Foe Hie Odyssey

I trudged down a rain soaked and roughhewn trail.  I was wet and miserable although for entirely separate reasons.  I was being sent on a suicide mission into the enemy camp and if I failed than a lot of good townsponies were going to die.  Then as soon as I thought that my situation couldn’t get any worse it started raining.  If that wasn’t bad enough, as evening crept on, I started to see the red eyes of the vicious bat race appropriately named bloodwings, staring down at me.  The bat like creatures however would keep their distance.  It seemed that they knew to keep their distance from obviously more dangerous predators or that they thought I wasn’t even worth the effort to kill.

I checked my pipbuck to see how much further I would need to go before I was in sight of the gates to the asylum compound.  Not far I thought, just another minute or two.  As I looked up I saw a funny looking gun pointed at my face.  The gun was held by a claw and as I followed the claw up I saw the beaked face of a griffin.  “Don’t move,” purred the majestic beast.  Resisting both my impulses to get an even closer look and to jump back in terror, I instead took a steadying breath and looked around.  I was surrounded by three of the raider ponies equipped like the ones whom I had seen earlier and a griffin who I hadn’t seen.  This brought the raider count back up to sixteen.

“By Celestia, that dog really is wearing pony skin!” said one of the raiders in a gruff voice.  He was a unicorn stallion with a mucus green coat and slightly darker mane and tail.  His face looked deformed with gross flaps of skin creating the impression of a mustache and tentacled beard.  His eyes however appeared as simply large black orbs.  The pony had no chin to speak of.

“I don’t think that’s a hellhound, Squid Face.” said a mare, addressing the mucus green pony.  Squid Face seemed like an appropriate name for the mustached creature.  The mare who had addressed Squid Face was tall and young, with a lean body and black coat and mane.  There was a white stripe running through her mane and down her charcoal tail.  She had a battle saddle and instead of an energy pistol she had attached to the saddle a minigun and what looked like a grenade launcher.  She was also a Pegasus and I hadn’t seen any Pegasi during my earlier scouting mission.  I also would have remembered seeing a pony as distinctive as Squid Face.  This meant that there were at least eighteen raiders unless this mare was Silver Wing.  “What are you?” asked the mare sounding genuinely curious.

“I am an American.”  I proudly proclaimed.  The raiders stared at me perplexed.  Clearly they had never heard of America.

“I’ve never killed a Merican before.” said the griffin smiling evilly.

“Good, than I won’t have to kill you, yet.”  I said smiling right back.

“Omega!”  Admonished the mare. “Silver Wing said he wants anyone we capture to be brought to him.”

“And I say we kill him here.”  Said Omega keeping the gun leveled with my head.  “What if he’s here to free the hostages, or worse what if he’s here to kill your oh so wonderful father figure?”

“With what?  The American only has an ax and a sword.  Do you doubt our leader’s ability to defend himself from a mere mutant armed with low tech weapons?”  It was true that I was only equipped with the machete, fire ax, and of course my trusty scalpel which was currently hidden up my sleeve.  I had left the sniper rifle back in Plowton and in the care of Haywire.  If the plan worked than she would need it more than I would.

Omega didn’t answer the question instead choosing to ask, “What if he’s working for the townsponies?”  The other three raiders looked between me and Omega before breaking down into snickers.

“You really think that the townsponies would recruit a creature that runs around wearing the skin of dead ponies?  That sounds like something that we’d do.” said Squid Face, his tentacle like flesh wriggling about as he chuckled.

“Are you?”  I asked seeing my chance.

“Are we what?” asked Omega.

“Are you hiring?”  I asked.

“We are, but No Americans Need Apply.” said Omega, sending one of the many pains of the Irish through me.

Looking at me funny, the Pegasus said “I think we should let Silver Wing decide that.”  The other ponies surrounding me nodded in agreement.

“What if an accident happ,” Omega didn’t finish his sentence before a minigun and two faintly glowing energy pistols were pointed towards him.

The second pistol was held awkwardly in the mouth of a silt black earth pony stallion who grunted something like “Don’t even think about it.”

“My employers won’t be happy when they hear of this.” Said Omega.  The two pistol wielding raiders looked uncertainly between the mare and Omega.

“No they won’t.”  Said the mare before appending, “They won’t like to hear that their representative would risk the whole mission and their precious relic all because he didn’t like the look of a prospective recruit.”

“On your own head be it.” Said the griffin, “but Hawke, mark my words, this creature is trouble.”

The griffin lowered his gun and we walked as a group down towards the compound with Omega leading the way.  The Pegasus mare walked beside me, with Squid Face taking up the rear.  The last raider turned invisible again and returned to sentry duty.

“I’m sorry about Omega.  He isn’t actually part of our band.” said the mare.  “I’m Black Hawke” she said proffering a hoof.  I made the hoof bump shake motion again, this time much less awkwardly.

“Ulysses,” The mare nodded before continuing.

“So you want to join the Silver Wing Slicer Family?”  Family?  I briefly wondered if all the raiders I’d seen were related in some strange way.  Perhaps the only way to join was to marry into the family.  That would make my mission even more awkward and my eventual betrayal all the more painful.  Seeing my expression the mare laughed. “Oh no, we aren’t related that way.”

“Well, I’m alone and out of a job, so yes, I suppose I would like to join up with your raider family.”  Thinking about what could happen if Silver Wing didn’t accept me, I added, “That is if Silver Wing shall accept me.”

“He will, after all he offered to let Omega join the family, even after meeting him.”  Black Hawke assured me, albeit at the slight expense of my pride.  We shared a laugh, although I laughed more out of relief. The argument that Silver Wing would let less qualified individuals into the band had done a lot to help reassure me.  Omega looked back scowling and we laughed again with Squid Face joining in with his own hearty, gurgling laugh.

