Prologue
The Equestrian Wasteland is not easy on anypony, but it is harder on some. The desperation that comes from wandering aimlessly changes you. It makes some lose their mind and become monsters. It makes others into selfish beings who will do anything to protect themselves. It causes others to lose all feeling, unable to even bring themselves to get out of bed in the morning. A few, very few, see the horrors of the world and try to change it. This will not be a story of them.
The Wasteland is the only place for a pony like me. I have nowhere else to belong to. I know this world, and I respect it. Far too often I see ponies do the wrong thing and end up paying for it with their lives. I do not help them; they wouldn’t take my help even if I tried. Just as nopony belongs in the Equestrian Wasteland I belong with nopony else. So this is where I am at home. Among the death and desperation that this barren world holds. This is the story of an outcast.
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Fallout Equestia: Outcast
Prologue
"I forgot how fucked up everything was out here."
The clang of hoof on metal. It rang through the night air. I was as still as the night looking down the barrel of my rifle. I could see them, but they had no chance of seeing me. I wondered if this is how Celestia feels looking down on everypony from the heavens. The ringing had been going on for over an hour, and I had been sitting here still for nearly as long. Patience is one of the most important things that the Wasteland takes from the ponies in it. Some love when their sanity is stripped from them. They no longer have to think, and can do whatever they want. It was these monsters that my rifle was now trained on.
Forty minutes is how long I had been sitting braced against this rock. I had no difficulty seeing the raiders in the abandoned store in front of me. The nighttime is the safest time in the Equestrian Wasteland. At least for a black coated pony like myself. There were four of them inside, and my clip held six. Two more than I need.
One was standing guard outside smoking a cigarette giving me a very easy target. A brown earth pony with a darker brown mane. He had dried blood on the side of his face, and his eyes are wide and bloodshot. I inhaled and lined up the shot; the first one is always the most important. I let out my breath slowly, and aimed for the dead center of his chest. I slowly pulled the trigger of my rifle, and the pony in my scope fell wetly to the ground. The others inside hear the retort of my weapon and rush outside.
This is expected of the untrained raiders. They are little more than animals, and do not think before they act. A yellow unicorn mare was the first to make it outside, and in her magical grasp she held a pistol. I was over a hundred yards away, and the weapon had no hope of harming me. She looked down at her fallen ally, and I saw fear cross her face. I breathed in filling my lungs with much needed oxygen before exhaling again as I lined up my shot.
The yellow mare tried to dash back inside the store for cover, but it was already too late. Her shoulder exploded, and she fell over dead. I heard the other two stallions inside begin to yell to each other. I did not know what they were saying, but it mattered very little. I trained my rifle on the doorway and waited for another pony to step from the store, and search for me. I waited there for another ten minutes before deciding that they were not dumb enough to come out of their hiding place.
I allowed my rifle to rest against the rock it was braced on as I got up. If they would not come outside then I have no choice but to go in. The night was quiet now and there was no longer the sound of somepony striking metal. I looked to my bag that was lying on the ground next to me. It wasn’t much of a saddlebag, and didn't really hold much. I prefer to travel light; being loaded down with belongings asks for thieves to slit your throat in your sleep. That is what my mother had always told me.
I bent down and retrieved my knife from the bag. The blade is seven inches of serrated steel with a vicious hook at the end. I usually had very little opposition when sompony sees me brandishing this. An all black pony with white stripes around his legs holding this wicked looking utensil can usually intimidate others into submission. Raiders were a different story altogether. I attached the blade scabbard to my leg and pulled the knife from the holder.
I had made my sniping post at the bottom of the cliff facing the store that was being looted. This was the best vantage point, but now presented a problem. If the raiders were waiting for me to move I would be completely exposed as I approached the store. I would have to take the long way around. Patience is a virtue in the Equestrian Wasteland.
I slowly and quietly made my way from my post and hugged the cliff face as I attempted to go around to the back of the store. I was able to move for a few dozen meters before I reached the end of the rocks. By this time I was well away from the store and surrounded in complete darkness.
It didn’t take long to move around to the back of the store. I hugged the wall moving quickly but silently towards the back entrance. The door at the back had been beaten open recently; no doubt this was the doing of one of the raiders inside. I approached the opening and listened for the sounds of movement within. I could hear a hushed conversation between the two remaining opponents.
“Who is out there?” said one.
“Does it matter? I am going to kill them for what they did to Sunshine.” replied the other.
“Why did they just start shooting at us out of no where? We are gonna die.”
“This ain’t Fillydelphia, ponies start shooting and killing each other all the time. And no, we ain’t gonna die. I am gonna catch whoever did this and kill them slowly.”
I lifted the blade of my knife to the entryway so that I could see inside with the dim reflection on its metal surface. There was a yellow unicorn levitating a shotgun next to him, and a green earth pony who held a hammer in his teeth. The one with the hammer looked scared while the unicorn was seething. He was probably related to the mare I had killed in the doorway.
Both of them were crouching behind a counter so that they could not be seen from the window. Their backs weren’t to me but they also weren’t directly facing me either. I could not make my way inside without alerting them, and being blown to bits by the one with the shotgun. I picked up a rock that was lying on the ground next to me and chucked it over the one story building. It landed on the other side of the store with a soft thud garnering the notice of the two ponies inside. The unicorn rose up from behind the counter and leveled the shotgun at the doorway expecting me to burst inside. The green pony closed his eyes and crouched down lower beneath the counter.
They didn’t hear me as I made my way into the room, and crept up behind them. The green raider opened his eyes as I stepped behind the yellow stallion. He tried to warn his comrade, but it is too late. With a graceful flick of my knife the unicorn’s jugular was severed and he fell to the floor clutching his neck, the shotgun landing on the floor next to him. The green pony looked up to my face with terror in his eyes. He dropped his hammer and curled into a ball that began to shake.
“Please don’t hurt me! I don’t want to die! Please!” he cried, as tears began to stream down his face.
I hate it when I find myself in this situation, looking down on a defenseless murderer begging for his life. I know that he was probably forced into this life against either his better judgment or against his will. The Equestrian Wasteland does not allow the weak much rest. This green pony was certainly that, weak. I sighed and placed my knife back into its scabbard.
When I looked around the store I saw that there wasn’t much inside. There was a door behind the counter that one of the raiders had been trying to beat in with their hooves. Probably the sniveling creature that now stood at my mercy. My mother would beat me if she saw me showing mercy to an enemy. I was never able to be as heartless as her.
I turned from the crying pony and began to look around the shop. The raiders were what held most of the valuables. I began to sift through the body of the mare I had brought down at the doorway. She had a few medical supplies on her but not much else. The pistol she had been carrying looked to be in good condition so I decided to take that as well. I brought no bags with me when I entered the shop so I also relieved her of her saddlebags.
That is when I heard a click from behind me. I slowly turned to see the green pony who was crying on the ground a moment ago brandishing the shotgun, and pointing it at my face.
“You killed them all. Why would you do that?” he asked. I could still see where the fur is damp under his eyes from his tears.
I did not give him an answer. Ponies in this situation are never looking for an answer; they just want to vent their rage. His breath was heavy and rapid, and the gun was shaking in his mouth.
“Why don’t you answer me? Huh half-breed. Why did you decide to kill my friends?” he asked again.
Being called a half-breed is one thing that I will not allow of anypony. Any reservations that I had felt earlier about killing this pony in front of me vanished with his last statement. We continued to stare at each other for a long while, and I could see that the weight of the gun was beginning to wear on him. His shaking became more and more exaggerated and he strained against the weight trying to keep the gun level. His breath became more even as he began to calm down.
“You know I’m…” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as I bucked him in the chin, causing several of his teeth to shatter against the weapon.
The shotgun fell to the floor and discharged its shell into the dead mare near me splattering the wall with more gore. I had already made my way to the green pony who was desperately trying to back away. He was trying to communicate with me as blood began to pour from his mouth.
“Preez dnt krill.” I cut him off with another kick to the side of his head causing him to slam into the wall at the back of the shop.
