Ch.3 Homecoming (Rewriten 2)

Fallout Equestria: Subject 00

Ch.3 Homecoming

“Won’t the dance be great?”

Jade and Shock were quiet as they walked along one of the now-nameless roads of Brooks Bend. Jade kept trying to remember what this old road used to be called to try to get her bearings. The map on her PipBuck had placed a marker for her old home and labeled it as a priority, which to her it kind of was. Although, precisely how it knew where her home was located was a mystery to her. She needed to see if her parents had made it safely to the Stable. Jade didn’t like it, but something was off and the epicenter seemed to be Black Out, the only Ministry facility named after the valley.

As they passed a Sky Carriage service station, a rifle cracked and a bullet whizzed over the heads of the two startled ponies. Quickly looking to the roof of the station, they spotted a grey unicorn with a red mane and blue eyes wielding a hunting rifle and wearing what appeared to be a Stetson. Just as they started to go for their weapons, the pony howled, “Y’all should keep a better eye out, partners. That radhog nearly got the drop on you!” This pony didn’t seem the type to use such a fancy rifle. It wasn’t like the ordinary hunting rifles that raiders usually employ. It looked like a mix between a powerful combat rifle and a revolver. Jade caught a look at the stock of the rifle and saw it was embossed with name ‘Cherry’s Love’. It was written in her friend’s hoof writing.

Jade took her time now, to make a closer inspection of the pony that had saved them from the radhog. He was an otherwise ordinary unicorn with his red mane styled in wild spikes, whose fur was grey as soot. Jade was a little surprised to find that one of his eyes was in fact grey, not blue as she had previously assumed; it didn’t seem natural.

“My eye’s normal, girl.” The unicorn said, upon catching her staring. “My eye’s been that way since I was born; one blue… and one grey.” He smiled back at them, “Name’s Spell Shot, and y’all are lucky to have found my shop.” He gestured with one hoof towards the station.

“This is a shop?” Shock asked, glaring at the station in confusion.

“Eyup, had The Old Stone, for about 5 years now. Best place to buy ammo, guns, explosives, barding, and food this side of the Dizmy.” Spell Shot proudly strutted back inside. “There are lots o’ ponies who think tryin’ ta borrow my goods without payin’ is a good idea, but I show them who they is messing with, sure ‘nough.”

Jade and Shock looked at each other. Well food sounded nice. Spoken eagerly in unison, “Say, what sorts of food do you have?”

Shot grinned back, “Fresh, if ya’ll believe it.”

Jade had never seen such a variety of merchandise in one store before. The walls were literally covered in shelves. Shot had led them to a small greenhouse connected to the back of the shop. While not much, it did have fresh food. And from what Shock implied, fresh and healthy food was a rare find. Considering the fact that for two straight days, Jade had eaten nothing but prewar preserved food they scavenged from houses and shops along the road. Jade was about ready to kneel and thank Celestia and Luna… hell, she was willing to lick the goddesses’ private-parts to give thanks for the mere sight of such glorious food.

“I take it you want some of this?” Shot smiled at her. “Hope y’all have caps to spare, my fresh produce isn’t cheap. I have ta charge 50 caps fer just 2 carrots.”

Jade felt like she had been kicked in the head at those words. “What?”

“Girl, I need caps and food to survive. My biggest money maker is them there veggies. I can’t just go handin’ them away for free. I’m willing to show them for free, but if ya want any ya’ll need to pay for ‘em. Another thing, I also gotta limit how many I sell. Gotta save some for meself,  y’know.”

Jade looked glanced at the food, then to the shop keeper. He was right, this food would be worth a lot to anyone who got their hooves on it. “Shot, how’d you grow fresh food to begin with?” Shock asked.

“Spell I learned back at Tenpony. Not many thought it would actually work, but hell, all I needed was a good greenhouse and some seeds and here you have The Old Stone general store.” Shot cracked his neck. “I wasn’t popular with the ponies runnin’ the tower, so I left with the things I learned and started my shop out here.”

Jade and Shock walked back out to the front. Shock looked over the selection of battle saddles.  “Hey Shot, how much for these?” Shock pointed to a pair of rifles that looked deadlier than the autos he sported attached to a battle-saddle in pristine condition.

“I’ll tell ya whut*, I’d trade ya those for your current setup and 54 more caps.” Shot walked behind the cash register. “And you miss?”

