This fanfiction is based on Fallout Equestria by Kkat;

You can read Fallout Equestria by Kkat onEquestria Daily

Scavenge

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”

Smoke drifted lazily through the ruined room. What once could have been a fillies bedroom had now been turned, by centuries of neglect and at least one brief violent firefight, into a dark and ruined tomb.

A carapace covered snout sniffed at one of the victims of a very recent raid laying in a pool of his own blood. Bullet wounds were still bleeding and his chest rattled with every breath. The pony’s green eye twitched slightly and widened in fear at the sight of the insect like visage standing over it. The dying pegasus only had time for a quick squeak as a fanged mouth opened wide, and with a crunch of splintering spinal bone, snapped shut.

A changeling chewed, swallowed, and lowered its head again to feed.

After nosing around the debris of the battle and finding nothing of use, the changeling searched the wrecked room, turning over larger bits of debris, but found nothing worth taking. The changeling didn't usually find much, but the corpses did provide some sustenance to keep it alive. Belly filled with fresh meat, the changeling left through a hole blasted in the wall.

Once outside, the changeling looked carefully in all directions, paying great attention to any debris or brush large enough to conceal a pony. Satisfied with its safety, it made its way to a carriage sized rock, under which it had hidden its belongings. Wiping off the gore of its recent meal, the changeling put on a tan shirt, making sure that none of its carapace caught or tore the fabric. Being able to use telekinesis would have been preferable, but it did not have the energy to use it, nor had it had the chance to get any emotional energy to fuel its magic for longer than it cared to admit. That also meant that it was stuck in its natural form. It smoothed the old and strange unit patches of a deep blue crescent under an equally blue star. Replacing its saddle bags and snugging the straps securely, the changeling ghosted silently to the next bit of cover, and from there to the next.

This is a true story. I know because I was there. Well, I was there for part of it, so I don't know everything that happened. I managed to piece together the parts I missed out on by talking to the others, and, I must admit, some educated guesswork. So forgive an old pony if somethings I share are not... perfectly true.

Laughter erupted from an old bomb crater. Around a roaring bonfire several raiders were drinking heavily.

“Hey Darlin’, don’t you worry none!”, a rust red stallion turned a drunken, leering face towards a pale blue unicorn mare, trussed up beside the dissected body of an earth pony stallion . Lifting one of the legs of the bloodied corpse, he flexed it where no joint should be. “We all gonna have fun wif you like we did yer boyfriend.”

A smaller lime green mare purred into the stallions ear “Mmmm you do love to have fun with them dontcha, and you know what that does to me!”

The other raiders laughed crudely, while vying to drink the most of their vile brew. More comments flowed between the raider ponies about how they would enjoy the captured unicorn, becoming more and more violent and crass.

The tied up blue mare could only whimper, her muzzle bound by ropes as tightly as her legs, and her horn clamped by a magic inhibitor.

“Hey! Catch!” A leather clad grey stallion threw a bright red, apple shaped grenade to his friends.

“You crazy bastard!”, laughed a drunken magenta earth pony as she caught it in her teeth. With a flick of her head she tossed it to another pony. Laughter filled the camp as they played catch, using their mouths and magic to keep the explosive in the air. Unnoticed, a small brown stem fell from the grenade.

“Hey! I gotta idea!” the green unicorn mare held the grenade in her front hooves as she turned with an evil sneer to their bound captive, “Once we finish playing with ‘er why don't we stick this up her-”

After the explosion there was only silence.

JACKPOT! Faintly glowing blue eyes peeked over the wall of the crater at the mess. Whatever happened here left plenty of pickings, both food and supplies. The changeling made it’s way down the crater wall avoiding the limbs and parts of the ponies that had suffered violent and terminal explosive dismemberment.

No emotion showed on its dark face as it saw bags full of various food and equipment, however a small part of its mind was very pleased. Never in its time in the badlands had it seen such a haul! Now to sort through this bounty and work out what to carry and what to leave behind.

The changeling scraped a patch of earth clear of blood soaked soil and debris. Then it opened the various saddlebags and tipped them out into the cleared spot. A handgun and some bullets that might fit inside it, a few magazines for a rifle (now where would the weapon itself be?), some food and a couple canteens of water.

The changeling’s eyes widened slightly at what it found under one of the bags. Two unopened bottles of Sparkle Cola! The changeling licked its lips at a dim memory of that one time, so long ago, when it had found some in the bottom of a thrown out bottle. It was definitely going to be keeping them. Some red, apple like things that exploded when the changeling had seen them thrown.