The green pony fell to the floor in a heap, and stopped moving. I was however, not going to be stopped anymore. I stood over the unconscious form of the raider. How could I have been so foalish as to show mercy to a monster such as this? The Equestrian Wasteland is not a place for mercy. One must never show their back to their enemy, and I had done exactly that.
I placed a hoof on the green pony's skull and slowly pushed my weight onto it. It wasn’t long before I heard the snapping of bone, and felt his head give way. His breathing ceased and I was once again alone in the silence of the night. I had completed the task at hand, and now returned to scavenging the goods in the shop. The green pony had nothing on him so I walked to the saddlebag I had picked up earlier.
I continued to loot the other dead raiders that laid in the shop, and found they had almost nothing on them. The two guns that they had used were by far the most valuable things they were carrying, and I placed them both in my newly acquired saddlebags. I decided that I should try my hoof at breaking down the door. The earth pony that tried was an imbecile and tried to break the door down near the hinges.
I retrieved my blade from its holster and slid it into the door hinge. It is odd that the door was facing outward, but it is also lucky. I strained against the rusted hinge for a moment before I felt the bolt give and fall to the floor. I raised myself up onto my back hooves and did the same with the hinge at the top. Once the side of the door was loose I turned and bucked it as hard as I could. The still locked side of the doorway splintered as the other side swung inwards.
The door then fell to the floor inside the room. It was completely barren inside aside from the degraded skeleton of a pony long since past. The door was designed to keep sompony in, not keep others out. What exactly was this place used for I wondered as I turned, and headed back to the exit. As I was about to leave I heard a small whimper come from the side of the shop. I had been hoping to avoid a situation like this.
I made my way back to the origin of the sound, and found curled on the ground in the corner of the store, under a box, a small foal. He was teal with an electric green mane that was ragged and in need of a wash. His mane also had a white stripe running through it like the ones I had in my own mane. He had a long scar running the length of his body, but could not have been more than seven years old. The Wasteland is a hard place, and hardest on children. I despise the weak, but a foal is not weak due to lack of character. They are weak because of age, and nothing else.
“Are you the one who killed my sister?” he asked while trying to move away from me.
“Yes,” I answered him flatly.
“Why would you do that?” he asked clearly frightened at this point.
“I did it because she was an evil pony,” I replied.
“She wasn’t nice, but she was still my sister,” he yelled back.
“Then you will no doubt want revenge won't you?” I asked causing him to shrink away from me once again. “Tell me what is your name?”
“My name is Berry Blitz,” he replied in an almost whisper.
“Blitz you deserve to seek revenge. I will not stop you from trying, but when you do try you had better be ready. I will kill anypony trying to take my life,” I said causing him to look at me in horror. “Now get up and come with me,” I commanded turning to leave.
The foal complied by rising to his hooves and slowly walked behind me. I would not abandon a child in the middle of the Wasteland, but I was not one able to care for a child either. I have lived for a long time among the wilds and I know their dangers. The young do not stand a chance out here on their own. Since no one else was here to care for the child I would have to do so. For the time being.
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We sat around the fire I had made. It wasn’t a big fire, and you should never have a big fire at night. A large fire shows everypony around where you are. It also attracts animals that you would be better off not having near. There are many rules that need to be followed to survive out here.
I was sifting through my winnings from earlier that night. I had managed to scavenge some canned food as well. I opened that can with my knife and began to eat the carrots inside. At least what had once been carrots.
Blitz sat on the other side of the fire staring at me. He hadn’t moved since I had decided to make camp. I could not blame the kid; I had viciously murdered his sister after all. Even so it was unsettling to be looked at with such hatred by one so young. I knew that his hatred would one day temper him into a strong stallion, but right now it just felt awkward.
“Here,” I said rolling him a can of carrots.
Blitz looked down at it in confusion. He seemed unsure of what exactly I was offering him. Had this child not been given food before? If so then his state was truly pitiful. He didn’t seem to be malnourished but wasn’t as thick as one his age should be.
“You are giving me this mister?” he asked prodding the can with a hoof.
“Yea now hurry and eat it,” I replied turning back my meal.
“But I cant open it,” he stated.
“You are a unicorn aren’t you?” I said motioning to the horn on his head. “Open it with magic.”
“I can't,” he replied.
“Then I guess you aren’t going to eat tonight.”
Blitz looked down at the can and scrunched his face. A small yellow glow came from his horn and began to envelope the can. The can shook a little bit but remained perfectly intact. After a few moments the yellow glow disappeared and Blitz fell down completely drained. He looked back up to me pleading.
“Please, I cant open it,” he said while gasping for air.
“Why cant you?” I asked.
“I am not that good at magic,” he replied.
“Then get better,” I shot back.
“But I cant just…”
“If you cant open a can how are you going to survive at all out here?” I said motioning to the desert around me. “You have to rely on yourself Blitz you can’t just expect others to help you out of the goodness of their heart. You have no one left, and have to take care of yourself now. I am not going to coddle a foal who can’t even open a can of carrots,” I said turning around and settling down to sleep.
“Mister?” I head a voice ask from behind me.
“Name is Xerath” I replied not bothering to look behind me.
“Mister Xerath, why did Greeny call you a half-breed?” he asked.
I hate this question immensely, and I have been asked it several times over the years. Most ponies do not like sompony like me, and prefer to stay away from me or show outright aggression. It is just another one of the laws of the Wasteland that outsiders should be shunned. Unfortunately, I was an outsider everywhere.
“He was referring to the fact that I am half zebra and half pony.” I stated flatly.
“You are half zebra!” he said shocked at the revelation.
“Yea my dad was an earth pony and my mom was a zebra. Never call me a half-breed. You saw what happened to Greeny back there,” I threatened. I do not exactly like threatening children, but this was a very sore subject for me.
“I won't Mister Xerath I promise, but why are you helping me out?” he asked. This kid was incredibly curious for somepony who had just lost his family.
“I am not a heartless monster kid. I wasn’t going to leave some defenseless child to die out here in the desert, but I am not going to go out of my way to help you either. You have to do what I said earlier, and rely on yourself,” I answered.
With that I relaxed a bit more and began to drift towards half sleep. You need to learn while living out here how to sleep and be awake at the same time. My mother once taught me how to do this. I would have been dead many times over if I hadn’t been able to fend off an attacker at a second’s notice.
After about an hour I heard motion behind me. Blitz made his way next to me and slowly grabbed something from one of my bags. I heard the sound of my knife being pulled out of its pouch. I braced myself ready to fend off an attack from the child, but instead heard him walk back over to where he had been sitting.
A moment later I heard the can of carrots being opened with the knife. It took him awhile to get the can open, but eventually I heard him snacking on its contents. I smiled to myself, and thought to myself that maybe there was something to this kid.
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It was midday when I woke up, and looked around the camp. The kid was nowhere to be seen, and I assumed that he had run off some time during the night. At least it didn’t seem like he had stolen anything, which was a very wise move on his part. I began to pack up camp so that I could leave soon.
I had everything situated in my saddlebags when I heard hoof steps behind me. I grabbed the pistol that I had procured the night before, and turned to face the intruder. It was a small colt with a scar running along his side, Blitz. I lowered the gun back into my saddlebags and continued to pack up. Blitz just stood there looking at me, terrified.
“You shouldn’t run up behind ponies like that kid,” I said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” he replied causing me to laugh.
“You didn’t scare me kid. If you had gotten up behind me without making a noise, that would have scared me. If you want to come up behind somepony make sure that they don’t hear you. Most ponies out here don’t have the sense to look before they shoot,” I informed him.
“I will make sure to remember that,” he said moving towards me.
“Here,” I said tossing the saddlebags I had taken last night onto him. “Carry this.”
“These are my sister’s saddlebags,” he stated his head dropping. Shit, I had forgotten whom I got those from.
“Well now you are carrying them. Come on we have a long ways to go,” I said trying to ignore him and headed off to the north.
We walked in silence for several hours. He didn’t complain much about having to carry so much stuff, which I found as a relief. Complaining children were just one of the things that all adults seemed to hate, and I was no exception. It was strange that he was having such a seemingly easy time carrying all the equipment in the saddlebags.