“Umm, I don’t really know, maybe some ammo. Although… may I ask were you got that gun?” Jade pointed to Cherry’s Love.

“This? Got it back when I was passing through Hoofington. Worst goddesses-derned place in the Wasteland, if ya ask me. Though, I heard there’s this gal named Security trying to clean it up. Came outta the blue and went to town on that place. Hope the best for her, that place can break ya faster th’n most.” Jade blinked. Security, Jade looked at her Barding, she was wearing security barding, but since she wasn’t in hoofington, she quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn’t talking about her. “The rifle doesn’t mean much ta’ me, but if ya want it; that’d be 250 caps.”

“I can’t afford that... We barely have enough to able to buy Shock’s saddle.” Jade gestured to Shock while he put on his new equipment.

“Oh… well I can’t give away good guns fer nothin’. Cherry’s not the type of gun I’d let a rookie have anyway, too much recoil.” Shot said, raking the caps into a drawer under the counter.

Just then, the music they hadn’t noticed playing in the store stopped and a stallion started to speak over the radio

“Hello children, this is DJ-PON3 here and that was Sweetie Belle, singing of her hopes for a brighter day. I know we all wish for the same every day. And now, my little ponies, it’s time for the news! Now you’ll all remember Brooks Bend’s infamous Dead Shot Port, the raider den that even Alicorns would avoid. Well, it seems somepony followed in our Stable Dweller’s hoofprints and wiped them clean off the map. They even saved our beloved author Ditzy Doo out of a tight spot. I got a letter from the ghoul telling me all about it. According to Ditzy, this mare climbed from the top of a hanger, over a broken radio tower and onto the roof of the terminal. From there, she wiped them out floor by floor; every single raider that called Dead Shot Port home: dead in a single day.”

Jade stared at the radio in disbelief. She looked to Shock for advice, who just smiled nervously at her. Jade didn’t know how to react to this. She was on the radio! This DJ was talking about her, under the guise of the famous DJ-PON3 no less! And she was even lying about how it happened. Shock had saved her flank on the roof and she wouldn’t have even survived if it hadn’t been for the stallion.

“And that’s not all, seems this mare’s not done with The Brooks yet. Word is: she’s hot too; according to Ditzy, she’s quite a gem. She’s no Security, but I suppose she’s all they have there in that rough patch of wasteland; shining like a diamond in the rough. Hmm, gem in the rough… Gem if you’re listening in, be careful. We wouldn’t want such a looker to kick it before I get to meet her in person, eh?

Jade felt as though her face was on fire. The DJ had just described her in that way… on the Radio. Jade chanced a look at Shock, who seemed to be doing all he could not to fall over laughing at her predicament. Jade glared at him, but her blush didn’t let up.

“Hmm, seems to me there are a lot of mares deciding to become heroes as of late. Hope them gals are smart enough not to get themselves shot dead.” Shot said.

Jade’s ear twitched at this, “What do you mean?” Jade didn’t like how that sounded.

“Most ponies that go hero in the wasteland don’t last very long. Either they fall from grace, becoming the evil they started out tried to end or die in battle… or gain a new breathin’ hole in their sleep. “Shot said with a look of worry shadowing his face. Now Jade was really apprehensive.

“Jade, I’m sure you won’t turn bad.” Shock mocked, grinning.

“Great, that just leaves getting my own self killed and/or you as well.” Jade said pointing a hoof at the pegasus.

“Wait a sec. You’re the gal that took out Dead Shot Port?” Shot said looking from one to the other.

“Well, yeah… but Shock helped.” Jade said still pointing at Shock.

“Wow, I just sold a battle saddle to the gal that took out Dead Shot Port. I sold somethin’ to a buddin’ hero.” Shot said with a big smile. “Look girl, I can’t give you a discount on the guns but what I can give you a discount on is the produce.”

Jade stared at the stallion with a smile splitting her face that Pinkie would be proud of. “Yes, I’d like that a lot.”

Jade and Shock walked out of the shop with fresh food and started down the road after thanking Spell Shot for his generosity. Jade’s mind kept going back to what the DJ had said. She had mentioned there were other mares doing good things in other places around the wasteland.

