One Day in the Wasteland

Chapter 1: Morning

It was a day like any other. The sun was high, the Wasteland was still dangerous, and I was sleeping in a comfy bed before I was pulled out of the land of dreams by someone –or rather, somepony - sticking the alarm clock against my ear. Startled, I quickly opened my eyes, only to find myself staring at a smiling green unicorn.

I groaned, “Mecha? Why did you wake me up? It’s only…” I looked at the Littlepip on my arm, but all I saw was a green blur and some kind of alien language; my brain wasn’t running at full capacity.  This device was like some kind of computer wristband with a green screen, a few buttons and a small wheel; this was supposed to help Vault Dwellers survive outside. Yet thanks to my luck I was the owner of one, even though I’ve been born in Wasteland. “Well, I don’t know what time it is, but I want to sleep a bit more,” I replied as I buried my face in the pillow, but she quickly pulled it away with her magic before I could even close my eyes.

“Have you forgotten? You promised me that you would teach me how to use guns.”

A groan escaped my lips. “Me and my big mouth…” I mumbled as I left the bed. It was our first week since we left the Stable Vault and I didn't miss their rigid eight o'clock-sharp schedules, but Mecha was the kind of pony who followed the rules even in the Wasteland.

“At least I can eat breakfast before we start, right?”

“Of course. I prepared it an hour ago to save time.” The grin painted on her face showed how much she wanted to start. When we left the Stable Vault, I expected her to be sad and depressed after showing her how our new life would be, but she still managed to find some happiness.

We were in one of the abandoned buildings, named the Common House, in a settlement called Small Town, about two or three miles north-east from the ruins of Ponyville. The town was being inhabited by ponies and humans - something very weird and hard to find the Wasteland, since ponies and humans usually keep their distance. It was surrounded by a wall made of cars, debris, and rubble, and all the houses were fortified with barbed wire and sandbags.

"Breakfast?" I asked, taking a seat in the only other available chair. There was a creak, but I was not sure whether it was the chair that made it or the floor. The windows placed behind the sink showed some of the houses of Small Town and the medical clinic, but the thick layer of dust added a brownish tone to the landscape, making it even more depressive than it already was -if such thing was even possible.

“Well, we have two apples and sweet corn. Unfortunately, at this rate we’ll run out of food by tomorrow. What are we going to do?”

“The merchant will come in about three days or so. I guess that we’ll have to search for food.”

“Yeah, but before that we will have our first gun lesson. It’s gonna be so much fun!” The look in her eyes showed her excitement, but I was worried that using a gun would turn into a game for her, the sort of one where she’d get carried away…

I looked her in the eye. “Using weapons is not funny, Mecha. The only reason I’m giving you lessons is because I won’t be able to protect you all the time. I want to be sure that when I’m not around, you will be able to defend yourself. Got that?” Her smile slowly disappeared, being replaced with a frown.

She scratched one of her forelegs. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that; it’s just that I always liked your lessons, like the first time I managed to fix a toaster. It was easy, yes, but for me it was a great achievement.”

“I know, I know. I didn’t want to sound harsh, it’s just that I’m worried about you getting hurt, Mecha.”

Blinking in the dust, I stared across the table to Mecha as I had done for the past week. She was a pony that stood out easily, decked in a Stable Vault suit too big for her; the bright yellow lines of the suit combined with the blue fabric clashed horribly with her green coat and emerald eyes. Her gray mane was tied up in a ponytail, which I found more amusing than I should have. Because, you know, ponytail? Well, sorry for trying to have a sense of humor.

The food wasn’t exactly fresh, but it was still in a good shape. The apples didn’t look very good, but what it really mattered was the inside. It made me miss the food from the Stable Vault; red and juicy apples were a privilege in the Wasteland, unless you were lucky enough to find them hanging on a tree. The corn was still edible; not fresh, but it still maintained the flavor after all these years.

After our breakfast, I got the equipment and we headed to the backyard. It was a BB gun; It was ideal for training because it was relatively harmless, 6mm bb’s were cheaply available by the thousand, and it didn’t require that we burn any precious and irreplaceable cartridges. Before I handed Mecha the gun, I asked her, “Do you remember the four rules?” During this, I created a small target gallery of bottles and cans.

She nodded. “Guns are always loaded. Don’t point a gun at anything you are unwilling to destroy.  Don’t touch the trigger unless it is time to fire.”

