I took my first steps into the world. I was shocked into silence at the bleak stillness of the wasteland as the cold, dead air chilled my skin. I couldn't see much because of the darkness; all I was able to make out were a few small hills in front of us. There was not a building, nor town, nor pony in sight. It was just me and Golden.

Golden and I stood outside the cave, staring out into the desolation. We stood there quietly for minutes that felt like hours, until Golden broke the silence. “So... this is the Equestrian Wasteland, huh?”

“Well, it really doesn't have much to it,” I replied. Not that I expected it to; it was called a wasteland for a reason.

“Seren?” My ears perked from the sound of my name. I turned my head to see Golden standing there, shivering. “S-shouldn't we get going? I'm cold and tired... we need to get to Manehattan.”

“Yeah, we should,” I said, “but let me check a couple things first, mainly where we are. Hopefully we can set a destination.”

It was clear that we were beyond exhausted, and we wouldn’t be able to get to Manehattan without getting some sleep, so we needed to find shelter fast. I looked at the map on my PipBuck, but it offered little help – all I saw was a mess of green lines that faded to black near the outer edges of the display. It seemed that the only option was for us to travel south on hoof towards Manehattan and hope to the goddesses that we didn’t faint from exhaustion. Or get attacked by somepony or something. I didn't know who inhabited the wasteland, but I knew we should keep our guard up.

After a few hours of walking through nothing but pitch-black darkness, I was beginning to think we wouldn't find Manehattan. I hoped Golden wasn't wrong about its location. I looked ahead of me and noticed Golden, who was moving at a trot. Which would be a normal pace... if we both weren't equally exhausted, and I knew for a fact that I was stronger than her. I hoped she wasn't slipping back into that trance. I really didn't have the energy to deal with that again.

Golden was walking about twenty feet ahead of me. It was at this point that I asked her, “Hey, Golden? Can you stop for a minute?”

She did and turned around, then responded, in a colder tone than normal, “What?”

As I approached her, I noticed her pupils had contracted slightly. I suggested, "Maybe we should find some shelter and get some rest. I’m exhausted."

"Why does that matter? All we need to do is get this file to Manehattan and we will be able to relax all we want," she responded, her voice nearly emotionless. I was becoming annoyed, since that didn't seem like something Golden would normally say.

I did not want to lose Golden again. I had to do something, and fast. I quickly rushed over to her and put a hoof around her. I tried to say in a sincere voice, "Golden… I really think it would be best if we found some shelter. Now come on, we’re in this together, aren't we?” hoping it would somehow snap her out of her trance.

I saw her glare and take a few steps away from me. "I can do this either with or without you," she said, her voice now completely cold and robotic. She then started walking at least twice as fast as she was before. "Come on, we need to get to Manehattan." Before I could respond, she took off, galloping full blast, disappearing into the darkness.

I knew I was too exhausted to run, but I fought my fatigue and pushed myself to try and catch up with her. No matter how fast I ran, I still couldn’t keep up. I was panting and I felt like my chest was on fire, but I mustered all the strength I could and shouted, “Golden! Stop! ...Please!”

It was no use. The only sound I heard in response was that of her rapidly galloping away. I couldn’t keep up with her anymore. Finally, my legs gave out and I collapsed onto the ground. I slowly lifted myself up, struggling to catch my breath as I heard Golden’s running slowly become consumed by the haunting winds of the wasteland. I looked ahead of me for some sense of direction, but I was met with nothing but barren hills and darkness.

A haunting chill went up my spine the moment I realized that I was alone in the middle of nowhere. I started to panic. I frantically searched my surroundings, looking for some kind of shelter, or even a landmark. There was nothing. The ground as far as I could see was nothing but cracked dirt and rocks.

I finally gave up and sat onto the ground on my haunches, breaking into tears. I was exhausted, I had no idea where I was, I had no idea how to survive, and my only friend out here had just run off. I took fleeting solace in the fact that Golden couldn’t be having it any easier than me, and she had to stop sometime.

Angrily blinking back tears, I pulled out my shotgun and checked for ammo. Not a single shell. The damn thing was little more than a glorified club now. I almost screamed in frustration as I tossed it into the dirt.

That was it. Alone, exhausted, and defenseless. It would only be a matter of time before I died.

All I could do was curl myself up in a ball, as tightly as I could, and wonder whether it would be the numbing cold or something else that got me first. Unable to go on any longer, I passed out from exhaustion.

My eyes flickered open to the sight of a gray wall, cracks running along its surface like spiderwebs. I tried to move my legs, but for some reason I was having trouble moving them, and something was causing a strange rattling sound.

Still barely awake, I looked down at my hooves to see metal cuffs, one around each of my hooves, held together by chains.
A feeling of dread started to grow in the pit of my stomach. What’s going on? Where am I? Why am I in shackles?

As I became a bit more awake, I noticed my Stable jumpsuit and security barding was missing, as well as my PipBuck.

I turned over and noticed I was in a cell. This was too much to take in; the last thing I remembered was passing out in the wasteland on the verge of death from fatigue. Now I’m here, shackled, in a cell, without any of my items. What happened?

After a few more minutes I got up and walked over to the small mirror on the other side of the room, the chains of my shackled hooves dragging across the cracked, concrete floor. As I expected, I looked awful. My black-and-white mane was stained and messy with countless split ends, I had a collar on, my eyes seemed bloodshot, on my horn was a magic suppressing horn ring, and upon seeing this, all I had was a growing list of questions.

Where am I? Why am I in a cell? Why am I shackled? Where’s my PipBuck and Stable attire? Why am I here? Why do I have a collar on? A hundred questions ran through my mind at once, but unable to do anything, I just sat down and hoped that whoever put me in this cell would show up and answer most, if not all, of them.

I must have been sitting here for an hour or longer, I thought to myself. All my questions were still unanswered as I just sat there in an eerie silence, looking at the stone wall on the other side of the cell bars. Just then, my ears perked up to the sound of a metal door opening, followed by multiple sets of hoofsteps coming my way from down the hall. I slowly sat upright on my haunches, anxiously waiting to see the ones that more likely than not put me in this stupid cell in the first place.

A moment later, three earth ponies trotted into my view. The first pony on the left was a, dirty, pink eyed, brown-coated stallion, with an unkempt dark-blue mane and tail, both tipped with small light-blue highlights. The second pony in the middle was a red-coated stallion with a yellow mane and tail wearing a grimy black suit with a red tie, an outfit I saw in pre-war books that ponies used to wear on special occasions. And finally, the third pony at the right was a pink-coated mare with a messy, fuchsia-colored mane and tail.

All of them stood there wordlessly in front of the cell, gazing at me with demented smiles on their faces, until the pink mare blurted out, "HA HA! Looks like she’s finally awake. Hey there, princess, what’s it like being OUR pet?!"

I didn't say anything, and shot her the most intimidating glare I could in response.

"OOH, she looks mad! What are you gonna do, little pony? I’m so scared!"

Just then, she was scolded by the red stallion in the middle, who said in a commanding tone, "Whip, that’s enough! What did I tell you about antagonizing slaves?”

My eyes widened in terror at the use of the word slave. I started to shiver with fear; I had no idea what these ponies planned to do with me.

"You. Stand up!" the suit-wearing pony in the middle commanded.

Having nothing else to do I just obeyed him, and he continued.

"Tell me your name!" he ordered, his cold purple eyes locked onto me.

"S-Seren Starfall," I timidly said, with a nervous gulp.

"HAH! What a gay-ass name," Whip blurted out.

The pony on the left yelled, “Shut the hell up, Whip! Orjusto is trying to talk to the slave!"

Whip cringed and walked away, saying, "Fuck this, I'm going back upstairs..." I heard the metal door open and close again.

Orjusto sighed and said, "I'm sorry you had to see that." It then occurred to me that for a pony who I could only assume was a slave owner, he seemed surprisingly level-headed. Maybe he could be reasoned with.

