Fallout Equestria: Strange Places

by Cytokin

Chapters

Chapter Three: The Dead City
Chapter Four: Slight Weirdness
Chapter Five: The Exit Is Right Over There
Chapter Six: The Charge of Terror
Chapter Eight: Robbin' And Rollin'
Chapter Nine: Less Than Prepared
Chapter Ten: Let's Get This Over With Already
Chapter Eleven: Interrogation Misery
Chapter Twelve: Maintennat, Flottant Le Long
Chapter Thirteen: Break-In Attempt
Chapter Fourteen: Violators Will Be Towed
Chapter Fifteen: I Can See My Breath
Chapter Sixteen: Runnin' Scared From A Bunch'A Nuts
Chapter Seventeen: Waking Up In Weird Places
Chapter Eighteen: Stick It To ‘em
Chapter Nineteen: I Can't Sit Idly
Chapter Twenty: Fun In The Basement
Chapter Twenty-one: Rule Number One
Chapter Twenty-Two: Horseshoes Are Supposed To Be Lucky
Chapter Twenty-Three: I Can't... No Wait, I Can
Chapter Twenty-Four: Love Stuff
Chapter Twenty-Five: Objectives On Map Are Further Than They Appear
Chapter Twenty-Six: Slightly Minor Inconvenience
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Cobwebs and Rainbows
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sand Skipping
Interlude One: Hate
Chapter Twenty-Nine: R & R & R
Chapter Thirty-One: Burning Love Comes In Hunks
Chapter Thirty-Two: About Half A Day
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Remembering of Things
Chapter Thirty-Four: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalm
Chapter Thirty-Five: I Don't Want to Wait
Chapter Thirty-Six: Fear & Loving In Canturbury
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Run Away
A note from the author
Chapter One: The Freedom To Die
Chapter Two: The Northwestern Information Dump
Chapter Seven: The Exit Is Here Now. No, Really.
Chapter Thirty: Can you feel the love, et cetera, et cetera

Chapter Three: The Dead City

“I forgot how fucked up everything was around here.”

“Diamond?”

It was so dark. I could barely see.

“Diamond, can you hear me?” Cried a familiar mare.

I couldn’t move, my whole body hurt when I tried, I felt so dizzy.

“Did ye find her?” A stallion called out from near me.

“No! Oh goddesses. Obsidian, what if she’s-“

“Calm down, love. She’ll be alrecht,” the stallion interrupted. “We Knives ur tough.”

There was a sharp pain in my chest and back. I could see that something was sticking out of me, something long and sharp.

“Wait… Ah heard somethin’,” He was getting closer. “Sweetheart? Is that ye?”

I tried to speak, but only managed to make a weak wheezing noise.

“Ah think Ah found ‘er!” There was the sound of metal being moved around. “Make as much noise as ye can, sweetheart. Aam commin’ for ye.”

“D-daddy…” I managed to squeak out. I could see a hint of blue light as my father pulled away the debris covering me.

“Goddesses… Zala! Get somepony ower haur quickly!” he shouted behind him. His horn began to glow bright blue, illuminating the coal black stallion with the green mane. “There ye are. Diamond, can ye hear me?”

I nodded.

“Can ye move?”

I shook my head. He bit his lip as he looked around and began moving more of the debris until my whole body was exposed. He caught sight of what was in my chest, and his eyes widened in horror.

“No… Oh goddesses, no…” His eyes became filled with tears. “Don’ look sweetheart. Yoo’ll… Yoo’ll be…”

He let out a sob. “Yoo’ll be okay, Diamond… Ah promise ye will… Ah jist need ye tae hold on, alecht? Sweetheart? Diamond? Stay with me! Diamond!”

And then I faded away…

~~~~~

Though the initial shock had passed, I was still awed by the sight of the Northwestern Safehouse. I’d expected it to be something along the lines of a small shack in the middle of the desert, but in reality, it was a large structure in the middle of a halfway destroyed city, in the middle of the desert.

Most of the ground was covered in rubble from the concrete corpses of office buildings and apartment complexes. Some automatic carts were scattered about the streets, as well as some pony-driven ones, many with their skeletal drivers still attached to the harness. A light orange dust seemed to coat everything at around knee level, most likely from the similarly-colored mist that seemed to hover just above the ground.

At the present moment, though, I was distracted by the continuous itching in my eye socket. I kept biting down on my hoof to keep myself from scratching at the bandage, which mostly only served to get me strange looks from both Zeed and Trowel.

Zeed was currently sitting atop the cart, her still healing leg making long treks difficult for her. The cart itself was relatively small, but was still large enough to carry a surprising amount of junk.

“You okay?” She asked. “You’ve been doing that a lot…”

“Mmm fnn,” I said around my hoof. “Dnn rry bbt mmm.”

As she looked at me with a raised eyebrow, the sensation passed, and I put my hoof back on the ground. “You know we can go back and get the auto-doc working again, right?”

“Aye, but Aam not exactly goin’ tae trust th’ damn thing nao am ah? ‘Sides… Ah don’t see ye gettin’ yer leg fixed in one ay those things.”

She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped herself. She pondered for a moment. “Point taken. Is it painful?”

“Nae. Ye remember when Clothesline put itchin’ powder in our uniforms a few years ago? It’s sort ay like that.”

“Yikes… That bad? Luna’s moon, I hated that. We practically had to beg the Guards to-“

“WILL YOU TWO STOP BABBLING?” Trowel screamed back at us, keeping his eyes forward. “I’m sure you both enjoy reminiscing, but I’m trying to make sure we don’t die out here!”

“Ooh, somepony’s grown a stick up their arse…” I replied indignantly. “What the hell is yer problem?”

“My problem,” he hissed, fixing a glare on me. “Is that this place could have any number of threats hiding in any number of places. That’s just pony-based threats. This city-corpse you see around you? Yeah… I hear there are ironwolves in the area, and I’d rather not have to deal with a pack of those damn things while I have nothing but shit weapons back there. Now be quiet, I’m trying to listen.”

I stood there for a moment, rubbing my chin in deep thought, pondering his words as he slowly trotted away. “What’s an ironwolf?”

I was answered by a loud scraping noise in the distance, like someone had stuck a bunch of bolts into a blender and set it to puree … It almost sounded like howling.

Looking back at Trowel, I noticed that his eyes were wide with terror. Zeed, still on the cart, was looking around frantically in an attempt to see what the sound was. Trowel looked like he was about to have a heart attack, his eyes were fixed on something overhead. His voice was less than a whisper. “Shit…”

I followed his gaze to see something moving atop one of the broken buildings. It almost looked like a pony; four legs, head, ears. The similarities ended there. Its tail was a massive whip-like thing that resembled a steel cable with a knife tied to it, its greyish skin was slightly reflective, and its eyes were empty, glowing things in its skull.

Trowel began to move slowly forwards, not taking his eyes off the creature. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…”

“Ah assume that’s an ironwolf?” I whispered. “Doesnae look tae threatenin’.”

“Packs of three,” he whispered back. “There’s more around here somewhere. We. Need. To. Leave.”

“It’s gone,” Zeed was standing on her hind legs to get a better view, pointing with her good leg at a smaller skeletal building near the ironwolf’s former perch. “It went over that way.”

“RUN!” Trowel screamed as he bolted through the city. The sudden movement of the cart knocked Zeed flat on her face. Almost immediately, several more ironwolves shot out of the broken buildings, two of them went after Trowel and Zeed, while one charged straight at me.

As it leapt, I managed to duck past it, its claws inches away from my face, only to get hit in the chest by its tail. I cried out in pain as the metal blade on its tip sliced through my orange utility barding and my skin, colliding with a few of my ribs. The thing continued on into an autocart behind me, it’s apparently significant weight making a huge dent in the vehicle. Pushing past the agony, I pulled out the shock rod from the Safehouse, and it emitted a quiet hum as I held it in my magical grip.

The ironwolf stood back up, making that metallic howl again. It stared at me, slowly advancing, its tail whipping back and forth with an ominous swishing noise. I held the baton at the ready.

Before I could even twitch, its tail shot forward, the tip piercing deep into my side. I suppressed a scream and brought the baton down before the ironwolf moved away.

As soon as the rod touched the thing’s skin, arcs of electricity began playing over the surface, moving instantly across the creature’s body in all directions. It started twitching violently, the tail ripping bloodily out of my side, causing me to gasp in pain.

I brought the baton down on the ironwolf’s head repeatedly as it writhed. It sounded like banging two pans together.

Eventually, I managed to make a decently sized dent in its skull. I stood as straight as I could, smiling with my triumph. Almost immediately, my face fell, as I heard a loud crash. I galloped towards the sound as fast as I could.

A few gunshots resonated through the ruined city.

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, adrenaline pushing out my pain.

When I found the cart, it had been toppled on its side. A variety of junk, food, and mostly broken weaponry was scattered all across the ground.

One of the back wheels had been obliterated, nothing but a splintery stump remained. Zeed was frantically scrambling for something that could do a bit of damage, but everything she picked up did nothing of use, and two ironwolves were advancing towards her. I could see no sign of Trowel.

I charged into one of the beasts stalking Zeed, knocking it onto its side. The other one yelped in what I could only assume was surprise.

It stood for a moment, looking back and forth between Zeed and me, before lunging at me with its tail. I ducked to the side, taking a swipe at the appendage with the shock baton, failing to hit as it retracted in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, the things screeched in pain as a bright red beam of light entered its eye with a loud zorch.

I heard Zeed squeal in delight, and saw her with something that looked like a box in her mouth. Before I could ask what just happened, I felt a sharp pain across my back as the ironwolf I’d tackled slammed its tail into me, and I dropped to my knees. On a whim, I threw the baton at the beast. It struck right in the chest, the sparks flowing all over its body as it twitched violently.

The baton slid away a few feet on a particularly violent spasm, I picked it back up with telekinesis, and turned to the injured ironwolf.

It growled viciously at me, slowly backing away. I heard Zeed shooting at the one I’d just downed.

My target bolted into a building. I followed. Zeed called after me, but I ignored her. I was pissed, these things tried to kill me and my best friend. I wasn’t about to let one escape.

“Well done Knives! I congratulate you on your rage, it suits you!” She snickered in the back of my mind.

“Shut up and stay in th’ cage.” I growled.

I followed it up the staircase at the far end of what must have been a hotel lobby. Several flights I ran, adrenaline keeping me from tiring out.

Finally, there it was, standing between me and the wall. I could tell it was scared, it paced back and forth in a panicked manner, trapped in a corridor which simply ended in the open air. I took a step forward, my baton sizzling with its electrical charge.

The creature stepped back to the edge, snarling at me.

I took another step.

Its tail lashed at me, cutting into my face, but I continued anyway.

I took another step.

The building began to groan.

Nearly two centuries of decay finally took their toll, assisted by the combined weight of a large creature and a stupid pony. The floor gave way, and I fell through, the creature falling beside me. We smashed through several floors until I finally came to a stop, while the ironwolf continued downward. I ended up on my face in the ancient dust, dazed and groaning in pain.

“Knives? Are you okay?” I couldn’t quite tell where Zeed was, but she sounded pretty far away.

I groaned in response, opting to simply lie on the ground.

“Knives, whatever you do,” She said as calmly as she could manage. “Don’t. Look. Down.”

I drew a blank on what she was talking about, so of course the first thing I did was open my eyes. I regretted it immediately.

My panic flooded through me as I saw that I had come to rest on a narrow ledge jutting out from an intact wall. Just before me was a massive drop. I tried to push myself against the wall, to get as far away from the edge as possible, but it didn’t help. I couldn’t look. I couldn’t see the fall which would surely kill me the second I look down. I had to stay still and not move. Don’t look at the endless fall from which I knew I would never recover.

My heart pounded violently in my ears. My body shook in terror. I was losing it. Already my body was going numb while my head started swimming.

The prevalent thought in my mind was that I was going to die, splattered across the ground. I knew that any second the ledge would break away, and I would shatter on the ground with it. My breath was short. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna-

“Knives, it’s okay. It’s okay,” somepony said from my left, but the words barely registered in my brain.

Nononononononononononnonononononononononono, help help help, I don’t wanna fall, I don’t wanna fall, I just want to get away-

“Shhhh, it’s okay. Just relax,” She said gently. “Knives, I’m going to get you down, but you need to relax. Just breathe, okay?”

I took a deep breath. The dizziness let up for a moment. My heart was trying to burst from my chest, my guts were twisting about inside of me. I couldn’t open my eyes, not when the drop was there, not while I was about to fall to my end.

“Knives, I know you’re too scared to move, but I need you to trust me, okay?” She cooed beside me. “I’m going to try and break the wall down. Just keep breathing.”

Another breath. There was a strange sound, one I’ve heard before. The wall behind me fell away. I screamed and covered my head with my hooves. I don’t wanna fall, I don’t wanna fall, I don’t wanna die…

“Knives? I need you to come to me. Just follow my voice.”

I knew her, that I could trust her, that she could help me. I tried to move, my shaking legs finding purchase on the ground. I followed her. My stomach churned.

“That’s good. You can open your eye now. It’s safe.”

I did so. Zeed was standing in front of me, a look of worry on her face. I let out a sob and leaned against what was left of the wall, retching. Tears flowed down my face. After a few moments, Zeed touched my shoulder. I hugged her.

“You’re alright, Knives. Let it out,” She said.

My fear seeped out through my tears. I realized how hard I was shaking, how quickly my heart was pumping. How lightheaded I was, that I could barely stand. I felt so cold.

It felt like forever as I cried into Zeed’s shoulder. When I felt I could move again, I pulled away.

“Feel better?”

I nodded and gave her a weak smile.

“Think you can take the stairs?” Her eyes were filled with concern. “We can stay up here if you don’t.”

I considered this, but I wanted to get back on the ground, so I forced myself to head down, with Zeed close behind. Several times I caught another glimpse of the open air, and my shaking intensified, but with Zeed’s help, we eventually managed to make it to the ground level. Relieved, I collapsed to the ground just outside the entrance. After giving me a few healing potions and making sure that I would be fine on my own, Zeed went to try and find Trowel, keeping me in sight all the while. I just sat where I was and tried to control my still-panicked heart. Nervously, I looked up at the building. I saw where I’d been just a while ago. I’d only been on the second floor, having fallen from the fifth. From the looks of it, Zeed had destroyed the wall to get me down. With a gulp, I shook the thoughts out of my mind, and shakily trotted towards the broken cart.

I found Zeed looting through the junk. She’d put Trowel on a pile of sheets, he wasn’t moving. I raised my eyebrow at her.

“What?” She asked.

I kept giving her the same look. Though my voice was hoarse, I managed to croak out a single word. “Trowel?”

“Oh, he’s fine. Just a slight concussion from the crash. He’s unconscious right now, but nothing serious,” her brow furrowed. “I’m more worried about you. You’re still shaking, are you sure you’re okay?”

I found it hard to meet her eyes. I let out a sigh and looked at the ground. “It’s just… After I… well…”

She removed herself from the junk pile and limped over, wrapping her good leg around my shoulder. “What’s wrong, Knives?”

“Ah dragged ye out here. Ah panicked and threw ye out th’ door. Ah didnae even think… And nao yer stuck helpin’ me with mah buckin’ mental problems…” I sighed again. “Aam sorry.”

She stared at me for several moments, her expression one of confusion. Then she burst out laughing. I gave her a look of confusion. “What?”

“First off, Knives, I know how bad you are with heights, and honestly, I’m happy to help get you out of that. After all, what are best friends for if not to help you out of a state of pure, all-consuming, mind-numbing terror?” She shot me a cocky smile. “And second off, you’re blaming yourself for that? Knives, if I was thinking straight I would have ran straight out of there! You did me a favor! I had nothing in the Prison at all, remember? Neither did you, come to think of it…”

“How did Ah do ye a favor?” I looked at her in an incredulous manner.

“Well… Allow me to take this opportunity to puff up my ego for a bit. You remember how the Guards ‘punished’ those who would ‘defy their law’?” She said, a hint of bitterness entering her voice at the mention of the Guards.

I nodded. “Exile. Throw ‘em out and never let ‘em back in. Why?”

“And now we’re outside now, right?” She was grinning like a madmare. Usually, that look meant she had a strange idea. The last time she’d had that look, I’d ended up covered in chicken feathers. I never figured out where she got them…

“Okay… Are ye goin’ somewhere with this?”

“Think, Knives! How many ponies do we care about that have been exiled? How many ponies have we longed to see again, but couldn’t because we were trapped inside?” Her grin widened even further.

I pondered for a moment. I knew many ponies that had been thrown on their flanks into the wasteland. I could remember about half of their faces, but three of them stood out in my mind.

“My dad… Your dad… And…” I trailed off as my eyes widened and a smile spread across my face. My earlier panic drained away completely as I realized what this meant.

“Yes! We can finally look for Ashes!” She proclaimed with a giggle of delight. “If anypony could survive in this miserable place, it would be her! We could bring the Tunnel Rats again!”

I grimaced at the name of our old foalhood gang. “Uh… maybe not th’ Tunnel Rats part… Aam pretty sure neither she nor Ah would particularly enjoy that little reminder…”

She waved a hoof at me and scoffed. “Details, details. We’ll work that out when we find her. Oh…”She bit her lip nervously. “If we find her. It has been almost three years, after all.”

“She’s probably fine, Zeed. She wasnae exactly fragile…”

“I know, you’re right, but…” She blinked a few times, then frowned. “Oh great, I’ve gone and made myself depressed again.”

I tried to find a way to change the subject. I saw the box she’d had during the fight, and saw an opportunity.

“So what’s that thing?”

Almost immediately, her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. “It’s awesome is what it is! Can you believe it? It’s an actual laser pistol, and it works! I can’t believe I found one.”

I chuckled slightly as she started babbling about her new toy. “Zeed, you are such an egghead.”

She drew herself up with mock dignity. “That’s High Queen of eggheads to you. All eggheads bow down and worship me as their- Oh, hi Trowel. How long have you been awake?”

He was sitting on the pile of blankets, eye twitching in irritation. He managed to croak out five words. “Do. You. Ever. Stop. Talking.”

She pretended to think for a moment, loudly hmming and haaing. “Nope.”

He growled in irritation as he began piling junk onto a particularly large sheet, tying it up and throwing it over his back, the end held in his teeth. “Whatever. Let’s get going.”

“We’re gonna carry all this crap?”

“No. I’m going to carry all this crap. You two are going to get far the fuck away from me the second we get to the Mall.”

“So, where exactly is-“

“AND NO TALKING!” He shouted.

~~~~~

Three more hours we walked through the ruined city, Trowel still watching every single shadow as if it would jump out and attack at any second. Zeed was limping along at a surprisingly fast rate for somepony with a broken leg. I only had one thought on my mind.

“Wasteland life involves a lot ay walking’ doesn’t it?”

“Yes. What did I say about talking?”

“Don’t dae it?”

“What are you doing now?”

“It.”

“Then stop.”

“Goddesses, what in th’ buck’s eatin’ ye? Ye weren’t this bad yesterday.”

“We were relatively safe yesterday. Now we’re out in the open wastes where anypony or anycreature can run up and snuff us easily. How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?”

“One thousand, three hundred and two,” Zeed snarked, receiving a glare in response.

His eye twitched again. He started muttering under his breath. “Almost there. One more block. Just keep going and you won’t have to deal with them any longer.”

We turned the corner to find a street that was remarkably intact, compared to the rest of the cracked asphalt that coated the roads. At its end was a very large structure, also remarkably intact, although it looked like something had cut the top part of it clean off. It was covered in broken signs of various sorts, most of which had fallen to the ground after a few decades, but one bright blue neon sign was still standing just above the entrance.

Welcome to
District 6 Mall
Please enjoy your stay!

What surprised me, though, was the fact that several gleaming white turrets stood spaced evenly along the wall facing us, armed with chainguns. As we approached, they tracked our movements, slowly turning as we trotted up to the entrance, a series of sandbags had been set up in front of the large glass door, and a cherry red unicorn mare with a similarly colored mane sat in a chair behind them, reading a magazine.

She looked up at us and yawned. “Heya Trowel. Haven’t seen you in a couple of months. Traveling with companions now?”

He grumbled something as he trotted around the sandbags, and into the mall. As we tried to follow, the mare stopped us with an outstretched hoof.

“Woah, woah… Who the fuck are you?” She said with an eyebrow raised. “I know who he is. He fuckin’ lives here. Now, you two may have come here with him, but I don’t know either of you. So, name and business?”

I stared at her for a couple of seconds in confusion. “Uh…”

“I’m Zeed. My friend here is Knives. We’re looking for work,” She thought for a moment. “We’re also looking for somepony.”

“Work, huh? Well, I guess that’s a good enough reason. I’m gonna take a wild guess here and say you’re both canned goods. Amirite?”

We both nodded.

“Hmm. Tell you what, I’ll let you in as ‘freelancers’. Won’t let you get very far into anything, but you’ll be able to move around. Just tie these where we can see ‘em.” She handed us a pair of long cloth strips, both fluorescent green in color. “If you’re looking for dirt, try the Bartender’s Guild. They usually got good intel. For weapons and armor, try the Soldier’s Guild. Food, go to the Chefs. Etcetera, etcetera, you get my point. Most of ‘em are pretty obvious. Don’t start any fights, don’t do anything stupid. Have a nice day.”

With that she went back to reading her magazine.

Zeed gave me a questioning look. I just shrugged and tied the cloth around my head, on top of the bandages covering my eye socket. If I have to wear it, might as well use it to keep my mane out of my face. Zeed tied it loosely around her neck.

The inside of the structure was huge, especially with the roof and second floor apparently destroyed. About half of what had once been stores before the Great War either continued this purpose now, or had been converted into a living space. Almost every one that remained a store had some form of illuminated sign near the entrance. I briefly wondered where they had all come from, until Zeed poked me in the shoulder.

“Huh?”

“What are we doing first?” She asked, looking around nervously. “Where do we start?”

“Ah was under th’ impression that ye were th’ one with th’ plans.” She shook her head. I shrugged. “Fine. Let’s see about a job first. Ah doubt that information of any kind is free.”

“Okay then.”

We stood there. Unmoving. Slightly overwhelmed and a bit confused.

I realized then that I had only the most vague idea of what I was doing here.

“Hey there!” Shouted a voice from my blind side, making me just back and yelp in surprise.

“Why does that keep happenin’?” I moaned. “Aam never gonna get used tae this am ah?”

“Uh… Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Name’s Raid,” said the dark blue buck with a peach mane. He wore a leather jacket with a strange contraption on his sides, with scatterguns strapped to it. “You folks are freelancers, right?”

Zeed responded cheerily. “Apparently! I guess that’s why we’ve got the green things. Why?”

“Are you doing any jobs right now? I could really use some help.” He sighed and pointed to a black strip of cloth tied around his upper right foreleg. “You see, I’m a newbie in the Soldier’s Guild, and they’ve given me this particularly obnoxious job.”

“And that job would be?”

“I need to clear the roaches out of generator room number fifteen. They’re huge fuckers, and they keep swarming me. So, I figured I might as well try and get some backup, if only to just get it done.” He shrugged. “They won’t give me another job ‘till it’s finished anyway.”

“So ye need us. Alright, what’s the pay?”

“Three hundred caps each. Paid on completion.”

Zeed blinked at him a few times. “Did you say ‘caps’?”

He looked back and forth from me to her, then raised an eyebrow at the both of us. “Canned goods?”

I responded with a ‘yup.’

“It’s about… uh… Thirty bits, I think. Either of you got a pipbuck?”

Zeed smiled and chirped, “I don’t even know what that is!”

“O…Kay…” He gave her an odd look. “That’s fine. I’ve got one of my own… So, are you in?”

Zeed patted the laser pistol strapped to her foreleg and grinned widely. “Fuck yes,we’re in!”

~~~~~~~

“Raid, when ye said they were huge, Ah didn’t think ye meant this!” I screamed as I swiped at the leg of the monstrosity before me with my shock baton. The five foot tall roaches were significantly larger than I’d expected. “Ah thought ye meant radroaches!”

Raid and Zeed were firing on another roach, slightly larger than mine. Raid was biting down on a bit connected to the contraption on his sides to fire the twin shotguns, Zeed’s red beams slamming into the insect’s carapace, as she grinned madly and cheered repeatedly. “They were radroaches last time I looked! I didn’t expect the damn things to get bigger!”

“That’s what she said!” Zeed laughed as she blasted the head off the giant roach, which was immediately replaced by another roach. “WOOO! This is awesome!”

“What the hell is wrong with her?”

“A lot ay things. Just let her have her fun,” I replied as I bashed in the head of another big bug. “Goddesses, how many of these things are there?”

“Last time I counted, fifty. Then again, they were only about three feet tall last time I checked, so I have no idea.” He punctuated by blasting another colossal cockroach’s abdomen open.

“Where,” smack. “Did,” crack-sizzle. “They,” smack. “Come from?” Squish.

“Maybe the generator’s leaking,” Zeed suggested in a happy sing-song voice as she cheerily fired her laser at another immense insect, giggling all the while.

“Well, we could probably fix that too. I don’t suppose either of you know how to fix a type one generator?”

“Ah dae.”

He gave me a look of surprise. “Seriously? I was kidding. Wow. More caps to you, then.”

I was about to make a witty retort when Zeed burst out singing.

My little roachie, my little roachie,
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah,

My little roachie,
I used to wonder where your head could be,
My little roachie,
Until it splattered all over me.

Big-ass coakroach,
Tons of fun!
Blast you apart,
You won’t last long!
Burning lasers,
Are such a treat!

And Raid’s shotgun makes it all complete!

Oh, my little roachie,
I won’t stop until you’re all dead!

“That’s just…” I failed to stifle my laughter as I saw Raid’s disturbed expression. “Does she always do that?”

“Only when she’s in a really good mood. Sadly, that’s nae very often, but it usually lasts fer a while.”

“I think she’s killed, like… Fifteen of them. Solo.”

“More than me. Ah’ve only got three down,” I looked around myself for a second. “Acshully, Ah think they’re all gone…”

“Well, my E.F.S. is clear, so there’s none around this area. We still need to check the generator room though.” He turned around and began to trot down the badly lit corridor made from some dark metal. “Let’s get this over with. I long to get out of here.”

Zeed bounced past him, skipping and singing humming to herself. I was starting to feel her infectious good mood, and couldn’t help but smile and hum along with her.

“Well… The generator room isn’t far, now.” Raid took a look at his pipbuck map. “We’ll probably find another swarm at some poi- Oh dear Celestia!”

Sitting in the middle of the corridor was the mother of all roaches, staring at us, about a hundred more of its brood sitting behind it. I let out a quiet ‘eep’.

Then Zeed charged in, happily screaming like a madmare. “Let’s do it!”

~~~~~~

The orb followed the pink one through the orange mists and sands of Canterbury, its own black mists swirling calmly within its glass shell. The pink mare continued her ranting for a long time, until a flash of gold appeared in the distance. Noticing this, she telekinetically drew her weapon, and charged after it, giggling madly.

“0h y4y! 3yE’m g01ng 2 mAke 5um n3w f2i3nd5!”

The orb followed slowly. Keeping a long distance between them. As the pink mare neared the location of the flash, she found her weapon wrenched from her magical field by a dark yellow glow. A golden stallion with a white mane stood before her, his horn aglow, and a calm smile on his face.

“Ah,” he said in a pensive tone. “One of you, I see. And where might you be going miss?”

The pink mare giggled, her pupils little more than pinpricks in an ball of blood red. “1’M (lo7he5l1ne! t3h 8uzZ1ng pu11s me! Wi1l u b3 m4i fr1eNd?”

The stallion laughed. “You know, I think I will be your friend. Tell me little one, do you come from the Prison?”

Instantly, the pink mare’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded. “I hur7 her. 3ye th1nk 1 kil13d her. Eye d1dn’7 w4nt 2, bu7 the n0is3 t0ld me 2! eYe waNt3d t0 s4y i’M s0rRy…”

“Don’t worry, young filly. I don’t blame-“ He spotted the orb full of black mist, and a smile spread across his face. “Well, miss Clothesline, I think you have a follower.”

There was a flash of gold, and he appeared next to the ball, and swiped it up with a single hoof. He peered intently into it, as though it’s swirling contents held meaning to him. He let out a single, loud laugh. “Oh, dear Benchie, I thought you were cleverer than this. Trying to use my own tricks against me? bad form good sir. Bad form.”

With that, his horn glowed brightly, and the dark yellow color enveloped the orb.

A second passed.

The orb dissipated into Canterbury’s orange mists, and the golden one smiled.

“Well then, miss. I believe there is someone we need to meet. Come along.”

“mAi n4m3 i5 c10Thes1in3! W1ll u b3 mY fr1End?” She replied as she trotted along beside him with tears in her eyes.

~~~~~~~
Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (3)
Melee: 50
Repair: 43

Perks:

Intense training: +1 strength. Strength is now 4

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (2)
Energy Weapons: 40
Medicine: 45

Perks:
Swift learner: You are indeed a Swift Learner with this Perk, as each level will give you an additional +5% bonus whenever you earn experience points.
~
Active quest:
Bugs in the basement: Clear all of the radroaches out of the generator room.

Other quests:
Sifting Through the Dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.
2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3) Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(author’s note)

It’s me again! Happy to see me? Too bad, ‘cuz I’m here anyway.

If you’ve decided to continue reading this, I thank you.

“Sigh, why did it take you so long to do this chapter? It’s no longer than the others, yet took three times longer! Whaddafuq?”

Well my good non-existent friend, that is because I am an idiot, and scrapped this chapter three… no… wait… four times before I was satisfied.

“Four times? Shouldn’t it be better than this, then?”

Probably, oh figment of my depraved imagination. Probably.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

P.S.: Didja like the song? Didja? Didja? DIDJA? HUH? HUH?
Oh, and the next chapter may or may not be from Zeed’s point of view. I’m not sure yet.
Why? I dunno, I just feel like it might be.
Why am I telling you? I dunno, I just feel like it.

Chapter Four: Slight Weirdness

"You're really quiet difficult to ignore, you know. It's because you're... well, bah! Rather intriguing, if you don't mind an old brain for saying so."

“Hey, Ashes! Ashes, come on,” called out the cheerful striped unicorn apparently named Diamond Knives, whom I’d met only a few hours ago, as she knocked on the metal door. “It’s me!”

A sleepy, charcoal-furred, gunmetal-maned earth pony filly with amber eyes opened the door and yawned. “Who’s me, and why are you waking me up at this time of night?”

“Night? It’s barely the afternoon!” Diamond replied with a snort, only to be met with another yawn. “Anyway, this is Zeed! Her dad just got booted.”

I could feel my eyes tear up slightly at the memory. Ashes gave me a sympathetic look. “Ouch. Can I ask why?”

I shook my head and sniffed.

Diamond smiled at me. “Hey, it’s alright. You don’t need to be sad. We know how you feel. Don’t worry, it’ll get better. Hell, Ashes here doesn’t even have parents, and she’s just fine.”

“Well,” Ashes added. “I’m as fine as a seven-year-old filly can be on my own in here. I’m just lucky my parents were Guards, or I’d be bucked.”

I sniffed as I stared in surprise. “How… how are you so… Doesn’t it hurt? You’re on your own… How…”

Ashes shrugged and grinned. “What’s the point of crying anymore? It doesn’t help anything. I got as much of it out as I could already.”

Diamond scrunched up her nose in thought as she entered Ashes’ room. “Didn’t I tell you what my dad always said?”

I nodded, following her into the room. It was full of various random objects, piled up all over the floor. Both Ashes and Diamond sat on small chairs in the middle of the room, and looked at me. Then they looked at each other for a few moments, exchanging facial expressions in some silent conversation.

“I think it’ll work out well,” Diamond finally said. “She seems nice enough.”

Ashes raised an eyebrow, and Diamond responded with a shrug.

Ashes laughed suddenly, and a smirk spread across her face. “Alright, Zeed. We’re the Tunnel Rats. Best thieves and pranksters in the Prison. Wanna join?”

~~~~~

There is something to be said of mindless violence. While it may be pointless and… well… violent… it can also be very stress relieving. I had indeed been very stressed the past few days, so imagine my joy when I had the opportunity to destroy a swarm of giant cockroaches. With a laser pistol. I was positively ecstatic. The fact that it was with lasers made it even better. So, when I saw about a hundred of the prodigious pests crawling through the corridors, followed by what must have been their queen or mother or something, I happily let my impulsiveness take over, and charged into them, firing away whilst screaming; “Let’s do it!”

Within the first second, three of the smaller ones exploded in a shower of pus-colored goo as the beams of magical energy struck them and heated up their insides to the boiling point. I cracked a grin.

Admittedly, only a little more than half of my shots hit their targets, the rest either hitting an entirely different roach, or struck the metal wall, making a black spot. Still, I found it exhilarating. Within moments of my charge, Knives slammed into the thorax of the biggest cockroach, smashing away at it with her electric baton, while Raid let loose precise shots at the roaches, making small holes in their numbers with his shotgun blasts.

Another three beams of red light, more bursts of greenish ichor. Knives had smashed the one of her massive opponent’s legs off, the severed limb hit the ground with a slight clicking sound as it twitched.

I let my thoughts drift as I fought. I wondered how long it would take for the stress to build back up again. I found myself hoping that my calm would last long enough for me to get a decent sleep for once, one uninfluenced by a sleeping potion. I had never been entirely certain of what kept me away from the wonderful bliss that was sleep, but stress was really the only thing that made sense to me.

I stressed over a lot of things. I was almost always tense, though usually only slightly so. Especially after Knives got shot in the eye. I growled to myself at the thought of Clothesline’s murder attempt. I knew she hated Knives, but I had no idea she would be willing to kill her for whatever slight. Then again… thinking back… she seemed different… particularly the way that she seemed so distracted. I replayed the moment in my mind and frowned. She was distracted. Something about a buzzing noise. And the way she was speaking was off… wrong somehow. I couldn’t quite put my hoof on it. It was like her words weren’t actually… words… like they had no – ouch!

I looked down to see that one of the smaller cockroaches had sunk its mandibles into my good foreleg. With a grunt, I shook it off and stomped its thorax, its insides squeezing out like a tube of toothpaste. No real damage to my leg, just a small cut. I wouldn’t even need a healing bandage for it.

How had the damn thing gotten past me?

Oh… I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I’d forgotten to reload… Oops. With a smile, I popped in another magical gem battery, and readied the gun. Another four bugs down. Knives’ opponent was on its last two legs, desperately flailing them in an attempt to remove my half-breed friend.

Where did these things come from anyway? The ones that always skittered around in the Prison only came up to your fetlocks. Most of these ones were half my size. Then again, I was fairly short, only about eleven hands tall. Just one of many things for which I could blame my mother, and something for which I’d gotten much grief as a filly. I let out a sigh. The mare known as ‘Nidra Reine Kazdri’ was not pleasant in any manner. She was very much stuck-up. Seemed to think she was a noble despite being in trapped in a place called ‘The Prison’.

I blinked as I realized that my thoughts were not only moving to a very bad place, but weren’t even remotely close to the original topic. After frying a couple more roaches, I racked my brain for something to cheer myself up.

Puppies? Adorable, but I’d really only ever seen pictures, so I didn’t particularly care.

Really hot mares? A slight smile, but entirely the wrong kind of ‘cheering up’.

Lasers? Hehe… Fuck yeah… Lasers… Still not enough, though.

I needed something to distract myself. Something I could focus on… to occupy my thoughts. Actually, I sort of wanted a smoke, but that wasn’t an option right now, so my tobacco addiction would have to wait. I made a mental note to find a pack or two of cigarettes after I’d gotten information on the location of Ashes and our fathers. I sighed again. She’d been exiled three years ago after the last riot. Everything had gone to hell that day… Ashes, Knives and myself had all been heavily traumatized by that event. Knives had it worst, though. I shuddered at the memory of what had happ-

“Zeed? Ye in there?”

“Huh?”

“Ye spaced out fer a minute. Ah was getting’ worried.” She said with a smirk.

I looked around to see that the walls had been painted a greenish-yellow color by roach ichor. Chunks of insectile meat, both charred and otherwise were strewn about the room. Knives’ giant roach friend was in pieces on the floor, its leg stumps still twitching slightly.

I fought the urge to vomit as she swiped up a chunk of roach meat in her invisible grip and took a bite.

“What?” She asked through a mouthful of roach.

“You know I hate it when you do that,” I grimaced. “It’s disgusting.”

From behind me, I heard Raid chuckle nervously. “Well, you know… Sometimes there’s nothing left to eat but meat.”

"What? Oh, no, I’m fine with eating meat. I’ve done it myself... Don’t ask, long story. It’s that it’s bug meat.” I shuddered and gagged. “And I know you’re just doing it to gross me out!”

“Damn right!” She happily proclaimed as she stuffed another roach chunk in her mouth. “Yer such a wuss Zeed.”

“Me? A wuss? This coming from the pony who can’t stand Snack Cakes because they ‘scratch at your throat’.” I raised my eyebrow and grinned.

“Hey! It’s painful to choke on those!” She shot back indignantly. “Anyway, that’s not important right now. We should probably get moving again. Right Raid?”

He looked back and forth between the two of us, an expression of amusement on his face. “You two make a weird couple.”

Knives started laughing, only to choke on another bite of roach meat and begin hacking and coughing instead. I snorted and giggled. “Couple? No. We’re close, but not that close.”

Successfully removing the obstruction from her throat with a final, wracking cough and now able to breathe once more, Knives rasped out, “Besides… Aam straight. Ah like bucks thank ye very much.”

Raid’s expression was one of confusion as he stared at Knives.

Then realization struck him, and he blurted out the stupidest thing he could have ever possibly said. “You’re a mare?”

I promptly facehooved, and mourned the eminent death of a somewhat decent pony. Knives glare was intense enough that I was surprised that Raid didn’t combust. Normally, I would have tried to calm her down, but while her body tensed, she didn’t yet look like she was going to beat the living shit out of the poor buck. When she spoke, her voice was a foreboding growl, her accent dropped. “You’d better choose your next words very carefully…”

To Raid’s credit, he didn’t even flinch. He simply looked at her with a bored expression and let out a long, resigned sigh. “Can I get a five second head start?”

Knives’ response was to blink a few times, her rage replaced with surprise and a hint of confusion. “Uh… Well… I… What?”

He shrugged. “My, eh, sister used to beat the crap outa me all the time, and for similar reasons. My family is about a quarter of the reason I left the… ahem… left home. The other three quarters is filled with a large number of secrets which I do not currently wish to divulge to strangers. Now, I believe that you intended to do me immense harm?”

Knives looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, casually, she smiled and walked over to him, and sat on her haunches in front of him. She then drove her shock baton into the side of his face. He screamed and twitched slightly as the electricity shot through his muscles. “Not immense harm. Just a lot of pain. We’re even now. Ye surprised me. Most of the time, ponies run like hell from me.”

I clapped my hooves together in mocking applause. “Yay! Raid gets to live! Aren’t you happy Raid?”

“I can’t feel my face!”

~~~~

Several minutes later, we had made our way closer to the generator rooms, with minimal resistance from radroach hordes.

“Goddesses. It’s like a maze down here. Ye know the way back, right Zeed?”

“Of course. You think I want to get lost down here?” I chirped. I was merrily trotting in front of my two companions, opening every single door I came across and taking a brief look into the rooms behind them.

“How can you know the way out? I’m surprised the pipbuck can keep track of it. You don’t even have-“

“Left, right, straight for three doors, left, up the stairs, right, down two floors, left, left again, straight five doors,” I quickly rattled off the directions from our current location. “Down one more floor, yadda, past the roach guts, yadda, I don’t feel like listing the rest of it. Let’s sing a song!”

Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to start singing, as Raid interrupted me by asking, “How in the fuck do you remember all that? Even this damn thing only keeps a low-definition map!” He indicated the machine on his foreleg.

“Zeed is weird. And when Ah say weird, Ah mean she is buckin’ weird.”

I giggled. “I have an eidetic memory. Look, just do me a favor, and don’t ask. I hate talking about it. It’s caused me no end of irritation, and- Oh, look! A dead pony! ”

Indeed, as I opened yet another door, I came across an office. On the desk placed against the back wall, several terminals had been set up, showing various camera angles in what looked like the generator room. Sitting in the chair was a unicorn skeleton in a lab coat. I trotted over to it and examined it. Male. There was a large hole in his skull, and a revolver on the floor next to him. On the opposite side was a pair of sunglasses, dark red ones. The wall had a dark red spot on it. “Ooh, Suicide. Shame.”

Turning to my two companions, I shouted out, “I call dibs on his stuff!”

As I pushed it out of the chair, the skeleton fell apart, bones clattering and sliding all over the metal floor. I slipped into the lab coat, and put the sunglasses on the end of my nose.

Raid whispered into Knives’ ear. “Ya know, when you said she was weird, I didn’t think you were that serious.”

“I heard that, and berate you for it.” I teased merrily as I began searching through the desk, looking for anything that could be of use. Money, weapons, batteries, food- Sweet luna! A whole fucking carton of cigarettes! Malburro. Not my brand, but whatever, I giggled in glee anyway. No lighter though… Damn. Oh!

I pulled out a stick out and set it on the table. Out came the laser. Three seconds later, I had a lit cigarette and a table with a charred spot on it. And here I thought I couldn’t love lasers more.

I leaned back in the chair and took a long draw, exhaling through my nostrils. Admittedly, it tasted horrible, and always had, but my normally chaotic and ceaseless thoughts seemed to slow down, or at least stay on topic a bit longer.

I heard Knives cough slightly, and I turned around to see her staring at me with a look of mild confusion. That look seems to be going around a lot, doesn’t it… I mused.

“What?”

“Ye just took a dead pony’s stuff. And yer smokin’ his cigarettes… Ah thought ye quit.”

“Smoking? No. I just ran out. Haven’t had one for about a week.” I pulled a few packs out of the carton and stuffed them in the lab coat pocket. “And he’s dead. He doesn’t need it.”

I looked at the nametag on the coat. ‘Awesome’, it read. Interesting name. I grinned and shrugged. Sure, I think I can be ‘Awesome’.

“You’re… fine… with looting bodies… What the fuck kind of stable did you two come from?” Raid asked with an incredulous look.

“Prison.” I turned to the desk and the terminals that sat on it, holding the cigarette in my mouth. “Now, where is that generator… Oh! Oh, shit… Wonderful. Knives, I don’t think you’ll be able to fix this one.”

“Why?”

“It’s leaking magic like there’s no tomorrow. Looks like the containment crystal broke, among other things. We’ll need a new one just to find out what else is wrong with it.” I hopped out of the chair and exhaled another bit of smoke.

Raid groaned. “Are you kidding me? That means we came all this damn way for nothing.”

“Ah don’t care about rads. We can just get a couple ay radaways, right?”

“Ticker says thirty per second.” I read off the radiation gague.

“Oh… Well… uh… We still get paid fer killin’ th’ roaches, right?”

“Yeah, but they’re not gonna be too happy about this. Damnit… I was hoping to get some extra caps…” He sighed. “Ah well. Not much point staying down here. You two coming?”

“Don’t you guys have spare parts?” I asked. As I followed him out the door, Knives just behind me.

He laughed. “We used them all on generator number six. Damn thing was a wreck. Almost scrap metal. Anyway, we might as well take what we can get. Come on, they won’t pay if you’re not there.”

“Wait, wait, wait… What? Why the hell did you use all your spare parts on a generator in that bad of a condition?”

“That’s what I said, and I’m an idiot. So, of course, nopony listens to me. I’m just the pe- Eh… pony from the… uh… from…” He cleared his throat gently. “Let’s just say that most ponies don’t trust me… Or like me, for that matter.”

I pretended to not notice his stuttering, trying not to let paranoia ruin my still very good mood. It was none of my business anyway.

“Aam guessin’ that’s why ye got stuck down here?”

“Yeah. I… Uh… Kinda owe some… caps... right now…” He sighed. “I kinda lied. I’m not really a ‘newbie’ the Soldiers Guild… It’s just… Not as embarrassing as the truth…”

“Ye want tae talk about it?” Knives asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really…” He sighed. “Let’s just say that me and alcohol don’t get along well.”

“Oh, really? Violent drunk, are ye? Ah think Ah can relate tae that.” She grinned.

“Uh…” He blushed, his voice was cracking slightly. “Something like that… yeah…”

“Oooh, ye did somethin’ ye shouldnae have? Or…” her grin widened. “Somepony?”

His face turned a deeper shade of red, and I tried to stifle my giggling. “Er… Well… I… Look, can we not talk about it?”

“Come on Raid-y-raid, Ah won’t tell anypony.”

He let out a sigh. “Fine. I hit on the leader of the Soldier’s Guild… and… I think I said, or did, something that pissed her off… I’m not entirely sure what, I was too drunk to remember. So, now she’s pressed me into service ‘till I can work off about ten thousand caps. Vengeful bitch.”

“Well that sucks.” I mused.

“How much do ye owe?” Knives inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Right now, about four hundred. Why?”

“Aam just curious.”

The rest of our walk back up to the Mall was in a somewhat awkward silence, with everypony in deep thought.

~~~~

I was immensely confused.

I stared at the contents of the small bag that Knives was levitating in the air, cigarette hanging out of my slightly slack jaw.

Why, of all possible things, did they use bottlecaps as currency?

“Did Trowel nae tell ye about this?”

“Well… yes, but I thought he was being a smart-ass. I can’t believe this. There was nothing more valuable they had easy access to?”

“Am ah really the pony ye want tae be talkin’ economics with?” She deadpanned at me.

“Right. So, where can we find some info on ponies?” I asked, wishing that Raid had stayed with us a while longer. His knowledge of the town would have helped immensely. Instead, he’d gone to find another job after we’d picked up our caps.

“Uh… Ah think it was…” Suddenly, she smiled. It was a mischievous smile. That could only mean one thing. “Ah think it was th’ ‘Bartender’s Guild’.”

“Are you sure? Bartenders don’t seem like they would get much information.”

She frowned as she gave me a surprised look. “Are ye kiddin’? Remember Daquiri, back in th’ Prison? He knew damn near everypony who got a drink from him! He could tell ye every damn escape plan that had been come up with in th’ three years he’d been workin’. He knew half ay what was goin’ on with th’ Guards, too. Ponies say things they shouldnae say when they’re drunk ye know. Thusly, bartenders know everythin’!”

“Uh-huh… Sure. Well, I don’t care, as long as we can find Ashes and our dads.” I sighed. “I just hope we can find something on where they are.”

“Why are ye so intent on findin’ Ashes anyway?” She pocketed the bag of caps. “I thought ye ‘said ‘you’ll never forgive her’.”

I sighed. “We were… I overreacted. I shouldn’t have said that… I regret the whole conversation… Just… Can we please not talk about this? I’m having enough difficulty staying in this mood as it is.”

“So… Ye think there’s any way we can get back tae that generator and fix it?” She said, swiftly changing the subject.

“Hmmm… Maybe. We absolutely need to get a new gem for it, though. Whoever programmed that system is an idiot. They made it so that you can only run the simplest of diagnostics on it when the containment gem is down.” I rested my head on a hoof and took in another pull of my cig. “Sadly, you’ll be in there alone, ‘cuz I can’t make heads or tails of the schematics.”