Why? It seemed to her as though the wasteland was simply the graveyard of her old life with a few things that refused to die.No. Jade didn’t know where that thought had come from, but she pounded it with sledgehammer and threw into a mental incinerator for good measure. She knew that ponies could make a new life in the wastes, even improve it and help each other.  But why did she wake up now, why was the Stable Dweller doing what she was doing now, Why was Security, why now? Was it connected to that Golden Blood character? He had visited her once, even asked her if she was alright, but he seemed shifty. Jade trusted her judge of character, but Golden… she didn’t know what to think about that stallion.

“Jade, why is there a banner saying ‘Welcome Home?’” Shock asked indicating the school down the road.

“What?!” Jade said, trying to get a closer look at the banner. “Okay, now this is a 20 on a 1 to 10 scale of creeping me the fuck out.”

“Do you think we should check it out?” Shock said as he changed ammo packs. “If they knew you’re awake, we’d better go see if they’re friend or foe.”

“What if it’s an alicorn?” Jade said, remembering her earlier encounter with the Goddess.

“An alicorn? Jade, they don’t bother anyone in Brooks. Until you piss them off, that is. You… didn’t piss any of 'em off before I met you, did you?” Shock said as he looked back to the school and the strange banner.

“Um… I hate to admit, but the reason they didn’t bother with any other ponies was because they were looking for me apparently to, um… kill me, or like, make me one of them.” Jade said, finding herself in a very awkward situation.

“Why in sam-hill would they want you to be one of them? They only do that with unicorns.” Shock said uneasily. “So what, you’re a unicorn disguising herself as an earth pony?”

“I’m not a unicorn. I think the Goddess mentioned she thought I was too but… I was just as confused as you at the time.”  Jade said, flinching back and raising her hooves in a defensive gesture.

“Jade, I’m not going to hurt you…” Shock said, taken aback and sounding more than a bit hurt at her reaction.

“I’m sorry; I was bullied a lot for how my appearance. Most ponies, if any, don’t have marks I do.” She said, averting her gaze from Shock.

“I’ve noticed. Makes you look exotic though.” He grinned widely. “And don’t think I’m hitting on you, okay?”

“Still, I think we should go check it out.” Shock said looking back to the school.

Jade shook her head slowly as she spoke. “Fine... Let’s go. If we get killed because we went in there, I’m going to make sure you die first so I can piss on your grave.”

“Perfectly clear, miss.” Shock grinned.

“Fuck you.” Jade shot back, walking towards the school, her annoyance with the joking stallion was quickly making her reach the limit of her tolerance. As they made their way toward the school Jade kept her eyes open for alicorns. She planned on fleeing the school and dragging Shock along if she needed to. The school was the old Brooks Bend High School, which she used to attend before she got sick, supposedly… It wasn’t all that much different than it was before she left. It had been rebuilt during the war to withstand most forms of attack. She wondered if the staff had gotten to safety when the megaspells dropped.

When they reached the front door they noticed evidence of a recent lockdown. “Okay…That’s weird; it seems that it was in lockdown until recently.” Jade commented as they walked into the entrance hall. The walls and windows were immaculate, no dust and no trash, certainly no bones either. Not that she minded seeing one clean place for a change, but this was too clean. The walls looked brand new, in fact.

“Well that’s creepy.” Shock pointed at a poster announcing a Homecoming Dance.

“Maybe we should go.” Jade turned to the door, only to find a heavy blast door had settled into place, somehow without either of them noticing. “Well Shock, it looks like I’ll be pissing on your grave soon.”

“Fuck. There should be a computer in the principal’s office I can use to disengage the door.” He said, walking further inside. She followed him as he led the way down the hallway.

“The office should be on the second floor.” Jade told Shock, just now remembering where it was.

“Okay Jade, should we be worrying about anything in here?” He asked.

“Oh, I don’t know I was locked away in a Ministry facility for only 8 years, How would I know what went on in here when the bombs fell?” Jade glowered, taking a glance into a classroom. Spotless, just like the rest of the building, there weren’t even any marks on the boards. Jade wondered how the school had stayed so pristine for so long, rounding the corner to the stairwell. ‘My locker was also on the second floor.’ Jade thought to herself as she started climbing.

“Well, at least this is the cleanest place I’ve ever seen.” Shock said as he looked up the stairwell apprehensively. “And last time we used the stairs, we were shot at with a rocket launcher.” Jade shivered at the memory, puzzled how she survived the second. Shock hadn’t seen what happened either, only shot the raider in retaliation. He must have chalked it up to luck.

“Shock, I believe the principles office is around the corner to the right.” She informed the stallion ahead of her as she caught sight of something and stopped walking.