As we came to the compound the large heavy gates swung open and I was marched toward the center of the compound.  The raiders all gathered around us watching intently as I was brought onto a raised platform in front of the crucified mare.  I noticed two things about the dead mare.  First, that she was actually a striped zebra, and secondly, that there was an unusually greater quantity of blood over her private areas.  I didn’t want to know what that implied about her fate.

Black Hawke sprinted off and several other raiders, these ones unicorns levitated chairs out of the barracks.  In ten seconds flat all the raiders present were seated and a massive tarp depicting a sunny afternoon had been draped over all our heads.  I was even given a large, clean, sky blue towel with a picture of six seemingly random ponies, an oversized iguana, and the words “Plowton Institute for the Criminally Insane Where Dreams Come True!”

When Black Hawke reemerged she was accompanied by a much older Pegasus, this one obviously Silver Wing.  Silver Wing had a charcoal gray coat with a silver white mane and tail both cut military fashion.  His pinions were silver and he wore clean and simple black barding that was accented with a pair of silver medals.  His tribal tattoo was of a burnt black cloud and a similar thunderbolt.  It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen the tribal marks of any of the other raiders.  As I looked around the only other symbol or insignia I could see was one on the griffin’s armor.  The dead zebra mare appeared to have had her mark cut off with a knife.  Even the tribal marks on the posters and paintings had been covered up, using blood, knives, and fire of course.

I didn’t know what this meant, but I decided I would find out before I led these raiders into the trap that I had waiting for them.  It was obviously important to the Silver Wing Slicers and therefore it was the least that I could do for them, what with the whole infiltration and backstabbing that I was about to do.

I stood from the seat that had been provided for me by the raiders as a sign of respect to their leader.  Silver Wing walked up, looking very official despite his plain black barding.  He stood opposite me and extended a hoof which I accepted, now somewhat accustomed to the peculiar form of greeting.  My hand was almost shaking, but as I looked Silver Wing in the eye I found some inner strength to steady myself.  With a firm hoofshake I said cordially, “My name is Ulysses Haroldson, sir.  It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”  Silver Wing nodded at my hoofshake and then he took his seat and I soon followed suit.

“The pleasure is mine, but there is no need to be so formal.  As I am sure you already know, my name is Silver Wing, the leader of the Silver Wing Slicers.”  He had an odd way of sitting that was different from the way that I had seen any pony sit up until this point.  It seemed if anything somewhat human with back legs out in front and forehooves clasped in his lap.  “Now I hear that you’re looking to join the family.  Is that true?”

“Yes,” I had to force myself to omit the sir, but decided that it would still be best to maintain a professional appearance.  I was thankful that I had had the opportunity to clean myself up a little before meeting with the raider chief.

Silver Wing smirked maniacally “Well then before we decide if you have what it takes to be part of the Silver Wing Slicers, why don’t you first tell us about yourself.”  Sensing a loaded question I took a brief moment to formulate a response.

“This world is alien to me, a couple weeks ago I woke up in a city called Canterlot.  I killed a few ponies with my machete and ax.  This here’s the skin of two of them.  I also killed a few mercs on my way over here along with a few dozen wild animals.  You know, whatever it takes to survive, right?”  I said trying to sound like a gun for hire. Thinking about it, I decided that so far, I probably didn’t seem any better than a common cut throat, especially to the pony in front of me who was probably a professional killer.  Maybe being a common cut throat could get me the job, but I needed to do better.  I needed to become somebody that these raiders could trust and rely upon before they started killing anymore hostages, or

Flare got too impatient waiting and launched the surprise attack ahead of schedule.  I continued, “Probably the most dangerous creature I have ever killed was a blue Alicorn.”

I was interrupted as every one of the assembled raiders who had steadily been growing more restless, now rose up shouting.  “Objection!” cried out one raider stallion with a particularly spiky mane.

Silver Wing quieted them with a raised hoof before turning to me, “It is true that we Slicers sometimes like to exaggerate our accomplishments, but you go too far”.

“But it is the truth,” I said, surprised that he would doubt my sincerity, especially when I was literally fused to the skin of some of my victims.

“The Alicorns are all dead and anyone who set foot in Canterlot would also be dead.  This is a known fact,” Said Silver Wing.  I remembered all of the hazards that I had faced when I was in Canterlot.  It was no wonder that anyone who went there had died.

“Do you know why everyone who went into Canterlot died?”  I asked calmly, quietly, as I recalled the horrors of my first home, since awakening.

“I don’t, but Omega does.”  Silver Wing looked out at the assembled and Omega stepped forward grinning.

“The Pink Cloud is the number one hazard in Canterlot.  It even killed the princesses.  And even if you a mere mutant son of a bitch had somehow survived, there would be signs that you’d been in the Pink Cloud, like your clothing being fused to your body.” said Omega smugly.  I took a moment to examine him more closely.  He was wearing a suit of armor like the kind worn by the talon griffins.  Over the talon symbol on his armor there was a scar, not unlike the scar on the other talon griffins’ armor.

I flashed a victorious smile towards Omega before turning back to Silver Wing.  “As you can see I have been fused to my armor.”  I extended my arm toward Silver Wing and he nodded.

“I’m sorry for doubting you about that part of your story.  How about this Alicorn?  Omega are there really Alicorns in the Equestrian Heartlands?”

Reluctantly Omega nodded.  There was a stunned silence from all of the assembled raiders.

