Chapter 2: A Rock in a Cold Place

“... a civilian? How in tartarus did a civilian get on this base? I'll have somepony's flank for dinner! Get this civilian off government property!”

In the past two centuries, all in Equestria had become used to the perpetual presence of an all-consuming layer of clouds blanketing the skies. The Grand Pegasus Enclave sat above, relishing in the sun while far away from the wasteland. Everypony else wallowed below in… whatever it is that ponies wallow in.

With the fall of the Enclave, the skies cleared and those below saw the light of day for the first time in two hundred years. This meant that the presence of clouds were greatly undesired, particularly as the town of Palom lamented those lost the night before; the day was sombre enough without the sky closing up once more.

Palom was not my town, the dead were not ponies I knew, yet the attack was partially because of my presence there and I felt I fit in only slightly better than the clouds. Ponies seemed to be content to let me help, however, particularly since Quick Glance had me assisting in the initial reparation efforts – which fell comfortably under my skillset.

As the day came to a close, a small ceremony was held held, which is where I really felt my attendance greatly unnecessary. However, even Sterling Sales left his shop to attend the burial and I knew Quick Glance would not have let me slip away.

As a prayer to the Princesses was made for the deceased, I stood alongside my floating companion and the two ponies who welcomed me into the town. Grim faces surrounded me in the drizzling afternoon; even Sterling lacked all mirth.

When the prayer was over, Quick Glance stood in front of the ponies of the town she protected and gave a speech. “The wasteland is a cruel place, ponies. It tries to beat us down each and every day, throwing famine at us to empty our bellies, disease to take away our strength, and raiders to invade our homes and slaughter our kin. But you know what? We’re still standing and we can still live on.

“You see those fucking clouds, reminding us of days past? They’re not here to stay, but we are! There’s hope still! We’ve lost loved ones, but we avoided a much worse fate because of the robots that will now help protect this town. Good job, Stablepony. And Sterling, I know you’re too much of a cap-pinching bastard to give ‘em out for free – but please make those robots affordable, will ya?”

She and Sterling exchanged an amused smirk and the rest of the town seemed to have their morale improved. Everypony then began to head their separate ways and Sterling Sales insisted that Quick Glance and I join him for a drink.

“…so then I got kicked out of town with nothing but the clothes on my back and half my tail burned off – and that’s how I ended the relationship with my first marefriend!” the rotund earth pony stated, chortling heartily before taking another swig of his cider.

Quick Glance and I exchanged a look before breaking into laughter at Sterling’s story. It wasn’t all that hilarious, but inebriation helped make it seem so. My drinking companions then encouraged me to tell a story of mine. I had no real exciting stories about mares, but the tale of the activation of ‘BD-0024’ sent the blue-grey unicorn howling into tears and made Sterling’s cheeks flare up.

“A-anyway, onto more serious matters, what do you plan on doing from here, KnickKnack?” the embarrassed earth pony asked.

“Well, I was hoping you could give me some info on anywhere around here that might have some advanced pre-war tech around. The Robronco factory had some useful paraphernalia, but I scavenged through there and from what I could tell it was just a distributor and didn’t really have anything spectacular that I’ll need. I’m looking for something more like a research and development facility, or a competing company that operated more with arcano-tech – maybe even an old military complex.”

My explanation drew an inquisitive look from Sterling, whereas Quick Glance continued giggling so hard she’d fallen off her stool.

“A particular travelling merchant who’s in town at the moment should be able help you out with that. I’ll send you to him tomorr-”

“I BET YOU’RE GLAD THE SEXBOT DOESN’T HAVE A FLAMER TO LIGHT YOUR TAIL UP WITH!” the drunken unicorn blurted, making Sterling’s cheeks burn even more brightly.

“Don’t you have a post to watch!” he snapped.

I took all my self-control and both my hooves to stop myself laughing at the poor stallion.

* * *

“Howdy, Winding! Heading off today?” Sterling Sales called.

“This is correct, friend,” replied the softly-spoken stallion dressed head-to-hoof in wraps, cap and goggles who occupied himself tightening the straps on a pack brahmin. “Do you ask because you are feeling chatty, or is your friend in need of something?” he said, turning to indicate towards me with a hoof.