“Good enough. Remember…”

We said the following words together. “Decry those who ignore these rules, for you will outlive them.”

I handed her the gun. She had calmed down now, but was still jittering a bit. I stood behind her, guiding her with my hands to bring her into a proper firing grip and stance.  I said softly into her ear, “I want you to knock three of these cans and bottles to check your aiming skills. Take your time and reload when you run out of ammo. If you don’t remember how many bullets you can shoot, you’re going to get screwed in a fight.”

She blushed and stuttered a bit. “All that just for firing a gun? I always thought it was a matter of aiming and pressing the trigger.” She lifted the BB Gun with her mouth as a bright jade light enveloped the lead pellets and placed them inside the gun, one after another, until it was fully loaded. I leaned in close, pressed up against her back. The magic flickered.

“Yeah, I thought the same as you the first time I used a real gun. I think it was a .44 magnum revolver; the recoil was so hard for me it jumped up and broke my nose. But before starting, I want you to know the best way to use a gun.” I corrected her stance and showed her the proper way of holding a weapon, as to avoid getting a black eye from the recoil if she got her hooves in a real gun. “Alright, now shoot three of your targets.”

A hum of magic throbbed as the gun was elevated to her eye level. Her left eye closed shut as she pulled the trigger; suddenly, one of the bottles shattered into thousands of little pieces that crashed against the ground. Once more, twice, three, ten times in total the shots rang out, painfully loud in the dead quiet of day. Three more times she hit, killing two bottles and a can which whined as it stomached the pellet; the others times were misses, the pellets disappearing into the Wasteland. “Was I good?” Mecha  asked.

“Um, yeah. Not bad. Just squeeze the trigger instead of jerking it. Your aim is fine, but you’re throwing yourself off when you suddenly yank it. Just put on more pressure until it breaks. Also, hold your breath while aiming.”

We continued for a couple more hours, running a series of standard practices - reloading, drawing, firing at different distances, firing while moving, using the S.V.A.T.S – Stable Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. A little bit of everything, nothing too intense.

After a drink, we left for the Medical center. We had an appointment there, though we weren't the ones that needing fixing - their wiring was. Along the way, a certain unicorn called Ice Pop, possibly Mecha's friend, rolled up to us. I say that she rolled, because she was in a wheelchair on account of there being something wrong with her legs, which were sheathed under layers and layers of tight bandages. Her blue coat and the flowing light blue mane complemented each other, and her purple eyes resembled two pieces of amethyst embedded in her face.

A pony like her would be an easy target in the Wasteland, since the ones with such a bright color were always the first ones to be spotted. Also, being handicapped was an obvious and grave disadvantage.  She was forced to use a wheelchair especially designed for ponies with both her rear legs were covered in bandages; I couldn’t help but feel sorry for what this poor mare must have gone through. From what Mecha told me, the talent of this pony was portrayed by a blue shield with a white diagonal line, possibly showing her desire to protect the town.

“Hey guys, how’s going?” She asked us in a cheerful tone. “You’re going to fix something, I suppose?”

“Yeah, we’re going to the medical center,” I replied. “The electrics have been giving them lot of trouble and they asked us to fix it. And how about you? Everything’s fine?”

“Yes, thanks to you I can listen to my favorite DJ. I still can’t believe that you managed to repair my radio. I usually replaced it with another one when it started to malfunction.”

Repairing radios was one of the easiest jobs of my life. So long as they didn’t rely on delicate transistors, you could very easily repair them with bits of wire and other detritus found anywhere. Our conversation dragged for a while before I called for a break. “I’m sorry to stop our conversation here,” I said, “but we have a job to do, and at this rate we won’t be able to fulfill everything I had planned for the afternoon.”

“Oh, you have plans for the afternoon?” Ice Pop sounded curious.

Mecha broke in, “I didn’t know we had anything else for the afternoon. So what’s going to be? Repairing a TV? Reinforcing the wall? Cleaning the toilets?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m going to take Mecha with me in search of food, and maybe we will have some time to hunt animals.” I looked at Mecha. “I want to see how you defend yourself against a moving target capable of fighting back.”

“Wait, what? You’re going to leave me alone against one of those things?” Her pupils suddenly turned into tiny dots as her voice started trembling.

Ice Pop asked, “I assume that she’s not in very good terms with mutated creatures?” Her response made it obvious.