“Well I’m impressed.”  Said Silver Wing, “So, why is such a mighty hunter, wanting to join my little family?”

“I am looking for a place in the world and most people usually prefer the shoot first and ask questions later policy, especially when they see this,” I theatrically gestured toward myself, “Walking towards them.”

“Sounds good to me” Said Silver Wing.  “Well, since you want to join the family, and families share their secrets, why don’t you tell us your greatest weakness, you do have one right?  After all I’m curious to know what kind of weaknesses an Alicorn hunter might have.”

“It was only the one Alicorn.”  I said.  Thinking, I decided to try to turn my supposed weakness into a potential strength. “As for weaknesses, I am afraid that I can be a little too determined to get a job done.  I of course wouldn’t ever consider cutting corners, but if I do anything that seems either too zealous or foolhardy you shall now understand why.”  I decided to ask my own question at this point, “What is the best thing I can do as a member of the Silver Wing Slicers?”

Silver Wing nodded before saying, “The best thing you can do is to help protect and provide for the family no matter the cost to yourself or to others.  Here in the Silver Wing Slicers we have a, well it’s not a rule, more of a guideline.  First comes family.  Second comes duty.  If you have to sacrifice your duty for the sake of the family than you’ll be forgiven.  Lastly comes honor.  This part is left mostly to your interpretation, but we raiders do have to have a sense of honor.  Do you understand?”

“Family, Duty, Honor.”  I said nodding.

“I’m curious, why are you travelling alone?  I’d expect a social creature like you to have at least one friend.”  Asked Silver Wing, and again I sensed a loaded question although I couldn’t fathom why.

“I would expect the same thing.  The only reason I’m out here alone is because there are not that many open minded people in the world.”  It was basically the truth.  If my mission was a success, then the townsponies might accept me.  That and of course the supplies which they had offered as payment.

“Well I think that’s about all that we needed to hear.”  Said Silver Wing said rising and turning towards the assembled raiders.

Thinking I might have made a mistake I hurriedly asked, “Is there anything else that you’d like to know before making your decision on whether or not I shall join?”

Smiling Silver Wing said, “Don’t ask me, they are the ones making the decision.”  He said extending his hoof out towards the assembly.

“So,” I said turning to address the ponies before me.  I smiled at the sweet smell of democracy in the morning and asked “You whom I’d wish to call brothers and sisters, is there anything else that you wish to know about me?”

“How did you kill the Alicorn?” asked a young buck with a yellow coat.

I explained the Alicorn fight to my audience.  I first briefly explained my situation in Canterlot, how I woke up without any idea of how I’d gotten there and a few of the things that I did after waking up.  I then told them about the actual task of taking down an Alicorn and explained the actions I took to accomplish this.  Finally I told the assembled the bloody and admittedly satisfying result of my actions.

I even showed them the loot I got from killing the Alicorn including the odd book that I had almost completely forgotten about.  Sword Mares really is an addictive comic series and it had successfully made me forget about the horrors of my life on more than one occasion.  I made a mental note to ask if there were any issues of the comic book series lying around the compound.

“Which way do you swing?  And are you a Mare or a Stallion?” asked a unicorn pony of questionable gender.

I chose to ignore the pony’s first question, and only said in response, “I’m a guy, and are there any other questions?”  The raiders began to ask their questions all at once creating a deafening cacophony.  After a moment’s thought I raised my hand for silence and added “Questions related to the actual decision making process? And could you also raise your hooves, please.”  I did not want a repeat of the last question, in any shape or form, as it made me somewhat uncomfortable.  I was after all the only human I knew of, in all of existence, which made for lonely nights.

Now there were only two questions.  Turning to Omega I said, “You aren’t part of the family, so I’ll answer your question later.”  I then turned to the only hoof in the air, “Black Hawke, is there something that you’d like to know about me?”

“Yes.  Are you only planning on staying with the family until someone else gives you a better offer?”

“No.  Family shouldn’t be something that can be so carelessly cast aside.  It doesn’t need to be your biological family, after all a husband and wife create a family with their union.  Family should be there for you even when nobody is able to get along and it all seems like one crazy mess.  Family should be able to lean on each other rather than tear each other down.  So, family, a real family, isn’t something that can be sold away to the highest bidder.  And if someone has something that isn’t like that, than I’m not sure if that is really a family.”  My answer seemed to satisfy Black Hawke.

With the last question answered, the assembled ponies prepared to vote.  “Those who are for Ulysses Joining the family rise and take your place at his side.” called out Silver Wing.  I saw Black Hawke stand along with half a dozen other ponies including Squid Face and the unicorn from earlier.  These ponies then moved up onto the stage and stood beside me with the unicorn uncomfortably close.  “Those opposed to Ulysses joining the family rise and take your place in opposition.”  Omega moved to respond, but Silver Wing waved him down.  One of the ponies made as if to stand up, but seemed to decide that it would be too much trouble and remained seated.  “You are now an associate of the Silver Wing Slicer Family.  Congratulations”

“Yes!” I shouted while punching the sky.

Then Silver Wing stamped on my enthusiasm, and killed it dead, “Now to celebrate your association with the family I have a special assignment for you,” this wouldn’t be good, “And a gift,” although the gift might make it worthwhile.  Silver Wing began, “You won’t really be one of us until you’ve shed blood beside us.” I probably wasn’t going to like this.  Would they only trust me after attacking the town?  That would render coming here in the first place almost useless. “As father of the Silver Wing Slicers it is my honor to give you your first mission.  You will be assisting in clearing out the Treatment Center of the compound,” Silver Wing gestured towards the largest of the four buildings with the barricade around the door, “of its current inhabitants.”  That sounded ominous.