Sterling gave a winning grin. “Ever observant, Winding Path. As it would happen, my friend KnickKnack here is looking for something that a well-travelled, er... individual such as you may know how to find.”

“I’m looking for a place that has a great deal of advanced pre-war technology that hasn’t been looted or destroyed,” I piped in, realising only once I’d finished how ridiculous that sounded.

“Is that all? For a moment there, I thought you were going to ask for something difficult.” The heavily-dressed pony replied, calmly.

I leaned into whisper to Sterling “Is he being sarcastic? His tone hasn’t changed this entire conversation.”

“I have no idea, son. He always talks like that,” he replied.

“I speak not with mocking intent, friends,” the travelling merchant stated.

Okay, how the hell did he hear that? I thought I had good hearing, but that was ridiculous.

Winding continued. “Come, friend, I will lead you to that which you seek. But be warned, while I can direct you to your goal easily enough, the difficulty is in the jeopardies you will face. I am well-travelled, yes, but these places – and those that are alike – are unlooted and not well known for good reasons.”

I had to wonder if all travelling merchants spoke this mysteriously, or if Winding Path was just a particularly cryptic individual.

“I think Clive and I should be able to handle ourselves,” I said without a great deal of confidence. Clive, however, bobbed in agreement without any sign of hesitancy. That only led me to wonder about Clive’s A.I. even more.

“I dearly hope you can, friend.” the travelling merchant said before turning back to the brahmin. “Children! We leave soon, and we will have another pony accompanying us. Do make him feel welcome.”

From the opposite side of the brahmin came running a colt and a filly, both unicorns and dressed similarly to Winding Path, minus the hat and goggles.

“Ooh, hello there mister!” they said in unison, running right up to me and bouncing up and down in front of me. “

“She’s Zig and I’m Zag” announced the colt with the blue eyes.

“H-hi,” I said, trying for a smile and stepping back to regain some of my personal space.

“What’s your name, Mister Stablepony?” asked the orange-eyed filly eagerly.

“Uh-“

“His name’s KnickKnack, kids!” announced Sterling, wrapping a hoof around me. He then leaned in close to them and said softly “Take good care of him, he needs all the help he can get.”

As the chunky merchant rose back up with a chuckle, Zag looked up at me buoyantly. “Don’t worry, mister, we’ll get you through the wastes alright.”

Feeling embarrassed and inadequate, I decided it was time to say goodbye to Sterling and urge Winding Path to leave as soon as possible.

“So Mister KnickKnack, what kind of magic tricks can you do?” asked Zag, who was settled on top of the brahmin, his hooves resting atop Clive, who seemed content to sit still and do nothing for once.

“Yeah, like this!” squeaked Zig from beside me, who began a small sparkler show with her horn with accompanying hoof-waving and ‘woo oooo’ sounds.

Thinking for a moment, I quickly checked my Pipbuck inventory. Finding what I needed in the miscellaneous junk category – how this thing could categorise, weigh and value all the things I keep on me was amazing, but a mystery for another day. I levitated an empty Sparkle Cola bottle in front of me and cast a spell on it that began to twist and reshape the brittle glass, like a far more malleable material. After a few moments, floating in front of me was a little glass KnickKnack.

“Whooaaaa!” the colt and filly said in unison. “That’s so cool!”

I smiled confidently; proud of my trick, but it wasn’t over yet. I touched the glass me to my horn and cast another spell on it, then threw it to Zag. The colt caught it in his magic and his sister rushed over to crawl up the brahmin’s back to see what I’d done.

“It looks exactly the same, that trick didn’t do anything.” Zag said, with a frown.

“Throw it.” I told him. “As hard as you can, make sure it goes past me and I can’t see it.”

The colt did as he was told and threw the glass toy past me, out to the sandy expanse to the southwest between us and the now-distant Palom.

I lifted a hoof and cast another spell.

“Little KnickKnack,” I said, more for the effect than as a necessary part of the spell. The glass toy disappeared in a bright flash and reappeared in another, on my hoof.