“Aren’t you coming Jade?” The pegasus asked when he noticed the mare hanging back.

“I want to check something.” She said, what she had noticed being the arrows painted on the floor leading in the direction of her locker.

“Alright here, take this.” The stallion tossed her a two way radio. Jade looked at him questioningly. “I’ve had them since Dead Shot, but we haven’t needed to split up since so there was no need and I just forgot and didn’t mention them.” Jade smiled in response as she tucked the radio into a chest pocket on her barding. “I made sure to test them. If you see trouble, just call.” Shock then turned and walked around the corner.

Jade called out, “Thank you.” She turned the corner to the left and hadn’t gone more than three paces when she regretted splitting up so soon. Music began to play and whispers echoed through the hall. Jade couldn’t see anything unusual, but the sound alone was enough to set her fur on end.

Walking over to her locker, Jade spotted a note sticking out if the crack between the bottom of her locker and the top of the one below hers. “Shock, how are things on your end.” She radioed.

“Good, I got into the system.” He said, voice slightly muffled by static. “It looks like the system is locked into a predetermined defense state. Its main priority is protecting students. The building was clear of students so it must have released the lockdown on its own. When you entered the building, it found you in its database and returned to lockdown. Since you’re the only student present, if I remove you from the student registry it should release again.”

“Hold on for a sec.” Jade said while cautiously glancing up and down the length of the hallway. “What sort of defenses does it say the school has?”

“Let me look... Ah! There’s a couple of standard model Protect-a-Ponies and a few turrets at the front entrance.” He said over a burst of static.

“Okay, just how armed are the Protect-a-Ponies?” Jade sat down in front of her locker.

“Just standard riot control, they shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“Alright, go for it.” Just as Jade spoke, the lights in the halls shut off. “Shock! What the hell? I thought you were only going to deactivate the security and take me off the registry.”

“I thought that’s what I did!” Shock said, panic evident over the static of the radio. “Shit! I’m locked out. Jade, I can’t access the school’s security from here. I’m going to….” He stopped. After what seemed like minutes, but was really less than 20 seconds, Jade nearly called out to Shock. Luckily before Jade had gotten to that level of panic, He spoke. Unluckily, he beat her to full-blown panic, evident as he said, “SHIT! I’m locked in, Jade. You’re gonna have to find another terminal and override the whole lockdown state.”

“What!” Jade exclaimed, looking around. “Shock I can’t even see! How in the shadow of Luna’s blue MOON am I supposed to do that?” Jade then felt around the lockers until she found the note, which she tucked into another pocket of her barding.

“Your Pip-Buck should have a light spell. Just turn it on.” Shock informed her while banging about, evidently trying to find another way out, much like how she had in the facility.

Jade blinked and after a bit of searching, found the option and turned it on. She was granted with a bright luminescence and blinked while her eyes, now used to the dark, re-adjusted to the light. She got out the note and looked at it, it was in Apple Core’s hoofwriting.

Jade,

If you’re reading this, then you’ve gotten out of the hospital. You need to find someplace safer than this school, the computers gone mad. Its friend-foe software must have gotten corrupted. I know I told you we’d get back together once you were better... but I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that promise. Radiation is leaking into the school; the rest of the class and I were here for the reunion. We’re dying in here and the computer’s protect-a-ponies are actively trying to kill us. If you’re able to run, just leave, I’m as good as dead. I don’t want you to die here looking for me. You’re a smart mare; even if those bullies always told you otherwise. If anypony can find a way to get someplace safe, it’s you. I love you Jade.

Apple Core

Jade felt her heart break. She had thought it was possible Apple Core could have survived 200 years as a ghoul, but she had hope he had made it to a Stable and started some semblance of a life instead. Instead, he met his end in this death trap of a school.

“Jade, you should really get moving.” That broke her out of her thoughts. Shock must have taken notice of her silence.

“Right… I think the computer lab is on the third floor.” Jade stood and started walking down the hall. “Shock, somepony left a note; the main computer has been corrupted. It’s trying to kill us.”

“How do you know you can trust that information?” Shock asked over another burst of static.

“It was left by somepony I knew, in my locker.” Jade flattened her ears on her head.

Shock didn’t say anything at first, just held the button as static came out of Jade’s radio. He eventually spoke, “I’m sorry Jade, they must have meant a lot to you.” Jade didn’t question how he figured it out, but she was glad he understood.