“Sounds good to me.” I said overjoyed that the crazy plan that had brought me here just might actually work.  Remembering the second thing he had said, “What was this about a gift?”  Silver Wing chuckling lightly used one of his wings to bring out an object wrapped in heavy cloth.  I unwrapped it to find an ornate and handcrafted magical energy pistol.  It was black with wires running along it in complex patterns connecting the various green emeralds that shone with a supernatural light.  The words “Silver Wing Slicer” were engraved in silver along one side of the gun.  Upon the other side were the words Familus, Munus, Honos.  “So about this mission, shall I be going alone, armed only with a pistol?  Admittedly a very awesome magical energy pistol, but still only a pistol.”

Silver Wing and several of the half dozen ponies around me laughed, “Of course not.  Who do you think we are the damned Steel Rangers.  I don’t plan on sending a potential family member to an early grave.” said Silver Wing.

Black Hawke spoke up now saying, “You can’t exactly shed blood beside us if you aren’t first fighting alongside us.”

“Exactly!” said Silver Wing, “Black Hawke, I would like you to assemble a team to lead into the Treatment Center.  As for the rest of you layabouts.”  Said Silver Wing turning back towards the assembled. “What are you looking at?  Back to work!”  He shouted this last part, his voice full of mock gruffness.  Without turning from the assembled raiders and with his voice now barely more than a whisper he added, “Oh, and Black Hawke, take Omega with you.”  Both Black Hawke, Omega, and I groaned in perfect unison.

*****

Within half an hour I was standing outside the Treatment Center with Black Hawke, Omega, Squid Face, and four of the ponies who had stood up for me including the unicorn.  A pair of earth ponies pushed a metal grate away from the door.  I could hear Squid Face gulp nervously, but then he took a tentative step forward.  One of our unicorns used their telekinesis to open the door.

Instantly a pony in a white nurse uniform sprang through the door.  Its face was covered by a random top hat, but I could still see the pony’s hairless flesh.  The creature before us was covered in severe abrasions that resembled scrapes.  In some places there were scabs and in others pale bubbles within the creature’s skin that I realized must be filled with puss.  The worst part was that I recognized these wounds as severe radiation burns.

Before the zombie pony had even cleared the doorway, the raider team had let off several glowing green blasts of magical energy.  “Nopony gets a point.” said Black Hawke, which left me to wonder if this was some kind of game.  “There are more inside, Come on!” cried the Pegasus and howling she charged in seemingly heedless of the danger.  Howling we followed after the mad mare into the depths of the asylum.

The raiders around me gunned down another three nurse zombies in the entry hall.  “Squid Face, Ember, guard the door.” said the fearless mare.  Squid Face took up a position behind a desk and knocked over a few chairs creating a barricade.  Another unicorn this one with a fiery red coat and an evil look in his one remaining eye took up his position standing in front of the door.  Ember had already killed personally two of the zombies that we’d encounter and seemed eager to kill more.

The rest of us continued on, going from room to room and slowly exterminating the undead infestation.  Within an hour my raider companions had only had a single injury.  One of the two earth ponies with us had cut himself on broken glass and had to be carried to the exit where half a dozen dead nurse zombies lay charred around the unicorn magi.

The rooms themselves were rather unusual.  There were several once brightly painted rooms that appeared to have been used for group discussions.  There were other rooms as well, some devoted to art and literature, and all with a noticeable absence of anything that could be turned into a weapon.  There were even several store rooms filled with drugs, but one look at the labels, by the raiders, sent them backing away.  Apparently whatever these drugs were, wasn’t something that the raiders would want to use recreationally, or even for medical emergencies.

I wasn’t happy.  One reason was that this was a perfect opportunity to begin eliminating potential enemies and it was being wasted.  The other reason I wasn’t happy was because this seemed a little too easy.  As we journeyed deeper into the facility I got a rising feeling of unease that my bloodthirsty company didn’t seem to share.  As we came upon a stairwell running both to an upper and a lower level an idea struck me like a slap to the face.

“We should split up.  I haven’t been able to get a single point with you glory hogs stealing all my kills.”  I was amazed that I sounded more confident and petulant than I felt.  The raiders began to loudly debate amongst themselves until Omega dragged Black Hawke off to the side and had a quick whispered conversation.  As if by magic the dispute was settled.  Black Hawke and I would go up the stairwell while the remaining earth stallion and the unicorn of unknown gender were lead down the stairs by Omega.

I was overjoyed to be going up the stair well.  As we travelled up, despite having significantly less company, I could feel my sense of unease fade.  With my unease gone I was even able to score two kills against the mindless zombies.  Soon I found myself talking with my sole companion.  “So what are these zombies anyway?”  I asked curious.

“Don’t call them zombies!” admonished Black Hawke, “The politically correct term is Feral Ghoul.”  I added the term Feral Ghoul to my ever growing list of new words and phrases wondering how long it would be until I added various pieces of superstitious mumbo jumbo to the list.  “As for where they came from,” Black Hawke continued, “they used to be ponies, but when the megaspells hit, the magical radiation changed them into monsters.”

“So these ghouls, they were originally the people who lived and worked here?”  I asked the unease returning, although I couldn’t tell the source.  I was already aware that these zombies used to be the people who had been here, so what was the source of my fears.

“Yep.  Don’t start feeling bad about killing them though.  If any of them retained an iota of their intelligence they’d still be dangerous psychos.”  Black Hawke added as we burst into what appeared to be a third barracks after the two outside.  This one was filled with about a dozen feral ghouls.  “Oh Shit!”