“Whoa! No way, you weren’t even looking at it! How’d you do that?” Zag pleaded, before I threw the little glass me back to the pair.

Before going on a tangent, delineating the intricacies of the inherent magical tracking woven into the initial spell that allows a unicorn to bypass the need for a line of sight, I adjudicated that the colt probably wouldn’t understand a word of it. So instead, I decided to go with “It’s magic, I don’t gotta explain sh- stuff.”

Zag seemed to accept that as a reasonable and well-constructed answer and moved onto his next inquiry, “You got any more tricks, Mr KnickKnack?”

“I think Mr KnickKnack has done quite enough for now, children. Leave him be and play with your new toy,” uttered the soft voice of Winding Path from in front of the brahmin.

The twins conceded, but both gave me a look that said they’d be asking for more tricks later on. While they played, I took the time to sort over things in my inventory.

Let’s see:

Equipped on me was my Stable utility jumpsuit and leather barding, a low calibre rifle and 10mm pistol sheathed in the barding, a pair of technician goggles around my neck, and my saddlebag.

In my saddlebag, wonderfully arranged by magic, was an agglomeration of the things I brought with me, some things I’d picked up on my journey so far, and my reward for completing Sterling Sales’ job. Some of the foodstuff appeared to be preserved pre-war food. My Pipbuck informed me that they contained traces of radiation, but if Sterling put it in there I supposed it wasn’t dangerous amounts. He seemed to have also included some red and yellow pills and IV bags full of orange liquid my Pipbuck identified as Rad-X and RadAway.

Was I ready to survive the wastes? I couldn’t say, but I’d have help. I trotted ahead of the pack brahmin, next to Winding Path.

“You never said where exactly you’re taking me,” I said.

“You never asked, friend,” he countered airily. “We head to New Saddle, but you will depart from us before then.”

“Where am I going, then?” I asked with new uncertainty. I’d assumed that Winding Path and his children would lead me right up to the doors of wherever he promised to lead me. The more I considered the notion, though, the more ridiculous it seemed.

“We will part ways tomorrow; you will be headed to Uncanny Valley.”
At the mention of my destination, I noticed an icon flash on my Pipbuck. There was Uncanny Valley marked to the north, along with icons for New Saddle and Palom to the northeast and southwest. How did my Pipbuck know the locations of places before I did? Stable-Tec made some absurd contraptions. Hang on, what kind of name is Uncanny Valley!?

“Uncanny Valley!?” I asked, baffled as we continued to trot.

“A place my familiarity with is greater than most, but that is not saying much. Pre-war military bunkers reside there, but superstition has played part in keeping ponies away. A chilling fog perpetually blankets the valley and popular opinion places the the fault on spirits. Not all believe these superstitions, but the few who have ventured to Uncanny Valley in my years have not returned. Foolishness played a larger part in their disappearance than spirits; you can be assured,” the wrapped stallion said, calmly as ever.

“How are you more familiar with the valley than most if nopony has ever returned?”

“Simple, young friend, I have been around more than most. I have observed the valley from afar on my travels, heard all of the tales from all around this part of Equestria and beyond, and travelled closer than any who did not aspire to venture all the way.

“The fog is unnatural, yes, but not, as many believe, supernatural. Even mutant animals distance themselves from spirits and the like, but Uncanny Valley is still occupied by dangerous creatures. I suspect the fog is the doing of technology from the war.”

Winding Path’s knowledge was helpful, but left me with a lingering question. “Why are you leading me to a place that you’re not certain about? Why not somewhere else?” I said, turning in front of him - making him stop abruptly.

The mysterious travelling merchant stepped around me, forcing me to spin on my hooves to get back alongside him. “You are a clever pony, KnickKnack, but you are not a hardened mercenary who can trot anywhere he likes, blast everything in his way and leave victorious. Both of these things could be observed from your actions in Palom.

“What I offer you is a chance. If I were to send you to anywhere else possessing what you seek, your death would almost be a certainty. Uncanny Valley is a place I know of that a clever pony like you has a chance to venture. Other options I could give are further, more dangerous and heavy firepower would be what you would need to rely on for success.

“If that were your wish, years could be spent in preparation, but your demise may still be inevitable. Greater chances are found in the unknown valley.”