“Thanks.”

Jade eventually found her way up to the next floor and climbed the stairs up. The school’s creepiness was even worse with only the light spell active. Only able to see a few feet in front of her, Jade didn’t want it turned off to be left stumbling around like a young foal. The quiet, yet incessant whispering didn’t help either.

The voices sounded like her old classmates, the worst among them being those of Flowerpot and Easel and their cruel insults. Jade felt her foalhood flooding back to her. Those two had made her life a living hell for years. The voices making Jade want to run for more than being creepy.

And then an undead pony lunged at her head.

Jade stumbled back, just missing the chomping teeth of the feral ghoul, fumbling for her revolver and shooting the ghoul with every bullet the gun held, even after the ghoul fell. Jade looked at the body and judging by the fact that it was an elderly pony, was one of the teachers. Jade didn’t recognize his cutiemark, but thought him well preserved for a ghoul. In fact, Jade wouldn’t believe it dead, if not for the holes in his chest.

“Jade, what’s going on?!” Shock questioned over the radio. “I heard gun shots. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Fuck, had to kill a feral ghoul.” Jade cursed, panting as the adrenaline made her body shake lightly. “I think most of the students and faculty must have been turned into them. The note said there was radiation leaking in from outside.”

“Fuck. That’s just great. Okay you’re going to want to conserve your ammo. How decayed do they look?”

“Um… yeah. Not much at all. If it wasn’t for the hole in his chest I could see him walking around like nothing was wrong.” Jade didn’t like where this was going.

“Okay, ouch. Jade, these suckers are gonna be fast, very fast. They’re not going to be that hard to kill, but they are still more deadly than others you would find outside.” Shock informed her.

“Should I turn off the radio?”

“No not yet, if it seems to be attracting them; yes. Until then, I would recommend you keep the line open to communication.” Jade reloaded her revolver, doing her best to ignore the whispers.

It was a while before Jade encountered any more feral ghouls. Shock was right, these things were fucking lightning. She had to shoot while backpedalling the entire time just to kill them without letting them get to her. After she had killed about half of them, the music returned in full force and the whispering stopped entirely, but this time, the music was not the happy kind. It held this eerie feeling that made you want to leave the room or hide under the bed. The kind of feeling that started low in your back and burned up your neck to the base of your skull. This was a feeling of utter dread; one of unknown fears and hidden malice. It was the kind of dark fear that paints your vision grey and sucks all the positive emotion out of a room. Needless to say, it wasn’t helping Jade fight.

She shot down two more ghouls before the last overtook her and ducked down to bite her left foreleg. Luckily, the teeth didn’t penetrate her barding. Ditzy Doo’s improvements were good to have, but the bite still bruised her leg. The bite aggravated the wound in her shoulder though. Jade inclined her head and with a little difficulty, put two bullets into the ghoul’s skull, rather than herself, in quick succession. As she looked over the bodies, Jade was glad not to see Apple Core amongst them, She hoped, by the Goddesses, that she wouldn’t find him amongst the ranks of these ferals. If he was a ghoul, she would rather him sane.

She continued down the halls while trying to remember which room the computer lab was in. They had been a new addition when she started, the smaller terminals invented only recently by Stable-Tec. When she learned of the addition, she didn’t jump at the chance unlike some of her fellow students. She considered them a waste of time. Jade was rethinking her decision…

Jade really hated how little light the spell gave her and the trouble she was having fighting her old classmates in the dimness. She was limping now. The bruising on her leg and the wounds in her shoulder, hind leg, and stomach were acting up. Considering how the fast ghouls wanted to eat her, this was not a good thing.

She encountered more ghouls near the janitors’ closet and when she fired at them, missed as her shoulder seized up in pain. Jade screamed, “Fuck!” as one of them bit into that same shoulder. She kicked at the ghoul with a forehoof until its jaw cracked and ghoul slumped. Jade shot the ghoul before it could rise before turning back to the others as one lunged for her neck, mouth agape. She dodged the bite, but not the tackle and she fell to the ground.

“Jade, are you alright?” Shock asked, she had hit the button when she landed and he was concerned, only having heard the short burst of static.

“No,” Jade said, pressing the button to the ground as her gun accidentally fired twice in the grip of her teeth. One ghoul fell dead, splattering her liberally with gore out of its left eye. “Yuck.”