"Do you know why you are here, or even where you are?" I just looked down and shook my head.

"Well, let me answer some of your questions. We are a small group of slavers. You were found passed out in the wasteland last night by my buddy Driver." He pointed to the pony on his left. "He saw you and decided you would fetch a real nice bundle of caps, or what you would call money."

"I couldn't believe I found a Stable dweller! Do you know how rare you ponies are?” Driver said in a smug tone.

Orjusto continued to explain, "You are now a slave. We will sell you, and the pony who buys you can do whatever he wishes with you. Simple as that. Any questions?"

I knew that what I was about to ask was one of the stupidest things I would have said in my life, but it was still worth a shot. "L-Look sir... I'm nopony special and I'm not really useful... at all... would it be possible for you to, uhh... l-let me go, and just find somepony else? I’m sure there are plenty of ponies that would make better slaves than me."

Orjusto roared in laughter. "GAH HA HA HA HA! That’s cute! You slaves always crack me up! Look, just sit in your cell like a good little pony, Soren, and we’ll have a buyer for you in no time!" I looked down, starting to tear up. "Come on, Driver, we have to go." I looked up at them, weeping. I didn't get a look at Orjusto, but I saw Driver make what looked like a forced smile as he stared back at me.

I was pretty sure it was now nighttime. I was lying on the bed. Again. I felt so helpless, it was as if there was no point to my life anymore. I couldn’t use magic because of the horn ring, I could barely walk with these shackles, I had no perception of time or where I was without my PipBuck, and the thought of being sold to somepony who would most likely rape and kill me just made me sick.

It would have been nice if they could have at least given me something to wear. I was so cold I couldn't stand it. I had never felt so exposed and unclean in my life, and to top it off, there was Golden, who was more likely than not dead by now.

I heard the metal door open. I turned towards the bars of the cell to see who it was, and a few seconds later, Driver walked into view. He turned towards me with a somber expression on his face. “Uhh... hi.”

I just looked at him with a constant icy glare, and said in the most unpleasant tone I could manage, "What do you want? Come to drag my self-worth down even further than you already have?"

Driver let out a defeated sigh.

"No, not at all. I just want to talk to you."

I growled as I turned in the bed again to face the wall and said, "Well, I don't really feel like talking right now, Driver. I'm just waiting for you to sell me to some sick fuck who’s just going to use me as a sex toy and then kill me."

Driver then said, "Seren, please, if you would just hear me out, then—"

"NO!" I screamed, cutting him off. I got out of the bed as quickly as I could and stomped up to the bars. "What makes you think I want to hear ANYTHING you have to say to me? What can you and I possibly have to talk about? How can you even sleep at night, knowing that you ruin the lives of innocent wasteland ponies by enslaving them? You are a shit individual who should regret every life choice he ever made and die! And then you just want to talk like nothing ever happened? That’s awful! You are sick! I don't want your sympathy! I don't want your excuses or apologies! I just want you to go and die in a ditch! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" I stood there for a moment, shocked at my own words, until finally my icy scowl returned.

I started slowly walking back to the bed, but on my way I took one more stare at Driver and saw him looking at me, his eyes wide with shock. I turned back and continued towards the bed. Just before I laid back down, I heard the sound of hoofsteps, starting out loud, but growing more distant. I laid back down on the bed, looking at the bars where Driver had been. A few seconds later I heard the door open and close.

I curled up into tighter ball on the bed, starting to regret what I said. What if he really did feel bad and wanted to get me out of here? I thought to myself, Did I just lose my only chance to be saved from this place?

My mind started to race, with another part of me thinking, No, Seren, you did the right thing, telling him off. Why would he let you go? You’re worth a lot of money to them, and he was probably just going to say how being a slave isn't so bad or give you an empty apology.

I just laid in the bed, torn and confused.

I was sure a couple more hours had passed, and it had just gotten colder. I had be doing nothing but thinking. Thinking about the kind of pony they would sell me to, thinking about Golden, thinking of finding a way out of here.

Every thought I had just led to death. I didn’t want to give up to the wasteland so easily, but I felt that nothing was stacked in my favor. I prayed to the goddesses for a miracle.

I had been laying in the bed, curled up in a ball, now thinking about just how cold I was when I heard the metal door open. I didn't care who it was. I turned my back to the bars and made it look like I was asleep, as I didn't want to deal with any of the slavers. I heard the hoofsteps come closer and stop.

“Seren… are you awake?” Driver asked in a bit of a distressed tone.

Of course I didn’t respond. After all, why would I? This pony ruined my life. I kept up the facade, hoping he would just go away and leave me to rot in peace. Even being able to hear his voice was more than I was able to bear at this point.

“Seren,” he started again, “if you’re awake, please hear me out, cause I kinda fucked up here real bad.”

My ears twitched a bit when I heard him say that. I didn't know what he was about to say, but he at least had my attention.

“I just got back from an attack we made on a rival slaver group who has been getting a lot of business lately, attempting to take them out, but they were way more powerful than we anticipated and I nearly died!"

I started to chuckle and said with my back still turned to him, “Good, you deserve it. Isn’t life a bitch, Driver?”

“Seren! Please! I’m trying to help you!” he pleaded, agitated.

“You are now, are you?” I started to turn to face him. “Ok Driver, now tell me all abo-” I stopped when I finally saw what he looked like.

He was clad in what looked like some sort of makeshift barding, splattered with blood and bullet holes in many areas with some parts shot straight through, revealing almost exactly where he had been hit.

I sat up on the bed, still looking at him with wide eyes.

“W-What in Equestria happened to you?” I asked, surprised.

“A failed takedown of a rival slaver group, and I'm pretty sure they are on their way here now to finish us off!”

I was confused. “Umm... what does any of that have to do with me?” I asked while getting off the bed.

Driver glared and said, “I don’t want to risk my life for caps anymore. I’ve had enough, and I just want to be done with this slaver business. I’m just not getting the same rush I used to from it all. If that rival slaver group attacks to finish us off—which they will—I really don't want you dying from it. That's why I’ve come to let you out of here. I don’t need anymore blood on my hooves.”

I was stunned at what I was hearing. Was this pony for real? There was no way this could be happening.

“You're the only enslaved pony we have here, and it would be a pointless waste to let you die. So if it’s ok with you, I’m going to unlock the cell now.” I saw Driver bend his neck down behind the wall and bring his head back up with a ring of keys in his mouth.

I looked on with nothing but pure confusion. I wasn't falling for this, Driver seemed way too shady and this seemed way too good for me to fathom. “Wait a minute,” I said to him just before he put the key in the door.

“What is it?” he responded, causing him to drop the keys he was holding in his mouth. He looked down and glared. “Oh, damn it.”

“I don’t buy this for one second!” I shouted defensively, “So what's the catch? Am I your personal bitch pony or sex slave now? Or perhaps you're going to force me to be your marefriend? Well fuck you! I'm not looking for love! And even if I was, I don’t like your type anyway!”

“Seren,” he said with a look on his face I could only describe as priceless, “you're not MY slave, I want to free you because… I don't think you deserve to die just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Please just trust me, I promise I mean no malicious intent, or harm. Besides, didn't you want to be freed anyway?”

I gave a sigh of defeat. “FINE, I’ll let you free me, but you do one thing to me and I swear to Celestia I will make you pay.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” he said as he picked up the keys again. He unlocked the door and it opened with an audible metallic creaking. He came up to me. “Ok, now I’m going to have to unlock those shackles, that collar, and take off that horn ring.”

Before he started unlocking my restraints, I asked him, “How are you so sure this rival slaver group will attack?”

“'Cause we showed weakness,” he started saying while he was unlocking the shackles, clenching his teeth to keep the key in his mouth, “They really weren't sure what kind of weapons we had and vice-versa, so they stayed away, but now that they know, they're likely to finish us off.”

He unlocked the shackles first. It was so nice to be able to move my legs normally again. He backed away and gave me a few seconds to stretch before going to unlock the collar and horn ring.