The well-travelled pony had me pinned – the unknown is better than waiting longer for near-certain death, right?

Right. Uncanny Valley it was.

I nodded with a serious expression. “I see your point, Winding; I’ll trust your judgement.”

We continued northeast until nightfall, where we set up for the night in the hull of a ruined home, stray among the relatively empty, if somewhat more rugged and undulating, landscape we had travelled across from Palom. I crunched on a box of Sugar Bombs, my Pipbuck’s radiation meter softly clicking away as I consumed the two century old foodstuff. Zig and Zag also joined me in eating, but never did I see Winding Path remove the wraps from his muzzle, let alone attempt to eat anything. Perhaps he ate through the day and I simply missed it.

“Ooh, please show us another trick, Mr KnickKnack!” begged the sweet little Zig, staring at me with wide, imploring eyes.

“Oh alright, but just so you know, those eyes are totally unfair,” I said, getting up from where I was sitting and levitating another Sparkle Cola bottle from my bag. Hey, they’re common and disposable! Perfect for if a spell goes wrong, or if you need to smash something to do a trick.

Smash

I held the shattered remains of the bottle in my turquoise glow. “Here’s one I learned to do trying to find a quicker way around fixing things in the Stable.”

I increased my concentration on the shards, which shaped back into the form of the bottle they once were. Hundreds of cracks spread across the surface, but my spell fused the shards together into a whole and perfect bottle again.

Zig and Zag were dumbstruck. “Y-you can fix stuff perfect with just your magic?” the filly asked, gawking.

I chuckled pensively. “I can! Or so I thought when I first tried the spell. The effects are only temporary, so that bottle will fall to pieces again over time - doubly so if you smash it again while it’s still in one piece. Sadly, I haven’t found an actual use for this spell other than temporarily fixing something you broke beyond all repair, then passing the blame by leaving it for somepony else to pick up, then have it fall apart in their hooves.”

I probably shouldn’t have shared that last piece of information, because it resulted in a torrent of begging, feigned sobbing, bartering and finally attempts at wrestling me to the floor to teach them the spell that could get them out of trouble forever and ever for all time. Only the interference of Winding Path saved me from their torrent of skillful persuasion tactics.

Travel continued early the following morning and not long past midday, my cloth-bound guide stopped our small group. Clive hovered quietly at my side as Winding Path turned to us.

“This is where we part, friend. Remember, stay sharp and you will not fall to the perils of the valley. Oh and one more thing,” the merchant hoofed through one of the bags on the brahmin’s back before revealing a small lavender container with a starburst emblem and ‘M.A.S.’ stencilled on the lid. “One final assistance I can offer before we go our own ways. This case contains several talismans, one of which dampens magical effects and will clear a small area of the fog, permitting you a degree of vision.”

He cracked open the case and pointed towards the azure gemstone with ‘Arcane Disruption Talisman’ labelled above it. “Of course, I am a merchant – you may have the talisman for a price.”

My eyes gleamed over the contents of the box held in front of me. Talismans were a piece of arcane technology that varied in usefulness on their own, but were largely made to be paired with machines that could be made to go beyond the limitations of mundane technology. Winding Path had steered me in the direction of my ambitions and the presentation of the other talismans was no accident – he was a clever merchant who picked his timing perfectly, giving me almost no choice in this decision.

“I’ll take the whole case,” I announced with a buoyant tone.

What followed was some bartering experience and the exchange of goods. We then parted, quite content; I gained some wondrous arcano-tech and Winding Path gained a heavier purse.

I waved the trio and their brahmin away as I trotted giddily towards the northwest.

Of course, it was not even ten minutes after departing that red bars began to build up on my E.F.S.

* * *

I let out a relieved laugh and dropped onto my side.

Now the adrenaline was gone, however, I really began to feel the pain of the attack from the mutated boars.

Blood dampened my barding where I was speared by a pair of tusks. I downed a healing potion to close the wounds and placed healing bandages on the punctures in my belly.

I still had over a day’s travel before Uncanny Valley, though, and couldn’t afford to be attacked all the way; it was time to get sneaky.