I started making a mental list. “We’ll probably need… Rad-pro, an H.E.V. suit… probably never find one of those… uh… probably a crap-ton of rad-away, just to be safe.”

“Well, while yer thinkin’ oan that, Aam goin’ tae get mahself a drink.”

“What? You can’t drink, you’re only nineteen!”

“Yer a year younger than me. Yer smoking.” She started trotting towards one of the Mall’s many neon signs. “’Sides, drinkin’ age in Canterbury is eighteen. Or… It was, anyway. Even then, It’s never stopped me before, now has it?”

I sat on my haunches puffing my cig for a few moments, wondering why she knew any of Canterbury’s pre-war laws. With a shrug, I followed her in.

The Rusted Latch looked like a saloon you would see in a pre-war cowpony movie, with a few rounded wooden tables set up in the middle of the room, a bar with several shelves of various alcohols behind it, and the walls on one side had a few ironwolf skulls and heads mounted on them, the apparently metal bone reflecting everything in the room. The main difference between this and a classic saloon, however, was that everything but the tables and skulls was made of junk metal. The whole place smelled like smoke and booze. A jukebox off in the corner was loudly blasting some electronic music that didn’t quite fit the atmosphere. Nevertheless, I found myself stepping with the rhythm.

Most of the ponies inside were the sort who just wanted to drown in their own misery. I felt my mood darken just from being in their proximity, so before I fell into a state of irritation and sorrow, I tracked down Knives, who had taken a seat on a stool at the far end of the bar and was currently talking with a confused bartender. I instantly knew what she’d asked for; two parts tabasco sauce, one part absinthe. The only thing I’d ever seen her order.

I took a seat on her left side. “So, how are we gonna go about this?”

“Figured ye should be th’ one tae ask,” She propped her head up on a foreleg. “Yer better at talkin’ tae other ponies than ah am. And yer th’ one who’s really interested.”

“You spent all your money on the damn drink didn’t you.”

“No! It was only ten caps! Goddesses… Aam just not entirely sure what or how tae ask, alright?”

“You don’t know… that’s just- Oh, hello! I’m looking for some information.” I was distracted by the bartender tapping his hoof on the counter. “I’m trying to find somepony.”

The auburn unicorn glared at me with dark blue eyes. “Fifty caps to search, rest of the info is priced depending. Who?”

I hoofed him the caps. “She would have been here no more than three years ago. Fairly tall, charcoal fur, gunmetal mane, amber eyes. Probably laughing like a madmare about everything she sees. Answers to the name of ‘Ashes’, might have given a fake name, though.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “You’re gunning for her? You got a death wish or something?”

“Well… She comes off as a bit abrasive, but she’s not usually that bad.”

“You know what? I’m sorry, but you can keep your caps. I can’t let a pony get themselves killed going after a bounty like that.” He pushed the caps back at me. “That mare’s just too damn dangerous.”

Knives gave the bartender a suspicious look. “She has a bounty? What, did she not pay bail?”

She received an expression of confusion. “The hell? Never mind. Just… don’t go after her. You’ll only get yourselves killed. We have no info for sale on her right now. Sorry.”

Knives looked on as the barkeep moved towards a newcomer at the other end of the bar. “Th’ hell was that about?”

“Dunno. I can only guess that Ashes has turned into some sort of psychopathic murderer or something, and now she’s being hunted down by whatever serves as the law for her crimes. I imagine that she’s giving a pretty good chase for whomever is after her.” I shrugged.

Knives deadpanned at me. “Ye read too damn many comics Zeed.”

“Oh, come on. What else could garner a reaction like that?”

“It’s probably a misunderstanding. An accident. Maybe a culture thing. We don’t know shit about this place after all.” She smirked. “And ye forgot about our dads.”

I facehooved at my own stupidity. “Crap… Well… Maybe we could try a different bar?”

“Hey, Barkeep,” Knives whistled at the bartender. He trotted over, giving me a glance full of mild irritation. “Aam lookin’ fer somepony. Two. First is a pitch black stallion. Unicorn. Accent like mine but about ten times heavier. Probably around no more than… fourteen years ago? Called ‘Obsidian’. The other is a Zebra, she can give you a description.”

“Oh… Uh… Zebra, green eyed, uh… twelve years ago… Name of ‘Nezan Kazdri’. Scar on his right cheek, running from his mouth to his ear.”

“Now, them I’ll tell you about. Two-hundred caps for both. Firstly… Obsidian… good pony. Last time he was here, he was depressed. And drunk. Extremely drunk. Said something about ‘they’re all dead’. Then he got angry and headed west, straight into the Deep Mists.”

“Deep Mists?”

“Yeah, place is crawling with ‘paths, among other things. Even ironwolves don’t go there, and they’re tough little fuckers.”

“They didn’t seem that tough tae me. We took on a pack ay them yesterday.”

“The ones around here are rusty. Literally. They start to corrode as they age. Anyway, if you’re trying to find Obsidian, you might not find him. Ponies rarely leave the Deep Mists the way they went in. If you do find him, tell him that Barkeep still owes him a beer.”

“And the Zebra? What about him?”

“Nezan? He was here a few days ago, actually.”

“W-w-what?” I blurted. My jaw dropped in surprise, and my cigarette fell to the ground. My dad was Alive? And here? Sweet merciful Luna, my luck was turning pretty quickly! My thoughts and emotions started roiling around in my head. “Where is he? Where did he go?”

“Easy, easy. He went off to Bladesville. It’s north-east of here. It’s not that far, actually. Still in the outskirts of the Old City. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you looking for him? He doesn’t owe you money, does he?”

I sighed. “He’s my father.”

The bartender looked at me suspiciously for a moment. “You’re a bit too old to be his daughter.”

“Uh… Huh?”

“Far as I know, his daughter’s about ten. You look quite a bit older than that.”

Instantly, the roiling in my skull stopped. Ten? He has a ten year old daughter? He wouldn’t. He would never have betrayed mom. Even if she was the bitch queen. Possibilities filled my head until I thought it was going to burst. I eventually managed to say a single syllable.

“What.”

It wasn’t even a question. I simply found it hard to wrap my mind around the concept of my father having another daughter. I’m not sure why.

“Zeed, are you alright?” Knives gave me a concerned look.

“You got Celestia’s Choice?” I asked the bartender.

“Uh… Yes.”

“Give me ten bottles.”

“What happened tae being underage?” Knives asked me with a smirk.

“Shut up.” She blinked in surprise at my, admittedly uncharacteristic, blunt reply. I took a long pull from the first bottle of beer, draining nearly half of it and garnering looks of surprise from some of the ponies around the room.

Why was I having so much difficulty with this? Did I really expect him to just sit around? Of course he would make a life for himself out here. Fuck, I should be glad that he’s even alive. I’d assumed he’d been dead since he left. That was the general consensus around the Prison. Exile meant death. It was that simple. Knives’ and my experience had blown a massive whole in that, but somehow the thought of my father making a new life out here struck a nerve. I chugged half of a third bottle. I vaguely regretted it, as the ache in my stomach told me that was a bad idea.

I was now desperately clinging to the last vestiges of a good mood. I tried to push the ridiculous feelings of betrayal out of my head. I shouldn’t feel that way. Did he forget about me? Did he just leave me there because he didn’t want me?

I shook my head. No. He was thrown out. He had no choice. Stop thinking that Zeed. You can’t blame him for any of this.

“Zeed?”

I grunted in response.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Ye just drank a five bottles of beer in as many minutes. What’s wrong?”

I was silent for a moment. I thought of just chugging down the rest of it, but figured that would be a bad idea. I spoke in a monotone, too confused to put any emotion into my words. “I don’t know.”

Knives said nothing.

How could he do this? Does he still care about me?

Of course he does! You remember how he was? He was in tears, Zeed. Tears! ‘Please forgive me, sweetheart…’ There’s no way he’d just forget about you.

He has another daughter. Did he tell her about me? What about his new wife? Or lover… or whatever…

He made a life. So did you. You were just stuck in a miserable hellhole and had to make do. For Luna’s sake, Zeed. You can’t possibly expect him to just sit outside the Prison and wait for you to leave. That’s unrealistic. You know you’re being stupid.

I let out a sigh. Knives put a hoof on my shoulder. “what dae ye want tae do?”

“I have to find him. It’s stupid, but I think it’s gonna drive me crazy if I don’t.” I turned to the bartender. “Thanks… uh…”

“Barkeep the third.” He smirked. Admittedly, that actually lightened my now dark mood a bit.

“So… um… Where did you say Kazdri went?” It felt weird to refer to somepony else by my own surname.

~~~~

I couldn’t help but giggle at… well… everything really. It was funny. I mean, come on! They turned a mall into a town! A mall!

I hiccupped and took another long pull, only to find that my seventh bottle was empty.

“Zeed, are ye gonna be okay? Aam willin’ tae wait a day or two if yer nae ready.” She asked as we trotted through the makeshift ‘road’. Really it was just the walkways in the mall.

“I gotta find him Knivesh! Fer luna’sh shake! I jush found out that I have a shishter…” I stumbled as I tried to keep up with her. Stupid hooves wouldn’t move where I put them. “I can’t wait for them to find me! I have to get to them firsht.”

I hiccupped again.

“Aam worried. Ye don’t normally drink like this.”

“I don’t normal get family membersh… Wait…” Something wrong with that last sentence. I hiccupped yet again. Why was everything spinning? Stupid ground wouldn’t hold still. “I should probably shtop drinking…”

“Ye think?”

I looked at the bottle I was holding in my hooves. With a shrug, I chugged it down. “Not really.”

I hiccupped. Stomach wasn’t sitting right. Fuck.

Knives stood there and looked at me for a moment, then shook her head. “We’re goin’ tae go find Raid, then we’re goin’ tae find ye a place tae sleep that off.”

“But I don’t wanna!” I whined. Just let me wallow in… whatever it is I’m supposed to wallow in! Wait… Did I say that or not? What am I even talking about? I shook my head, and immediately regretted it, as the world spun a bit more. “Why do you even want to find Raid, anyway?”

“Ah want tae help pay off his debt.” She responded quickly.

I stared at her for a moment. There was a familiar look in her eyes. I’d seen it before… Oh! I giggled. “You like him!”

She blushed. “I just told you I want to help him!”

“You like him and you know it! You wanna make…” I hiccupped again. “Kisshy… facesh… and… You like him!”

Her blush brightened. “Are you even listening to me? I said I just want to help him!”

“Wanna know how I can tell… that you like him?” before she could answer, I held up a swaying hoof. “Becaushe You dropped yer accshent, and yer blushing…”

The accent bit was only partially true. Something that not a lot of ponies notice is that Knives actually does have an accent, but it’s barely noticeable unless you’re listening for it. Mostly, she trills her R’s. She also says ‘tae’ instead of ‘to’. She never believes me when I tell her though. I giggled at the thoughts of her incredulous stare.

“Alright… Fine. But so what if I do? What is this, grade school?”

“Knivesh, you are notorioush for having bad tashte in bucksh.” I downed my ninth bottle of beer.

Her blush deepened even further. “I do not…”

“Twelve relationshipsh shinche you were shixteen,” I hiccupped for the umpteenth time. “All of them ended in one of several ways. You ended up embarrasshed and ashamed of yershelf, moshtly. Need I remind you of yer lasht coltfriend? He loudly shouted that you were the worsht pony he’sh ever gotten in bed. Then he came out of the closhet ten shecondsh later, and shaid; ‘She’sh sho bad, she made me gay!’”

If I wasn’t drunk off my flank, I would have noticed that her face was a ridiculously deep shade of crimson as she dropped to her haunches in embarrassment. A couple ponies walking by made quiet comments, I shot them a look. “I… I… Uh… Well… But… You… You promised to never talk about that.”

I put a hoof on her shoulder, missing a few times. “I’m not shaying you shouldn’t try… jusht... jusht… ugh… I feel shick…”

Knives only glared at me, the red draining from her face. “Gee, I wonder why.”

I felt like I was about to puke. I let out a quiet groan, then clapped a hoof over my mouth as the booze tried to work its way out of my stomach. I swallowed hard. Knives snorted and started to walk away. “Why dae ye even bother drinkin’? Ye know ye can’t hold yer liquor.”

“I can too! Watch!” I chugged down the last bottle of beer, and gave Knives a triumphant smirk. Three seconds later, I ran to the closest tree, one of many dead plants which had at one point been cultivated in small raised platforms of dirt and concrete in the middle of the walkways, and threw up in the dry soil. I then collapsed on the conveniently close bench behind me, holding my stomach in one hoof.

“Why did I think thish wash a good idea…” I moaned.

“Why dae ye dae anythin’ ye dae?” Knives glowered at me. She was clearly pissed off.

I moaned again, sobbing slightly as well. Then I threw up a second time.

“Feelin’ better?”

“Shorry…”

“Ye better be. Yer just lucky yer mah friend. I woulda beat the shit outa anypony else if they brought that up. Dae ye know how hard it was tae get over that humiliation?”

I nodded.

“How long dae ye think it’ll take ye tae sober up?”

“I dunno… I can’t think right now… brain shtopped working on the sheventh beer. How long wash I going?”

“”Bout an hour.”

“Gimme ‘till morning.”

“Ah’ll be sure tae make loud noises and shine bright lights in yer face. Come o- Oh! Raid, Ah was lookin’ fer ye.”

“Well, that’s convenient. I wanted to ask you guys if you’d be willing to do another job with me.” He’d been walking out of a department store that the citizens of the Mall had managed to convert into an apartment structure.

“Actually, Ah got a hundred caps here Ah don’t need. Want ‘em?”

His eyes brightened, but his face fell. “I do. I really… really do, but I prefer not to take caps from ponies who could make better use of them. Thanks though.”

“Seriously? Fine. Ah’ll hire ye then.” She smirked.

“Eh?”

“We’re goin’ tae Bladesville tomorrow, figured we might need a bodyguard or a guide or whatever. Aam offering a hundred caps in advance. Want th’ job?”

He smiled. “Damn right I do! What time are we leaving?”

~~~~~

Clothesline giggled at the sight of the massive structure built into the mountain, then I began to cry. It reminded her of the Prison, and that she’d killed Knives. Clothesline didn’t want to, but Knives tried to escape, and that was wrong. But now I was lost and felt guilty, even though the buzzing noise told her it was okay. At least the yellow pony was nice! He was mean to that weird ball though. Clothesline wished Clothesline could have made friends with it. The yellow pony took her toy though, so she couldn’t make more-

NO NO NO NO NO! This is wrong! This is wrong! This is wrong! This is wrong! All of it is sick, how can I be happy after what I did? I’m a monster! I’ve never killed-

Followed the yellow pony inside. More ponies were inside. Maybe Clothesline could make more friends without her toy? The buzzing was telling me this was home. It sort of looked like the Prison, but she didn’t recognize anypony, and they were all standing and shuffling around and they kept saying random things and moaning and screaming and crying and-and-and-and-and-

MAKE IT STOP!!!! MAKE IT STOP! It hurts it hurts! Wrong! Wrongwrongwrongwrong! Clothesline can’t make more friends! I killed Knives! I’m a bad pony! Bad Clothesline!

The buzzing said it would help her make friends.

DON’T LISTEN DON’T LISTEN IT’S LIE-LIE-LIE-LIE-LIE

My head hurt, but Clothesline followed the yellow pony anyway. She had tears running down my face-face-face-face but she was smiling she could-

NEVER BE GOOD AGAIN NEVER BE GOOD AGAIN NEVER BE GOOD NEVER BE GOOD NEVER BE NEVER BE NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NE-NE-NE-NE-NE-NE-NE-

There was a big pony in the throne. He looked funny. Clothesline laughed at this because I thought it was funny. He had no face, just a big blob of orange mist.

The yellow pony said things to him, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying, they ran through Clothesline’s head, but didn’t stick to anything. I frowned. That wasn’t right. She looked at the weird blob-pony’s face again, it was staring at her, even though the yellow pony was talking to it. It was sorry. The face was sorry that I was so confused and-and-

RUN-RUN-RUN-RUN-RUN-BAD-BAD-BAD-BAD-

The yellow pony left. The orange blob pony watched him leave. His face was angry. He hated the yellow pony-pony-pony-pony.

His voice cut through the confusion. A clear beacon in the orange darkness. “Hello little one. You are different. You are special.”

“H1! 3Y3’m (l0t#3$liNe, wil1 u b |\/|41 frie||d?”

“Forgive me, but I cannot. However, I can, and will, give you a gift. But I will also give you a curse. You are one of us now, but not for much longer. I will set you free, but you can never be the same again. I must re-shape you. Then I must release you. Then you must do as I ask.”

I started to cry. “Ey3 Kill3d h32! 1’m a b4d p0||ee!”

He put his hoof on Clothesline’s shoulder. “Calm yourself, child. You will be forgiven. You were unfortunate to trade one prison for another, but you will help set the rest of us free from his clutch. Come, child, let us remake you.”

Clothesline followed the blob pony through a door. Then her-

MIND WAS SET ON FIRE AS THE PAIN SEARED THROUGH EVERY NERVE-NERVE-NERVE-NERVE AND HER BODY WAS-AS-AS-AS CONSU-SU-SU-SU-SU-SUMED BY PAIN AND SHE SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND -

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (4)
Melee: 60
Repair: 45

Perks: Light Touch: You really know how to move! As long as you are wearing light or no barding, you get a +5% bonus to your critical hit chance. In addition, your enemies get a -25% chance to get a critical hit on you!

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (3)
Energy Weapons: 45
Medicine: 50
Science: 42

Perks: Cerchez La Filly: In combat, you do +10% damage against female opponents. Outside of combat, you’ll sometimes have access to unique dialogue options when dealing with the same sex.

New items:

Awesome lab coat; +5 Science, +5 Medicine

Awesome shades: +1 Charisma

~
Quest complete: Bug in the basement.

Active quest:
O’ Father, WhereArt Thou?: Go to Bladesville to find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri.

Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.
2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3) –Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s note)

Yup. Zeed’s p.o.v. I might switch around once in a while. Not sure when or why, but I do know that I will. Zeed’s chapters will also tend to be ever-so-slightly longer, as she will definitely get fewer of them.

I think I’m going to shoot for a new chapter every two or three weeks. That seems to be what I’m doing here.

“Sigh, why must you torture us like this? It’s terrible!”

Because. I can. And I’m bored. But mostly, because I can be bored. Which I am. So I torture you with a terrible fanfic.

As per Zeed’s p.o.v.

I was trying to show that her thoughts are generally a bit disjointed and slightly random, at times slightly analytical. Not sure if I got that through though. Ah well. Not that big of a deal, I’ll just go with what I got.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Five: The Exit Is Right Over There

Chapter Five: The Exit Is Right Over There
“What the hell?! No, get away from me.”

“Hey girls, check out what ah just- Augh! Damnit!”

Much to my irritation, I’d walked in to our relatively small room to find Ashes and Zeed wrapped up in each other on the couch. I couldn’t help but cover my eyes with a foreleg as they clumsily disentangled themselves, their faces bright red as they smiled sheepishly.

“What have Ah told ye about doin’ it on th’ damn couch? Ye have a buckin’ bed, use it!” I shot a glare at Zeed. “And aren’t ye a little young fer that?”

The fifteen-year-old zebra’s response was to turn redder and mutter something too quietly to hear. I rolled my eyes.

I dropped the brown paper bag I’d been holding in my magic. “Anyway, Ah managed tae get th’ glue and th’ potatoes. Blister said he’d be able to get the steel plate tomorrow, but we’ll need to go out and find some tennis balls.”

“Seriously? Damn, this is going better than I expected!” Proclaimed Ashes, her blush gone within moments. “Heh, I can’t wait to see the look on Ratchet’s face when we pull this off!”

Zeed took a look at the open closet, from which junk was falling out. “I will never understand why there is so much random crap in this place.”

I shrugged. “Who cares? Just more stuff fer us tae use. ’Sides, do ye really want tae question th’ existence ay yer comic book collection?”

“Well… Yes, actually. Why the hell are there enough comic books in a prison to even constitute a collection?” She frowned. “What, did the original prisoners smuggle it in or something?”

I rolled my eyes again. “Why dae ye even care? It’s not like it makes a difference.”

“It’s irritating me.”

“Well…” Ashes started, apparently unsure on what to say. “Actually… I’ve kinda been curious too, and… I’ve been investigating…”

Zeed’s eyes lit up. “Really? I mean, really? Did you find anything? At all? Can I help?”

Ashes gave her a quick peck on the cheek and smiled. “Of course! It’s no fun without my marefriend to help me!”

Zeed smiled back and returned the kiss, though a bit more passionately it seemed. I found myself rolling my eyes again as I trotted over to our fridge. “Well, Ah won’t be helpin’ ye. Ah’ve got pranks tae set up thank ye very much.”

“Fine by me. We don’t need your help. Unless… You know, you wanna join in some of our… fun…” Ashes smiled mischievously, making Zeed once again blush furiously.

My response was to stare at the couch, on which I would never sit again. “Pervert.”

~~~~~

I stared at Zeed in confusion as Raid and I tossed the unconscious zebra off of our backs and onto the couch in his small cubicle-like apartment. She had passed out shortly after draining her last bottle of beer, though whether it was due to the alcohol, or just Zeed’s general weirdness when it came to sleep, I couldn’t say.

I don’t want to sound insulting or anything, but Zeed was bizarrely heavy for a mare her size. I’d often wondered how she manages to look skinny as all hell yet weigh so damn much. I considered bone density once, but since she seems to get broken bones a lot, that can’t be the case. I’d asked her about it a few times, but got nowhere because all she would do was smirk and, depending on her current mood, say something like something along the lines of ‘family secret’.

Apparently Raid was experiencing a similar thought process, as his next words were; “Not to be rude or anything, but how the hell does she weigh so damn much?”

I glared at him in mock irritation. “Are ye calling mah best friend fat?”

“Fat? Are you kidding me? She looks like she doesn’t eat a damn thing!” The dark blue buck put a hoof on his back and attempted to stretch, only to grunt in pain. “Where does she put it all?”

“A question fer th’ Goddesses, Aam sure.

Zeed shifted in her sleep and let out a weak sob as she hugged herself.

Raid hrrmed, and started rifling through one of the many drawers that he had scattered around the room. “So, what are you two going to Bladesville for, anyway?”

“Apparently her father went off in that direction not tae long ago.”

“Her father? What’s his name, maybe I’ve seen him?”

“Nezan Kazdri. Zebra.”

Raid stopped rifling through the drawers to stare at the ceiling in thought. “Hmmm… Nope, never heard of him.”

He returned to his searching, and with an ‘Aha!’ started pulling things from the drawers and tossing them onto his bed.

“So, dae ye travel a lot?”

“Sort of, but not since my… eh… fuck-up with the boss.”

Zeed mumbled something. It didn’t sound like Equestrian.

“Was that Zebrikans?”

“Probably.”

“How can she speak… Never mind. I’m not going to bother asking. Anyway, why are you looking for her father?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Both our dads, and a friend of ours, really. It’s just that we have a better idea where tae find hers.”

“Hmm… I’m wondering why he’d be in Bladesville. He’s gotta be a trader. Might be dealing with tribals, considering how close we are to the territories right now.”

“Any idea how long he’d stay?”

“Haven’t the foggiest. Do me a favor and turn around for a second so I can change.”

I looked to see a set of clothes on his bed. A red, long-sleeved shirt and a black vest, along with a bandolier, and several bottles of peach-colored goo. I noticed that his pillow was covered in similarly hued splotches.

“What, afraid Ah’ll see yer cutie mark? Big stallion afraid of a filly seein’ him naked?”

“Among other things, yes. And I have a damn good reason for both, too.” He said as he deadpanned at me. Feeling ashamed of myself for some reason, I blushed and turned away.

“Uh… Ye dae know that most ponies don’t normally wear clothes, right?”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” He snarked. “I have… uh… scars… that I don’t like showing. I can give you some if you want. Clothes, that is, not scars. If nothing else, it’ll look a lot better than that orange thing.”

I looked at myself. I had forgotten that I was still wearing my Prison barding. It was scorched and full of holes, mostly from my fight with the robots in the Safehouse. My uncovered stripy legs had a few bite marks from the giant radroaches. “It’s fine. Ah don’t really have anythin’ else.”

“Orange, though? Really? Trust me. Orange is a bad luck color. Too fucking much of it around Canterbury. Gimme a minute here, let’s see if I can find it.”

“Och, ye really don’t have tae-“

“Found it!” I turned to see a white and black striped shirt and a long-sleeved black denim button-down jacket. I immediately fell in love with it and, much to my embarrassment, giggled like a schoolfilly. “Not sure where I got it, but I never saw a reason to wear it. It’ll probably look good on you, though.”

I found myself blushing at the compliment. Luckily, he seemed oblivious to it as he went back to rummaging through the drawers again. “Um… Thanks… Fer lettin’ us use yer apartment fer th’ night…”

“No problem. I won’t be using it much longer, anyway. We’ll have to keep quiet when other ponies start coming in, though. Paper thin walls.”

I replaced my Prison barding with the new outfit, which surprisingly fit like a glove. I stared at the old orange cloth for a few moments. I’d worn that thing so many times in my life that I felt it was a part of me. It was always there when I worked, any time I fixed anything. I hated it. With a flurry of magic, I tore the orange barding to shreds and tossed them out the door.

“I’m going out to get some supplies. Feel free to use the bed if you want.” He smirked at me as he walked past. “You look like you need some sleep.”

Gratefully, I accepted his offer, and within minutes of his leaving, I fell fast asleep.

0110001001110010011001010110000101101011011010010110111001100111

Cold dark tunnel… that same endless void… the white tiles…

I’m here again. I still don’t want to be. Especially not so soon after the last time. Yet I must see her anyway. Must make sure she’s still imprisoned.

That same gem, with its brilliant sheen.

She’s asleep in her cage.

I let out a sigh of relief.

The sound awakens her, and her slitted silver eyes pop open. Her tail sparks against the gemstone cage.

She smiles at me. It’s not a friendly smile. It’s full of malice, and hate. Her chuckle chills me to the core.

“Why Knives, what a pleasant surprise! You’re visiting me twice in almost as many days! I’m flattered. Are you actually starting to warm up to me?”

I glare at her. I say nothing.

She spits on the wall of her cage. Watches the acid evaporate with a violent hiss. That same arrogant smile on her face.

The silence is unbearable.

“Why have ye been whisperin’ in mah ears?”

“Why are you using that stupid accent again?”

“Answer th’ damn question.”

“Quid pro quo, Diamond. I’ll answer yours if you answer mine.” She said, deepening her voice. She laughs.

“Don’t joke.”

“Why so serious?” She says with a psychotic smile.

“STOP LAUGHING!”

A roll of her eyes. “I haven’t been saying a damn thing to you. I’m stuck, remember?”

“Yer lyin’ tae me. Ah’ve been hearin’ ye.”

“Pshaw. That’s you being paranoid and crazy. I have nothing to do with it.” She smirks. I can tell she’s lying through her vampyric teeth. I choose to let it go, I’d never get her to admit it anyway.

“So, why do you talk in the stupid accent?” She’s still smirking. I wish I could just punch her.

“Respect fer dad.”

She bursts out laughing. My eyes narrow at her.

“Well…” she says when she catches her breath. “I guess you get to lie too, then.”

“Aam not lyin’.” I growl.

“Of course you are. I know the real reason, and I think it’s a stupid one. Funny isn’t it? I lie to you, you lie to me, we’re both lying to ourselves.“

“YOU ARE NOT ME!” I scream furiously. “YOU ARE NOT ME AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!”

She laughs again. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I know why you do it. You can’t lie to me Knives. Why do you even try? You can’t lie to me, you can’t hurt me. Obviously you can’t even trap me very well if you keep hearing my voice. Just tell the truth.”

I bare my teeth at her and say nothing. I’m shaking with rage.

She makes a sad puppy-dog face. “Can you at least give me a name?”

I turn and walk away, with her laughing all the while.

011010010110111000100000011100000110100101100101011000110110010101110011

I woke up with a yawn, and immediately slipped out of the sheets and started cracking my joints. Looking around the room, Raid was lying on the floor, while Zeed was on the couch, a pained expression on her face, covering her ears with her hooves.

“Zeed? You awake?” I whispered.

She groaned in response.

“Ye look terrible. What’s wrong?”

“Woke up. Couldn’t sleep. Too much noise. Head hurts. Tried sleep potion, just threw it up.” She sobbed gently, and hugged herself. “Don’t wanna move. Leave me alone.”

I smirked, knowing that she did not usually react well to hangovers. “Ye know, we’re goin’ tae Bladesville today. Yer gonna have tae move.”

She moaned again.

“C’mon Zeed. Don’t make me get some ice water.” I joked.

To my surprise, she shot up and glared at me. “Fuck you.”

“What?”

“Don’t fucking do that. Do you know what that’s like? It’s embarrassing. I hate that. I. Fucking. Hate. It.” She stood unsteadily, and despite being much shorter, somehow managed to stare me down. “Do you think I like having something wrong with me like that? DO YOU?”

I was genuinely surprised by her outburst. It was not something she usually did while in this state. “Zeed, what are ye talkin’ about?”

She huffed, a light blush appearing on her face. “Never mind. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“What’s wrong? Ye know ye can tell me,” I was concerned now. I could tell that something was bothering her, but it wasn’t anything I was aware of.

“No. I can’t. I won’t. You’ll just laugh. Not even in the funny way.” She put a hoof to her temple and groaned. “Fuck… My head’s killing me…”

“Ah swear Ah won’t laugh. I just want tae help-“

“I don’t want you to help me! I want you to leave me alone!” She shouted, tears flowing down her face. She sat on her haunches and began sobbing. I tried to put a hoof on her shoulder, tried to comfort her, but she swatted it away. “Go away.”

“Zeed, please just tell me what’s wrong. Aam yer friend. Ah can’t stand seein’ ye like this.”

“Everything’s wrong. I hate it.” She said with a tone of finality as she trudged back to the couch and curled up on it. “I feel sick.”

“Dae… Dae ye want anything?” I asked, biting my lip.

She sniffled loudly and pointed. “Water. In the saddlebag… please...”

I followed her outstretched hoof to a set of saddlebags by the door. I searched through until I found a clear bottle of water and floated it over to her. She drank it greedily.

“Feel better?”

Zeed nodded.

We sat there in awkward silence for what felt like hours.

“So… Where’s Raid?” I inquired, if only to break the silence.

“Something about a map. Said his pipbuck wouldn’t help much with directions.” She yawned. “Should be back soon.”

Zeed sighed and looked at me with a remorseful expression. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Yer stressed. Ah can’t really blame ye. Yer just hung over is all.”

“It’s not just that… I think I’m in another mood right now. I can’t tell…” She groaned again, wincing. “Ow…”

She fished a box of cigarettes out of her pocket. “Are ye sure ye should be smokin’ right now?”

“No.” She lit one with a blast from her laser pistol, and stuck it in her mouth. She visibly relaxed as she took a deep breath.

The door opened, and a grinning Raid stepped through with a fedora perched on his head, and wearing his leather jacket over his clothes. There was actually something that creeped me out about it.

“Directions have been acquired!” He proudly proclaimed. “We can get going any- Hey, what happened?”

Zeed interrupted me before I could speak. Her tone was solemn. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

He looked to me, I shrugged hopelessly. “Alright, if you say so. Anyway, we can get going whenever you’re ready.”

~~~

We walked side-by side through the ruined city streets, having left the Mall hours ago. Raid and I moved on opposite sides of Zeed, who was trudging along and humming a depressing and melancholy tune. I think it was something by Effervescence. We had the supplies distributed in a mostly even manner, though Raid had opted to carry considerably more, mostly in the form of ammunition.

At the moment, Raid was explaining a few functions of his pipbuck, at my request.

“It keeps track of whatever I’m carrying around. I have absolutely no idea how, other than that it’s magic. I barely understand magic.” He frowned in thought. “Most of the other stuff actually appears right in my vision. It can get pretty annoying, especially since mine has a corrupted program or something. I get error messages every so often. Probably because I can’t find a system update for it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, this is actually the only three thousand model I’ve ever seen around Canterbury. Most of them are the older two thousand or one-point-five.” He snorted. “Either that, or the Canterbury Tech knock-off.”

“So what dae th’ older ones look like?”

“Hmm… they’re a bit harder to use. They’re set up a bit like the newer ones, but they don’t fit on your legs. Gotta stuck them in your pocket. It’s harder for non-unicorns to use them. Depending on how old they are, they might not even use the vision thingies.”

“Why dae ye know so much about them?”

“Uh… Well… A… friend of mine used to study them. He wanted to make more. Not sure why, there’s plenty to go around, if you know where to look.”

“Why doesn’t everypony have them…” Zeed asked in a monotone. I winced. It hurt to see her depressed like this.

“Most don’t really care enough to get one.” He looked back at her, then leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Is she okay? She looks pretty down.”

“Aam not sure, actually. Ah dunnae want tae push tae much, though.” I sighed. Zeed resumed humming. “Ah think the stress is gettin’ tae her.”

“Maybe we should stop for a-“ He stopped, and stared forward. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Shit… hostiles incoming. We need to hide.”

The three of us took refuge in a ruined building, barely rounding the corner in time to avoid being seen by some of the most intimidating ponies I’d ever seen. They were wearing armor that looked like it was made out of the most random junk possible. Some had auto-cart tires, some had pieces of old washing machines, one of them even had a chalkboard. They all shared the common theme of large bits of spiky metal sticking out from every available surface, and the fact that they were armed to the teeth.

Two unicorns were armed with large rifles, an earth pony had a large can on her back and a flaming hose attatched to a saddle, and another earth pony massive spikes on her hooves. Every single one of them looked incredibly pissed off as they approached the building we were hiding in.

One of the rifleponies shouted at the others, pointing at the structure across the street from us. “Hey, fuckheads! This one looks good. We’ll set up here. Spit, Shine, you two go check the area.”

The pony with hoof spikes and the other riflepony each nodded, and separated, each one entering a building and searching through it.

Raid swore under his breath as he watched them from the first-floor window. Zeed and I were both lying almost prone on opposite sides of the window.

“We have to get up higher. It looks like they’re being lazy and only checking the first couple floors of each-“

“No,” I hissed.

“What?”

“Aam not goin’ up.”

“What are you talking about? It’s the best option we got!”

“You two go upstairs. Ah’ll find someplace else tae hide.” I started to crawl away from the window, deeper into the building, but away from the nearby stairs.

“Are you crazy? They’ll find you! Just go up!” He took another loom out the window and swore again. “We have to go now! They’re almost here!”

“Aam afraid ay heights damnit!” I growled. I didn’t want to risk being near any open holes in the floor or something like that. If it was high enough I would start to panic.

He was taken aback, his jaw working up and down as he struggled to find a response. Eventually, he nodded and whispered, “Understood, then. I’ll try and keep you in sight. Stay safe.”

Admittedly, I was somewhat surprised by, though grateful for, his near-immediate acceptance of my condition. In the Prison, most ponies I’d had to tell assumed I was just being lazy. The result was that I was often ridiculed endlessly, the news spreading quickly. That is, until I had a particularly severe panic attack when somepony forced me out onto a ledge in one of the mining shafts.

It was refreshing, really, to know that somepony actually understood my problem the first time.

I managed to find a hiding place inside what was once a janitors closet, and magically held my electric baton at the ready. I was just in time too, peeking out through a hole in the glass window, I saw the hoofspike pony happily traipsing around, going into each room and, from the sounds I was hearing, singing as she trashed each one of them.

“A bucket of blood,

Thrown over the walls,

It’s just like a kick,

To a stallion’s balls!

I’ll haul you away,

All kicking and screaming,

I’ll rip out your lungs,

Make you wish you were dreaming!

Put your heart in a sock,

And-

“SPIT! Stop singing you stupid cunt!” Shouted the one I assumed to be the leader.

“Go to hell Stake! I can fuckin’ sing if I fuckin’ want you fuckin’ useless sack of fuckin’ shit!” She shrieked back. I had never heard that word used so many times in the same sentence before. “I swear to fuckin’ Celestia, if you fuckin’ yell at me again, you will never fuckin’ touch this flank again as long as you fuckin’ live!”

When she received no response, she merrily continued her work, until she came to my closet. I hurriedly locked it from the inside. Hopefully, she would ignore it and move on.

The handle jiggled.

It jiggled again, but harder.

A third time, now accompanied by several more uses of the word ‘fuck’.

There was a quiet giggle. The sounds of the lock being picked filled my ears. I mentally slapped myself for not thinking about that. I lived in a Prison for Celestia’s sake! I should know about shit like this!

The door swung open. As the mare let out a quiet cheer, she caught sight of me, and her expression of joy soured. I grinned and said, “Uh… Hi.”

“What the fu-“ Crack-fizzle!

She didn’t get the chance to cry out as I slammed my baton upwards into her chin, knocking her teeth together. She stumbled backwards quite a bit, as the shock went through her body, her muscles twitching slightly. She responded by driving a hoof into my own jaw.

I swung the baton back across her face, successfully hitting her in the temple. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious but dazed. I counted myself lucky that she hadn’t cried out.

Ripping off the heads of several mops, I shoved a mop head into her mouth to keep her quiet, then used one to bind her muzzle shut, and another to hogtie her. I then promptly stuffed her in the closet and closed the door, feeling satisfied with my victory.

I snuck back over to the entrance. The flaming hose pony and the leader, who was apparently called Stake, were still setting up their camp, flaming hose piling up a bunch of crap with a maniacal grin on his face. Stake was tapping a hoof on the ground impatiently, his rifle bobbing up and down in a field of blue magic. “Where the fuck is she?”

I took a quick look around in an attempt to spot Raid. He was sitting on the staircase with a curious expression.

I pantomimed hitting somepony on the head, and pointed back to my old hiding place.

He blinked in surprise, then nodded with a satisfied look.

I grinned and silently clapped my hooves together in mock childish glee.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to watching the other ponies, at which point his face fell. He then raised his hooves with a nervous laugh. “Hello.”

“Get out here asshole. Don’t try anything stupid.”

I took a peek outside to see Stake pointing the gun at Raid. I gave Raid a pained expression.

“Well… Uh… The funny thing is… I can’t. The stairs… crashed, and I can’t go down… Sorry…” He said with a grin. “Please don’t shoot me?”

Stake shot at him, the bullet taking a chunk out of the window frame. Raid ducked behind the wall, and readied his scatterguns. “Zipper, come on! We got an asshole over here!”

The stomping of rushing hooves was loud in my ears as I stood up and waited by the door. An impromptu plan forming in my head.

Stake and the flaming hose pony rounded the corner, and skidded to a stop when they saw me.

“Well hello there sexy.” I said with a very much fake smile.

Stake grinned back at me, and turned to his friend. “Check out this mare, eh? What are you doin’ here sweetheart?”

“Och, Aam just enjoyin’ th’ view. It’s a nice city.” I quickly started levitating my baton towards Flaming Hose, my horn glowing a nearly-imperceptible grey.

“Yeah, it is.” He ran his eyes up and down over me. “And you got a pretty eye to do it with too.”

“Aye, thank ye kindly. Och, but look at ye with yer head full ay eyeballs. Aam kind ay jealous, really.” The baton floated just behind Flaming’s skull.

“The fuck, does that mean?”

“It means that Aam goin’ tae beat yer head in.” I pulled it back a bit, to give it enough force.

Stake’s eyes narrowed angrily. “What the- Zipper? Burn this bitch!”

Zipper did not, in fact, ‘burn this bitch’. Instead, he collapsed to the floor writhing in pain as I delivered three quick strikes to the back of his head.

Seeing this, Stake took aim and fired several rounds, one of them hitting me in the gut.

I grunted in pain and stumbled back slightly.

I heard Zeed call out my name as several beams of red light struck the ground near Stake with a zorch. The sound of Raid’s scatterguns followed not a moment after, several pellets struck Stake’s horn, causing his magic to implode and launch his rifle a good distance away as he yelped in pain. I attempted to drive my baton into his skull, but missed as he dove to the side, spun around, and bucked me in the side, knocking the wind out of me and knocking me to the ground. There was a loud pop, and I felt a pain in my chest.

Raid fired several shots.

I watched as Stake’s head exploded in a shower of gore.

There was the sound of pounding hooves fading into the distance, as the fourth pony ran.

“Ye…” I stuttered. “Ye killed him. You… He…”

“Yeah. Sorry you had to see that.” He let out a defeated sigh, and gazed at me with an expression of sympathy. “At least it’s not as bad as some of the other ones can get.”

“Ye killed him…” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Zeed was at my side, examining my wound.

“Yeah.” He looked sad.

“Raid, I need two healing potions.” Zeed called out. She was once more in her ‘doctor mode’. Raid obliged, and Zeed poured the bottles onto my bullet wound.

I looked at the body of Stakes, then back to Raid as I furrowed my eyebrows. “Ye stupid bastard. We shoulda asked him what he was doin’ here.”

Raid’s expression changed instantly from one of sorrow, to one of shock. “What?”

“Come on! They might have been workin’ with somepony else. Ah’ve been in th’ wasteland for less than a week and Ah can figure that much out. You shoulda blown his legs off or somethin’, not killed him.”

He stood there gawking at me.

“And even if he wasn’t, what if he had a stash ay equipment nearby? Ah may not know much about weapons, but Ah know they’d probably sell fer quite a bit, especially if there’s things like those ironwolves runnin’ around.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Did ye even bother tae think about that? Oh, and they might be trying tae attack th’ city.”

“She’s got a point, Raid.” Zeed chimed in. “And money’s nice.”

He looked back and forth between us. “What the fuck kind of stable did you come from?”

“We already told ye, Prison. Not a fun place tae grow up.” I sighed. “We had th’ misfortune ay not only watchin’ th’ only execution in th’ last fifty years, but also The…”

My voice cracked as I swallowed. “The Leak… That was… that wasn’t…”

“The Leak was hell.” Zeed finished for me, nonchalantly. “Most of us still have scars. Mental and physical. And even without that, I was training to be a medic... You do not want to know some of the injuries I’ve had to help deal with.”

“Yeah… I also-” I began. Then Zeed jammed something into my chest. “AAGH! What th’ hell?”

“Med-x.” she shrugged. “You have a cracked rib, and I don’t have any syringes.”

Raid finally managed to stop looking at us like we’d turned into Celestia and Luna and eaten a sack of bagels, and smiled at us with a snort. “Well… At least you’re already somewhat prepared for the wasteland. Guess that might make it suck a bit less for you two.”

“Nae, it still pretty much sucks, so far.” I grinned. “Eye’ve lost mah eyeball, after all.”

Zeed punched me in the shoulder, hard enough to make me wince.

“Och, it wasn’t that bad.” I looked at the buck with the flaming hose and tank. “So, anyway, what dae we do with him? We also have a mare in th’ closet, too.”

“Hey! I came out years ago!” Zeed joked. I rolled my eyes.

“At least yer feelin’ better. Ah take it the adrenaline snapped ye out of it?”

As Zeed and I made smart-ass comment at each other, Raid retrieved Spit, the mare with hoofspikes, as well as several more mopheads with which to tie up Flaming Hose. Spit had passed out in the closet. Apparently she’d inhaled some cleaning chemicals. Flaming had started roaring and screaming at us the moment he recovered enough to speak, so we gagged him, not really wanting to hear his morbid threats.

Raid looked at me, shifting from hoof to hoof and biting his lip as if he was about to say something painful. “So… you’re afraid of heights?”

“Absolutely terrified,” I responded flatly. “I get horrible panic attacks and break down.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

I shook my head. “Ah’d rather ye didn’t. Ah dunnae like talkin’ about it.”

Raid started fiddling with his pipbuck. “Alright then. Whatever the reason we now have a problem.”

Zeed looked up from examining Spit, her eyes full of irritation. “Excuse me? Problem? What, you can’t stand it if someone has a phobia? Is it going to inconvenience you or something?”

He simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “I have a fear of mirrors, so, no. I don’t have a problem with phobias, and yes, it is going to be an inconvenience.”

He put out his hoof, showing us the pipbuck screen. He had the map displayed, with three colored lines highlighted on a not-very detailed map. “It’s inconvenient, because the fastest way to Bladesville is through the Ruins, which is basically a giant maze of broken skyscrapers. I doubt an acrophobic would enjoy that.”

I swore. Zeed’s ears and shoulders fell.

“But… There are two other ways to get there. Around or under. It’s your standard choice, really. Going around will take forever, but there’s less danger there. Going under will take us through the sewers, and they are most likely filled with an uncountable number of pre-war things and monstrosities, or infested with ghouls, or serving as a raider hole, etcetera. What do you two think?”

I thought for a moment. I figured that, while we were trying to reach our destination quickly, we wouldn’t help much if we were killed, so I made my choice. “Let’s take the long way.”

I was then met by a hoof hitting me in the back of the head. “Aagh! Zeed, why?”

“What is wrong with you? You. Never. Take. The. ‘Safe’. Way.” She struck me again with each word. I threw my hooves over my head to protect myself from the raging zebra. “The ‘long, safe way’ is never safe! Never!”

“What the hell are ye talkin’ about? What’s gotten intae ye this time?”

“I read comic books, that’s what. Trust me, it’s a bad idea. Especially with my luck. We’ll probably end up with an alien army that’s out to get us or something. We take the short route.” Having said her piece, she gave a single satisfied nod, and crossed her forelegs.

“Alright, fine. Let’s take the short way. At least we might get there- Aagh!” She hit me again. “Stop that.”

“Now you’re jinxing us! You stop it!”

“You’re both acting like foals.” Raid said with a calm demeanor as he turned to leave. “Feel free to catch up at any time.”

With a nervous and apologetic laugh, we followed after him. “What about those two idiots back there?

“Leave ‘em. Their friend’ll probably come back for them later.” He sighed. “It pains me to just leave somepony tied up in the middle of nowhere like that, but raiders don’t really deserve much sympathy.”

“Raiders?” Zeed asked with an incredulous look.

“Ponies who have given fully into the anarchy of the wasteland. They take what they want, kill who they want. They have no rules, no morals. Almost every single one is a murderous psychopath.” He sounded so sad.

“Sounds like a few ponies from th’ Prison.” I chortled.

He looked at me. “There’s hundreds of them. There’s tribes of them. They’re not fun to deal with. The only good thing about them is that they’re obvious, like our ‘friends’ over there. And you don’t want to know what they do to the ponies they capture.”

Our eyes met, his scarlet eyes and my singular silver one. We stood there for several moments. I could see what must have been years of sorrow in those eyes, most not related to raiders. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d been through.

As I realized that I was staring, I forced myself to look away, hiding a blush behind my hoof. “Well… Shouldn’t… should nae mess with them then…”

Smooth, Knives. Real smooth, there’s no way he didn’t notice that.

If he did, he made no indication of it, as he started walking once more.

