped his face with her boot, and he woke up with a snort. “Grah! Ah, what?” Slash glanced around, only to look up and see Sunset looking down at him. “Wake up, sleepy head. We’ve got work to do.” She knelt down and grabbed the handcuff keys from her pocket. Sunset brought them to the hole of the cuffs, putting the key in and unlocking them. As soon as she did that, Slash quickly removed the cuffs. He cringed at his wrists, which had red indents on his skin from having them on for a night. He was surprised they weren’t bleeding. Sunset however, paid no mind as she was already walking back to her car to get some food before the heist. She glanced at Thunder. “Did you already eat?” He turned his head towards her, and nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m good.” She checked the storage space of the Mustang, to get a bite to eat. As she was about to get an MRE, she felt something brush up against her boot. It was very subtle, but she felt it. Looking down, she spied a two-headed lizard sitting right between her legs. “Hey there little guy.” She cooed, as she knelt down ever so slightly. In one quick motion, she grabbed the lizard from the dusty ground. The creature wriggled in her hand in a futile effort to escape. “Sorry little guy,” Sunset said. “But it looks like you’re gonna be my breakfast.” She quickly bit down onto both of the lizard’s heads, snapping them. With the small animal dead, she proceeded to much down on the fresh meat. It wasn’t the most appetizing thing in the world. But food was food. She had learned that a long time ago. So even if it wasn’t that tasty, it would help her survive in the long run. As soon as she finished, she looked over her shoulder just in time to Slash rolling up his sleeping bag. But as she looked at him, she remembered about Jawsnapper. “Hey, did you remember to feed Jaw?” Sunset asked. She was talking to Thunder. His eyebrows shifted upwards in realization. That’s right, Jaw did still need food for the morning. He slid himself off the hood of the Charger, and got right to work. Sunset smirked in amusement. That was always his answer to ‘Thunder, did you do this?’ If the answer was no, he would always just get up and do the job. Never speaking a word. Slash made his way next to the Mustang, where Sunset was standing. “Where should I put my bag?” He inquired. She pointed a thumb at the Mustang. He got the message as she opened the door for him. He tossed the bag inside. Neither spoke another word to each other. They weren’t really on speaking terms after Sunset had held a knife up to Slash’s neck. But, Sunset realized, they would need to be on speaking terms if the robbery was going to be a success. They couldn’t just make hand motions to each the whole time, now could they? She needed to get Slash to be able to talk to her comfortably. But she had to apologize first. That would be the hard part. In all honesty, she felt she was justified in her actions. Therefore, she shouldn’t have to apologize for defending herself and Thunder. But Slash was a stubborn fellow, and an apology was probably the only way to fix the lack of words between them. With nothing to lose, she summoned the courage to at least say something to him. “Hey, Slash.” She beckoned. The warboy turned his head to glance at her. He had one eyebrow raised, wondering what she wanted to say. Here we go. Sunset thought. She walked up to him, hoping that she get this right. “Okay, so you remember… when I put… a knife to… your throat?” She highly doubted he would forget that, but she had no better way to start the conversation. “Yeah?” He answered. There was annoyance in his voice, like he didn’t want to remember that. Sunset didn’t blame him. “Well, I wanted to apologize… for that.” She begged whatever God was still around to allow Slash to accept her amends. He just blinked a couple of times, but then his blank look shifted into one that was annoyed. “Good god Sunset, you don’t need to apologize.” He sounded like he was annoyed at the fact that Sunset just apologized to him. “Why are you saying sorry for something completely justified? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.” With that he turned and walked away to get something to eat. Sunset was… well… confused. Really confused. Why did Slash get annoyed when she tried to make amends with him , but then say her actions were justified. He seemed to be one of those guys that got miffed at the smallest things. Maybe he had thought about what she did over the weekend, realized what that was only trying to intimidate him, and shrugged it off. If that were the case, then apologizing for that in his mind would be a dumb thing to do. Interesting. “So, we’re good?” Sunset wanted to make sure that they on friendly terms. With an audible groan, Slash looked up from his MRE. “Yeah, we’re good.” He resumed eating. Sunset sighed in satisfaction. If he said they were good, then they were good. *** “Okay, so we all understand the plan to the letter, right?” Sunset looked between her friend and the warboy. “Yep.” The two said in unision. It was about noon time. The three of them had spent the whole morning preparing everything. Thunder had cleaned and loaded the M-60, and attached his rifle scope to the machine gun. He had also made sure his Sako 85 and Auto Mag were in good condition. Slash and Sunset had gone over every little thing that they would say when inside the citadel, so there would be no surprises. This was going to be difficult. None of them would deny that. But if… no… when they pulled through, the gain would be well worth the pain. The three of them set out towards their vehicles. Sunset Slash went for the Beatle, and Thunder got in his Charger. “Here, put these on on.” Slash passed a pair of handcuffs to Sunset, who immediately put them on. “So, once we’re inside, and close enough to the guzzoline, I’ll uncuff you and give you the shotgun.” He reminded himself. “Right.” Sunset confirmed, her hands bound by the cuffs. With a roar of the engine the Beetle set out to its destination, the Charger following close behind. So many thoughts were reeling through Slash’s head. They were doing it, they were actually going to steal guzzoline from the Immortan. Slash never, not in a million years, thought that this day would come. That is, until he had met Sunset and Thunder at Bartertown on one of his solo patrols. The deal, at first, had been quite shaky, neither the wanderers nor the warboy sure that they could trust each other. But over this past week, the trust had been built exponentially. No matter what, they would get through this. Together. Sunset and Thunder would have their gas, and Slash would have the freedom he had wanted ever since Sombra declared himself Immortan. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he and Sunset approached the gate. He played it cool, and relaxed his breathing. You’re escorting a prisoner. He thought. You’re just taking a prisoner to the holding cages. He rolled up to the giant doors, the car lurching slightly as it came to a halt. “Slash, good to see you again.” A gatekeeper greeted as he stepped forward to speak to the warboy. “Another prisoner?” He asked stepping up to the door window. “Yes.” Slash confirmed. “Not fit to be a wife, but she may serve a purpose yet.” He replied as he glanced back at his ‘prisoner’. Sunset just played along, keeping a defeated scowl on her face. “Mm.” The gatekeeper looked inside the car, and then glanced at the rear platform of the Beetle. He was looking for something. “Where’s Jawsnapper?” He inquired. Slash had seen this coming, and therefore was prepared for the question. He put his best sorrowful frown. “He… well… didn’t make it.” He paused to let his words sink. “I see…” The gatekeeper replied, his face shifted to one of grief. “May he ride shiny and chrome on the road to Valhalla.” He meshed his fingers together as he said those words. He then held his interlocked hands above his head. Slash did the same. “Indeed.” Slash replied in fake grieving. The gatekeeper backed up from the car, and glanced upwards to the sentries posted along the wall. “Let him through!” He shouted. Promptly, the giant doors creaked open, allowing entry for the vehicle. The Beetle’s engine groaned as it moved inside the walls of the citadel. No sooner had the vehicle entered, the gatekeeper received a bullet to the head. His body fell to the ground. The sentries posted on the wall… well… were in shock. Another sentry’s head was knocked back by another bullet. His body tumbled over the side of the wall, landing on the sand with a hard pomf. The rest were knocked from their stupor as multiple bullets landed on the metal wall, making loud pings and pangs. The men dove down for cover as lead soared overhead. One brave sentry peeked over the wall, and immediately saw the source of the attack. A single car, maybe a quarter mile away, was firing at the wall. “There!” The sentry shouted, pointing. “The attacker is over there- GUH!” He as well was shot in the head, brains splattered all over the ledge he was lying on. His body fell limp on the platform. But the others had seen the car too, and took the appropriate actions. “Sound the alarm!” The sentry captain shouted, safely behind the wall. “Send out the pursuit vehicles!” One of the sentries, in a fit of rage, grabbed an AK-47 from the weapons cache behind the wall. He climbed to the top of the sentry platform. “I’ll get the bastard!” He yelled out. Despite direct orders from the captain to not, he un-shouldered his rifle. Cocking the weapon, he aimed down the sights and started firing wildly. The AK-47 made a steady KRA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA!!! The guard’s blind rage kept him from thinking properly, resulting in two projectiles pounding his chest. The force of the impact tossed him of the platform. “AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!” He shouted helplessly, his neck snapping as he impacted the ground. “Dammit! Somebody get the pursuit vehicles!” The captain shouted. A sentry ran to him. “I’ll go sir!” He volunteered. “Go, go!” The captain ordered. He didn’t even have finish, as the guard was already running to the garage. *** Thunder kept up a straight face, making sure to fire the machine gun in short bursts. They only had fifty rounds, so conservation was essential. He had the gun propped up on the hood of his Charger, the bipod unfolded and providing stability for his shooting. He glanced down at the belt. He had used about fifteen rounds. Forty-five left. He looked down the scope, the same scope from the Sako 85, refitted onto the M-60. Thunder had certainly started a panic. If that one guy shooting the automatic rifle was any indication. If he really had started a panic, which he certainly would’ve, he should be getting into the Charger and starting the engine. Now. Without a second thought, Thunder wrapped the remaining bullets around the machine gun. He threw open the passenger door, and placed the machine gun inside the space. He did it quickly, but carefully. The seller of the M-60 said that it dated back to the Vietnam War, and that extra care was needed when handling it. Slamming the door