I looked back behind me at Blitz, and saw that he was sweating profusely. He had remained silent for the past couple of hours so I just naturally assumed that he wasn’t struggling. I should have known better than to make a child carry much weight. Blitz saw that I had stopped and looked up at me.
“Don’t worry I can carry it,” he said.
“No I don’t think you can,” I replied.
“I can,” he seemed to be straining to pull in breath.
“Either way I think we should take a break for a while,” I said dropping my bag on the ground.
Blitz took the queue and promptly collapsed on the ground. This kid was strange to be sure, but seemed hard working. I could always use a hard working companion. No, I couldn't have a kid following me around it is just too dangerous. I looked over to see him digging around in the saddlebag he had been carrying and pull out a canteen. He unplugged the cap of the canteen and began to drink from it, spilling water as he gulped quickly. I quickly made my way over to the kid and snatched the canteen out of his grasp.
“We do not waste water,” I scolded. “Out here we don’t know how long we have until we can fill up again. If you are thirsty you drink slowly until your thirst is quenched. Drinking quickly causes you to spill all over the place, and waste water by drinking more than you need.” I tossed back a swig from the canteen and corked it.
“I’m sorry, Mister Xerath,” he apologized.
“And another thing, stop calling me mister. I am only twenty I don’t like being referred to as mister,” I admonished.
“Um, okay,” he replied.
I made my way back to the saddlebag I had dropped on the ground. The sky was beginning to darken as night fell upon us. I once heard that there was a giant light in the sky that made the day bright, but I don’t believe in old mare tales. All that was in the sky when you looked up was the clouds. I sat down and pulled my rifle from my back. It was almost as long as I was, and was adorned with an exceptional scope. The rifle wasn’t in the best condition, but it had helped keep me alive for a long time now.
I began to disassemble the weapon to better inspect it. The trigger spring seemed to be close to breaking down and would need to be replaced soon. Luckily I had procured a pistol that I had little use for. I retrieved the pistol from my saddlebag and began to replace the broken components of my rifle.
“So Blitz where are you from?” I asked not looking up from my work.
“My sis and I came from Fillydelphia. I don’t really remember a lot about it, but sis said that it wasn’t a very nice place. We kinda walked around for a while before she met Short Fuse, and we hooked up with his gang,” he answered. “Where are you from Xerath?”
“I’m not from anywhere kid. I have been wandering around the Wasteland all my life and will keep doing it till I drop,” I said.
“Why don’t you settle down some place?” he asked.
“Not much place for a pony like me to settle down. No ponies want anything to do with sompony like me so I can't really settle down in a town or city. The zebra tribes don’t care so much, but those shanty towns aren’t anywhere anypony would want to live. No, wandering around the Wasteland is the life for me,” I answered.
“That seems like it would be awful lonely.”
“Not really. I am used to being alone so it don’t bother me none. Besides it is better off to be by yourself. It’s a lot safer that way,” I stated as I finished working on my rifle.
The pistol I had brought was now completely useless and wouldn’t sell for much. At least I still had the ammo. I tossed the useless piece of metal into the dirt, now that it was no longer worth carrying.
“Why are you throwing that away? I thought you said we shouldn’t be wasteful,” Blitz asked as he moved to pick up the discarded weapon.
“That gun is useless now, and wouldn’t be worth anything even if I tried to sell it,” I replied. “We don’t carry around useless things.”
“But you could fix it right?” he asked.
“I don’t know how to fix it. All I know how to fix is this here rifle. Do you know how to fix it?” I said.
“I think so,” he replied.
“Well then, if you can fix it that would make it yours,” I stated simply before placing my rifle on my back.
“You mean I can have this?”
“If you can turn something useless into something useful then you deserve to keep it,” I replied putting on my saddlebags. “I think that was enough of a break don’t you? Lets get moving again.”
With that we both began to walk again. He seemed more excited about our trek than before. I was worried that this kid would begin to grow on me. I could not allow that to happen. It was now night time, and darkness descended on the land.
“Um, Xerath. My sis said that we shouldn’t travel at night,” Blitz informed me.
“No offence kid, but your sister wasn’t black, and probably couldn’t see in the dark,” I replied.
“How can you see in the dark?”
“When I was a kid my mother gave me a special zebra augment that allows me to see in pitch black darkness. No matter how dark it is outside I won't have any trouble seeing.”
That seemed to shut the foal up, and we continued on in silence. I judged that we were heading north towards Shattered Hoof, and should reach it by morning. If we kept a decent pace that is, I wondered how long Blitz could walk before he needed to rest.
I looked back at the kid and saw that he was moving along just fine. This time around I would keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn’t tire himself out so quickly. We wouldn’t be able to make good time if he became exhausted. He saw that I was looking back at him and gave me a smile. That was odd.
“Um, Xerath,” I heard a small voice call from behind.
“What is it,” I replied.
“I am having a really hard time seeing you,” He stated. It was true that at night I could become almost invisible, especially when there were no lights on.
“Then take a hold of my tail so you don’t get lost,” I replied.
A moment later I felt a slight pressure on my tail as the colt picked it up in his mouth. I hadn’t bathed in a while so it probably didn’t taste very pleasant, but it was the easiest way to make sure that we didn’t get separated. After living in the night of the Wasteland for so long I sometimes forget how hard it is for others to see. So we continued on like that for the rest of the journey.
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The dawn was breaking as Shattered Hoof Correctional Facility came into view. I motioned for Blitz to stop behind me as I hid behind a broken down wagon. Most ponies at Shattered Hoof were hardened criminals, raiders, or slavers. It wasn’t a very pleasant place to be.
“Okay kid you need to wait here while I go talk to the ponies inside,” I told him.
“But Xerath, I don’t want to be left alone out here,” he pleaded.
“I will have none of that. I don’t want you over there when I’m talking to the ponies inside so you are going to stay right here. Understand?” I said giving him a hard look.
“Um, okay if that is what you say I need to do then I will,” he conceded.
“Good now watch our stuff I don’t want these guys to see that we have some valuables.” I said taking off my saddlebag and tossing it into the dirt next to Blitz. “I will be back before you know it.”
With that I made my way out from behind the wagon and approached the prison. The last time I had been at Shattered Hoof I didn’t leave on a very nice note. In fact I may have injured a few ponies as I made my escape. That was years ago now, and I had little doubt that there was new management. Still, I made sure to have the scabbard of my knife open in case I needed to get it out quickly. The rifle across my back was more for show than usefulness; it wouldn’t help me out too much in the close confines of the prison.
The wall that guarded the prison itself was massive, easily ten meters tall. The gate that barred my entrance equally as tall, and seemed to be made of some sort of wood that had been treated to withstand the degradation of time.
I slowly approached the gate of Shattered Hoof making sure that I was clearly visible to the spotters up on the walls. I stopped a meter away from the gate and waited for somepony to ask me what I was doing here.
“What are you doin here?” came a voice from an intercom to my left.
I pressed down on the button allowing myself to speak. “I have come with some merchandise that I wish to sell,” I stated.
“This isn’t a trading hub. Take your wares someplace else,” the stallion on the other side of the intercom shot back.
“I believe you will find this particular merchandise to be exactly what an organization like yours is looking for,” I said back to the pony on the other side of the wall.
There was a short pause before the intercom boomed again, “Do you have it with you? I don’t see it anywhere.”
“Rest assured I have it safe,” I informed. “You will get it once a price has been negotiated.”
There was a rumble that came from the other side of the gate before it swung open. Inside I could see ponies moving back and forth hauling gems. I had heard that in the past couple of years slavers had taken over the prison, and now ran it as a work camp. It seemed that the stories were true. A blue mare greeted me on the other side of the gate. She had a blonde mane that was spiked into a Mohawk, and when she laid eyes on me she scowled.
This was not something that I was unaccustomed to, but it was slightly annoying. Most ponies hated zebras with a passion because of the war. So anypony with an ounce of zebra blood was treated as if they nuked Manehattan themselves. I brushed off the scowl and stepped closer to her.
“Are you going to show me to your boss?” I asked.