As he started unlocking the other two restraints, he started speaking again. “We didn't even stand a chance. They were slaughtering us with machine gun fire and carbine assault rifles. Hell, even with my best shooting I was only able to take out maybe two or three, if that. I tell ya, it was not pretty."

He finished the story just as he finished unlocking the horn ring. He backed away from me as I ripped off the horn ring, threw it against the wall, and gave a sigh of relief.

“Better?” Driver asked.

“Yes, thank you,” I responded, and thought for a moment. "So... do you know where my PipBuck and stable jumpsuit would be?"

He thought for a moment, then responded, "Well, I remember putting your PipBuck in the safe in Orjusto's office. As for your stable attire... I think Whip may have burned it."

"She WHAT!?" I shouted.

"I remember her snatching them from me asking, ‘what kind of fucking lesbian you were to be wearing that tacky-looking shit?’ Then she took them out back, claiming she was going to burn them. I think she just wanted to spite you."

I was upset about my clothing, but it could be replaced. The PipBuck was all I really needed.

"Driver,” I said, “I can't leave here without my PipBuck."

"I was worried you might say that. If that’s the case, then I may have to kill the two slavers that stayed here to make sure you didn't escape, ‘cuz the moment they see you out of this room, they'll open fire on both of us."

"Do you have any guns of your own?" I asked.

"I'm pretty good with a sawn-off, if my cutie mark wasn't enough of an indication."

It was only then I noticed his cutie mark: a shotgun shell with a blast behind it. I could only assume it meant he specialized in those kinds of weapons.

"Okay, then that will have to do," I said, "We should get going."

We then walked out of the cell and up the stairs to the metal door.

"My shotgun is in the room just on the other side of this door. stay here until you hear two gunshots, okay?"

I nodded, and he went through the metal door. I could hear the muffled voices of other slavers, clearly more than a little inebriated. Just then I heard two gunshots, and ran through the door.

The room was dimly lit and smelt of various liquors, with the majority of the lighting coming from a few neon signs that filled the room with a soft, constant buzz. I was surprised that this place had any power at all. It seemed to be a makeshift rec room with a few faded, reddish-brown couches in the two left corners of the room. The couches had tables in front of them bearing many differing alcoholic beverages, and an assortment of different syringes as well as various other medicinal-looking objects.

"Welcome to Casa de Slaver," said Driver jokingly as he reloaded his sawn-off, "Take a gun from one of the guards."

I looked at him, surprised. "Oh... umm, no thank you, Driver, I’ll just wait 'till I find a gun on my own.”

He gave me a shocked look.

“Are you insane? This is the wasteland! It’s kill or be killed, and it’s also loot or be looted. You won’t survive long if you don't loot the bodies of dead ponies, Seren!”

He did make a very strong point, and it seemed I had no choice. I took a sawn-off and six shells from one of the dead slavers.

I examined the sawn-off I took from the slaver and noticed it looked to be in poor condition. The weapon had bite marks from the pony using it last and it seemed scratched in multiple places, as well as having a bent trigger. What kind of dumpster did they pull this gun out of? I thought to myself.

“Driver?” I asked him, “Will this gun even work? It looks like it's been through tartarus and back!”

He came up, examined the gun, and frowned. “Yeah, I will admit this gun is in real bad shape. That's another reason that the rival slaver group was able to pick us off so easily: poor weapon maintenance. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with it for now.”

I gave a bit of an annoyed grunt.

“Ok,” Driver started, “the main room is just on the other side of this door. From there it’s a straight shot to the exit, but we may have to deal with Orjusto, so just stay near me.”

Driver and I were about to start walking to the door when it opened up, revealing a familiar fuchsia-maned mare. “Driver, you backstabbing cunt!” she screamed.

Driver quickly stepped in front of me. “Whip!? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be fending off the rival slaver group!”

“I knew you were up to no good! That’s why I followed you back!” she shouted, “You're going to sell the slave and keep all the money for yourself!”

I gasped and jumped from behind him, readying the sawn-off and glaring at him. “Is that true?” I growled.

“No!” Driver yelled.

Whip gasped when she finally got a better look at me. “Y-You unlocked her restraints? Are you out of your fucking mind, Driver!?”

“No, I’m not,” said Driver, “I just don’t want to risk my life for caps anymore. I'm happy with what I have and I'm leaving with her ‘cause... she doesn't deserve to die.”

A smirk grew across Whip’s face. “Ahh, that look in your eyes, that way you're talking. You have a crush on this slave, don't you?”

“No, I don't! And besides, she said she doesn't like my type anyway!” he snapped back at her.

Whip started laughing hysterically. “Y-you mean you mean you a-actually ask-asked her?” she managed to say through her laughing, “Ohh, that is rich. Just shot down like a bitch.” She began to regain her composure. “And speaking of shooting down...” She readied her shotgun and pointed it at me, causing me to point mine at her. “I'm supposed to kill any slaves seen outside of their cells, so...”

Driver readied his own weapon.“Take one shot at her and I will kill you right where you stand,” he said with a glare.

A knowing smirk grew across Whip’s face. “You wouldn't do that to me, Driver. You don't have the guts.”

She started to laugh when a shot rang out right beside her face, startling her and causing her to look at Driver in disbelief. “Try me,” he said in a dark tone, furrowing his brow.

She glared and pointed her gun at him. “Fine then! I’ll just kill you and lock the slave up again! Then everyone wins!”

Just as Whip was about to pull the trigger I said, “Take one shot at him and I will kill you right where you stand,” while aiming at her head.

“Yeah, right,” she said smugly, and shot at Driver.

BANG!

Driver immediately dodged her aim and took a shot at Whip, missing her. She backed away and tried to aim at Driver again, but seemed to forget about me. I had gotten nervous in the heat of the moment and took a shot at Whip, hitting her in the leg rather than the head.

“ARAGGH! FUCKING DAMN IT!” Whip screamed.

She shakily got up and glared at both of us. “Get out now, Whip,” Driver commanded, his voice brimming with hate.

Whip slowly took a few steps backwards towards the door and managed to stutter, "Y-you c-cocksuckers! Don't think this ends here! You just wait! I’ll kill both of you!" And with that, she limped out the door.

“Hey! she's getting away! Let's finish her off!” I said, starting to gallop out the door.

“No, Seren! Let her go!” Driver said to me before I got out the door.

I looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. “She tried to kill us, Driver,” I said, “We can't let her hurt anymore ponies!”

“Some ponies just aren't worth killing, Seren, and I believe Whip is one of them.”

I let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine… so, I guess it's safe then?”

Driver came up to the door saying, “Should be.” He used one of his forehooves and pushed it open.

We came into the room and were standing in between two staircases. I was able to make out more features as we made it out of the makeshift corridor. The room was spacious but horrible looking. The walls were a sickly yellow color and there were chairs all over the floor. The staircases led to a partially intact second floor overlooking the first floor. There were a few doorways I could see, but some were blocked off.

Upon walking into the middle of the room, we looked around and saw Orjusto standing behind a very long desk on the right side of the room. He glared at us and said, "You betrayed me, Driver."

Driver looked down, saying, "Sorry, Orjusto, but I just don't want this kind of life anymore."

Orjusto replied with, "That’s all well and good, but I'll be damned if I let you escape with a Stable Dweller slave. So here's the deal." He leaned back behind the desk. "You give her back to me, and I lock her up again, nice and tight, and you go free. If you resist, I’ll kill you both. Now come on, Driver. Look at her! Think of all the caps we could make."

He glared at Orjusto and said in a very serious tone, "No, I'm leaving with her."

"Wrong answer."

My eyes widened as I saw Orjusto pull a submachine gun out from under the desk. Driver violently pushed me behind the staircase and quickly ran over to a chair, crouching down behind it. I took out the sawn-off and fired two shots at Orjusto.