shut, he dashed behind and around the car. Thunder opened up the driver’s door, got in, and started the engine. Then he closed the door. Alright, now all he had to do was wait for the pursuit vehicles to come after him. *** Slash guided the Beetle into the garage, heading back to the same spot it had always been parked in. He had heard the pops and snaps of Thunder’s machine gun pounding the walls, so he and Sunset had to move fast. As soon as he parked in the designated space for the vehicle, he grabbed the Model 97 and M1911 hastily. He shoved open the door and quickly rushed to get Sunset out of the vehicle. “Get out!” He shouted at her, both as part of the act and because he knew Thunder could only hold out for so long. He might’ve been a marine, but that didn’t mean he was invincible. Sunset obeyed, looking down the not-so-soft end of the shotgun. She stepped out getting a hard shove from Slash. She glanced back in annoyance, doing her best to remember this was all an act. The two went forward towards the back of the garage. None of the mechanics seemed to pay any mind, they thought it was just another prisoner. Slash continued to hold the weapon up against Sunsets head… but kept his finger off the trigger. No need for any messy accidents. The two reached the rear of the garage. Weird, Slash thought, glancing around for a moment. Normally Petrol would’ve stopped welding or fixing or repairing or doing whatever he was doing, and stopped to say hello. Slash hadn’t even seen him. I mean, he was pretty hard to miss, with the prosthetic leg. But he brushed away the thought from his head. He had work to do. He momentarily let the shotgun drop to his side, and bent around Sunset to knock on the submarine door. The metal plate slid, revealing the same pair of eyes that had met Twilight one week ago. They squinted. “Slash? Arrived back on time I see.” The eyes said sarcastically. “Save it, I have a prisoner here. She ain’t wife material, but she can serve other purposes.” Slash explained his catch to the eyes. They looked Sunset up and down through the rectangular slit of the door. “Mm…” The man behind the door seemed to agree. He glanced back at Slash. “Where is young Jawsnapper?” He inquired, squinting more than Slash thought was possible. He made sure to put on a sorrowful face. “He… is riding shiny and chrome to the gates of Valhalla as we speak.” He explained. Slash lowered his eyes to reinforce his ‘sorrow’. “I see… I’m sorry to hear of this.” The eyes looked down apologetically. However, they swiped back up to look at Slash. “Go on, take her inside to the cages.” Slash nodded and put the shotgun back up to Sunsets head. The door creaked open. “Move.” He ordered forcing, pressing the gun to her head slightly. Sunset quickly obeyed and walked inside. She didn’t bother to look back to see what the man looked like, as Slash ‘forced’ her down the hall. After a ways of walking through the tunnels, the two finally came to the elevator made of the hot air balloon basket. The two entered and Slash tugged on one of the ropes twice. Almost immediately, the basket was hoisted up. As it rose, Slash glanced at Sunset. “Alright, when we get close to the gas, I’ll uncuff you. Then you’ll get the shotgun.” He sighed in contentment with that plan. “Sounds good.” Sunset said quietly. The basket came to a slow stop at the only other floor in the entire plateau. Sunset, not seeing anyone else around, Sunset opened the gate on the basket despite having cuffs on her hands. Slash let her do so. However, once they were in the rocky hall again, Slash put the shotgun up against her head again. Of course, he still had his finger off the trigger. The hall split two different directions, left and right from the exit of the elevator. They went left, which was fortunately the direction that both gas and prisoners were kept. Even better was the fact that the gas was closer closer to them then the prison cells, which made the task so much easier. The duo continued down the hall. However, they ran by the giant safe door. The same safe that was holding Twilight, Midnight, Violet, and Breeze. The two passed by it without a second thought. They kept going for a while, before Slash stopped Sunset. He pulled her to side of the hall. He whipped out the keys from his pocket. Quickly he unlocked the restraints on Sunsets hands. Boy, Sunset thought, did it feel good to have those off her. She gave her wrists a good twist to loosen them out. She grabbed the shotgun from Slash, checking to make sure it was in proper condition. She looked to the warboy with a purpose. “Let’s book it.” She chided. Slash nodded in agreement as he drew his M1911. They looked back at the rest of the ways they had to go. Immediately, they ran down the rest of the hall to the gas storage room. *** Immortan Sombra sat in his throne, waiting for something that required his attention. Most days nothing would happen. Which was unfortunate for him, as he enjoyed the thrill of conquering his enemies with all of warboys and resources at his disposal. But as it turned out, nothing else exciting had happened in the last week. Of course, there was his new wife Twilight Sparkle. She was quite beautiful. But the downside was that his ‘quality time’ day with his wives had not come yet. He had to put an unbearable amount of restraint on his desires in order to keep up the image of basically being a god to his warboys. BING-BONG!!! The sudden assault on his ears knocked Sombra from his thoughts as he realized someone was trying to communicate with him. “Who goes there?!?!” He shouted into the microphone, situated right next to his throne. “The Great and Powerful Immortan Sombra, it is I, Frenzy.” He sounded panicked. Sombra took note of this. “State your business!” He commanded. “Immortan, the citadel is under attack!” He shouted through the speaker. Wait… what? WHAT!?!? “Who would dare attack the citadel of Immortan Sombra!?” He asked loudly into the receiver of the microphone. “I, I don’t know. But we’ve sent pursuit vehicles out to capture the transgressor. We should have him in a moment, sir!” The sentry, the same one that had volunteered to get the pursuit vehicles, hoped this would be enough to satisfy the Immortan’s bloodlust. Sombra put a hand to chin and rubbed it for a moment, thinking of what to do next. He turned back to the microphone. “Update me every ten minutes.” His order was unusually calm. It took a second for the Frenzy to process it. “Y-yes sir!” He said. Sombra heard no more from the sentry. He turned to one his guards on the right. “Take another man, get my wives, and bring them to me here.” He commanded. The guard immediately turned to him and saluted. “Yes, Immortan Sombra!” The guard did an about-face and took another man, as Sombra ordered, to the wives’ safe. *** Slash knelt down in front of the lock, looking at it in confuzzlement. Sunset was right right behind him. She kept her shotgun up and primed, ready to blast away any guards that came their way. “Let’s see…” He mumbled, working the lock carefully in his hands. “Three left, two right, eleven right.” The warboy yanked on the lock. It unlocked with an audible chunk. Slash released a satisfied grunt, and pulled open the wooden door. It’s handle had been replaced by the lock. Slash opened up the door, and tapped Sunset’s shoulder to follow. She shouldered the shotgun and ran inside, right behind Slash. As she entered, well, she swore in her mind that she could hear the choir of angels singing a song of praise to… whatever God still cared for this world anymore. The space was quite large, it went up about two stories. It was about as long as two buses. On every rack was gallons upon gallons upon gallons… upon gallons of guzzoline. Sunset had never seen so much gas in her life. And it was all for the taking. However, Sunset forced herself out of her stupor. “Okay, get what you can.” She ordered Slash. He nodded, and set off to do just that. Sunsets eyes swept over the space before finding two bags, big enough to carry two gas containers each. She set her Model 97 down, before grabbing the bags. She ran up to the nearest shelf and grabbed two containers of gas. She picked up one of the bags by one strap, and put the two containers in the bag separately. She repeated for the other bag and two more containers. She heaved one bag across her shoulder, and the other across the other shoulder. Damn, these were heavy. No doubt about it. But pushing through and getting what had to be done, done, would be its own reward. She ran back to the entrance, where she saw Slash waiting. And boy, did he have quite a load. He carried two poles across his shoulders, both poles holding six containers, . Twelve containers in all. Slash was visibly struggling under the weight. “Alright, you good?” Sunset asked. Slash grunted, which sounded like a yes. Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You sure?” Slash nodded his head rapidly. She left it at that. They hardly had time to argue over how much Slash could lift. Sunset just hoped that he knew his limit. Sunset kicked open the door and walked through, pointing her gun left then right. Sunset glanced behind her to make Slash was good. He was. With that confirmation, she dashed the hall to the right, Slash was right behind her. They kept a steady pace, put that proved difficult due to the four containers weighing her down. And Slash was carrying three times more than she was. Good thing he was so strong. Just when she thought they were home free, Sunset saw the the thing that she needed to be seeing. Two guards, armed with machine guns, were transporting four women down the hall. They had their backs to them, but as Sunset came to a halt, the sound scraping gravel and dirt caused one guard to glance back. He saw it all, the two holding an insurmountable amount of guzzoline. Far more than the amount that was allowed to be taken at a time. He quickly turned and shouted for them to halt, but Sunset was quicker on the draw. Her shotgun flew up to meet her face as she took aim BLAM!!! Chak-chak BLAM!!! Chak-chak Both guards were knocked to the ground. Sunset looked up at the women, who had terrified looks on their faces. All but one, she had an expression of stark shock. It was one that Sunset recognized, but didn’t believe was there. She lowered her shotgun, ever so slightly. Enough so that Sunset could get a good look at the woman. She looked exactly like Twilight Sparkle. But… at the same time… it couldn’t be Twilight. Twilight Sparkle was dead. At least, last time Sunset checked. Author's Note Whew! That took a while! This chapter took longer to write than I had originally anticipated. If you follow my blog you now that I said the chapter would be up by Saturday or sunday. So I apologize for that. But what's this? Twilight is DEAD!?!? *Dramatic gasping* Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Sunset Over The Wasteland! If you would like updates of when the next chapters shall be out, go ahead and follow me!