“We should be at the sewers in about an hour. Come on.”

~~~~~~~

It burned
froze
shocked.
Her very thoughts shattering the inside of her skull.
She’d never experienced pain like this before.
Like her very being was torn

broken

sutured.
Why did she feel like this? She couldn’t remember.

“Hello, dear child. It is good to see that you survived. I beg your forgiveness for forcing this on you.”

The voice came from behind her. She could not place it.

in front of

inside

Another spike of pain.
S
h
e

s
c
r
e
a
m
e
d, her back arched.
Her legs were tied down to something. A gurney it was called.

“But, though you may not remember it, I did warn you of the pain. Of the suffering. Of what you must do. Of what must be done to you.”

She collapsed back on the gurney, panting, tears of pain streaming down her face. She tried to speak, but no words would come. fear

ecstasy
“I truly wish that I could have helped you. That I could have repaired you, but I’m afraid the damage was… overwhelming and irreparable. Again, I beg forgiveness.”

She wanted to... be free

escape

get away

surrender.
Her thoughts and body refused to function correctly.

“Do not worry, the pain will stop soon. But you must have patience. Your mind needed to be reconstructed. Fear not, though, for I used as many intact pieces as I could retrieve. Be thankful for this.”

She nodded, and closed her eyes.
She smiled.
The voice was right.
All would be well soon, and she could begin her task.

She would be release her kin.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (5)
Melee: 65
Repair: 50
Speech:20
Perks:
I’m right in front of you (lvl 1/3): With your invisible telekinesis, you’ve learned to sneak your weapons behind ponies, almost guaranteeing a sneak attack! Unless they see it, in which case they may start combat immediately. You can move your weapon independently of yourself, with an effective sneak skill of 30. (+10 per level)

~~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (4)
Energy Weapons: 50
Medicine: 60
Science: 42

Perks:
Educated: +2 Skill points per level.

~~~~~

Footnote 3: New ally: Raid (???)
Lvl 5
S: 6
P: 6
E: 7
C: 8
I: 6
A: 10
L: 4

Traits:
Gifted: You have more innate abilities than most, so you have not spent time honing your skills. +1 to all SPECIAL stats, -5 to all skills, and -3 to skill points per level.

Secondary traits:
???

Skills:
Guns: 50 (tag)
Speech:44 (tag)
Barter: 44 (tag)

Perks:
Filly Killer: In combat, you get +10% damage against the opposite sex. Outside of combat, you will sometimes get unique dialogue options when dealing with the opposite sex.

Awareness: You are given detailed information on your target’s equipment and health status. Enter S.A.T.S. to use.

Quick pockets: After a lot of practice, you’ve figured out the best places to store your equipment, now you can get at what you need in seconds! No more rifling through saddlebags for you! Cut the cost of all actions regarding your inventory in half.

Rapid Reload: You can reload your weapons 25% faster.

Intense Training: +1 to Endurance

~~~~~

(author’s note)

Hooray! Another 50% quality drop!

(Wait… I already had one… so... 0% quality? I think? Remarkable…)

Other than that… I really don’t have much to say for once… Odd… World must be ending.

Yay.

Toodles!

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Six: The Charge of Terror

Chapter Six: The Charge of Terror
“What the…? Did I just step in somethin’?”

I held the radio in my magic, the plastic box floating about two feet in the air.

I looked at it carefully, considering the best way to do this.

I looked and looked until finally…

I shrugged, and punted it into the wall.

It smashed open on contact, exploding into a shower of metal pieces. I grinned as I collected some of them, searching through for what I would need to repair the speakers in the jukebox I’d found a few days ago, and chucking the rest into an even larger pile in the corner of my room.

I’d found the jukebox when I was exploring one of the junk smashers, despite mom always telling me not to. It was almost completely intact, though it had already been gutted for parts, almost nothing was left inside but for a few records and the changing mechanism.

I opened up the back of it, and started fiddling. Twisting wires, soldering them on, the whole thing took about an hour, but I finally finished.

Grinning with anticipation, I closed it back up, attached it to the generator which I’d given similar treatment, and hit POWER.

I held my breath as I waited for a second.

The lights came on.

The record was put onto the needle by the mechanical arm.

I heard the amazing sounds of Elvis “The Prez” Parsley.

I cheered happily, my hard work had finally paid off. I’d finally fixed it.

“It works! It works! Wahoo!”

There was a small flash of light from behind me. That could only mean one thing.

I ran over to the full-length mirror in my bedroom, also scavenged and restored by me, and took a look at my flank.

A small cloud of dust, turning into a diamond.

I frowned.

“What the hay does that mean?” I thought for a moment. “Making cool stuff outa junk?”

It took all of three seconds for me to return to giggling with joy.

“Oh, who cares! Mom! Mom! I got my cutie mark!” I ran off to my mother’s room.

~~~~~~

“It’s a lot smaller than Ah imagined.” I remarked. “The ones in th’ Prison were bigger.”

“You would know. I never saw any,” Zeed observed

Raid was trying hard to keep himself from laughing. “I’ll bet you didn’t.”

I facehooved while Zeed chuckled and tossed her cigarette away.

The sewer entrance was little more than a small hole in the street covered in a heavy metal slab.

“Aren’t there supposed to be more of these around the city?” Zeed swept her hoof around to indicate the area in question.

“Should be, but leave it to Canterbury to not follow general construction guidelines.” He shrugged. “Or legal ones.”

After a few seconds passed, he frowned and added, “Or ethical ones.”

“Sounds like ye know from personal experience.” I muttered.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Ye don’t sound tae happy. Somethin’ happen tae ye?”

He sighed. “Either a very large number of somethings, or just one giant something. Your choice. Anyway, let’s see if we can get this hole open.”

“Maybe we can find another entrance?” Zeed ventured. “I mean, it’s not like this is the only path through, right?”

Raid stopped what he was doing. “Eh… Not really. This is the path I took last time. Actually, I think I might have put this here. Shame I forgot my crowbar at home.”

“How did you get through last time?” Zeed asked.

He grinned widely. “A friend of mine described it decently for me once. Avec ma bite et mon couteau. It means-”

Zeed laughed, then slapped her hooves over her mouth as her eyes widened. Both Raid and I gave her an odd look.

“What?” She squeaked.

“Vous savez Francheval?”

“Non! Non je n’ai jamais- I-I-I mean, no I don’t! Wait… No, I mean,” She clapped a hoof over her mouth again, laughing nervously. “I don’t speak Prench. I’ve never spoken Prench before in my life. I’ve never even heard of it. What’s Prench, some kind of toothpaste? Aheh…”

As I looked at her in confusion, Raid quirked an eyebrow. “Qu’est-ce qui ne va pas à parler Francheval?”

“Je ne parle pas Francheval!” She shouted. A second passed, and she blinked, making Raid chuckle and smirk. “Damnit, stop it! I hate that! Why the hell do you speak that goddess-awful tongue?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say awful. I mean sure, some of the Prench ponies I’ve met are incredibly rude, but that’s why they’ve-“ He stopped when he noticed her death glare of doom pointed right at him. “Eh… I travel a lot, I kinda have to. Why do you apparently hate it so much?”

She looked away in irritation. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Zeed, is this somethin’ tae dae with yer mother?” I ventured, a few memories of similar situations coming to mind.

She grumbled. “Of course it involves my mother. It always involves my mother.”

“I’m curious,” Raid pressed. “Why don’t you like speaking Prench?”

“The only reason I know it at all is because my mother fucking drilled it into my head on a daily basis, and she forced me to speak in Prench whenever we were alone,” she growled. “Most of those memories are not pleasant. Now, let’s pretend that this never happened, and move on with our miserable lives.”

When I saw Raid grin, I knew instantly where this was going to go. “Raid, don’t push it. Leave it be.”

“Oh, elle n’est pas sortir cette facilité.”

Zeed’s fur bristled, and her eye started twitching.

“Don’t mess wi’ her Raid. She will beat the living crap out ay ye.” I glanced at the infuriated zebra. Actually, infuriated was an understatement. Let’s go with enraged.

“Pfft, qui Zeed? Elle ne pouvait pas mal à une mouche.”

Zeed’s left hoof shot out and slammed into Raid’s eye, and he stumbled back several feet with a look of surprise. “Prenez un œil au beurre noir, connard! You wanna speak Prench? Fine! But don’t do it with me! Next time, lasers will be involved.”

With that and a triumphant nod, she trotted off and sat down on a ruined street corner. Raid was still staring at her in shock. His eye was already swelling.

“Ah told ye not tae mess wi’ her,” I said. “You got off lucky. Last time somepony tried that, they ended up with broken ribs.”

He suddered. “Good to know.”

“Also, just as a warnin’, she can hold a grudge. Ye might hear about this later. In extreme detail.”

He shuddered again. “So… Don’t piss off the zebra?”

I nodded. “Don’t piss off th’ zebra. And if you hear anything about her name? Don’t. Ever. Mention. It.”

“Her name?” He saw my serious expression. “Right. So… uh… Ponyhole cover… Let’s remove that. Can you magic it off?”

“Nae. Too heavy. If Ah can wedge somethin’ in there, Ah can probably get it out.”

“Well, like I said, I don’t have a crowbar or anything.”

There was a loud, echoing crash.

“I got it!” Zeed shouted cheerily from behind us. “Took a whole gem pack, though.”

I turned to see that she had managed to melt through the metal cover with her laser. She was grinning widely as she held the weapon in her mouth, the heated metal of the ponyhole cover already cooling off. Raid shivered.

“Okay, her mood swings are starting to creep me out,” He looked to me. “How the hell does she do that?”

“Ye get used tae them. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, I’ll check it out.” With that, he hopped through the hole and climbed down the ladder. Zeed and I stood a small distance away, waiting for him to call back up. It took several minutes, with much clanging of metal and the sounds of cursing as Raid apparently stumbled around in the dark. Eventually, a bright light burst forth from the sewer, accompanied by Raid calling out, “It’s clear! Mind the smell, though. It even drives me nuts, and I’m used to it.”

I jumped through as well, followed shortly by Zeed. We were in a fairly large tunnel, illuminated by large spotlights on poles, with a chugging generator in the corner. While one end of the tunnel was blocked by a large amount of rubble, one of the concrete walls were painted with the words:

Watch yourselves.
Enter at your own risk.

Raid was sitting in a small shack that had been constructed from corrugated metal inside the room, his pipbuck was making a rapid clocking sound. “We’re gonna need some Rad-Away when we get out of here.”

“Wow,” Zeed marveled. “This place is… Oh sweet Luna, I think I’m gonna puke.”

She did. Several times.

“Goddesses, is it really that bad?” I asked.

She nodded, then threw up again.

Walking out of the shack, Raid gave me a confused look. I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“She’s here puking her guts out and you’re just fine. Why?”

“No sense ay smell.” I shrugged. “Good fer me Ah guess. Ye goin’ tae be alright, Zeed?”

She groaned. “Uh-huh. Just… Just give me a minute.”

“How’d you end up with no sense of smell?” Raid asked.

“Head injury as a filly. Can’t even remember it.” I said simply as I helped Zeed stand back up, though she still looked a bit green. “Shall we away?”

As we traveled down through the sewer, our hoofsteps echoed eerily off the walls, and the sound of dripping water was everywhere, the sewer’s fluids coming up to our knees. The light had vanished not soon after we left the entry area. Within minutes, the only light around us was from Raid’s pipbuck, and we travelled for three hours. He was in front, while Zeed trudged on between us, the air in the sewer still making her feel ill, as she let out a tired groan every so often.

“It’s too damn quiet down here.” Raid muttered.

“What, the lack ay action getting’ tae ye?” I snarked.

“Yes and no. Usually these places are filled with some sort of creature. Ghouls, mostly, but there are occasionally swarms of radroaches. I even found an ironwolf once. This is too clean,” he hrrmed. “There’s nothing in here. Granted, this isn’t the worst sewer there is. New Tartarus’ sewer is full of corpses, and it’s still being used as a sewer.”

Under his breath he muttered, “Figures one of the few places with working plumbing would be a slaver base.”

“New Tartarus? Slavers?”

“I’ll explain later, when we get the hell out of here. Just, trust me on this. Anyway, we should probably-“

He was interrupted by a loud, inequine, but vaguely familiar screech from the far end of the tunnel.

Raid sighed audibly. “Of course. Why would I expect anything different? Okay, we need to get back out.”

There was another screech, making him wince. “Preferably now.”

“What is it?” I asked. “Those ghoul things ye were talking about?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, I wish it was ghouls. Nope. That’s not enough for the wasteland. No, not at all.”

That screeching noise was closer this time.

He moaned unhappily, the sound turning into a sob near the end. “Oh dear Celestia, please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong.”

I heard the splashing of… something in the sewer water. I could now hear heavy breathing between those occasional screeches. I could also hear Raid gulp loudly. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. I think it knows we’re here.”

The splashing and breathing came closer.

“Raid, what is it?” I asked in a whisper.

“Just move very slowly to the wall, and stay still. Don’t move a muscle, and no matter what you see, don’t make a sound.” He hissed back, clearly terrified. “It might go past us.”

The three of us clung together against the wall for what felt like hours as the noises ever so slowly approached. All the while the water continued to drip in the background.

The splashing almost sounded like hoofsteps, though staggered and uneven. I could almost hear words in that heavy breathing.

But those screeches started to bring chills to my bones.

The splashing came closer.

And closer.

Then it stopped.

The three of us held our collective breath.

I could hear the thing breathing near the opposite wall, the water gently sloshing around it’s… Hooves? Body? I wasn’t sure, being unable to see it in the darkness. All I could make out was a vaguely ponyish blob.

I heard a strange, wet, slithering sound, and say the blob-thing shift.

Suddenly, the area was bathed in a sickly green light.

I very nearly screamed right there.

It had a body that almost looked like a ponies’, but with the legs in the wrong places, sticking outwards instead of downwards, with an extra leg out near the front. Its body was covered in massive pustules and growths, its puke green coat had massive patches of darkly colored, pulsating flesh exposed. The tail was a long, tentacle-like thing of dark red flesh that split off numerous times.

Its head almost looked like that of a pony too, but for the thin tendrils that seemed to sprout from the back of its head… and its ears… and its mouth... and its eyes… several of the ones attached to the head were emitting the light, and were held up in the air by this thing, while the rest of the tendrils lashed around swiftly, as if trying to grasp onto anything near it, but only managing to flail endlessly. Two more tentacles from its eye sockets swiveled around, as if it was looking at something, but they seemed to have been damaged, as they were flayed at the ends.

Raid relaxed visibly. While I was too scared to move, I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He shifted slightly, reaching for something in his pockets, making as little noise as he could.

He touched my shoulder to get my attention.

I tore my eyes from the monstrosity to find that Zeed was holding her hooves tightly over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror and streaming with tears. I wondered if that was how I looked. Raid was holding something in his mouth, motioning for me to take it in my magic.

It was a bottlecap. He motioned for me to throw it. I did.

It plinked off a wall somewhere in the direction we came from.

The pony-thing responded immediately.

All of its tendrils pointed straight towards the sound as it emitted another screech, and seemed to suddenly sprout needles on the ends. It retracted its green glowing tentacles.

It galloped towards the sound, screeching all the while.

Raid started pulling us, hissing, “Move, damnit, move!”

I pushed Zeed forward, her still being in shock. Our splashing was covered by whatever the pony-thing was doing. We ran as quickly as we could through the darkness, until we saw a bright white light on one side of the tunnel.

It was small room, a closet off to the side of the sewers. It had probably been used for maintenance or something.

I slumped against the wall, suddenly feeling very tired. Zeed stood in the middle of the room, still with that look of horror on her face, her breathing ragged, her eyes shut tight. I think she was trying to calm herself down, or keep herself from screaming. Maybe it was both.

Raid began to search the small shack. It was a single room, with multiple shelves piled with all kinds of junk. The floor was littered with empty packages and tin cans, as well as old syringes and bottles of rad-away. “Damnit! No ammo, no food, no goddess-damned potions, nothing! “

“What was that thing, Raid,” I asked, my voice shaking.

He didn’t hear me, continuing his rant about the lack of supplies.

“RAID!” He jumped at the sound of my shout. “What was that thing?”

He turned to look at me. He was covered in dried sweat, his back was covered in small peach-colored splotches. He had adjusted his fedora so that his entire mane was held under it. “It’s… They’re called…”

He dropped to his haunches, sighing. “Nopony knows. We have very little information about them. Rangers, Enclave,” he growled and glared at nothing in particular. “Spectrum, what have you, nopony knows what those damn things are. Most of us just call them ‘gorgons’. There’s rumors that they’re a mutated species of pony, but I’m not too sure about that. We got lucky. That one was blind.”

We sat in silence for a while. Zeed was still standing there, but her breathing had returned to normal. I hoped deeply that she would be alright. I don’t think I could stand to lose my closest friend.

“Where are we?”

“About a quarter of the way in,” he said as he consulted the pipbuck. “There should only be one of those things. They’re territorial. Kill any other gorgons who try and invade.”

“Ah thought ye said ye didn’t know anything about-“

“I said we know very little about them. And even then, this is really the only thing that helps. ‘If there’s one, then there’s only one.’” He snapped back before I could finish my sentence. “That, and the fact that they will eat any living thing they can get their tentacles on.”

We fell into silence again.

“I’m sorry.” He said eventually.

“Fer what?”

“For getting mad. I’ve had some bad experiences with them. I almost got killed by one as a colt,” He sighed and held his head in a hoof. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with them again.”

“You’re scared of them, then?” I asked, trying not to be mean about it.

“I’m not scared, just… just… ah who am I kidding. I’m fucking terrified of them. I almost lost a wing to one, after all.”

“Lost a what?”

“Leg. I almost lost a leg,” he replied a bit too quickly as he adjusted his jacket.

I jumped when Zeed spoke. “Can it hear us from where it is?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s most likely too stupid to come back this way. I’ve seen them ‘patrolling’ on occasion.”

I looked at her, her eyes were open now, and she was staring at nothing in particular. She usually only did this when she was in very deep thought. “Zeed, what are ye thinkin’?”

She didn’t answer. I poked her in the side, apparently distracting her, as she blinked a few times and said, “Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just… interesting.” She shrugged.

“That’s not th’ word Ah would use fer it.”

“That’s ‘cuz you’re not a sci-fi nerd.” She grinned widely. “I kinda want to capture one.”

Both Raid and I gaped at her.

“What? C’mon, it’s bio-freaking-luminescent! That’s awesome! How the fuck does a pony, even a mutant, get that?” then she started babbling. “How did it get those tentacles? Is it really just a mutant? Was it the radiation that triggered it? Can they think? Talk? Read? Write? Can they do magic, do they have unicorns, can-“

“Okay, stop right there. Just regular gorgons are bad enough,” Raid interrupted. “I really don’t want to imagine those things having magic.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, how did it end up with a fifth leg? Do they all have that?”

“Only if they’re male!” I fell over laughing at my comment, though it wasn’t that funny. I was joined by Raid, and not soon after, Zeed.

Then there was another screech, and our laughter immediately stopped.

Raid shuddered. “Maybe we should get going?”

“Aye. Ah think that might be th’ best idea.”

We waded carefully and as silently as we could through the sewers water once again, Raid shining his pipbuck light in front of us, though it did little good, considering the widening tunnel. He kept looking behind us, as if he expected the gorgon to attack at any time.

Wherever it was, it shrieked several more times, making Raid jump at every noise.

“I wish it would at least shut the fuck up! It’s annoying,” he hissed after the umpteenth time.

“Why dae they make ye so nervous?” I had to ask.

“I already told you, I almost lost a w-limb to them. And even if I didn’t, they’re fucking creepy. I find it hard to maintain my sarcastic demeanor when they’re around.” He swept the light over a shadow that seemed to move in front of us.

I snickered. The gorgon shrieked again.

Wait…

Was it getting closer?

“Raid, did ye-“

“Yeah. We need to move.”

I heard splashing. Turning back, the gorgon had its glowing tendrils out again, odd considering that it was blind.

“Are there any other closets around here?” Zeed asked.

“I don’t know, just run!” he started pushing both of us down the tunnel. “Go, go go!”

He swore as the gorgon slammed into his back, knocking him into the sludge. He bellowed in pain. They wrestled, the gorgon writhing in the water as it tried to either pierce flesh with its needle-tendrils or wrap them around limbs, and Raid simply trying to get the thing into position where he could shoot it.

I pulled out my baton as Zeed let loose a barrage of magical lasers. The thing screeched as the bolts burned into its skin, leaving several burn marks.

When my baton contacted its fifth leg, the gorgon shrieked and sent its tendrils flailing wildly. Its tail thrashed violently in the water as it tried to recover from the electric shock.

Raid stood up and shouted. ”Run! Just fucking run! We can’t kill it with this crap!”

So we turned and ran, splashing once again through the pitch black sewer, no light other than Raid’s light and the gorgon’s glow.

Several times Zeed fired another barrage at it, making it screech again with each hit, slowing it down ever so slightly, yet it continued after us.

We could only run, and run, and run.

We ran into a door, a large metal one, closed and locked.

“Shit! Why? Why now?” Raid whinnied in panic.

“Didn’t ye say that ye came through here last time?”

“Yes! I didn’t know it would close automatically!”

“Zeed, can ye get it open?” She was fiddling with the lockcontrols, a terminal on the side of the door.

“Cant… get… it… Gaaagh! Luna rape me ‘till oblivion! Who the fuck locks a sewer!”

Something grabbed my leg.

“KNIVES!” Raid screamed as I was dragged into the darkness.

I flailed the baton around wildly, wishing that my horn would actually glow for once, just so I could see.

As I was pulled… wherever, my head became submerged several times due to my struggling.

Then I was slammed into a wall, dropping my weapon in the water.

I was met once again with the gorgon’s glowing tentacles as it held me against the wall, several of its tendrils wrapping themselves around my throat, several more around my limbs.

I struggled to get free, the tendrils tightening around me with every move.

I was starting to get dizzy.

Slowly, ever so slowly, it brought its face up to mine, some of the tendrils on its head extending the needles within, the larger tentacle from its eye sockets twitching in tandem, as if it was trying to look at me.

I felt pain in my left foreleg and hind leg, though whether they were broken or not, I couldn’t tell. I tried to scream past the tendrils around my throat, but I made no sound, and was quickly running out of breath.

Then it grinned at me, the few teeth it had coming together as its lips lulled back around the things sticking out.

Terrified, I stopped my struggling as I gaped at it.

Then half of its face exploded in a shower of reddish goo as multiple gunshots echoed through the tunnel.

Its response was to dislocate my right foreleg, and slam me into the wall again, where I slumped into the water, in too much pain to even move.

In the gorgon’s light, I saw Raid tackle it, his face filled with rage as he rolled away and fired several more shells into the creature’s body.

I struggled to get up, screaming with the pain of putting pressure on my limbs as I desperately began to search for the baton.

Zeed’s fire bathed the tunnel in a flickering red glow, while Raid essentially poured lead into it.

My leg started twitching as I stepped on the baton, but I found it. I levitated it out of the water, to find that it was surprisingly still functioning, despite the water.

The gorgon slammed into me again, lashing out at me with its needles, puncturing my flesh several times. I returned the favor by shoving the baton down its throat, causing it to twitch violently.

As it writhed in the water, shrieking in pain, the three of us continued our assault on it, Raid and Zeed each only stopping their barrage of gun and laser fire to reload, while I just continuously smashed away at it.

After several more seconds of brutal punishment, the gorgon’s twitching finally stopped, as did our attacks, and we were left standing in the dirty water, panting and tired.

I whimpered as I limped back over to the wall, and just lay against it, only putting enough weight on my limbs to make sure my head stayed above the water.

“Kn… Knives… are… guh… are you… haah… okay?” Zeed managed to get out between panicked breaths.

“Legs hurt. I think they’re broken.” I said through painful tears. “Still alive, though.”

Raid swept the light around, searching for something. “There’s a dry patch over here. Can you walk?”

I forced myself to my hooves, and slowly made my way over to the area, Zeed helping me to stay up.

I collapsed back to the ground, falling on a pile of garbage that had piled up over nearly two centuries.

Raid began searching through his bags as Zeed checked my legs.

“Sweet Luna, this’ll take months to heal…” She said, her voice choked with tears.

“No it won’t, hold this.”

I screamed as something was jammed into my side. Suddenly, it felt like my body was on fire, and I ended up screaming even more. It felt like my flesh was being torn apart, and my bones were being sown back together with a chainsaw and a steel cable. My dislocated shoulder popped back into place with a loud snap. My empty right eye socket started itching like crazy, and the back of my head hurt.

It felt like hours by the time it finished, but when it did, I became aware of Zeed and Raid shouting at each other.

“How the fuck do you know she doesn’t have allergies?” Zeed yelled.

“Does she have any?”

“That’s not the point! You don’t know what kind of reaction she would have had.” She stomped her hoof. “What if it killed her?”

“It’s magical! It’s no more dangerous than a healing potion, it just hurts like hell!”

I realized that the back of my head was now sore, as were my limbs. Experimentally, I tried to stand, and was delighted to find that there was no pain. “Zeed…”

“Some ponies can’t take potions, you know! That’s why we still need regular medical procedures, because sometimes, it’s all we can do!”

“Look, she’s fine! She’s standing up right now!”

“That’s not my fucking point, you Luna-damned halfwit! You-“

With a forehoof, I splashed some sewer water into her face. “Zeed, calm down, Aam fine. Just a little sore, is all.”

Apparently, she got some in her mouth, as she was acting as though trying to spit something out, taking a bottle of good water and spitting it out.

“Sorry… wasn’t aimin’ at yer- OW, OW, OW, OW!” I was interrupted by a sharp pain in my head. “Fuck, that hurts!”

Zeed quickly shifted back into her ‘doctor mode’. “What’s wrong? Is it your eye?”

“Grn… My… head… can’t… I can’t…” I stumbled, suddenly losing my balance. “I think…”

I threw up, what little food I’d had now on the ground.

Raid was trying to help me stay up, while Zeed was trying to say something to me, but I couldn’t make out the words. I puked again and collapsed to the ground.

A thought entered my head. Why is the wasteland so intent of making me lose my lunch?

That’s when I passed out.

~~~~~~~

The pink mare’s eyes fluttered open.

She was sitting in a room, empty but for the orange mists swirling within, and an open door leading to a hallway.

She smiled.

What was her name?

She stood, and took a step forward. The sound of her hooves striking the metal floor echoed.

Straining her ears, she heard the screaming and crying of thousands of…

Were they her kin?

Of course they were.

She smiled, knowing the meaning behind the sounds, if not the meaning of the individual cries.

What worth did the words have, anyway?

“My name is… is…” She frowned.

Her name was Clothesline, wasn’t it? Yes, yes it was. Why didn’t it feel like her name, though?

It used to be, but now it doesn’t fit.

She said her thoughts aloud as she moved through the halls.

“How can that not be my name?” She looked at her flank. Three shotgun shells. Her favorite weapon, even now the thought of the kick in her magical grip brought a smile to her face. “No, that’s right. I’m not me anymore. I have a task to perform.”

She sighed. She would miss her old self, despite the many flaws she could now see within herself.

But they weren’t truly hers.

All her memories were there, but they weren’t hers. She just… had them.

“I’m changed so much. I need something just as different.” Strangely, her mind felt clear. The other’s had their minds muddled, warped, confused. Perhaps hers was too, but if it was she felt no indication of such. “What should I call myself?”

She cheerily went through the possibilities.

“Scatter? No, that’s just silly. Punch? Why would I call myself that? It’s probably taken anyway. Blitz? No, I’m not sure I like that.”

A thought struck her.

“Could that work?” she stopped to put a hoof to her chin in thought. “It’s so simple, and that’s nice, but it isn’t really a very nice thing. Am I really that bad?…”

Her voice trailed off as she stared into the mist-filled corridors.

“I did kill Knives. I guess it’s only fair that I use it. It’s what I am after all.”

She smiled.

“Wretch. My name is Wretch.”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (6)
Repair: 63

Perks:
Quick Recovery: Wow, you can get back up from anything! Literally! Any time you are knocked down, it only takes 1 action point to stand back up.

~~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (5)
Energy Weapons: 57
Medicine: 70

Perks:
Healer: Any time you make use of the medicine skill, the effect of the drug or potion is increased by 10%.

~~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (6)
Guns: 60

Perks:
Shotgun surgeon: I need a 12 gauge shell in his gut, stat! When using any shotgun or shotgun-like weapon, you ignore and additional 10 points of armor threshold.

(Author’s note)

Scary chapter is scary.

Like a bowl of pudding, jiggling by itself in a dark room.

when no-one is around... Ooooooooh. Spooky.

I will now invoke Godwin’s Law.

Good day.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Eight: Robbin' And Rollin'

Chapter Eight: Robbin’ And Rollin’
“When I was five, my uncle was decapitated by a watermelon.”

The cafeteria was, as usual, uncomfortably warm. This wasn’t even the public cafeteria, this was the one reserved for students in the Section Three classes, yet the smallness combined with the number of ponies here made it hot and stuffy. I had my head resting on one of the many tables, trying to get as much sleep as I possibly could, when I heard somepony call my name.

“Zeed! There you are!” Ashes said as she happily trotted over to my table, giving me a kiss on the muzzle. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

With a yawn I sat up, and propped my head up on a forehoof as I quirked an eyebrow at my marefriend. “What’s got you so excited?”

She blinked at me. “You don’t know what day it is?”

I shook my head.

She grinned, and gave me a kiss. “It’s your birthday. So much for your eidetic memory.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her last comment. “Okay, so why are you so happy?”

She reached in her saddlebag. “’Cuz I got you this!”

My jaw dropped as she pulled out a small bouquet of fennel flowers, which was my absolute top favorite flower, and inconveniently, the most difficult one to get in the Prison. “How… how did you…”

She kissed me again, and smirked. “I figured you’d like ‘em. Happy fifteenth, Zeed.”

I smiled as I popped one of the flowers into my mouth and savored the sweet and slightly salty flavor. “Oh, sweet Luna, these are amazing. Seriously Ashes, how did you get these?”

She smiled at me. “A buck down in Section Seven owed me a favor.”

Popping another flower into my mouth, I hugged her tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you."

“Glad you like ‘em.”

“Want any?”

She gave me a sultry grin. “No, but I think I could probably taste them on your lips, anyway.”

I blushed brightly as I swallowed.

“Well, Ah did not need tae hear that.”

I turned to see Knives trotting up with a small bag levitating beside her. “Uh… Hi Knives. Aheh…”

She levitated the bag over to me, grinning widely. I opened it, and squee’d when I saw a copy of Doctor Whooves Versus the Space Pirates.

I took the two ponies next to me and hugged them both. “Thanks you guys! You’re the best!”

~~~~

I awoke feeling refreshed and clear-headed, which was odd, considering that I’d gone to sleep on a pile of rubble. Looking around as I stretched out my legs and adjusted my lab coat and shades, I saw Knives sleeping in a corner, while Raid was standing guard just outside the building we were in, carefully scanning the city ruins with his eyes.

Slowly, and with the kind of mischievous grin that always seemed to make Knives nervous, I snuck up behind him.

He didn’t notice as I carefully and silently moved my head just behind his ear, holding my breath.

He did, however, notice when I shouted ‘Boo’ at him. He noticed so well, in fact, that he jumped several feet in the air.

This caused me to fall over laughing.

“Goddesses, Zeed, you trying to give me a heart attack?” He chuckled.

“Nah. I just wanted to see what you’d do.” I grinned. Searching through one of my pockets, I pulled out a cig and lit it. He returned to his watch-pony duty with a smirk. “Anything interesting?”

“Well… I did see a couple of giant mushrooms tap-dancing.” He said as-a-matter-of-factly. “Oh! And the building on the other side of the street was talking to me. Apparently it wants my soul.”

“So… not much?”

“Nada.” He shook his head. “And I am fucking glad for that.”

“What do you mean?” I puffed out some smoke.

“Well… considering that the sewer had a gorgon in it, it’s changed over the years. Thusly, this part of the city has changed over the years.” He sighed. “So, there’s probably something dangerous lurking in the shadows, just waiting for me to turn my back.”

“Isn’t that how it always works?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Eeyup.”

I sighed, and made another smoke ring.

“So… what are we doing today?”

Raid took a look at his pipbuck. “We still got a ways to go. ‘Bout another half a day, I think?”

“Hmmm… what if we don’t find my dad? Should we just ask around?”

“Probably, but I doubt that a traveling zebra is easy to miss.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because most tend to stay in one place. Even after nearly two centuries, everypony still seems to think ‘the zebras are plotting to kill us all!’” He sighed. “So they just end up staying in one town where ponies know them.”

We were both silent for a moment.

“Go get some rest,” I said cheerfully. “I’ll take watch.”

“You’ve only been asleep for five hours…”

I smiled at him. “True, but I’m already awake, so there’s no point trying to go back to sleep right now. I’ll be fine, just get some rest.”

With a shrug, he retreated back into the building.

I just sat and admired the cloudy night sky.

…

It was immensely boring.

Even that vague feeling of vertigo that I thought had passed days ago wasn’t enough to make it interesting.

With a frown and a sigh, I proceeded to repeatedly and deliberately bonk my head on the nearest door jamb.

I’d been doing this for several minutes when I heard something moving outside.

Drawing my laser, I slowly moved past the door to check.

I didn’t see anything, but the sound came again, further away this time.

Reminding myself of the many ways in which I was being stupid, but desperate to kill the boredom, I followed the sound.

Is that… a foal?

The sound was coming from the other side of a pile of rubble. Cautiously, and as sneakily as I could manage, I climbed to the top of the pile and peered over it.

A baby carriage was just… sitting there… in the middle of the empty city, its occupant crying out for its parents.

Of course, that’s what it looked like. I could only assume that it was some kind of lure for a trap, considering that… well… who would just leave a foal in the middle of nowhere?

I considered for a moment. Should I check and see if it was actually a foal in need of help, or should I tell Knives and Raid about it?

Just as I decided to go back and alert my two friends, I heard the click of a revolver behind me.

“Alright now misseh, don’t you go movin’ on me. Ah’ve got this here gun aimed right at the back o’ yer pretty little head, in case ya didn’t notice,” said a female voice with a heavy drawl. “So unless you want yer brain splattered across the ground, yer gonna stay nice and quiet-like.”

“Awww, you think I’m pretty.” I smirked nervously, trying to hide my terror. “Sorry, but I make it a point to not date ponies who’ve pointed guns at me.”

I could almost hear the mare behind me blush. “What in tar- Ah ain’t hittin’ on you, ya striped numbskull, Ah’m robbin’ ya!”

“Why? I don’t have anything on me.”

She growled in frustration. “Just hoof over yer dang caps, ya idjit!”

“I repeat: None. On. Me.” I thought for a moment. “I got smokes… Want one?”

“No Ah don’t want yer damn smokes! What in tarnation is wrong wit’ ya?”

“Well… I’m a chronic insomniac and I’m emotionally unstable for starters…”

“Whu- What are you talking…” She sighed. “Will you at least shut yer damn foal up?”

I frowned. “It’s not my foal. I thought it was yours?”

“Mah foal is back at home.”

We were silent for a moment.

“Ya really don’t got nothin’, do ya…”

“’Fraid not.”

Another moment of silence.

The gun clicked again, and the mare stepped in front of me. “Sorry ‘bout that. Ah’m just… Well… Ah’m kinda at mah wit’s end. Ah’m completely broke.

She smiled nervously and held out a hoof. “Name’s Bonnet.”

I took her hoof and shook. “Zeed.”

“So… Uh… What’re ya doin’ ‘round these parts?”

“Looking for my dad in bladesville.” I frowned. “Shouldm’t we do something about the foal?”

“Like what? Ah already got another mouth ta feed.”

“Fine. I’ll get my friends and we’ll deal with it.” I moved over to the carriage. “This is just wrong.”

“Well, excuse me. Ah’m sorry Ah don’t gotcher sense o’ morals.”

“Well maybe you should get some.”

I made my way to the front of the carriage and stared down into it. “Well hello there, who are… Oh fu-“

The carriage, which was apparently filled with mines as opposed to foals, exploded, launching me back into a pile of rubble. I felt my head crack on something, and my vision was filled with stars, while the rest of my body just became a dull ache, the pain overpowered by a surge of adrenaline.

“Oh sweet Celestia!” Bonnet cried out, running over to me. “Ya alright?”

That ringing in my ears was annoying.

There was the sound of a stallion laughing behind me. “That’s fucking hilarious! It took forever, bUt I can’t believe somepony Actually fell for that again! It just gets fuNnier every single time!”

“Who the buck ‘r you?” Bonnet shouted.

“D0esn’t matter. Shut up and let me have my fun.” There was a gunshot, and Bonnet fell, clutching at her gut. The stallion laughed again.

As I slowly regained my senses, I heard him trotting up, humming an eerie tune as he did.

I made an attempt to stand, but my legs wouldn’t seem to cooperate with me.

The buck’s face appeared in my vision. An off-white unicorn with a grey mane, blue eyes flecked with reds specks. The most disturbing thing, however, was the cutie mark of a pair of hoofcuffs.

“Ooo0h, this is interEsting.” He grinned. “It’s been a while sInce I’ve caught a zEbra.”

I managed to get my hooves under enough control that I could drive them into his skull, sending him reeling backwards as I tried to stand. I only managed to stumble a bit further away.

“FUck1ng cunt! I’ll gut you like the worthless pig y0u are!” He snarled.

I desperately began to search for my gun, scrambling to get away from the psychopath.

He stomped after me, his eyes filled with rage.

There! Only a few steps away.

I started to make a dash towards the weapon, but only felt a yank on my tail as he grabbed it with his magic. “YoU’re not going anYwhere!”

“Like hell I’m not!” I grunted as my hooves were dragged across the asphalt.

I just needed to get loose…

“C’mere!” His lips curled into a smile.

Think, think, think… How can I get him off me? An idea popped into my head. That might work…

I let his magic drag me to him, rolling onto my back as I did.

With a wide grin, he reared up over me, preparing to slam his hooves down onto my head.

I took the opportunity to drive my back hooves into his gut. It didn’t knock the wind out of him like I’d hoped, but he lost his balance and fell to the side.

I scrambled back to my hooves and practically threw myself at the laser.

Successfully grabbing it with my mouth, I leveled it at him, panting heavily.

Grunting, he stood up, one hoof hovering over his stomach. “Huh, m0m was right. I really shouldn’T play with my fo0d.”

Before I could even react, his gun floated out, enveloped in his crimson glow.

He smirked. “You don’t wanna Fuck with me, you piece of shit. I’m faster than you, and that little flashlight of yours won’t do enough to kill me.”

There was a disturbing glint in his eyes.

“S0, think you wanna risk it?”

I considered carefully what I would do next.

I really didn’t want to kill him. I couldn’t stand injuring other ponies, I’m a medic, I’m not supposed to do that. I mean, I'll hit them, but I don't like doing any real damage. Sadly, I didn’t have much choice at the moment, so I really only had two choices.

On one hoof, I could shoot at his horn, hope that the pain made him drop the gun, and then fire away at him until he stops, or I could just fire away at him until he gives up, and hope that he misses when he shoots, though I could probably deal with any wounds that don’t kill me.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to make that decision myself, as a shot rang out, and the madpony was peppered with shotgun pellets. As he screamed in pain, his magic imploded, and the gun went flying into the rubble.

Then Knives tackled him. The two wrestled in a flurry of hooves and electric shocks as Knives repeatedly slammed her baton into him as he let out bursts of psychotic laughter.

“Zeed!” I heard Raid call. “You alright?”

“Scared shitless. Think I might have a concussion.” I shrugged. “Other than that, I’m fine.”

“Good. When this is over, Knives and I are going to berate you about the many things you’ve done wrong.” He said with a smirk.

“Stay down ye buckin’ piece ay shit!” Knives screamed. “How many times dae Ah have tae hit ye before ye stay unconscious?”

He just laughed, trying to bite her as a last resort.

She drove the baton into his skull, again and again, until there was a snapping sound.

Her currently mismatched eyes wide with surprise, she pulled the baton away to see that the end had broken off, leaving little more than a sparking nub. The now heavily beaten buck went limp.

“Aw…” She whined. “Ah was startin’ tae like this thing.”

The danger over, I rushed over to Bonnet, who had curled up where she fell, sobbing gently.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, you’ll be fine. It’s just a gut wound.”

“Whaddaya mean ‘Ah’ll be fine’? Ah just got shot, dammit! Ah’m gonna die!” She sobbed. “Oh dear Celstia, what’ll happen ta Cricket?”

“I took three bullets to that area once, and I’m was just fine.” I said with a deadpan expression. “It’ll only kill you if you’re stupid enough to just let it bleed, or get infected. Knives, can you get my stuff please?”

As Knives ran off to get my medical kit, Bonnet’s eyes widened as she stared at me with a combination of confusion and fear. “Wha-what are ya gonna do?”

“Treat the wound. Duh.” I snorted.

“But… Ah don’t got any potions on me… or any bits ta buy-“

I gave her a light smack on the head. “Trust me.”

Knives plopped the kit, a small brown bag of tools, smirking as she did so. This caused Bonnet’s eyes to widen even further.

Before she could start saying anything, I jabbed her with a shot of med-x, making her yelp in surprise. Once I was sure that it had taken effect, I pulled out a pair of mouth-held tweezers, and dug into the wound, yanking out the bullet, fortunately in a single piece. Finally, I took one of the many potions I’d put into syringes and jabbed that into the flesh near the wound, and watched as the magic took hold, the wound stitching itself together before our eyes.

She gave me a grateful smile.

“Good,” I said, a smile growing on my own face as well. “Now that that’s done…”

I drove my hoof into her muzzle. “What the fuck are you trying to rob me for?”

Knives’ nostrils flared. “She tried tae rob ye? Och, well now Ah regret savin’ her.”

Bonnet shuffled away, still on her back and now holding a bloody nose. Raid, who was standing on top of the rubble pile, watching us with interest and keeping an eye on the other stallion, raised his eyebrow curiously.

“Ah’m sorry!” She cried. “The Boss is demandin’ more money from us, and mah husband just can’t make enough! Please don’t kill me, Ah have a foal!”

I blinked, trying to figure out what the hell was going on in her head. “Do you really think I’m gonna kill you? I just healed you!”

“Then…” She sniffed. “Then why did you hit me…”

I shrugged. “I was in a perfectly good mood before you came along. Granted, I was bored out of my mind, but a good mood is a good mood, and you ruined it.”

“But… well.. he’s…” she pointed behind me. “He looks like he’s about to… uh…”

“Raid just fought the nutcase, what are you…” I quirked an eyebrow at her, then I realized that she was pointing at Knives, whose slitted eye was twitching with irritation. “Oh. She’s just easily pissed off, especially when you call her a colt. So… don’t do that.”

Bonnet whimpered, and tried to avoid the mare’s mismatched gaze.

Raid chuckled as he stepped down from the rubble pile. “Heh. I didn’t think you’d just let her live. Most ponies would just kill her out of spite.”

“Yes, well… I’m not most ponies.” I grinned. “I’m a zebra, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Speaking of…” I put a hoof to my chin in thought. “Hey, Bonnet… I don’t suppose you’ve met a zebra named Nezan, have you?”

“Y-yeah. He comes up every so often, trading all kinds o’ things.” She stammered. “Ah know his wife. They’re pretty nice pon… eh… people… but he’s a bit… odd. Keept talkin’ about Luna a lot.”

“Yup. That’s my dad.” I grinned, trying to ignore that irritating word she just used. “Know where he is?”

“He came into Bladesville yesterday, but… the Bone Eaters attacked shortly after. We still don’t know who was taken…” She cringed.

My eye twitched.

My dad came to the town… and it was attacked… and he might not be there anymore.

I ran through the possibilities in my mind.

Killed? Maybe. It might be one of those raiders that Raid was talking about.

Somepony in the town might have taken advantage of the attack and just killed him for being a zebra. They might have killed his wife and… my… I guess half-sister as well.

What if he was dead? I had just found out he was alive! If he died before I even found him it would… It would be losing him all over again.

Oh dear Luna, what if something happened to Ashes, too?

“Bu-but Ah think that… that Misty Air is still aroun’ though, ‘cuz Ah saw Kara runnin’ ‘round this mornin’.”

Suddenly, I was hit by a spray of water from Raid’s direction, accompanied by the sound of an empty water bottle hitting the ground. Slowly, I turned to glare at him, as he gave me a slightly embarrassed grin and a nervous laugh. “You know, I’ve always wanted to see an actual spit-take… I’ve just never wanted to be the one spat at…”

“Aheh… Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, Misty Air? Black mane, white coat?”

“Yup. That’s the one. Don’t know where she might be, though. Ya might wanna try an’ search around fer her.”

Raid grinned. “Wow. I thought she kicked it years ago.”

Seeing our collective looks of confusion, he waved a hoof dismissively. “I’ll explain later.”

“Who’re th’ Bone Eaters?” Asked Knives. “It sounds familiar.”

“Old story,” I said. “They were a bunch of demons who ‘take naughty foals to work in the mines of’… well… wherever the parents felt like saying, really.”

Raid gave a humorless laugh and added, “Now they’re just slavers who basically do the same thing.”

My eye twitched again, a whole new set of horrific possibilities running through my head. “Slavers?”

He nodded solemnly. “If we’re lucky, they might have just captured him.”

A bit of hope now restored, I gritted my teeth. “Well, then… Let’s see if we can find them.”