We were in luck.  Three of the feral ghouls appeared to be tied down to the beds that lined the walls as if the room were a medical ward.  We quickly shot each of the ghouls, a task made even easier by the raider mare’s heavy armament.  “Let’s not tell the others about this.  I don’t want to get disqualified.” I suggested still feeling uneasy, and now also feeling sick, two of the tied down ghouls were mares and the one that wasn’t looked like he could have been used as one.  Each had a striped coat and they looked like they had each suffered the perverse whims of whoever had tied them down, but that wasn’t even the end of it.  Each was to some degree eaten alive.

Feeling sick I found a chest at the foot of one of the beds and removing the contents retched.  I cleaned my face with a scrap of paper from the chest before thinking to look it over.  “This is sick.” said Black Hawke sounding enraged and completely forgetting or ignoring my disqualification comment. “The patients here deserved what they got.”

“I don’t think that the mental patients did this.”  I said staring at the scrap of paper, it was a letter addressed to a Doctor Brain Surgeon.  This was apparently where the staff slept at the facility.  I assumed that the tied up zebras had been brought up here for some kind of party, as evidenced by an ancient and empty bottle of champagne lying nearby, streamers hanging over the windows, and a banner gleefully proclaiming an “End of The World Party”. “All of the ghouls that we’ve fought so far were wearing white uniforms with this butterfly logo weren’t they?” I asked the pegasus while gesturing to my medical box.  My companion nodded.  “So where are the ponies that were so crazy that they had to be institutionalized inside of a forest and separated many miles from actual civilization?”

We heard a blood curdling scream from down the hall.  Like a pair of complete idiots we ran towards it, only to find Omega panting at the top of the stairwell.  There was a loud bang and a flash of light.  When my eyes readjusted I was staring at a now melting stairwell.  “What happened?” demanded Black Hawke.

“I’m getting out of here.”  Wailed the griffin, but before he could scamper out the nearest window Black Hawke had grabbed hold of his tail with her teeth.  I did not envy my Pegasus comrade as the pungent odor of wet griffin reached my nose.  Omega turned, fear etched across his face, “There are … things, down there.”  He pointed a claw down towards the melting stairwell.  “They aren’t like the others.  They’re intelligent.  They were waiting for us.”  Glaring down the stairwell he said with cold finality, “But I gave them a little present.”  Laughing the laugh of someone who has just barely managed to escape the jaws of death he yanked his tail out from the black Pegasus’s teeth and leapt out a broken window leaving blood and feathers in his wake.

My sense of unease had faded slightly at the explosion, but somehow I knew that going down to the basement would not be fun.  I walked towards the stairwell where the griffin had come from.  In his haste he’d dropped something.  I picked it up examining it.  It was dotted here and there with pulsing green crystals and had a pin at what I assumed was the top.  I held a magical energy grenade.

“Come on,” said Black Hawke, “That fool left two of the family to die.”  I was about to object that I unlike her I couldn’t fly, before she galloped towards me and collided with me with the force of a piano falling from a delivery wagon to land on some poor unsuspecting and curious individual.  She spread her wings in an effort to slow our descent, but we still crashed to the ground like a pair of rocks.

“That hurt.” I said to the pony who’d landed spread eagle on top of me.  She shakily got to her hooves before falling awkwardly and again landing on top of me.  I was suddenly very grateful for my armor, and just a little bit concerned for my raider companion, “You alight?”  I asked helping her to her hooves, before rolling to my feet.

“Fine,” she said in a tone of voice that screamed not fine.

“No you aren’t.” Before she could protest and against my better judgment I got out a health potion from the box at my hip.  Thankfully it hadn’t been damaged in the fall.  “Drink this.” I said passing over the bottle.  Reluctantly she accepted.

“Thank you.” she coughed past her pride.

“No need to thank me.”  I said, “After all aren’t we going to be one big happy family.”

She gave me a soft smile before her expression turned grim, “Let’s go then. Our family needs us.”  We quickly got our bearings.  We were in a dark room and surrounded by piles of melted goo.  I turned on my pipbuck’s light casting dim red illumination several meters around us.  There was a scream and we soon found ourselves sprinting down a shadowed corridor.

It wasn’t hard to find what we were after.  All we had to do was follow the trail of blood through the darkness.  Occasionally we’d see ponies in ripped up straightjackets hiding in the shadows.  Twice these ponies armed with lead pipes or holding dripping syringes sprang at us from the sides, but Black Hawke fired her minigun into their midst scattering and dismembering them.  If they got too close together she would fire her grenade launcher towards them leaving only broken husks in her wake.  Her righteous anger was something to behold.

In about a minute the trail turned and entered through a door.  The unicorn who’d literally stood up for me was strapped into a chair and looked badly beaten and bruised.  The raider pony’s tear filled eyes were wide and it was breathing heavily.  A bag intravenously administered some unknown drug.  There was a shaven section of the unicorn’s scalp, all around the area where its horn used to be.  It looked in my direction and I realized the unicorn was in terrible agony.  Around the raider were a pair of unicorn ghouls preparing for surgery.  One held a scalpel and was levitating it towards the now hornless raider.  I ran forward shooting both ghouls.  “Help me.” pleaded the bound pony.

Images of bright lights and ponies all around me flashed through my vision.  I was again on a table and couldn’t move.  I felt the mask with the funnel being placed over my face.  I could see a unicorn staring through the glass of the mask.  Black Hawke’s minigun sounded from the hall.  Another thought flashed through my mind.  I could kill this unicorn and nobody would ever find out.  The scalpel was right there.  I could make it look like we were simply too late to save the pony.