Chapter 6: Heist Gone Wrong (Part 2)Sunset Over The Wasteland Written by: Thunder Bolt Chapter 6 Sunset just stared. Twilight stared right back. It was mostly the camouflage, and the gun that caught Twi off guard. That… and the fact that Sunset literally just murdered the two guards that were escorting her. But it was her! It was Sunset Shimmer! She didn’t think she’d see her again. “Sunset…” Twilight took a step towards her. Sunset lifted her shotgun back up, and stared down the barrel into Twilight’s confused look. “Prove that you’re real.” “What?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Sunset, it’s me-” “PROVE IT OR I’LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!!!” She shouted a little too loudly. Slash nervously looked behind him. He leaned over into Sunset’s ear. “Sunset, what are you doing?” He grunted under the weight of the gas containers. Sunset’s breathing became heavy. She let out a low growl, before lowering the gun completely. “C’mon.” She made a gesture for the wives to follow. At first none of them moved, but Midnight was the first to speak up. “Guys, this is the moment we’ve been waiting on for years. Let’s go!” She ran forward past Sunset and Slash. Sweet Breeze and Violet Flower looked at each other, but came to their senses and followed. As they ran for the elevator, Slash glared at Sunset. “What the hell are you doing?” “You have a better plan?” “Yeah, I do! Let’s leave them!” “No, Twilight’s my friend.” “That’s pretty easy to believe, considering that you wanted to blow her head off a moment ago!” Slash spat. “They’re coming with us.” Sunset put blatantly. “How do you even know them?” He pressed. “Trust me on this, okay?” Slash glared more intensely, but realized they didn’t have time to argue. He let out a sigh. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’ll be in if the Immortan catches us?” “Yeah.” Sunset answered knowingly. As Slash followed the wives to the elevator, Sunset looked back at Twilight. “Sunset?” Twilight gave her questioning look. “Join the others, I'll catch up.” She told sternly. Twilight looked unsure, and started to go to join the rest. But Sunset grabbed her shoulder. “It's good to see you again.” She said without so much as cracking a grin. Twilight nodded with a smile, and went to join the others. Sunset was now alone. Really only fifteen feet away from the elevator everyone else was waiting at, but alone with her thoughts. And her memories. “Sunset, help!” “Twilight no!” BRAKA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA!!! “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Sunset cringed at the memory. Her breath got caught in her throat, but she pushed it out of her mouth. She mentally berated herself, reminding her that there were more important things to do. They had to get the hell out of here. She fast walked to where the bigger group was waiting. The elevator was almost on the way up. Nobody had said anything to each other. There was an awkward air between them all. The wives cast nervous glances down both ends of the rocky hall. Slash and Sunset kept up watchful eyes. The elevator finally got to the top. The basket was quite large, so they all fit inside without a problem. Once all were inside, Slash tugged on the rope again. The basket started to move downwards. The awkward air was replaced with one of apprehenshen. “So… what’re your names?” Slash asked suddenly. “Violet Flower.” “Midnight Corsair.” “...Sweet Breeze…” “Twilight Sparkle.” The question answered, Slash nodded to no one in particular. “Alright… I’m Slash.” Violet raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re a warboy?” Violet asked. The other girls looked at him, surprised. Sunset simply glanced back, she was going to let to let Slash handle this. “Well… not anymore.” He answered honestly. Now both of Violets eyebrows were raised. She had never heard of a rogue warboy. This was very odd indeed. All of the Immortan’s soldiers were raised from birth to be loyal to their leader. Slash was odd indeed. She wanted to know more. It was similar to how a different leader before her time ran things. Adolf Hitler, she had read about him in a book called The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich. Apparently, the man had brought death and destruction to all that stood in his way. Similar to the leader Violet was trying to escape from. A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Slash, we’re going to need a truck to get them out.” Sunset referred to the wives. “Do you have anything?” Slash nodded. “Yeah, we have a- Ah!” One of the poles suspending the containers in the air slipped from his shoulder. Fortunately, Slash managed to keep a grip on it and nothing spilled. “Lemme get that!” Midnight offered. As Slash tried to get the gas himself, Midnight picked it up from the floor herself. Slash’s widened slightly as the girl hoisted the pole over her shoulders and behind her neck, seemingly with little effort. The only thing that escaped Midnight’s mouth was a small grunt. Slash stared for a moment before turning back to Sunset. “Yeah, I used to be a truck driver before I was assigned to patrols.” He replied. “The trucks are on the other side of other side of the garage though, we’ll have to use the west entrance.” “Alright.” Sunset sighed. The basket reached the bottom of the shaft, and the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened, happened. A warboy was waiting at the bottom. Once the elevator landed, the soldier looked at group in disbelief. But Sunset was quick to act. She jumped the door of the basket, and dove at the warboy. She tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth with her hand. “Mmff! Mff!!!” His screams were muffled and went unheard. The poor warboys eyes widened in fear as Sunset drew her knife, pulled back, and plunged it into his neck. The warboys eyes became like dinner plates, as blood spilled into his throat and out his neck. The blood choked him of life as he began spasming. Sunset kept a strong grip, until the spasms died. Sighing, she drew her blood-soaked knife and hands away from the warboys face. His eyes were still locked in a soulless stare that seemed to look into the space itself. Sunset glanced up at the others. The wives, well, weren’t taking it very nicely. Sweet Breeze and Twi were trying oh so desperately to keep their breakfast in. Violet and Midnight had mortified looks on their faces. Slash didn’t have a remote trace of emotion on his face. He just stared at the body. “Let’s go. Now!” Sunset commanded. Everybody seemed to get themselves together, and got off the elevator. As Breeze passed the body, she couldn’t help but take a long look at it. “Come on Breeze…” Twi chided. Breeze looked at her and nodded. “Coming…” Slash glanced over at Sunset as they ran. “There’s another guard at the door. You’re gonna have have to blast him.” He explained. “Alright,” She acknowledged, bringing the gun to her shoulder as the group kept running. Sunset began to think of how she was going to talk to Twilight after they got out of there. Thing is… she had no how. Sunset just killed several warboys in front of Twilight, and she passed it off like it was nothing. Sure, that was an average occurrence for Sunset. But what would Twilight think? Would she think Sunset was some kind of lunatic? She did threaten to kill her. But that was out of shock, and not knowing how to deal with it. Twilight would understand, right? Right? Sunset hoped so. As the group came to the end of the hall, they slowed. Sunset halted at the corner, and signaled for everyone to crouch. Everyone did. Sunset peeked around the corner ever so slowly. She saw a guard that was in the exact same attire as the guard at the east garage entrance. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they were roommates. She leaned over to Slash, who still had the pole held behind his neck. “I’ll take him out,” She said preparing to charge the guard. Put Slash shook his head quickly. “Uh uh, I’ll do it.” He replied and gently let down the pole and the containers to the ground. Sunset was about to argue, she didn’t want Slash using his pistol except in emergencies. But before she could, Slash had gotten up and was leaning around the corner to his bearings on the situation. He was too far away to say anything and not be heard. Slash glanced around the edge of the corridor, and eyed the guard for a moment. He gathered up what he would say. Taking in a deep breath, he cleared the end of the tunnel and walked towards the guard. The sentry looked up to see Slash approaching. He cast him a smile, glad to see an old friend. “Hey there Slash, where ya headed?” He asked in a friendly tone. Slash didn’t answer, he just kept walking towards the guard. He gave Slash a confused look. “Hey, are ya ears dead? I was askin’ where you were headed.” Slash furrowed his eyebrow as he continued to approach. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, before quickly bringing his gun at his former friends head and firing twice. The guards body fell to the floor. Slash stood there for a moment. He stared down at the body, watched the blood drizzle down from the guards head. Slash had known him in his past life. Way back when he was a truck driver, this was the face that greeted him everyday. He remembered what this guard had been like. He had been friendly, even when everyone was mean to him. He always was cracking some sort of joke, no matter how good or bad. He had been one of Slash’s closest friends when he had been a transport truck driver. And he just killed him. “Hey, Slash.” He looked over his shoulder to see Sunset gripping the pole behind her head, the wives right behind her. “Nice job, your lead now.” Sunset waited for him to take the lead. Slash had to bring himself out of his mourning and flared his nostrils with newly-found determination. “Follow me.” He ordered, moving to the submarine door and began to open it. Thunder Bolt got into the driver’s seat of Sunset’s Mustang. And waited. And waited. And waited. There. That’s what he was looking for. Three pursuit vehicles exited the large gate, and headed straight towards his car. Well, it was really Sunset’s car. But he’d give it back. Thunder estimated that he had a good thirty second head start before the vehicles could get to him. After making this calculation he immediately slammed down on the gas pedal. The engine produced a loud roar before he sped off. He pulled a hard right on the steering wheel and made like a bunny away from a pack of foxes. The Mustang was a very fast car. But it couldn’t keep pace with the nitrogen pumped engines that were in the warboys cars. Eventually, the vehicles did catch up to Thunder. He swerved about in an attempt to prevent the vehicles from getting good positioning on him. He looked back to see that a warboy was preparing to leap onto his car. Oh hell no. Just as the warboy lept, Thunder pulled another hard right, and avoided any unwanted passengers. The warboy fell, and seemed to zoom away like he was on a conveyer belt of sand. The cars were going that fast. Up until now, the pursuit had been taking place around the metal wall of the Citadels perimeter. Thunder was trying to stay in that general area, prepared to follow Sunset if she made it out with the gas. The key word being “if”. They had agreed that if she was not back outside within twenty minutes of entering, Thunder had full reason to assume she died and he was to escape by himself. However, Thunder had complete faith that it wouldn’t come to that. He just had to make sure that he held off the pursuit vehicles. CLUNK! Thunder looked up at the ceiling of the car, just in time to hear: “I’m on his car!” “Ah shit.” He muttered. Slash held his pistol out in front of him, ready to shoot any mechanics unlucky enough to find themselves behind the row of vehicles the group was currently sneaking behind. They were quite literally between a rock and a hard place. The trucks had hard metal, and the wall was made of rock. Most of the garage’s occupants were kept busy on the other side of the garage with the threat of Thunder’s ambush. The other side of the garage was almost barren. But it never hurt to be safe, especially in the wasteland. Eventually, about more than half way through the line of trucks and tankers, Slash found what he was looking for. The M35 military transport truck. It was a large transport truck that had been used as a means to carry troops to and from battles during the World Ending War. It had been heavily modified from its original form, turning it into a menacing looking machine. Slash held up a hand for everyone to stop, and looked down the space between the truck they were taking and another vehicle. Clear. He then edged along the back of the truck to the other side. He poked his head around the corner. Clear. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked back to see Sunset and the wives waiting for him to signal that the area was clear. Slash put up a thumbs up and his mouth curled into a smile. Sunset took that as ‘all clear’, and signaled the wives to follow to the rear of the truck. Sunset and Slash quietly opened the swing doors of the truck, which revealed an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun. It was mounted on a pole fused to the flatbed of the truck. Wasting no time, Sunset beckoned the wives to enter the rear of the truck. They obeyed. Once they all piled inside, and had gotten comfortable on the benches that flanked both sides of the flatbed, Slash and Sunset closed the doors as quietly as possible. They waited for the sound of footsteps to come to them, signaling that someone was investigating any noise they had made. None came. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sunset sneaked along the side of the truck to the passenger seat. She started to hear the pattering of running footsteps. She held her breath as a warboy ran by along the row of trucks, not even noticing her. Letting out a shaky breath, Sunset creeped to the passenger door. Seeing that Slash was already in the cabin was alleviating for her. She climbed in, and quietly closed the door. “Get in the back with the wives, until we’re outside the walls.” Slash ordered. Sunset, seeing no reason to argue that, climbed in the back with the wives. She put a finger up to her lips, signalling for them to be quiet. They nodded in conformation. Sunset noticed that Twilight was holding Sweet Breeze in a hug. Not surprising, Sunset thought, this whole escapade was a huge change in pace for them. They had probably only dreamt of escaping during the time they held captive here. It was likely that they had never actually believed they could leave. Up front, Slash gunned the engine. The wheel had been left on the steering axis carelessly, probably by a younger crew. With a blast of fumes from it’s tall exhaust pipe, the truck pulled out of the space it had been parked in and turned right. Headed to the exit of the garage. Slash had to turn left into the main road that linked all the rows into something like a parking lot. Only difference was that this parking lot was dug out from a plateau. The truck then made another right out of the exit into the blazing sun of the desert. It opened up into a wide dirt road that was shrinked in size as it moved past the two other plateaus, and approached the gate. It was a straight road, no curves at all. Slash guided the vehicle to the gate, passing the villagers that were camped out beside the road. Or rather below the road, since the dirt had been piled up in order to create an elevated path. The transport slowed to a stop in front of the gate. A guard ran up to the driver’s door and looked up at the truck’s driver. Slash looked down at the guard. As the sentry was about to ask what was in the truck, he suddenly stopped mid sentence and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Slash?” He questioned. “Yep.” Slash confirmed. “What are you- I thought you were a patrol driver!?” He exclaimed in confusion. “Yeah, but they needed someone to drive the transport,” Slash pointed his thumb back at the garage. “So they got me, since there was no one else.” He explained. The guard seemed to accept the explanation, to which Slash was grateful. “I got a whole load of warboys in here, ready take down that intruder.” Slash answered the guards question before he even asked. “Alright, go get ‘em!” He encouraged. He gave a hard slap to the metal which made up the flatbed covering the flatbed, producing a loud CLANG. That wasn’t good. That slap to the metal was a common warboy gesture for: Kill ‘em all. It was quick sign of encouragement from the guards to the warboys, it was even thought of as good luck by some. And it was considered rude for the warboys in the vehicle to not return the favor. For a split second Slash panicked. But in the next second, he gathered himself and looked back into the holding area. “Bang on the metal!” He called out in hushed importance. The wives gave him a funny look, even Sunset raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Anybody home?” The guard questioned, in an insulted manner. He started to walk around to the back of the truck, to see why they hadn’t returned the action. “Now! He’s gonna find you!” Slash demanded. Realizing that they were about to be found out, all of the wives, and Sunset, started rapping on the metal as hard as they could. Twilight had to free her arms from the hug she was giving Breeze, but more than made up for it by making the most noise. “Ah, there we are!” The guard said contently, coming back around to the front. “Yeah, they’re a bit riled up, itching to get out and fight,” Slash explained. “Gate?” “Yeah.” The guard answered. He turned to the workers who were manning the giant cranks that opened the giant doors. He cupped his hands around his mouth “Open up, we got a transport coming through!” Immediately, the workers turned the handholds of the cranks, resulting in the large gate splitting inward as it opened. As soon as it was wide enough, Slash shifted into drive, stepped on the gas and drove forward. He honked the horn, causing the workers on the door to let several yells and hollers as the truck moved into the open Wasteland. Sunset got up from the bench and moved to the front cabin. She didn’t sit down, instead she grabbed ahold of of the passenger seat and leaned on it as she looked out into the dry landscape. “We need to find Thunder.” She put simply. Slash grunted in annoyance. “I know that.” A large part of Sunset wanted to say that she was just trying to keep things on task. But knowing Slash, it would just lead to an argument. And that was the LAST thing they needed right now. Slash guided the truck along the fence, in search of the former pilot. As they continued to drive, they started to hear the sound of car engines approaching. Around the next bend, Thunder’s car sped into view. At first Sunset was relieved that they had found him. But that relief turned to dread as she realized Thunder was driving along the fence like they were. And they were going to crash. “TURN GOD DAMMIT!!” She shouted. However Slash had already started turning the wheel. The truck was going extremely fast, and as Thunder’s car drove by unharmed, the truck started to tip from the g-forces of the turn. “Crap crap crap crap crap crap!” Slash gritted his teeth as he yanked the wheel in the other direction, just barely managed to get the truck back on all four wheels. As soon as he did, he braked hard. The truck slid across the sand a few feet before coming to a stop. Sunset and Slash were breathing heavily. They stared straight ahead for a moment before Sunset turned around. The wives were looking amongst themselves in confusion. As Sunset turned to them, Violet looked up at her from the bench. “What just happened?” Sunset calmed her breathing to answer. “We had to swerve to avoid a collision. We’re good.” That seemed to calm Violet, and she turned to the other breeders to relay the message. Sunset turned back into the cabin. She looked at Slash who was still breathing heavily and kept staring forward. “Hey.” Sunset reached a hand down and shook his shoulder. That seemed to knock the warboy out of his stupor. “Yeah, yeah, I know…” Slash reached a hand down to the shifter, and pressed down on the gas. The truck lurched forward to the left to chase down Thunder’s pursuers. Although the pace of his breathing had returned to normal levels, he continued to stare out in front, his eyes still extremely wide. Sunset picked up on it. She sat down on the passenger seat. “You okay?” She questioned. Slash nodded robotically, his eyes still snapped wide open. Sunset’s eyes went half-lidded with a look of skepticism. “Bullshit.” She poked Slash’s shoulder again as he drove. “Come on, what is it.” “Well…” Slash explained. “It’s just been a while since I’ve done something like that.” His eyes became more relaxed as he spoke. “Guess I’ve been pretty used to how mellow the patrols are.” Sunset blinked. She really hadn’t expected that. But warboys were crazy characters, and anything they did was unexpected. It was something she had learned in her time roaming the Wasteland. Though, Slash was quite different. He seemed to get annoyed at a lot of things, but put his mind in the present at all times. He liked things to go according to plan. Now that she thought about it, that could be why he had tried holding up an argument in the citadel when she had told the wives to come with them. She glanced out on the road, realizing they were fast approaching Thunder’s car. “Get on the machine gun.” Slash ordered suddenly. Sunset was ripped from her thoughts and looked at him for a moment. “The machine gun?” “You heard me.” Slash confirmed, keeping his eyes on path ahead of them. “But, I don’t even know how to-” “I’ll talk you through it.” Slash said quickly. “We don’t have time. Were almost right behind the pursuiters.” Indeed, the truck’s engine was steadily pulling the vehicle closer to the rear of the cars pursuing Thunder. They were only about 50 meters away. Realizing there wasn’t time for arguing, Sunset got up and slowly walked to the machine gun welded onto the bed. It was a Browning .50 caliber machine gun. Sunset had seen plenty of these in the past, fixed or welded onto burnt-out tanks from the war. Or mounted on the many cars they had come across. Again she had experience firing such a weapon. But, then again, there’s a first time everything. The wives glanced at her as she looked the gun over. “How