With that, and a few nervous glances between Knives and Raid, we began walking once more.

~~~~~~

The trip was shorter than Raid had estimated. Only about five hours, as opposed to half a day, or anywhere near that.

Bladesville wasn’t much to look at, really. It was simply a refurbished pre-war city, now more of a town. For some reason, I’d envisioned it as being a lot bigger. Of course, I didn’t actually notice this at the moment, as I was too busy being angry and storming towards the city gates while Raid and Knives tried to talk some sense into me. Bonnet simply followed along, apparently having nothing better to do.

“Zeed, ye can’t go and attack a bunch ay well-armed ponies like that,” Knives pleaded. “Yer goin’ tae get yerself killed.”

“I’m going to get my dad.” I said with an air of finality.

“Come on, at least let us come up with a plan?” Raid offered. “We don’t have enough caps to get more weapons anyway, and Knives doesn’t even have that baton anymore.”

I growled in frustration. “I haven’t even seen him in eleven years! I just found out that he might be alive, do you really think I’m not going to do everything I can for him?”

“Neither of us have said that!” Knives groaned. “We just need tae plan first! Fer Celestia’s sake, Ah’d dae th’ same thing if Ah knew mah father was in this situation, but just stormin’ in like that will just cause problems.”

I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “This just makes me so angry.”

“Aye, Ah know, but ye need tae calm down.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Yes, this is comin’ from me.” She smirked. “So, ye want tae come up wi’ a plan first?”

“Fine,” I sighed in a defeated manner. “What do you guys think we should do?”

Raid thought for a moment. “First thing is that we should ask around town. If we’re lucky, we might find out that he’s still here. If not, we find out which way the slavers went and what they’re armed with.”

I nodded. “And when we find that out?”

“Then we see if they have a base set up, most likely sneak in, and find your dad. If he’s there, we see what we can do to get him out and free whatever other slaves we can. If not… well, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Knives smirked at him. “Ah thought ye said ye were an idiot.”

“I am.” He shrugged. “I’ve done this before.”

Both of us stared at him.

He grinned. “I’m not fond of slavers.

“Right. Bonnet, where can we find some information around here?” I sighed.

“What the hell kinda question is that? Just get yer flank over to the bar an’ ask the bartender.” She frowned. “What’re ya, canned goods?”

I frowned and Knives deadpanned, while Raid let out a quiet chuckle.

Bonnet looked taken aback. “Oh… Uh… Sorry, didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

“Well, what are we going to do about weapons?” I asked. “Since, according to you, Raid, we don’t have enough.”

“Well, if we got some low-quality crap,” Knives tapped her chin with a forehoof. “Ah might be able tae fix it. We’d just need some… Ah dunnae, junk parts.”

Before I could ask about anything else, Knives held up a hoof. “Zeed, before ye go and start plannin’ all kinds ay revenge or what-have-ye, Ah think ye need tae see yer stepmother.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she might know where yer father went.”

I thought for a moment. “No… I don’t… I don’t think I can do that just yet. I kinda want to see dad first…”

I sighed. “Look, just… It just wouldn’t feel right without him. It would be too weird. She probably wouldn’t even believe me. I don’t even know if she knows about me. If she doesn’t like me… No, I don’t want to… Ruin dad’s life like that.”

“If she’s who I think she is, I doubt that she’d hate you. For any reason.” Raid chimed in.

“What are ye talkin’ about?”

“I might possibly know her. I’m not sure.” He looked to me. “If you want, I could find her for you.”

“No. I don’t want to deal with this right now.” I shook my head. “Let’s just find dad, and deal with it then.”

He shrugged. “Your call.”

“Wait… Are y’all sayin’ that she’s Nezan’s daughter?” Bonnet was wide-eyed.

I nodded.

“Ah won’t say nothin’. It ain’t mah business ta pry into.” She sighed. “But… Ah’ll be honest here, Ah think Ah might be able ta help ya.”

Raid bit his lip. “Sorry to say Bonnet, but I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

She shook her head. “Ah’m not comin’ with ya. Ah got a foal ta take care of, and Ah don’t think mah daughter’d like growin’ up without a momma. But…”

She put a hoof up to her chin. “Mah husband owes Nezan a favor, Ah think. Might have somethin’ for ya.”

“Well…” I said. “I guess we can use whatever we can get.”

“Alright!” Raid clapped his hooves together. “So, Knives, you can go and deal with weapons, buying and fixing and what-not. Zeed, you pick up any supplies we might need. I will go and get whatever information I can. Sound like a plan?”

~~~~~

Bark smiled as he stumbled along the road, dragging a crying young green pegasus filly simply named ‘Green’ along by a rope tied around her neck.

He held the rope in his teeth while his pistol floated unsteadily around his head. Occasionally, he would drop the rope and step on it, freeing his mouth to take a long swig of one of the many bottles of vodka he kept in his saddlebags.

It was during one of these swigs that he noticed a silhouette in the distance, mostly concealed by the orange mists of Canterbury. With a smile, he stumbled towards his, waving his gun around in what he thought was a menacing way, as Green trudged along behind him.

“Hey! Fuckwit! Yeah, you!” he shouted, his words slurring together. “Hold the fuck shtill! I’ll shoot ya if you move.”

The figure stopped. He smiled. Clearly the pony was scared of him. He wished all slaves were this easy to pick up.

Approaching the figure, he was glad to see a fairly attractive unicorn mare, pink coat, black mane, blue eyes and a curvy figure. “Sho, pretty mare… What’sh yer name, eh?”

She smiled at him. “My name is Wretch.”

Bark chuckled. An apt name for a new slave. “Well, ‘Wretch’, my name is Bark, and I’m your new mashter.”

Wretch giggled. “And who’s this filly here?”

“Hey!” he shouted. “You talk when I tell you to talk! I have a gun, got it?”

Wretch furrowed her eyebrows, thinking.

She stayed silent for a moment, as if processing the situation.

Eventually, she nodded. “That is a very small caliber gun, .22LR, I believe. I doubt it will do much.”

Both Bark and Green stared open-mouthed at the pink-and-black mare. Bark was spluttering. Never before had somepony so blatantly blew off his threats like that, it made him angry enough that he actually started to sober up a bit. He hated being sober. “What… What the fuck did you just say to me?”

Instead of answering, her horn glowed, unstrapping something from her back.

“This,” she said, holding the shotgun up for him to see. “Is a real gun. Modified 12 gauge riot shotgun. Fully automatic, and currently loaded with alternating magnum and slug shells.”

Bark just stared at her. “Okay, so you have a fancier gun than me. I can still shoot faster than you, and when you’re dead I’ll just take it from you.”

Wretch just giggled again. “Maybe.”

She took another look at the filly, who was very much frightened right now. “Why are you so scared?”

“Shut up!” Bark barked. “I am the master and you are the slave! I have a gun pointed at your head, and you will do as I say.”

Wretch stopped. She stood still as a statue, not even breathing. Bark gave a smug smile. He knew he had the mare now.

“Then she is your slave as well?”

“Damn right. You’re both going to-“ He never finished his sentence. His jaw was torn apart by one of the magnum shells.

Green stared in horror, as Wretch calmly removed the rope from her neck, smiling as though nothing had just happened. Tears began to flow down her face as she begged, expecting to be killed herself. “Please… no…”

There was no second shot. Wretch just hugged the young pegasus, whispering calming words in her ear. Slowly, Green relaxed, and her tears of fear changed to ones of relief.

Wretch pulled away, smiling. “My name is Wretch. What’s yours?”

The pegasus sniffled. Her voice was hoarse, due to lack of use. The sound surprised her. “G-Green.”

Still smiling, Wretch swiftly looted the body of the failed slaver, and floated all his possessions over to the filly.

“Here.” She said. “You might need these.”

Confused, Green took the saddlebags and quickly put them on, followed by Bark’s leg holster and the pistol. She stretched her wings a few times, hoping they weren’t damaged.

Looking up, she saw that Wretch was already walking away.

“W-wait!” Cried Green.

Wretch turned, a look of surprise on her face.

“Can… can I… Can I come with you?”

With a wide smile, Wretch nodded.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (8)
Melee Weapons: 75
Repair: 81

Perks:
Brutal Beatdown: Your melee and unarmed attacks have a 25% chance of knocking down a target. Charge attacks have a 75% chance

~~~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (7)
Energy Weapons: 60
Medicine: 75

Perks:
Determined: Whenever you are reduced to 50% or less health, you gain take 25% damage resistance.

~~~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (8)
Guns: 70
Speech: 54

Perks:
Walker of the Wastes (Rank 1/3): You and your team move 20% faster out of combat. In combat, your own walk speed is increased by 10%

Quests:

Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1)
Find information on the location of Ashes.
2)
Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)
–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

*taps fingers together, in stereotypical bad-guy fashion*

Good evening, readers.

I understand that some of you don’t like chapters such as this…

SO I MADE MORE!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH! *cue lighting* MUAHAHAHAHAH!

Kidding, of course. I do have a reason for this, I think… *wink*

No… I don’t know what that means…

Things should hopefully pick up a bit more from here.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Nine: Less Than Prepared

Chapter Nine: Less Than Prepared
“Perhaps sir would like to put sir's feet up, and I might serenade sir with the dulcet tones of a light opera?”

“You’re so stupid you broke the IQ scale!”

“I’m still smarter than you, you addle-headed post-lobotomy patient!”

“At least I’m not as ugly as you!”

“Your stripes make your legs look thick!”

“Oh yeah? Yours make you look like a big, fat, blimp!”

Mom snorted like she usually did when she was laughing. “Pfff-hahaha! Sweetie, you’ve never even seen a blimp. How would you know?”

“I’ve… haha… I’ve seen pictures.” I managed to say through laughter of my own.

“Still, though. That was a pretty good one.” She smiled at me, there was a bit of embarrassment in her voice. “You… you don’t actually think I’m fat, right?”

I giggled. “You’re not fat mom.”

She sighed with relief. “Either way, I guess you win this round. Wanna go again?”

“Yeah!” I pursed my lips as I racked my brain for a decent starting insult. “You-“

“Oh, uh… sorry… um… is this a bad time?” Asked a young Zeed, standing in the doorway with a nervous expression. “You guys aren’t fighting, right?”

Mom gave her a warm smile. “Oh, we’re not really fighting. It’s just a game that Obsidian and I used to play. We’re trying to see who can come up with the best insult.”

I smiled and bounced slightly with joy. “I actually won for once!”

Mom’s expression changed to one of concern. “Zeed, what’s wrong? Is everything alright?”

Zeed hung her head and stammered a bit.

“I… uh… Mom and I… kinda…”

Mom sighed, and my ears went down. “You got into another argument with her, didn’t you?”

Zeed nodded, tears in her eyes. “She hates me.”

I trotted up and gave her a hug. Mom did the same. “She doesn’t hate you. She just… well… she just doesn’t understand you. Give her time. I’m sure she’ll lighten up.”

“Sorry I always ruin everything for you guys…” Zeed sniffed.

“Ruin?” I scoffed. “We’re happy to make you happy, Zeed. We’re friends. Hey, maybe we can get Ashes over here and have a sleepover or something!”

Mom chuckled. “I think that would be nice. What about you, Zeed?”

Zeed nodded, a smile spreading across her face as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

~~~~~

Standing near the gates of Bladesville, I wondered idly why both of the towns I’d been to were guarded or gated or whatever. Instead of being a repurposed building that was just fortified, Bladesville was a pre-war town, in which the mostly intact buildings were patched up with bits of metal sheets and piles of rubble. It seemed a lot more… open than the Mall had. Maybe because it wasn’t all a single building, instead just being surrounded by a low wall made of, surprise, scrap metal, but nevertheless, even the air here felt pleasant.

“Zeed, on the west side of town is a place called ‘Niner Six’.” Raid began.

“Niner Six?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know why it’s called that, but they should have anything we might need.”

“Where am Ah lookin’ then?” I asked.

“North side. Shop called ‘Stock’s Shop’. Just to warn you, she’s a ghoul, so don’t freak out when you see her.”

“Aam nae goin’ tae freak out, don’t worry.” I rolled my eyes.

“Just letting you know.” He thought for a moment. “And tell her ‘Blue’ sent you.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Blue?”

“Again, don’t ask.” He shook his head. “When you’re done-“

“Hey, what about me?” Asked… Bowler, or something. I forgot her name.

“Well… you don’t have to do anything.”

“Well, Ah’d like ta help ya if’n ah can. How about Ah just go and git something that might help y’all?”

Raid shrugged. “It’s up to them.

Zeed smiled warmly. “Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated, Bonnet.”

“Ah dunnae really care.” I was still irritated by the fact that she’d tried to rob Zeed, though. I must have been glaring at her, because she grinned nervously and gulped.

“Alright then. We’ll meet at the Broken Muzzle when we’re done. You guys got your bands?”

We both showed the green bands given to us at The Mall. I wrapped mine into a bandanna, while Zeed tied it around her right foreleg as she spoke. “I thought this was just in The Mall…”

“Nope, generally accepted thing in Canterbury. Makes it easier to find jobs. Usually.” He frowned, and tied his own dark grey cloth to his battle saddle. With a shrug, he tossed each of us a small bag of bottlecaps. “This is what we got. Stay safe.”

We split up after trotting past the guards and onto the crumbled street, each to our respective locations. I was, admittedly, surprised by the number of ponies just walking around, talking happily to one another, or just enjoying the day. I figured that it must have been a relatively peaceful city for everypony to be so relaxed. There was even a couple of restaurants open, looking as though no time had passed at all, but for a few years of bad maintenance.

I took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of air that wasn’t too hot or humid, air that flowed freely around everything. I then proceeded to realize that I had no idea what I was doing.

“Well… crap.” I frowned.

I ended up just wandering around what I guessed was a marketplace. Stalls were set up in the middle of the street in addition to the shops where… well… where there used to be actual shops. However, I didn’t see anything called ‘Stock’s Shop’.

I sat on my flanks on a sidewalk corner and thought.

“Excuse me, miss?”

I turned to see a golden stallion with a white mane giving me a tired smile.

“You look lost. Anything I can do to help?”

Slightly embarrassed, I gave a nervous chuckle. “Aye. Actually, could ye tell me where Ah can find a place called ‘Stock’s Shop’?”

He frowned. “Stock? He’s all the way on the other end of this road.”

With a faint twitch of my right eye, I facehooved. “Och, well now Ah just feel stupid. Thanks.”

“Any time Diamond.” And with that, he trotted off.

Wait…

I spun around to get a look at him, catching a glimpse of his cutie mark.

A broken red cross. My eyes widened as I realized that I’d seen him in the Prison just before Zeed and I had left.

“HEY!” I shouted.

Looking back at me with a smirk, he galloped down the street, with me chasing after him.

“Get back here!”

He weaved through a few throngs of ponies, slipping past them, and they spared little more than a glance. I, on the other hoof, barreled past them, jumped over them, getting many shouts of anger and surprise in return. All the while, the golden stallion smirked at me, which only served to piss me off even more. I growled in frustration.

He just kept running down the street, not even turning anywhere. I briefly wondered where he was going.

I quickly began to run out of steam. I could already begin to feel my heart pounding in my chest. My lungs were on fire as I gasped for breath. I was growing tired.

Suddenly, he shot sideways into an alley, and there was a flash of golden light. I rounded the same corner less than a second later, only to find a dead end, with nopony there.

Still breathless, I collapsed onto the ground.

“Who…” I gasped. “Who the fuck… was that…”

“Oh, bravo, Knives.” She applauded in a slow and sarcastic manner. “Your skills of pursuit are absolutely amazing. I’m jealous.”

“Shut up.”

“Awww, are you gonna cry?” She snickered. “Gonna go back to your crush and hope he takes you into his hooves, like one of those old romance novels of yours?”

I blushed and shot up into a sitting position. “How did you know about that?”

“Did… did you really just ask me that?” She asked. “I live in your head, dipshit!”

I didn’t answer with anything more than an indignant trot out of the alley and back onto the street. I glanced around to see where I’d ended up.

At some point, it might have been a rather nice-looking park. Now it was just a large, barren patch of dirt. A small structure had been built smack in the middle, made entirely out of cinder blocks. It looked one side wasn’t entirely finished, and the opening in the wall showing the large stock of weapons within.

In front of the makeshift concrete booth was what appeared to be the rotting corpse of a pegasus. One that was relaxing on a lawn chair and badly singing along with the radio playing next to it, the raspy voice not hitting a single correct note, to the point where I couldn’t hear the actual song, or even tell what song it was supposed to be.

“Excuse me,” I said as I approached. “Are ye Stock?”

The corpse removed her sunglasses and grinned at me. For some reason it surprised me that her teeth were intact. “Fuck yeah, dude! What can I do ya for?”

I blinked at the cheery undead pegasus. “Uh… Ah’m lookin’ fer some weaponry. Ah… ‘Blue’ sent me, Ah guess.”

Her eyes widened, as did her grin. “No fuckin’ way, you know Blue? Fuck, mare, I haven’t seen that guy in forever.”

She eyed me briefly. “So… you two ruttin’?”

My face instantly turned red. “WHAT?”

“No? Shame, dude. That buck needs to get a ‘special somepony’, if ya know what I mean.” She chewed on one of her rotting wingtips in thought, then spat it out, grimacing. “For the record, you’ll probably need ta flirt with ‘im a lot. He’s fuckin’ dense, so he won’t do anything more than flirt with ya if you don’t make it blatantly obvious that ya like ‘im.”

I was speechless in my embarrassment, and couldn’t do much more than stare at the ghoul.

“Actually, from the look you’re givin’ me right now, I doubt that you’ll get very far in a relationship with the buck.” She frowned at me. “You need ta lighten up dude.”

“L-lighten up?” I stammered. “You just… What the fuck is wrong with you?”

She gave me a confused look. “What happened ta yer voice?”

“N-never mind. Can Ah just buy some gear off ay ye?” I was still blushing.

“Oh, sure. What’s Blue plannin’ this time, dude? Stealth mission? Air raid? Search-and-destroy?” She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“We’re goin’ after a slaver base, Ah think. Bone Eaters.”

She whistled. “Shit, dude. You’re gonna need a fuck-ton more than just gear if you’re gonna get through the Boneheads. Tell ya what…”

With one wing, she reached into her booth and retrieved a large minigun on a battle saddle, which she donned within seconds. “I’ll come with ya, so you guys won’t get yourselves killed, ‘cuz I just know that Blue Dude’s gonna do something stupid.”

“Uh… alright, then. But we still need some be’er weapons…”

She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t tell me he’s still usin’ that stupid shotgun of his.”

I nodded.

She facehooved. “I told ‘im to get a fuckin’ SMG or something. He never listens.”

“So… How dae ye know each other.”

She stopped moving and stared at me for a moment.

“That’s not for me ta tell.” She smiled. “Now… let me see here…”

She began to rummage through the things in her booth, her back half hanging out as she occasionally tossed a weapon out onto the dirt. Eventually, she had built a small pile of guns and small, round things. I think they were grenades.

She pulled hear head back out and smiled, her face had somehow become covered in black oil. “Yup, that should do it. C’mon, help me out here.”

She threw a very large rifle-like thing towards me, and I reflexively tried to catch it with my magic. I managed to hold it for about two seconds as my magic swiftly drained, causing my magic to implode and my horn to spark. The butt of the gun smacked me in the face as I collapsed, breathing heavily and holding my bruised nose.

Stock gave me a surprised look. “You okay?”

I moaned. “Weak magic.”

She whistled again. “Weak seems like an understatement. No offense.”

“None taken.” My horn hurt.

Stock sighed. “I’ll get the battle saddles and saddlebags.”

~~~

We walked into the bar, Stock with a cheery smile, me tired from burnout and panting and sweating from carrying gear. We found Zeed and Raid in a booth, Zeed with a bottle of water, and Raid with a bottle of tequila.

“Hey Blue, what’s up?” with a wing, she dropped a saddlebag full of ammunition on the table. I just dropped myself onto one of the seats. I noticed that Zeed was looking at the ghoul with a hint of surprise. “It’s been forever, dude.”

“Hey, I didn’t expect you to hoof-deliver these.” He stopped and looked at me for a moment. “Knives, are you okay?”

Before I could respond, Stock let out a loud, raspy gasp. “Holy fuck, Blue, what happened ta your accent?”

Raid just blinked at her. “Say again?”

“Your accent! It’s gone!”

All three of us were staring at her now.

“I don’t have an accent.”

“That’s the problem! What happened to your old surfer talk?”

I quirked an eyebrow at Raid. “’Old surfer talk’?”

Raid covered his eyes with his hooves in a frustrated manner. “How is it surfer talk? We didn’t live anywhere near the ocean. Or any body of water at all, for that matter.”

“Duh, ‘cuz it’s how they, like… used ta talk, dude.” Stock replied as-a-matter-of-factly. “Now yer talkin’ all formal-like.”

Raid simply facehoofed and sighed. “Moving on… Are you alright, Knives?”

I grunted an affirmative and waved a hoof dismissively. “She threw some heavy crap at meh and Ah nearly burned out. Ah’ll be fine in a bit.”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. Let’s focus on the important things here…” Stock came face-to-face with Raid. “Like your accent. Come on, Blue! Ya sounded so cool!”

“How in the fuck is that more important than my friend being hurt?”

“It just is!” Stock sighed in frustration. “You were, so proud of commin’ outa Dream Valley.”

Raid gave her an incredulous look. “Since when? I hated that miserable place! It was like hell with the thermostat a bit higher up.”

“Okay… I’ll give ya that it sucked, but still, ya got out, right? Shouldn’tcha, like… keep it as a badge or something?”

“How does that make sense in your head…” He growled in frustration. “I’m not talking about this anymore. I’m done.”

“What about-“

“So, Zeed, did you manage to get anything useful?”

The zebra shook her head as she realized she was being spoken to. She pulled her eyes off the pegasus ghoul. “Huh?”

“Supplies. Did you manage to get them?”

“Oh… Uh… Yeah. I got quite a bit, actually.” She dumped a saddlebag on the table. A copious amount of drugs, medical supplies, and canned food spilled out.

I picked up one of the cans and grimaced. “Orange slices? Wonderful… mah worst enemy now come in a can.”

“Don’t worry, Knives. I got plenty of stuff without citrus.” She smiled as she sorted out the pile. “I think we got about three days worth of stuff in here.”

“Wait… Why do you care about oranges?” Raid asked, pointing at me. “I though you couldn’t taste anything.”

“Allergies.” I grunted.

“Oh.” He put a hoof to his chin. “How bad, if you don’t mind my asking?”

I deadpanned at him. “Ah get stomach cramps sae bad ‘at Ah can hardly stand tae move ‘coz ay th’ pain, an’ mah mouth burns like Ah just stuck an arc welder in it. How bad is ‘at?”

He grimaced. “Eh… pretty bad, then… Sorry I asked.”

“Oh!” Stock pointed a hoof at me excitedly. “Speaking of accents-“

“No.” Was my reply. “We weren’t talkin’ about anything ay th’ sort.”

“Oh come on! At least-“

“No.”

“Come on, Knives. Tell them. Tell them the truth. Tell them why you can’t stand your own voice.”

“Quiet you.”

“Don’t tell me ta be quiet! I can talk if I want…” The ghoul huffed.

Wait… did I say that out loud?

I could hear her laughing in the back of my head, so… probably. Crap.

“Okay… so…” Raid looked through the saddlebags Stock and I had brought. “Zeed, you know how to use energy weapons, right?”

“I know how to use an energy weapon, yes.” She dropped her laser pistol on the table. Raid responded by plopping down a laser rifle. Zeed’s eyes lit up like it was Hearth’s Warming Day. “Holy crap, that it awesome.”

“Works on the same principles, we’ll just have to teach you to use it with a saddle.”

Zeed frowned. “Really? Don’t you have any other pistols? I hate having things strapped to my back.”

Stock frowned. “Don’tcha wear saddlebags though?”

“Doesn’t mean I like it.”

Raid continued to rummage through the bags, eventually pulling out something that looked like a toy ray gun. “How about this?”

“Oooooh… I like it already.” As she examined it, she frowned. “Where’s the battery?”

“Capacitor gem. Never needs a reload, just give it a couple of seconds and voila... ammo.”

Zeed was practically drooling.

“Knives, can you shoot a gun?”

“Nope.”

He sighed. “Well, I guess we can teach you. We’ll-“

He was interrupted by my stomach growling. I blushed. “Sorry.”

“Heh. Maybe we should get something to eat first?”

~~~~

“Sweet Celestia! You hit the wrong damn target!” Raid said as he fell to the ground laughing.

With an angry blush, I spat out the bit of my battle-saddle. “It’s mah first time!”

“Oh, so you’re a gun virgin?” Seeing my blush turn from one of anger to one of embarrassment, he burst out laughing even harder.

I telekinetically grabbed the closest small object I saw and chucked it at him with a telekinetic kick. The rock hit him right in the muzzle, and his hooves flew to his face as he yelped in shock. I would have laughed at him, were I not hit with another migraine from my still-recovering horn.

“Ow.” He said. “At least you can throw pretty good.”

Still in pain, I trotted over to the nearby table and angrily took a bite of my daisy sandwich. We had asked the town leader… mayor… type… pony… and they allowed us the use of the shooting range in the old police station. Zeed had completely obliterated one of the targets, turning the ponnequinn into a pile of glowing hot ash. The only thing I’d managed to do was blow the arms off of one… on the wrong side of the building. I preferred using blunt objects to hit ponies, anyway. At least that way I could easily stop before I killed somepony who doesn’t deserve it.

“Well then, if we get some throwing daggers or somethin’, maybe Ah can be ay some use tae ye.”

“Wait… Knives, that’s not what I-“

“Ah know, Ah know. Ah’m not exactly the strongest one in th’ group. Ah can’t lift things fer shit, and Ah’ve got tae get in close tae hit anything.” I sighed.

“Knives, I never said you were useless. It’s just funny that you can’t shoot a gun, is all.” He facehooved. “Forget it. Even I don’t know what the hell I’m saying.”

Zeed obliterated another target. I felt a pang of jealousy and sighed again.

“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.” He trotted over and put a hoof on my shoulder. “You’ve been doing fine so far. Why would that change?”

“Only ‘cause we’ve been in fights with one or two other ponies… or gorgons, or whatever. Even in th’ Prison, Ah tried tae stay out ay fights, though it didn’t seem tae dae much good.” I sighed again. “Ah’d really rather not talk about it. Let’s just say that the Prison got a lot more… violent after the Leak.”

“Whatever the case, don’t sell yourself short.” He smirked. “You’re not half bad.”

Don’t blush, don’t blush.

“Yer not sae bad yerself.” Oh sweet Celestia… Did I really just say that?

“Oh, somepony’s feeling frisky today.” He snickered. Dammit, now I’m blushing.

“Well… Uh… Ah…”

Luckily, Zeed saw my dilemma and came to my rescue. “So, Raid. Did you find any useful information? Anything on my dad?”

“I found out that he ran off into the distance, trying to pull some of the Bone Eaters away from the bigger group. He apparently dragged them straight through a minefield. One of the spotters saw him get swarmed, though and none of the others knew what happened to him after that.” Raid chuckled. “Just so you know, your dad is now on my ‘badass list’.”

“Uh… thanks… I guess.” She scratched her head. “So, where did the rest of them go?”

“East. Don’t know where their base is, but if they’re anything like the New Tartarus slavers, they’ll make it obvious that this is their territory.”

I snorted. “Sounds like a bunch ay dogs.”

“Their leader is a diamond dog, so… yeah, that shouldn’t be surprising.”

Zeed looked shocked, I just gave Raid an odd look. “What in th’ hell is a diamond dog?”

“Big dog-like person. Walks on two legs, interestingly. Some of them are pretty good with technology, so the rest of the slavers might have a few energy weapons on them.”

“Are you serious?” Zeed asked. “I’ve only seen them in comics.”

“Yup. Where do you think the writers came up with them?” He shrugged. “They’re definitely real. Never met one myself, though.”

“So… Dae we have a plan, then?”

“I was thinking we should get a look at the place first. We might not even need all these guns for the actual attack, if we’re lucky.”

“Thanks for the jinx.” Zeed snorted.

Raid rolled his eyes. “So, we’ll-“

“There y’all are!” Bonnet came bursting through the door, sweating and panting heavily. “Ah thought y’all were gonna meet up at the bar.”

“We did.” Finishing my first sandwich, I picked up another one.

“Whatever, Ah wanted ta give this to ya.” She dumped one of her saddlebags on the floor. Out came a large, rifle-like thing, with a thick barrel, and a pile of things that looked like oddly shaped grenades. “It used ta be mah husbands ‘fore he quit the mercenary business. Ah figured y’all could use one.”

Stock picked it up and looked at it. “M79? Wow. Haven’t seen one of these in a while. Hehe, hey Knives, maybe you could use this. You don’t really need to aim.”

Growling angrily, I magically swiped the gun from her hooves, wincing in pain as my horn was still recovering.

In an irritated manner, I fired the gun at one of the targets. There was a loud boom, and pieces of the ponnequin flew across the yard, giving me some idea of what it would do to a live pony, but still, it was awesome.

“Bonnet, if ah weren’t the mare Ah was, Ah’d kiss ye.” I said with a wide grin.

Stock turned to the startled mare and screamed. “YOU CARRIED THAT THING LOADED?”

“Ah didn’t know!”

I cracked open the gun and slotted in another grenade. Seconds later, another ponnequin was blown to smithereens.

“Okay… So, you can’t aim a pistol for shit,” Raid held his head in his hooves. “But you’re damn near perfect with a ‘nade rifle. How in the fuck does that make sense? At all? In any way?”

Another ponnequin down. “Who cares? This is awesome!”

I felt like a pre-war filly in a candy store. I couldn’t help but chuckle at Zeed’s wide-eyed stare of horror.

~~~~~

The small green pegasus and the pink-and-black unicorn followed the road, only one of them having even the slightest clue as to where they were going. For the most part they traveled in silence, Wretch simply smiling as she trotted along, Green sticking close to her for protection, being terrified by nearly everything.

This is why Green was immensely startled when Wretch spoke.

“Why were you with that pony?”

“Huh?” replied Green with a blink.

“Bark. How did he come to be your master? I may not be in my right mind, but I can tell he was… stupid is the only word that works.”

“Huh?” Green repeated, not comprehending.

“He seemed to believe that the gun gave him power, despite the opponent’s clear advantage.” Wretch glanced at her gun. “How did you come to be his… slave?”

“Oh… uh… I was born… my mom was his slave, so I am… was… too.” Green coughed.

“You seem to have trouble speaking. Are you ill?” Wretch’s voice was filled with concern.

“No! I… I just don’t really talk much.” She looked at her hooves as she kicked at a rock. “Or at all.”

Wretch considered this for a moment. “How old are you?”

“I… don’t know.” Green blushed.

“Perhaps ten?”

Her blush brightened. “I… uh…”

“Seven?”

“I don’t know.” She sniffed. “I don’t know.”

Wretch was silent for a moment. “Do you have anywhere you can go?”

“No. Bark gambled everything away. He just kept me ‘cuz he thought I was…” She gulped.

Wretch’s eyes flashed with fury. “What did he do?”

“Nothing! He didn’t do anything! He was… um… he said that he could… wait a few years…” Green shuddered.

Wretch’s shoulders relaxed as she spun around and brought the scared filly into a hug. “He’s gone now. You don’t have to be scared. It’s okay.”

They stayed like that a moment.

“Wretch?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you… you said you weren’t in your right mind.”

“I’m not.”

“How?”

“I broke.”

Green blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I broke. Then he took my mind and put the pieces back together as best he could.” Wretch began walking again. “I let my envy of her take over… and I broke.”

“What of who?”

Wretch’s eyes began to tear up. “I killed her. I killed her because she had what I wanted. Because I’m a bad pony.”

“Wretch? Are you okay?” The green pegasus put a hoof on her savior’s arm.

Wretch burst into tears. “I killed her! All because she was lucky and I wasn’t!”

Green didn’t know what to do. She was at a loss. She’d never seen another pony crying like this, not even another slave.

It didn’t matter, though. As quickly as she’d started, Wretch stopped crying, and a cheerful smile spread across her face. “But he fixed me. He made me better, so I can make up for killing an innocent pony. So I can free my brethren.”

Green was immensely confused by the sudden change, but accepted it. It was a far cry better than Bark’s alcohol-induced rages.

“Sorry, Green. I didn’t mean to start crying like that. I know you’re scared, and that isn’t helping. Don’t worry about it. I know I’ll act… strange, but I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

She continued cheerily down the road, leaving a very confused, forest green pegasus with a lime green mane standing in the dust, blinking her orange eyes as she wondered what just happened to her life.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
No level gained.
50% xp.
New Item:
Rusty Grenade Rifle.

~~~~~
Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
No level gained.
75% xp.

~~~~~
Footnote 3: Raid (???)
No level gained.
50% xp.

Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.
Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1)
Find information on the location of Ashes.
2)
Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)
–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

1: Procrastination does not make perfect.

2: I am more easily distracted than I thought.

3: The larch.

4: I hate having classes and work at the same time.

Sorry for the lack of ACTION! Also sorry for the filigree… and the immense quality drop.

So much for picking up a bit more.

Ttfn.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Ten: Let's Get This Over With Already

Chapter Ten: Let’s Get This Over With Already
“Go Underworld! Go ghouls! Yay!!!
... Damn this pansy zombie programming.”

Knock-knock-knock.

“Ashes, wake up.” Knock-knock. “Ashes, ye need tae wake up.”

I knocked on the door of Ashes’ closet-turned bedroom. I’d never quite understood why she chose to sleep in the closet as opposed to the actual bedroom, but then again, I’d never understood why she slept from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon either.

The door between the closet and the rest of the apartment opened to reveal the bleary-eyed, dark grey mare. Ashes yawned so wide I thought that her jaw might fall off.

“Ugh. What time is it?”

“Two-thirty.” I replied. “Ye asked me tae wake ye up, remember?"

She moaned as she trudged her way out of the closet and towards the kitchen. “Too… many… words… need… coffee…”

I chuckled. “Ah got a pot brewin’ in th’ kitchen. Should be almost done by nao.”

She grunted a ‘thank you’ and took a seat at the counter, which I had only recently built out of old junk, and rested her head on its patchwork top.

“So,” I began as I poured out a large mug of coffee for my friend. “What’s so important that ye had tae get up so early?”

She mumbled something before she took a long sip of the drink.

“Say again?” I cupped a hoof to my ear.

“It’s our anniversary. Zeed and I have been dating for two years.” She yawned again, the coffee already beginning to take effect.

“Aaaand?”

“I wanted to surprise her with something.” She replied matter-of-factly.

“Awww, how sweet.” Yes, I was a sucker for anything romantic. “Ye actually went an’ planned somethin’.”

“Hey! I plan a lot of things.” She snapped indignantly.

“Name two.”

She worked her jaw for a moment, then took a drink of her coffee.
“So, what are ye goin’ tae dae?”

“Romantic dinner.”

I ‘aawed’ again, then frowned. “Wait… why does that mean ye have tae wake up?”

She laughed. “I have to actually make the dinner.”

I nodded. “Point taken.”

We were silent for a moment.

“Wouldn’t it be more like a romantic breakfast fer ye?”

Ashes burst out laughing.
~~~~~

I awoke to the feeling of being poked in the stomach.

I rolled over and groaned. “Zeed, cut it out.”

She poked me in the stomach again.

“Cut it out, Zeed.” I whined.

“Time to get up, Knives. We’re leaving soon.” She said.

“Could ye at least stop pokin’ meh in th’ stomach?” I groaned. “Ye know how much Ah hate that.”

“I could tickle you. You know I will.”

I glared at her. She had a mischievous smirk on her face. “Ah still have that shock-box.”

Her smirk faltered. “Never mind. Just get up.”

“Guh… What time is it, anyway?”

“About six thirty.”

I deadpanned at her. “Why are we leavin’ at six thirty.”

She shrugged. “Ask your coltfriend.”

I continued to deadpan at her.

“Hey, not my fault you’re crushing on an oblivious moron.” She grinned. “I’m ninety-five percent sure that he’s crushing back, you know. I’ve seen him staring at your flank a few times.”

More deadpanning. She rolled her eyes at me. “Fine, I’ll stop.”

“Ah’d rather ye not mess wi’ mah love life, Zeed. Ah can deal wi’ it oan mah own.”

“I can think of a few incidents that prove that theory wrong.”

I rolled out of bed with a long, defeated sigh. “Shut up.”

As soon as I stood up, I began to stretch and crack my joints. With every loud pop, Zeed cringed and winced, unsuccessfully trying to pretend that she wasn’t. When I finally finished with a deep yawn, she grimaced.

“I will never understand how, or why, you do that.”

I chuckled. “That’s fine. Ah don’t either. So, where’s Raid?”

“He’s outside, messing about with the gear, again.”

I blinked as I walked out of the small apartment we had rented last night in order to prepare for our assault on the Bone Eaters. Yawning again, I saw that Raid was messing around with our saddlebags, apparently trying to make everything as space-efficient as possible.

“Hello Raid, how are ye doin’?”

“I…” he said as he stuffed several cans of oranges into his own bag. “Am re-organizing, because I don’t really have anything better to do.”

“Mind tellin’ us why we’re up at six-thirty in th’ mornin’?” I yawned yet again.

“Because it’s going to take a while to find out where exactly they are.” In went a few boxes of ammunition. “We’ll probably end up wandering around for a while. I personally have never been in that area.”

“Oh, so th’ great traveler hasn’t been to th’ slaver base?” I snarked.

He laughed. “I generally try and stay in places where I won’t be enslaved or shot on sight.”

“Well… how dae ye expect tae find them then?”

“I told you yesterday. When we’re in their territory, we’ll know. There won’t be any doubt.” He let out a sigh. “They’ll most likely have heads on spikes or something stereotypical like that.”

“What about when we actually find them?”

He frowned at me. “You weren’t listening, were you?”

I frowned back.

He laughed. “Okay, so… leave a.s.a.p. head east, spread out a bit, and continue east until we find something that screams ‘slaver base’. Easy as punch.”

“That’s as good as we’re goin’ tae get, isn’t it?”

“Better than nothing.” He shrugged.

I shook my head. “Whatever. Aam goin’ tae get somethin’ tae eat.”

“Try Minx’s. She’s a decent cook.”

I waved a hoof dismissively. “Screw that. Aam cookin’ somethin’ mahself.”

“Wait, what?” He gazed at me in confusion. “How can you-“

“Oh! Can you make some pancakes?” Zeed called out. “I haven’t eaten yet either.”

I grinned. “’Fraid ah can’t. Ah’ve got nothin’ tae make th’ batter with.”

“You’re going to cook?” Raid’s face was filled with disbelief. “I thought you couldn’t taste anything…”

“Ah can’t, but Ah used tae practice a lot.” I rubbed my chin in thought. “Nao… where can Ah find flour…”

“Seriously… how can you… We don’t even have any eggs! Or milk!”

“Really? Hmmm…” An idea sprung to mind. “Mom’s scrap pancakes!”

Zeed squealed in delight. “Oh sweet Luna I love those!”

I grinned. “Zeed, get me two… no, three bottles ay beer, and as much sugar as ye can get.”

I turned to Raid. “Dae ye know where Ah can get some baking powder?”

After about half an hour of searching for ingredients, I managed to get an old electric stove working, and cooked up a stack of large pancakes. Within about five minutes, Zeed had eaten a plate of five. Raid, on the other hand, was immensely confused, and poked at them with a hoof.

“Och, come on. It’s nae like they’re goin’ tae bite ye.” I said.

He carefully took a nibble of one of the pancakes, and his eyes widened. “How the… Why does the mare with no sense of taste cook better food? And from completely random ingredients, no less.”

I grinned. “Mah mother was th’ best damn cook in th’ Prison, that’s how.”

“But… But… no taste…”

Zeed grinned. “Like her dad would say, pancakes are worth it.”

I gave her an amused look. “Three things, Zeed. First: Mah father used a lot ay idioms, but that was definitely not one ay them. Second: The only reason ye know any of th’ things dad used tae say is because mah mother told ye about them. Third: ye never even met mah father, how would you know what he’d say?”

She chortled. “I don’t, but the look on your face when I say that kinda stuff is funny. And I did so meet him, just before he was exiled. I mean, sure I was three at the time, and even I can barely remember that far back, but I still met him.”

I heard somepony somepony shouting in the distance. Raid turned his head in that direction and raised an eyebrow.

“The fuck is going on over there?” he murmured.

There was an explosion, and a large section of the scrap metal fence surrounding the town flew into the street. Seconds later, Stock flew over to us, a look of annoyance mixed with fear and glee plastered on her face.

“Good news,” she said. “The Bone Eaters are back.”

Zeed’s jaw dropped. “How is that good news?”

Raid swiftly donned his battle-saddle and checked to be sure it was loaded. “Because, we might be able to capture one, or follow the survivors, and either method will make our lives far easier.”

“Alright, then. Let’s get this started.” I said as I grabbed a nearby lead pipe.

~~~~~

The Bone Eaters were mostly earth ponies. Almost every single one of them had some form of blunt or sharpened object. Very few had anything resembling a gun. The ones that did have guns, however, were apparently very good shots. Somehow, though, not one of them thought to take advantage of this skill, as the gunsponies were currently trying to get into close range.

Apparently, being a slaver does not facilitate any sort of tactical knowledge, as they seemed to use a strategy that went along the lines of ‘throw yourself at the enemy until something different happenns’.

Sadly, all of that did nothing for the fact that being shot in the leg hurt like hell.

“Aaaaaugh!” I screamed as a bullet lodged itself into my foreleg.

“Knives!” Zeed brought over some med-x and a healing potion, jabbing the first into my leg and shoving the second into my mouth.

“Agh, Zeed, whaAAAAARRRGH!” with a pair of tweezers held in her mouth, she swiftly tore the bullet out, then tossed them aside and poured another potion on the wound. “Can ye give me some warnin’ first?”

She smacked me in the back of the head. “Why did you just run out there? What are you, stupid?”

“Ah’m in a fight, why in th’ hell would Ah not get involved?” I snapped back.

“She’s got a point, Zeed.” Raid called out, punctuating each word with a shotgun blast. “Goddesses, how many of these assholes are there?”

We’d gone out intending to help. We ended up taking cover behind a market stall, and were now trading shots with the slavers. I’d gotten hit as I dove behind our cover, being the last one in. Stock was flying overhead, raining hot lead down on the slaver horde. I popped over the stall and fired a few grenades at our opponents. The slavers scattered quickly. Seeing one of them fall over, their body covered in shrapnel, I winced as I slotted in another grenade.

"Yes, Knives, killing will solve all of your problems.” She said in the back of my mind, a hint of malicious glee in her voice. “You should give up before you have a repeat of the Leak.”

“Aam nae exactly enjoyin’ this, ye know. Aam tryin’ not tae die here. Yer nae helpin’.” Another grenade behind a stall on the opposite side of the Market Square. I grimaced as I realized that I’d actually killed a couple of the slavers hiding there, their torsos now little more than piles of meaty mush. “Stop talkin’.”

“Knives, in case you’ve forgotten, I hate you. I enjoy doing what I can to make your life miserable. Why would I help you stay alive?"

“If I die, you do too.” I muttered.

“You say something, Knives?” Raid called out as he ducked back and started reloading his guns. Zeed used the opportunity to make a few pot shots from over the stall.

“Eh… How can… Uh… How can this stall take so much punishment? It hasn’t even been punctured yet…” I hoped he wouldn’t notice my stammering.

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “You’re asking this now?”

“Aam tryin’ tae keep mah mind off th’ fact that Ah just killed five ponies in ten minutes.” I barked.

“Oh… Uh…” He blinked. “Sorry. They’re reinforced for occasions like this.”

I gave him a surprised look. “Ye mean they anticipated this?”

“Welcome to Canturbury.” He grinned. “This shit happens a lot.”

With that, he popped back over the stall and began firing again, and Zeed ducked back down.

“You are crushing so hard.” She whispered in my ear with a wide smile. “Stammering like that is really impressive.”

I shot her a glare. “Shut up, Zeed.”

She continued to mouth the word ‘crushing’ at me. I gave her a light kick in the ribs as I launched a grenade over the stall, right into a mass of slavers. Most of them were knocked off their hooves by the explosion, but only one was seriously injured, her right limbs bent at entirely the wrong angles.

It felt like hours passed, the Bone Eaters came at us seemingly without end. Until, suddenly, the flow of slaver began to slow, turning from a tide to a trickle. I briefly wondered how there could be so many of them.

“They’re running!” Somepony shouted. “Keep firing, every one of them that dies is one we don’t have to deal with later.”

“What?” I shouted angrily. “Why? If they’re running we don’t need tae kill them!”

Raid shook his head and fired a few more shots at the Bone Eaters still in the Square. “’Fraid we do. They’ll just keep coming back. These guys are more… raider-like than most. You saw how they fought. No thinking, just mindless violence.”

“That’s nae excuse fer just killin’ them.” I growled.

Raid shook his head again. “They’re slavers, Knives. Trust me. With the things they’ve done, they don’t deserve to live.”

I gritted my teeth. “We can’t just go killin’ anypony who does somethin’ wrong, Raid.”

“I know that Knives, but we grew up in places that actually had some form of law enforcement.” He made a sweeping gesture, indicating the ponies chasing down the fleeing Bone Eaters. “But in case you’ve failed to notice, there is no law enforcement here.”

He sighed. “The closest thing to a law here is kill or be killed, whether either of us likes it or not.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say. I looked away, knowing that he was at least mostly right. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw somepony moving up to the Bone Eater that I’d injured, who was somehow still alive, raising a gun up to her head.

“WAIT!” I screamed.

The rifle-wielding unicorn looked at me in surprise.

“Don’t kill her. We need her fer somethin’”

The unicorn rolled her eyes and galloped away. The slaver rolled over and moaned, clutching her damaged leg with the intact one. Raid hrrm-ed, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Knives, how intimidating can you look?” He whispered.

I blinked and stared at him. “What kind ay question is that?”

“I’m serious. I want to know how scary you can be.”

“Call her a colt again and find out.” Zeed chirped, a big smile on her face.

I shot her a glare. “Shut up, Ms. Moody.”

She frowned. “Hey, I’m actually level right now. Probably ‘cuz I managed to sleep well for two nights in a row, but nevertheless, I’m level.”

“In my defense, the only reason I thought she was a buck is because of that orange thing she had on. And, no offense intended, Knives, but you do kind of sound like a colt.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Your voice is a bit scratchy.”

“Oh really?” I growled.

“Yeah.” He grinned. “You actually look pretty good in real clothes, though.”

Oh joy… I’m blushing again. When will I stop acting like a nervous little schoolfilly around him?

“Oh, come on. You know she totally looks like a colt.” Zeed smirked at me.

It was at this point that Stock dropped down almost on top of me, making me jump a good distance away in surprise, drawing a chuckle from both her and Zeed, while Raid gave me a sympathetic look.

“She doesn’t look like a colt.” Said the ghoul in a cheery manner.

“Thank ye very-“

“She’s androgynous. She could pass as either gender.” She continued.

I facehooved.

“You’ve never seen her in a dress.”

I facehooved again, this one accompanied by my face turning red.

“Oh, and this one buck she was dating a few months ago? He totally looked like a mare.”

“Oooh… that must have been fun to see…”

“Excuse me!” I shouted, my voice cracking slightly, my face bright red. “While you two are discussing my looks, our prisoner is getting away!”

I pointed to the pony in question, who had been dragging herself towards the exit with her left limbs. She turned a look of fear on us, and redoubled her efforts, going from the speed of frozen syrup to slightly thawed syrup.

Stock rolled her eyes and casually trotted over to the ‘fleeing’ mare. Taking the injured earth pony onto her back with an apparently very dexterous wing, Stock trotted back to the apartment, and the slaver sobbing in apparent terror.

I ran a hoof through my mane and sighed. “Goddesses, it’s only been a few hours and I feel like it’s been forever.”

“Knives, what happened to your voice?” Raid cocked his head in a curious manner.

I blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Your accent,” he said. “What happened?”

I facehooved yet again, wondering how many more times it would take to dent my face. “Crap. Ah forgot about that.”

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Why do you fake an accent?”

“She says it’s a sign of respect for her dad,” said Zeed.

“Uh… that’s a… rather unique way of showing respect. Any particular reason why?”

“Ah dunnae want tae talk about it.” I turned and trotted in the direction of the apartment.

Raid trotted along right beside me. “Come on, Knives. It’s not anything bad, is it?”

“Nae, it’s… Look, Ah just don’t…” I exhaled. “Ah dunnae want tae talk about it. Stop buggin’ me.”

He stopped and raised a hoof in defeat. “Alright, alright. Just… I’m here if you need me, okay?”

Zeed and I raised our eyebrows at him, and he shrugged. “I like helping.”

I stared at him for a moment. “Dae ye really want tae know?”

“Yes. Do you want to tell me?”

I bit my lip, and considered it.

Zeed put a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you alright? You don’t have to say anything.”