“Filthy…” she muttered under her breath. “Yea come on it’s this way,” she said motioning to a corridor that lead away from the work yard.
I followed the mare through the archway, and further into the building that housed a slew of potential enemies. I knew that just about everypony that walked these walls was a hardened killer, and I was no different myself. There was only a slight difference between those ponies and myself. I took no joy in ending the life of another; they reveled in it. I looked ahead to see that the mare I was following had a shotgun cutie mark.
“So what is your name sweet cheeks?” I asked wanting to break the silence.
“You mean you don’t remember?” she asked back.
“What?”
“Forget it. My name is Fortune, and I know all about you Xerath,” she said not turning to face me.
“Oh you do now? What do you know exactly?” I asked intrigued by her previous comment.
“I know that you wander through the Wasteland alone and kill anypony in your way. I have heard that no one out there has taken as many raiders down as you have. But I don’t like to listen to rumors,” she said trying to act casual.
“I know what you mean I don’t like to listen to rumors either.” I lied.
“Either way you are pretty hyped up around here. I know plenty of ponies that would love to take you down.”
“Would you happen to be one of those ponies?” I asked.
“I might be.”
She then stopped at a steel door, and I figured we had made it to our destination. On the other side of the wall would be her boss, and I would have to negotiate with him for a while before my business here could be concluded. Fortune pressed a button near the door and it slid open with a whoosh.
“Go inside. They are waiting for you,” she told me motioning inside.
“Will you not be joining us?” I asked.
“No,” she stated flatly before walking away.
I turned back to the room that now stood before me, and walked inside. Once inside the door closed behind me with another whoosh. I looked around and saw a single blue unicorn standing in the center of the room. He had a green mane that fell over the side of his face and wore a suit. He was no doubt somepony who thought themselves important and would most likely be the one I was dealing with today.
“Hello there Mr. Xerath it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. My name is Banker, and I will be conducting our business today,” he said taking a few steps closer.
“Lets get down to business Banker, I came here to sell you something that you no doubt want, and I would like to be out of here as soon as possible,” I said likewise closing the gap between us.
“Yes well, before a price can be determined I will need to know more about what I am buying. So how old is the pony in question?” he asked.
“If I had to judge I would say that he is around seven years old. He is also a unicorn, which I hear raises the price substantially.” I replied.
“Yes, unicorns are in short supply I am afraid. Seven years old you say, that is a good age, and a colt no less. I think that we can do business you and I,” he said as a smile crossed his face.
“That is good to hear Mr. Banker, I was thinking that a colt like this should fetch around two thousand caps.” I said beginning the bartering process.
“Two thousand cap!” he exclaimed, “are you mad?”
“Don’t get your tail in a twist now Mr. Banker. What I am asking is a fair price and we both know it,” I replied.
“Two thousand caps is a little high Mr. Xerath. I would be willing to part with seventeen hundred,” he countered.
“Seventeen hundred is low balling it a bit don’t you think. I suppose that two thousand might have been a bit much to ask for just and colt, but I have seen this one use magic well beyond what most are capable of at his age. If I had to guess I would say that he will likely be a magical talent,” I said trying to goad him into parting with some more caps.
“A magical talent you say? That would certainly be worth two thousand bits, but only if it were true,” he replied considering what I had said.
“It is one hundred percent true I assure you. I would not lie during a business transaction Mr. Banker. It is not often that you see business ponies like yourself, and I wouldn’t want to ruin what could be a great business partnership in the future.”
“I see what you mean. In that case I will take you at your word on this one, but do not be a foal and try to double cross me,” he warned.
“I would never dream of it.”
“Go back into the hall, and wait. I will arrange for Fortune to pay you when we have the colt in hoof,” he said before turning and exiting the room through a door on the other side.
I turned and walked back to the door I had entered through. Upon my approach it opened again, and closed once I had passed through. The hallway that I was to wait in was barren, and the walls were covered in chipped paint. I stood by myself and considered the situation.
I was not sompony that this child should be with. I killed raiders frequently, and found myself in danger almost every single day. Being here was not going to be a picnic for the kid, but it would be a vast improvement from the lifestyle I led. When children are taken in this young it is rare that they end up in a life of manual labor. They are usually molded to be more to make a bigger profit for the slavers. That was better than anything I could offer the kid.
With me he would never be able to interact with other ponies, as they would shun him for just traveling with somepony like me. I knew what a life of isolation leads to. Never being able to get close any other living thing was like a living hell. At least here he would have the chance to make friends, and maybe get some glimpses of happiness every once in awhile.
I would not pretend that I was not profiting from this arrangement. In the Equestrian Wasteland it is everypony for themselves. You have to look out for yourself, and not allow your emotions to get in the way of survival. There was a lot I could do with the money I would get from this little business transaction.
“Are you ready to go?” I heard a familiar voice ask from behind me shaking me out of my musings. I turned to see Fortune scowling at me waiting for a reply.
“Yea I am ready whenever you aren” I replied. I couldn’t help but think that she had managed to sneak up on me very well.
She promptly turned and began to walk down the hallway that we had come in through. I noticed that now she wore saddlebags, and had a pistol holstered at her side. It wasn’t uncommon for a pony to carry around weaponry, but seeing it put me on edge. I didn’t notice that she had turned and caught me staring at her.
“Is there a problem?” she asked annoyed.
“No problem,” I replied, “I just couldn’t help but notice that you suited up for this little expedition.”
“We are going outside the gate after all, and how else do you expect me to carry your caps?”
She had a point, and the rest of the trip through the hallways of the building passed in silence. We exited the prison, and came back out onto the grounds where the workers drifted back and forth. There seemed to be a pit further ahead where they were excavating the various gems that they pulled behind them. Fortune joined a group of earth ponies at the front gate who were also decked out in weaponry.
“Who are all of these guys?” I asked.
“Protection,” she replied. “Banker wants to make sure you don’t just kill me and run off with our caps.”
“That is quite the accusation,” I shot back.
“Well you have quite the reputation.” she said coolly.
“Fine.” It was my turn to scowl.
She turned and said something to one of the guards at the gate I didn’t catch. The gate shook and began to open. A moment later all of us were standing outside of Shattered Hoof Correctional Facility. There were now five of us in total, including myself. I led the way to the broken down wagon that I had left Blitz at, and hoped that he would still be there.
“Blitz can you come out here please?” I called once we had reached the wagon. There was a moment of silence before I heard small hooves moving around the wagon towards us. Blitz then rounded the corner, and came into view.
“Who are all these ponies, Xerath?” he asked.
“These ponies are gonna take you to go live with them inside that big place over there,” I said motioning back to Shattered Hoof.
“But what if I don’t want to go live there?” he asked.
“Well you need to. You can’t keep traveling with me kid it is way too dangerous. You can have a decent life here so this is where I’m gonna drop you off,” I replied.
The kid seemed to accept his fate, and walked over to stand near Fortune. I turned to face her, and was met with the muzzle of her gun. I barely had time to dive to the side before the pistol went off causing the bullet to cut across my cheek. I rolled into cover behind the wagon, and pulled out my blade.
The first of the slavers came running around the corner of the wagon hoping to catch me before I had time to collect myself. He was pretty fast, but I was faster. I severed his neck with his own momentum as he raced around the corner. Now there were three left trying to kill me. I looked down and saw that the pony I had killed had only a shotgun on him, that wouldn’t help me anymore than my knife would, and I was much better at using a knife.
“So what is this all about, Fortune?” I called to the other side of the wagon.
“You don’t remember do you?” she asked.
“Could you be kind enough to refresh my memory? I would love to know why you are trying to kill me.” I called back.
“It was two years ago. You came to my camp and killed everypony. We weren’t doing anything wrong, but you shot them all dead as we sat around our fire!” she screamed at me.
“I’m sorry Fortune I don’t remember that at all,” I said causing her to cry out in anger.
That was when another large earth pony rounded the other side of the wagon. I tossed my knife as quickly as I could and it struck home right between his eyes causing him to collapse instantly. Unfortunately, when he hit the ground the pistol he had in his mouth went off, and the bullet struck me in one of my back legs. I stifled a cry of anguish, not wanting to alert my other enemies to the fact that I was injured.