do I load it?” Sunset shouted. Slash looked back into the flatbed as the truck pulled closer to the pursuit vehicles. “Do you see a two small buttons that are parallel to each other, near the handles?” Sunset looked, spotting two buttons that were indeed parallel to each other. “Yeah!” “Push those together, and pull up.” Slash explained. She pinched the two buttons, and pulled. The cover for the where the ammunition belt was supposed to go lifted forward away from her. Sunset really wanted to get this done ASAP. She could see they were fast approaching the vehicles. At the rate they were going, they would reach the vehicles, and their element of surprise would be compromised. Sunset kept the cover up, and fast-walked back to the cabin. “Let me take the wheel.” Sunset ordered. “What? No, you need to-” Sunset turned backwards and leaned against the console, looking into Slash’s eyes. “Shut up and listen, at the rate I was going, our element of surprise would’ve been out the window.” She quickly explained. “You know how to load the thing…” She suddenly pulled Slash from the driver’s seat, grabbed his shoulders, and shoved into the flatbed. He landed on his rear, uttering an ‘oof’. “...so load it.” She finished, sitting down and taking control of the truck. Slash grunted and looked up. He was about to try and challenge Sunset, but Violet got in his way. She put a hand up to his chest and applied pressure. “Hey,” She glared. “Load the damn gun.” Slash wasn’t sure why, but the way Violet stared him down made his eyebrows raise slightly. He backed off. He didn’t know what it was about Violet that made him do so. She just had this no-BS; all business look. And it struck him hard in his soul. He immediately turned and started loading the weapon. Twilight leaned over as he worked and spoke to Violet. “How did you get him to do that?” Violet smirked, and glanced at Midnight Corsair. “I’ve had to deal with this idiot for years.” Midnight looked at her, and picked up on who she was referring to. “Hey!” She retaliated. “Shut up.” Violet’s smirk grew even more. “Don’t even try.” She chided. Midnight folded her arms, and furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. “Shurt urp.” She mumbled. Violet snorted in amusement. Slash worked quickly. He first grabbed a case of ammo off the floor. He attached the case to the latch that held it in place next to the chamber. He grabbed the belt and placed the first bullet in the chamber. He then slammed the cover down with loud CHUNK. He then grabbed the charging handle and pulled it back. Slash let the handle spring forward, priming the weapon to fire. He made sure the safety was off, and then ran back into the cabin. “Hey, it’s ready.” He pointed a thumb behind him. “Alright,” Sunset replied. She got up, and moved around Slash. He took the wheel. Sunset grabbed the handles with both hands in preparation to fire. Slash maneuvered the truck around the three pursuit vehicles. He pulled down on the truck’s horn cord, producing an Earth-shattering HOOOOOOOOONNNK!!! “Yeah! Woohoo! Give it to ‘em!” Warboys riding on the cars shouted in delight as Slash kept driving. He pulled alongside one of the cars and leaned out the window. “Hey!” He shouted, catching the attention of a warboy riding in the rear of a roaring muscle car. “Yeah, what?” The goon responded. “I’m gonna pull ahead and land some warboys on him!” The other man nodded and grinned maniacally. “Go! Destroy him and bring forth the carcass of his machine!” He shouted. “Yeah!” Slash replied in maniacal glee. Slash then pressed further down on the gas pedal and sped ahead. He moved past the pursuit cars, and pulled aside Thunder’s car. Thunder glanced up, spotting Slash in the driver’s seat. He blinked, as Slash glanced over at him, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. Thunder just stared as Slash pulled the truck around in front of Sunset’s Mustang. “Uh…” Thunder stared with a deadpan expression on his face. “...the hell is he doing?” All he could see was the rear of the transport, driving right in front of his car. Inside, Sunset braced herself for the coming onslaught of bullets that was coming. She crouched, lining up her eyes with the guns sights. She calmed her breathing, steadying her movements so that she could focus on firing. The wives had been moved to the very back of the transport. They huddled together, keeping as far from the line of fire as possible. Midnight stood at the double doors, waiting for Sunset’s signal… Twilight looked up at Sunset, then Midnight. She knew what was coming next. It was time to face the music. “OPEN IT NOW!!!” Midnight threw open the doors and immediately dove for the floor, gritting her teeth as she covered her head. Sunset fired the gun, producing a steady THU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU-DU!!! Sunset gnashed her teeth together, squinting her eyes as the machine gun shook back and forth. She had never felt such incredible power from a weapon before. It was exhilarating. The warboys eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as bullets ricocheted of the cars. Most dove for cover, but a few unlucky soldiers were peppered with projectiles. As she kept shooting, Sunset steadily aimed the gun at the driver of the car closest to Thunder Bolt. The bullets tore through the drivers head, and due to their size, completely obliterated his brain and skull. Nothing but a bunch of gray matter and bone shards remained of his head. The body rolled of the right, moving the steering wheel in the same direction. The car veered away, rolling right into the path of the second closest car. The driver didn’t have time to react as the second vehicle ran right into the side of the first. The force of the crash flipped the second car into the air, before it crashed on the other side of the first car on the roof. As the three remaining cars drove away, the second car exploded in a wave of fire. In turn, the first car exploded into nothing but a mess of ash and twisted metal. Meanwhile, the third car had pulled up and was returning fire. Sunset barely had time to dive for the wall in order to press herself as hard as she could to it. She gritted her teeth together as bullets flew past and landed on the back end of the transport. “AAAAAAAAHHH!!” The wives screeched as projectiles were just barely missing. Midnight was still pinned to the ground and was still covering her head with her hands. She opened her squeezed-shut eyes for a moment to see Sunset pinned to the wall as bullets continued to shoot past. “What do we do!?” She shouted desperately. At this moment, Midnight was fearing for her life. She was naturally a very stubborn individual who talked a big game. But this was the first time she was getting a real taste of a Wasteland battle. Sunset looked down at the woman, a terrified look plastered to her face. Sunset glanced behind her to see that her shotgun was lying on the flatbed, rattling slightly from the movement of the truck. Her eyes widened as she realized what her next course of action should be. “Toss me my shotgun!” She ordered. Midnight looked to her left to see the shotgun on the ground. As quickly she could, she grabbed the gun and passed to her other hand. She quickly slid the gun to Sunset. She grabbed it, and pinned herself to the wall just in time for another flurry of bullets whizzed by. “STAY STRONG!” Violet shouted over the noise. She pulled Twilight and Breeze tighter in the huddle in the corner of the flatbed. Once the onslaught of bullets had stopped, she dove from the wall to the floor. She slid until she was just barely over the edge of the rear entrance. However, she witnessed an odd sight when she peered outside with the shotgun ready to fire. The third car wasn’t pursuing. In fact, it had stopped completely. It was like it had stopped pursuing altogether and let the transport speed away. The car continued to shrink in size as the two vehicles drove away from the citadel. Sunset tilted her head to the side as she lay on the edge of the door frame. “What?” She called out in confusion. Thunder saw the doors open, and his widened as he saw Sunset at the helm of the machine gun. As she opened fire on the cars pursuing just behind him, he instinctively ducked his head. But after realizing that all of the bullets were flying over his car, he relaxed slightly. He looked behind to see the car closest to him veer to the right and caused the second closest car to crash, flip over it, and explode. The wreck got smaller as the remaining three vehicles drove away. Thunder locked his eyes on the path ahead of him. He felt his muscles tense as the sound of a roaring engine met his ears. He looked out to the left just in time to see the third car pull up next to him. A warboy on the rear platform of the car started firing an assault rifle at the truck. Thunder could hear the pings and pangs of bullets stitching holes in the transport. “Oh hell no…” His nostrils flared as he grabbed his Auto Mag from his holster. Without hesitating, he rested his shooting arm on his left arm, which was managing the steering wheel. He took careful aim out the car window at the shooter as he reloaded. He fired once. A miss. The shooter heard the shot and looked to his right. His eyes grew wide as he saw Thunder holding up the pistol. But the shock was short lived as Thunder fired again, the bullet striking the warboy square in the chest. “Gurgh!” He fell backwards as the force of the impact knocked him off the rear of the car. His body tumbled onto the sand. Thunder’s eyes locked onto another warboy trying to climb from the front passenger seat, onto the rear to get the rifle. Again, Thunder adjusted his aim to him and fired twice. Both bullets were met with metal. They both missed. Thunder mentally berated himself for firing an unnecessary extra bullet. He really couldn’t do things like that. The rule he always tried to follow was to fire one bullet at a time, and try not to go nuts on the trigger. It was extremely important to conserve resources as possible. The warboy continued to climb onto the rear. Thunder glanced out the front to the path the transport was following, which in turn Thunder was following. He turned back, surprised to see that the warboy was crawling on the rear, going for the rifle. “Nope…” He whispered, as he fired. The bullet struck the warboy in the head, shooting gray matter out the other side if his head. His body fell limp. Thunder let out a sigh, of both relief, and getting in air. He had holding in a breath to steady his shot. He remembered he had fired four shots, which meant he had three left. He looked back to the left, just in time to see the other car ram into his. “AH!” The force of the impact made Thunder lose his bearings for just a moment. But as he regained a feel on his surroundings, he realized that the other driver was forcing his vehicle against the Mustang. Immediately taking control of the wheel, Thunder turned his car against the other car, pushing it in the direction. He looked up into the eyes of the driver. They locked together for a moment. In that moment, their eyes said one thing to the other. “I’m going to kill you.” However, Thunder was quicker to do so. He pointed his AutoMag through the window causing the driver’s eyes grew wide. “No!” Was what he managed to shout before his head was thrown back from the force of a bullet passing through it. As the driver’s body fell over limp the steering wheel, his foot lifted off the gas pedal. The car veered away, slowed, and stopped as the transport and the Mustang drove away, leaving the citadel in the dust. Meanwhile… Jawsnapper continued to wriggle and squirm as the knife continued to make the same scrapping noises that he’d been hearing for the past week. Then, just when was about to give out, he heard the heavenly sound metal landing on metal. The handcuff chain had been broken. His eyebrows raised up in surprise. He brought them around so he could look at them. He twisted and turned his shoulders, loosening them from being cooped up in the trunk of the Challenger. Without missing a beat, Jaw positioned his body to be vertical to the trunk of the car. As hard as he could, he slammed his legs against the trunk. Nothing. Again, and again, and again he kicked at the trunk. Only with one final kick was he able to get the trunk to fly open. Sunlight poured inside, blinding him for a moment. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he crawled out, getting a feel for the ground. Once his eyes adjusted completely, he looked around. He found he was standing by the cliff he had been knocked out on. He turned around, the citadel coming into his field of view. Without hesitating, he started running along to edge of the cliff back to the citadel. Author's Note Hey, sorry for the long update. But as you can see this is my longest chapter yet, so hopefully you got a treat out of that! So, basically, I just wanted to say that this story is going on hiatus. Not because it's dead. It isn't, I would be cancelling it if it were. But I have another writing project I want to get to. It's a short one, don't worry. But this going to be the last chapter for a while. And to ransom username, sorry I didn't run this through you first. I just wanted to get this chapter out there ASAP. Until next time, Aim High. -Thunder Bolt
Chapter 7: A Break at BartertownSunset Over The Wasteland Written by: Thunder Bolt Chapter 7 Sunset was barely hanging off the edge of the speeding truck, as it drove away from the idle pursuit car that had stopped. She looked at Thunder as he drove her Mustang, which was following close behind, and noticed that he had his Auto Mag drawn. She put two and two together. She realised that while she had been taking cover, Thunder must’ve shot the warboys and driver. She smiled as she pulled herself back onto the flatbed of the transport, cradling her shotgun in her lap. A sudden weight of realization hit her. They had done it. They got the gas they needed. And they got away with it. They just robbed Immortan Sombra right from under his nose. At that thought, Sunset cracked a gigantic smirk. She felt really smug all of a sudden. Before, when she and Thunder had been robbing other wanderers for gas, it made the both of them feel horrible about themselves. Once, and only once, did they have to kill an innocent man to get away with the gas. It was a blow to the both of them emotionally. But this was different. Sombra and his cronies had ruled this side of the wasteland with an iron fist. They would never hesitate to kill to get what they wanted, Slash being an obvious exception. And stealing from such monsters was very satisfying. It had taken an incredible amount of luck. An even greater amount of skill, quick wit, and trusting instincts. But the deed had been done, and it felt GREAT. If not for Slash, she and Thunder probably wouldn’t have even gotten through the front gate. He had been imperative to the mission, she couldn’t forget that. But… that did leave the question… What now? Was Slash going to just leave them? After all they had been through together? It was what they had originally planned, for Slash to take a half gallon and go his own path. But that seemed a little… abrupt. For him to leave all of a sudden. Of course, they could sort it out when they got back to the camp, packed up, and headed for Bartertown. But then again, that did leave the question of what was to happen to the wives. … Wait a second, wives? Sunset looked around at the four women who had different levels of shock written on their faces. Violet Flower was staring out the entryway of the flatbed, the doors still creaking back and forth in the desert wind. Midnight Corsair was leaning up against the corner of the transport, arms crossed, brow flat. She looked to be thinking about something. Twilight had her hands planted on Sweet Breeze’s shoulders, who had a startled look on her face. Wives? Wives. Wives! Oh shit… Another, much less pleasant feeling wave of realization hit Sunset as if it were a bus. They had stolen the Immortans prized breeders! Now technically, they had really freed them from sex slavery. But it was best to look at it from Sombra’s point of view. Sunset’s eyes darted about the space in the transport’s flatbed as her mind raced on what to do next. But it came up blank. She hadn’t even thought about the possible consequences of doing something like that. She should have! Even with Twilight there, she have thought it through. And the reality of their situation came down on her even more when she realized someone had been thinking things through. Slash. He was thinking. He hadn’t made any rash decisions. She cringed at herself as his words echoed through her mind. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’ll be in if the Immortan catches us?” Dumbstruck by reality, she stared straight ahead as the truck drove to the cliff so that Thunder could get his Challenger back. Immortan Sombra sat in his throne, staring at the large throne room door. His patience continued to dwindle, he was just barely containing his frustration. “What is keeping them!?” He shouted, rising out of the large chair. He was going to see what was the matter himself, but before he could… BING-BONG! He stared at the door on the other side of the room, the guards looking to it themselves. A voice came over the intercom next to the Immortans throne. “Sir!” A nervous sounding warboys voice crackled through the speaker. Sombra immediately pressed one large finger to the button. “Report!” He commanded. At first, there was nothing. But as Sombra was about to command him again, his voice was heard again. “S-sir… the wives! T-they, uh, they…” He stuttered over his words, trying to put the news un-angering as possible. “Dammit soldier, pick your words, and say them to me!” Sombra berated. He was not in the mood for this. “Sir! Your wives, they’ve been taken!” At first, Sombra let the words flow through his brain. He processed them. His wives. Were stolen. No. No! NO! “WHERE ARE THEIR GUARDS!?!?” He raged into the speaker. “Dead, sir.” The war boy replied simply. Sombra paused for a moment. He remembered that he still hadn’t heard anything about the ruffian who had tried to coax the war boys into following him. “What of the wanderer who fired at the wall?” He asked. “He wasn’t alone. We found that some gas was missing from the vault. We figure that whoever stole the gas took your breeders too.” The war boy answered. Upon hearing this, the Immortan leaned back from the intercom. He squinted his eyes, and massaged his temple while thinking things over. Stolen wives, missing gas, and armed looters who just got away with taking those things. He knew what to do. He pressed his finger back to the intercom. “Send out a scouting party, find out where they went.” He ordered. “Yes, sir.” The warboy answered. Meanwhile, the group successfully retrieved Thunder’s Challenger from the cliff. Sunset got in her own vehicle, and Slash continued to drive the military transport. When Thunder discovered that Jawsnapper had escaped, Sunset decided that they should go over their next course of action once they restocked on gas, food and water at Bartertown. Of course, she still had the issue of explaining to the rest that she and Twilight were from another dimension. With Thunder’s Charger traveling at the front, the transport in the middle, and Sunset’s Mustang bringing up the rear, in a single file line, the group pulled up next to the entrance of Bartertown. The town, as the name suggested, was fully reliant on the business it created with survivors of the nuclear apocalypse coming in and out to sell and trade their wares. The entire town itself was in between a long line of rocks which was connected to one big mountain. The town was tucked in between the two geological forms. The entrance was a long tunnel that had been used for mining. Inside, the place was made entirely of huts and tents that allowed individuals to sell whatever they had in exchange for whatever it was that they wanted. At the very center of Bartertown was a huge, caged dome made of iron rods that formed upwards at the center of the dome. And next to that was a bar in which all sorts of alcoholic drinks were sold. Albeit, at insanely huge prices. The Charger pulled up near the entrance of Bartertown. Thunder waited for the transport and Sunset to pull up and park alongside. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts. They had done it. They had ACTUALLY done it! They got the gas they needed and got away nearly unharmed. At least he did, he hadn’t gotten a very good look at Sunset who practically pulled him out of the car in the rush to switch vehicles. But he felt confident that she was alright. She was a tough girl, she had proven that throughout their travels in the Wasteland. And if there was someone driving the transport, it was safe to assume that Slash was alive as well. Though he didn’t feel nearly as uplifted at that truth, at least everyone was safe. And by the looks of the transport, they must’ve gotten their hands on all sorts of useful goods. They could probably even trade for even better supplies while they were here! The familiar rumble of car engines met his ears. He glanced to the right in time to see Sunset park next to him. She looked over at him, and smiled. Thunder smiled back. And next to Sunset’s Mustang, Slash parked the transport. Thunder could just barely see him through the window of the truck’s cabin, as the roof of Sunset’s car blocked some of the view. As soon as the transport was parked, Thunder got out of the car and walked up to Sunset’s car. She also got out of her vehicle. As she got out she looked up at Thunder who was standing two feet away from her. They gave each other a three-second long stare before Sunset spoke. “So… we did it.” “Yep.” Thunder replied. “Yeah…” She sighed. Her expression dropped slightly, and Thunder saw it immediately. “Hey.” He grabbed her shoulder as she tried walked by. “Something wrong?” She was about to say no, but knew it would be pointless since he would find out anyway. “Yeah… there is.” She answered honestly. “What? What is it?” Thunder asked, concern tainting his voice. “Well…” Sunset trailed off. “You should see for yourself.” “Uh, okay?” Thunder felt anxious. Did Slash do something? No, probably