I scolded myself for thinking such a treacherous thought, after all hadn’t I once been in a similar position to this pony.  Hadn’t I also had crazy evil unicorns do unknown and unwelcome things to my body, while I was restrained, helpless, and forced to watch it all with the knowledge that there was no escape?  Well there will be an escape for one of us, even if it happens to be too little too late.  I couldn’t give the unicorn back its horn, but I could give it its freedom.  I drew my own scalpel and cut the unicorn free.

“You’re free now.”  I said gently as the pony fell into my arms.  I suddenly learned that ponies were very heavy, even scrawny unicorn ponies.  I briefly noticed a medical textbook beside the chair opened to a page titled “Corpus Callosotomy” with pictures of a split brain and bloody writing along the page margins.

“Pain.  I’m in horrible pain.”  I gently lay the pony down on the floor and injected the hornless unicorn with a syringe of med-x.  I was surprised that the raider hadn’t just passed out from the pain, but looking at the bag of unknown fluid I found the reason.  The bag was filled with about a quart of the combat drug Steady.  The ghouls down here wanted him awake for their odd procedure.  I grabbed the bag which was only half full, after being partially emptied into the injured unicorn, and put it into the medical box riding my hip.

“Black Hawke, I’ve got our unicorn.”  Black Hawke came into the room the sounds of her battle saddle having faded not long before.  “He, she, this guy is hurt.”

“Willow, what have these demons done to you?” asked Black Hawke, but there was no reply from the lethargic pony. With a grunt the Pegasus lifted the drugged and injured Willow onto her back.  “You ready?” she asked me.  Checking my weapon to be sure I had enough ammo I nodded.  Again we were racing down the halls although this time we took it more slowly for the sake of our wounded comrade.  We still hadn’t found the missing Earth stallion.

The rooms that we passed seemed far more sinister than those on the upper floors.  These rooms were at the very best pitch black padded cells, but just as often we’d pass a sinister looking room with bloody operating tables and strange electrical devices.  Saws, drills, and other instruments, kept in meticulously pristine condition lined the walls in harsh contrast to the rust and blood around them.

The sense of unease was just as strong as it had been before and it was now also starting to get to my companions.  “Do you smell that?” asked Black Hawke.

“It smells like candles.” said Willow.  It was the first thing that she’d said since being rescued.  Personally all I could smell was blood, death, and the chemically smell of cleaning materials.  We continued to kill the ghoul ponies.  We’d already killed about a score of ghouls, and we were running out of living undead to kill.  We were incredibly thorough and as we came at last upon the very last place in the entire God forsaken compound with any ghoul life, I was able to smell strange incense and candles.

“This looks to be the last room in the facility.” said Black Hawke, “I suppose that it’s about time that I tell you the reason why we came in here.”

“You mean the reason other than clearing out the creepy ghoul neighbors?” asked Willow as Black Hawke lowered her onto a nearby gurney.

“Yeah, you see… Well where should I start?” said Black Hawke.

“The beginning usually.” I suggested somewhat unhelpfully.  I didn’t like these ulterior motives and hidden agendas.

“The beginning is a good place.  Ok.  Well.  The patients here weren’t what you’d call normal.”

Willow and I looked at Black Hawke for a very long moment.  Willow gestured towards her hornless head and said “I noticed.”

“Back before the war, ponies like us would sometimes be put into special facilities like this one.  The patients here weren’t normal even for psych patients.” said Black Hawke, “The Plowton mental institute was specially reserved for practitioners of the dark arts, the reportedly possessed, and a hoofful of political criminals from before there was a Ministry of Morale in Equestria, and they didn’t just come from Equestria either.  About a third of the patients here are from Imperium Zebrum.”  I still didn’t understand the significance of any of this, but Black Hawke continued, “Political criminals from the Zebra Empire were usually more than just your regular terrorists and malcontents, often also worshipping and sacrificing to their strange star gods.”

“When you say sacrifice you mean that they killed the occasional chicken or other wild animal right?”  I asked hopefully.

“You’ve met the sick f-cks that live here.  Do you really think that they’d settle for a chicken sacrifice?  Most of the ponies and zebras in here didn’t actually kill anyone, but most of them were still acolytes and disciples of more powerful practitioners of necromancy.”

“But what does that have to do with why we’re here?” asked Willow from her place on the gurney.

“A confiscated artifact, a magical dagger was kept somewhere in this facility, and I have a feeling that it is now kept behind this door.” Said Black Hawke.

“Why didn’t I know about this magic dagger shit?” piped Willow, the pony’s voice high with petulant anger.

“Omega’s employer made Silver Wing, and I swear to keep everything we were told on a need to know basis.  It was wrong, but it was the only way that they would agree to be our patron.”  I didn’t understand what any of this meant, but I was sure it might be important later.  I now really wanted to meat Omega’s employer and get an explanation for our brief nightmare trip.

“So Black Hawke shall we?” I asked, ready to get the job done as soon as possible.  She squared her heavily laden shoulders, took a deep breath and nodded.  The two of us moved to open the door.

The door was locked.  I moved to rectify this using my axe, but before I could, Black Hawke bucked the door open.  I was hardly prepared for what I saw inside.  Beyond the door was a round room with a domed roof about forty feet in diameter.  In a circle upon the tiled floor was a circle of strange symbols written in blood.  In the center of the circle we saw our dead ex comrade the Earth Pony Stallion lying upon another gurney.  There was a pair of unicorn ghouls around him adding odd braces and manipulating odd instruments and surgical implements.  Upon an altar, behind the circle, were half a dozen candles and a curious relic, a dagger made of a strange blue metal.  The blade was stained red with the blood of the deceased pony.