She felt the last ghoul clamp on to a plate in her chestpiece and Jade turned and fired at it. As soon as it went limp, Jade shook it away and stood, pressing the button her radio with a hoof this time. “Great… Now I’m covered in eye and brain matter.”

“Gross! Didn’t need to hear that...” Shock said, disgust oozing from his voice.

“Fuck you! How about you kill ponies you went to school with!” Jade rounded a corner to come up to see her path blocked by a large pool of glowing green goo. Her Pip-Buck started clicking and the rad-meter rose slowly. “Great, a dead end.” She spied a doorway with a sign above it denoting a stairway through a gym. “Shock, I’m gonna have to take a longer path to the lab.”

“What? Why?” Shock worried.

“That’s because the fastest way to get there is blocked by a large pool of radioactive goo.” Jade replied flatly as she passed through the gym and started down the stairs.

“Oh, ok. Be careful of radiation poisoning.” He said, worrying more now. The comment was masked with more static than before. The goo must be interfering with radio signals.

“Great.” She muttered. The situation seemed to be getting worse by the moment. At the bottom of the stairs she entered another hall leading to the locker rooms. A hoofball player in full uniform charged out of one of the rooms and tackled her to the ground. She heard something snap, but didn’t have time to feel it as she fired at the young stallion trying to eat her. Jade was in luck, her bullet passed through the exposed face piece of the helmet, but didn’t exit through the rear. It must be a really good helmet.

As she stood, Jade gasped as a spike of pain drove through her right rear leg and she fell to the ground again. “FUCKING SONOFA BITCH!”

“What happened!?” Shock asked, Jade had pressed the button on the radio again.

“A hoofball player tackled me to the floor; he broke my leg!” Jade yelled; standing and limping over to a wall so she could lean on it and remain standing.

“Jade you’re near the gym, right?” Shock asked

“Yeah, I’m at the locker rooms right now.” Jade said, limping towards them.

“There should be a first-aid box in the coach’s office.” Shock said as a bit of panic returned to his voice.

“Okay, check for healing potions. But what if they used them?”

“Hope you can fight on a broken leg then.”

“Fuck me.”

“But I’m not into Mares, Jade.”

“Shut the hell up.” She growled and limped into the filly’s locker room. She blinked rapidly as she saw two ghouls sitting in front of the coach’s office, two very familiar looking ghouls. One was grey with a deep blue, almost black, mane while the other had a plain yellow coat with a chestnut mane. Flowerpot and Easel; the same bullies that had made her school years a living hell, stood in-between her and the coach’s office.

The ghouls turned at the sound of Jade’s clattering hooves, stood and rushed her. Jade’s legs stopped responding and she stood there as the insults came bubbling up from the depths of her shocked psyche as clear as the day they were spoken.

==

“Freak,” Easel said, jabbing Jade in the ribs with a forehoof. “What’s with those markings, freak show? You’re just like the zebras, why don’t they lock you up already.”

“Yeeeaah.” Flowerpot taunted with a nod. “I mean really, how do we know if you’re not just some freaky zebra spy using a disguising charm?”

“Shut up!” Jade cried, desperately trying to spot her friends.

“What did you say, freak?” Easel said as she shoved Jade to the ground.

“Leave me alone.” Jade tried to get up to walk past the pair, but they knocked her down again.

“Why? Is it because you might go and cry about us to your mom? Oh wait, that’s right, you’re an orphan.” Flowerpot snickered.

“I’m adopted!” Jade yelled back.

“Same difference.” Easel said as she started laughing too.

“Shut up!” Jade said, trying to hold back tears.

==

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Jade yelled, blinded by rage, emotional pain, and desperation as she fired her revolver at the pair over and over again, emptying her gun. She spit the revolver onto the ground and began stomping on them. “Shut up…” Jade hung her head low as the tears flowed down her snout; she plopped down heavily and didn’t bother getting up. After a few minutes of sobbing, Jade shifted on the floor and she heard Shock yelling over the radio.

“Jade?! Jade! Whats wrong? Are you alright? Did something happen?!”

“N…nothing…j…just had some really bad memories surface.” Jade stuttered as she stood back up and limped into the coach’s office. “I’m going to get the first-aid kit.”

“Okay, are you sure things are alright?”