I limped over to the fallen stallion and pulled the knife from his head. The hook on the end dragged out some brain matter before it relinquished its grip. They were certainly being cautious trying to take me down now. I knew that I could not hope to run anymore, and holstered my knife in favor of the pistol he had been using.
“So this is some revenge kick?” I asked Fortune trying to keep her distracted.
“Not at all. This is all business. Banker told me that once we had the colt we should kill you. You run around the Wasteland killing off ponies left and right. Doing that means that there are less for us to trade. You Xerath are just bad for business,” she replied.
I made my way to the corner that the last stallion had come around and peeked out from behind my cover. I was barely able to jump back in time to avoid the blade of a machete coming down at my face. The purple mare on the other side growled as she pressed the advantage and charged me with the sharp object. I rolled out from the side of the wagon to avoid another one of her strikes. The strap of my rifle broke as I hit the ground allowing me better movement, as I no longer had to carry onto it.
I leveled the pistol at the mare and saw fear briefly flash across her face before her head exploded from two shots of the pistol. She fell in a heap to the ground, and blood began to pool around her body. It was then that I noticed I had lost track of Fortune while I had been fighting this mare.
“Nothing personal it's just business,” came a voice from behind me. I heard a click and lost control of my body. I fell to the ground and was unable to move as I watched blood begin to pour from a wound in my chest. I looked up with the last bit of my strength to see the blue mare staring down at me wearing a hellish smile. Then the world went black.
Chapter One: Introduction
Fallout Equestria: Outcast
Chapter 1
“If you fit it just right, their body never gets used to the feeling of wearing it. It cuts in just enough when they swallow or turn their head to remind them who they belong to and it's that constant reminder that keeps them docile.”
Mr. Xerath dived behind the wagon as a shot rang out from the gun that the blue mare was holding. He was really fast, and I saw another one of the ponies that had come with him to the wagon run behind it after him. Not a second later I heard the sound of a body hitting the ground and gurgling from a pony that had their throat slit. The blue mare frowned and motioned to another tall earth pony to move around the other side of the wagon. He nodded back and began to creep to where he was told to go.
“So what is this all about Fortune?” I heard Mr. Xerath call from the other side of the wagon.
“You don’t remember do you?” the mare next to me called back.
“Could you be kind enough to refresh my memory? I would love to know why you are trying to kill me,” he asked.
That was when it all got too much for me. I fell to the ground and wrapped myself up in a fetal position. It was just like when my sis got killed, and I couldn’t do anything. I was doing the same thing that I had done then, and just waited for it all to be over. I didn’t know why they were trying to hurt each other. Mr. Xerath had said that ponies in the wasteland try to hurt each other all the time, and you had to take care of yourself. I can’t take care of myself though. I am just a weak little kid.
I couldn’t see what was going on behind the wagon. I heard a gunshot go off, and the mare next to me talking to Mr. Xerath, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I buried my head under my hooves and hopped that everything would just go away. I was so scared. I heard another two gunshots come from the other side of the wagon, and the blue earth pony next to me make her way over to where the sound came from. I hesitantly opened my eyes and saw the blue mare standing behind Mr. Xerath with a pistol pointed at his back.
“Nothing personal it’s just business,” I heard her say before she pulled the trigger.
There was a small retort from the pistol and Mr. Xerath fell to the ground. He was still breathing, and a pool of blood began to form around him. He looked up at the mare who had shot him. She looked so happy, but at the same time she seemed really mad. I saw him grin before his head fell back to the ground and he stopped breathing.
I didn’t know what to think at that time. It seemed every time I got next to a pony they ended up dead. Mr. Xerath had killed my big sis, but had helped me out and made sure I didn’t starve. Now he was dead too lying in a pool of his own blood on the ground in front of me. The mare that had shot him turned and pointed the pistol at me. I didn’t back away from her, I wasn’t really able to move at this point.
“Are you not scared of me kid?” she said smirking at me with the pistol in her teeth.
“I-I… yea I’m scared,” I choked out.
“Then why are you just sitting there staring at me?” she asked.
“I-I-I” I couldn’t answer her. I didn’t know why I was still sitting here. I could have run away when all of the fighting had been going on, but instead I had just sat there.
I heard hoofsteps approach behind me and turned around to see three ponies in barding galloping towards us. It didn’t take them long to reach us, and when they did the tall white unicorn in the middle approached the blue mare behind me and began to talk with her.
“Fortune what is going on? We heard gunshots,” he said.
“Nothing that important. I was just carrying out an order on behalf of Banker,” she replied, holstering her weapon.
“What kind of order?” the white stallion inquired.
“Banker wanted me to kill Xerath,” Sshe said motioning to the corpse of the black pony on the ground. “He also wanted me to pick up this colt,” she continued, turning to me.
The rest of the ponies there also turned to me, and looked at me with a range of different emotions on their face. The white stallion looked down at me with pity, and the two ponies behind him looked at me indifferently. The blue mare that had killed Xerath, and I assumed her name was Fortune, looked at me with an evil grin that promised she would bring me pain. I couldn’t stand there anymore, and turned to run as fast as I could. I made it a few meters before I heard Fortune call out to one of the ponies behind me.
“Break, don’t let him get away!” she shouted.
Then I was lifted off of my hooves by a magic field that had enveloped me. I was turned around midair so that I could see the white unicorn that held me in his magical grasp. He no longer looked at me with pity, but rather looked resigned to just following Fortune’s order. Fortune made her way into my view and glared at me.
“So you thought you could just run away. I don’t think so. You belong to us now, and will do what we tell you,” she said before she turned to Break. “Now take him inside and get him fitted with a collar,” she ordered.
I knew what that meant. My sis had told me about the collars they make some ponies wear. When the pony does something wrong or tries to run away their head gets blown up. I didn’t want that to happen to me so I began to kick and scream as I was floated towards Shattered Hoof. I didn’t accomplish anything as I wailed and tried to fight my way out of the magic that was holding me in the air. We slowly made our way back to the gate, which opened at our approach.
It seemed that my screaming had made Fortune become angry once again as she glared at me. I didn’t care at this point, and continued to struggle against my captors. Fortune then turned and bucked me in the face causing the world to go black around me.
_______________________________________________________________________
When I woke up the world was completely black. I began to panic as I felt around trying to find something solid. The floor that I was laying on seemed to be made of concrete, and was cold. I tried to calm down, and make a light with my horn, but it was really hard.
After a few minutes of concentration a yellow light began to shine from my horn lighting up the room I was in. The entire room was empty except for me, the walls were made of the same material as the floor. I looked around the barren room hoping to find a way out. I saw the door on the wall opposite me, and stood up so that I could make my way over to it.
When I tried to get to my hooves I felt a pull on my fur around my neck. I lifted a hoof to my neck to feel what was there, and found that in my sleep I had been fitted with an explosive slave collar. I fell back onto my haunches, and sat there in the room. I began to cry.
The events of the past few days were just too much for me, and began to overwhelm me. Not two days ago I had seen my sister killed right in front of my eyes. I was then taken across the dessert to this place where the ponies inside had killed my guardian, and taken me to be a slave. I just wasn’t able to handle it anymore and let my emotions pour from my eyes, and spill onto the ground.
A sat there crying for what could have been hours, but I wasn’t able to judge time in this place. I was pulled out of my depression by the sound of the door on the other side of the room opening. There was the clank of metal on metal as the lock on the door was disengaged, and it opened inwards. I quickly backed up against the wall and put out the light from my horn.
A blue earth pony stepped into the room, Fortune. She had been the one that killed Xerath and taken me into this place. She looked around the room before her gaze came to rest on me curled up against the wall, trying to make myself look as small as possible.
“You,” she said looking directly at me. “Come here.”
I didn’t move, I was to scared to move an inch. She was the one that had managed to kill Xerath the strongest pony I had ever seen. Did she want to hurt me too because I had been traveling with him? Was killing him not enough revenge for her?
“I said get over here!” she yelled at me.