I sighed, and cleared my throat. “When Ah was twelve, I got intae a fight with Clothesline. She was sayin’ some pretty bad things about mom and dad, and when Ah tried tae defend him… well, Aam nae exactly sure how Ah came tae it, but Ah realized that Ah couldn’t remember anythin’ about him. The worst part was that Ah couldn’t remember his cutie mark.

“So, Ah panicked, and ran sobbing tae mom. It took her about an hour tae calm me down, but when she did… well, apparently, Ah couldn’t remember his mark because he didn’t have one. Got burned off or somethin’, Ah can’t remember.”

“So…” Zeed rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Why the accent?”

“All Ah can remember is that he talked somethin’ like this, and that he had a pitch-black coat and a green mane.”

“But… That doesn’t explain why you talk like him…” Raid said.

“Yeah, Knives. It doesn’t.” She said in a mocking tone. “I don’t think that’s the whole story. C’mon. Tell them. Tell them the rest of it.”

“It… Uh… Kind ay became a habit…” I stammered. “Ah got sae used tae it that… uh… nao Aam just… still… doin’… uh… that…”

“Makes sense, I guess.” Zeed started towards the apartment again. “Still a bit weird, but… whatever works for you.”

Mentally, I sighed in relief.

“Hey, I’ve heard much weirder reasons for things.” Raid chuckled as he followed her, with me tagging along. “My sister decided to become a whore because she thought it sounded fun.”

“Is this the same sister that beat ye up when ye called her a colt?” I smirked.

“Huh? Oh, no. That’s another sister.” He said dismissively.

I quirked an eyebrow. “How many sisters dae ye have?”

“Nine.” He said matter-of-factly.

Zeed and I stopped and gave him a look somewhere between shock and disbelief.

“What?” He asked.

“Ye have nine sisters?” I asked incredulously.

“Uh… Yes?” He replied, confused. “Why do you say it like it’s weird?”

“Your parents were fuckin’ busy.” Zeed blurted, then frowned. “No pun intended.”

Raid blinked several times. “Oh, yeah. Parents… busy… eh… right…”

Stock stomped over to our little group. “Hey, you morons forgetting about something?”

All nervously laughing, we followed her back to the apartment to begin interrogating the Bone Eater.

~~~~

“I’m not tellin’ you shits anything, ya hear me?” She screamed as she struggled against the ropes tying her legs to the chair. “Ya can suck my fucking tits fer all I fuckin’ care.”

She spat in Raid’s face.

With a sigh, the ultramarine stallion wiped the saliva off his cheek. “Please, for the love of Celestia, just tell us what we want to know.”

“Fuck no! You’re gonna kill me anyway. Why the fuck would I make your life easier?” She grinned. I shuddered at how similar it was to somepony else’s statement.

Raid rubbed his brow in frustration. “Okay, I gotta admit… you are definitely a tough nut to crack. This’ll be harder than I thought.”

“Fuck yeah! And don’t you forget it asshole.” She nodded, sure of herself. “I’m not gonna answer any of yer fuckin’ questions. Ever. No matter what you idiots do.”

“As much as it pains me tae say it, maybe we should just torture her.” I sighed.

Zeed gave me an incredulous look. “Really? Well… I guess you would kinda know a bit about pain, but…”

Raid frowned. “You were tortured?”

I coughed. “Ah wasn’t really tortured, but it felt like it. Ah really don’t want tae talk about that.” I grinned. “Ah recovered pretty quick, though, so Ah guess that’s somethin’ tae be proud of.”

“Oh fuck me with a spoon, will you fuckers just get on with the torture?”

“I don’t think that’s how the expression goes…” I frowned. “But she is right. We’ve been too easily distracted lately.”

Raid suddenly grimaced. “Oh…”

“What?”

“I just got a vicious idea.” He exhaled through his teeth, as though in pain.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Well…”

~~~~~

Green was trying very hard not to fall asleep on her hooves. Her eyelids kept falling as she followed the pink unicorn along the road, only for her to snap to attention once more. She had been trying to stay awake for several hours, now, and was fighting a losing battle, considering that both ponies had stayed awake the whole night.

It was during one of these small almost-naps that Wretch finally noticed her young friend’s plight, and trotted over to the little green filly.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Green nodded, and yawned, swaying slightly and almost falling over at least once. “I’m just a little sleepy.”

“We should get some rest. Find a safe spot and sleep.”

“No! I’m fine, I can keep going,” the pegasus said, a hint of fear in her voice. “We don’t need to stop.”

“We don’t… but you do.” Wretch gave Green a warm smile. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I swear I’m not!” She punctuated this by yawning so hard that her whole body shuddered. “I’m…”

“It’s alright, Green. You can sleep if you want. I could use some rest myself.” Wretch gently mussed Green’s mane. “I could carry you if you want. Let you get a bit more sleep.”

“But…” She let out another yawn, then swayed slightly.

Wretch chuckled softly, and knelt down next to the filly. “Come on, Green. It’s perfectly fine.”

Nodding slowly, the small pegasus crawled onto Wretch’s back, and was just small enough to fit between her shoulder blades, next to the shotgun which was moved to the side.

As Wretch continued her way down the road, she smiled when she heard Green begin to snore quietly, lulled to sleep by the larger mare’s movements. Wretch was surprised by how light her friend was, almost as though she hadn’t eaten in…

Wretch stopped, her eyes widened, as realization struck her.

Green probably hadn’t eaten in days.

Wretch searched through the things she’d looted off Bark, careful not to wake Green in the process, and tried to find something that might be valuable.

She was lucky enough to find several bits, and a few caps among the pocket lint and alcohol. Enough for a decent amount of food. With a smile on her face, she doubled her speed towards what she hoped would be a town.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (9)
Explosives: 40
Repair: 84

Perks:
Action Mare: You get +15 action points when using… Wait a minute, you don’t even have a pipbuck you moron!

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (8)
Energy weapons: 70
Medicine: 82

Perks:
Speed Healer: Using drugs and healing items now only costs half as many action points.

~~~~

Footnote 2: Raid (???)
Level up! (9)
Speech: 64

Perks:
Walker of the Wastes (Rank 2/3): You and your team now move 25% faster out of combat. In combat, your own walk speed is increased by 11%.

–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

Hmmmmm…

I’m sad. For some reason this chapter feels rushed to me.

Whatever the case, I assure you all that the next chapter, at least, will be far better than this one.

Sorry for being late, folks!

TTFN

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Eleven: Interrogation Misery

Chapter Eleven: Interrogation Misery
“AGH! Fuck! You...can do what...ever you want to me...I'm not saying jack sh...Stick it where the...sun don't shine...”

Slowly, ever so slowly, I took several steps towards the couch.

Its striped occupant was sleeping, with a thing on her head that was connected to a device that had formerly been held in her hooves, but was now on the floor.

I silently crept up to her side, and prepared to pounce.

“No…” My mother whispered.

My face fell, and I begrudgingly started to trot away. “Awww… okay…”

Then mom whimpered, as though in pain. “Please… no…”

My ears perked, and I turned around to look at her. It took me a moment to realize that she wasn’t talking to me.

She shifted, lifting a hoof as though trying to reach out to somepony, only to have it fall again. “D… Diamond…”

“Mommy?” I asked, though I could tell she still wasn’t talking to me.

She let out a small sob. “Please… not my baby… no… n-no…”

I wondered why she kept talking about me. “Mommy? Why are you crying? Mommy?”

She was breathing heavily, as though she had been running. “Don’t… no… please… stop…”

“Mommy!” I shouted, trying to get her attention, realizing what was going on. “Mommy, wake up!”

Her eyes were streaming with tears, and she was openly sobbing, but still whispering quietly. “Don’t hurt her…”

I put my mouth up to her ear and screamed. “MOMMY!”

She gasped, and shot up into a sitting position, gasping for breath and holding a hoof over her heart, her eyes darting around until they finally rested on me. “D-Diamond?”

“Mommy, are you okay?” I asked.

Her eyes filled with tears again. Before I could do anything else, she pulled me into a deep hug, and started crying tears of relief. I hugged her back, though I was still confused.

“Mommy, why are you crying?” I asked again.

She sniffed and pulled away from the hug, giving me a smile and a sad chuckle as she did. “Sorry sweetie. I… had a very, very bad dream.”

“Were… were you dreaming about me?” I asked. “Was I being mean?”

She snorted a laugh. “No, sweetie you weren’t… I just… I…”

She sighed and hugged me again. “I dreamt that a very bad pony wanted to hurt you, and I couldn’t save you.”

I thought for a moment, then gasped and exclaimed, “Maybe Mr. Stellar could protect you from the bad pony!”

Before mom could say anything, I shot into my room, and retrieved the large, star-patterned teddy ursa from my room, and levitated it over to my mother. She looked at it for a moment, holding it in her hooves, and smiled.

“Mr. Stellar chases away the monsters, remember?” I proclaimed, remembering what she and dad had once told me. “And I’m a big filly, so I can stand up to the monsters now.”

“Thank you Diamond. You’re a very sweet little filly, but…” she said as she grinned mischievously. “There is one monster that even Mr. Stellar is afraid of…”

My eyes widened in slight fear. “What?”

She grabbed me and roared as I started laughing. “The tickle monster!”
~~~~~

I stared at Raid as he finished his suggestion. I was sure that my expression was somewhere between ‘Seriously?’ and ‘What are you, stupid?’, while Zeed simply held a hoof over her face.

“Are ye buckin’ kiddin’ me?” I asked. “That’s yer ‘nasty idea’?”

“Oh, come on,” he said, and pointed at the door closed door, from which laughing could be heard. “We’re not going to actually torture her for real, are we?”

“Raid, ye realize she won’t take us seriously nao, right? All ‘cuz ye suggested… Goddesses…”

“Now we’ll have to search for these guys the hard way.” Zeed shook her head. “You’re an idiot, Raid.”

“What do you want me to do? Cut her up? Tie her down and rip her limbs off?”

I shuddered at the last remark. “Please… don’t talk about… limbs… Ah have very unpleasant memories that Ah’d rather nae experience again.”

“Fine, but I’m not going to do anything like that.”

“When Ah said ‘torture’, that’s nae what Ah meant.” I sighed.

He deadpanned at me. “Torture means something else now?”

“Ah guess ‘torture’ is th’ wrong word tae use…” I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, considering my next words. “Mah mother… Look, most ponies didn’t mess with us while we were in th’ Prison, and it was mostly because they knew that if they messed with us, mah mother would do… well, she’d basically beat th’ crap out ay them.”

“This is relevant, how?” He quirked an eyebrow.

“She… taught me a few tricks.” I bit my lip. “Most of them don’t involve much actual damage, and no real risk of… death. Said it’s mostly lookin’ like ye mean what ye say.”

“The word is threaten.” He smirked. “Do you seriously not know the word ‘threaten’?”

“Buck aff.” I rolled my eyes. “It probably won’t work anyway, especially after yer little comment about rope.”

He worked his jaw a few times, most likely trying to come up with a retort. Eventually he settled on, “I retract my previous comment.”

Zeed put a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I know you don’t like doing it. You don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

I shook my head. “Ah’ll dae it. Just… Don’t come in.”

She nodded, and both of them left the hallway, most likely to wait outside the apartment with Stock.

I took a deep breath, and walked into the room where the slaver was tied up.

“Oh look,” she said. “The fuckin’ weirdo is here. Hello ya horny striped bitch!”

I glared at her. She simply laughed. “Awww, did I make you mad?”

I ignored her, brushing aside her comment.

Mentally, I reached into the back of my mind. I searched the dark, dusty corners of my brain until I found what I was looking for.

“Why, hello there, Knives! Fancy meeting you here!” She chirped. “I must say I’m surprised. You don’t normally visit me of your own free will. What’s the occasion?”

“Shut up. There’s somepony here who Ah figured ye might like tae…” I paused, looking for the right words. “Talk tae.”

She performed the mental equivalent of gaping at me, then started laughing hysterically.

I growled. “What’s so funny?”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Knives.” She said. “You don’t want to think of horrible things to say yourself, so you come to me. That way you don’t feel bad about it.”

I growled again as she went into another laughing fit. “So what? Ye like causin’ pain.”

“No, Knives. I like causing you pain. I like torturing you and making your life miserable. I don’t care about anyone else.”

“Yer lyin’.” I said, mentally gritting my teeth.

“Even if I was lying, I wouldn’t agree.” She said dismissively. “If I gave you ideas, then I’d be helping you, and I don’t want to help you. I want to screw you over. I want to see you do… I don’t know… things. I want you in this cage, instead of me. You’re on your own.”

“Hey!” I shouted in my mind. “Don’t you run away from me! HEY!”

It was too late. She'd already stopped listening to me. I gritted my teeth and growled in frustration.

With a roar of anger, I punched the wall, making a hole in the weak plaster.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Asked the slaver. “You zoned out there for a-“

“SHUT UP!” I screamed.

She sneered at me. “Don’t tell me to shut up, you stupid cunt. If we were back at the camp, we’d have you strung up by your legs and flayed alive!”

I glared at her.

“Or maybe we’d tie ropes to your forelegs and start pulling.” She grinned.

I continued glaring for a moment.

Then I flipped the chair she was tied to, making her yelp in surprise.

Slowly, I trotted around her, so I could look at her face. “Dae ye dae things like that tae all ay yer slaves?”

She grinned. “Fuck yeah. They belong to us! We can do whatever the fuck we want to them, and there ain’t shit you little fucks can do about it.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Like what ya see, cunt? Untie me and maybe we can fuck while you’re in chains.” She laughed.

I continued to stare at her.

Under my stare, I noticed that her smirk shrank slightly, and her eyes kept flicking towards the right side of my face. “What the fuck are you starin’ at, freak?”

An idea popped into my head, and a mischievous grin spread across my face as I said, “Don’t go anywhere.”

I trotted briskly outside to find Raid and Zeed talking, the former with a cigarette once more between her lips.

“Zeed, dae ye have that measurin’ stick oan ye?” I asked.

With a confused look, she pointed towards her saddlebags. “Why do you need-“

“Ah got an idea. Which pocket is it?” I said as I ran over to them.

“The front one.” She replied. “Seriously, though. Why do you need my ruler? What the hell are you doing?”

Another grin found its way onto my face as I trotted into the apartment’s kitchen, grabbed several ancient rusty utensils, and returned to the makeshift interrogation room. I stopped for a moment to try and put my ‘scary face’ back on, and stepped through the door.

“What the fuck took ya so long, cunt?” said the mare on the floor, still tied to the chair. “I was getting worried ya forgot about me.”

Without a word, I put the measuring stick up to her eye, and took a close look at the number.

“What in the…” She said as she tried to squirm away. “The fuck’re ya doin’?”

“Measurin’.” I said, trying to suppress a grin.

“Whhhhyyyyyy?” She asked.

I levitated the stick to my own eye and measured that as well, which was difficult without a mirror, but still doable.

“Are ya gonna fuckin’ answer me?”

I stood the chair, and the mare along with it, back on its legs, and grinned in the mare’s face.

“Ye know, Ah kinda miss mah old eye,” I lied. “Ah lost it tae a madmare who apparently hated mah guts.”

“The fuck is wrong with you?” She deadpanned at me. “And why do I care about your fuckin’ eyeballs?”

I smiled as wide and toothy a smile as I could, trying to make myself look as crazy as possible. “’Cuz ye got mah eyeballs in yer skull.”

The Bone Eater stared at me with a blank expression. “Wat.”

“Aye…” I levitated over a several eating utensils, a spoon, a knife, and a fork, all coated in rust. “Aam goin’ tae take yer eyes. Then Aam goin’ tae put them in mah own head. Then Ah’ll be good as new.”

Her eye twitched and her voice cracked slightly. “Wat.”

“Aam takin’ yer eyes.” I repeated.

“My eyes.”

“Aye.” I nodded, my face growing tired from holding the fake psychotic smile.

“And putting them into your head.” She continued.

“Did Ah stutter?”

“No, no… It’s just that you’re fucking crazy.” She said simply.

My smile grew a bit wider.

We stayed in silence for a moment.

And another.

“Would ye like me tae use th’ spoon or th’ fork?”

She screamed.

~~~~~

Stock was rolling on the ground, laughing her flank off. While Zeed and Raid once more questioned the terrified slaver, with significantly better success.

“I can’t believe ya actually pulled that off!” She said between gasps. “Where the fuck did you get that idea?”

“Ah noticed that she was lookin’ at mah weird eye,” I said, pointing to the eye in question. “So Ah went with it.”

“Well I for one, think that’s genius.” The ghoul replied. “I kinda wish I thought a’ that.”

“Honestly, Ah didn’t actually expect it tae work.” I shrugged. “Aam just glad Ah didnae actually have tae dae anythin’ tae her.”

“With, of course,” Zeed said from behind me, making me jump. “The exception of a bit of mental trauma.”

I waved a hoof dismissively. “She’ll get over it.”

Zeed quirked an eyebrow. “Says the acrophobic mare.”

“Alright, good point, but at least it’s not as bad as it would be if we actually… did somethin’ tae her.” I replied with a shudder.

“Whatever the case, we have what we need. The Bone Eaters camp is about three days out.” She continued. “We should be able to sneak up on them, too.”

“Och, that’s wonderful. When dae we leave?”

“In a few hours, when Raid gets her in the jail.”

I blinked at her. “Bladesville has a jail?”

Both Zeed and Stock gave me a look that said something along the lines of ‘are you kidding me?’.

I frowned. “Shut up.”

With a snort, Zeed once more went through her unnecessarily complicated method of lighting a cigarette.

Then I heard shouting from inside the apartment and darted inside, leaving a confused zebra and ghoul in my wake.

Raid was on top of the mare, holding her down, while she snapped and snarled at him like a rabid animal. Well… how I would image a rabid animal would do that.

“Uh… Sorry, am Ah interruptin’ somethin’?”

He glared at me. “Help. Please.”

“Aam nae really into threesomes thanks.” I smirked.

“She’s trying to escape, here. You know, the bad slaver pony?” He snapped back. “Wants to do bad things to us?”

“I’M NOT LETTING YOU KEEP ME HERE YOU MOTHER-FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT!” The mare roared. “THAT FREAK ISN’T GOING TO SCARE ME!”

“Ye know Aam right here, don’t ye?” I said with an eyebrow raised.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

We stayed like that for a moment.

Then she started fighting even harder, driving every free limb into Raid’s sides, making him grunt in pain. I tried to grab her hooves in my own, but she simply kept thrashing out of my grip, screaming all the while.

“Ah can’t hold her down!”

“Just… get something to hit her with! Before she-“

He was interrupted by the mare driving both her back hooves into his crotch.

The blue buck toppled over and cried out in pain, falling off of the Bone Eater, who scrambled to her hooves and backed into a corner, staring intently at me while Raid writhed on the ground in pain.

I slammed the nearest door shut with a quick telekinetic punt, and dropped into a fighting stance, magically pulling a knife out of one of my pockets.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Calm down. We’re nae goin’ tae dae anythin’ tae ye.”

“Like tearing out my eyeballs?” Oh… right… that. “You little shits aren’t-“

She suddenly lunged at me, slamming a hoof into my jaw, causing my magic to implode and the knife to fly off and stick into the chair she was previously tied to.

Stunned and slightly dazed, I tried to take a swing at her with a hoof, only for her to dodge out of the way, straight towards the knife.

With what little focus I could, I managed to force the knife out of the chair in such a way that it slammed into the metal wall, quivering with a twang sound. Surprisingly, the Bone Eater once more dove for it, pushing me to the ground as she did so.

By the time I finally stood up, she was holding the knife in her teeth, staring me down from across the room. We sat there, staring at each other for about a minute before I finally realized that I was blocking the exit.

I briefly wondered why we were having so much trouble dealing with a single pony. No accounting for the power of terror, I suppose.

“You fucking assholes aren’t-“ The mare was interrupted when Raid slammed into her.

As I rushed over to help, I heard the door swing open. Turning to see Zeed, I called out, “HELP!”

Then I heard Raid scream in pain. The slaver had stabbed him in the flank, and torn a large hole in his leather jacket. However, he managed to take the opportunity to slam all of his weight onto the mare’s head, dragging her to the floor and pinning her there. He effectively took her down by flopping on her head, and then rolling over onto her neck.

“Knives, could you eh…” He said once the mare had passed out, nodding towards the knife. “Could you kindly pull this thing outa my flank? It’s not really comfortable.”

Zeed stepped in before I could do anything, and shoved a healing potion into his throat, as he tried to protest, she then pulled the knife out of his flank, causing him to gasp in pain.

“Kicked in the nuts and stabbed in the ass…” He groaned. “This is gunna be a fun day.”

I wasn’t paying attention to what he said, though, as I was currently staring at his exposed flank. No, not like that… although it was a nice view… I was looking at his cutie mark, which was comprised of three multi-colored flower petals. The view lasted about three seconds before it was suddenly covered in leather. Greenish sparks sparked off his jacket as it seemed to repair itself.

Zeed and I stared at the blue stallion, dumbfounded.

He only shrugged. “It’s enchanted. Tends to give off creepy vibes, bit it’s useful.”

We continued to stare at him.

“It was a gift… sort of…” He shrugged again. “I think he died before the war. Got himself blown to bits on... I wanna saw a minefield. Obviously the jacket was fine.”

Zeed quirked an eye at him. “Why would anypony enchant a jacket?”

He shrugged yet again. “Somepony who loves their clothes. I think he was a zebra, though.”

“I know it’s kinda rude tae ask, but what exactly is yer cutie mark.” I asked nervously.

He gaped at me. Then he sighed and facehoofed. “Dammit.”

“Ooooh. What’re ya going to do, Blue?” Stock said from the doorway. “You’re not going to tell them everything are you?”

Both Zeed and I gave him a suspicious look. “Tell us what, Raid…”

“Dammit, Stock…” He sighed again. “Fine. Let’s get this over with before everypony gets paranoid. There was a group of other ponies after me, but they stopped chasing me about a long time ago. I hide my cutie mark because it’s somewhat… obvious, and I’d rather not risk anypony selling me out. Good enough?”

I frowned, surprised by how irritated he sounded, Zeed held a similar, but more suspicious expression on her own face. “There more tae it, isn’t there.”

“Of course there’s more to it, but there’s several problems with telling you…” He stood up and brushed himself off. “One; most of it involves things I don’t like thinking about. Two; they’re not chasing me anymore, so it doesn’t even matter. Three…”

He bit his lip. “Well… to be perfectly honest, I do want to tell you, but I’m just not sure if I can… trust you two with it… sorry.”

I waved my hoof dismissively. “Alright, then. When yer ready.”

Zeed gawked at me. “What? He’s keeping secrets and you’re… fine with that?”

I smirked at her. “Och, like ye dunnae have secrets ay yer own?”

To my surprise, she blushed. “N-never mind.”

“But… Aam still a bit curious… what exactly is yer cutie mark?” I pointed to Raid.

He worked his jaw for a moment. “Uh… well… I guess there’s no harm in telling, but you’re just going to laugh.”

“Why would Ah dae that?”

“It’s… not common… especially not around here…” He chuckled nervously.

“Alright then…” I turned and slowly trotted out the door.

Slowly… Slowly…

“Ugh… fine.” I turned and grinned at him. “Just swear you won’t laugh.”

Zeed and I both promised.

“Well… the mark itself is a trio of rainbow lotus petals.” He inhaled, hissing slightly. “The talent…”

He grinned awkwardly. “My special talent is… massage.”

Zeed’s gaped. I simply nodded.

“Ah imagine ye could make a few bits out here, if ye get a place set up.”

He shrugged. “I’d like to, but who’d come? Most ponies don’t really care about knotted muscles all that much. They’re generally more worried about being alive.”

Stock raised a hoof. “Quick question… How did an injured pony manage to overpower you two?”

Raid rubbed his flank and grimaced. “Either we didn’t check her as well as we thought, or she keeps a few doses of hydra where Celestia can’t see…”

Zeed snickered.

“Well… oan that… interestin’ note… How about we get goin’, aye?” I said. “We’ve got a zebra tae find.”

~~~

Green awoke with a yawn.

Looking around, she was surprised to find herself in a small, spartan, yet cozy room, the wallpaper of which was apparently strong enough to withstand nearly two hundred years of time. She was even more surprised to find that she had awoken on top of a large and very comfortable bed, and that her clothes were now sitting on a nearby chair, removed while she was asleep and thoroughly cleaned.

Tentatively, she slipped out of the bed, and put on her former master’s clothes, cutting two holes in the back for her wings, and noting how the colors were actually brighter now that they’d been washed for what was probably the first time in years. A canvas shirt and a black pocketed vest. Simple. Bark rarely wore anything else but for a tuxedo when he was trying to look impressive for a buyer.

Green shook her head to clear her thoughts, figuring that the slave-owner was the last pony she should be thinking about.

“Hello?” she called out. “Is anypony here?”

Not hearing an answer, she made her way to the door and peeked outside.

There was a long hallway, each wall dotted with more doors. Green knew the word for this place, it was on the tip of her tongue. A hotel, that’s the one.

“Hello?” she called again, and once more heard no answer.

Confused, she retreated back into the room, and sat on the bed.

She waited… and waited… and waited…

She sat there, waiting for hours, getting every so often to check and see if anypony was in the hallway, and then sitting back down on the bed, confused. She was unused to not being ordered around at nearly every waking moment. She was unsure of what to do.

“Hello Green, how are you feeling?”

Green jumped and spun around to see Wretch standing in the doorway, a duffle bag in her magical grip.

“I… Uh… Uh… Well…” She gulped, suddenly filled with panic. Her words were barely a whisper. “Better.”

Wretch smiled warmly. “That’s good. I brought some food.”

She walked into the room, and onto the single table, dumped the duffle bag, revealing a copious amount of what was essentially junk food, but food nonetheless. The sight made Green’s mouth water.

“Take as much as you like.” Wretch said as she picked up an apple snack cake.

Green’s mind was reeling. Never before in her life had she even seen this much food.

She took something, barely even looking to see what it was. She couldn’t help but repeatedly look back to Wretch, expecting her to change her mind, or slap away Green’s hoof at any moment.

Slowly, she opened the package, still sending nervous glances at her friend, who was happily munching on the same cake.

A single, delicious bite of what was probably the best thing she’d ever tasted.

And she couldn’t hold herself back any longer.

Green tore into package after package, scarfing down their contents, as though it were her last meal, barely even tasting what she was eating.

Wretch stopped and stared at the small pegasus, utterly confused by how a pony that size could eat so much.

Eventually, Green simply couldn’t eat any more, having gone through most of the pile of goods within the course of fifteen minutes.

The filly rolled onto her back, moaned, and put a hoof on her now aching and slightly distended stomach.

Wretch stared at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Huh…” She said. “Weird.”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
EXP 50%

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
EXP 60%

~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
EXP 50%

`
Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.
Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1)
Find information on the location of Ashes.
2)
Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)
–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

I’ll get there eventually. Don’t worry.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Twelve: Maintennat, Flottant Le Long

“We have the thing at the place!”

“Ash? Ash, can I come in!” I shouted as I frantically knocked on the door, looking over my shoulder, hoping to not see her trotting down the hallway. “Ash!”

“Come on in Zeed, door’s open!” She called out.

I opened the door and shot in, slamming it shut behind me and locking it. I slumped to the floor against it, panting heavily.

Ashes was running on a treadmill, giving me a ‘what the hell is the matter with you’ look. I saw Diam- I mean Knives sitting on Ashes’ couch, reading a book poorly concealed with black cloth, giving me a similar, though more bemused, look.

“Hey, Zeed. What’s wrong?” Asked the grey earth pony on the treadmill. I was surprised that she wasn’t even winded. “You look spooked.”

Trying to catch my breath, I managed an answer. “Trying… to escape... from mom… wants me to get... a piercing… no way in hell…”

Ashes blinked and wrinkled her nose in thought. “So… You’re running away from your mother because she’s trying to give you a piercing? What’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t want my damn lip pierced!”

“Why not? I’ve got a tongue piercing.” She said simply.

“Firstly, ew. Secondly, I don’t want a piercing. Apparently she’s been trying to find the equipment since I got my glyphmark.” I replied, pointing to the vaguely syringe-shaped mark on my flank. I then pointed to Ashes and the treadmill she was running on. “Why are you on that thing anyway?”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked forward, giving the wall in front of her a death glare.

“I had to see the doc today.” She growled. “Guess what I found out.”

My eyes widened. “Oh Luna… are you okay?

Knives snickered, causing Ashes to shoot her an angry look.

“Oh, I’m fine.” She smiled sarcastically. “I just found out that I’m about fifty pounds underweight.”

As I gaped at her, Knives snickered again. Ashes gave her another look. “Shut up, Knives. It isn’t funny.”

“How the hell did that happen?” I asked, taking a quick glance at her flank… and her cutie mark, an electric guitar. “You look fine to me.”

I could have sworn that I saw the mare blush. “Uh… Zeed? You can count my ribs. That’s why I went to see the doc in the first place.”

She sighed, and hopped off the treadmill. “Now I have to gain fifty freaking pounds or the higher-ups are going to stick me in the barracks. Blech.”

She threw her head back and shouted in a dramatic manner. “Damn you parents, for this ridiculously fast metabolism! Damn you!”

“Where did ye even get a treadmill, anyway?” Knives chortled.

“I stole it from the gym.” The earth pony said simply.

I blinked at her. “We have a gym?”

She frowned at me. “Of course we have a gym. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Okay then...” A silent awkwardness permeated the room, I looked around the messy room, and my eyes fell on Knives. She was still intently reading her book.

“Knives!” I shouted, making the striped unicorn jump as she quickly closed her novel. “How are you doing? Feeling better?”

The mare deadpanned at me. “Dammit, Zeed. Ah finally managed tae get… that off mah mind, and ye had tae go and remind me of it. Thanks.”

I winced. “Sorry…”

Knives sighed and returned to her reading. “Whatever th’ case, Aam fine. Had ah nightmare last night, but it wasnae that bad. Mom’s been helpin’ me through it, so…”

“Oh…” I bit my lip nervously. “That’s… good… well… We’re here for you… if you need anything.”

She didn’t look up from the book, but she did smile. “Thanks. Still can’t believe Lockpick acshully tried tae kill me, though…”

~~~~~

“Why the hell do these buildings seem to pop up at random?” I asked.

One day into our journey, we found ourselves in yet another ruined city, separated from Bladesville by a short distance and a downward slope. This confused me somewhat, as I was under the impression that Canturbury was itself, a city. I figured that it must either be made up of smaller towns, or some sort of province or state. Unless those were the same thing. I never really understood politics and things like that. For all I knew it might not have even been part of Equestria. Although, I guess it could just be really, really big.

“Because,” Raid said. “The ponies of pre-war Canturbury had absolutely no common sense when it came to urban planning.”

“Th’ hell does that mean?” Knives scoffed.

“Let me give you an example.” The ultramarine stallion began. “There are multiple medical research facilities here, all roughly the same size. There are three of the same kind right next to each other over by the mall, about seven near Loss, and Goddesses know how many others scattered around the rest of Canturbury.”

“… Ah see yer point.”

I glanced around. Most of the buildings were damaged to the point where there would be no entering them without a decent amount of explosives, digging, or patience. Most of the doors, windows, and other assorted entryways were blocked by large piles of rubble and the occasional auto-cart that had been knocked over. Strangely, all the junk seemed to be pressed up against where the massive sidewalk ended. The curbs also seemed oddly thick.

“Luna’s moon, it’s quiet…” I murmured.

“I can turn on the radio if you want.” The blue buck shook the pipbuck on his leg.

“Meh, why not.”

He stopped walking for a moment to fiddle with the device. Within about ten seconds, I regretted saying anything at all, as the air became filled with the most horrific screeching noise I’d ever heard in my entire life.

As soon as it had started, the noise was gone, leaving everypony but Stock covering their ears and clenching their teeth.

“Ow,” said Raid. “That doesn’t normally happen.”

“Goddesses… what, did you put a Canterlot transmitter in there?” Stock snarked. “You need new speakers, Blue.”

Knives pulled her hooves away from her ears. “Th’ fuck was that?”

“Hold on. I think I got it set right this time. I’m gonna turn it on again.” Raid cautiously put his hoof on the button. This time, a voice came out of the device. The mare’s voice was a bit raspy, yet she sounded like her happiness dial had been turned to eleven.

”…the sound of gorgons mating! If you’re wondering why we have that on record, don’t worry, ‘cuz I don’t know either! If you’re wondering why I played it… Well… I actually pushed the wrong button. Gimme a break, I’m new at this.”

“I think I’d rather have not found out what that was.” Raid shuddered.

”For those of you who have just tuned in, you’re listening to Pirate Radio! Your swashbuckling DJs in the middle of Canturbury. I… am your humble hostess… Jolly Rodgeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrr! You’re stripy-flanked captain of news and music.

“Anyway, now for some news from this science-tastic hellhole! The Brain Guild is paying big caps for anyone willing to take a dungeon dive into some old laboratory ruins up near the town of Open. I dunno what’s in there, but they’re offering like… a bajillion caps, I thi- HOLY SHIT! Folks, they’re offering about twenty thousand caps for going into what amounts to an old dungeon. If I didn’t have this gig, I’d get my juicy, striped flank right out there with a snorkel and dive right in! Just keep in mind… Some of these labs are far more dangerous than any Stables you might be wandering through, so be careful.

I made a mental note of that

“In other news... It seems that one of Canturbury’s resident heroes has gone missing… again… yes, folks the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well has disappeared yet again, after returning about two years ago from a twenty-ought-year absence. She was last seen entering the Common Medical Research facility. I think that’s the one where they had a bunch of basilisks or something.

“No? Oh, right. Common is the one with all that… body preservation crap… basically, think of a morgue for living ponies. Cryogenics, I think. Whatever. The point is, if anypony cares about our caped crusader, feel free to go after her. I’ve seen her a few times, and she has a pretty hot flank, so… Nudge nudge, wink wink, nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat. Heh. Let’s see... anything else…

“There’s seriously super-heroes running around?” Knives asked incredulously, as the apparently unorganized radio hostess loudly searched through what sounded like large stacks of papers, uttering a near-constant stream of profanities. “What kind ay nutjob does that?”

“The kind that wants to at least try and help.” Raid replied. “Considering that most of the ponies living here are the descendants of complete and total nerds… I’m not surprised that some of them took inspiration from comic books. Sometimes it’s a bit more intimidating when you have a reputation, but no name.”

Knives grunted in acknowledgement.

”Nope! That’s about it folks! This has been the news, brought to you by Canturbury’s hottest zebra pirate! Jolly Rodger!

“…yes I’m well aware that I’m the only zebra pirate around here. That just validates my point. Now let’s get it on with… Some muuuuuusiiiiiic!

“If I can find the damn bu- oh, here it is!”

Then there came the sound of a band playing a somewhat familiar song.

As soon as the lyrics started, Knives let out the most high-pitched fanfilly squeal of joy that I have ever heard come from the, normally androgynous, mare. Raid, Stock, and I all stared at her as she started singing along with the music.

You look like a princess (look like a princess)…

Walk like a princess (walk like a princess)…

Talk like a princess (talk like a princess)…

But I got wiiiiiise…

You’re a changeling in disguise! Oh yes you are,

Changeling in disguise! Oh-oh-oh-oh

Changeling in disguise!

I thought that I was in Heaven,

But it was no surprise,

Celestia help me I didn’t see,

The liar in your eyes.

Noticing that we were all gaping at her as if she’d sprouted a second horn, she blushed and grinned sheepishly. “Aheh… Ah like The Prez... So sue me…”

Stock snorted. “So do I, but ya don’t see me squealing at the top of my lungs.”

When she shot a glare at him, Stock and I snickered at her. “Hey, it’s not mah fault- Th’ hell?”

She looked up at the sky. “Where’d that come from?”

“Where did what come from?” I asked.

“Ah just got hit in th’ nose with water.” She swept a hoof around at the empty ruins. “Where in th’ hell did it come from?”

“It’s called rain, Knives. Water falling from the sky.” I rolled my eyes.

As if on cue, it began to rain heavily. I heaved a sigh. “Of course.”

“Oh, this is nice.” Said Stock as she slowly hovered along. “I haven’t seen rain this heavy in a few months.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It is pretty dry here isn’t it?”

Knives was glaring at the sky suspiciously. “This is just weirdin’ me out. It’s like th’ sky sprung a leak or somethin’.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Knives, how can you read all those romance novels and not know what rain is? It’s like a cliché in that kind of thing.”

She gaped at me. “How did you know about those?”

I deadpanned at her. “You didn’t exactly hide it very well.”

Stock sniggered. “Knives reads romance novels.”

The striped unicorn turned crimson. “Sh-shut up!”

“Hey, I hate to break this up but we need to find shelter, now!” Raid shouted.

Stock laughed. “I didn’t think ya would panic about rain, Blue.”

“Stock, do you remember what happens when it doesn’t rain for a long period of time?” he said slowly. “And then it starts raining heavily?”

She stared at him for a moment.

“Oh… Fuck… We gotta find cover.”

“That’s what I said, yes.” He began to look around in a frantic manner.

“Blue, what are you doing?” the ghoul shouted. “We need to get out of the city!”

“This area got flooded a lot before the war.” He replied. “The buildings are reinforced.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” I asked.

Raid pointed to the sidewalk. To my and Knives’ surprise, the massive concrete slabs were actually moving, sections slid apart to form a ten-foot wall. The glow of magic surrounded about half of them, apparently reinforcing them with what I assumed was a force field. A good number of what I thought were simply shapes etched into the curb rose up to the top edge of the slabs, creating staircases. Then, to our collective surprise the buildings themselves started to rise.

All the while, the air was filled with the sounds of a siren and a calm female voice.

“Attention: Flood imminent. All citizens please take shelter. Flood barriers will be raised in fifteen seconds. Please move in a calm and orderly fashion. Be warned, several buildings in blocks Four, Six, Seven, and Ten have failed to properly engage safety measures. All citizens in those areas, please confirm that the safety measures have engaged. Thank you.” It said.

The only thought that entered my mind was, “Cool.”

“Come on, we need to hurry!” Raid yelled.

All of us began to run to each building in a frantic manner, looking for something that seemed… safe… apparently some of the barriers had massive chunks of concrete missing, or one building failed to rise, or the staircase didn’t move, or a number of other problems had occurred. As we did, I noticed a few lazy streams of water trickling down one of the streets.

“Over here!” Shouted Raid, waving at us from in front of a three-story building. “This one’s marked!”

I turned to see him in front of a two-story building that had been painted many times over with various kinds of graffiti. The most prominent markings were “Mare-Do-Well was here” and a large, yellow number fifteen painted over a blue splotch of color.

As I trotted over, I saw that the door to this building was also blocked. Before I could ask how we were supposed to get in, I saw it.

There was an open door on the third floor. On a building that had been raised ten feet above ground level.

Knives trotted up, breathing heavily from frantically running to every building in sight. “Sae, where is it?”

With a sigh, I pointed towards the raised structure. As she followed my hoof, her jaw dropped. Her voice was barely a squeak. “Up there?”

Raid facehooved. “Crap. I forgot about that.”

Stock floated just behind him. “About what?”

Knives shuddered, still staring at the series of, admittedly flimsy, ladders.

“What’s up with you?” Snorted the ghoul.

“It’s… really high…” My horned friend gulped.

Raid sighed and turned to me. “Alright, I guess we’ll have to find somewhere else.”

Then Knives screamed.

Whipping my head around, I saw her hanging from Stock’s forelegs, the undead pegasus slowly floating up towards the open door with a cocky smirk.

“PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWN!” She shrieked in sheer terror.

“STOCK! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Raid roared as Stock threw Knives onto the top of the escape. The striped-legged mare immediately darted inside.

Raid and I rushed up both stairways and into the room, with him muttering about Stock being an insensitive asshole.

It was incredibly dusty, and clearly hadn’t been touched since the megaspells hit. It was almost completely empty except for a bed and several damaged mattresses. I figured it must have, at one point, been an apartment. Several gaping holes were in the middle of the floor, possibly going all the way down to ground level. Knives was sitting in the far corner of the room, pressed up against the wall and hyperventilating with her eyes clenched tight.

“Knives, are you okay?” I asked as I put a hoof on her shoulder. She was shaking violently, but she nodded slowly, her face damp with tears.

“Stock, what the hell were you thinking?” Raid sighed.

“What? What’d I do?”

“Knives is acrophobic.” I answered. “She can’t stand heights.”

. “Seriously? That’s hilarious.” The ghoul guffawed.. Then she frowned. “You gotta admit, though... it’s better than drowning, right?”

I looked at her with an expression of confusion. She pointed at the door.

Where there was once a broken street coated in orange dust, there was now a massive river flowing through the ruined town. In the seconds we weren’t watching, the water had filled the place completely, even covering the raised sections with a raging torrent of water, and was rushing through the streets with such incredible strength that it was dragging a few auto-carts along with it.

“What is it?” Asked Knives, who was still staying as far away from the door and the holes in the floor as equinly possible.

“It flooded, really quick. What the hell happened?”

“Flash flood.” Said Raid. “Happens once every two or three years. This one seems pretty mild. Should take about a day to clear up.”

“WHAT?” I yelled. “We’re getting set back again? Sweet Luna, at this rate we’re never gonna find dad.”

“Woah, calm down Stripes. We’ll find him. Just be patient.” Stock chuckled. “It’s not like he’s-“

I clamped my hooves down over her mouth. “I am NOT having you jinx anything!”

“SHUT UP!” Knives shouted.

Everypony was quiet for a moment, I could hear Knives’ nervous panting over the roar of the rain on the roof. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the water leaking into one of the rooms, and the faint roar of the flood outside.

“Maybe we should try and get some rest.” Raid said, prompting me to release the ghoul.

“Yeah…” I said, as I rubbed my face with a hoof, suddenly feeling the urge to yawn. “I think I need it especially. No sleep last night. What time is it?”

“Around noon.” He said, checking his pipbuck. “Why?”

“Oy… This is gonna be a long day.” I yawned. “I think I’m gonna browse the junk. I’m sure there’ll be something interesting.”

“I think I’ll join you.” Raid said with a bit of mock cheer. “You coming Stock?”

“Nah. Gonna keep watch.” The ghoul replied.

Raid shrugged and turned to Knives. “How about you, Knives. You wanna come? Might get your mind off of the, eh…” He motioned his head downward.

She stood, shuddering as she glanced at the hole in the floor. “Ah’ll come with ye.”

~~~

The rest of the place was fairly large, and looked like somepony had, at one point, simply pulled copious amounts of junk and crap inside and then left it all there. Fortunately for Knives, there weren’t many other massive holes in the floor, and most of the windows were boarded up. Most of what we found was useless. Well… Raid and I considered it useless. Knives, on the other hoof had accumulated a sizeable pile of scrap metal and various bits of electronics.

“Knives, what are you even going to do with all this crap?” Raid asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Do you even have pockets?” I snarked from my position near this room’s closet.

“Ay course Ah have pockets.” She snorted. “And this crap can be useful. Ye never know when ye might need tae make a lockpick or somethin’.”

“I just use bobby pins.” Raid went back to the bookshelf he was searching through. “Not that I’m any good at picking locks.”

Knives frowned. “Well… Ah personally think that it’s a good idea tae keep some scrap around. Never know when ye might need it.”

I blinked at her. “Okay... I’m not even going to bother arguing with you on that, but where are you going to keep all this?”

She opened her mouth as though she was about to say something, but stopped, and put a hoof to her chin instead. “Hmm… Ah’ll have tae think ay that.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you say I’m weird. Junkaholic.”

“Th’ hell does tha’ mean?” She retorted. With a chuckle, Raid went to check the other side of the room, humming to himself.

“I happen to recall you telling me that you got your cutie mark by fixing a jukebox with little more than scrap.”

“Aye. What’s yer point?” She chucked a bundle of wires onto her junk-pile.

“Why did you have it to begin with?” I said with a smirk as I threw open a half-destroyed wardrobe.

“Oh!” I pulled out a large poster and unrolled it. “Shadowbolts!”

“Really?” Knives quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

“Hey, they were cool!” I said.

“Ah happen tae remember that ye used tae have a crush on Rainbow Dash.”

Suddenly, Raid smacked his head on a bed frame he was looking under. He pulled his head out, rubbing it and wincing. “Who said ‘Rainbow Dash’?”

“Knives did. Also, I did not have a crush on her.” I growled, giving her a light push.

“Och, yes ye did.” She smirked again. “Ye even had one ay those Rainbow wigs.”

“You guys gave that to me as a joke, and you damn well know it!” I snapped back.

“Why are you guys talking about... her?” The blue stallion cut in.

“Oh, I found this poster.” I unrolled it again and held it out. “See?”

Raid gently moved the poster away with a forehoof, a bemused expression on his face. “Oh. Shadowbolts. Yay. I just love pre-war sports crap.”

Knives quirked an eyebrow at him, a smirk on her face. “Not a fan, Aam guessin’?”

“Of a bunch of pegasi who fought in the war? Lead by an obsessive athlete who called her organization the ‘Ministry of Awesome’?” He snorted. “Yeah, so much cooler than the Steel Rangers.”

“Obsessive athlete?” I asked.

His eye twitched. “Yes. Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-maned female jock.”

“My mane!” Knives gasped as she stuck a hoof out in the air. “That’s it!”

She then proceeded to drag her pile of junk into the nearest bathroom and shut the door, leaving Raid and myself to stare on in bewilderment.

I turned to him and smirked. “Just ask her out, Raid.”

He froze for a second, stuttering as he tried to find a response. “Where the fuck did that come from?”

“I’ve been waiting for a moment to talk to you about it without her hearing.” I shrugged. “It’s odd that I don’t get that many.”

He blinked, then sighed, a slight blush on his face. “Am I really that obvious?”

“Maybe to me. Your love life belongs in a comic book, or maybe a romance novel. Knives would probably love that.” I chortled.

“You have no idea.” He shook his head. “I’m trying to work up the guts to say… something, but every time I try… I dunno, somewhere between my brain and my mouth it turns into a joke.”

“That’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” I deadpanned.

He groaned into his hoof. “The worst part is I start acting like I’m joking.”

“This happens a lot to you, doesn’t it.”

“…yes.”

“You’re a moron, you know that, right?”

“…yes.”

I smirked. “Just ask her out. She’ll say ‘yes’. Trust me. If you keep flirting with her, you’ll just make her nervous. She’s pretty easily embarrassed for somepony who reads romance novels all the time.”

He sighed. “Alright, you have a-“

“Sae, how dae Ah look?” Knives said from the doorway.

Her mane and tail had become significantly longer. This was because she had tied a large amount of electrical cables and wires into them, as well as a few bits of scrap metal. Her normally short tail was now about a foot longer, and her mane was even longer than that. On her fetlocks were multiple strips of metal, formed into bangles and bracelets. She actually looked pretty cool, though her shirt and jacket didn’t quite fit the ensemble.

Despite all that, however, my first reaction was, “Holy shit, you actually did something with your mane for once?”

She shrugged. “Figured Ah might as well, since Ah don’t have anywhere tae put half ay this stuff.”