“Oh no… I’m not going to get near one of those things! They’re too ugly, and all those sounds they make! And they run very fast! And I don’t want to be chased by them!” She wrapped her legs around my left leg like a lost kid. “Please, I’ll do anything! Just don’t make me stand near them!” She was cute when she was frightened.

I patted her head. “Do you think I like to wander near those things? I’m afraid of them, too, but I had to survive by any possible means. They’re disgusting and smell bad, but at least their meat is edible, even if it sometimes tastes like Ghoul meat.” Mecha started to look at me with a puzzled expression. “Not that I’ve ever tasted Ghoul meat; It’s just an expression.”

“But, but…” Words were failing her, and I could feel that she would be too scared to try and follow me into the Wasteland for our hunting training. I kneeled to face her on the same eye level and hugged her tightly.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself. “Look, I know that you’re afraid, but you will have to face your fears one day. If you keep running from them, they will catch up with you one day and I won’t be there to help you.” I let go and looked her in the eye. “Mecha, do you trust me?”

“I…” She struggled to find an answer. “Yes, Adrian, I trust you! But don’t leave me alone with one of those things around, or I will kill you, alright?”

“I promise you, Mecha. And I never break my promises.”

After that, we moved on. We observed the rest of the villagers working together in harmony except Dusty, the human watchman of Small Town, who was in his post reading comic books. His post consisted of an old metallic chair near the wooden bridge leading to the town, armed with a hunting rifle and body armor. Instead of doing his job and watching out for possible attackers, he would usually fall asleep in his post or leave without any warning. I always imagined that the only reason he got this job was to act as the town’s scapegoat. Whatever the case, he was there today, quickly hiding his comic book when he noticed our presence; not that anybody ever fell for the act. I wanted to get as soon as possible to the medical center instead of losing my time telling him to do his work.

The medical center was like any other house in Small Town. There was a small sign in the door with the words “Red’s medical center” written in big letters, possibly with some ancient, flaking spray paint. The cracked, decrepit windows were held together with duct tape. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Hooves clopped against the wooden floor inside, which creaking under their weight as their got closer to the door. The door was opened, and we were greeted by Red Cross, the owner of the medical center, and the only doctor in the town. Even though she was only as tall as my waist, her coat, blood-colored, caught my attention quickly. Tired eyes stared at me; hovering above them was a cropped pink mane. She was dressed in a threadbare white lab coat, and from what the others told us, her cutie mark underneath was an empty syringe.

“Hello, guys,” she greeted us. I presume you’re here to fix my electrical installation?“

I replied, “Eeyup. Could we see trouble?”

“Yes. Please, enter. I’ll show you the room where I have the worst problems.”

The hallway contained four doors, two in each side and a last one headed straight to the kitchen, with a fridge visibly standing at the other side of the door frame. The other rooms were probably her room and the living room, although I didn’t pay too much attention to them We at long last reached our final destination at the last room to the right, which had been turned into an O.R., which was very clean – possible the cleanest room I’d ever seen. I couldn’t help but imagine Red cleaning for hours after every operation and keeping everything tidy. A medical gurney and a dropper stood in one corner along with a white curtain and a shelf full of medical supplies. I hit the light switch, but the lamp flickered feebly a few times before quitting.

“I presume that the problem goes beyond a simple bulb change, right?” Mecha asked.

“Yeah, unfortunately it doesn’t affect only the lamp,“ Red replied as she pointed some of the machines she owed. “The fridge works at random times and most of my food has spoiled, and I haven’t been able to using my medical tools like the drill or the defibrillator.”

“Before we start, I would like to know what we’re dealing with. Do you use a generator or a solar panel to provide electricity for you?” I asked, placing my hands inside my pockets as I waited for her reply.

Red looked to the ground, pressing a hoof against her chin as she tried to remember. “Well, I used a generator not too long ago, but when it broke down, I changed to a solar panel that I found in the scrap yard located in the outskirts of Ponyville.”

“Then it’s a wonder this thing managed to last this long without causing problems,” I replied.

Mecha interrupted. “Where’d you put it?”

“I installed it in the roof. Just wait me at the front door; I’ll get you a ladder to reach it.” In about five minutes, we found ourselves on her roof, examining the old, decayed solar panel. Many of the cells were either damaged or missing.  The panel wasn’t even installed properly! Instead of being set in the roof, it was literally taped onto the sheet metal. Peeled cables and lots of duct tape barely managed to keep everything together.