Leaning on the altar and perched on his hind legs was a Zebra ghoul.  We’d seen several on our way here and it appeared that they made up almost half of the loonies in the loony bin.  All that made this one distinctive was an odd bronze mask that he wore.  It bore a youthful horse face that appeared to be locked in constant agony.  The mask flayed out from the head in a mane like fashion forming four points.  Each point was topped with a star.  All of this combined to make the zebra looked extremely ridiculous.

The dead stallion who lay in the circle looked anything but ridiculous.  The pony had been a good buck, but now he had been turned into a creature out of a serial killer’s wet and macabre dream.  The pony’s forelegs had been replaced with a saw and a drill.  His back and legs had been attached to metal supports along with braces running down the legs and ending in strange horse shoes that resembled claws.  Attached to the spinal supports were spark batteries which had wires running between them to the drill and more disturbingly into the pony’s spine, limbs and the back of his neck.

“Ah more uninvited guests.” said the zebra.  I put a hand onto Black Hawke’s shoulder.  She looked to me and I shook my head.  She seemed to get the message and didn’t shoot.

“We’re just here for the knife, if the three of you will let us take it, we will let you live.”  I kept my hand on Black Hawke.

“I’m afraid we can’t just give you the knife.” said the Zebra now jumping up protectively on top of the altar.

“Then I regret to inform you that our business here has come to a close.” I said with an evil smile that conveyed less sorrow than a humorous parade with lots of cheese, following the wedding of a pony princess and a majestic unicorn, during the most wonderful birthday celebration of somebody’s pet alligator.  I took my hand off of Black Hawke and moved it to my pistol which I had holstered when I was trying to open the door using my axe.  “It was still worth a shot.” I said as I drew the pistol and fired a shot.

The ghouls weren’t idol with the masked one jumping behind the Altar and the two unicorns picking up the dagger in their telekinesis.  The minigun started spinning even as my first shot downed the closer of the two unicorns.  The second however had managed to plunge the dagger into the dead earth stallion.  I was only a mildly surprised that the act of wanton desecration actually had a point to it.

The runes around the earth stallion shone bright red before an explosion knocked Hawke and I to the ground.  The ghoul who had been in the circle with the dead stallion had also been knocked to the ground.  The only one of us who was on their feet was the dead stallion.  I wondered how that had come to be and then decided that it wasn’t as important as the fact that we had new enemy to fight.

The monster that now stood over all of us was at least six feet tall.  Using the braces on its legs for support and the bulky equipment strapped to its back as a counter balance, the dead stallion easily stood in a way not unlike that of a human. Black fluid spilled out of every hole in its body making it appear as if it had just bathed in petroleum.  All of this combined created a frightening appearance.  The construct scared me.

I was surprised to see that it went after its supposed ghoul ally first, lifting the unfortunate creature into the air on the end of its drill before it brought the saw down on the ponies neck before drawing back the saw and in two quick motions, back and forth, it had cut through about half the ghouls throat.  The ichor blood of a ghoul spilled onto the floor and onto the saw even as the creature turned towards me and Black Hawke.

I looked into the creatures dead eyes and saw the infinity of space.  Suddenly staring into those two soulless voids I felt very small and very fragile.   I was suddenly aware of the massive force of will and malice driving this creature and it scared me to a point almost beyond reason.  I couldn’t move even though the creature approached me with murderous intent.  My vision began to darken.  I stayed there and did nothing as it pointed its drill towards my head and all I could hear was the spinning.  Then I noticed something odd.  The spinning that I heard wasn’t coming from the drill, it was coming from behind me.

“How dare you!” cried Black Hawke, “How Dare you turn my friend’s body into some twisted weapon!”  She had to shout to be heard over the sudden roar of lead flying around the room as the muzzle flashes of her minigun turned the darkness into bright day, but the darkness continued to encroach upon me.  The bullets tore into the monster and into the altar behind it, making the zebra cowering there pull a blood splattered tail behind the safety of his stone table.  The monster on the other hand turned towards her as if unfazed by the bullets which seemed to simply bounce off its glistening hide, and it began to stalk towards her.  Despite no longer staring into the demon’s lifeless eyes I was still paralyzed by something I had seen within it.  The darkness consumed me and I felt myself falling.

In the darkness I beheld light, the light of stars.  I found myself in a great city, upon a bridge, overlooking a vast river.  I stood at the edge of the bridge, and looking down I saw darkness truly stygian and far blacker than the lightless expanse around me.  I couldn’t see what was down there, but simply looking down, I recalled the old words, “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”  I knew as I looked down, that there was something looking back up at me.  It was ancient and primordial, born when my world was still young.  It was waiting and hungered for something that I couldn’t fathom.  My only comfort was that it couldn’t reach me, for my body was safe somewhere else.

I quickly backed away from the edge of the bridge, and looked at the great city around me.  The city was big, but more than that, it appeared to be too big, as if I was nothing more than a little ant, on the entire island of Manhattan.  The buildings themselves were above all abnormal to the point of being not wholly describable.   As the monolithic structures rose up towards the starry heavens, it seemed that their angles changed so that if one were to look at them as a whole they seemed to be somewhat hyperbolic.

The stonework itself I recognized as cyclopean, but it came together with seemingly impossible precision, as if every single block was chosen and cut by a great mastermind.  What doors I could see radiated malevolence in their shape alone, despite that their shape was nothing more than an elliptical indentation, with tendril like protrusions radiating from the center, not unlike enviably long unmentionables, or perhaps tentacles.