Without my PipBuck, I couldn't use S.A.T.S, so I had to rely on my own aim. I thought I landed one of the two shots, but I couldn't tell. Thinking he was hit, I peeked out from behind the staircase, only to be proven wrong by another burst of gunfire. Just then, I heard two more shotgun blasts to my right and the machine gun fire stopped, followed by a loud thud.

I saw Driver stand up from the behind the chair, spit, and say, "That bastard."

We both walked over to Orjusto's corpse. Driver took a few seconds to examine the submachine gun and hissed. "This isn’t even worth taking, just a piece of junk. It would probably break after one use." He threw it back down on the ground.

We walked into Orjusto’s office. I went over to his safe, but I didn't know how to lockpick it. I asked Driver if he knew how, but to my disappointment he shook his head.

"No, sorry." Driver walked over to Orjusto’s terminal. "Hmm... he was logged in." He pressed a button and the safe popped open.

I gasped in awe. "How did you do that?!"

He chuckled lightly. "Heh, I just selected the option that said ‘Unlock Safe’."

I thanked him again and opened the safe, revealing three healing potions, one bag of some weird orange substance I’d never seen before, and my PipBuck! I quickly nabbed it without any second thought and squealed in delight.

"Oh, thank you so much, Driver!"

Driver responded with "Happy I could help, Seren.” He walked over to the safe.

I spent no time clamping the PipBuck back onto my foreleg. It never occurred to me just how much I used it until I lost it. I guess that’s why I was so happy to have it back.

As we walked out of the office, Driver said, “Oh right, I almost forgot.” He looted Orjusto’s body and passed me the round, metal device my father gave me. “Here, this is the only other thing you had on you when I captured you. I forget what Orjusto called it, but it was yours, so take it.”

My eyes widened a bit. “Oh, thank you!” I said, “My father gave that me to me before I left the Stable. I don’t remember what it’s called.” I tapped my hoof against my chin in thought for a few seconds. “Stealth, something, I think.”

Before approaching the doors, I followed Driver over to the left corner of the room where there were a few saddlebags.

“Here,” he said, pointing at the saddlebags, “put one of these on.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Why?” I quietly asked.

He answered my question with another question. “Where are you going to put all your stuff?”

I thought for a few moments before finally saying, “Ok, point taken.” Using my magic, I put on the saddlebag and dropped the stealth whatsit inside. Driver put one on as well.

I turned to him and said, “Well, I guess this is the part where you leave me, right?”

“Well, only if you want me to,” he said. “But I think it would be in your best interest if we stuck together a bit longer. No offence, but you don't really seem like a pony who is ready for the wasteland yet, at least not alone.”

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. “Yeah, that probably would be for the best,” I said, looking down.

“Right, well, let’s go then!” Driver exclaimed.

We walked outside the building, and what I saw were ruins. Nothing but ruined buildings as far as the eye could see. The only intact building was one tall, well-lit tower that didn't look too far away.

Out of curiousity, I checked my PipBuck for our location. When I opened up the map I saw a notification saying you have discovered the Manehattan Metropolitan Police Station. “What the?” I quietly said in confusion. I looked at where my current location was and it said Manehattan Ruins. I was completely stunned and fell to my haunches.

I asked Driver in disbelief, “th-this is... Manehattan?” I was struggling to comprehend the fact that all that was left of one of Equestria's most well-known cities was one single tower with various ruined buildings around it.

"Yeah, it is," he nervously replied, "Look, Seren, we need to get away from this building before that rival slaver gang gets here."

I tried my best to snap myself out of it, and after galloping away from the building and turning a few corners, I was finally able to ask Driver some questions.

"Hey, what's up with that tower over there?" I asked, pointing at it.

He looked in the direction I was pointing.

"Oh, that’s Tenpony Tower, the centerpiece of Manehattan and one of the nicest places left in the Equestrian wasteland... or so I’m told. I've never actually been in there, seeing as how I was... you know."

I looked down in response and quietly replied, "Yeah, I know."

I tried to shake the negative emotion, asking Driver, "Is there anything else I should know, or any enemies we should be on the lookout for?"

"Yes, bloodwings."

I didn't like the sound of the name, even from the outset. I timidly asked, "I know I’m going to regret asking, but what are they?”

“They’re giant bats and they eat ponies,” he replied. My mind instantly ripened with terror. I started shaking and frantically looking around as he continued.

"Their agility makes them very hard to kill. If we ran into a group, we wouldn't stand a chance, and we’d be nothing more than a midnight snack to them. Fortunately for us, most of them stay in the ruins of real dark buildings, so as long as we keep our heads low and don’t linger, we shouldn't have much trouble. If we’re going to be sleeping, a low building that wouldn’t be able to fit one would be best.”

Thankfully, they seemed fairly easy to avoid. Still, the thought of being eaten alive was beyond terrifying.

"Actually, we need to keep on moving here. Follow me." Driver started quickly trotting down the street, with me trailing close behind him.

"A-Anything else?" I asked with a gulp as we kept moving.

"Ummm, yeah, there are also manticores. They’re kind of like a lion and bat hybrid with a scorpion tail. Our chances of killing those are pretty narrow as well.”

I let out an annoyed grunt. “Is there anything that can't eat us?”

He replied by saying, “Manticores and bloodwings are the only real threats I know of, that and the occasional raider or slaver.”

Driver suddenly stopped, causing me to crash into him and fall. As I was getting up, I asked him, “Hey, what's going on? Why did you stop?” I saw him gazing at a mostly intact building.

“We should check in here,” he said.

I turned on my PipBuck light as we cautiously stepped into the building. The first floor was stripped completely bare. Nothing but dust and rocks littered the ground. The doorway to another room was caved in by rubble, as we slowly crept up the crumbling stairwell. I couldn't help but feel a chill as the sound of the wind outside slowly died down, leaving only the soft noise of our hoofsteps.

We got upstairs and found four mattresses around the room, almost as if someone was camping there. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Driver looked around a bit before saying, “I think this will be a safe place to stay for the night. Not many buildings this intact left in Manehattan, and with no bloodwings. We got very lucky!”

I asked Driver, “Umm, Driver, why are there mattresses here?”

He turned to face me and replied, “Oh, probably something some other wastelander ponies left behind. We will be fine.”

I gave a small sigh of relief as we both went and took a separate mattress. I sat on the mattress and looked down. I couldn't stop thinking about Golden. I would feel so bad if the next time I saw her she was dead, and it would have been all my fault. I prayed to the goddesses that she was still alive. Even though I was tired and scared, I needed to find her or die trying.

I stood up on all fours and told Driver, “Driver, I came out into the wasteland with a friend. I need to find her.”

He looked at me in surprise as I started walking down the stairs, until finally yelling, “Seren, wait!”

He ran in front of me and stood in my way.

“Please get out of my way, I need to do this,” I deadpanned.

He glared at me and said, “I don't know who this ‘friend’ is, but I can tell you are in no condition to go looking for her. You can barely stand!”

“I’m fine, Driver, just get out of my way!” I said again, now slightly annoyed.

“I’m not going to do that, Seren. If you go out there you would be eaten by bloodwings, you would faint in the street, and they would have you picked clean by morning. I'll help you look for this friend first thing tomorrow when we both are awake.”

I pondered for a moment before hanging my head in defeat and accepting Driver’s offer.

“Who is this friend anyway?” he asked.

I told Driver all about Golden, a little more about myself, and what happened in Stable 64. At the end of my story he looked at me with wide eyes.“You're telling me you killed 4 armored security ponies!?”

“Yes, and I’m not proud of it...” I let out an annoyed cry before burying my head in both my forehooves in shame. “Ugh, I wish I had never turned Golden in to begin with! I should have just left the poor mare alone, she has enough problems. I mean, she just lost her mother 2 weeks ago!”