“Well, at least we know what the problem is.” I turned my head back to Mecha, who couldn’t hide her enthusiasm.

“I can’t wait to repair this; I never worked on a solar panel connection before!” she replied, breaking her gaze at the panel to look at me. After a few moments passed, she prodded me. "What do you think?”

“It sounds like a good plan, but I’m a bit worried that the combined weight of the chairs. The chains and the panel could bring the roof down. Aside from the obvious problem that so much metal in one place could probably work as a lightning rod.” I examined our surroundings, glancing at the roofs of the neighboring buildings before looking down at the metal wire that surrounded the medical center. “We should move everything down and place it as close as we can to the medical center. Most people think that the higher the panel the more energy they can receive, but the truth is that as long as the sun keeps shining, it will keep producing electricity. And we should get a backup generator for emergencies.

“Alright, then. What do I need to do?” Mecha inquired passionately.

“Well, as for now I want you to stay up here while I talk with Red. If she agrees, then I’ll use your help to get down the solar panel as your telekinetic powers can be very useful with this task.”

“Sir, yes sir!” She saluted.

I slipped down the ladder, landing hard on the ground below. Red Cross walked towards me. “So, do you see it? Did you find the problem?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing new. The panel is very old and damaged, but it can be fixed. Besides, the cabling was done very badly and you could have been electrocuted during the installation.”

“So that’s all? Well, at least it’s cheaper than asking you to replace everything,” she replied, letting out a sigh of relief. “How long do you think this will take?”

I thought carefully about this. “Well, fixing the panel shouldn’t take too much time as long as we don’t need to replace any of the cells. It will be very cheap, so you don’t have to worry about the payment.” Usually, a job like this would be very expensive, but since Red Cross didn’t have too much money, I proposed a more economical alternative. “A backup generator would be of great help, but those are very expensive.”

“So, what do you recommend?” Red replied raising an eyebrow.

“I can get you one from the scrap yard and fix it for you. It will last longer and cost you fewer caps.”

She nodded her head. “Alright then. All I ask is that you can finish the job as soon as possible.  I’m worried that being closed will put my patients at risk.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be done before you know it.”

“Yeah, we’re going to be like ninjas.” Mecha replied from the roof, sticking her head over the edge. “And nobody will see us move because ninjas always hide in the darkness.”

“Well, you can start by bringing the solar panel and then getting off of the roof, miss ninja who moves in the darkness.”

The solar panel was soon enveloped in a green light as it slowly descended to the ground. I waited for Mecha to bring the tools she kept inside her saddlebags. Fortunately it was mostly intact and we only had to repair the broken cells. The process took us a few hours and lots of replacements, but we managed to find substitutes. We got some new cables and installed one end on the solar panel, hooking the other one up the medical center’s wiring. Our last problem was selecting a good place for the panel, as it would need constant exposure to of the sunlight. The best solution we came up with was to place it on a raised stand in the backyard of the medical center, where it would be under the constant care and protection of Red Cross.

“This should stop giving you any more problems, Red. If anything else comes up, you know who to call.”

Red Cross beamed. “Thanks, I owe you a big one. I thought that I would have to close the building because of this stupid problem. If you ever need any medical help, my clinic is always open for, and of course, it won’t cost you a single cap.”

I smiled back at her. “Thanks for the offer. We’ll drop by from time to time to check for any future problems.” We headed back into the Wasteland in search of food and some mutated creatures that could be used as targets to train Mecha’s skills with weapons. But first, we stocked up the varmint rifle, a 9x19mm handgun, and enough ammo to kill an entire nest of radigators.

As we crossed the bridge, the only sounds that followed us were Dusty’s snores and the wind dragging the sand of the desert as it erased our footsteps behind our backs. Fractured black veins spread through the landscape, crawling into the horizon with the wind whispering into my mind. From our position we could see the grey skeleton of what once had been a prosperous town called Ponyville, now joining countless of crumbled cities all over the Wasteland.

“Look over there!” Mecha exclaimed, pointing towards a group that advanced quickly towards us.

Reputation unlocked

Small Town: Liked

Thanks to your efforts, the community is starting to like you.  You’re now allowed to heal your wounds for free in the Medical center of Small Town once a day.