I still didn’t move from where I was laying against the wall. She muttered something under her breath and marched across the room towards me. She stopped when she was standing directly over me. She was by far the scariest pony I had ever seen. She bent down and grabbed my mane in her mouth and began to drag me across the floor.
I didn’t kick and scream like I had earlier when they brought me inside. I was too tired to kick and my voice was raspy from all the crying I had done. Instead I just let her pull me across the room, and made no attempt to get away from her. This somehow made her angrier, and she dropped me on the ground.
“Get your ass off the ground and stand up!” she yelled. This time I tried to do what she said and made it to my hooves. “Now follow me or I’ll put you back in this cell,” she said as she left the room.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but staying in this dark room wasn’t something I wanted. I slowly made my way out of the room and out into the hallway where the blue mare was waiting for me.
“Now come on Banker wants to meet you,” she said turning and starting down the hallway.
I didn’t see many options in front of me so I hung my head and followed her. It seemed that all I could ever do was follow the adult telling me what to do. It had been that way when sis met Short Fuse, and wanted us to join up with his gang. I never liked him much but sis said that I had to stick with her so I had to stick with them also. When Mr. Xerath came and killed all of the ponies there he told me that I had to follow him too. I didn’t like Mr. Xerath at all, but he didn’t seem like he was evil. He said that my sister was, but I don’t think that she was either.
Now Fortune had killed Mr. Xerath and told me that I had to follow her. It seemed like that I was just a prize that ponies won when they killed each other. Did what I had to say not really matter to anypony? Was I so worthless that my opinion meant so little? Maybe Mr. Xerath was right and I had to look out for myself. It didn’t seem like anypony else was going to do it for me.
I looked up and saw that we had reached our destination. Fortune now stood in front of a large metal door waiting for me to catch up to her. When I finally made my way over to her she pushed a button on the wall near the door and it opened. Fortune kicked me in the flank and sent me sprawling into the room. I managed to get back to my hooves, and glared at Fortune who was smiling at me. When she saw my face she burst out into a fit of laughter.
“Now now lets not get carried away,” I heard a voice come from the other side of the room, and I quickly spun around to see a unicorn looking at me.
He had a blue coat and a green mane that covered half of his face. He wore what looked like a business suit, at least that’s what I thought it was. I hadn’t seen many ponies out in the wastes that dressed up so I could only guess. He started to slowly walk towards me, his smile never wavering.
“Hello there. My name is Banker, but you will call me Mr. Banker. Now tell me, what is your name?” he asked, stopping a few hoofs away from me.
“I am,” I coughed to clear my throat, “My name is Berry Blitz.”
“Berry Blitz, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You are probably wondering what you are doing here,” he replied.
“Not really, I pretty much figured that I am now a slave from this collar,” I said motioning to the explosive around my neck.
“Excellent deduction,” he replied coolly. “Yes, you now belong to us here at Shattered Hoof. The pony you were traveling with earlier sold you to us for a good amount of bits so I expect you to be useful while you are here.”
Did he say that Mr. Xerath had sold me to them? Was that why he had brought me here? Any thoughts I had about Mr. Xerath not being completely evil flew out the window. He had been worse than I could possibly have imagined. He had killed all my family then taken me here to sell me into slavery. Could he have been any more evil? It seemed that Banker saw the anger on my face.
“Oh did you not know that he was going to sell you to us? My whatever will we do now? It matters little I suppose,” he said waving a hoof. “I was informed that you are very good with magic is this true?” he asked.
“I don’t think that I am,” I replied not wanting to lie to a pony that could kill me by pressing a button. Banker stared at me for a short while before speaking again.
“It seems that I was misinformed then. It is a pity, if you were magically inclined then I suppose that we would have more use for you. If that is not the case then we will have to find something more suited for you,” he said looking to Fortune who was standing behind me. “Take him to the mining fields, and put him to work digging,” he ordered.
“You got it boss,” Fortune responded.
I felt my mane get yanked again, and I was dragged from the room. The doors shut behind me, and I was left in the hallway once again with the sadistic mare. She kicked me in the ribs earning her a yelp and began to chuckle to herself again.
“Get up brat,” she ordered, “You got work to do.”
I complied and slowly got to my hooves. My side hurt from where she just kicked me. It probably wouldn’t bruise, but still ached. I then began to follow her through the hallway once again as she led the way outside. We walked for a long time in silence, and my thoughts began to plague me once again.
I couldn’t believe that Mr. Xerath had actually sold me to these ponies. He had said that I couldn’t trust anypony and apparently that had been true. He was dead and I would never get to be the one that finished him off. This mare in front of me had stolen that from me. She had killed Xerath and now I would never be able to get revenge for my sister’s murder.
Fortune pushed open a door at the end of the hall, and stepped outside. I obediently followed her through the door, and out onto the grounds. Outside I could see a lot of ponies with collars around their necks like the one I had around mine walking back and forth. Behind them they were pulling carts filled with gems. There were ponies in leather barding standing around watching the workers move around. Every once in a while I could see a slave driver whip somepony for being too slow.
“Here we are,” Fortune announced. “This is where you will spend the rest of your life. You will get up in the morning and be taken out here so that you can dig up gems for us. At night I will come and toss you back into the small dark cell you were in earlier. Who knows every once in a while I might also give you something to eat before I lock you away for the night,” she smiled down at me, what an ugly smile she had.
She then began to walk again, and I followed once more. We were headed for what looked like a cliff, but as we got closer I saw that it was just the wall of a massive quarry. The ponies had dug up the earth, and it extended down at least a hundred meters. Fortune then began to walk along a path that lead deeper into the gem quarry.
I walked along the path behind her and looked to the bottom of the quarry. I could see a lot of ponies down there working with pickaxes digging into the ground. There were others loading gems into wagons to be pulled by other ponies back up to the building at the top of the quarry. I noticed as I looked down that there didn’t seem to be any unicorns among the ponies at the bottom.
We reached the bottom of the path and Fortune made her way over to what I assumed was the quarry foreman. He was a tall red earth pony who had a pickaxe for a cutie mark. His purple mane was spiked, and a long scar ran over his left eye. As Fortune made her approach he stopped ordering a slave to do something and turned to her. He then cast his gaze on me.
“Axel, Banker wants to put this foal here to work,” Fortune informed him kicking me in the ribs again. I really hated this mare.
“Fine then give him a pickaxe, and put him to digging,” Axel said turning away from Fortune and returning to his work.
Fortune seemed annoyed to having been given orders by the stallion but said nothing of it. Instead she turned her annoyance at the situation on me.
“You heard him. Get a pickaxe and get to work,” She barked, pushing me to the ground.
I got up in time to see her walking back up the path we had entered through. I looked around and spotted a shack against one of the walls of the quarry. A guard with a shotgun stood in front of the door. I decided that I might as well do what Fortune had told me to or else she might come back and beat me up some more. So I slowly walked over to the shed that I assumed held the digging materials.
As I approached the guard of the shed started following me with his eyes. The purple stallion seemed slightly wary of my approach, and stiffened up as I got nearer. It seemed odd that a fully-grown stallion should be so apprehensive of a colt.
“Um,” I began, “Fortune told me to get a pickaxe and start digging,” I informed him.
“I don’t know.” He replied, “I ain’t never heard of no colt digging.”
“In that case I guess I’ll go tell her,” I said turning away.
“Wait!” he called after me, “Alright just wait here.”
The guard turned and opened the door to the shed, and went inside to search for the tool I had asked for. It seemed that everypony around here was as afraid of Fortune as I was, or at least some were. I heard the crash of something metal falling over inside the shed followed by a colorful swear. A moment later the guard made his way back out with a pickaxe held in his teeth.
He dropped it on the ground in front of me. It was probably the smallest pickaxe that was in the shed, and looked like it was meant to be swung by a colt. The thought that they had a tool in that shed designed for child labor made my heart sink even more. I picked up the pickaxe in my telekinesis and walked out into the quarry.
There were a lot of stallions and mares in the quarry digging at the rocks with their pickaxes. Most of them were drenched in sweat from toiling for hours, but continued to dig. I spotted a pink filly with a purple mane digging into the dirt with her own pickaxe. I made my way over next to her.