“Well, you can't change the past, Seren,” Driver said, “both of us have abundant regrets for what we did. Me for what I did as a slaver, and you for the things you had to do to leave the Stable. I have learned over the years that crying and whining about it won’t do you any good. What we have to do is better ourselves."

“Well, what about you?” I asked Driver.

“Hmm...” He glanced at me. “What about me?” he echoed.

“Well, I told you about me… why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” I asked him out of pure curiosity.

He gave a regretful sounding sigh. “Well, first off, I wasn't always the way I am today. I originally became a slaver so I could get caps to get my family into Tenpony Tower. You can’t just get in there like anywhere else, you need to either pay, or be there on business, or something.”

“Did you?” I quietly asked.

“No,” he swiftly replied, “S’ been a few years since I've been to my settlement, seen my family. I guess I just… enjoyed the thrill and the caps so much I didn't care. During that attack something just kind of snapped in me and I realized I didn't want to lose my life for this. I have over seven thousand caps, Seren, and the reason why is 'cause I had nothing to spend it on! What am I gonna do!? Spend it on a hot marefriend-slave? Pay the guys who were paying me? Ehh, whatever, I’m rambling anyway.”

I couldn't help but giggle at the mini rant.

He continued. “Point is, I'm happy and content enough with the caps I have, even if it is kinda ridiculous."

Driver sighed and rubbed his forehead a bit. “Look, it’s late, and I’m a bit too tired to think clearly, so why don't we just get some sleep?"

“Yeah, I think it's about time we got some rest,” I said before laying down.

The next morning, after both of us woke up, Driver and I were getting ready to look for Golden. I stepped out of the building after Driver. It was the first time I had been able to see the wasteland in the daytime. I looked up and saw nothing but gray. Gray clouds as far as the eye could see. I remember reading books back in the stable and seeing the sky in them, bright, blue, and happy, with white, fluffy-looking clouds, and maybe a pegasus or two. This was not the same sky from those books. This sky was bleak, dark, and depressing, nothing but another boring, gray ceiling. I was disappointed.

Driver and I had agreed to split up. He was a little weary on the idea at first but I convinced him that I would be able to take care of myself, and it would increase our chances of finding Golden.

As I walked the streets of Manehattan, fascination and wonder consumed my mind. I couldn't stop looking at the remnants of all the decimated structures around me, both towers and smaller buildings, constantly making me wonder what this city looked like before the war.

As I wandered through the seemingly endless jungle of mangled buildings and cracked roads, I had to keep telling myself to concentrate so I would be able to find Golden. I felt so free, but at the same time, so imprisoned. I loved exploring and discovering new places, something I could never do in the stable. The fact that I was looking for Golden and had to be aware of manticores, among other threats, honestly annoyed me a bit.

At one point I had to stop and refocus myself, “Come on, Seren, you can explore the ruins later. Just focus on finding Golden… that’s the important thing right now.”

I started slowly walking again and thought, Wow, not even three full days out here and I’m already talking to myself.

After walking for a couple more minutes, I heard a low growling noise. I instinctively hugged the wall of the building to my left and creeped over to the left end to look down the street where I heard the sound come from.

I saw a creature that looked like a cross between a lion and a bat with a scorpion tail. It matched the manticore description Driver gave, and it was coming down the street towards me. I instantly became scared and galloped down the street, back the way I came.

I thought I was safe, when all of the sudden I heard a roar from behind me and turned around to see the creature chasing after me.

I immediately screamed and ran as fast as I could.

Oh please, Celestia, no! Oh please, goddesses, no! I thought as I ran from the creature with all my strength.

The manticore was gaining up on me, slowly but surely. I started to pant and sweat. I tried to go down other streets and move in complicated patterns to throw this thing off my tail.

It just kept getting closer! I was becoming exhausted and frustrated, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep up this speed.

In addition to my chest beginning to feel like it was on fire again, tears were starting to form in my eyes as I was literally running for my life.

“I didn't come out here just to be a manticore’s lunch!” I shouted as I levitated my sawn off.

I knew it wouldn't work, but I needed to try to slow this thing down, lest I be pinned and promptly eaten.

I quickly whipped the shotgun around and shot at the creature twice, causing it to stop dead in its tracks. I didn't want to celebrate early, so I kept running.

A couple seconds later I looked behind me and saw the manticore charging at me, running faster than before, the wounds I inflicted only serving to make it want to kill me more.

I had no other options. I couldn't stop the beast, and I couldn't run anymore. Just as the manticore started to lunge at me, I jumped into the nearest opening in a ruined building that I could fit myself into.

I landed on my side, facing the way I jumped in. I saw the manticore come up to the window I jumped into. It wasn't able to fit through it, so it started clawing at the stone pillar that separated the two squares in the wall that once were windows, trying to break in and finish me off.

I couldn't believe what was happening. I was trapped. This creature was out for my blood no matter what.

I shakily got up on all fours, my whole body quivering with fear and fatigue, and started slowly walking backwards, one hoofstep at a time as the manticore chipped away at the stone wall.

The ruined area I was in wasn't very large, and only went back about fifteen feet. I backed into the wall of rubble and fell to my haunches.

This is it… this is the end… I’m going to die, I thought to myself. I couldn't do anything but helplessly watch the manticore furiously assault the stone wall. Tears started to well in my eyes.

I could tell that it wouldn't be too much longer until the stone wall gave way and the manticore would have me. I closed my eyes and accepted my fate.

I heard two shots ring out, causing the manticore to stop clawing at the wall.

“Over here, bitch!” a familiar voice yelled out. I opened my eyes and saw the manticore hit by two more shots.

After stumbling back, the manticore let out a mighty roar and went charging after its new attacker.

I sat there for a few minutes, trying to get my bearings and comprehend what just happened. All the while listening to who I'm pretty sure was Driver, antagonizing and taunting the manticore in between the sounds of shotgun blasts, only becoming more faint.

Around ten minutes later, the same voice called out, “Hey, is someone in there? Are you ok?"

I heard the hoofsteps getting closer until Driver walked into view. Upon seeing me, he gave a smug smile. “Well look who we have here,” he said.

“So, what do you have to say for yourself now, Miss 'I can take care of myself'?” he asked mockingly.

“Don’t make me smack you,” I growled, walking over to him.

“I told you it would happen. You would be dead now if I didn't notice that Manticore was trying to eat somepony, 'cause manticores usually don't claw at walls like that unless they’re trying to catch a prey that pissed them off.”

“Where is the manticore now?” I asked.

“Knocked out,” Driver swiftly replied, “Took some effort, but my strategy worked. It seems like a young manticore, not even a fully grown one.

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, cutting him off. “Young? But that thing couldn't even fit through the window!”

He chuckled a bit. “Well, it was a young manticore, not a baby manticore. I was able to weaken it by shooting some soft spots. I finally knocked it out by shooting out the cable supporting an old overhang causing it to fall onto the manticore.”

“I tried so hard to outrun it,” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“You can't outrun a manticore, especially if it catches your scent. Manticores are adept hunters, and can track a pony by their scent. It was kill, knock it out, or be killed for you.” Worry seeped into his voice as he continued. “But, uhh, I was looking for you to tell you that I found Golden and got her to the place where we stayed last night.”

I gasped, looked at my map for the marker, and started walking towards it.

“Tell me everything on the way there. Come on!” I said while quickly trotting away. I would have galloped, but I didn't have the strength. It was even a struggle to trot at the speed I was already moving at, causing me to pant heavily.

I could tell Driver was concerned, but he did what I asked. He caught up to me and said, “Well, I found her in a small crevice, not too far from the docks, actually. Too small for a bloodwing to reach, and too far back for a manticore to get at her. I actually almost missed her completely, but I pulled her out as gently as I could. I’m no doctor or anything, but I could tell she was close to death. I gave her a healing potion and made sure she was maintaining a steady heartbeat. After that, I got her on my back, and got her to that building.”