Ok, they might be useful. And then some bottle caps. Why were they carrying around bottle caps? Shrugging, the changeling started putting some of the haul into its own bags.

Then it turned its attention to the corpses. Whatever happened to them, it was fast and gruesome. Moving forward, the changeling suddenly felt a squelchy sensation. Grimacing in disgust the bug-like pony saw that it had stepped in some poor pony’s intestines that were strewn on the ground. Oh well, as long as it didn’t get any in its holes.

The changeling’s search of the bodies led it to a pony that seemed to be in one piece. It looked hopefully at the intact blue unicorn, wondering if it had anything useful on it besides the ropes restraining her legs. The changeling knew it would be easier to search if it could move the body around so it hooked a sabre fang into a knot and started to untie the ropes. After some time, it finally had two ropes coiled beside itself, and an unmoving unicorn before it. Sitting back down it pondered over the weird metal thing wrapped around one of the unicorn’s front legs. It leaned foward to take a closer look at it.

There was a sudden blur of blue and a blast of pain, and the ground seemed to rise up to meet the changeling. It looked up from where it lay, dazed, rubbing a very sore jaw and catching a hoof notch on a newly broken sabre fang.

The changeling heard a scrabbling sound beside it, and turned its head to see what was happening. Its eyes found a very scared and very alive pale blue unicorn holding the handgun in her mouth pointing its shaking barrel right at the head of the changeling.

“whrff arrff youfff?”

The changeling lay still as the pony tried to speak with the sidearm in her mouth

“Ive shaif, whrff arrff youff?”

The changeling remained lying there, watching the waving barrel.

The blue unicorn grunted, and used its front hooves to try to remove the techno-magical inhibitor clamp from its horn. The changeling watched as the unicorn’s hooves slipped time and again over the device. The changeling opened its mouth and spat. A wad of green goop flew out and splattered against the inhibitor. The mare gasped and the gun fell to the ground.

There was a loud bang as the weapon went off, the bullet lodging itself into the carapace of the changeling’s belly, who squealed shrilly. The inhibitor sparked as the green goop short-circuited its spell blocking wards, then clicked open and fell from the unicorn’s horn.

Neither of the two moved. They just watched each other. Blood started to flow from the thin, cracked carapace on the changeling’s belly, and a light blue glow surrounded the unicorn’s horn as she tentatively regained the gun, keeping it pointed at the changeling.

“I said,” repeated the mare “What are you?”

The changeling only whimpered slightly, the bullet wound stinging.

The mare’s eye looked over the black figure laying in the dirt before her, her training and experience leading her to assess the changeling’s threat, and also its well-being.
As her gaze ran down the changeling, she let out an audible sigh as she noticed where her misfired bullet had hit the changeling. Still not fully trusting the creature before her, she laid her weapon down within easy reach and prepared to treat the wound. “Um -- sorry,” she muttered as she dug around trying to find a rag. Then with her magic she started applying pressure to where the blood oozed out of the shell. “I don’t often shoot ponies... or whatever you are,” she sniffed as the changeling lifted its head to keep a wary eye on her, “and you probably don’t understand a word I’m saying.”

The changeling grunted softly as the unicorn poured some water from a canteen on the wound washing away the blood and dirt. A blue aura of magic surrounded the bullet still lodged in the chitin. “This might hurt a little,” she said in a reassuring voice. As far as the changeling was concerned, that was totally relative. As the unicorn removed the projectile the changeling gave a high pitched squeal.

After the unicorn’s ears stopped ringing, she looked at the changeling’s wound and dabbed at the new blood coming from the hole. She continued speaking in a quiet voice. “Really I guess I shouldn’t have hit you, and I, uh,“ she sighed, “sorry for getting you shot too. You did untie me... and you did get rid of the magic inhibitor.” She paused, then looked sideways at her patient “ I guess that makes you a hero, or something.” Her voice betrayed grudging gratitude. Silence returned again as the changeling turned its head away.

After a few minutes of silence, a buzzing feminine voice came from the lips of the changeling

“We are Hero?”

Some distance from the crater, two purple eyes gleamed as they watched the changeling and the pony. With flash of light, the eyes vanished.

Author's Note

I am not sure what you are supposed to write in these things? Fezes are cool, I wear a bow tie at lodge, and I have a sticky hand toy stuck to my computer desk. Oh and I am hoping I get the perks thing done ok

EDIT: New Editor Reupload! with pretties!