not. If that were the case, Sunset would’ve likely killed him. And he was still alive, climbing out of the transport’s cabin at this point. Sunset pulled Thunder by the hand away from their cars, and towards the transport. He swallowed on the spit lactating in his mouth. Sunset stood him in front of the double doors of the loading section of the transport. “Just… don’t freak out.” Sunset warned. Thunder flattened his brow as his concern grew. Sunset pulled open the doors, and what Thunder saw inside nearly made his jaw drop. Four women were sitting inside on double benches that lined the sides of the transport. Thunder’s mind raced, trying to figure out who they were. But then it hit him. The white clothes, the nearly untouched features of their bodies. There was only one person in the entire Wasteland who could keep someone in such prime condition. And that person just happened to be the ones they robbed from. “Did… did you steal… Immortan Sombra’s wives?” Thunder whispered slowly. Sunset cringed as she confirmed the dire reality. “Yeah, we did.” Thunder slowly clasped his hands around the back of his head. His eyes stared into space, as he walked back to his car in a dazed state. “Is he alright?” Twilight asked, standing from the bench. “Oh he’ll be fine… I just need to talk to him.” Sunset answered while looking at her partner. She turned, and spoke to Twilight directly. “I’ll talk to you in a moment.” Violet raised an eyebrow when Sunset walked off. “Do you know her?” She inquired to Twilight. “Yeah…” Twilight sighed and sat back down. “You could say that.” Thunder had slumped himself up against the bumper of the Charger and was staring off into space. Sunset approached him from his left, and knelt down beside him. “Thunder?” She called out. He didn’t answer, his eyes were glued to the sky. “Thunder, I know we’re in a bad situation. But we can work through it, we’ve done it bef-” She started, but Thunder sharply turned his towards her with a harsh glare. “What, in the actual shit, was going through your head when you decided to ‘rescue’ these people?” He asked bitterly. Sunset blinked. She had NOT been expecting such a strident response. However, before she could respond, he turned his eyes back up towards the sky. This time though, his brow was flat, and his mouth was scowling. “I-” Sunset tried to think of some sort of plausible reason. Something that would make Thunder believe why she did it. But her mind came up blank. She, under normal circumstances, had acted foolishly. She had put both of their lives at risk. But it was for someone she had known. But as Sunset’s mind raced, she realized something: she didn’t have to lie. The truth made the most sense. She had brought the wives because she knew one of them. That reason, the truth, put her mind at ease as she came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t have to fabricate some crazy story to justify a spur-of-the-moment action. She let out a relaxed sigh, and looked back at Thunder. “I know one of them.” She stated. He quickly turned towards her, with a sceptical look on his face. As if he hadn’t believed what he heard. “What?” “I-” She hesitated, realizing just how unbelievable she sounded. “-know one of them.” “What in the hell do you mean you know one of them?” Thunder squinted his eyelids, trying to comprehend what had just been said. “I just-” Sunset sighed and looked down at the sand in frustration. “-I just do.” “So what? Were you friends before the war?” Thunder questioned. “It’s… a bit more complicated than that.” She explained as best she could. “Complicated?” Thunder cocked an eyebrow. “Look, I’ll explain everything later. Right now, I need you to trust me. I need to head into Bartertown and get as much food and water as we can.” She stood up and looked down at Thunder, who was still sitting up against the bumper of the Charger. “Can you fill up the cars with the gas we got?” He looked up at his friend. Thunder had no idea what Sunset was getting at when she said ‘I’ll explain later’. Was there some sort of bigger picture he wasn’t getting? He was still questioning Sunset’s decision of rescuing the wives. But she was requesting him to trust her. They had been together in the Wasteland for so long, trusting her was second nature to him. But this was different, they had never been on the run from someone as powerful as Immortan Sombra. In this case, he felt conflicted. On one hand, he had to trust her. If he didn’t, what if they were locked in combat with the Immortan’s forces? If his trust wasn’t absolute in such a situation, it could get both he and Sunset, and maybe even Slash, killed. But on the other hand, how could he trust her to make smart decisions again? She had gone and done something as crazy as taking the Immortan’s WIVES for crying out loud! It was one of the craziest things anyone could do. He never thought Sunset would do something as STUPID as that. She did say she knew one of them… but was that really good enough of an excuse? But Thunder remembered that she said that she was going to explain her whole reasoning later, so… it looked like he was going to have to place his trust in her until that point. Yes, he would trust her. For now. He looked up at Sunset and looked her in the eye. “I’ll take care of it.” He replied. Sunset smiled. “Good, the gas is in the transport.” With that, she headed to her Mustang to grab whatever tradables she would need to get food, water and ammunition. Thunder watched her walk away before getting up himself, and headed for the transports flatbed to get the gas. As he walked up to the flatbed, he saw Slash in the cabin of the transport. It looked like he was making repairs or modifications of some sort, but Thunder was too far to see. He stopped in front of the entrance to the flatbed and paused. He laid his eyes on the wives for the second time, and honestly, he could see why they were so valuable to Immortan Sombra. These women were beautiful. He tried not to stare. But as he got a jerry can of fuel for the vehicles, he couldn’t help but linger a bit on the on the one with pinkish skin, and brown hair. He gave an awkward, half-hearted wave before heading off to refill the Mustang and Charger with gas. The four watched him walk away, before going back to just sitting in the transport. Twilight leaned up against the corner, Sweet Breeze tried to get in a more comfortable position while sitting upright. Midnight just flopped back on the bench and started to take a nap. Violet stared off into space for a little while, thinking. All of what had just happened in the past hour had been such a rush, she didn’t really have time to think about it all. But she realized that she and the other wives really weren’t accustomed at all to life out here. They had always been bathed, fed, clothed. They had been taken care of. Out here, it was a dog-eat-dog world. Merciless. She hoped that the people who saved them would at least teach them the ways of survival. They seemed like the types to do that anyways. Or was that just wishful thinking? Either way, she was certain that her fellow wives were probably thinking about the exact same things. Probably in their own way, since Midnight had hit the hay for a few minutes, and Breeze was awkwardly shuffling on the bench trying to get in a more comfortable position. And Twilight was leaned up against the corner But no matter what happened, Violet would look out for them. No matter what. She let out a sigh before looking around. She didn’t like just sitting around and doing nothing for who knows how long. She’d really like to know how long this stop was going to be. So she got up from her seat and started to head outside, but a voice met her ears from behind. “Where are you going?” Twilight asked. Violet turned towards her. “Just going to see how long the wait is going to be.” She turned and climbed out of the flatbed. “I think I’ll join you.” Twilight got up from the bench and followed after Violet. Sweet Breeze watched them leave. She glanced at Midnight, who was fast asleep. Sunset slammed the car door shut, and lugged her pack over her shoulder. She had collected a plethora of nonessentials for them that would be essential for someone else. With that she headed off to join the crowd of Wastelanders moving in and out of the entrance to Bartertown. Most people heading in and out had some manner of raggedy clothing on them. Almost all carried a bag, or a pack in which they carried their tradables. There was a foul stench in the air. One that made it clear that a lot of the people surrounding Sunset hadn’t had a bath in a long time. It had been some time since she had last come here. They had come here every once in a while to trade whatever they had stolen that wasn’t valuable to get something more useful. Of course, with the shortage of other survivors they had actually come across, they didn’t really have a need to come here. The feeling she had from coming back here wasn’t exactly nostalgia. That implied that it felt good to remember. That wasn’t the case here. It was just… familiar. Nothing more. As she entered the shade of the entrance to Bartertown, she eyed a series of metal bars that were lined across the tunnel, which were placed there as a wall to bar unwanted entry into the twon, and at the center was gate being manned by a heavy set man who was letting people into Bartertown. Beside the entrance gate, was an exit gate that only swung one way. The entrance gate was sort of a way to make sure that all of those entering the town weren’t going to disturb the peace. As Sunset waited in line to enter, she glanced to the right at two men standing by the rocky wall of the tunnel. They wore bullet proof vest, camouflage pants, and were armed with assault rifles. The one on the right held an AK-74, the left held an AR-15. Their bald heads had paint covering them in interesting patterns, possibly as a way to tell who was who. Sunset didn’t know. Those men were part of the police force maintaining the peace in Bartertown. Sunset had only seen them in action once, and that had been during she and Thunder Bolt’s second trip here. They had been called upon to break up a fight between two traders, and when one had pulled a gun, they quickly shot him down. Sunset had to assume that most of them were ex-military, like Thunder. All of a sudden she was next to walk up to fat man. She came up to him, as he stood behind a small podium, and beside the podium was a tray that was attached to the side of the podium. He wore glasses that looked like they were going to fall of the edge of his nose. Another Bartertown guard stood behind the fat man. The man eyed Sunset for a moment before looking down at her bag. “State your intentions.” The fat man said plainly. “To trade.” Sunset replied, looking the man in the eye. The man nodded. “I assume your tradables are located in that bag?” “Yes.” She answered. Again the man nodded. “Place any weapons you have in this tray.” He pointed to the tray attached to the podium. Sunset complied, pulling out her Beretta M9 pistol and knife. She placed them in the tray. Immediately, the guard took the tray off the podium and walked over to the left side