Before long, we arrived at the ruined building where we stayed. I trotted upstairs and saw Golden, whose appearance horrified me. Her entire body had small cuts and bruises, and her mane and coat were both stained and filthy. She still had her stable jumpsuit on, but the fabric was torn in multiple places. She had a black eye, and her Pipbuck was missing.

“Mother of Celestia!” I yelled as I bolted over to the mattress she was on. “Driver, quick, give me another healing potion!” I demanded as I held Golden in my hooves. Thankfully she still had a heartbeat, but it was neither strong nor steady.

Driver quickly threw a healing potion, and I caught it with my magic. I quickly gave it to Golden. Aside from making her heart beat a little more steadily, it didn't seem to do much.

I stayed by the mattress Golden was on, just looking at her comatose body. I could see her struggling to breathe, barely clinging on to life.

“What happened to her PipBuck?” I asked Driver with urgency as I held Golden in my hooves to monitor her heartbeat, as I wasn't sure how bad her current condition was.

Driver gave me a blank expression for a few seconds before asking, “Oh, right, all you stable ponies have those Pipbuck things, don’t you?” He thought for a moment before saying, “I don’t recall seeing one near her. I found her just like that; I was more concerned with getting her somewhere safe rather than looking for a glorified bracelet. Sorry, Seren, I don't know.”

I glared at him.

He noticed my glare and said, “What?!”

I gave a grunt and turned my attention back to Golden.

I tried to listen to her heartbeat again, but it was getting slower, and I didn't know what more I could do. I turned to Driver, panicked, and said, "Driver, she’s not getting better. I'm scared. I don't want Golden to die like this. What do we do?"

I could see Driver was concerned for Golden as well. He thought for a moment and said, "The only other thing I think could be wrong with her is that she could have radiation poisoning. I'm not sure if she does or not, it's hard to tell, but I should tell you that rad poisoning can be life threatening. If she does have it, she needs RadAway, otherwise she may die."

I’d never heard of that illness or medicine before. I said nothing. I just turned back to Golden and looked at her near-lifeless body, thinking all hope was lost. I was just starting to weep when I heard Driver say, "Wait a minute, I think I may have taken a RadAway out of Orjusto's safe when we got your PipBuck back!" He quickly turned to his saddlebag, and after a moment of frantic searching, he found one and threw it to me, exclaiming, "Hurry! Give that to her right away!"

I caught it with my magic and did as Driver said. "Please Celestia, let this work," I muttered as I administered the RadAway to her. After a couple minutes, I noticed her breathing became a little bit stronger. For good measure, I gave her another healing potion and she seemed to be in much better condition. I felt that all I could do now was wait.

It had been about an hour since I had given Golden the RadAway. I was now sitting on one of the other mattresses in the room, and Driver was taking a well-deserved nap. I just stared at Golden, hoping that she was at least still alive.

While waiting to see if she would be ok, I couldn't help but think about what happened in Stable 64 and the things I did to get into the wasteland. I also felt stupid for not finding out why Golden needed the defence plan in the first place.

I saw her barely crack one of her eyes open. I didn't move. I just sat there and quietly spoke her name.

"Golden?"

I saw her start to make small movements. She gave a grunt and some weak sounds of her wincing in pain. I ran over to the mattress, trying as hard as I could not to explode with happiness and wake Driver. I knelt down next to her and asked, "Golden, are you okay?"

She opened her eyes a bit more and looked around, then weakly asked, "Wh...where am I?" Her eyes landed on me. "Uhh, S-Seren? Is.... that you?"

I couldn't hold my excitement in anymore. I started tearing up, and I gave her a hug and cried, "Oh, Golden! I'm so happy you're still alive! I was worried you died!"

Golden was only able to respond with another weak grunt, and as I thought, my outburst woke Driver up. Oops, I thought to myself.

He said in a groggy tone, "Ugh, what's with all the shouting? I'm trying to get some rest over here!"

I quickly responded, "Oh, sorry, Driver. But look! Golden’s alive!" Golden was still looking all over the place as if she were on some alien planet.

Driver replied, "Yeah, that’s nice, but keep it down! I’m trying to take a nap over here..." He laid back down for a few seconds, then frantically got up and said, "Wait a minute, she's ALIVE?!"

I chuckled a little bit and said, "Yes, come look!"

"No way," he replied as he quickly got up and trotted over to the mattress.

Golden looked at him and asked, "Who... are you?"

I told Golden all about Driver and what I had been through since she deserted me.

After my story Golden just looked down. “I… I’m so sorry that happened to you, Seren.” She gave a sigh. “I bet you blame me for all this… don’t you?” she timidly asked with her head hung in shame.

“We’re both to blame, Golden,” I said, “You can’t blame yourself for everything. We had no choice but to leave the stable; what else could we have done?”

The three of us just sat there in an awkward silence, all looking in different directions until I glanced at Golden’s stable jumpsuit.

“Umm, Golden?” I spoke up. She looked at me. “Do you think you might wanna take off that stable jumpsuit?” She looked at her attire as I continued. “It’s in tatters, and honestly it won’t offer you much protection as it is now.”

She looked at it for a few moments and said, “I guess you're right,” and using her magic, she slowly took it off. She was panting afterwards. Obviously doing that took a lot more out of her than it should have.

She then timidly said, “Hmm, it feels... strange. Not wearing anything.”

Driver said, “Well, it is recommended that you at least wear some form of protection in the wasteland. A few ponies can get by without, but it’s not a good idea.”

I looked down and replied, “Well, we will just have to go without for now. We don't have anything to wear.” I looked over to Golden's stable jumpsuit. “Well… nothing that will offer any protection, at least.”

After a few more minutes, Golden was finally able to tell me and Driver everything that happened.

"It's kind of a long story," Golden said, "but you really should know."

"Ok, Golden, tell us," I said eagerly.

“The last thing I remember was walking slightly ahead of you, and the next thing I knew I was in a small, enclosed space that felt like it was moving with some weird peaceful music playing. I started to get scared that I was trapped until the door opened. I slowly walked out, and I almost thought I was dreaming when I saw a sign that said Tenpony Tower Floor 5.”

"Another sleeper agent blackout, I bet," I muttered under my breath as Golden continued her story.

"I didn't really feel weak. I guess somewhere along the way I got some rest, I really have no clue. I remember after getting over my initial surprise I looked for room 506 and just wanted to get this whole defence plan thing done and over with. I went into the room and there were three ponies waiting for me."

"Golden, let me stop you right there," I interrupted.

"What is it?" Golden asked.

"Do you remember what the contact looked like?"

Golden thought for a moment. "Uhh... he looked like an older male unicorn. I think he had a golden mane and tail... kind of like my own color. A gray coat, and... Uhh... I’m sorry, I can't remember the color of his eyes."

I thought to myself, as nothing Golden said made him sound strange in appearance.

"Why do you ask?"

I simply replied with, "No reason. Please, continue."

"All right," Golden said timidly, "I walked in, and the pony said his name was Dr. Waterfall and that he was a Stable-Tec historian. He told me he needed the Stable 64 defence plan because it was, a landmark in stable history or something. He then took my PipBuck off my leg and thanked me for my services. When I asked him to give my PipBuck back he told me he had something better in mind, and then had the other two ponies grab me and lock me in a cage in a room off to the side."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I was speechless. All I could do was continue to listen to Golden tell her story.

Golden started to shudder when telling us the next part. "I think they kept me in there the entire next day, and then.... uhm... the two ponies from earlier came back with a syringe, and they injected me with something, and I blacked out. When I came to, I think I was in a sack... I tried to struggle all I could to get out, and then.... water surrounded me."

I stared at Golden for a moment, confused, until I heard Driver say, “Golden, are you telling us they tried to drown you in a sack?"

Golden looked at Driver and said, "Yeah... I think so."

I asked in amazement, "How did you get out?"