‘Sneaky’ essentially consisted of sending Clive to distract groups of anything that showed up as red on my E.F.S. since most of the wildlife we encountered had no way of harming a robot that could float above them. The exception were bloatsprites, which posed little threat to a sprite with a reinforced metal hull and a recharging magical beam gun.

Come nightfall, Clive and I had made good progress, but I was not desperate or foolish enough to continue on in the dark where light from my horn or Pipbuck would make me a walking target for predators of the night. I chose a plateau I could safely sleep on while my robotic companion could keep vigilant watch.

I curled up in my bedroll and did my best to ignore the distant screeches of predatory animals, but my mind was left to dwell on what had passed and what was to come. Here I was, not a week out of the Stable and surviving the conflicts I’d been in through luck and help, yet somehow having the delusion of being able to take on the valley of disappearing ponies.

But I survived – six whole days! I was doing far better than anypony thought I’d be capable of and I had a goal to work towards.

Finding advanced pre-war tech, that was my goal. That, then finding Sturdy.

What if it meant more killing, though? The question had been swimming around in my mind since I woke from my raider nightmare. I was a killer now; I’d shot that madmare through the head. I did what I needed to in the moment to live, but how long would it be before I justified killing ponies just on suspicion of a threat, or because they were on my way? What if I degenerated into one of those raiders, killing for fun?

‘No. That’s not me,’ I told myself. It was enough to allow me the peace of mind to slip off to sleep.

Clive greeted me as I woke with jovial beeps while I packed up my bedroll and stuffed a two century old snack cake into my muzzle. I dwelled on neither the consequences of the preservatives inside the sweet treat nor the small piles of ash I trotted past as I once again began my journey to Uncanny Valley.

The valley could be seen as soon as the terrain began to unanimously curve downwards. It would not have taken a bright Pipbuck map indicator to tell me where I had to go at that point. A wide portion of the land was sheerly cut off by a white, pervading form a half mile in diameter.

The bunkers were down there somewhere.

I approached cautiously, hanging the arcane disruption talisman on some twine around my neck before I stepped into the fog itself. The gem began to glow and I pressed on, penetrating the fog as I reached more even ground. I felt a biting chill momentarily before the gem’s magic pressed back the mist. It kept a reasonably clear bubble about five feet around me in all directions, giving me room to judge my steps and keeping a seemingly sluggish Clive within my sight. It seemed the field was enough to weaken the Spritebot, but not enough to shut it off.

Looking up, I couldn’t see the sky, meaning the fog reached far above my head.

I levitated my pistol from its holster, noticing it seemed heavier than usual under the effects of the talisman. Winding Path had said animals still occupied Uncanny Valley and although it was fairly obvious he couldn’t have seen into the fog itself to spot wildlife there, it was better to play things safely.

The damp, reeking earth had a prominent presence of life. Small marsh plants and moss appeared in patches while muddy water bubbled nearby. Occasional chittering sounds rang through the air from indiscernible locations. I felt something itch at my coat, as well.

The first sign of a threat came from the sound of a great splash, followed by the squeals of mutant boars. The sound of their cloven hooves pounded closer and closer. While still out of sight, they appeared on my E.F.S. and Clive began firing weakened magical beams into the vapor. I prepared to enter S.A.T.S. the moment one stuck its ugly head into view.

I was greeted only by silhouettes passing by the edge of my bubble, however. The boars were not attacking, and they were certainly too small to have caused a splash like that. There was something large and terrifying out there and I didn’t want to be around when it got to where I was.

The itching in my coat slowly spread and gained more of a bite as I cantered my way away from the direction the splash had come from. I slowed down when I realised that the disruption talisman’s magic wasn’t keeping up too well with me, my vision becoming more opaque and the biting chill returning.

Continuing on with the disruption field’s effects restored, it was not long before I came across a mangled chainlink fence with a faded yellow sign with ‘Restricted Area’ written across it. This had to be the military compound where the bunkers lay.

I stepped through the fallen length of fence and followed it to a corner. I then veered off away from the fence and headed to what I assumed was the centre of the compound. My coat burned furiously at this point, and the pain had spread to my legs. I raised a foreleg to check the cause. My heart shrank and my mouth gaped in horror. My fetlock was damp with blood, tiny lines spreading along my coat and staining it red.