She had hard time finding the box; it was on a shelf hidden partially behind some sports equipment sticking out. She lifted it off of the hook, being careful with her injured legs, and opened it. Inside were some Med-X, a roll of healing bandages, a tin of Mint-als, and one healing potion. She grabbed the potion out of the box, cradling it in her forehooves as she bit the stopper off, spit it to the left, and raised it above her head with her lips sealed tight about the neck of the bottle, and chugged it. She felt relief almost instantly as the fracture in her leg mended and some of her other wounds healed a bit. She was still feeling a lot of pain from them though, so she took the Med-X and stabbed it into her left foreleg, depressing the end with her tongue. She felt a wave of relief as the drug numbed the pain coming from her wounds.

She stepped out of the coach’s office with her head held high, sporting a bat from the rack and her gun holstered. She was running out of ammo and doubted she’d find any ammo in a school. The lights were still out, so she was still having a hard time seeing. She hoped the bat wouldn’t break too easily. She walked out of the locker room and back up to the gym proper. There weren’t too many ghouls here, but there weren’t any before. She noticed the decorations for the reunion’s dance on the walls.

The first ghoul charged Jade and she cracked its skull with the bat and it went down like a sack of potatoes. She hit another, but wasn’t as lucky as she was with the first. Jade head-butted it before swinging at the ghoul, this time striking its knee-cap. The leg snapped with a soft crack, not unlike stepping on a twig; Jade brought the bat down in a wide arc over her shoulder to end on its head.

The next ghoul tackled her but Jade had learned her lesson and braced her legs. She took it still standing and swung the bat, but missed as this one dodged. It came back at her, gnashing its teeth as Jade brought the bat down hard on the ghoul’s spine. It snapped more audibly than the last one’s leg and Jade danced back from the now-crawling feral ghoul. Creepy as fuck, the way it dragged itself along with its forehooves, arcing its neck as close as it could toward her as it gnashed its teeth again.

She ran back up to the feral and stomped its head into the ground and began pounding it to mush. The next one charged her, as usual, as Jade was finishing the last one. It almost got to her neck before she shouldered it back and as it stumbled, swung the bat into its side. She heard ribs crack, but that wasn’t going to stop the ghoul. She swung the bat again and this time hit its front legs, causing it to fall to the ground, back legs still upright, exposing its neck and allowing Jade to bring the bat down swiftly on the neck.

She was panting as she saw yet another ghoul coming at her in a charge, this one she sidestepped, holding a foreleg and tripping it. It turned back toward Jade as she turned away from it. Planting her forehooves on the ground, she tensed her muscled, reared up, and bucked the ghoul before it could charge her again. Jade released a grunt as the ghoul flew the remaining few feet to the stands that were folded up against the wall. It was impaled on the steel and ripped apart as it traveled closer to the wall as the steel bars spread apart. It hung there a foot or so from the floor, what was left, that is.

As she turned back to look around the room, the last ghoul attacked. It bit down squarely on her left shoulder-pad and wrenched it completely off, quickly biting again on the joint this time. She screamed as the ghoul tore a chunk out of her. Ignoring the pain, Jade swung the bat still in the grip of her teeth, knocking it tumbling across the room. She walked over as it was standing up and brought the bat down on its skull hard enough to break the bat in two.

She sat down in the gym for a couple minutes, wrapping up her shoulder before walking out and into another hall.  She was relieved not to see any ferals as she walked. She spied a security office at the end of the hallway, but found it locked.

“Shock…” said Jade, pressing the button on her radio as she sat down in front of the security door.

“Yes?”

“Found a security office, but it’s locked. Do you think there might be ammo in there, maybe a terminal?”

“Sounds plausible, do you have any bobby pins?”

“No.”

“Well, ya can’t get in without picking the lock.” Shock said; Jade could tell the stallion was shrugging.

“Great” Jade said as she walked away from the door. She found a flight of stairs leading up to the next level and followed them, killing another ghoul with her revolver without a glance, sending it tumbling back down to the floor below. Once she left the stairs, she encountered a pair of ghouls who, like all the others, charged her. Eager things, they were. She used her revolver a bit more carefully than with Flowerpot and Easel, not wanting to waste ammo. She dropped the ghouls with one bullet left in the chamber. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

Jade found the computer lab, finally, at the end of the hall, the skeleton of a security guard in the doorway. A quick search netted her a broken .357 revolver. She gingerly picked up the ammo and tip-hooved around it and walked into the computer lab. After she reloaded her .357 revolver, she sat down in front of one of the logged in computers.