"I was getting to that," she quietly replied. "I was surrounded by water. I started hearing gunshots... I didn't know if it was the ones who threw me into the water firing at me, I was so panicked. I just continued to struggle, and then not too long after the gunshots stopped. I was able to slip out of the sack... maybe one of the bullets damaged the ropes, I think? I swam up as quickly as I could and tried to get to dry land."

Me and Driver both stared at her in amazement. I said, "Wait, Golden... you know how to swim?"

She sighed and said, "Well, I had read a couple books on it back in the stable, but I had never done it before."

Driver interjected with, "That must be how you got the radiation poisoning. Most of the water in Equestria is horribly irradiated."

"I still feel sick to my stomach," Golden said in reply, "It was a very traumatizing experience... I-I don't want to think about it anymore. After that, I was just wandering the streets and began to hear very frightening noises. I started to get scared. I could barely stand up as it was, so I crawled into that small space hoping I would be safe and passed out.... and I guess that’s where you found me."

I was amazed that Golden went through all that. It was definitely worse than my first day here.

I looked over to Driver, who was stroking his chin with his hoof. He then asked me, “Seren? Can you please tell me what the Stable 64 defence plan is?”

I started, “Well, it’s, um...” I just froze up. I couldn't remember. I let out a sigh and asked Golden, “Golden, can you please tell me what it is? I can’t for the life of me remember.”

Golden rubbed her hoof against her forehead and finally said, “Uhh, it contained codes for all of the stable’s defence systems, like the turrets and the stable door itself.”

I saw Driver trying to piece this together, before his eyes widened a bit and he said, “I think that your stable may be in danger, Seren.”

“What is that supposed to mean!?” I asked with a start.

Driver then explained. “Slavers and raiders have always talked about getting into Stable 64 to raid or enslave them, since it’s one of the few intact stables in the greater Manehattan area. If that Dr. Waterfall or whoever he is has Golden’s, umm… PipBuck, and it has that file, couldn't they possibly attack Stable 64?”

“I… I think they could,” I replied, surprised at the question, “But what makes you think that, Driver?”

“Well, they tried to kill Golden,” he said, pointing at Golden, causing her to flinch, “and stole her PipBuck thing. So whatever they are up to, it can’t be anything good.”

I thought for a moment before looking at Golden and asking her, “Golden, when you were in that cage, did you hear any talk about any kind of attacks on the stable?”

Golden groaned again before answering “I’m sorry, Seren, all I could hear was mumbling. I couldn't make out any conversation.”

I started thinking again. I wanted to go back to Stable 64 to make sure it was ok, but what if Golden and I walked back and were met with only a closed stable door and a dark, empty cave? It would be time and resources wasted, and I didn't want to go back without knowing for sure. I looked at Driver and said, "Well... I honestly don’t know what to do. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, if you want to potentially find out more, I heard a rumor about some masked pony seen near the warehouses a couple weeks ago who was thought to be visiting a group of raiders in that area, so maybe we could check there."

Having no other solid leads and in need of supplies, we decided to check the warehouses Driver mentioned.

We waited for Golden to recover a bit more and left the building. I could see Golden was still having trouble, which wasn’t be surprising after everything that happened to her. I decided to let her lean on me to walk at a good pace, at least until she regained her balance. She was still obviously sick and needed some more medicine. Having nothing else to do besides following Driver, I decided to turn on the radio on my PipBuck. I heard the end of a nice song play followed by a deep voice.

"GOOOOOOD AFTERNOON, WASTELANDERS! THIS IS YOUR DJP0N3 WITH THE NEWS! And we got some real good news coming straight out of Manehattan today. The boss of a small slaver operation somewhere in the ruins was reportedly killed last night! It was thought to be the result of an attack that group launched on a rival slaver group elsewhere in the ruins. Let me just say they had it coming, and hopefully both of these slaver groups will crumble in due time! Also, in more troubling news, the mask–"

I turned off the radio in complete shock. Driver stopped walking, gave a slight chuckle, and said, "Yes, they were talking about Orjusto dieing." I was completely stunned and just stood there speechless as Driver said, "I don't know how or where they get their news from, but that DJPon3 reports nearly everything newsworthy story that goes on in the wastes. Also, want to know where they broadcast from?”

I was yet again lost in my own thoughts until Golden, who I completely forgot had been leaning on me this whole time, nudged me, snapping me back to reality.

"Hunh? Oh, umm, uhh... s-sorry, where?" I asked in a dazed tone.

Driver said nothing as he stuck his hoof in the direction of the monolithic Tenpony Tower rising high above the ruins surrounding us. Surprise surprise, I thought to myself.

We arrived at the warehouses. There weren't many left intact, so that only reduced the number of places this group could have hidden, assuming they were here at all.

Before long, we came to a warehouse with a locked door, and neither me nor Driver could unlock it. Golden was still sick, but at least able to walk on her own now. She examined the lock and said, “I can unlock it, but I need a bobby pin.”

Driver started looking through his saddlebag for a bobby pin, quickly found one, and gave it to Golden, who started going to work on the door. In a few seconds she opened it, and we walked inside.

There had been signs that someone had been living there, as evidenced by the mattresses on the floor and a table with plates and food on it among other amenities. We could see a second floor above the right side of the of the warehouse. There were also boxes everywhere, goddesses only know what could possibly be in them.

We were confident that we were in the right place, or at least on the right track, when we saw a few dead bloodwings and raiders in the corner of the room. Driver quickly went over to the ponies to see if they had anything good on them, motioning for me and Golden to come toward him.

I trotted over to him, with Golden doing her best to keep up with me. He gave me a combat knife in fairly good condition.

“Oooh, nice!” I exclaimed as I took it.

“Yeah, these raiders had some good stuff on them,” Driver said, happily.

“What do you want as a weapon?” he asked Golden.

I looked at Golden. She was staring at us with fear in her eyes, and she furiously shook her head in protest.

I gave her a confused look. “Uhh, Golden… how will you defend yourself without a weapon?” I asked.

She just looked off to the side and gave a weak squeal.

I sighed and said, “I’ll talk with her later."

Driver examined the dead pony we just looted a bit more closely and raised an eyebrow. “Hunh… that’s odd,” he said.
“What’s odd?” I asked.

“Well,” Driver started to explain, “I’m looking at the armor this raider was wearing and it seemed really well made. I mean, yeah, the bloodwing tore right through it, but it seemed to be high quality.” I saw him trying to piece this together until finally saying, “Hmm… something tells me these aren't normal, run of the mill raiders.”

“Should Golden and I be worried about that?” I asked with a worried expression on my face.

“Maybe,” Driver said flatly, “but I can’t say for sure. I think we should check more of this place and see if we can find anything else of interest.”

I nodded, and since we had already seen everything there was to see on the first floor, the three of us went over to and ascended the metal staircase to the second floor.

We got up to a second floor where we saw some lanterns, and above one of them a message on the wall saying ‘DON’T TOUCH THE FUCKING LAMPS!’ The floor was cluttered with various ruined items and whatnot.

After navigating our way through the maze of broken boxes and other items, we finally came to an open area. There was a terminal right in front of us, and to its right, a work bench with various parts on it. Against the back wall, on the far right, was a mattress and a first aid kit on the wall above it.

Driver went over to the first aid kit and took a look inside. “Hey Golden can you come over here for a sec?” He asked.

Golden raised an eyebrow and slowly walked over to him. “Wh-What do you need?” she quietly asked.

“Here, take this,” Driver said, giving her the bag of orange liquid.

She looked at it for a moment. “Oh, this is RadAway, isn't it?” she asked.

Driver simply nodded and said, “You should use it; you still seem sick.“

Golden promptly used it before thanking Driver.

I went over to the terminal and tried to turn it on. I saw it was password protected and I had no clue how to even hack a terminal, I was never good with technology. The PipBuck was pretty much the only thing I knew how to use correctly.

I asked Golden if she could hack it. She said “I could try” and tried to hack the terminal. After a few moments of typing she turned the terminal off.

I gasped in shock. “What did you do?”