Only then did I feel what was happening to me.

My flesh was being bored into by something too small for my eyes to see. Searing pain shot through my back and sides. What the fuck? I rolled onto my back and writhed in agony. I had to move, to find somewhere safe; it must have been in the air. I wasn’t thinking, I should have ran from the valley and stayed away, but I shook myself up with a stumbling push and galloped about the compound in search of the bunkers. My only thoughts were of the spreading anguish I felt and the shelter I needed so badly.

The lines continued to spider out over my legs and back, ever slowly dying my tan coat a deep red and forcing me to stumble and shake in pain and distress. Goddesses, it felt like it was getting deeper, permeating my being.

The fog swam in as I ran around, leaving Clive and my clear bubble trailing behind. The spreading pain worsened by the second. I could sense lines crawling towards my neck and the pain in my rump pierced ever deeper. Shit, shit, shit. I couldn’t see more than a foot in front of me at this point. Not enough time to stop in front of the steel door emerging from the alabaster mist.

My body jerked back violently as my muzzle crunched against steel and I crashed onto my back. Scrambling to my hooves, the air cleared around me, I could see the concrete hulk before my eyes. My hopes for salvation overpowered the pain in my hide and muzzle. I wrenched on the spoked wheel on the steel door, bloodying its surface but releasing the locks holding it closed.

Salvation! I pulled it open and dove inside, letting Clive follow through before hastily closing and locking it from the other side, leaving the inside smeared with crimson.

I wrenched off my saddlebag and desperately drank down the healing potions inside, the relative safety giving me the clarity to finally think of them. The pain waned, but still spread around for a few more minutes. Whatever was causing it hadn’t left right away.

Zipping open my barding, my coat was matted with blood. It was a gruesome mess of dark red that painted the floor as I curled up and shivered in horror, feeling profoundly violated. Fuck, fuck that was nearly the end of me. There wasn’t a lot of blood in any one given place, but most of my coat was damp with it. Shit. Nothing vital had been damaged, but had I stayed out there, I would have been flayed alive. Luna’s grace…

I felt thoroughly unclean and discomforted as I rose back to my hooves and slipped my grisly barding back on. I removed the talisman from my neck and its glow faded. There appeared to be no fog in here, which I was beginning to suspect was probably not coincidental to the withdrawal of the pain.

Before me was a metal tunnel that lead down fifteen or so feet, a set of stairs following the down and glowing yellow lights lining the walls. I followed them to a door identical to the one at the entrance. Prying it open, I stepped into a wider room with another door standing another twenty feet from me.

There were several large, corrugated steel crates in the room that had blocked some fairly important details as I stepped in.

The turrets.

These were no low-calibre, ceiling-mounted turrets in the offices of a factory. Instead, these appeared to be magically-powered, military-grade fuck-your-shit-up kind of turrets.

However, there were two turrets and three red bars on my EFS.

“Stop. Right. There, outsider! Sit still while I turn your sorry hide into a neat little smoking pile of ash I can suck out through the vents,”

“S-stop! No!” I called out to the voice behind the speakers, backpedalling to relative safety behind the corrugated boxes and towards the door. A pair of bright red beams arced through the space I’d previously occupied – I dreaded to think of them passing straight through me.

I had to grab onto Clive to stop it rushing forward to attack. The spritebot jittered about feverishly and emitted low, erratic beeps.

There was a shrill screech of metal behind me and I trotted my rump straight into the door. Oh fun – they had me trapped.

“Don’t make me come out there and get you, outsider!” called the granular stallion’s voice, followed by another discharge from the turrets, striking the steel boxes.

I wasn’t sure those crates would protect me forever, and even if they did, my only other option was to work my way out of the room and run back into that fog. I’d leave bloodied and empty-hooved, if at all. I took my chances.

“Do it,” I called.

“What?!” the voice responded, incredulously, over the speakers.

I taunted again. “Come out here and get me!”

“I’ll do it!” The pony behind the speakers sounded anxious.

“Why don’t you, then? Scared of a Stable Pony?” I teased.