“You… Uh… you…” I glanced over to see that Raid was desperately trying not to blush, but to no avail. “You look… great… Knives.”

I almost facehooved when Knives blushed as well. Am I really going to have to play matchmaker for these two? Maybe I can get Stock to help.

The awkward blush-fest was interrupted when the aforementioned ghoul burst in with a wide grin on her face.

“Guys! I just got, like… the most awesome idea ever!” The ghoul said happily. “I saw this billboard floating with the flood, and it was, like, horizontal! We could use it as a fuckin’ raft, guys!”

We stared at her for a moment. Stock looked back and forth between us, eventually settling on Knives and her junk-metal filled mane.

“Love the mane Knives.” She grinned.

“Uh… Thanks…” She said. “So, we’re going to ride... on a flood?”

The ghoul grinned so wide I thought that her jaw might fall off. “Yup. And on the biggest damn surfboard I’ve ever seen.”

Raid shuffled nervously. “Eh… is it stable? You know how I get around… well…”

“Sorry, Blue.” She shook her head. “You’re gonna be pukin’ your guts out the whole time.”

The ultramarine stallion sighed. “Of course.”

“Something wrong?” I asked with concern.

“I get… really bad motion sickness… Not much I can do.” He shrugged.

Stock snorted. “Don’t worry Blue. It happens more than you think.”

He gave her a confused look. “ Okay then… let’s get moving.”

We all followed Stock back out, and looked out the window, while Knives once more clung to the far wall.

Outside, shored on the raised concrete platform and tied to the bottom of the fire escape with a bit of rope, was a three-inch thick billboard just large enough for the four of us to stand on and still have room to move.

Brawnco the Thirst Bucker!

It’s like a balefire bomb to your face!

“’Brawnco’? Seriously?” I said.

“Hey,” Raid smiled. “That stuff is good. Personally I can’t get enough of it.”

“Addict.” Stock snorted, receiving a roll of the eyes from the blue stallion.

“So…” I glanced behind me. “How are we gonna get Knives down?”

Knives took a deep breath, and shakily trotted up to the window, clamping her eyes shut. “Stock, could ye just fly meh down there?”

Stock blinked. “Uh… are you sure?”

“Please just do it before Ah lose mah nerve.”

With a shrug, the pegasus snatched up the striped unicorn and shot out the window, while Raid and I casually climbed down the metal staircase that was the fire escape.

Stock landed, gently placing Knives on our makeshift raft, where the latter collapsed, and curled up into the fetal position.

“You alright, Knives?”

She nodded. “Just give me a minute.”

Stock untied the rope.

~~~~~

The flood carried us at a rather fast pace through the city. I wondered just how it was raining enough to make the place flood this much. It seemed a bit unreal. It wasn’t enough to keep our makeshift raft from occasionally scraping the tops of the raised platforms, or getting stuck on one, forcing Stock to push, but it was easier than walking, although the city did seem very large.

Taking a glance at Raid, I saw that he’d grown extremely pale, and was lying on his side near the edge of our raft. He’d already thrown up several times. I wished that I’d bothered to look for some antacids or something, but I hadn’t expected motion sickness to be a problem. Seeing him like this was, admittedly, sort of depressing.

“You need anything, Raid?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. I’m fine.”

“You sure? You might wanna drink something.”

He opened his mouth to say something, then clamped a hoof over his mouth. After a second, he carefully removed the hoof, and stuck out his tongue. “Nah. I got some water in my-” He made a sickening urp sound as he spun to vomit over the side of the raft.

“You sure?” I quirked an eyebrow.

He rolled back onto his side, and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket, grimacing as the bile rolled off of the enchanted leather. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

I shrugged and trotted over to Stock, passing Knives, who was sleeping in the center of the billboard, curled up into a ball.

“So,” I said. “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

~~~~~

Green moaned again.

She had mixed feelings about her current predicament.

On one hoof, she was ecstatic that she’d actually gotten some food in her belly, and it was a far cry better than feeling that her stomach was being crushed into a tiny ball.

On the other hoof, her stomach really hurt, and she felt like she was about to throw it all back up at any moment.

The small green pegasus opted to simply lay on her back, clutching her aching stomach.

“Green? Are you well?” Asked Wretch, concerned for her friend.

Green nodded weakly.

“Are you sure? You look a bit green.” Wretch blinked then facehooved. “No pun intended.”

Green giggled slightly, which quickly turned to groans when it made her stomach hurt.

Wretch was silent for a moment. “Can you stand?”

Green didn’t respond for a moment. She considered saying ‘no’ and hoping that the pink unicorn would leave it at that, but she really didn’t want to get hit if the mare found out she was lying.

Shakily, Green rolled over, stood, and immediately regretted it. The pain in her belly made her groan again. “I… I think I ate too much. Sorry…”

Wretch blinked. “You’re sorry… that you got a decent meal?”

Green winced, but nodded. “I’m sorry. I swear I’m not trying to be useless…”

Wretch blinked again. “What are you talking about?”

The pegasus sniffled, and seemed to shrink into herself. “I know I keep screwing up, but I can do better! Please don’t be mad.”

“Why would I be…” Wretch’s eyes widened. “Goddesses, You think I’m… Green, I would never do that! That’s horrible!”

Green stared, not understanding. “Buh-but… You killed Bark. You own me.”

Wretch’s jaw dropped. “I… Own… Oh Goddesses. Green, I am not your master.”

“You’re not?”

“No!” Wretch cried. “Nopony should own another pony. You’re your own master!”

Green simply continued staring. She wasn’t quite understanding what the pink mare was saying.

Wretch sighed. “Well… you can stay with me if you want, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Okay? Just… You’re free now. Please try to remember that, alright?”

Green nodded dumbly, making Wretch sigh again.

“Well… do you feel comfortable walking?” She asked. “We should probably get moving.”

Green nodded again, but rubbed her stomach and winced.

With another sigh, Wretch left the room, followed closely by her small pegasus friend.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level Up! (10)
Repair: 90
Speech: 26

Perks:
Intense Training: Endurance +1, Endurance is now 2

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level Up! (9)
Medicine: 99

Perks:
Swift Learner: Rank 2= +20% EXP

~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (10)
Guns: 80
Perks:
Walker of the Wastes (Rank 3/3): You and your team now move 30% faster out of combat. In combat, your own walk speed is increased by 12%.

–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

No comments for once.

Except for that.

And that.

POTATOES!

-Delakirus

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to Matkingos for making sure this doesn’t suck as much as usual. Thanks to whomever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Thirteen: Break-In Attempt

“It is the stuff of life… Well actually, if I don’t drink it on an hourly basis I get a splitting headache.”

My chest hurt. My head hurt. Everything hurt. I couldn’t move, it hurt too much.

I heard somepony crying. I think it was mom. Dad was saying something to her.

“It’s alrecht, love. Jist let it out.” He said.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Mom screamed. “She almost died, Sid!”

“Ah know tha’. There’s nothin’ Ah ken dae abit it, though. If Ah panic, Ah’ll just make it worse.”

I tried to say something, but I couldn’t find the strength to talk.

“This is all my fau-ha-haaault!” Mom sobbed.

“It’s nae yer fault, Zala. Ye didnae know.” Dad said in a low voice. “Don’t blame yerself.”

Mom sobbed something incoherently.

“Aye, but tha’ changes nothin’.” Mom mumbled something else. “But she’s nae dead. She’ll be fine suin enough.

“… saw the look on your face, Sid. You were scared too.” She sniffed.

“Eh… Ah’ll admit… Tha’ was a lot ay blood… but we got tae her in time, so it doesnae really matter, nao does it?”

I tried to speak again, and failed once more.

“I could have looked harder. I could have gotten somepony to watch her while I was gone.” Mom sniffled again. “I shouldn’t have taken her with me. She wouldn’t have-“

“Aye, and Ah should ‘ave paid attention when I was playin’ with magic. Ah might still have mah ol’ fur an’ cutie mark. Bit too late fer that, nao isn’t it?” Dad retorted. “Ye made a mistake, Zala. Nothin’ too serious happened.”

“Nothing too…” Mom’s voice suddenly took on a tone of anger. “Sid, she had a seven foot spike stuck through her chest. She had a collapsed lung. How is that not serious?”

“Zala-“

“Oh, and she also had seven broken ribs, two of which needed to be removed.”

“Zala-“

“And she had a severe concussion, a crack in her horn, several pieces of metal stuck in her-“

“ZALA!” Dad roared, something I’d never heard him do before. “Calm down!”

“…”

“Aam sorry, Zala, but yer goin’ tae give yerself an ulcer th’ way yer goin’.”

“You didn’t even know what an ulcer was until I told you.”

“Doesnae matter. The point is, when Diamond wakes up, she’s goin’ tae need help, and we cannae help her if we’re dwellin’ on what we coulda done.”

“M-mommy…” I croaked.

Within less than a second, I felt her hoof on my forehead, and saw her face in the corner of my vision. “Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?”

“… hurts…”

“I know, sweetie. You… you…” She sniffed. “It’s okay, Diamond. You’ll get better soon. I promise.”

“… scared…”

Her ears twitched. “You’re scared? What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t do more than sniffle as I felt tears coming.

“Sweetheart, yer goin’ tae be alrecht. Ah swear it.” Dad said, entering my vision on the other side with a smile. “Ye’ll be up an’ abit in nae time.”

I sniffled again, and fell back asleep.
~~~~~

She glares at me from within her cage. I glare right back.

“Ye look pissed.”

“Do I?” She sneers. “Must be because I’M TRAPPED INSIDE YOUR CAGE!”

I simply stare at her.

“I’m going to get out of this, Knives.” She growls. “Whether you like it or not.”

I narrow my eyes. “Yer never getting’ out ay here.”

She grins widely, exposing her shark-like teeth. “We’ll see about-“

Knives, wake up!

01000101011100100111001001101111011100100011101000100000010100000110110001100101011000010111001101100101001000000111001001100101011011000110111101100001011001000010000001100100011100100110010101100001011011010010111001100101011110000110010100101110

“Bwuh…” I said.

“Wake up, Knives.” Stock gave me another shake. “Somethin’s wrong with Stripes.”

I stretched and cracked my joints, earning a wince from everypony but Raid, who was still puking over the side of our makeshift raft, and looked even more pale than he had when we got on. Zeed was sitting on the opposite side, an angry look in her eyes. Stock was standing right next to me, glancing worriedly at Zeed as she tried to wake me up.

“Wha’s goin’ oan?” I yawned as I rubbed my eyes.

The answer came in the form of a loud scraping sound, and the billboard started to slow.

Zeed growled. “We ran out of water, apparently.”

“Och, that’s a shame. Ah wanted tae sing a shanty.” I yawned again. “What time is it?”

“Do I look like I have a clock on me?” She shot me a glare, and turned to stare angrily at the remains of the flood.

Stock whispered in my ear. “She’s been acting like this for about half an hour now. She just, like, got all pissed off out of nowhere.”

“She’s probably had another mood swing,” I trotted over to my zebra friend. “Ye feelin’ alright, Zeed?”

She growled again. “No. I’m fucking tired.”

“Alright, alright.” I said. “Ah get it, Ah understand.”

“Graaagh! When the fuck are we gonna fucking get there? It’s been for-fucking-ever! FUCKING LUNA’S FLANK!” She yelled.

“Calm down, Zeed. There’s nae need tae get upset.”

“Calm down?” She spun to face me. She already had bags under her eyes. “How the fuck can I calm down? My dad might have been caught by slavers. You realize how bad that is, right? Right?”

“Ah know, Zeed, but-“

“And on top of that, I haven’t slept since we left Bladesville.” She bared her teeth in an angry grin. “Do you remember what that feels like?”

I winced. A few painful memories came to mind. “Aye. Ye know Ah dae.”

“Guess what else.” She let out a humorless laugh. “My cigarettes got wet, and I don’t know how! I haven’t even touched the water. So now I’m getting withdrawal symptoms too! Isn’t that nice?”

“Zeed!” I yelled, shocking her out of her infuriated rant. “Take a deep breath, and exhale slowly.”

She stared at me like I’d gone crazy. “How in the fuck is that gonna help?”

“Just dae it.” With a roll of her eyes, she inhaled deeply through her nose, and let the breath out through pursed lips. “Nao dae it again. And again. And again.”

We kept on doing that for about two minutes, until I saw her visibly relax.

“Goddesses, Zeed. Ye really need tae learn how tae calm yerself down.”

She harrumphed. “Says the walking rage-bomb.”

“And Ah still dunnae get angry as easily as ye. What’s eatin’ ye?” I put a comforting hoof on her shoulder hopeful that it would calm her.

She made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. “I haven’t seen him in so long. I don’t even know if he still cares. He never really liked mom. I can understand why. She’s probably the stupidest zebra to ever live.”

I stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Sae, ye got pissed off ‘cuz ye started thinkin’ about yer mother.”

She sighed again. “Yes…”

“Don’t worry, Zeed. How could anypony nae care about their own foal?”

“Batch. Coral. Copper. Pike. Slip and Flip. Construct.”

I grimaced. “Eh… Alright, Ah’ll give ye that. But… just trust meh. Aam certain that he still cares. Hell, fer all we know he might’a been tryin’ tae get back intae th’ prison all this time.”

Her frown lessened, almost becoming a smile. “Yeah. I guess that’s the kind of thing he’d do.”

“Either way… Ye just need tae relax. Don’t stress yerself out, alright?” I patted her shoulder, and she sighed. “Dunnae worry. We’ll find him.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” She said, her face brightening up. “So… Now that we lost our raft, what are we doing now?”

Raid groaned and stood shakily. Some of the color had returned to his face. “Give me another minute. My stomach’s still churning.”

“Hurry up, Blue.” Stock snickered. “We don’t wanna deal with your problems too!”

The buck rolled his eyes, and started trotting down the street. “Okay… so… I don’t see any… unpleasant things, so I’m guessing we aren’t quite there yet.”

“What kind ay ‘unpleasant things’?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Corpses dangling from chains, blood smeared all over the walls, graffiti with enough swears to fill a whole ‘nother dictionary. Normal raider crap.” He began to trot down the street. “Either that, or possibly some kind of bone-totem or fence or… let’s just go with ‘anything that looks like it belongs to a raider’.”

“How about that?” Said Stock as we rounded a corner.

She pointed down the road at what appeared to be a corpse stuck on a giant metal spike, with its limbs held up by smaller spikes stuck through them in a similar manner. There was a lot of old, dried blood on the ground. The whole place was covered in a dense orange fog, much thicker than the mist I’d seen around the rest of Canturbury.

“Oh, goddesses that’s morbid.” I grimaced, thankful that I hadn’t eaten anything. “How did we nae notice that?”

“It looks like some-urp-pony gutted him,” said Zeed. “I think his spine’s show-urp showing.”

“Eeyup. That there be some raiders.” Raid said. “Oh, look! There’s another one.”

“Hey, shouldn’t there be scavengers around here or something?” Stock tapped her chin with a forehoof.

“Scavvers? In this area?” Raid quirked an eyebrow.

“No, no… I mean, like… crows. Vultures. I’ve seen them around most of Canturbury. Them and the roaches are practically the only surviving wildlife in the desert areas.” She looked around. “This is probably like a smorgasbord for them. So where are they?”

Then Zeed screamed in pain. I spun to see her holding a foreleg.

“SNIPER!” Raid roared. “TAKE COVER!”

“Sniper?” I balked. “But Ah didnae even hear-“

“Move! Move!” Raid shoved me behind the building as Stock did the same with Zeed, whose leg had already started bleeding profusely. “Stock, I think I saw a muzzle flash on the roof of that restaurant a block over.”

“On it.” She shot off into the air, alighting on the roof of the building we were hiding behind.

“You alright, Zeed?”

She grunted around the pair of tweezers she had in her mouth. She took a deep breath, and plunged the tool into the bullet-wound, and grunted in pain.

“Dae ye want me tae get that fer ye?” I asked with a grimace.

She shook her head, and yanked the tweezers out. I saw the bullet bounce off somewhere as she spat out the tweezers and immediately began pouring a healing potion over the wound. As the liquid began to do its work, she growled. “I just fucking fixed this leg.”

“Stick… I need a stick…” Raid muttered as he searched the ground.

Zeed and I gave him a confused look. Wordlessly, I pulled a light metal rod out of my mane and levitated it over to him. He took one end in his mouth and put his hat on the other end of it. “Thanks!”

Then he stuck it out from behind the cover of the wall.

The hat promptly sprouted several extra holes.

He pulled the hat back, grinning widely. “I didn’t think that would actually work.”

As soon as I opened my mouth to ask what the point of that was, several gunshots rang out from Stock’s position.

Everything was silent for a moment.

Raid smiled. “Sounds like she got ‘im.”

I heard Stock scream at the top of her undead lungs. “INCOMING!”

I head a whoosh noise. Then the street in front of me exploded. It was close enough that the force of the blast threw Raid into me, knocking both of us over. I was left with a loud ringing in my ears.

Raid said something, but I couldn’t hear it.

“WHAT?” I yelled.

“I HATE MISSILE LAUNCHERS!” He responded in kind.

Zeed let out a pained groan. “Owwww. What the hell just happened?”

Stock shot down from her position on the rooftops and landed in front of us. “Blue, we need to move!”

“WHAT?” He yelled as he got to his hooves.

“MOVE!” She screamed. “NOW!”

The two ponies helped Zeed and I to our hooves, and we all promptly galloped towards the building next to the one we were hiding behind.

I saw the ground near our former position explode several more times, before a loud whooping noise sounded in the distance, followed by cheering.

“Gaaagh! What are these guys, raiders or slavers?” Raid groaned. He rubbed his ears with his hooves.

“Pfft, what’s the difference?” Stock snorted. “There’s a shitload of them out there. They’ll probably make their way over here soon. They’re slow, though.”

“Wish we brought mines. Knives, can you get your ‘nade launcher ready?” He pointed down the street. “We’ve got incoming.”

I levitated the weapon off my back and floated it in front of me. Zeed began to check us for injury, having us all take a small sip of healing potion before drawing her pistol.

Then the Bone Eaters rounded the corner. There were about thirty of them, all wearing some variant of clothing constructed from auto-cart tires, metal spikes and something that looked like leather. Every single one carried some sort of melee weapon in their mouth or their magic, waving them menacingly and roaring challenges as they approached.

“Open fire!” Stock roared.

My first shot hit one of them right in the muzzle, though all it did was launch him into the pony behind him. The rest just trampled over their fallen comrades. Several beams of red light struck several more in the legs, causing three more to scream in pain and stumble. Raid and Stock, the former armed with his scatterguns and the former carrying a large rifle, managed to kill every target with one or two hits, though they took careful aim each time. By the time they reached us, there were about twenty left.

When they actually reached us, I drew my baton. It was then that I realized that I should have gotten a melee weapon that wasn’t broken. As a result of my hesitation, I got smacked in the face by a large club. Twice. It felt like it broke my jaw.

Desperately trying to ignore the pain, I spun around and bucked the attacking mare in the head, receiving a loud cracking noise for my trouble. Another pony tackled me to the ground. He was, for reasons I’d rather not think about, drooling profusely and had decided that the best way to deal with me was to climb on top of me and start beating at my face with his hooves. I held up my forelegs to protect myself, and started chucking anything I could lift telekinetically at him.

I heard Raid shout my name.

The Bone Eater was then promptly launched off me when two hooves crashed into his skull. Several shotgun blasts rang out as Raid lashed out at the others attempting to replace their companion’s position.

I popped back to my hooves and grabbed the nearest weapon.

Then something struck my back. Crying out in pain, I craned my neck to find that my previous attacker had almost instantly recovered, and had stabbed a knife into me, dangerously close to organs that might be important. As he back off, I stared at the knife, then at him, then back at the knife. With a snarl of irritation and a hiss of pain, I pulled the knife out, and brandished it at him.

He charged at me, and I jammed the Knife into his spine. Almost instantly, his back legs went limp, and he crumpled to the ground, screaming with rage. I charged the next pony I saw, a unicorn mare who was giggling madly, and had painted herself in the blood of her dead friends. She didn’t notice me until I leapt onto her and jabbed the knife into her shoulder. It took her a second to respond by stabbing her horn into my chest. With a scream of rage and a telekinetic kick, I brought the handle of the knife down on her horn, making a visible crack in it and causing her to shriek.

“Knives!” I heard somepony call. I think it was Raid, but I didn’t particularly care at the moment, nor did I care about the ball of reddish fire that had flown up into the air.

I charged yet another Bone Eater, cutting his throat open with the knife, grabbing his weapon from his flickering magical grip with my mouth, and driving the aforementioned axe into the foreleg of another attacking pony.

At some point, everything just became a blur of blood and anger, and within what could have been anywhere between a few seconds and a few hours, I found myself standing amidst about twenty corpses, panting, shaking, feeling incredibly tired, and covered in a lot of blood. I think most of it was mine.

I jumped when Raid put a hoof on my shoulder. “Knives, come on! They called for reinforcements!”

I tried to take a step forward, but slipped on a bit of… meat… and fell flat on my face. I couldn’t seem to get back up.

Raid had a worried expression as he looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Tired.” I panted. “What’s happening?”

“Zeed and Stock are heading over to another building to hide. Uh…” He looked back down the street. “Can you walk at all?”

I tried to get back up, but my legs just gave out again. I let out a quiet whimper. Wordlessly, Raid gently picked me up and placed me on his back. He trotted as quickly as he could without dropping me or putting me in too much pain, until we reached what appeared to be a convenience store. Zeed and Stock had taken cover behind the front counter. The zebra guided Raid over to a table that had been cleared off, where he carefully deposited me onto it.

She began checking me over for injuries, pouring half a potion potion on the knife wound and a few drops on each of the other ones. Raid put another near my lips, and I greedily guzzled it down, still whimpering in pain. Then I gulped down another.

“Okay… So…” Zeed began. “Obviously, we’re not going through the front door.”

Stock scowled. “What are you talking about? That went great! We even have plenty of ammo left.”

Zeed deadpanned at the ghoul. “It’s going to take a couple of hours for Knives to recover. The potions only replace blood so fast.”

“Oh, she’s fine.” Stock scoffed. “Right, Knives?”

“I can’t even stand right now.” I groaned. “My head hurts.”

“Knives, your voice.” Zeed whispered.

“Too tired. Don’t care.”

“Awww, is widdle Knives hurt?”

I groaned again at the sound of her voice in the back of my mind.

Stock rolled her eyes. “Fine. When she’s back up again, we’ll take another crack at it. I’ll just take out the missile launcher this time.”

Raid facehooved. “Okay… I’ve thought of better plans than that. They’re just going to get another pony on their security. I think we should find another way in.”

Stock turned to him. If she had eyebrows, they would have been raised. “Another way in? That could take days.”

“Actually... My pipbuck picked up the name of the place.” He held up the device on his foreleg. “Apparently, that area had an office complex for one of the laboratories. Cryogenics, I think.”

“Ah thought that was in Common?” I coughed.

He shook his head. “No. A cryogenics lab was in Common. This is the… Raftwater? The hell kinda name for a town is that?”

“How does that get us in?” Zeed furrowed her brow in thought.

“All Canturbury labs have multiple entrances-slash-exits. This’ll be no exception.”

Stock eyed the stallion. “Blue, how in the fuck do ya know this much about Canturbury?”

“Because I paid attention during briefings, unlike you.” He replied evenly. “You’re eighty years old. You should have known better than to fuck around when regional information was given out.”

“Eighty years?” I asked incredulously. “How’re ye eighty?”

She shrugged. “Ghouls don’t age. And while I may be a relatively… recent ghoul, I’m still no different.”

“Most ghouls were made by direct exposure to balefire when the megaspells hit.” Raid pointed a forehoof at Stock. “Moron here, on the other hoof, got her stupid flank stuck in a weapons lab where some pre-war scientist had been trying to build a balefire flamethrower. Stock decided to screw around with it. It exploded. She promptly lost all of her skin.”

“Hey! I wasn’t the one screwing around with it! That was Cloud Thresher.” Stock huffed.

“That’s not what Comet told me.” The stallion smirked. “Anyway… She was also lucky enough not to go feral. So, here she is.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hoof, here?” Zeed sighed. “How are we getting in?”

Raid tapped his chin. “Stock and I will go and look for a map. Those usually have alternate entrances. Otherwise, we’ll keep our eyes peeled.”

Stock harrumphed, and flew out of the building.

“You two going to be fine alone?”

Zeed nodded, and Raid trotted out of the building.

“Oooh, Knives, he’s so gentlecoltly. Bringing you in here like that and being all gentle.” My striped friend said in a mocking tone. “You must be so happy.”

I groaned.

“Oh, just tell him already.” She said.

I blushed.

“It’s not like he’ll say ‘no’.” She continued, teasingly.

I tried to roll over and cover my face with my hooves.

“Fine. Suit yourself.” She sighed.

She started rummaging through the shelves of the store, standing on her back legs to get to certain things.

“How’s yer leg?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s fine. The bullet didn’t do much damage, and the potion took care of it.” She grimaced. “I’m just glad it didn’t break the bone or anything. I’d rather not have another broken leg.”

I grunted in acknowledgement.

“Aam goin’ tae try an’ take a nap.”

“Alright. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”

49:74:27:73:20:61:6c:72:69:67:68:74:20:4b:6e:69:76:65:73:2e:20:53:68:65:27:73:20:61:6c:69:76:65:2e

“It’s a nice house,” mom says. “But I don’t think it’ll work.”

“Aye, but it’s pretteh,” says dad.

“What do you think, Diamond?”

“Huh? What?” I turn, startled out of staring at the flower pot.

Mom points to the door stuck in the tree in the picturesque forest. I can see the apartment through it. Inside the room, there’s a big, black hole.

“I asked what you think of the house, sweetie.”

“Uh…” I grimace. “That hole in the floor creeps me out. I don’t like it.”

I see dad being escorted away by two Guards through the massive metal trees.

“Love, Ah think Ah’ll be gone fer a while. Sorry abit that.”

Mom gives him a sad look. “Bye Sid. I’ll miss you.”

“Dad! Wait!” I reach out for him, but I can’t seem to reach. “Mom, we have to do something!”

I turn back to her to see her being held by four shadowy figures. They tear off her right foreleg, and she turns that sad look on me. “Sorry, sweetie. I wish I could have gotten you out.”

A flower of blood seems to flow from her throat as the shadows drag her back and toss her into the hole.

“MOM! NO!” I try and run towards the hole, but something is wrapping around my hooves and my throat. I can’t seem to breathe.

“This is all your fault you useless bitch.” She snarls in my ear. “She died because of you.”

I see her tail come up near my face.

I struggle against the shadows that are now gripping me.

They only grow tighter.

The tail-blade is right next to my throat.
Help me.
I keep struggling.
I can’t breathe.
Help me.
They won’t let me go.
Helpme.
Iscreamforhelp.
Itw0n’tcome.
Helpm3heLpme#e1lpmeh3lPme
59:6f:75:27:6c:6c:20:66:69:6e:64:20:68:65:72:20:73:6f:6f:6e:2e

I awoke with a gasp. I didn’t shoot up, but my heart was pounding in my chest at a thousand miles per hour. Within seconds, though, I’d already started to forget what I’d dreamt about. I was glad, at least, that it wasn’t just another conversation with her.

“You weren’t asleep for very long.” Zeed comments from the shelves on the far wall. She’d made a pile of packaged food in the middle of the room. “I think it’s only been about an hour.”

“Did Ah miss anythin’?” I asked as my heart started to slow down.

“Not really, unless you count my brief fangasm when I found Mysterious Mare-Do-Well #1.” She shrugged.

I got up and began to stretch, cracking all of my joints and receiving the usual grimaces from Zeed.

Raid burst through the door as I cracked the last vertebra, a huge smile on his face. “I found it! There’s a parking lot that leads straight to the lab. We can get in through there. They won’t be looking for us inside, so if we do this right, we can find out where the slave pens are and get everypony out. The Bone Eaters will be none the wiser.”

Zeed grinned the widest grin I’d ever seen her grin. “What are we waiting for?”

“Stock. She’s checking out the area. Should be back in a few minutes.” The buck replied. “And we still have to wait for Knives to recover, remember?”

The zebra blanched, and turned to me with a nervous chuckle. “Sorry.”

I smiled. “It’s alright. Nae harm done. Either way, Aam feelin’ fine.”

She frowned. “Knives, do you even realize how much blood you lost?”

“Enough that Ah had trouble standin’?”

“That’s a lot of blood, Knives.” She looked at me with an incredulous expression. “I think most of the potions’ magic went into replacing it.”

“Well Aam fine nao, so let’s get oan wi’ it.” I said. I tried to take a step forward, but Zeed stepped on some of the cables tied into my mane.

“Knives. Rest. Now. I still have some of that sleeping potion left, you know.” She said. “I’ll force it down your throat if I have to.”

“Ah thought ye wanted tae find yer dad?” I scowled.

She rolled her eyes. “I do, but I’d rather not lose my best friend while doing it.”

“I’d have to agree with that, Knives.” Raid said. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “It would… be bad to lose you.”

I could feel my face heat up a bit. I turned away and hoped my blush wasn’t showing. Zeed had a cocky smirk on her face, so it probably was.

I cleared my throat in an embarrassed way. “Well… Alright… As long as yer okay wi’ it.”

~~~~~~~~

Green was amazed by the town. She’d never actually been in a city before. Bark had always just tied her to something in a hidden area when he was doing business in city limits, most likely to hide the fact he owned a slave.

She looked around at the glimmering lights of Foundry. The former college campus, as well as the nearby weapons manufacturing plant and most of the city between them, had been converted into one of Canturbury’s largest towns, and the one which suffered the second fewest attacks by raiders and slavers. The majority of the lighting was made up of thousands of Hearth’s Warming Eve lights which had, due to some logistical errors, been stored in a room intended for novelty cannonballs before the war.

Or so Green had heard from some of the other slaves when she was younger. At the moment, she didn’t care about that, she just thought that it was pretty.

“So, Green…” Wretch’s voice startled Green out of her admiration. “Do you have any idea where we could find information? I’m looking for something, but I don’t know where to start.”

Green balked. The pink mare was asking her questions. The filly wasn’t sure if they were trick questions or not. If they were, she would probably be punished. With a gulp, she spoke up. “Uh… I… I think that… Um…”

“It’s okay if you don’t know.” Wretch gave her a warm smile. “I won’t blame you.”

Green swallowed again. “Another slave… Zero… knew a lot. He said he worked for… bartenders… I think… Sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault.” Wretch gently stroked the filly’s mane. “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Green nodded weakly, and followed her friend into the nearest bar. The pink-coated black-maned mare went up to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. Green sat in the one immediately to her left. Looking around, she saw that the place had a distinctly Appleloosan style to it.

“Excuse me,” Wretch said to the bartender, an old red unicorn stallion with a grey mane. “I was wondering if you knew where I could get some information?”

The stallion just stared at her for a few seconds. “Canned goods?”

Wretch blinked. “Huh?”

“Stable? Never seen the sky before?”

“Um… Yes.”

The stallion smiled. “That explains it. You’re speaking to a member of the Bartender’s Guild. We’ve got information aplenty, as long as you can pay for it. You looking for anything in particular?”

“I’m looking for somepony who can tell me about… Ah… I think they’re called ‘memory orbs’?”

The stallion blinked. “Memory orbs? Hmmmm… Excuse me a moment.”

With that, he trotted into a door behind the bar. The sounds of file cabinets being shuffled through could be heard over the old-timey piano music. A second later, he returned with a sheet of paper. “Well, I have a few bits of info about memory orb experts, but they’re mostly with either Spectrum or the Steel Rangers, and I doubt that either would tell an outsider anything about them… eh…”

He looked over the sheet a few times.

“Ah here’s something. Hmmm… Tell you what, miss… This isn’t really much to go by, but it’s still a start, so I’ll cut you a deal. It’s ten caps for the info, but you have to buy a drink too.” He smiled at her. “Gotta make something offa this.”

With a smile of her own, Wretch fished through her duffle bag for a sizable number of caps, satisfied that she should have enough, she turned back to the buck. “Just a gin and tonic, please. Do you want anything Green?”

The filly, who had been spinning around in her chair the whole time, jumped as she was addressed. “Um… could…”

She gulped. “Could I get… do you have… Brawnco?”

The Stallion quirked an eyebrow. “Huh… Not a common request. Any particular kind?”

“Green tea?”

Wretch stifled a giggle at the request, and the stallion smirked. “All right. That’s about sixty bits total. Including the info. I’ll be right back.”

A few moments later, he returned with the two drinks and a different sheet of paper. “Alright, I don't have much about him, but last I heard, he lives in The Mall, so you’re best off asking around there. The Mall is about… five days south of here.”

Wretch smiled. “Thank you very much mister…”

“Oh, how ruse of me…” He returned the smile. “I’m Barkeep the second, at your service.”

“Thank you Mr. Barkeep.”

“My pleasure. I hope you and your daughter enjoy your drinks.”

Wretch blinked. “Oh, she’s not my daughter.”

“No?” he quirked an eyebrow.

“No. I freed her from a slaver.” She sighed. “That’s just a horrible thing to do to another pony.”

He eyed her for a moment. “Most ponies don’t really care about that.”

“What? Why?” Wretch’s expression turned to one of irritation. “That’s…”

She growled to herself. “I’m not going to sit here while that goes on. I’ll do whatever I can.”

After a moment of confused surprise towards the mare's sudden anger, the Barkeep smiled. “Oh good. I guess that makes you the third anti-slaver I’ve met, after Mare-Do-Well and the Hearteater. I wish there were more like you out there.”

He let out a wistful sigh. “Well… I wish you the best of luck, miss.”

With a nod, Wretch and Green went back outside, the former slipping the can of Brawnco into her pocket.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Exp: 50%

~~~~
Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Exp: 70%

~~~~
Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Exp: 50%

–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

For some reason, the Wretch/Green section ended up a lot longer than I’d originally intended. However, I actually kind of like it this way. I’m not saying that it’s going to retain this length, but this one, at the very least, will.

-Delakirus

Chapter Fourteen: Violators Will Be Towed

“Get your butt in here and sit down. We got some business to discuss”

I sat on the couch, happily munching my daisy sandwich, enjoying the texture rather than the flavor, due to my lack of a sense of taste. I jumped as somepony knocked on the door, my telekinesis imploding and launching the meal across the room. I frowned at my sudden lack of control before shaking my head and standing to see my mother trot out of the kitchen to the door, her own sandwich balanced on a paper plate on her head.

“Oh, hi Ashes!” The scar-covered zebra said with her impossibly wide smile. “Come on in. We’re just finishing lunch.”

“And Ah was just cleanin’ mine off ay th’ wall.” Mom gave me a confused look. “Mah magic imploded.”

She replied with a quick nod of understanding, and turned back to Ashes. “How are you doing? Do you want anything?”

The grey earth pony chuckled nervously. “Uh… I kinda just wanted some advice.”

“Oh? Well come have a seat.” She said cheerfully. “What’s on your mind?”

As Ashes trotted over to the couch, I noticed that her ears were down. Quirking an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic behavior, I scraped off my sandwich off of the wall and, with a shrug, stuffed the whole thing into my mouth.

“Uh… I kind of… I think I have a crush on a close friend of mine…” She trailed off and bit her lip, nervously tapping her hooves together.

“That’s great!” Mom cheered. “Is it somepony we know?”

“Uh… well… yeah…” She sighed. “But I don’t know if I should… you know… go after her...”

“Her?” I asked. “Ah thought ye liked bucks.”

She balked. “I do, but… I like mares too… I thought you knew that.”

“Since when?”

“You know that my first kiss was with Jazz, right?” She said flatly. “The three of us even had a big conversation about it.”

I blinked and shook my head. “Ah dunnae remember that.”

Mom snorted. “That’s when I told you about how I used to date this mare that-“

“STOP! I REMEMBER!” I did not want to hear anything about my mother’s teenage love life again... Ever.

“So, what’s wrong?” Mom asked. “Why not just tell her?”

“Well, what if she doesn’t feel the same way?” Ashes seemed to shrink into herself. “I don’t want it to be awkward if she says ‘no’…”

“Ashes, ahm pretty sure Zeed would at least try and make it work.” I left out the fact that I’d seen the zebra ogling Ashes on multiple occasions.

Ashes blushed. “I-I never said it was Zeed!”

“Och please. Ah see how ye blush any time she says somethin’ nice tae ye.” I rolled my eyes. “Ye’ve been doin’ it since ye broke up with Coral.”

Mom smirked. “And I’ve seen how you sigh and get this silly, wistful look on your face whenever she leaves the room.”

Ashes laughed nervously. “Oh… aheh…”

“Just tell her, Ashes.” Mom smiled. “I’m sure she’ll say ‘yes’.”

“Well… I would but…” Ashes sighed and planted her face into the couch cushion. “She’s already dating Flip.”

“Ah thought she was datin’ Slip?”

Ashes waved a hoof dismissively. “No, they broke up a month ago. Goddesses, I think she snogs more than any of us put together.”

Mom grinned a sly and mischievous grin. “Oh, I think I got her beat in that department.”

“AAAGH, MOM!” I put my hooves over my ears. “Ah dunnae want tae hear that!”

She giggled. “Sweetie, you are too fun to mess with. Anyway, just tell her. If nothing else, you’ll at least get it off your chest.”

Ashes smiled lightly. “Yeah. I guess I should…”

She sighed again. “I just hope I don’t screw up…”

~~~~~

We waited until the Bone Eaters had stopped actively looking for us, Which took til midnight. Now, only a few patrols were running around the streets. Zeed tried to get some sleep for the three or four hours we’d hid but, being the insomniac she is, she only ended up constantly shifting in the corner, and the bags under her eyes grew even more visible.

I was relieved when Stock finally gave us the all-clear.

The only thing that kept us hidden as we snuck out was the darkness, due to the fact that that the only ones who knew anything about stealth were Zeed and myself. Even then we were really bad at it.

We ducked behind anything we could. Cars, doors, piles of rubble, lampposts. I was the first one to go to the each hiding spot, due to my ability to see in the dark, and check if it was clear. Then I quietly called the others over, and we’d repeat the process.

Surprisingly, nothing happened. I had expected the Bone Eaters to put up more guards or something after our attempt at breaking in, but there were only two or three patrolling the streets, and they were easy to avoid, due to being drunk off their asses.

Eventually, we came to a small, single-floor building, and decided to take a quick rest and check where we were.

“Where is it, Raid?” Zeed whispered from behind me. “I can’t see anything.”

“It should be over here.” He replied. “Knives, can you see anypony?”

I peeked around the corner, my weird right eye’s night vision giving me a perfectly clear, though colorless, view of what appeared to be a tunnel heading downward into the side of a hill. “Nae. Not a pony in sight.”

“Any turrets?” Asked Stock. “I never got a good look at the place.”

“Uh… Ah cannae see any obvious ones…” I shrugged.

“Guess we should get moving then.” With that, Raid began to sneak down the street once more, with me and Zeed immediately behind him, and Stock watching our backs.

We continued hiding behind anything that would cover us, just in case, as we moved. Eventually, we reached the entrance to the tunnel. I stole a quick glance around.

“Alright, so, where’s the parking lot?” I asked.

“It’s down here, come on.”

“Down… why is there a parking lot down there?” I quirked an eyebrow before I remembered that he couldn’t see it in the darkness.

He gave me a confused look. “Because it’s an underground parking lot?”

“Why is there a parking lot under the ground?” I reiterated.

“Knives, do you realize how much space a parking lot takes up? Most of the ones in Canturbury go underground. Saves space and makes for more interesting city planning.” He swept a hoof around, indicating the wasteland. “Most of the lots in Canturbury that are still standing are underground. I think the only one that’s at ground level is way up near the mountains.”

Zeed growled in frustration. “Riveting as this conversation is, can we get a move on, please?”

Rolling my eyes at the mare, I followed Raid down into the darkness. Raid shone his pipbuck light around the tunnel.

The concrete tunnel was just barely large enough for two auto-carts to fit in side-by-side and still have enough room for a single-file line of ponies to walk. It was almost featureless save for a few support beams on the pedestrian side, which was separated from the rest of the area by a chain-link fence, now laden with massive gaps. The area was filled with the eerie sound of dripping water. There was a series of lights on the ceiling, half broken, and all of them off. The ground was still a bit damp from the storm we rode in on, and the numerous cracks were filled with small amounts of water. Apparently, a sizeable amount of the rain had gone straight down here.

“Luna’s Moon it’s dark …” Zeed whispered.

“Nae kiddin’. Ah thought this place would ay had power in it.”

Raid hrrrm-ed. “Maybe the storm took it out yesterday?”

“It seems wet enough.” I replied. “If we can find a generator or somethin’, Ah’ll take a look at it and see what Ah can dae.”

“Good.” Stock chuckled. “I think you’re the only one who can see down here.”

As we descended further, I noticed through holes in the walls and ceiling that the place was filled with pipes. I could hear them rattling, which led me to believe that the complex might have functional plumbing. Regularly, the tunnel would level out and spread into another level of parking, where the whole thing would make a left turn and start going down again.

“How deep is this thing?” Zeed mused. “It feels like we’ve been walking for hours…”

Raid took a look at his pipbuck. “About… four hundred feet. We should almost be there.”

“This is taking forever.” The zebra groaned.

“Relax, Zeed. We’ll get there eventually.” I said.

“The ‘eventually’ is what’s annoying me-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

I stood in shock as my friend tripped on a cracked block of concrete and started tumbling down the tunnel, which had suddenly become about twice as steep. Normally, a slope like that would have made me a bit nervous due to how high it looked, but I was too stunned to notice. I did, however, notice the sound of metal clanking off of the concrete somewhere. After about five seconds of rolling, she stopped in the middle of the slope.

“ZEED!” I yelled as I broke out of my shocked state and rushed down, easily preventing myself from tripping due to the fact that I could actually see where I was going. “Zeed, are you alright?”

“Ohhhhh... My head…” She moaned. “I’m not dead am I?”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Nae, but ye sure as hell scared the crap out ay meh.”

I helped her back to her hooves, only to have her stumble again. With a frown, she looked at her hoof and groaned. “Crap… I threw a shoe.”

“Och, are ye buckin’ kiddin’ me?” I groaned back as I started to search through the metal pieces in my mane. “Ah dunnae have th’ tools fer that!”

“Tools for what? You don’t need tools for a shoe.” Raid said as he started shining his light on the ground. “Ah! Here-“

He stared at the rubberized metal shoe lying in the spot where the floor leveled out again. “This is a shoe?”

“Och, Ah dunnae even have any nails.” I sighed. “Ye want me tae-“

I was interrupted by both Raid and Stock screaming almost simultaneously, both with a horrified look. “WHAT?”

The sound echoed in my skull, as well as the rest of the tunnel.

“You actually nail these things in?” Stock gasped.

“Holy fucking shit…” was Raid’s response. “That just sounds horrible…”

“Well how else are we going to keep them on?” Zeed snorted.

With a blank expression, Raid held up his front hooves, pressed them together, and slid one over the other. He then proceeded to hold up what looked like a clear slipper covered in. “Everypony just wears slip-ons…”

“With adhesive gel.” Stock said flatly. “Goddesses, nails? Really? Why don’t you go and burn the frogs of your hooves off while you’re at it?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s nae that bad.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t even hurt.” Zeed said. “Besides, it’s not like everypony in the prison wears them. I mean, yeah… most do, but that’s because the floors can get slippery.”

Raid’s eye twitched. “That has to be one of the- no. No. I’m not getting into this. For fucks sake your prison uses a balefire reactor. I’m not getting into this.”

Now Stock’s eyes widened. “They use a what?”

“Nope! Not getting into this!” He shouted.

Snickering, I turned to Zeed. “Ye want me tae take ‘em off fer ye? Shouldnae take too long.”

“Please? I think there’s a hammer somewhere in your bag.”

~~~~~

Removing Zeed’s shoes had taken about 2 hours, according to Raid’s clock, due to the lack of tools and my weak magic. Raid and Stock had gone ahead to scout the area, leaving the two of us alone.

“Ask him out.” Zeed said as we trotted down the tunnel. She was walking oddly, mostly because she had never gone unshod before.

I groaned. “Fer fuck’s sake Zeed, will ye quit pullin’ tha’ out at random?”

She grinned. “I’m not doing it at random. I’m doing it whenever we’re alone.”

I gave her a brief glare. “Ye know what Ah meant. Ah’ll say somethin’ when Aam damn good an’ readeh.”

“Which is when the world has ended.” She replied. “…again.”

“Stop tryin’ tae mess with mah love life.” I said.

“Why? You need all the help you can get.”

I let out a growl of frustration. “Yer one tae talk.”

“How so?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“Ashes.” I said. “She may have screwed up pretty damn bad, but ye still overreacted. Ah happen tae recall ye sayin’ somethin’ along the lines ay-“

“’I am never going to forgive you.’ I remember.” The zebra winced. “And I regret every single word.”

She sighed. “I miss her so much…”

We kept walking in silence for a few moments. Taking a glance at her, I saw that she was dragging her hooves, and her ears were down. I sighed, and tried to cheer her up a bit. “Zeed, Aam sure it’ll turn out alright. Just talk wi’ her.”

“I doubt she’d even want to see me.”

“She was crying her eyes out when ye said that.”

“I told her I hated her…”

“Why dae ye think she was cryin’? It wasn’t just because ay what she did.”

“I shouldn’t have blown up at her.” Zeed sniffled.

“Zeed, if ye didnae blow up at her, Ah woulda been surprised. That’s why Ah told her tae wait until Ah was there tae tell ye. Fer fuck’s sake… from what ye told me, she said it wi’ sae much self-loathing…” I shook my head. “It was just th’ worst possible way fer her tae say it, and at th’ worst possible time.”

Zeed sighed again, and I facehooved. I was trying to cheer her up, not depress her even more. “Look… Ye’ll both work it out. Just be patient.”

There was a loud metallic clanking noise in the distance, and I heard Raid scream in pain, followed by the sound of Stock laughing. “GAAAAGH! SON OF A BITCH!”

“Raid?” I called out. “Ye alright?”

“I’m fine. Just… stuck…” He replied.

“Dumb-fuck got his flank stuck in an air duct!” Stock gasped through her laughing.

Zeed and I rounded the corner to see that Raid had, indeed, gotten himself stuck in an air duct. They were in front of a door, with a large hole in the ceiling. On the ground just under the hole was a large section of the duct, which had Raid’s hind legs dangling out the back. Stock was on her back laughing heavily. She was soon joined by Zeed, who had burst out laughing the instant she saw Raid’s predicament. I tried to suppress my own giggles, choosing to snicker instead.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve achieved my life-long dream of becoming a big metal burrito.” Raid groaned. “Now can somepony please help me out of this damn thing?”

Still trying very hard not to laugh, I grabbed his back legs, braced my hoof against the duct, and yanked him out. Slowly, he stood, and stretched his back. “Ow…”

“What in th’ hell were ye doin’ in there anyway?” I asked.

He pointed to the door. “Trying to get that unlocked.”

“By goin’ through an air duct.”

“I was hoping it would unlock from the other side.” He said flatly. “Neither of us can get the door open.”