“Shock, I’m at one of the terminals. How do I stop the lockdown?” Jade asked.

“First: you’ll need to get into the administrator’s files and from there you can access the controls.” Shock sounded tried over the radio.

“Shock, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a little tried. The vents to the office have been closed off and I’ve been taking out Protect-a-Ponies swarming in through the largest vent.”

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jade said with worry gripping her voice.

“You already had the ghouls to worry about. Just get the lockdown lifted.” Shock said, firing rapidly through the static.

Jade got to work following his instructions. She had to prevent six lockout attempts and had to log off twice, but she now had access to the admin files. She listened to Shock’s breathing getting heavier over the radio as she worked. She didn’t want to lose her friend to this damn school.

Jade started lifting the lockdowns on each system one by one. She smiled stupidly wide when she turned the vents to the office back on. Shock cheers as the first gust of fresh air hit him were music to her ears. Jade then unlocked the entrances to the school; doors, windows and computer systems opened to the public and powered up, respectively. She then shut down the main computer’s AI and everything turned off. With that, there was power and lights, but no AI trying to kill anypony. No longer were they stuck in the dark with no airflow.

“Shock, it’s done.” Jade said as she stood up and walked to the door. As she opened it, she was greeted by six ghouls. Jade shot two dead in quick succession before she had to reload and took out the rest, backing up into the computer lab again. Walking down the halls, Jade noticed more of that goo on this floor than on the lower floors, which would explain why the ghouls were mostly up here, and not the first floor, considering there was more radiation here. With a quick check of her rad-meter, telling her she was well in the green still, Jade started down the stairs.

She reached the second floor before taking a wrong turn and ending up in the cafeteria, rather than the next stairwell, being as they weren’t situated in one large stairwell, but connecting only two floors at a time. The cafeteria must have contained the last of the ghouls on this floor, not sporting armor like the hoofball players from before and standing amongst the gnawed piles of bones and tatters of cloth from the ponies the ghouls had consumed. Jade started shooting as the first lunged at her, her picking her shots carefully while they charged her. She wasn’t hitting all the time, but was taking them to go down with less ammo now.

Eventually Jade ran out of ammo with one ghoul left and then it charged, leaving Jade standing there in a moment of indecision, her wounds had opened from the strain and there was blood running from her shoulder and abdomen. She stared at this last ghoul as it bit into her bandages. She knocked him away with the other hoof, but she didn’t kill him. He was… “No” Jade gasped, with her revolver still in her mouth. “You… I can’t…” Even if she had ammo, she couldn’t have fired.

It was Him. She backed up as he lunged for her again. She couldn’t kill Him, She didn’t know how she could even try. She loved Him. She hadn’t ever been able to say it when they were together, she hadn’t worked up the courage. This was so unfair, why couldn’t Shock have had to kill Him? Why did she now have to face down the one she had loved? Why did he have to become this THING?!

Something in Jade’s mind clicked. Only she could do this. Shock couldn’t. It must be her. He had been her special some-pony once… even if now he was trying to kill her. She had loved him; still did. She couldn’t let any other pony do what was her responsibility. He was already dead. This was a feral ghoul, not her beloved Apple Core.

Jade stopped backing away. The ghoul once known by all his friends as Apple Core saw this and came at her faster. Through Jade’s tears, a horn erupted from her forehead and began to glow as her magic wrapped around two pistols she spotted laying amongst the skeletons that were the long-dead meals of the now-dead ferals. Jade loaded these guns from ammo scattered also amongst the bones. She pulled back the hammers of her dual pistols and aimed roughly down their sights at the same time. Tears flowed down her cheeks as water down a river as she gazed at the face that had once belonged to the love of her short life.

“I love you, my sweet Apple Core”

Jade pulled the triggers of her dual revolvers with her magic and the face of the ghoul was no longer. Jade bucked a nearby table and sent it flying towards the door, which Shock had been standing beside. Shock leapt out of the way to avoid the now-airborne table. Jade didn’t care that she now had a horn, or that her friend was staring at her with a look of utter shock on his face, complete with jaw hanging down as wide as it could hang, she just wanted the aching of her heart to stop.

Level up.

Quest perk: MAGIC: You’ve unlocked your magical power; you can now levitate objects as a unicorn would. As a consequence, -50 to damage to your hidden power and the cooldown timer has increased 6 days.