Fallout Equestria: Honest Lies

Fallout Equestria:Honest Lies

Chapter 3: Forged Like Iron

“From the bottom of the hole I wondered if I could manage to climb out.”

Week two, I woke up in my room not quite fully sure how I had gotten back to it.  I vaguely remember the promise of food, but all they gave me was some pill, I have never seen it’s like, and I’m not sure it had anything to do with food or nutrition, I still felt starved.  I grumbled to myself a bit, waking to the sound of the wake-up alarm and struggled to stand, I felt hungry, and in pain, something I was getting more used to.

First up on my schedule was simply something listed as “Shooting”.  Were they really going to give me a gun in here? I suppose it was still training technically, but I desperately wanted to shoot my way out.  I wandered dutifully to the range room since I was more concerned with what would happen if I did not.  There was another black pegasus in there, a male, he had a black mane too, and was quite slim, I wondered if he ate as much as I have recently, his cutie mark was a target, I couldn’t help but think it meant he was easy to shoot.

He regarded me closely for an uncomfortable amount of time, silent all the while; I took a chance, “uhm. Hello?” He blinked when I spoke and instinctively flinched.  He gave me a weary smile, “Toughening your hide ain’t my job. Sorry ya gotta deal wit’ that.” He motioned me over to a table with some heavy duty armor on it.  “Names Sitting Duck, inspirin’ I know.” His chuckle was disarming but I was more curious about the metal plate looking armor on the table, “What’s all this? For a shootin’ class even?” my question made him chuckle again. “Well, ya wouldn’t be able to hold the guns we want to train ya in as is.”

I was being walked through the beginning steps of trying to wear what I had been told was armor that belonged to Steel Rangers.  “Steel Rangers are a relic from before the Great War.” He was telling me small bits and pieces, we couldn’t work me into the body armor because of my wings, but I could see it was like our power armor, just with a very different matrix system, nothing made the parts I tried on lighter, but I felt slightly stronger. It was more strenuous than I had thought it would be.  “I want to make sure ya can handle the rest of the suit before we try to squeeze you into the body piece.”  I sort of looked forward to it, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to fit.

The next thing on my training was called ‘Toughness’, this worried me considerably after what Sitting Duck had told me and the pained look that had accompanied his words.  I went to the next training room slowly, as I expected this to be entirely unpleasant; my mind kept drifting back to thoughts of how this would go if I had that clunky armor on instead of nothing. Back at the formerly exercise room, Collateral Damage awaited me, and if it wasn’t just me, he looked happy…

“Stand over there.” It was more of a command than a suggestion and he took a serious face again now that he had my attention.  He began to explain to me how this worked, “This is all out physical combat between us,” (Oh joy…) “There is only one rule, no flying for either of us.” (Double joy…) I nodded, I was in bad shape still, but there was a fire in me that was being stoked by the chance to hurt this guy, “Yeah, I got ya.” I answered him just to break his talking rule.

I am very well versed in hoof to hoof combat and at hitting ponies with things I can hold or throw, but my body wasn’t in any condition to, but I still had to try, I’d see that smug look wiped from his face if just for a moment.  He was large however, even bigger than me and at least twice as muscular. He began by charging me head on with much more swiftness than I expected, knocking the wind strait out of me and sending me flying into the door I had just walked in from, I coughed up spit and felt sore from the impact, but quickly stood again, this time ready for a charge.  He simply walked up to me and moved to grapple me, I lowered myself and lifted my back legs into his gut-he barely moved!  I felt my eyes widen in fear as he lowered one of his hooves around my bucked legs and proceeded to handle me not unlike a mop, repeatedly, by the third impact with the floor, I lost sight of the conscious world.  My mind coped by being lost in an old memory…

“Hey Empty! Catch!” a bottle of water hit me square in the nose, followed by a childish giggling. “Sis, did you really make Special Ops? You can’t even catch a bottle!”  I found myself laughing a bit as I ran to my kid sister and lifted her up under one of my legs, and then proceeded to noogie her relentlessly.  Splash Happy, a young white filly with a blue mane and more smiles than I could see anywhere else, this was my sister. “Ya damn right I did. Careful where ya chuck those bottles.” I let her go and she rubbed her mane and eyed me, still smiling. I felt myself smile back and then the scene violently changed to a dark hellscape, a metal cage suddenly imprisoning her in front of me, powerless to act as the laughter of a military colt could be heard everywhere in my head “I OWN you now!”

I awoke in a cold sweat, between my being a mop, and my conjured nightmares, I was in some kind of medical wing.  I was not surprised in the least, I couldn’t move, I was too bandaged, and I could still taste healing potions in my mouth by their aftertaste.  Part of me wondered how bad ii had been beaten, or when he stopped, but the familiar voice of my ‘doctor’ let me know, “A broken wing, minor fractures in your skull, your neck, and your jaw, two broken legs…and that’s only the most noteworthy injuries, there were many I skipped over.” Nightshade smiled down at me from in front of the bed. I glared as dangerously as I could manage.

Remarkably I didn’t feel like I had been injured that badly, “How long have I been out?” She looked at me, slightly irritated and answered, “Too long, nearly three days. Punch you’re really slowing us down.” I grimaced. “What the hell? You think I asked for that beating!?” She had pushed me a bit too much.  She smirked, “At least you’ve still got some energy.” She put a tray next to me with a pill and a cup of water, “Eat up.” There was satisfaction in her voice. I looked at the pill before taking it, “What is this? Some kind of dietary supplement?” I admit I was curious.  “That is what we are feeding you. It’ll provide the bare needs for your body, and still get you accustomed to starvation.” What they were doing to me was not unlike torture.

She left me there to simmer in my rage, but not before oddly assuring me that my training was nearing completion, and that they had to bump up a few parts of it to make up for my time out.  After a few minutes, Lighthooves came into the hospital room with a grim look on his face, then sat next to me, “Punch…I am so sorry.” Again it sounded worryingly sincere, “Aw don’t do that, it worries me. Besides, I can’t feel shit.” I gave him my best smile, which he did not return, “I came to explain the mission to you, and the changes we had to make for it.” He slipped me a classified folder and sat back as I opened it.  Inside were so MANY notes on the Steel Rangers, base locations, habits, lifestyle, combat patterns, heck-interesting facts, it had it all, or as I was swiftly told, all they knew.

“We want you to infiltrate their organization when your training is done, yes-that means a surface mission.” That sounded more exciting to me than terrifying, but for some reason he still looked sorry and grim. “So uh, how am I gonna blend in with a bunch of Earth Ponies?” He closed his eyes, “Punch…” I felt his hooves pat my back, which wasn’t entirely unwelcome and a good sign the anesthetic had worn off, but then I realized-they had removed my wings.

Footnote: level up: Hoof-Forced Toughness: Through grueling forced training regimens, you gain +5 to your Damage Threshold.

Trait Gained: “Earth” Pony: You have lost your wings and incur a -2 to AGI, however, you gain more of an insight with your Earth Pony lineage and gain +2 STR.