She turned to me and nervously said, “I-I needed to turn off the terminal so it didn't lock me out. If I put a fourth password in, and it had been wrong, it would have locked me out, so I have to try again.” After a few more moments of typing she said with a sigh that she’d hacked it.

We all decided to have a look at the terminal, which revealed four files. Across the top of the terminal it said Research Terminal: Dr. Waterfall.

“Golden!” I exclaimed, startling her. “Isn’t Dr. Waterfall the pony who took the defence plan?” I asked.

I saw her eyes widen as she replied, “Yeah, it is…. but why would he have a terminal here?”

Driver said, “Maybe if we read these files we would find a clue?”

Pip-Bucks and Infrasonic Tone Emitters

Back in the stable, I found out that certain models of Pip-Bucks have a very small device built into them, otherwise unused: an infrasonic tone emitter, or ITE. Its use is unknown, but my theory is that it may have been intended to put ponies wearing the Pip-Bucks with ITE's built into them into trance-like states and carry out complex commands. Stable-Tec, for some reason, didn't go through with it. That’s all I can think of, but it’s functional, so maybe we can use this to our advantage.

ITE research log 1

I have been working tirelessly trying to find out how this thing works. My findings have indicated a complex set up, something overly intricate even for Pip-Bucks. The ITE seems to respond and be activated by certain specially coded sleeper agent messages and Objective lists coded in ways that respond to the code found in the sleeper message used to initially activate the ITE, so further research is needed to find out how these messages are coded.

ITE research log 2

My research is almost complete, but I did find one troubling thing: these devices don't work constantly. It’s on and off with no clear interval pattern. Perhaps this is why Stable-Tec abandoned the project, but they do work and very well. We ran a couple tests. While in the trance state, your physical limitations are almost non-existent, your voice becomes cold and robotic, and you have no memory of your actions afterwards. Now that the research is nearing its end, I can finally begin work on the initial sleeper agent message.

The Sleeper Agent message is complete!!

FINALLY!!! After months of work and tireless coding, the sleeper agent message is finally complete! I will be sending it to a recipient in Stable 64 soon, and they will finally know the wrath of the wasteland. With their defences shut down, they will have no way to defend themselves. This is my revenge! Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for the sleeper agent to arrive, but they WILL most definitely arrive.

After reading, I was enraged. I was ready to kill somepony. They used me, they used Golden, in the worst way possible. We were set up from the start. It was all an elaborate plan to destroy Stable 64!

“We need to go back,” I said through gritted teeth.

I heard Driver say, “Yep, I knew it. No way these are normal raiders, this had to be some kind of gang of bandits or something…”

I was paying attention to Driver, but I was too enraged to care who these ponies were. The fact that Golden was used to do another pony's bidding like some kind of slave. I couldn't take it anymore, I bolted out of the open area as fast as I could. Both Golden and Driver screamed my name in concern and asked where I was going. I didn't answer as I ran back through the warehouse and tried to leave.

On the way down the stairs I tripped and fell down, my body getting cut and bruised by the rusty metal staircase, finally being knocked out as I landed on the cold concrete floor.

I woke up lying on one of the mattresses on the first floor. I slowly opened my eyes and turned to the left to see Golden looking at me, concerned.

“Oh, Seren, you're awake,” she said, surprised as I only groaned in response. “I was so worried when you fell down those stairs, why did you run away like that?” she said in a distressed tone.

Before I could answer I heard a male voice say, “Well, well, well, look who's finally awake.” Driver walked into my view and sat down next to Golden. “Mind telling me and Golden what that was all about? You gave us quite the scare.”

I was still trying to collect my thoughts and figure out what happened myself. All I remembered was falling off the stairs, hitting the concrete floor, and passing out.

After a few more moments I was able to tell both Driver and Golden my feelings and why I ran off. “We need to get back to Stable 64 now! All the ponies there could be in danger!”

Golden had nothing to say. “Golden, what’s wrong?” I asked her.

She just looked down and said, “So you wanna go back? Just like that? Even after we had to go through so much just to get out here?”

I looked at her in disbelief. “B-but Golden,” I stammered, “Stable 64, it’s our home, it’s where we grew up, it’s where our friends and family are – oh.”

I stopped what I was saying when I realized Golden had no family to go back to, or at least check up on. Between her mother dying and her father just… disappearing one day.

I needed to convince her somehow.

“Driver, please help me,” I pleaded.

Driver simply gave me a blank stare and said, “Sorry Seren, I'm not a part of this. I don't know anything, so I refuse to get involved.”

I looked back at Golden, glaring at her this time. She noticed my glare and became a bit nervous.

“Golden,” I said firmly, “What about that pony that stole your PipBuck? What if he’s there?”

She looked at me, her expression more hopeless this time, and said, “I just dont want to go there and be thrown into that holding cell again or something.”

Typical Golden. She would think something like that would happen again, and while it wasn't an entirely impossible scenario, I saw it as unlikely, especially since we would be going back with the intention of saving the stable. “Didn’t I say I wouldn't let that happen?” I asked.

She only gave a sigh in response and I continued, “Please come back to the Stable with me. I promise, I swear on my life, nothing bad will happen to us, and afterwards we will never go back again!”

She gave another deep sigh, followed by her saying, “I know I’m going to regret this, but fine, I'll go back with you.”

"Great! Then we better get moving, it's almost night time.” With that, we all left the warehouse.

It was getting dark by the time we got outside the city.

All of a sudden Driver stopped. I noticed this and turned around, asking him, "Driver, are you ok?"

He looked up at me and said, “Yes, never been better. But unfortunately I'm going to have to part ways with you here, Seren.”

My eyes widened. “WHAT!?” I shrieked, “Driver, wh-why?”

He said coldly, “I was planning to part ways with you when you decided to go check on Stable 64. I was planning to lead you out of the city and let you be on your way. I'm not getting involved in this whole stable thing.”

I just stood there, nervous about the fact that me and Golden would be alone again as he continued to explain, “There are some houses a bit north of here that you may be able to use for shelter, but be warned; they are sometimes inhabited by raiders.”

He started walking towards me and Golden.

“Here, take this," he said, and gave me a round, metal device.

Recognizing it, I said, “Oh this is a ... umm, what do you call it? A Stealth-bic?”

“Stealth-buck, Seren,” Golden said, correcting me.

“Oh, right, a Stealth-buck... but uhh... how did you get one?” I asked Driver.

“I actually found it on that workbench in the warehouse while Golden was trying to hack the terminal. I remember that you already had one, so I took that one to give to you later. I thought having another may help you. Go ahead and take it, I don't even know what these things do anyway.”

I said, “It will, thank you,” accepting the device. “Well, what about you now?” I asked Driver with concern.

“Don't worry, I have a plan,” he confidently said, “I’m going to use the caps I’ve made to get into Tenpony Tower. Set up a nice residence, get settled in, and then go back to visit my old settlement in a couple weeks."

I gave him a heartfelt smile.

“Well, thank you for everything, Driver,” I said, hugging him.

“You’re welcome, Seren.” He responded warmly.

“Well, that’s it then,” I exclaimed confidently, “I hope to run into you another time, Driver.”

He responded by grinning and saying, “Likewise. Now, I believe you have a stable to go check on. Good luck, Seren!”

“Right!” I affirmed, now beaming with confidence, “Let’s go, Golden!” With that we both ran north as Driver and I parted ways.

Footnote: Level Up.

New Perk: Sweet Talker - You have quite a way with words when talking to stallions. When talking with the opposite sex, you have a +5 speech increase, and with certain males have access to some unique dialogue options.

Author's Note

Here it is, Chapter 3. As always I thank you for reading and hope you stick around for more. Of course I couldn't have done this without the help of My editor's and they are credited below

Chapter 4 will be along as soon as I can complete it so... patience.

Special Thanks to:
0__0, PersonalGamer, and mikemeiers for their tireless edits

Also Special thanks to Kkat for writing the Original Fallout Equestria.