“Um, so am I just supposed to hit the rocks with this thing?” I asked. I have never used a pickaxe before, but I understood the idea was to hit the ground with it over and over.
“Be quiet,” the pink filly whispered back.
“But why?” I asked.
“If they see you talking they will whip you,” she shot back with a glare to punctuate her desire not to be whipped.
I decided that it was probably a good idea to stop talking, and turned back to the rocks in front of me. I used my magic to swing the axe down at the rocks. To my surprise they broke open when the pickaxe connected with one of them. Wow this was really easy. There weren’t any gems inside, but I was excited that I had broken the rock on my first try. The pink filly next to me just looked at me dumbstruck.
“You aren’t supposed to break those rocks stupid,” she whispered.
“Wha?” I intelligently replied.
“Those are the rocks in the don’t break pile. These are the rocks in the pile that you are supposed to break.” She said motioning to the rocks on the other side of her.
“Oh… thanks…”
“Name is Peach,” she finished for me.
“Hi I’m Berry Blitz.” I informed her.
“I better not be hearing talking over there!” yelled somepony behind me.
I quickly made my way around Peach to the rock pile that I was supposed to be breaking. These rocks were a lot harder to break with my magically suspended pickaxe and took several strikes. Every couple of rocks I would find some sort of gem inside that would then be taken by another pony and loaded into a wagon. After a few minutes I was beginning to get tired, but I kept going. This rock breaking thing was going to get old really fast.
______________________________________________________________________
Several hours of rock breaking had worn me down considerably. My muscles ached, and I was barely able to hold the pickaxe in the air. I continued to pound it against the rocks that were placed in front of me. I noticed that it was taking more strikes of the pick than it had before to make them break open. I was so busy focusing on my task that I didn’t even notice it was nighttime.
Some of the guards would come down into he quarry every so often and escort a couple of workers out, back to where they slept for the night. Little by little the place became more and more deserted until it was only me left digging at the rocks. I didn’t stop however, I was afraid that if I stopped somepony would come back just to whip me.
I had taken several whippings throughout the day and I think some of them even drew blood. My back was screaming in pain, and felt raw. The exhaustion in my muscles seemed odd to me since it was my magic that had been doing all the work, but I still continued to dig. That was when I heard hoofsteps behind me. I stopped for a moment and turned around to be met with the smiling form of Fortune.
“Hello there runts” she greeted and then shoved me to the ground. I didn’t bother getting up.
“Tired already? I haven’t gotten the chance to have some fun with you yet,” she punctuated with a kick to my ribs.
“Please stop,” I begged.
“Stop? Stop! You are my slave, and I will do whatever I want with you!” she screamed, kicking me again.
I knew that the kicks were nowhere near her full strength. If she had wanted to she could have easily broken my ribs with a single kick of her strong earth pony legs. Even so, I was going to be very bruised. She didn’t let up and kept hitting me in the ribs over and over. Eventually I couldn’t stop myself from lashing out. I picked up the pickaxe in my magic and swung it at her.
She deftly caught the edge of the pick in her mouth, and smiled down at me. I small amount of blood began to drip from her teeth. I let my magic drop from the pickaxe, and she spat it out at my feet.
“So you want to be a fighter do you?” she asked.
“I’m s-s-sorry I d-d-didn’t mean to,” I stammered.
“Sure you did. I believe I heard you say. Please Fortune, I want you to through me in the pit so I can fight for my life,” she said grabbing my mane and dragging me across the ground. “Well don’t worry kid Aunty Fortune is here to make your dreams come true.”
“No! Please stop,” I begged. She kicked me in the side again, but this time it was so hard it made me start coughing uncontrollably.
I was dragged along the path up to the main prison building by my mane. The rocks along they way left superficial cuts in my hide, but the pain in my chest overshadowed them. I hardly noticed when the earthen path had changed to the tiled floors of the building. Fortune didn’t seem to mind putting my raggedy mane in her mouth and pulling me along.
It didn’t take too long before we reached the cell I had been kept in the night before. Fortune unceremoniously kicked the door open and tossed me inside. She stood there in the doorway staring at me for a moment before leaving, slamming the door behind her.
I was left once again in a pitch-black room all by myself, and I started to cry. This time it was less about the terrible situation that I was in and more about the pain that was throbbing in my chest. I tried to make a light with my horn, but was far too exhausted to manage anything. So I just curled up against the wall and tried to get some sleep.
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I woke up, but had no way of telling what time it was. I stomach alerted me to how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten for two days. So I sat in the completely black room contemplating what was going to happen to me. I had taken a swing at Fortune so she was probably thinking up something unimaginably awful to do to me.
Sure enough a few minutes later Fortune opened the door to the room, and entered. In her mouth she held a long stick that was made of metal. She smiled at me and pressed a button on the end of the stick causing the other end to crackle with electricity.
“How are you today Berry?” she asked walking closer.
I shrank away from her. She clearly was going to torture me with the thing, and I did not want to be touched by it. I managed to back myself into a corner trying to get away from her. I no longer had any room to move. Fortune smiled at me again and then swung the crackling end of the stick at me. When it connected with my unbruised side I felt searing pain lance through me.
My muscles seized up and I couldn’t move. The cramping that the shock had caused was also very painful, but was nothing compared to the burn mark I now had on my side. Fortune let out a laugh at my pain, and nearly dropped the stick. She got a hold of herself, and jabbed me with it again. This time I let out a scream as she hit the exact same spot on my side.
“You scream like a little filly,” she managed to choke out through her laughter.
She stabbed me again with the evil device, and I began to lose consciousness. I felt the sweet blackness start to come to take away the pain, but a hoof smacking me in the face stopped it.
“Oh now you don’t get to go to sleep yet,” Fortune said slapping me with her hoof in the face again trying to keep me awake.
Unfortunately, her slapping managed to keep me conscious a little while longer. I was too tired to think by this point and just managed to weakly try to push her away from me. This caused her to burst into laughter once again. That laughter was infuriating.
This sadistic mare had me trapped here against my will and all she wanted to do was torture me. I hated her more than I have ever hated anything in my entire life. I couldn’t stand that look on her face as she stood over me. That smile, I had to take that smile away from her. If she could see what it was like to be the one getting shocked here, maybe she wouldn’t do it so much. No! I didn’t even care if she would stop. I just wanted to cause her the same pain that I felt.
A flash of yellow came from my horn and struck Fortune in the dead center of her chest. She was knocked off her hooves, and fell to the floor with a thud. There was a scorch mark on her chest where she had been struck by the electricity I had shot her with. I smiled a little as I realized what I had done.
I tried to stand up so that I could make a heroic escape, but my legs weren’t working well. I couldn’t even make it to my hooves so I laid back down in the corner, and laughed a little at the dazed blue mare. Maybe there was something to this, it felt good to get some pay back on a pony that had been torturing you. The look she gave me as she got back to her hooves told me that she didn’t think it was as funny as I did.
“How dare you!” she screamed as she made her way back over to me. The anger in her eyes caused me to laugh even harder. I knew I had gotten her good.
She picked the stick back up off the floor where she had dropped in, and stabbed me with it again. My laughter was cut off as my jaw snapped together and locked up. This time Fortune didn’t let up after shocking me once. She kept stabbing me with the end of the stick, and I smelt my fur burning where the stick connected with me. After a couple of more jabs I managed to pass out.
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This time when I woke up I was no longer in the dark little room. Instead I found myself in the same office that I had met Banker in. There was a desk in the far corner of the square room that I hadn’t noticed earlier. I tried to stand up, but found that I was still very tired.
I heard movement come from somewhere behind me, and I turned to see who was there. I watched in horror as Fortune pranced into the room, but this time she completely ignored me. She stopped and stood by the door. Then the door on the other side of the room opened and in walked Banker.
“I see that you are awake now. That is good,” He said walking over to me.
Behind him he levitated a tray of food and a red bottle. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the food that he had, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten in at least a day. Banker looked down at me and smiled, it wasn’t the sadistic smile that I had seen Fortune wear. It actually seemed to be a sincere smile.