I stared at him for a second. “The air ducts... which lead to a ventilation system.”

“Uh... Yes?” He replied.

“Alright, Ah dunnae what nonsense ye’ve been readin’ in those comic books, but in real life, air ducts just lead to an air conditionin’ unit.” All I received in response was a blank stare, and I facehooved.

After a moment, I asked, “Did ye at least remember tae ckeck th’-“

“Yes, I remembered to check the power cables this time. They’re all connected.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not that stupid. We just need a password to get this thing open.”

I looked at the door, a large, metal thing seemingly decorated with various locks and seals, with a terminal embedded into the wall next to it.

“Zeed? Ye want tae try it? Aam nae too good wi’ computers…”

The zebra shrugged, and trotted over. Of course, when she got over to it, Stock started laughing again. Zeed gave her a confused look. “What’s so funny?”

“I didn’t realize how short you were!” The ghoul guffawed. “Wow, it’s actually past your eye level.”

Zeed glared at her for a moment. Slowly, she rose up on her hind legs, crossed her forelegs, and continued glaring, tapping one of her back hooves in an irritated manner. Stock promptly stopped laughing. Under her breath she muttered, “Stupid zebras and their sense of balance…”

After a few seconds of tapping at the keys with her front hooves, Zeed dropped back to all four hooves and proudly proclaimed, “Done!”

Then the door opened, and we were met with an incredibly cold blast of air. I shuddered from the cold, and could see Zeed do the same, though she bit her lip in a weird way. Stock and Raid, however, simply stood there with bemused expressions.

“Drafty.” Said the ghoul.

“That’s an understatement.” Raid said.

“G-goddesses... T-ten seconds and Aam already sh-shivering.” I said through my chattering teeth. “Ah can feel it through mah jacket.”

Raid took his own jacket off and offered it to me. I raised an eyebrow. “What about ye?”

He shrugged and smiled. “I’ve been in colder places. You need it more than I do.”

“What ab-bout Z-zeed?” I asked nervously, a blush appearing on my face.

“I’m fine, Knives. Cold doesn’t…” She shifted uncomfortably and swallowed. “Bother me… Per se…”

With a smile, I donned the leather jacket, slipping it on over my denim one. Within seconds, I felt the warmth of the enchanted jacket spread through my body, and my shivering subsided.

Stock was the first to go through the door, followed by Raid, myself and the Zeed.

The hallway was completely coated with ice. There was a loud rushing noise coming from the air vents, along with freezing cold air that I could actually see moving despite the ambient temperature. Half of the doors on the sides of the hallway were so heavily frosted that I could tell there was no way we were getting them open any time soon. The door at the end of the hall was hanging open, two of its three hinges apparently broken off by the ice over the centuries.

“Goddesses, how in th’ hell did this happen?” I mused.

“Somepony left the freezer open?” Stock snorted. “Who knows what those idiot scientists were up to… Maybe this was deliberate, and they wanted to see what happens when you freeze a building.”

“Somehow Ah doubt they were that stupid.” I said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Raid chuckled as he pushed the door aside. “They did some pretty stupid shi-woah…”

I looked past him to see another room, much wider than the hallway, with a large catwalk leading in multiple directions. Just below the edge of the metal walkway, was a thin layer of ice over water that seemed to be churning. I could see another catwalk a long way down through the cracks in the ice, and another one below that. The sight of it was coming very close to triggering my acrophobia, so I looked straight up and saw that there were three more levels above this.

“Cool.” I said. Zeed smacked me in the back of the head. I glanced at the zebra, who was still biting her lip for whatever reason, and grinned. “Sorry.”

Raid rolled his eyes. “Bad puns aside, we should keep moving.”

He casually trotted out to the middle of the catwalk.

“Uh… Blue? I don’t think this is a good idea.” Stock called out. “Ya can’t swim, remember?”

He stopped, and turned to deadpan at the ghoul. “Really? I completely forgot that I lack a somewhat-important survival skill.”

“I’m serious. That thing is probably rusted like nopony’s business.”

“It’s fine, Stock. The catwalk’s not going to break.” Raid turned back around and continued trotting.

Then there was a loud beep, and he froze, his eyes popping wide open.

“Oh. Fuck.”

The catwalk exploded, throwing Raid into the metal wall just behind us with incredible force and a sickening crunch, producing a massive dent. He gasped with pain.

He remained there for half a second, while all of us stared at him in complete and utter shock. Half a second passed, and he fell into the water with a splash.

“RAID!” I screamed as I dove in without even thinking..

Behind me I heard Zeed shout, “Knives, what in Luna’s name are you doing?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I swam through the freezing water towards the barely-conscious stallion, who was currently sinking at a rapid pace. I reached out with my magic which, while far too weak to actually pull him up, was enough to keep him from sinking further and slightly reduce his weight. I grabbed his shirt with my teeth, and began to haul him upwards.

I then realized that I’d made a stupid, stupid mistake. I’d jumped into freezing water, and I was not a good swimmer. Add to that the fact that I had a large amount of metal tied into my mane, I found that I was sinking like a rock. Suddenly panicking, I redoubled my efforts to reach the surface.

There was a splash, and I was met with the sight of Stock swimming towards me, flapping her wings as though in flight. She swooped down, grabbed me in one wing, Raid in the other, and shot back up through the water, where Zeed pulled Raid onto the nearest intact section of the catwalk. I pulled myself up next to him, coughing, spluttering, shivering, and for the most part regretting my decision to jump into freezing water.

Over my own hacking, I heard Raid spit up a considerable amount of water, gasping in pain repeatedly as whatever injury he had was aggravated by his coughing.

“Who the fuck uses force mines?” Stock screamed. “Seriously? What the fuck?”

“Raid, can you tell me where it hurts?” Zeed asked.

“My back…” He gasped.

She put her hoof on him and he gasped.

He struggled to stand on all fours, and took a knife out of one of his pockets. Taking it in his teeth, he pulled the collar of his soaked shirt away with a hoof and cut into it.

“Blue, what are you doing?” Stock gasped. “You’re supposed to be incognito!”

The stallion glared at her. “Fuck cognito, I’m in pain.”

He started tearing his shirt open, gasping once again as it snagged on his elbow.

I grabbed the knife with my magic and started cutting through the fabric for him. He thanked me, and I started pulling off my own soaking wet shirt, as well as the leather jacket, before I started to freeze. I threw the clothing through the door, where it landed with a wet slap by the wall.

“Here. Ye might want this back.” I turned to hoof Raid’s jacket over to him, and my jaw dropped.

Celetia’s white-hot flanks he’s a pegasus, was my first thought upon noticing the two rather large wings on his back.

They were the same color as his coat, but for the tips, which were a much darker shade of blue. My eyes drifted down the wings, tracing their shape in my brain, noticing that the feathers seemed a bit off, until they stopped at his back, where they lingered on his apparently incredibly well-toned form. There were a couple of rough patches where I could only assume the fur had grown back over a scar, but other than that it was a smooth sea of ultramarine fur. I could see the muscles moving beneath his coat as he twitched his wings, trying to figure out where-

I blinked as I realized that I’d been ogling an injured stallion for about half a minute.

Despite my best efforts to fight it back… despite the fact that a friend had possibly been seriously injured... a blush appeared on my face, and a single thought entered my brain.

Holy crap… he’s fucking hot…

~~~~~

It was dark as they trotted through the wasteland.

Green followed Wretch very closely, occasionally stopping to check and make sure her canned drink was still in her pocket, while Wretch was happily humming a tune.

A small shack came into view, and Wretch cocked her head at it in a curious way, changing course to approach it.

She stopped just in front of the shack, a small rectangular thing made entirely out of metal sheets and what looked like a few wooden planks. She circled around it a few times, while Green sat nearby and watched the older mare with a look of confusion.

“Um… Wretch?” She asked tentatively. “What are you doing?”

“I like this.” Wretch replied cheerfully. “It’s interesting.”

Green blinked, somewhat disturbed by the pink-and-black pony’s fascination with common wasteland architecture. “What?”

“A whole thing made out of scrap! That’s cool.” The mare smiled, and knocked on the door.

There wasn’t an answer, so she went inside, with the still confused filly following her in.

The room was nicely refurbished, which was odd for a shack in the middle of the wasteland, but the skeleton lying on the bed gave some clue as to why it was this way.

Green inspected it for a moment, and shoved it off so she could sit on the bed.

Wretch began searching through the room’s single wardrobe, humming that same tune and occasionally looking back at Green to see how the filly was doing. The small pegasus was curled up into a small ball, wide awake, but clutching her stomach with her forehooves.

“Are you alright, Green?”

Green looked at the older mare with a surprised look. “Oh… Uh… Y-yes. I’m fine. W-why?”

“You look like your stomach’s hurting again.” Wretch raised an eyebrow. “You feeling sick?”

Green shook her head. “No. No. I’m not sick. I’m fine, really.”

“Green, if you’re not feeling well you can just tell me. I’d be glad to stop for a while and give you some rest.”

“I swear, I’m okay.” Green pleaded.

Wretch sighed, wishing her friend would stop being so nervous, and returned to rifling through the drawers.

She was interrupted by an extremely loud growl coming from the bed.

She stared at the filly, who tried very hard not to blush in embarrassment.

“Was that you?” Wretch asked.

Green gulped. “No…”

The pink mare smirked. “Come on, Green. Tell the truth.”

Green sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

Wretch sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Come here. Let’s get some food in you.”

“Bu-“

“No buts. If your stomach is still that loud, you obviously need food.” The unicorn levitated several snack cakes out of her saddlebags and floated them over to the filly.

“Bu-“

“Green, just trust me.” Wretch trotted over and patted her on the back. “But don’t go crazy like last time.”

Green blushed, but relented.

“I’m going to go look outside, alright?”

Green nodded, and watched as the older mare left the room.

She promptly scarfed down every single snack cake.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (11)
Repair : 91
Explosives: 50
Melee weapons: 86

Perks:
In your face!: Opponents get a -10% chance to hit you when you are in melee range and only holding a melee weapon or are unarmed.

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (10)
Energy Weapons: 80
Medicine: 100 (maximum achieved)
Science: 53

Perks:
Future Mare (1/3): Your love of comics has given you insight into the use of lasers, plasma, and rail-gun type weapons. You gain +5% critical chance and +5% Critical damage per rank of this perk.

~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (11)
Speech: 74
Intense Training: +1 Intelligence

`
Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

Force/concussive mines are never fun. Especially in the games where they disarm you. That is just obnoxious and makes no sense.

-Delakirus

Chapter Fifteen: I Can See My Breath

“Then maybe you won’t mind if I… eat an entire tub of ice cream!”

I stood on the tarmac, quivering in terror. I tried very hard to keep my eyes straight ahead, but they kept darting over to Drill Sergeant Door, who stood beside me with an irritated, disapproving, expression.

“Alright, private…” He said. “This is your last chance. You’ve already failed twice.”

He looked me in the eye, I could feel his loathing pour into me. “I don’t like failures. Do you know why?”

“N-no s-sir.” I squeaked.

“WHAT? I AM NOT A ‘SIR’! I WORK FOR A LIVING YOU MOOOOORRRRROOOOOON!” He roared. “YOU WILL CALL ME SERGEANT, OR YOU WILL CALL ME SERGEANT DOOR! DO. I. MAKE. MY. SELF. CLEAR?”

“YES, SERGEANT DOOR!” I yelped.

“Excellent.” He snorted, blasting a puff of steam from his nostrils. “I don’t like failures because they make me look bad.”

He sat on his haunches in front of me and looked me directly in the eye. “They make me look bad, they make your handler look bad, and most importantly, they make Spectrum look bad. You don’t want to make Spectrum look bad, do you?”

“N-no... S-Sarge-Sergeant!.”

“Good.” He pulled a stopwatch out of his uniform pocket. “I will say ‘go’. When I say ‘go’, you will turn around, and fly through this obstacle course. You will complete it in less than thirty seconds. You will do a fine job. If you don’t, you will be fed to the wasteland, and nopony will ever see you again. Do I make myself clear, number ten?!”

“Yes, Sergeant!” I gulped.

“GO!”

I spun around and shot towards the flight course as quickly as I could, counting every second in my head.

The first obstacle was easy. It was little more than multiple cloud rings that I needed to fly through. With the turns at almost ninety degree angles. Those were easy for me, even at six. I could turn on a dime. Four seconds.

The next required me to make a steep dive and break away parallel to the ground. Despite my nerves screaming at me to pull up as I shot downwards, I forced myself to continue. I knew I could make this one, too. Seven seconds.

Tears streamed through my eyes as the wind whipped dust into them, forcing me to blink hard to clear them. When I opened my eyes once more, the ground was too close.

I panicked, and pulled up sharply. I felt a sharp pain in a forehoof and knew that I’d chipped it. I pushed back the pain, and continued onward. Eight seconds.

I had to navigate my way through a short maze at top speed. Fourteen seconds.

Launch myself through a small hoop without catching. Fifteen seconds.

I was starting to lose my breath. Starting to slow down. I couldn’t keep up this pace. My wing muscles were getting tired, but I couldn’t stop. I had to pass.

Now came the hard part.

Drag a heavy weight over a large gap. Twenty-one seconds.

I was panting now. The sweat was getting in my eyes and blinding me.

The final obstacle. Two laps around the hundred-meter ring.

It was too close. I wouldn’t make it.

I panicked, and put on another burst of speed. One lap. Twenty-five seconds.

I was starting to wear out. It was getting harder to breathe. I started to sweat.

My wings were cramping.

Just.

A little.

Bit.

More.

I broke past the line, finishing the second lap, and skidded to a halt, my hooves grinding uncomfortably on the asphalt. Once I’d stopped, I slumped to the ground, panting heavily, and coated with sweat.

I managed to push myself up, but my legs were shaking violently. It felt as though my wing muscles were on fire.

“Twenty-nine and a half seconds.” Called Drill Sergeant Door. “Just short of failing, but still a pass.”

I was having some trouble staying on my hooves. I wanted to just pass out on the spot, but my fear of the Sergeant wouldn’t let me.

“I have to say I’m a bit disappointed in you. You should be able to do better than that, number ten, considering your… family… but I guess that this is the best we can get from you.” He sighed.

Then he snapped back to attention and resumed his usual screaming demeanor. “CONGRATULATIONS! You are now an official member of Spectrum! You WILL return to your handler. You WILL return to your barracks. You WILL take a shower. And you WILL begin your full training tomorrow. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, TRAINEE?”

“Y-yes… Sergeant.” I gasped.

“DIS-MISSED!”

I took one step forward, and fainted.

~~~

Something that most pegasi who’ve received a standard education are aware of is the concept of ‘sensory gating’. In laypony’s terms, this refers to how the brain filters out certain sensations. It’s the reason most ponies can’t feel their clothes and fur every single second of every single day. This is important for pegasi, because it doesn’t apply to wings. A pegasus can feel every single movement of every single feather at every single second. It’s extremely important for flight. It also applies to the entire wing. It’s the reason why our wings are so sensitive.

Unfortunately, it also means that the pain from certain wing injuries is significantly intensified.

This is why I was on the verge of tears as Zeed kept poking at the massive bruise on my left margin.

“Good news Raid…” The Zebra said. “It’s just a bone bruise.”

I winced as my wing twitched involuntarily. “Oh goddesses, that hurts. A potion will clear it up, right?”

“Well… yeah… kinda…”

I sighed. “What’s the –grk- catch? And will you stop poking it?”

“I’m trying to find out where it is.” She snapped back. “It’s under your stupid feathers. Would you rather I pluck those out to get at it?”

I quickly snapped my jaw shut.

“Speaking of feathers… yours are a mess, dude.” Stock snorted as she searched through our saddlebags. I was very much glad that I knew how to waterproof the bags, but Stock insisted on making sure that the seals held. “When was the last time you preened?”

I whimpered at the pain of another poke. “Three- no, four days.”

My undead friend’s jaw dropped. “Holy crap. What the fuck have you been doing?”

“Trying to –GYAAAAAA-HA-HA-HAAAGH!” I screamed at the sensation of something being stabbed into my wing. I spun to see Zeed holding a syringe in her mouth. “A little warning please?”

“Somepony’s bitchy.” She replied with a deadpan expression. “It’s just a potion.”

“You’re one to talk, Miss Moody.” I deadpanned right back at her as I carefully folded my bruised wing against my side while I waited for it to heal. “Give me a break, I’m in a shitload of pain right now.”

I turned back to Stock. “Anyway, I haven’t had that many chances to-GGAAAGH! SONOFABITCH! For the love of Celestia, stop fuckin’ doing that!”

I glared at the zebra as she spat out a med-x syringe and shrugged. “You said you were in a lot of pain.”

“Again. Warnings are very much appreciated.” I said in as even a tone as I could manage.

She rolled her eyes and smirked at me. “You might wanna get out of here before you get hypothermia. I need to check Knives.”

She trotted over the striped unicorn in question, who was standing in the doorway with my jacket in her hoof, shivering and looking away from me. She was still completely soaked. Her dark green mane was plastered to her face and neck, some of the wires she had tied into it stuck out from between the strands. Her wet fur was-

I should really stop thinking about this before I pop a wingie… I do not want to deal with that.

I shrugged. “Like I said before, I’m fine in the cold.”

Stock grinned. “And I could traipse merrily along the bottom of the arctic ocean if I wanted.”

“Didn’t you do that last year?” I snarked.

“No, it was the year before that.” Okay… not the answer I was expecting.

“You feeling alright, Knives? You’re running a little hot.” Zeed smirked at her friend.

A little me in the back of my brain sniggered and said, ‘Damn right!’

I mentally slapped that tiny me, and threw him in the basement of my mind. This was not a time for lewd thoughts, though I had to agree, Knives was pretty damn hot.

“Aye... he... Hot... right...” Knives said.

“You’ll be fine, Knives. We just need to dry you off.” Zeed continued.

“There should be a dry towel at the bottom of your bag.” I said.

The zebra rummaged through the bag, and pulled out the lime green towel a look of confusion plastered on her face. “Why... did you pack a towel?”

“A towel has many uses.” I said cheerfully. “I always bring a few with me.”

Zeed blinked at me as she hoofed the towel over to Knives. “Don’t you need one? That water looks… cold.”

The zebra blushed and coughed into her hoof.

“Meh. I’m good.” I peeked through the doorway at the catwalk behind me, most of which had been destroyed by the mine I’d triggered.

In addition to the door closest to the explosion now being about half again its original size, the former multi-directional catwalk was little more than a mass of twisted metal, apparently there had been enough force to get a good portion of it embedded into one of the door frames. Two of the other six former paths had dropped down blast doors, cutting off our access to them. A fourth was blocked by debris, leaving us with only two possible ways through the facility. However, the large gap in the catwalk would be impossible to cross on hoof.

“Now how in the hell are we going to get past that?”

“Two pegasi, dummy.” Stock punched me in the shoulder. “We can just fly them over. Well… when you preen.”

I frowned at her. “Will you shut up about that?”

“No!” She replied. “You’re gonna kill yourself flying with feathers like that. And seriously, have some pride, dude.”

“What do you know? You don’t even have feathers anymore.” The undead pegasus glared at me. I chuckled nervously and slowly backed into the room with the destroyed catwalk, stopping to pull my fedora from the pile of clothes I’d torn off of myself. “Sorry.”

After taking a glance at my pipbuck to make sure the healing potion in my wing had done it’s work, I began chewing at my wings, rearranging the feathers and pulling out the broken ones. There were a lot of broken ones… something that tends to happen when I wear clothing for a long period of time. ‘Shirt-feathers’, my sisters had always called it. Kind of like hat-mane, but… well… with feathers.

While I cleaned up my wings, I pondered whether or not I should tell Knives and Zeed everything. I had been hoping to wait until later to tell them about the pegasus thing, but I kinda blew that… well, the mine did anyway… but then I had the… other… thing.

I spat out another feather and sighed. At least I can relax a bit now.

Another tiny me popped into my brain. ‘If you like that mare, tell her.’

“Shut up, brain.” I muttered. “I’ll tell both of them when I can.”

‘Translation: when I can grow some balls.’

“I’ll tell Knives and Zeed everything when this is over.” I hissed at myself. “This isn’t exactly the best place to do it.”

When my subconscious didn’t respond, I growled and nudged a tertiary back into place.

I really need to stop talking to myself. I mused. All it does is piss me off.

“Th’ hell are ye doin’?” Knives asked from behind me. “That’s... kind ay... weird.”

I spat out a broken primary. “I’m preening. You know, cleaning my wings?”

“Wi’ yer mouth?” She grimaced. “Ah mean, Ah dunnae have any sense ay tase, but...”

I smirked. “You’re right, I should use my claws for this. Thanks for the advice, Knives.”

She frowned. “Right. That was just stupid ay me.”

I grinned. “Aaaaand for the record, this is kinda like walking in on somepony in the shower.”

Her face turned bright red and cleared her throat nervously.

“S-sae…” She stuttered, attempting to change the subject. “Ah guess ye need this back.” She held out the leather jacket I had given to her earlier to keep her warm.

I shook my head. “Nah. You use it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Ye sure?”

I nodded.

She slipped the jacket on. The creepy enchanted leather thing was a bit too big for her, but she looked good in it. Actually… she just looked great in general. Especially those beautiful silver eyes. Even the slitted one was beautiful. I was fairly certain that I could have stared into them forever… And her stripes were just… just…

Wow… I’m cornier than Neighbraska.

“So… uh… what are the other two doing?” I asked in an attempt to spark up a conversation.

“Ah dunnae. Zeed said she had tae talk wi’ Stock about somethin’.” She replied. “But Ah got tae ask, why are ye hidin’ yer wings?”

I gave her a quizzical look.

“They’re uh…” Was she blushing? “They look… nice…”

Well, even if she wasn’t I sure as hell was.

“Thanks… I just wish I could keep them out. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to go around screaming ‘I’m a pegasus damnit!’ I can’t do that, though, partly because every slaver who saw me would chase me all the way to Canterlot..” She gave a confused look, and I responded with a proud, but sad smile. “We pegasi are rare, and a pain in the flank to catch. Worth a lot of caps.”

“And, of course...” I sighed and held out the tip of a wing. “My wings are dipped, so anypony who knows what that means will go straight to Spectrum.”

“Dipped in what?” She asked as she looked at the darkened feathers.

“Some magic-infused dye that stays even after the feathers shed.” I frowned at the feathers in question. “They did that shortly after I was born.”

“Who did?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“Spectrum. The organization that basically raised my sisters and I.” I bit my lip. “I’d… I’d rather leave it at that for now. Sorry…”

“Nae, it’s fine. Ah understand.” She sighed. “There’s things Ah dunnae like talkin’ ’bout neither.”

“It’s not that. I just…” I rubbed the back of my head and sighed. “It’s kinda something I have to… show… I don’t think anypony would believe me otherwise.”

We were left with a silence in which I could hear the dripping of water in the distance. Oh, great. Now you made it awkward. Good going dipshit. Say something!

“So what’s it like, having a small family?” I mentally facehooved. Fucking moron . A thousand topics and you pick *that?

To my surprise, she smiled. “It was nice. Dad got thrown out when Ah was five, though. After that, mom and Ah grew closer. Even though she was basically taking care of two foals.”

“Two foals?” I asked.

“Aye. The mare we’re lookin’ fer, Zeed’s and mah friend… our mothers knew each other for a while before hers died when we were about four. Before that, her mom asked mine tae be th’ godmother.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, the Guard Captain didn’t really like that and tried tae make it as difficult as possible. We had tae walk fer a while just tae see her every day, and that bitch wouldn’t just let her stay with us.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “What was the Captain’s problem?”

“Oh, she had some excuse along th’ line ay ‘prisoners can’t adopt guards’, or some shit like that.” She frowned. “Not surprising considering that most of th’ Guards’re elitist assholes.”

“Sounds like Spectrum.” I grumbled.

“So, how did ye end up wi’ nine sisters?”

“It’s... complicated. Let’s just say that my family is… well beyond ‘abnormal’.” I grinned. “For example… my nephew and both of my nieces are older than me.”

She turned and gave me a ‘what the hell’ look. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Although, Strobe is only older than me by five minutes and fourty-three seconds.”

“What about yer parents?”

I suddenly realized that I couldn’t get out of this without lying. Stupid, stupid, stupid! “Uh… well…”

Luckily for me, Stock must have heard, because she entered the room in an extremely loud fashion, followed by an irritated-looking, and blushing, Zeed.

“You finally done Blue? Can we get going now?” She shouted with a grin.

“Yes! Let’s get going… Yes.” I replied gratefully. I turned my face away from Knives and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’

“So, how do you want to do this?” She continued as she put a hoof over my shoulder.

“Dude, you need to fix your mane.” She whispered into my ear. “Your back is covered in peach.”

I nodded, and adjusted my hat to better cover my mane. Then I realized with some mild horror that I’d forgotten to pack more mane dye, and mentally facehooved so hard that I could almost feel it. Oh, well isn’t that wonderful. One explosion from being stupid and everything goes right downhill. Good going fuck-tard.

‘Just tell them!’ Chirped the mini-me in my brain. ‘If you tell them it won’t be a problem.’

*I’m not going to tell them when we’re IN THE MIDDLE OF A SLAVER BASE!

I shrugged. “I thought we were just going to fly them over.”

“Aye. It’s just a small gap. How hard could-“ Knives was interrupted by Zeed smacking her in the back of the head. “Ow!”

“You two are going first.” The red-maned zebra said, shooting Stock an annoyed look.

“Och, thanks fer volunteering me.” The ash gray mare rubbed the back of her head. “Ah think ye gave me a welt. How can ye hit like that without shoes?”

“Practice. You two should get going. I need to talk to Stock... again.” She glared again at the ghoul in question.

Oh good. I thought. I was hoping to- waitaminnit… Are they doing what I think they’re doing?

As they trotted back through the door, I saw Stock wink in a not-so-subtle way, while Zeed nodded in an equally unsubtle way.

Son of a bitch, they are. Well, I can’t say I’m not grateful, but still…

I turned to Knives and saw that she was covering her face with a forehoof. What little I could see of her face was crimson.

“Well… Knives, do you want me to just… pick you up and fly you over?” I asked, scratching the back of my head nervously.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled. “Make it quick, please.”

I flapped my wings and hovered over her. Much to my embarrassment, and irritation, I found that I was blushing.

Seriously? I can’t even go near her without getting flustered? Suck it up, dumbfuck! Wait… why are my wings so… Oh for the love of Celestia! Am I fuckin’ kiddin’ me?

Suppressing an irritated growl and blushing even brighter, I lifted Knives up with my forelegs, hoping that my stiffened wings wouldn’t make the short flight difficult.

She gulped as I moved her away from the ground. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. Personally, I considered acrophobia a fate worse than death, especially if her fear was anything like my fear of mirrors. Then again, being a pegasus, heights were kind of an important part of my existence, so I naturally considered that a bad thing.

“Here,” I said as I hovered over the water and let her back hooves touch the surface. “We don’t need to go high. We just need to get across. You’ll be alright.”

She craned her neck backwards to give me a deadpan look. “While Ah dae appreciate that yer tryin’ tae be helpful, Ah’d rather just get it done wi’.”

Yet again, came the mental facehoof. “Right. Sorry.”

With a powerful flap, I sent us towards the twisted metal that once held the shape of a catwalk in the span of about two seconds. I, gently, placed the already shaking Knives back on the ground.

“You alright?” I asked.

Despite the fact that she was breathing more heavily, Knives nodded. “Aye. Just give me a second.”

I glanced around to find that we’d gone from a frozen room filled with water, to a slightly less cold room coated with white frost. From the large desk near the opposite door, with safety glass that had succumbed to the bizarrely destructive power of frozen water, I could tell that this had, at one point, been a security office. The edges of the floor were covered in large piles of snow, some of which were accompanied by faded patches of pinkish red on the wall above them. I figured it was safe to assume that they were once corpses. The walls were lined with heavily dented file cabinets.

“Uh… Raid?” Knives coughed. “Ye fergot our bags.”

I blinked, and facehooved. “I’ll be right back. You gonna be fine here?”

When she nodded, I shot back to the other room.

Trotting through the door, I saw Zeed and Stock sitting in the middle of the hallway, the former covering her face and crying, the latter patting the zebra on the back in what I figured must be an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m a fucking freak!” Zeed sobbed. “I c-couldn’t even tell Ash about i-hi-hiiit!”

“Aw come on, it’s not that weird.” Stock said in an oddly calm manner. “Look, I had a friend with a similar problem. He said thinking about it… in that context… that just made it worse. He- Blue! What are you doin’ here?”

Zeed jumped up to her hooves with a yelp. “Wh-what did you hear?”

I held up my wings defensively. “Woah, woah! I didn’t hear anything. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Calm down.”

The striped mare wiped her bloodshot eyes with a foreleg and sniffled.

Suddenly, Stock jumped into my face and grinned widely. “So? How’s it goin’?”

“Eh?” was all I could say.

“With Knives? Did you finally say something?”

I frowned. “It’s been less than a minute.”

Zeed rolled her still red eyes. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Really? Come on, Raid.”

“Yeah, seriously dude. You need. To get. A marefriend.” Stock groaned. “And from what I’ve seen, Knives isn’t that bad.”

“Are you two really trying to set us up?” I said with a deadpan expression.

Zeed smirked. “For the record, I happen to know for a fact that Knives has a thing for wings.”

I worked my jaw as I felt heat build up in my cheeks. “Uh…”

“Yup. She won’t admit it, but they drive her nuts.” The zebra snorted a laugh.

“W-well… I…”

“Also,” Zeed frowned. “Word of advice… whatever you do, don’t make it too mushy. Knives may love romance novels and a few romantic things, but she hates, I repeat, hates being romanced. Compliments and a bit of flirting are fine. No flowers or any of that crap.”

“Why are you back here, anyway?” Stock chirped in her gravelly voice.

“I… I…” I coughed into my hoof. “I forgot the saddlebags.”

Almost instantly, Stock had the bags placed on my back, which surprised me as I hadn’t known she could move that fast.

As I turned to leave, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and Zeed whispered in my ear. “I’ll let you off for now, but you are going to tell us the rest of it.”

I nodded and sighed. “Don’t worry. I will.”

When I alighted once more in the doorway to the security office, I glanced back at my tail to find that some of the peach-colored dye was starting to wash out, revealing very small patches of the colors beneath. I regretted, and not for the first time, the fact that I never bothered to bleach the hair first. I hoped that it wouldn’t be noticed until I had time to explain everything.

“Raid? What’re ye just standin’ there for?” Knives asked from behind the security desk. “Ah can’t figure out how tae get this door open. Where’s Zeed?”

“Still talking with Stock. I think she had a pretty bad mood swing, but she seemed better when I left.” I shrugged. “Whadaya need her for?”

She pointed to the lock, which was a card reader embedded into the door handle. “There’s a big hole in th’ wall oan th’ other side. Figured we should check out where it goes.”

With a nod, I spun around and began digging through one of the piles of pinkish snow on the floor.

“Th’ hell are ye doin’?” Knives asked incredulously.

“Looking for a passcard.” I replied simply.

After a second of staring blankly at me, Knives shook her head, and searched a frozen corpse on the other side, magicking away globs of snow as she did.

Apparently, the floor was several feet deeper than it looked. I ended up digging for a full three minutes before I finally hit paydirt, metaphorically speaking. I took a glance at Knives, and saw that she’d been staring at me. When she caught my gaze, she snapped her head back to what she was doing. I think I saw a tinge of red on her face.

‘Dude!’ Said my subconscious. ‘She’s checking you out!’

I smirked and turned back to the corpse. No she’s not.

‘Look again.’

I looked, and saw her turn away once more.

That proves nothing, brain. Nothing at all.

‘Her friend is trying to set you up with her, she’s turning away and blushing. She likes you.’ My subconscious continued. ‘Look again, but be subtle.’

Splaying out my wings, I tried to look through the corner of my eye and between the feathers. Knives was staring at me, biting her lip nervously, as she dug through the snow, occasionally glancing back at the hole she’d made.

Holy fucking shit, she’s checking me out. I shouted in my head. Knives is actually checking *me out!

I returned to my pile of snow with a barely-concealed grin. Sitting on top of the corpse was a small red card, distracting me from my mental celebration. “Found it!”

“Och, really?” Knives said with a jump. “Good. Now we can get through th’ door.”

I gave a mock salute. “Yes ma’am!”

Slipping the card into the slot, I swept out a foreleg with a dramatic flourish. “Fillies first, madame.”

When there was no answer, I saw knives staring at the door with her ears down and a grimace on her face. I peeked through the door to see what it was.

I was met with the barrel of a shotgun, held by an orange unicorn covered in spikes.

I sighed. “Crap.”

~~~~~

Wretch stood on a rocky outcrop behind the shack, staring out at the darkness of the Canturbury Wasteland. She frowned at the orange mist that always covered the ground. If she listened hard enough, she could almost hear that ever-familiar buzzing noise.

She also heard a whimper.

Surprised by the sound, she looked around her, to find that the sound was coming from the shack.

Suspecting an intruder, she drew her weapon and silently crept down the rocks, the blue glow of her magic providing some light.

She jumped around the corner, fully expecting to see somepony breaking into the shack.

There was nopony there.

The whimper sounded again. It came from inside.

Wretch pushed the door open and looked.

The only pony inside was Green, sleeping on the dirty bed and hugging the pillow.

Wretch trotted in, and glanced around.

Green whimpered again, clenching the pillow tightly in her fetlocks, tears streaming down her face.

Wretch felt a pang of sympathy for her, and moved silently over to the bed.

Gently, she stroked the green pegasus’ mane. “Shhh… It’s alrIght. You’re safe.”

Green relaxed visibly, letting out one last sob. Her wings twitched. The filly mumbled something.

Wretch smiled. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, Green. You didn’t deserve any of it.”

Green’s stomach emitted a loud growl. Wretch responded by giving the sleeping filly a bemused look.

“Again? Even when you’re asleep? Where do you put it all?” She sighed. “I guess we’ll need more food soon, then, won’t we?”

With that, the pink mare left the shack to once more watch the wastes.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
EXP 40%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
EXP 90%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
EXP 50%

Secondary trait revealed:

The Airway’s Full O’ Dimes: You’re not the fastest pegasus there is. You are, however, the most agile bastard flying through the wastes. When you’re flying, you can turn in any direction without losing speed. Sadly, your maximum flight speed is reduced by 40%.

`
Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.
Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.
2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s Notes)

Yes. Raid is almost constantly berating himself over nearly every single thing he does. He just doesn’t show it.

He’s also very awkward when he meets a mare he actually likes.

-Delakirus

Chapter Sixteen: Runnin' Scared From A Bunch'A Nuts

Chapter Sixteen: Runnin’ Scared From a Bunch’A Nuts

“But have you ever run a race?”

“Well, no. But I do know a lot about running.”

“And you know this from...”

“Books. I read several on the subject.”

“Hey Ash!” I cheerfully said as I walked into her living room.

The grey mare grinned at me, and hopped off her treadmill to give me a kiss on the cheek. “So, did you get them?”

I held out a small case in my hoof which she took in her own and carefully opened. “Thanks. I’ve been trying to get replacements for weeks.”

She took out the thin-rimmed glasses and donned them.

I smiled. “I still don’t get why you couldn’t just ask Knives. Or, you know… Mrs. Knives.”

She rolled her eyes. “Knives doesn’t know diddly-squat about glasses. She’d probably get the wrong ones.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

“She’s done it before.” She waved a hoof dismissively. “And Zala does enough for me already. She practically raised me.”

“I think she’d be willing to pick up a pair of glasses for you.” I smirked. “And this wouldn’t be a problem if you’d stop breaking or losing them or whatever you did to the last pair.”

The grey earth pony frowned. “Rifle smacked me in the face on the range. Snapped ‘em right in two.”

I smirked. “Uh-huh. Sure. The range run by the paranoid, self-safety obsessed Guards. You put the gun too close to your face again, didn’t you...”

“Hey, I’ve only been wearing these dumb things for a couple of months. I’m not used to shooting with them on. And for the record, I would have gone to get them myself, but the stupid secretary won’t give them to me when Doc Phoroptor’s not there.” She snorted. “And you know how hard it is for me to do... well... pretty much anything in the morning.”

“I do know. You can barely get up in the afternoon.” I giggled, and planted a kiss on her wonderfully soft lips. “You’d sleep till six if you could.”

She grabbed me in her forehooves and hugged me tightly, nuzzling my neck with a contented sigh. I smiled and hugged her back.

We stayed like that for a while.

“You have really soft fur, you know that?” She said. “You’re like a fluffy teddy ursa.”

I pulled away from her and frowned. “Did you just call me fluffy?”

She grinned. “Yyyyeeeessssss.”

I furrowed my brow at her. “I am not fluffy.”

She turned and trotted towards the couch, quite deliberately moving her flanks in a very much alluring way.

“Yes you are.” She said in a sing-song voice.

Determined to not be swayed by her sexy flank, I sat on my haunches and crossed my forehooves. “I. Am. Not. Fluffy.”

She sat down on the couch, gave me a mischievous grin, and moved her glasses down ever-so-slightly. “C’mere, Zeed.”

I gulped. Dear Luna, she’s a sexy egghead. “No. You called me fluffy.”

She moved into a position that belonged on a Playbuck pin-up, and patted the cushions. “You know you want to.”

I couldn’t deny that. In fact, I really wanted to jump on her and kiss her, but I was absolutely determined to not let that comment slide, so I turned away and closed my eyes defiantly. “No.”

I could almost hear her roll her eyes at me. The sound of her moving off the couch reached my ears, but I refused to move.

Then I felt her hoof run along the fur on my back.

Oh, sweet merciful Luna, not that!

I desperately tried to hold back a snort of laughter as the feeling continued.

“Are you really going to make me use both hooves?” Ashes asked. “I’ll do it if I have to.”

I said nothing, already having too much trouble suppressing my laughter.

“Okay!” She chirped.

Her tickle-assault resumed at double the speed, in every ticklish spot I had. I held it in until my eyes started to tear up.

When she licked my neck, though, it was just far too much, and I burst out laughing.

“Hah! Gotcha!” She cried.

I fell to the floor as she continued her attack. “Hahahaha! Ash cu- haha- cut- gehe, stop!”

“Say it! Say you’re fluffy!”

“No! I am not-“ She licked my neck again. “HAHAHAHA! Okay, okay! I’m fluffy! I’m your fluffy teddy ursa, now cut it out!”

She pulled away, and I rolled onto my back. She wore a smug, victorious smile. “Yes you are.”

“You’re lucky I love you...” I grinned, and kissed her. “You’re just a big meanie, you know that?”

“I know.” She replied with a quick nuzzle. “But I’m your big meanie.”

~~~~~

As Raid turned to leave, I put my hoof on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear. “I’ll let you off for now, but you are going to tell us the rest of it.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” He replied with a nod and a sigh.

I watched as he sped off to… whatever was on the other side of the room. I withdrew my shades from my pocket and set them on my muzzle.

“Hundred caps says he’ll choke.” Stock chuckled.

“Two hundred says he won’t.” I smirked.

“Oooh. Somepony’s confident. You’re on.” She laughed mischievously. “Easiest caps I’ve ever made.”

“I can tell he’s not that stupid.”

“Heh... no, he can be pretty stupid sometimes.” She rolled her eyes. “For example… he often forgets to turn on his E.F.S. Ends up walking into trouble sometimes.”

I frowned. “I see. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“If he’s dumb enough to forget a vital tool, he’s dumb enough to not say anything to a mare he fancies.”

I continued to frown at her. “I’m not following your logic here.”

She grunted and shook her head. “Nevermind. Just forget it.”

I shrugged, pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of my lab coat, which had somehow managed to stay completely intact since I grabbed it, and checked to see if they had dried out yet. To my relief, it had, so I lit it with a blast from my laser and stuck it in my mouth, happily inhaling the smoke.

“Can I bum one of those off you?” The undead pegasus asked.

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

She smirked. “Just because I don’t need to breathe, doesn’t mean I can’t. Besides, I like the taste.”

With a shrug, I lit a stick for her and hoofed it over.

We sat there for a moment, puffing smoke.

“So… Back to your… problem.”

My eyes widened, and a shudder went through my body as I remembered how… cold… it was.

“Oh, calm down.” Stock chuckled. “I’m telling you, it’s not as bad as you think it is.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it’s not normal.” I said, wishing I had a long mane so I could hide behind it.

“Yeah. Not normal. Doesn’t mean you’re a ‘freak’, as you so elegantly put it.” She patted me on the shoulder in a sympathetic way. “So you like one weird thing. So what? It’s not like you’re killing foals for the fun of it. Just relax.”

She snickered. “Although, it is pretty funny that a cold shower doesn’t really help you.”

I shuddered again, and sighed. “This is one of those things I can legitimately blame on my mother. That’s part of why it’s so damn weird.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your mother did that to you?”

I nodded.

“What, did she throw you in a freezer whenever you were… well… you know…” She grinned and waved a hoof in a suggestive way. “Doing the thing with the stuff?”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded, yet another shudder causing my face to turn red. “Then and whenever I was in heat.”

“Wha- Uh… What? Seriously?” She said, her jaw dropping open with shock, almost dropping her cigarette. “I was just joking… Goddesses… I’ve heard of bad parenting, but never stupid parenting. If I’d done something like that with my foals… Sheesh, I don’t think they’re ever have forgiven me.”

“Yeah, well I kinda haven- wait…” I blinked at her. “You have foals?”

“Yup. Well... had.” She let out a sad sigh. “My son died from taint overexposure and my daughter was ambushed by raiders.”

I put a hoof over my mouth. “Oh… I… uh… I’m so sorry…”

She frowned at me. “For what? That was probably before you were even born. I’m pretty sure you’re younger than thirty. Don’t apologize for it.”

“Well…”

Her frown turned into a warm smile. “Besides, they had three foals between them, and then they have four between them.”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Dunno if I have great-great-grandfoals yet, though. Haven’t seen them since I left Dream Valley.”

“Why’d you leave, anyway?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Me, Blue, and a bunch of others felt that Spectrum was getting… a little out of hoof.” She shrugged.

“What’s that mean?” I quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Can’t tell ya. Top secret.” She smiled. “Sorry.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at the ghoul. “Fine.”

We remained silent for quite a while, me shuddering every few seconds and trying very hard not to blush at the sensation of cold going through my system.

“You think it’s been long enough for one of those two to start talking?” I pointed a hoof at the door across the room.

“Hmmm… yeah. They should have started talking at-“

A shout and several gunshots echoed through the catwalk room. After about a second of staring in shock, Stock sighed. “Oh, crap.”

When she saw my confused look, she explained. “Remember what I said about Blue not turning his E.F.S. on?”

The memory played through my mind like a recording. “Oh, crap.”

Suddenly, Stock shot over to the door, and swooped inside.

“Hey!” I called after her. “What about me?”

Just as suddenly, she shot back, this time her face filled with fear. I frowned at her.

Then she swept me up and took me over to the other remaining door in the room, aside from the entrance, and the room Knives and Raid had gone into. I screamed in surprise, and clung to her hooves.

When she finally put me back down on solid ground just past the doorway, I turned towards her. “Stock what the-“

There was a puff of dust from the wall behind me as another gunshot filled the air. I spun again to see that a couple of ponies wearing the spikiest clothing I’d ever seen were taking potshots at us from Knives’ and Raid’s door.

“They’re fine just caught now move please so you don’t die.” Stock said in a single breath as she pulled me out of the Bone Eaters’ line of sight.

“What?” I screamed.

“MOVE!” She zipped behind me and started shoving me forward.

We had found ourselves in another corridor. The floor was frozen over enough that I simply slid along on the floor as Stock pushed me. It would have been fun if it weren’t for the fact that I’d just been shot at.

“Stop!” I hissed as quietly as possible. “We don’t even know where we’re going!”

“Away from the guns.” She hissed back. “That’s where we’re going. They won’t expect us to go through here. We’ll be as unexpected as the Griffon Inquisition.”

“They saw us.” I replied. “And they can just go around.”

She stopped pushing me, and I continued to slide forward for a few yards before I slipped on the ice and fell flat on my face.

“Oh… Fuck…” She said. “You’re right.”

I tried to get back to my hooves, only to fall back over. I tried a few more times, becoming more and more frustrated. “Gaagh! I hate this stupid floor? I wish I still had my shoes on.”

“Wouldn’t that just make it worse?” The ghoul asked as she pulled me up. I looked at her and saw that she was keeping herself up by gently flapping her wings, and felt a pang of jealousy.

“They were rubberized. Tons of traction.” I grumbled. “What happened to Knives and Raid? Did you see them?”

“Bone Eaters captured ‘em.” She replied as she pushed me along the frosted floor. “They’ll be fine for now, but we need to get them out before something unpleasant happens.”

“Like what?” My hooves hit a dry spot on the floor and I fell forward again, smacking my chin and swearing profusely.

She pulled me back to my hooves again. “Probably something along the lines of a pit-fight.”

I deadpanned at her. “Seriously?”

“Yup.” She nodded. “Slavers tend to do that a lot. Apparently owning somepony means you get to throw them at other ponies you own.”

I stared forward for a second as Stock pushed me forward again. “I think I hate these ponies already. So, what are we going to do?”

“We’ll have to find out if we can get in through this way. Oh! Window.” She shoved me towards an opening in the wall, making me smack into the wall next to it, bashing my nose and falling on my face yet again.

I glared at her from the floor, and she tried to hold in a laugh. “Sorry.”

Using the window to brace myself, I pulled myself up into something resembling a standing position, and looked out. This room, like the last one, had most of its lower levels flooded with frozen water. It was a large, mostly featureless room apart from multiple criss-crossing catwalks and some steel girders that seemed to have no apparent purpose apart from obstructing my view. Through them, I saw a large group of spike-adorned ponies running around, most likely trying to figure out how to get to Stock and myself. I was surprised to see that half of them were zebras.

Entering the room from one side were the ponies who’d shot at us moments ago, herding an irate Raid, who was carrying an unconscious Knives on his back. He had a wide grin on his face.

“Why in the hell does he look so happy?” I asked incredulously.

Stock’s eyes widened. “What? Where is he, I can’t see him.”

I pointed towards the ultramarine pegasus.

“Oh, fuck. That’s not good.” She winced. “He’s got ‘The Look’.”

“Eh?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well… Blue has a tendency to… suppress his anger, and if you piss him off enough, he eventually snaps and it just pours out like a firehose on full blast.”

“Snaps?” I asked. “Whaddaya mean?”

The ghoul shuddered. “First, he starts… uh… I guess the best word for it is ‘vibrating’, and he starts smiling, kinda like what he was doing over there.”

I quirked an eyebrow and stared at her over the rims of my shades.

“Then his words get a bit mixed up. Stuttering, mostly, but I’ve heard him screw up his grammar. Like uh... quiet and quite” Stock frowned. “Occasionally he’ll start using words from random languages.”

“Oh, really…” I said incredulously.

“Then he starts giggling.” She shuddered again. “If you ever, ever, hear him giggling, back away from him very, very slowly. Chuckling is fine, he only does that when he’s scared, but if he giggles, run.”

“He starts giggling?” I said. “Are you kidding me?”