I wrenched my vision from the city and gazed into the infinite expanse above.  It seemed as if the stars and planets were, after unspeakably long eons, coming into some unnamable alignment, involving a lot of ninety degree angles.  Directly above the city I could even make out the far distant shapes of what some primordial, but preternatural, instinct told me were the planets.  The sun which shone no more than twice as bright as Sirus was in the middle of the planets, with the planet I was upon coming close to what I somehow knew would soon be a perpendicular alignment, in relation to any of the planets, and a heliocentric origin.  My eyes while they did wander from celestial body to celestial body were unerringly drawn towards one of the planets.  I blinked once and the planet seemed to rapidly grow larger before my eyes.  First I could make out continents, then smaller features like forests and rivers, and at last, a facility with four structures that seemed as familiar to me, as a half recalled song.

“Ulysses! Help me!” I don’t know how many times Black Hawke had been screaming this before my brain finally managed to piece together what was being said.  “Help me!” My friend was in trouble I thought.

My friend was in trouble.  All thoughts of the city and river were gone along with any fear I still felt from the ordeal.  Black Hawke had her back against a wall with the creature blocking any attempts to flee.  Her minigun seemed to have been exhausted of ammo for it spun now without its lethal spray of bullets.  The monster seemed to have been enjoying her suffering, but had now seemed to have grown bored with the game.  I found my machete grasped in both hands and myself crying “Eulalia!” as I charged forward interposing myself between the eldritch abomination and my friend.  We traded blows several times while my friend ran behind the creature.

I didn’t know what she was doing, but I would buy her time to do whatever it was.  The monster managed to get in a glancing blow to my arm using its saw making me drop the machete.  I moved back to the wall ignoring the pain and brought out my axe.  If I had to die I would die fighting.  The creature took a step towards me, before I heard a magical energy pistol discharge from right behind the undead horror.  It fell forward for a moment and let out a preternatural shriek.  I took a swing at it with the axe which only bounced uselessly off its impenetrable hide.

The beast turned towards my friend and I saw a noticeable burn in its side from where the blast had struck it.  Seeing this I got an idea and, running forward, I leapt onto the creatures back.  As my friend shot the monster again it screamed again although it seemed to me more a cry of anger than of pain.  The pistol could hurt it, but it wouldn’t be enough to kill it.  As the creature let out its cry of rage however I shoved Omega’s lost plasma grenade down its throat.  It seemed startled and bent over trying to cough up the grenade.  It even tried to drill through its own throat, but it had just as much success penetrating its hide as we had had.  I let the grenade’s pin fall from my fingers.  The undead abomination exploded in a brilliant flash of green.

We dragged the zebra ghoul out from behind the altar before decapitating the miserable wretch.  Our thirst for vengeance sated we gathered up the relic and both our living and dead companion and left.

We would return later to scavenge, so looting wasn’t important.  I also learned that who got first pick of the loot was in order of kill count.  I had only killed ten of the ghouls, while Black Hawke had an impressive count of twenty.  Apparently boss kills counted for additional points which put me in a position to get second pick of the loot instead of Ember who had eleven kills.

Apparently before Omega’s first grenade had gone off destroying the stairwell, a group of eight ghouls had made an attempt to get outside.  The entrance hall had been held against them by Ember and Squid Face who I learned was known for his skill with getting headshots.  Several of the dead ghouls by the entrance had plasma burns on their faces.  It seemed that this peculiar sharpshooting tentacle faced raider had never heard of aiming for center of mass.

Within five minutes we were all outside and standing before a large crowd.  There was no tarp over our heads this time and the sky wept above us.  Black Hawke stepped forward and told Silver Wing what had transpired.  Then I was called forward.  I still held the blue dagger which we’d taken from the asylum and now kneeling presented it to Silver Wing.  “This dagger won’t bring back our fallen comrade and it won’t restore Willow’s horn, but it is all I can give in tribute for your loss.”

Silver Wing came forward and I saw that there were tears in his eyes, “It isn’t enough, but you aren’t the one who owes the blood debt.”  He turned around facing Omega who had stood quietly off in a corner all to himself.  Silver Wing moved like lighting and struck Omega, in the beak.  The blow dropped the griffin to the soggy earth.  “I will remember.” growled Silver Wing looking down at the prone form.  Then he turned to me, and scooped up the odd knife in a wing. “I will remember,” he said again this time more subdued, “You have done well my son, rise.”  I did, “Ulysses, welcome to the family.”  Then he turned towards the other Silver Wing Slicers, “Familus, Munus, Honos.  Family, Duty, Honor”

The Silver Wing Slicers solemnly chanted back as one, “Family, Duty, Honor.” and I found myself saying the words as well.

End of chapter 3

Ulysses

Level 3 Silver Wing Brother

Insanity 26%

New Perk: Berzerker(1)- Each level of this skill increases your damage for +10% (up to a maximum 50%) when health drops below 30%

Energy Weapons 19+6/100 Melee Weapons 20 +5 / 100 Medicine 17+6 /100

Black Hawke

Level 9 Forest Terror

Special

Strength 7

Perception 6 +1

Endurance 6 +2

Charisma 7

Inteligence 6 +1

Agility 4

Luck 4

Traits

Family Mare- You are a family oriented mare.  +1 perception, strength, and endurance when around members of your family, -1 perception, strength, and endurance when away from members of your family.

Tragic Past-You have an angst ridden past.  With this trait you will occasionally get some special conversation options. +1 Angst, -2 Parents, minus all foalhood friends, +1 ruined cute-ceañera, and more criticals with sharp objects like razors and knives.

Perks

Intense Training (4) – With the Intense Training perk, a single point can be put into any S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute.

Big Guns 35+7/100 Sneak 20+11/100