“I heard that you hadn’t been fed in a while so I took it upon myself to bring you something. Would you like a sandwich my boy?” he asked offering me the tray.
I didn’t even nod my head as I quickly grabbed the sandwich with my magic and stuffed the whole thing into my mouth. I chewed it quickly, and almost choked on it. Even so it was the best thing I had ever tasted, probably due to the fact that I hadn’t eaten in what I estimated to be two and a half days.
After in finished the sandwich I snatched the glass of water that was sitting on the tray, and drank it greedily. I made sure not so spill a single drop of the sweet liquid. Once finished I looked back up at Banker who was still smiling down at me.
“Thank you Mr. Banker,” I said trying to appease him.
“You are quite welcome Berry,” he replied. “It seems that you have somehow injured yourself. Here.” He offered me the red drink.
My sis had told me about red drinks and how that when you drank them all of your injuries started to go away. I was curious as to whether or not that was true so I also took the drink from him and studied it. It might have been poison, but it didn’t seem like feeding somepony just to poison them was a very smart thing to do so I decided to drink it. Immediately my injured sides began to feel better. I looked back and saw that the small scorch wounds were beginning to close up. After a minute I felt like I hadn’t even been kicked in the side in the past few days.
“Well it looks like that did the trick,” Banker said.
“Thank you again Mr. Banker,” I said, truly meaning it.
“What a well mannered young colt you are. Now I have something that I need to discuss with you, Berry,” Banker replied.
“What is it Mr. Banker?” I asked.
“Fortune informs me that you do in fact have some affinity for magic.”
I cringed at the thought of Fortune coming here, and telling her boss that I had hit her with magic. Just what are these ponies going to do to me? Did they fix me up just to torture me again, because of what I did? Banker saw the look of worry on my face.
“You are not in trouble Berry, far from it. I have brought you here to offer you something that many in your position would literally kill for,” he said, his smile coming back to his face.
“What is it Mr. Banker?” I asked again.
“When we purchased you we were hoping to gain a colt with some natural magical ability. You see there is a lot of money to be made from such a colt. Now I can see that the colt I have been looking for is indeed you, Berry.”
“Why do you want somepony like me?” I asked.
“Don’t interrupt Berry it is very rude. Like I was saying I have been looking for a colt that is magically inclined. You may not know this, but ponies like to organize fights between slaves. The slaves that participate are treated very well, and live a comfortable life. The owners of the slaves that win these fights stand to make a lot of money. Are you following me Berry?”
“You want me to fight,” I stated flatly. I was beginning to not like this situation at all.
“That is exactly right my boy. I am hoping that a unicorn that is innately talented in magic would do very well in the pits. So I have brought you here to offer you the chance to improve your lot in life. So what do you say,” he said giving me another tooth grin.
“I don’t really have a choice do I?” I asked.
“I see that you are indeed a smart young colt. No you do not have much of a choice in the matter at all. You are going to be thrown into the pit regardless of what answer you give me. So it is up to you on whether or not to go willingly or to be thrown in against your wishes.”
I looked down at the ground and weighed my options. I didn’t really have any choice in the matter like Banker had said. No matter what I told them they were going to throw me into a pit to fight against another colt. I had to do the only smart thing that was available to me.
“Okay Mr. Banker, I’ll do it. On one condition,” I said after a moment.
“Oh that is interesting. What is this condition?” he asked.
“Give me a nice room with a bed, and a good meal every day,” I replied.
“Done,” he said and motioned to Fortune.
She moved from where she was standing, and made her way over to me. She looked down, and I could see anger clearly shining in her eyes. I expected her to lash out at me, but she didn’t.
“Come on kid. You have a fight to get to,” she said.
She didn’t grab my mane and drag me across the floor. Instead she just stood there waiting for me to get up off the ground. I complied and stood up; it was a lot easier than before. Once I had made it to my hooves I looked up at Fortune who towered over me. She scowled at me before turning and leaving the room. I followed behind her.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. It seemed like I was already being treated better, and all I had to do was go to this fight. I imagined that it wouldn’t be too bad. There would be another colt around my age, and we would hit each other until one of us had won. What could possibly go wrong with that?
Fortune turned and I followed her down a hallway I hadn’t seen before. The tiles on the floor seemed exactly the same as they had in the hallway we had just left, but the walls had a bit more grime on them. We continued to walk for a little while before Fortune stopped at a door that had Employee Lounge written on the door. She pushed it open, and I followed her inside.
Once I had made my way into the room I saw that it was very large and housed two rows of bleachers on either side of a dug out pit in the middle. There were a lot of ponies in seats cheering at something that was going on in the pit. A second later the cheering turned into a roar as something unseen by me happened in the pit. A brown unicorn stepped forwards and tried to quell the cheering.
“It looks like we have a winner folks. Give it up for Little Buck,” he said causing the crowd to redouble their cheering.
Something about the scene was immensely disturbing. All of the ponies that were in the room looked to be raiders, and if they were happy about something that usually meant that something very wrong was about to happen. I saw the brown unicorn’s horn light up and a second later an unconscious filly was magically lifted out of the pit.
The filly was grey with a blonde mane, and looked like she had taken a real beating. One of her legs was bent at an odd angle and blood was coming from her mouth. It was then that I realized just how much I didn’t want to be here. I looked back and saw Fortune smiling down at me. She then started pushing me forwards towards the pit.
I tried to fight against her, but she was just too strong. It wasn’t long before I was scrambling against the edge of the pit. My struggles didn’t last long, and I was unceremoniously dropped inside of the arena. I fell to my rump with a thud, and looked to the other side of the pit. A few meters away stood another colt about my age, but he had the same smile on his face I had seen on Fortune’s.
“Ladies and Gentlecolts we have a new challenger!” said the brown unicorn. “I have heard that this colt here will give us quite a show. Place your bets now.”
The ponies above scrambled to place their bets before the fight could start. I stared at the blue colt across from me that held a wicked knife in his lips. I had seen those eyes before. They were the eyes of a raider, a pony who no longer cared about life and death, and he had a knife. I was completely screwed.
He took a slow step forwards, and I was unable to back away. I scooted along the circular wall of the arena trying to keep as much distance between the two of us a physically possible. His ragged red mane accented the blood that was dripping from the end of the knife. I continued to push along the wall trying to keep as much space between the two, but he stopped as the pony above began to speak again.
“This fight will be to the death of course. But is it really fair for one to already have a knife?” he asked the audience.
There were shouts of approval that answered his question. Some of the ponies yelled for him to throw me a knife. They no doubt had placed their bets on me winning this fight. The brown unicorn considered what the crowd had to say before he looked down and picked a knife out of a box with his magic. He tossed it into the arena at my hooves, and motioned for me to pick it up. I gladly scooped the knife up with my own magic, and noticed that it had been the knife that I had seen Xerath using before.
I waved the knife at the other colt trying to get him to stay back. This did very little to deter him, and he slowly approached again keeping an eye on the knife that was waving back in forth in front of him. I pulled the knife away as it almost cut him in the neck, which he saw and began to move towards me faster. I could hear that he was starting to laugh a little bit as he made his approach. I pressed as hard as I could against the wall that was behind me and closed my eyes.
I swung the knife frantically at the approaching colt hoping that I wouldn’t die in a few seconds. I heard the sound of the knife connecting with something fleshy, and a second later the sound of a pony hitting the ground. I opened my eyes a little bit to peek at what I had done. The blue colt lay on the ground not breathing with Xerath’s knife deeply imbedded into one of his eyes.
I had just killed a pony. I couldn’t believe that I had been forced do something like that. The crowd above roared, and a brown aura encased the dead pony in front of me. His body rocked a little and then was lifted into the air, and out of the pit. I looked up at the ponies cheering in the bleachers, but they sounded so far away. I could clearly see Fortune looking down over the edge at me smiling that vicious smile that she always wore.
“We have a new champion!” the brown unicorn announced causing the crowd to roar even more.
“Bring out the next challenger!”
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Footnote: Level Up!
New Spell Added: Spark (level 1) – fire a spark from your horn causing moderate electrical damage.
Skill note: melee weapons (25)