of the tunnel. He opened a chute built into the rock and dumped the gun and knife inside. To the upper right of the chute was a small window with a sign above it that said “WEAPONS RETRIEVAL”. Beside the window was a locked door that was barred from entry by two other guards. Immediately after the guard took the tray, the fat man looked at Sunset. “You may enter.” Sunset nodded, before a guard behind the gate opened it for her. Sunset walked by, nodding at the guard. All he returned was an intimidating stare. Sunset turned away and continued walking into Bartertown. Before she got inside, she could make out hints of chatter here and there. But as she exited the tunnel, and made her into the actual town, all of that changed. A cacophony of sound met her ears. People haggling, trades being made, live stock making their natural sounds. If one had gone inside for the first time, it was sure to be overwhelming. Fortunately for Sunset, this wasn’t the first time. She knew exactly where to go. Taking confident strides, she set off for the Guns n’ Ammo section of the town. Violet and Twilight stepped out of the rear of the transport, their bare feet making prints in the sand below. Violet being in front, walked alongside the truck until both she Twilight reached the cabin. Slash didn’t notice them, both his legs were hanging out the door. He was manipulating a wrench and screwdriver beneath the dashboard, making some kind adjustment or modification. Not knowing what else to do, Violet tugged on the cloth of the former warboys pants. He stopped working and looked at them with an annoyed look, as if he didn’t want to be bothered from his work. “Yeah?” He asked. Violet hesitated for a moment, noticing his disapproving look. But she answered anyway. “Is there anything we could be doing right now?” Slash went right back to working. “No.” He said monotonously. “If I were you, I’d get back into the transport right now. Sombra’s probably got his scouts out lookin’ for us. “But couldn’t we at least-” “No.” Slash replied a little louder to emphasize his point. Violet flared her nostrils, disappointed that she didn’t have anything useful to do. She and Twilight turned and walked back. “It does make sense. Sombra can’t be too happy about us escaping.” Twilight spoke up, as the two climbed into the flatbed. “It’s only for safety purposes.” Breeze glanced up at them as she lay on her side. “Yeah, I just wish I had something to do other than sit around.” Violet replied. “Then lie down, save your energy.” Midnight very suddenly suggested, her eyes still closed as she lay on the bench. “I guess that’s all we can really do.” Twilight accepted. She sat down on the same bench as Breeze, and leaned back until she was laid flat against the bench. Her feet were barely touching Breeze. Violet did the same, except she sat up against the wall the door to the cabin occupied. She propped her feet up on the bench, and tried to get some rest. A car rolled up to the right side of the entrance to Bartertown. It bore the markings of Immortan Sombra, and it had spikes and all sorts of nasty modifications made to it. It halted, allowing two warboys to jump out. One of the scouts turned back to the driver. “You keep the car runnin’ in case we don’t find anything. Every second of this search counts!” “You got it!” The driver obeyed, flashing a mock salute and a goofy grin. The warboy rolled his eyes. “Ugh, let’s go.” He ordered the other scout. And the two headed into entrance of the town. The driver leaned back, and started humming a tune as the engine grumbled, ready to do it’s job should the need arise. “There’s your water.” Sunset handed a half-filled bottle of water to the man whom she just received .44 magnum bullets from. She pocketed the ten rounds into her jacket pocket. Looking around at the booths that were trading for various types of weaponry and ammunition, she decided that she had gotten enough supplies to help with defense. She twisted and turned through the crowd, navigating the ever changing paths of the multitude of traders. And just when she reached the less crowded area in which the Thunderdome was located, a large dome shaped cage meant for holding fights, she laid her eyes on a sight that made her heart skip a beat. There, on the other side of the dome, were two warboys. It looked like they conversing with anyone who passed by. Holding out a piece of paper in their faces, it definitely looked like they were trying to find something… The wives. Taking in a long breath of air, and exhaling, she walked along the edge of the Thunderdome. She tried to take the way around the dome that wouldn’t make them come into her path, lest she risk that they recognize her. One of them, through the bars of the dome, made eye contact with her. She quickly looked away. She mentally kicked herself for looking at them for so long. She had to remain casual. Sunset kept walking until she was almost past the dome, then it would be a straight shot to the exit. “Hey!” Seemingly from nowhere, a hand grabbed Sunset’s shoulder and stopped her right then. She almost reverted to her instinct to draw her knife, but realized she had no weapons. Before she could turn around, the warboy who grabbed her shoulder walked around in front of Sunset. He held up a piece of paper in her face. “Have you seen these four women?” He asked urgently. The paper displayed four detailed drawings of the Immortans wives Sunset blinked, before realizing what he was saying. She sidestepped quickly and gave a rushed “No.” Picking up the pace on her walking, she headed back into the cave, this time to exit. She neared the exit gate, a lone guard standing by it. As she neared it, the guard opened it for her silently. As Sunset passed through, she gave the guard a nod as a ‘thank you’. The guard didn’t reply in the least bit. As fast as she could go without drawing attention, she went for the window in the rock wall to retrieve her weapons. She came to a stop in front of it. Inside was a older man wearing a hard scowl. Right behind him was a large stand on which several rifles were resting. Handguns were strewn about on the shelf just below the stand, and on the far right of the room was where the knives were kept in sheaths on another specially made shelf. “You picking up?” The scowling man asked in a gravely voice. “Yeah, I had a 9 millimeter Beretta, and a bayonet knife.” Sunset answered quickly. “Gimme a second.” The man headed off to get the knife first. Sunset waited anxiously, glancing through the bars of the make-shift wall at the warboys holding up the pictures. She really hoped nobody had seen the wives as they had gone in. Because if they did, Sunset and the others were in deep shit. “There you go, one Beretta and one bayonet.” The man placed the weapons firmly onto the stone counter before Sunset. Without hesitation, Sunset grabbed her weapons and hurried back to the others. “You need any help?” Thunder asked, walking up to Slash as he was still working on the dashboard of the transport. “No.” He replied monotonously, annoyed at the unwanted attention. Especially after he had just told Violet and Twilight he didn’t need any help. “Okay.” Thunder Bolt leaned up against the side of the transports cabin, right next to the door where Slash’s legs were still hanging out. He glanced at the former warboy in curiosity. “What are you working on?” “Uh…” Slash didn’t answer at first as he was finishing connecting two wires. “Gas pedal lock.” “A what-now?” Thunder looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “It locks the pedal in the accelerating position without the need for a foot. It’s handy if said driver gets caught in a squabble.” “Huh, cool.” Thunder relaxed against the side of the truck before he heard the sound of running footsteps. He looked to his right to see Sunset running towards them with a panicked look on her face. Immediately knowing something was wrong, he stopped leaning and walked towards her as she ran to him. “What’s wron-” He began but Sunset cut him off. “We have to leave NOW!” Sunset ordered before taking off for her Mustang. “What? Wait, what?” Thunder stammered. He ran after her and caught up with her as they came up to her car. “What do you-” “I saw Sombra’s scouts in Bartertown.” She stated as she threw all of what she had gotten into the passenger seat of the Mustang. Thunder immediately understood. “Oh shit.” He muttered to himself. He ran up to the rear of the transport where the wives were all (trying) to get some rest. “Listen up!” He shouted. His voice carried such urgency that he immediately gained the attention of all of the wives. “Sunset just spotted Sombra’s scouts in Bartown. We gotta go!” He then slammed the transport doors shut before they could say anything. Inside the transport, the women looked amongst themselves in confusion. “Uhh…” Midnight was first to speak. “Okay, I guess nap time is over.” Thunder then ran up the side of the transport where Slash was working and shook his legs. “What’re you-” He started, but Thunder shut him up. “We need to move. Sunset just ran into Sombra’s scouts in Bartertown.” As Thunder ran off to get his Charger started up, Slash took a second to process what was just said. But it only took a second, as he was already packing away his tools. Thunder made sure the M-60 and his Sako hunting rifle were stowed away in the trunk. He looked up at Sunset who was making sure she had her shotgun and pistol. “You good?” He asked hurriedly. It took Sunset a moment to respond, but she finally did. “Yeah, I have everything. Let’s get outta here.” She slid across the hood of her car and practically dove into the driver’s side. Thunder did the same. Sunset and Thunder made last minute checks to make sure everything was in place. Sunset looked up in time to see that Slash had already started the engine on the transport. The engine let out a mighty roar as it’s inner parts began to work together. Sunset did the same for her car, turning the key. As did Thunder. Now with all three vehicles ready to roll out, Sunset honked her horn as a way of saying she was going first. Since the vehicles were parked right outside the entrance to Bartertown, a few wanderers heading inside the stone entryway were startled by the sudden noise. But Sunset, Thunder, nor Slash cared. Their engines roared as they pulled away from the town towards the open desert. Sunset in the lead, Thunder second, and Slash’s transport last. The vehicles accelerated away. Leaving the town in the dust. Author's Note Well! That was certainly quick escape. This chapter is for the hardcore Mad Max fans who have seen the old movies as well as the new. Bartertown was interesting the write. I tried to put a creative spin on the town so it wasn't a direct copy from Beyond Thunderdome. Looks like Sunset and Twi will have some explaining to do with the whole alternate dimension deal. That was a pretty close call, good thing no one saw the wives before they went in. And that new pedal might come in handy in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading! I know this chapter took awhile, but just remember that I still have real life to take care of. Aim High, Thunder Bolt