Clive struggled in my hooves.

The stallion was enraged. “That’s it! You’re gonna wish you stood still and got dusted, you little shit!”

I heard the faint clanking of metal on the opposite side of the door before a loud hiss and more metallic screeching. The door swung opened and out thundered a hulking mass of equine-shaped steel.

I let go of Clive.

There was a loud clang where Clive impacted the Ranger’s helmet. This knocked him off balance momentarily and sent clive flying into the steel crates. I took the opportunity to swing out my rifle and sweep the Ranger’s hooves from under him.

“Little fucker,” he yelled as he landed on his belly. I jumped onto his back and took a coil of rope out of my saddlebag.

The Stallion groaned as he stood up. I dropped, slipping my legs around his body, navigating the rope around his head, neck and legs. He shook, “GET,” kicked, “OFF,” and bucked, “ME,” until he tripped over.

Fantastic, except that I cushioned his fall.

He got up first and pinned me down with his weight. I squirmed in pain. “Got you now! Now be a good intruder and di-”

“Stop!” called a authoritative female voice from the hallway the Ranger atop me had run through. Her icon on my E.F.S. was green. “That’s an order.”

The Ranger stallion grumbled, but conceded, getting off me. He proceeded to shake the rope off himself. His E.F.S. marker turned green.

“That was foolish, Initiate,” said the mare, who was also equipped with power armour. “You should first have assessed that this pony was a threat-”

“He came in here all covered in blood, like a rai-”

“Ah, ah! Are you forgetting where we are?” she said, condescendingly. “It’s a miracle he’s still standing after going through that that fog with what little protection he has. Which brings me to my second point - you should have reported this instead of getting all trigger-happy. He may be useful in assisting with the fog problem.”

“Sorry, ma’am. I wasn’t thinking,” the stallion said, dropping his head slightly.

Meanwhile, I crawled my way over to Clive, who was out cold. Something must have been damaged or knocked loose.

The mare’s tone softened. “That’s okay, Cinnamon Roll, just make sure you learn from this, so you don’t murder potential help in the future. Also, I know initiates aren’t allowed to carry weapons around the base, but next time you abandon a pair of laser turrets to attack somepony yourself, I’d suggest that doing so unarmed is a pretty dum-”

“What the HELL IS GOING ON HERE, WHY ARE YOU STANDING AROUND AN INTRUDER AND NOT BEATING HIM TO A BLOODY PULP?!” called a shrill voice from the doorway. I shielded my ears, while the others looked physically pained by the loud voice.

“Sir, I believe this intruder may be of use to us, sir.” said the mare.

“Is that so? Well what’re you doing standing around? BRING THIS INTRUDER TO ELDER OBSIDIAN!”

“Yes, sir!” said the mare. She then trotted over to speak to me in a soothing tone. “Come with me, hon. You’ll be safe.”

I looked up at her and back down to Clive, running my mouth silently.

“I promise, you’ll be okay. So will your friend,” she promised.

I stood up slowly and lifted Clive with my magic.

“What’s your name, hon?” she asked.

I was still shaky, but hesitantly answered. “It’s… KnickKnack.”

“Nice to meet you, KnickKnack. I’m Sapphire. I think we can help each-other, but I need you to come with me to see our Elder. Can you do that for me?”

I nodded my head, letting Sapphire lead me from the front and the screechy Ranger from the back. I could hear him yell back down behind me. “Initiate. GET YOUR ASS BACK TO YOUR POST.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the Initiate, with a slightly shaking tone.

I got the idea that I didn’t need to be told not to try anything.

The pair quickly led me through the tight hallway in relative silence, past the Initiate’s station, into a more open area, down a flight of stairs, then another facing the left. I eventually lost track of directions as we headed further into the base. I decided to stop concentrating on that and began to notice my actual surroundings.

It was somewhat similar to a Stable, but with high ceilings it was more like Stable 85 than 24. Everything was darker and the lighting was all those comparatively dim, yellow lights. I noticed that we were walking on steel grating, under which there appeared to be walkways that followed the level we were on. One of the most distinct things I noticed, though, was that the Rangers didn’t seem to have the red trim that the ones in Stable 24 had. It was very curious.

We passed ponies in power armour and in other kinds of barding that I couldn’t identify, but they paid us no mind.

Two levels down, I was lead into a huge, round room. It was filled with screens and banners. In the middle sat a stallion on an elevated platform, with a round desk - he had a white mane, a dark blue coat and old eyes. He looked up from his work as we entered, lining up with Sapphire on my left and the commander screechy on my right.

Sapphire called out. “Elder, we found this outsider in the entrance of the bunker. His name is KnickKnack and he made his way through the fog, barely. I think he could help.”

The elder stood from his desk, regarded me for a moment and then replied with a deep, authoritative voice. I noticed he wore an ornate blue robe. “This is unprecedented, but certainly worth looking into. That said, I must ask, why are you here, KnickKnack?”

“A travelling merchant told me that there may be advanced pre-war technology in Uncanny Valley,” I replied. “That’s what I was looking for.”

The elder laughed. “Haha! A stallion after my own heart. Well, now that you’re here, we can’t let you leave without being certain we can trust that you won’t alert the wrong ponies about our presence here. Until then, I think we can work something out to benefit us mutually.”

This was taking a relatively obvious direction. “I’m going to guess you want me to help you do something about that fog? It would seem you’re as trapped here as I am.”

“Right you are,” the Elder replied. “A smart one; I like that. With this fog, we can’t safely run missions, trade or relocate. We’re running on borrowed time. I want you to provide our Scribes with any information you can about your experience getting through the fog and, if you can, help them find a way to get rid of it. As a reward – other than your freedom – I’m sure we can spare some technology for you, assuming we can be certain it won’t be detrimental to us.”

“Those sound like pretty fair conditions to me,” I said, knowing full well I didn’t want to be out there to experience that fog again, and that it would be best to cooperate while deep in a bunker full of Steel Rangers. Not to mention that I could gain something from it. “I think we have a deal.”

The elder smiled. “You will be supervised, of course. I think Crusader Stone will fit the role quite nicely. In any case, welcome to the Steel Rangers, Probationary Initiate KnickKnack.”

Stone… so that’s his name. I guess he fits it, being pretty tough on his subordinates and all. I definitely did not want him over my shoulder all of the time, though. I looked to my right in horror.

“What ARE you looking at ME like that for, INITIATE?!” my supervisor screeched.

“I-”

“You SHOULD be looking at your SUPERVISOR!”

“Aren’t you my supervisor, Crusader Stone?” I asked, aghast.

“CRUSADER STONE?!” He bellowed. “I AM STAR PALADIN GINGER SNAPS. YOU WILL REFER TO ME BY MY TITLE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

“I think he understands, now, Star Paladin,” said the elder. “Though I can’t say for certain if he can still hear out of his right ear. I take blame for that little incident, though. I should have specified that your supervisor will be the Ranger to your left.”

I turned with relief to Sapphire, who took off her helmet, to reveal her glamorous appearance. “Welcome to our cause, KnickKnack. Crusader Sapphire Stone, at your service.”

She gave a small smile and held out an armored hoof. Relief washed over me as I smiled back and matched my hoof to hers.

She pulled me in close and spoke into my ear. “Don’t let the looks fool you - you’re my responsibility now, so don’t make me regret saving you.”

Still relieved to not have Ginger Snaps as a supervisor.

Footnote: Level up

New Perk: Horse Sense -- You are a swift learner. You gain an additional +10% whenever experience points are earned.

Author's Note

Apologies for the lateness on this one. It should have been done forever and a day ago, but instead it's been sitting around, gathering dust, an inch from completion.

I did have fun writing it, but things have been busy and I wasn't sure about a few small details. They're all worked out now, though!

Thanks to Kkat for creating this elaborate world from two of my favourite things, and to the friends who've helped me - even when it was just me talking at them until I came up with ideas. Ideas that are usually for chapters far ahead, but ideas nonetheless.

Chapter 3 is planned out, but I haven't begun the writing side of it, which is fairly important. I'm not sure when it'll be released, though hopefully I'll be able to dig right into it after exams next month.
~Immolated Poet