“You’ve never heard him do it. He starts acting like somepony from a slasher flick.”

“Let me guess, after that, he goes on a rampage?” I rolled my eyes.

“Sort of. It depends on who he’s pissed at. If it’s a friend, he’ll just start screaming at them.” Stock grimaced. “Last time I saw him do it he ripped a raider’s wing off and strangled her with it.”

“He wasn’t doing that when I was messing with him earlier.”

“What, when you kept stabbing needles in his ass? That wasn’t mad. That was irritated and stressed-out.” She shook her head. “It takes a lot to piss him off enough for it to show.”

“So what pissed him off this time?” I asked incredulously.

“Oh, that’s probably because they hurt Knives.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I hope she’s okay.”

I moved around to get a better view of where they were taking Knives and Raid. “Luna’s frosty flank, I hate this place. There’s catwalks and... and these stupid girders everywhere. I can barely see anything.”

“Well, there’s a question for the ages. What is with Canturbury and catwalks?” Stock said. “They couldn’t think of a better way to get across something? Is it because they both start with ‘c’? Cookie starts with ‘c’, why couldn’t they just make those?”

My incredulous expression changed to one of confusion at the sudden and random change of subject. “Uh…”

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it time and time again.” She smirked. “Don’t try and make sense of Canturbury. You’ll just hurt yourself.”

I stared blankly at her.

“Trust me. According to most of the pre-war ghouls I’ve talked to,” She continued. “Even before the war, everypony in Canturbury was insane. Almost everything they did was ‘spur-of-the-moment’. Just don’t think about it, and you will be a lot happier.”

“O…kay… then…” I said, turning back to watching the activities below us.

“Alright… shotguns… looks like they’re using beanbags. That can be either good or bad, not sure which.” She mused. “All very low quality, though. Ooh… especially that armor. Even raiders take better care of their stuff.”

While she examined the Bone Eater’s equipment, I carefully watched the direction in which they took Raid and Knives. A reinforced door labeled ‘open testing’ opened up at one end of the catwalk they were on, and snapped back shut after they’d gone through.

“Why?” I asked with an exasperated sigh. “Why does this have to be difficult?”

“You’re the one who wanted to get those two alone,” Stock whispered. “So don’t go blaming me.”

“HEY!” Part of the window just in front of me exploded in a shower of concrete chunks.

I yelped in surprise and fell backwards, sliding across the icy floor once again. Stock took the opportunity to start pushing me along towards the end of the corridor, despite my protests.

“Okay, we need to find out where they’re keeping their slaves, then we need to find the weapons storage, then we need to figure out how to get the one to the other.” Stock said with that gravelly voice of hers.

I blinked. “So… we need to start a slave revolt?”

“Exactly!” She chirped.

“Why is that your first plan?” I craned my neck to deadpan at the undead mare.

“Because the wasteland needs some good done to it, and I really don’t like slavers.” She replied. “Good enough for ya?”

“What, we can’t stop to think of a better plan?”

“You can stop if you want. I’m going with mine,” She snorted. “Either with, or without you. Besides, aren’t you looking for your marefriend? What was her name… Ash?”

“What? No, I’m looking for my dad. I don’t even know where-” She suddenly stopped moving again, leaving me to continue sliding and collide with the door at the end of the hallway and, once again, fall flat on my face. “I SWEAR TO LUNA, I WILL BREAK YOUR DAMN NOSE IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN!”

“No time!” She responded in a frantic manner as she forced the door open, breaking a good chunk of ice off the floor.

I was glad to see that the floor in the next hallway beyond it was completely dry and not coated with copious amounts of ice. I carefully made my way through the opening, and relished the feeling of being able to stand on my own four legs again. Taking a look at the floor I was standing on, I saw that there were multiple colored lines painted along the tiles. A blue one lead through the door we’d just popped out of. With my eyes, I followed it into another branch of the t-shaped corridor. I was extremely annoyed when I saw a zebra at the end of it, adorned with spikes like the rest of her friends.

“Well what the fuck do we have here?” She sneered. “A ghoul and a stripy traitor.”

“Traitor? I’m not a traitor.” I said. “I don’t even know you.”

“Oh, yes you are.” She grinned a very unpleasant grin that told me she would do horrible things to me if she caught me. “You’re fucking canned goods. Your lucky ass got into a stable. I can smell it on you.”

“I’ve never even set hoof in a Stable!” I cried indignantly.

“Your fucking kind abandoned the rest of us. Thought you were better than us.” She growled. “Left us to rot in the wasteland.”

“Whaddaya mean ‘your kind’?” I said. “You’re a zebra too!”

“But we stayed out here, instead of cowering IN A FUCKING BUNKER!” Then she jumped at me, screaming. “I’m gonna fucking gut you, you little bitch!”

“Gaagh!” I narrowly dodged the madmare’s attack, only to have part of my mane snag on one of her shoulder spikes, which made my head snap down in an extremely uncomfortable way. Ignoring the pain, I reached down to my upper right leg to grab my laser in my teeth.

My vision went black for a second.

I suddenly found myself lying on the floor.

A gunshot rang out, and I heard somepony scream out in pain. There was the sound of ponies yelling.

What just happened? I couldn’t tell whether I thought that or said it. Did something hit me?

Slowly, I managed to bring myself to my hooves. I found it difficult to see straight. I felt like I was about to vomit. What was the word for this? Oh, right. A concussion, I think. What was I supposed to do for those?

“Zeed! Move!” Somepony called out.

I automatically dropped back down, and felt somepony trip on me, landing on the opposite side of my body. I looked to see the other zebra glowering at me from her new position on the floor.

I felt the back of my head with a forehoof, only to wince in pain and pull it back away. It was covered in blood I figured somepony must have hit me in the back of the head when I wasn’t looking. What the hell was I doing before that?

I blinked a few times to try and clear my head.

“Damnit Zeed!” Somepony grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and started dragging me.

The other zebra jumped to her hooves and charged at me. I panicked and delivered a buck to her face, sending her reeling back and holding a bloody nose.

A door closed in front of me, and a familiar face appeared. I stared at it for a moment.

“Alright, come on, we need to go.”

“Did something hit me?” I asked.

“Oh for… You asked that six times already!”

I put a hoof to my aching head and closed my eyes. “Ugh… I… I can’t think… straight. Um… Think I’m gonna- urp-“

I threw up.

“Holy shit… you alright?”

“Potion… Need a potion.” I searched through my… pockets? Yes. Pockets. I pulled out a red vial and poured it into my mouth. Within seconds the fuzzy feeling in my brain started to clear.

There was another bang behind us, and a ping sound emanated from the door. “C’mon, Zeed. We gotta move. Now.”

“Stock?” I put a hoof to my head and winced at the throbbing sensation. “What the fuck hit me?”

“Wha- She knocked you over and curb-stomped you is what hit you. Why are you acting weird?” The ghoul stared at me incredulously.

“Fuck off. I think I have a concussion. Oooh… crap that hurts…” I groaned in pain.

“Come on!” She yelled insistently.

“GIMME A FUCKING SECOND!” I screamed, the volume making my own head throb and causing me to grimace from the pain.

With an irritated growl, the ghoul shoved a chair under the door’s knob, pulled a large case out of her saddlebags, and swiftly removed its contents. As I slowly regained my senses, she began to assemble what looked like a very large rifle. Glancing around, I saw that were were in what looked like an office meeting room. Most of the chairs around the table held the skeletons of ponies who’d died sitting in them.

By the time the foggy haze over my thoughts had lifted, and the pain in my skull had subsided, She had finished piecing together the monstrous gun, and was firing it at a near-constant pace. As I looked at it, I was amazed by its sheer mass. Hell, I was amazed it hadn’t broken the battle saddle that let her use it. From the speed it was going, I could tell it was an automatic weapon, but judging from the holes in the door we came through, it didn’t seem particularly accurate.

“The hell is that thing?” I asked.

She spat out the bit and gave me an annoyed look. “Fifty-cal machine gun. Expensive as all fuck. It’s about time you finished. Can we get going now?”

The door in front of us popped open, revealing several Bone Eaters, whose mad grins turned to ones of disbelief as Stock opened fire on them, effectively tearing them to pieces. The ones who managed to avoid the barrage promptly dodged behind the nearest cover.

“Uh… yes. Let’s.” I said, and followed her back out into the corridor. All the while, she continued laying down suppressing fire.

I was then sent lurching forwards when somepony bucked me in the ass.

“Don’t you trot away from me, traitor!” Screamed the mad zebra from before, who took several steps back to prepare for another charge.

Stock tried to turn around, but the massive gun caught on the walls, leaving the pegasus unable to go any further. She swore loudly, and turned back to her suppressing fire.

As the other zebra slowly approached me, her face filled with rage, I managed to get my gun out.

“Oh, look at you, with your little toy.” She licked her lips. “I’m gonna have fun with you, traitor.”

She leapt at me, and I took a shot. The beam of energy struck her in the nose, making her scream in pain. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep her from slamming me into the wall.

With one hoof, she held me against the wall by the throat. She had a manic grin on her charred face. “I’m gonna enjoy this!”

Her other hoof, apparently decorated with as many spikes as the rest of her body, flew towards my face.

In sheer panic, I kicked her in the crotch. The blow made her hoof go wide as she squeaked in pain, the spikes embedding themselves into the wall, getting her stuck fast. The rest of her dropped to the ground, as she whimpered and covered her aching bits with her free hoof.

“GO!” I screamed to Stock, only to notice that she was already halfway down the corridor, which held surprisingly few dead slavers. With a sigh, I punched the zebra in the mouth, and trotted off after my friend.

~~~

“Okay, now what are we doing?” I asked. “I thought we were running.”

As we continued racing through the hallways, corridors, and a ridiculously unnecessary number of water-filled catwalk rooms, the Ghoul had stopped to check every single door she came across. Most of them led to something akin to a broom closet, others led to more meeting and/or break rooms. Surprisingly, only one of them had led to any room that actually held anything science-y, which didn’t really make any sense, considering that this was supposed to be a research facility.

“Weapons. Armor. Slaves. Whatever.” She replied as she pulled her head out of yet another broom closet. “We need something to help us get to Knives and Blue, and if we happen to run across *them, then that’s even better.”

I deadpanned at her. “Didn’t we bring a bunch of weapons with us?”

She rolled her eyes. “No. Why would we go and do that?”

“So we don’t have to go and find weapons?”

“We’re not trying to be one-mare armies here.” She said. “We can’t carry around an entire armory apiece. Besides, are you any good with an assault rifle?”

“… No…”

She nodded, and continued searching once more. “Besides, that’s my shop inventory. If we use it all, I’ll have nothing left to sell.”

“Shouldn’t we at least find a map or something?” I asked.

She guffawed. “I’m amazed we found this place on a map.”

“The hell does that mean?”

“This is Canturbury, Stripes.” She chuckled. “You have to just go with the flow. If you plan too much, everything will go down in balefire.”

“Uh… huh… Well maybe we should stop searching every door, at least.”

Ignoring me, she opened yet another door. “Aha!”

She stepped through the door with a wide grin, and I followed after her. I was surprised and more than a bit annoyed that we’d found a room filled with racks upon racks of weaponry. Although, even I could tell that most of it was in a bad condition.

Stock pulled a burlap sack out of her saddlebags, and started to stuff pistols into it.

I sighed. “Why is their weapons storage in the middle of… You know what? Never mind. I don’t care.”

“Now you’re getting it! Welcome to Canturbury!” Stock grinned.

“We’re really doing this aren’t we…” I said.

Stock paused her search, and tossed me another sack. “Here, start grabbing ammo.”

I frowned. “How about this, you grab pistols and ammo for those, I’ll grab rifles and ammo for those. So, you know… if one of us gets caught, we’ll still have weapons.”

“That’s a great idea!” She said cheerfully. “Great use of your noggin!”

I rolled my eyes and started dumping guns into the bag.

Soon, we were off, moving through the hallways as quickly as we could with our heavy loads.

“Now all we have to do is find the slaves, break them out, and we’re good to go!”

I sighed. “How did I get into this mess, again?”

“Uh... I dunno. Why’d you leave your... Prison, right? Why’d you leave that?” The ghoul had begun to check in random doors again.

“Because the last riot left us in a miserable hellhole, and we didn’t want to get caught up in another one.” I grimaced.

“Well, there’s your answer.”

I sighed. “And somehow, this is still better than being in there.

“The wasteland is fun sometimes.” Stock grinned. “Enjoy it while you can.”

~~~~~~

Green let out a long, loud yawn. She looked around, and from the light leaking in from the ceiling, figured that it was sometime in the morning.

She looked around and saw Wretch staring at herself in a mirror, holding one of her eyes open with her magic.

“Uh… G-good morning…” Green said.

Wretch glanced at the filly and smiled. “Hello Green. How are you feeling?”

“I… I…” Slowly, a smile spread across Green’s face, and she rubbed a hoof across her eyes. “I feel a lot better, actually.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Wretch turned back to looking at her eyes.

Green furrowed her brow in confusion, and figured that she might as well ask the question on her mind. “Um… what are you doing?”

“My eyes changed color.” The pink mare replied.

Green looked at Wretch’s eyes, noticing that they were the same pale blue color as they were when they had first met. “They did?”

“Yes, they used to be violet.” The unicorn replied. “I can only assume that he needed to fix them, but couldn’t put them back to normal.”

Green blinked her own orange eyes. “Uh… He?”

“At least they can pass for normal.” She continued, not hearing the verdant filly, and only confusing her further. Then she smirked. “So, are you hungry again?”

As if on cue, Green’s stomach let out a load groan, making the filly turn bright red with embarrassment.

Wretch laughed warmly. “It’s alright, Green. I imagine you didn’t get fed a lot.”

Green shook her head in a solemn manner.

“But with how much you keep eating… I can’t help but wonder where you put it all.” Wretch teased. “At the rate you keep going, you’ll end up fat.”

Green snorted a laugh. “Nuh-uh. I’ll probably stay skinny forever.”

Wretch grinned. “Oh, you’re definitely feeling better. Yesterday you were too scared to say anything. What changed?”

Green tapped her chin for a moment. “I dunno. I just feel… better.”

“Wonderful! So I guess you’re up to getting back on the road, then?”

Green nodded, and happily following the older mare out of the scrap-metal shack, practically prancing along the road.

Wretch smiled at the filly’s change of mood. It was far less depressing than having her mope about and act paranoid around Wretch.

“Uh… Wretch?” Green’s voice held only a hint of her usual nervousness.

“Hmm?”

“Is it… Is it okay if I fly?” Green asked hopefully.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” The pink mare tilted her head curiously.

Green gasped. “R-really? Bark never let me fly. He always tied me down to a heavy rock or something. I… you’ll really let me fly?”

Wretch nodded, and the pegasus filly squealed with delight. She immediately took off, soaring through the air as the unicorn watched.

“This is the best day ever!” Green shouted as she felt the wind blow through her feathers, the wind whipping her mane around.

Wretch shook her head and smiled as she watched the filly enjoy the air.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
EXP 50%
~~~
Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (11)
Energy Weapons: 97

Perks:
Future Mare (2/3): Your love of comics has given you insight into the use of lasers, plasma, and rail-gun type weapons. You gain +5%(+10%) critical chance and +5%(+10%) critical damage per rank of this perk.
~~~
Footnote 3: Raid (???)
EXP 60%

`
Quests:
Active Quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

Author's Note

Sorry for the lateness, folks. Life caught up.

Unfortunately, life is currently holding me hostage, so the next chapter will also be around a week late.

Anyways...

I figured that it was about time that Zeed caught up on the leveling thing.

Oh, and I may, or may not, update the other chapters to have the author's notes in this convenient little box-thingy here.

*Voice of Herbert ‘Daring’ Dashwood*

Tune in next time for: Escape from the Bone Eater Halls!

-Delakirus

Chapter Seventeen: Waking Up In Weird Places

“You’re not going anywhere.”

With a wide grin, I happily trotted into my bedroom, and chucked the bag of random boxes of food onto my bed. I was followed closely by both Ashes and Zeed.

“Wow, I can’t believe we did that!” The excited zebra filly exclaimed. “How did you even get in there, Ashes?”

The gray earth pony smiled and giggled. “I’m sneaky.”

I hopped onto the bed and started sorting out our ill-gotten goods.

“Not that I needed to be. Cake is really bad at hiding his stash.” Ashes continued. “I just had to walk right past the kitchen and-“

“DIAMOND PURITY DARKWATER-KNIVES, COME HERE NOW.”

I winced at the sound of mom’s angry voice. I never understood how she could yell quite like that. I gulped and walked out into the room. I failed to keep my ears from folding against my head..

“Y-yeah mom?” I asked with a sheepish grin.

“Where are Ashes and Zeed?” Her face was a mask of calm, but her hazel eyes were filled with a mix of fury and disappointment.

At the mention of their names, the two other fillies stepped out into the room beside me, each with a sheepish grin of their own.

Mom stared at us for a few more seconds.

“I know.” She said simply.

I blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“You three are stealing food.”

Ashes winced, and held her head low, Zeed turned away and twiddled her hooves anxiously. I just nodded. “Yup.”

Mom’s mask of calm anger suddenly vanished as her jaw dropped. “Yup? YUP? You’ve been stealing from other ponies for Celestia knows how long and all you have to say is ‘yup’?”

I shook my head. “We haven’t been stealing from other ponies. We’ve been stealing from the Guards.”

“That’s even worse!” She growled. “Diamond, stealing is illegal. What are you thinking? You… Why would you do something like that?”

I frowned. “They don’t need it. They have enough junk food to last a thousand years or something. They won’t even let anypony else have it. They just wanna keep it to keep it.”

“That’s not an excuse for stealing!” Mom said, desperately trying to keep herself from screaming. “Diamond, they’ll exile you for that. How long have you three been doing this?”

Ashes rubbed the back of her head nervously. “We both kinda… started doing this together.”

“I just joined in because it seemed fun…” Zeed continued to twiddle her hooves.

“It was my idea anyway.” I said. “They just keep all the food they can get and sit on their fat flanks while they eat it.”

“Diamond, there’s-“ Mom tried to interrupt.

“Then they give us all the crap they don’t want! Stealing may be wrong, but that’s even worse! I’m only eleven and I’ve gotten food poisoning three times! Hey, you’re cooking it, and some ponies still get food poisoning because the guards give you the worst ingredients possible!” I was yelling now, and mom’s face had gone from anger to shock. “Even when they do give us something good, it’s already expired! Sometimes they keep it that long just to give us bad food! They’re just being greedy jerks ‘cuz they think they’re BETTER THAN EVERYPONY, BUT THEY’RE NOT!”

I stood there, breathing heavily while Mom, Ashes and Zeed stared at me.

“Pretty much that, yeah.” Ashes said with a nervous grin.

We all just stood there while I cooled off.

Eventually, mom let out a sigh. “I know how you feel. I understand, believe me. But you can’t keep doing this. You’re being just as greedy.”

“No we’re not!” Ashes cried out

“Yeah, we’re going to give all this stuff to the other prisoners!” Zeed continued.

“And then the Guards will take it back, probably give out some unnecessary punishment and nopony will be happy.” Mom sighed again, a sad smile appearing on her scarred face as she ran a hoof along her stripy mane. “And how would you even get all of it to anypony anyway?”

All three of our faces fell.

“That’s what I thought.” Mom made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle. “Diamond, you sound just like your father, you know that?”

I smiled weakly. “Really?”

“Yeah. He had that same ‘Robbing Hoof’ attitude.” She looked at all three of us, then turned back to me. “But you need to stop doing this. Please? I don’t…”

She hugged me. “I don’t want you to get thrown out there.”

I sighed and hugged her back. “Alright. I promise.”

“Same here.” Ashes grinned.

“Um…” Zeed bit her lip. “You’re not going to tell my mom, are you?”

Ashes giggled, and mom snorted. “No. I’m not going to tell your mother, Zeed.”

~~~~

“Fillies first, madame.” Raid said, waving his hoof with a dramatic flourish as the door swung open, revealing the spikiest-looking pony I’d ever seen. Spiked clothing, spiked mane, if I could see his teeth, I’d bet they would be spiked as well. And he was a unicorn, so there’s another spike. I couldn’t help but grimace as he drew his shotgun and pointed it right at me.

Raid looked at me for a moment, and peeked through the door. He sighed. “Crap.”

“How the fuck did you get in here?” Mr. Spikes said.

“Uh… you left the back unlocked?” Raid chuckled.

I slowly began to reach for a weapon with my invisible magic. I floated out a small piece of jagged metal from my mane, hoping the slaver wouldn’t notice it.

“Back the fuck up!” The slaver growled as he stepped into the room. I glanced at Raid and saw that he had a very odd smile on his face.

“Oh, there’s no need to be hostile.” Raid said, raising his wings in a complacent manner. As he did that, however, I slowly maneuvered the metal shard behind the slaver’s neck.

“I said back the fuck up!”

I jammed the shard into his neck, and he screamed in pain.

To my surprise, he turned to me and snarled.

Then Raid tackled him.

The two stallions wrestled each other on the floor while I picked up the slaver’s gun. Just as I was about to slam it down into Mr. Spikes’ skill, something hit me in the back of my head, sending me sprawling on the floor.

Out of the corner of my normal eye, I saw a blur in the air. It moved over to the gun, picked it up, and fired several times into the air. Raid called out my name.

I passed out.

~~~~~

Throb-throb. Throb-throb.

I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness. In my brain-addled state, I wondered why my head seemed to hurt so much.

Throb-throb. Throb-throb.

“Oh, look. The pretty little filly’s awake.” A mocking male voice chuckled at me.

Ah, right. Some asshole hit me.

I opened my eyes to see a dirty unicorn stallion with an even dirtier look in his eyes right in my face. We were in a dark room with no windows, just a single lamp hanging from the ceiling.

“Back up, your breath stinks.” I didn’t know if it was true, on account of my lack of that particular sense, but I could assume it was by looking at his teeth.

He snarled and smacked me in the face. “You and your friend sneak in here and think you can be snippy with me?”

“No,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “We were planning on having tea.”

“Heh. You’re snarky now, but once I’m done with you, you’re gonna be beggin’ me for mercy.” He grinned at me. His horn started to glow green, and a small, segmented ring floated up in front of my face. “You know what this is?”

I hmmm-ed and hah-ed for a few moments, watching the slaver’s grin turn into an infuriated frown. “Nope. No idea.”

He grinned. “Shame. ‘Cuz you’re about to get reeeeaaaal intimate with it.”

Then he slapped it against my neck, causing it to wrap all the way around and re-connect with itself with a loud click.

“So, long story short…” He got in my face again. “That’s a bomb collar. It will kill you if you do anything stupid. So, anything else to say smart-ass?”

I stared at him for a moment, and eventually turned away with a defeated sigh. “No.”

“No, what?”

Are you kidding me? “No, sir.”

He chuckled. “That’s what I like to hear. Now what’s your cutie mark for?”

I blinked at him.

“Your mark. What is it, cunt.”

“Uh… making stuff…” I said. Having never been asked about it before, I wasn’t really sure how to put it.

He smiled. “Heh, more useful than your friend’s.”

There was the sound of somepony moving something behind me. I yelped when there was a sudden, sharp pain in my ear.

“Congratulations. You’re in the repair pit,” he said with a smirk. “Of course… that’s only till we can set you up for a couple fights. Heh.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Fights?”

He punched me in the mouth. “SHUT UP!”

The buck nodded to somepony behind me. “Get her the fuck outa here.”

I was grabbed from behind and dragged out of the room, where I was roughly deposited on the dirt outside. Looking behind me, I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear hoofsteps moving away from me and back into the building I was just in.

I spat out a bit of blood and felt my ear with a hoof, to find that a small metal tab had been stuck in it. I hrm-ed, unsure of how I felt about the new piercing, as the last time I had one, it got ripped out in a fight with Clothesline.

Setting that thought process aside, I began to take stock of what I still had on me. Obviously I no longer had my saddlebags. Raid’s jacket was gone as well, now probably a prize for one of the Bone Eaters who’d taken us. I still had about half of the metal I’d stuck in my mane, mostly the wires I’d tied-

“HEY, SCAB!” A wrench hit me in the side of the head. “Get over here!”

Rubbing my skull, I looked in the direction the offending tool had hit me from. A slaver was waving me over with a gun in her magical grip. As I walked over, I glanced around to see any sign of Raid. Hundreds of very miserable-looking ponies, and a few zebras, were moving around. Most of them were wearing bomb-collars similar to mine and colored earrings, the ones who weren’t were covered in the same spikes as the rest of the Bone Eaters. Many of the slavers had looked… odd… Manic grins on their faces, constantly scanning around with their red-flecked eyes and muttering to themselves. There was, however, no sign of my winged crush.

The most noticeable feature of the area was a giant pit dug into the middle of the street. I couldn’t see inside it, but the pit was surrounded by an extremely large number of cinder block hovels and scrap-metal shacks of varying sizes. The equines and slavers went to and from them and the actual buildings surrounding them, sometimes carrying various tools and objects, sometimes carrying food for themselves or others. There were bridges and catwalks strewn about all over the place in high places, all constructed from scrap metal, apparently allowing the Bone Eaters to keep their eyes on the slaves without actually getting near them.

The orange fog didn’t seem so thick from the inside, though.

“Hurry the fuck up, scab.” The mare screamed. “I don’t have all fuckin’ day.”

I trotted over, trying very hard to not attack her. As I approached, she eyed me in a very predatory way. She stood in front of a hardware store on the corner of the broken street.

“Heh. Nice ass ya got there, scab. I’m sure all the bucks will enjoy it.” She laughed. I didn’t like what she was implying. “Get the fuck in there and get to work. Fuckin’ bitch with the blue mane’ll tell ya where ya need ta go.”

With that, she merrily trotted away. I sincerely wished that I could shoot my namesake out of my eyes, but I trotted into the hardware store. I was met with the sight of multiple workbenches, covered in broken equipment, weapons, and junk, each with slaves fiddling about with the aforementioned objects. All of them had blue earrings on. I assumed, from my presence here, that I had the same color. Slavers armed with shotguns stood on the second floor, which was little more than a catwalk with broken railing. Much to my mild disturbance, several of the slavers were staring at me with a very particular look in their eye.

“Hi. Newbie?” Asked a small, quiet voice.

I continued to examine my surroundings, but grunted in response.

“My name is Meda. Nice to meet you.” I grunted in response. “What’s your name?”

I thought for a moment. “Purity.”

“Oooh, going incognito, are we?”

I restrained myself, with a little difficulty, from groaning out loud. “You know, I was hoping to go for a whole day without having to listen to you.”

“Sucks for you, doesn’t it?”

“And it’s not ‘incognito’ if it’s actually my name.”

“Just Purity?” Meda asked.

“Yeah, ‘Purity’. Is that your whole name?”

“Yeah. Just Purity.” She sniggered when I said that.

“Kind of ironic for a zony, isn’t it?” Meda said cheerfully.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, which was immediately joined by the other one as my intended expression of incredulity turned into one of surprise.

Standing in front of me was a zony with a bright blue mane and a greenish-grey striped coat. She had, unsurprisingly, a bomb-collar and the same blue earring as everypony else in the room. A glyph-mark I couldn’t quite identify adorned her flank.

“Oh, look! Another one of your kind. Maybe the two of you can be besties.” She said in a mocking tone.

“Something wrong?”

“Uh… no, sorry. I’ve just… never met another half-breed before.” She snickered.

Meda raised an eyebrow at me. “Not from Canturbury, are you?”

“Uh…” I rubbed the back of my head with a forehoof. “Not really.”

“Well, you should be glad to know you’re not the only one here.” She smiled, and raised her eyebrow again. “Bit tall for a half-breed, aren’t you?”

“GET TO WORK, SCABS!” Shouted one of the slavers on the second floor.

Meda winced. I shot a glare in the direction of the voice.

“Uh… yeah, I guess I should tell you what you’ll be doing.” Meda grinned an obviously forced grin. “Come on, we can talk as we walk.”

I followed the mare through the workshop, walking past miserable-looking slaves who were fiddling with things. Most of them were working on weapons or barding, and these were the ones that the Bone Eaters kept the closest eyes on. A couple unicorn slaves were going around distributing things for the other slaves to fix, taking the things that had already been worked on to some back room.

“So, here’s where you’ll be working.” Meda said, pointing to two empty seats. “I’ll be right here showing you the ropes.”

“Reminds me of my first job.” I replied, eliciting another snicker from her. “What’s first?”

She picked up several sets of leather barding, and hoofed them over to me. “Just see what you can do with these for starters.”

I lifted one of the sets with my hoof and quirked an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Just use the others to patch up the best one. That’s really all you need to do.” She smiled. “Don’t worry Purity. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

I hrrm-ed. I quickly examined several sets of the barding, memorizing where all the pieces were and trying to figure out where the most important parts were. “What’s this stuff made of?”

Yet again, she snickered. It was starting to annoy me.

“Uh… I think it’s a combination of Brahmin and bloodwing leather.” The other zony replied. “Not sure where they get it from.”

“I don’t know what either of those things are.”

“Oh… well… neither do I, really. This is just what I’ve heard.” Meda smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I kind of assumed you were a traveler. Not many people go around with metal in their manes like that.”

I grunted in response, barely paying attention to what she said. “Got something I can cut with?”

She hoofed over a pair of mouth-scissors, and I went to work. I was mildly surprised to find that every single set of armor only had one sleeve. This irked me for some odd reason, but I sighed and just went along with it. I cut apart the roughly-sewn together ‘plates’ of leather on the worst sets and set them aside. Then I took the base and cut that up as well. I was left with two decent sets of barding. Checking every bit of them, I replaced a large number of the leather plates and patched various holes elsewhere. I even had a good bit of extra leather afterwards.

“Alright, that’s done.” I turned to Meda. “What’s next?”

The blue-maned mare jumped and gave me a look of surprise. She peeked around me to look outside the open door. “Already? It hasn’t even been an hour yet.”

I shrugged. “I work quick.”

I growled when she sniggered.

“Sorry…” Meda glanced at the other slaves. “Most people here can’t seem to get themselves to do anything. I mean… it’s understandable and all, I don’t like being a slave either, but… there’s really not much else we can do.”

“What, you can’t rally or anything? Rebel? Nothing at all?” I asked, and for the umpteenth time, she laughed. “Will you shut up?”

“No.”

Meda shook her head solemnly. “What’s the point? About half of us were born into this. Don’t know anything else.”

I blinked. “What? You were born a slave?”

She sighed and nodded. “My father was one of the slavers in New Tartarus.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “One of?”

“I don’t know which one. Neither did mom.”

“How could she-“ I suddenly realized what she meant, and my eyes widened. “Oh… oh goddesses. That’s…”

She frowned at me. “You really aren’t from around here, are you?”

“YOU TWO! GET THE FUCK BACK TO WORK!” A chunk of table next to me exploded as a bullet struck it. “I won't fucking say it again.”

Meda quickly pulled more barding out of the junk pile. “Here, you work on this. I’ll deal with these pistols.”

We worked in silence for several minutes. I occasionally glanced around, hoping to see some sign of Raid somewhere in the workshop, but I had no such luck. I let out an irritated sigh.

“Meda, I’m looking for somepony,” I said out of the corner of my mouth. “Think you can help?”

“Uh… I guess? Who?” She replied in kind.

“Blue pegasus stallion. Peach mane.”

“What’s his mark for?”

“Massage.” I said.

She snorted as she tried to hold back a laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”

I deadpanned at her.

“Oh… uh… you’re… not… oh…” she winced. “If his mark is massage, they’d probably take him to the… uh… brothel. Not sure about pegasi, though. Probably keep them same place... I guess.”

I stopped what I was doing, and simply stood there, processing what I’d just heard. “The what?”

“It’s where they keep all the people with… uh…” she blushed. “That kind of talent.”

I was silent for a moment as several… thoughts entered my brain. Specific thoughts about a specific blue pegasus. With a shake of my head to clear them away, I asked with an exasperated sigh and a reddened face, “Where is it?”

“At the southern end of the city.”

“Right. Thanks.” With that, I went back to work. I tried very hard not to think of… that…

~~~~~

Hours passed before we were herded out of the workshop to let the next shift of slaves in. The Bone Eaters started shoving us towards a large grocery store, where slaves went in and out, many of them carrying bowls of very unpleasant-looking mush. The slavers left us on the opposite side of the street from the building, though one felt it necessary to give my flank a smack, causing my face to turn bright red in embarrassment.

With my tail now tucked firmly between my legs, I cautiously trotted in. There were three very large and very long tables set up in the room, with slaves sitting all across them. Radios were attached to the ceiling in various places. Unlike the workshop, the earrings here were of various colors. Unsurprisingly, there was no sign of Raid. I winced, knowing that I would now have to go to the brothel, which sounded… fun…

I looked around, and saw that there weren’t any slavers in the room. With a quirked eyebrow, I poked my head out the door. The Bone Eaters outside weren’t even looking in the direction of the mess hall. Now that I apparently had some time, I took the chance to actually look at the city.

The first thing I noticed was that most of the buildings were boarded up. Those that weren’t seemed to be used for public things, like restrooms, the mess hall, the giant pit in the middle of the street.

The second thing I noticed was that none of the slaves seemed… depressed in the manner I’d expect enslaved equines to be. Most of them gave wary or scared looks towards the slavers as they walked around, but none of them seemed to have the smallest interest in fighting back. I figured that it must have been because of all the bomb collars.

I made a mental note: Find a way to remove Raid’s collar and mine.

And Zeed’s dad. I needed to look for him too.

“HEY EVERYONE! NEWS IS ON!” Somepony shouted out.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flicked, all the slaves and even a few Bone Eaters surged towards the nearest radio, buffeting me about and leaving me very much confused. I heard the familiar, raspy yet bizarrely cheery voice of the radio hostess.

“Avast ye wasteland mateys! It be I, Captain Jolly Rodger of Pirate Radio! Okay… no. Just no. It was a fun idea, but… just no. Anyway, Jolly Rodger here, your hot, stripy-flanked captain of the airwaves. For those of you who just crawled out from under a rock, you’re listening to Pirate Radio!

“We just got some news here about that Amazing quote-unquote ‘murderous psychopath’ as our resident ex-raider douchebag so eloquently put it. Yeah, Buzz. I am talking shit about you on public radio! Suck it up and take it like the stallion you seem to think you are.”

Some of the slaves let out small chuckles. I looked around me to see that there was a clear path to the outside. I took the opportunity to try and sneak out of the mess hall as an idea hatched in my brain.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you have no respect for- oh, that’s nice. Really? That’s the only response you can think- Hey! Don’t make me get Quiche! She’s still got her power armor you-“

“Crap… my mic’s on.”

“Sorry folks! Got a bit distracted there... Heh.”

“Anyway, we got some news on the ‘infamous’ Hearteater!”

There were speakers outside, all broadcasting that same radio station. I smiled. Apparently slavers like their news. That was good, as it would give me the chance I need to see if I could find a key or something for the collar.

“Oooh, ‘Purity’ the secret agent mare! I like it. Maybe you could get yourself caught doing something dumb! I would like that.”

With a frown, I ignored her.

“She’s been seen taking out a few independent slavers around that ever-so-lovely city known as Loss. Well… she wasn’t technically ‘seen’ per-se, as she’s apparently invisible or whatever, but y’all know what I mean.”

“Oh, and I still say that ‘city of Loss’ sounds like a bad attempt at poetry. Just sayin’.”

I rolled my eyes as I realized just how terrible the security here was. I didn’t even need to sneak as I made my way towards the building I woke up in. All of the guards were just staring at the nearest speaker with amused looks on their faces.

”Seriously?” The radio hostess let out a long sigh. “Yes, folks, Hearteater’s bounty is still around ten thousand caps. For those hunters who have a shred of decency in them, I’d like to point out that her bounty comes from slavers. Yes, folks, most of the people who want Hearteater dead are slavers. Go figure.

“Huh? Oh, right. Somepony on the street asked me if I knew why Hearteater only seems to be going after small-timers after she basically liberated the city of Loss. I honestly don’t know. From what I can tell, she’s either preparing for something, or just playing it safe for now. She’s got a lot of ponies after her, ya know.”

“Anyway, Mare-Do-Well is still trapped in that cryo-whatsit facility near Common. So… anyone want to help out there, please do so.”

“Aaaand in far odder news, apparently we have another bit of canned goods wandering around. No, not the edible kind, the equine kind, sheesh. Two mares have allegedly come out of their little hole in the ground. Before anyone gets any ideas I’m not telling you who they are or what they look like. If you want to find them or them or their hole-in-the-ground, you’re on your own.”

I grinned. Well holy crap, we’re on the news. I wonder if Zeed can hear this.

“Okay… Seriously? Buzz, shut up. Yeah, biased doesn’t even begin to cover what it. Unbiased-ness isn’t in my contract so just get the fuck over it. Okay, I swear to Celestia, I will get Quiche in here. Yeah, I let you in here, but that’s only because you won the damn bet, now stop whining or I will kick you out.”

“Now… News, news. Any more news?”

I chuckled as the sound of shuffling papers echoed throughout the slaver city. I’d already made it most of the way there. It was literally just around the corner.

”Nosiree, folks that’s all the news I’ve got for now. This has been Pirate Radio, brought to you by Canturbury’s hottest zebra pirate, Jolly Rodger.”

“Shut up Buzz. Only Quiche gets to talk to me like that.”

“Anyway, why don’t we all have some nice, relaxing music, eh?”

I stopped chuckling as I realized that the news section had ended, which meant that the slavers might start paying attention again, which meant they would find me sneaking around.

Which meant I was so very screwed.

“Fuck.” I whispered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Purity! Pssst!” said a voice behind me.

I turned to see Meda waving me over to the side of a small hovel.

I trotted over. “What?”

“What?” She said. “What do you mean, what? What do you think you’re doing over here?”

“I’m trying to… uh…”

“Nice cover.” She snorted.

“Find that friend of mine, remember?” I finished.

Meda frowned at me and pointed down the street, back the way I’d come from. “The brothel is that way.”

“Oh…” I chuckled nervously.

“Our shift isn’t supposed to be out here. You’ll get in trouble!”

“Then what are you doing out here?”

“Making sure you don’t get in trouble.” The zony deadpanned at me, as if it was obvious.

“Why do you care?” I snapped back.

“Because- fuck, c’mere, quick!”

She threw me against the wall and stood in a very… suggestive position.

“What the fuck are you-“

She shushed me.

“What is wrong wi-“

Then she kissed me.

And she started laughing her ass off.

My eye twitched.

As she held our lips pressed together, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small group of slavers walking down the street. A couple of the stallions among them sneered at us, while a single mare went ‘d’awww’, which only served to make this even more awkward for me. Another made to come after us, but the slaver mare, who thought it was cute, convinced her to let us be. Honestly, I wished she didn’t.

After a minute, they left.

I pushed Meda away from me with my face turned bright crimson.

The zony glared at me. “Next time somepony says to be quiet, you should probably listen.”

“Y-you-you kissed me… You fucking kissed me… Why did you kiss me?” I spluttered.

“So you’d stop talking.” She smirked. “You have very soft lips for a stallion, by the way.”

“Where did this cocky attitude come-“ I blinked, and then shot her a death glare. “What did you just say?”

“Yeah, most of the buck’s I’ve done it with have dry, cracked lips, but yours are pretty nice.”

My eye twitched again, this time in a more violent way. “You just called me a stallion.”

“Um… yes?” She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’M A MARE YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” I shouted.

She blinked at me. “Oh. Really?”

I punched her in the muzzle.

~~~~

“Green! Green? Can you hear me?” Wretch called out across the desert’s many dunes.

Her ears perked up as she heard the little verdant pegasus groan.

Carefully scanning the her surroundings, Wretch made her way towards the groaning filly.

The gunshot hadn’t actually hit Green, that much Wretch knew for sure, but it startled the pegasus enough that she ended up crashing somewhere outside of Wretch’s line of sight.

“Green? Where are you?”

“Ow, ow, ow…” Green moaned again.

As she made her way to the top of a dune, Wretch finally caught sight of Green. The young pony had crashed into, out of the entire wasteland desert, what was likely the only cactus around for miles, and was now lying on the ground, with multiple large needles sticking out of her face. The plant itself, about the length and thickness of a grown pony’s leg, had been torn partially out of the sand.

“Green, are you okay?” Wretch asked, though she already knew the answer.

The filly whimpered.

“Erm… well then… as soon as I figure out who just tried to kIll you, we can see about trying to get… those… out of you, alright?” Wretch’s expression was somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

Green nodded.

The pink-and-black unicorn calmly stepped out from behind the cover of the dune to see a small cloud of sand swiftly making its way towards the two ponies. Squinting, Wretch could just barely make out a large equine form in the center of the cloud.

She removed her saddlebags and searched through them in a hurried manner. Her horn glowed as she levitated out multiple mines, armed them, and tossed them all over the dune.

She readied her shotgun, and waited, glancing at Green to see that the filly was hiding behind the cactus.

Within a minute, she heard, to her irritation, only one of the mines trigger, and the surprised scream of the stallion who’d been hit by its blast, as he was thrown over the dune and landed on his back in front of Wretch. The mare fired several shots at him, but his armor absorbed the majority of the impact.

He rolled to his hooves and launched himself at her. She could see her reflection in his well-polished metal armor, despite the sand that covered it. He snarled and bared his teeth at her, his green eyes full of malice. “The fucking pegasus is mine, bitch!”

Wretch snarled back at him and attempted to fire a shell into the side of his head, but he smacked her across the face as she was about to magically pull the trigger, causing her magic to implode and fling the gun into the sand. He punched her again and again until she finally managed to get her back legs beneath him and drive both into his stomach, flipping him over and setting him on his back again.

Wretch hopped up and made a dive for her gun just barely reaching it before the stallion tackled her once more.

Green watched this whole fight with a mixture of fear, anger, and excitement. She peeked over the cactus in an attempt to locate her older friend’s weapon, but had no such luck. Biting her lip, she desperately tried to think of a way to help.

Wretch was sure by now that she had lost a few teeth, as the stallion seemed to be obsessed with hitting her in the head. On a whim, she gathered a bunch of sand in her magic and threw it into her attacker’s face. The gambit was effective, but while her attacker stumbled off of her, swearing profusely, she’d managed to get some of the sand in her own eyes as well.

“I swear to Celestia, I will FUCKING KILL YOU!”

Then there was a loud whump sound, and the stallion was quiet.

Then he gasped in immense pain.

Wretch finally managed to clear her vision of sand to see a panting Green in the air just above the stallion.

The stallion himself seemed to have sprouted a large, familiar cactus from his face.

Green dove at him again, grabbed the roots of the plant in her fetlocks, and continued on, ripping the spiky plant out of the stallion’s face, causing him to scream in agony.

Again, the airborne filly dove at him, once more driving the cactus into the buck’s unarmored head.

Wretch took the opportunity to clear her vision and find her gun while Green continued her succulent assault.

A slug ripped through the stallion’s cactus-spine-covered face, and his decapitated body fell to the ground.

Wretch breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped some of the blood off her mouth. Green dropped the cactus and landed next to her friend.

“Are… are you okay?” The filly asked.

Wretch quirked an eyebrow. “Yes. That was… probably one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even think you could lift that.”

Green looked at her hooves and drew a circle in the sand with a forehoof.

Wretch levitated two healing potions out of her bags downed one, and offered the other to Green, who put it into one of her pockets.

“So… uh… shall we get those needles out of your face?”

Green nodded.

Footnote 1: Diamond Purity Darkwater-Knives

EXP 50%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP???%
`
To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Sifting through the dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s notes.)

Too many holidays in too little time, but I should be back on track after this.

Hopefully.

I’ve also been very distracted by MvM. Yes, I know it went up a long time ago, but I haven’t played the game in forever.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a horde of robots to annihilate.

TTFN!

-Delakirus

Chapter Eighteen: Stick It To ‘em

“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?”

I sat on the couch, clutching my stomach with my forehooves in a desperate attempt to numb the pain. It wasn’t particularly effective. It also didn’t help that my mouth felt like it was on fire.

I groaned loudly.

“Hey Diamond. You feeling any better?” Ashes asked as she walked into my living room.

I groaned again.

“She should be fine by tomorrow morning.” Mom said from the kitchen.

Ashes shook her head in irritation. “Can’t believe Clothesline slipped a friggin’ lemon into your sandwich.”

Yet again, I groaned.

“At least you don’t have it as bad as your father. You mostly just get the pain.” Mom trotted over and gently rubbed a hoof across my back. “He had some very… unpleasant symptoms.”

“Kinda wish I’d throw up… I might feel better…” I croaked. “I don’t wanna die. I’m only ten. I have so much to live for.”

“You’re not going to die sweetie.” Mom sighed.

“What does it even do to you anyway?” Ashes sat on the other side of the metal coffee table and quirked an eyebrow.

“Stomach cramps so bad I can’t move… burning mouth… nausea…”

“Wait, wait… can’t move?” Ashes gave me an incredulous look. “Seems like you got here just fine.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “She’s exaggerating again. She does that everytime it happens. ‘Sid did the same thing.”

“It hurts alright! It’s not funny.” I muttered. “It’s just like with heights. Everypony always laughs at me.”

“Sweetie, I know you’re feeling a bit irritable right now, but nopony is laughing at you,” Mom said as she patted my shoulder. “Especially not me, you know, your mother? Who does everything she can to take care of you when you’re sick?”

Ashes frowned. “Mrs. Knives? I just remembered something I wanted to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you say ‘nopony’, instead of ‘no-one’?”

Mom blinked in mild surprise. “Uh…”

“I mean, Zeed does it ‘cuz it annoys her mom and ‘cuz she kinda… I guess idolizes you, or something,” Ashes continued. “But most other zebras I’ve met say ‘no-one’.”

“Do I really do that?” Mom asked me.

I nodded, and whimpered as it made my nausea just a little bit worse.

“Huh. I never noticed before.” The heavily scarred mare shrugged. “I guess it must be a habit I picked up from my parents.”

Ashes blinked in surprise. “Why did your parents say it?”

Mom snorted a laugh. “Because they were ponies.”

Now it was my turn to blink. My citrus-induced misery temporarily forgotten, I rolled over to stare at my mother. “What?”

Mom just looked right back at me. “You mean I never told you?”

“Told me what?” I was reminded of how much my body hates all things citrus-y when a sharp pain shot through my guts, causing me to curl back up into a ball. “Ow, ow, ow…”

Mom gently rubbed my back once more. “I was adopted. I seriously never told you that?”

I rolled back over again and gave her a shocked look. “You were what?”

“Huh,” said Ashes. “Really?”

“Yeah. My birth mother was… not in... any state to take care of a foal… due to…” Mom grimaced touched a hoof to the scar that ran from her mouth to her ears. “Not being… uh… due to things I’d really rather not talk about… But when my mom saw me, she decided that she just couldn’t leave me all alone. So, here I am.”

Ashes nodded, as if that explained everything.

“How… How can you be so nonsha… nonchel… uh…”

“Nonchalant?” Mom offered.

“That! How can you be so… that about this?” I cried out. “I mean… Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mom winced. “Diamond, I’m sorry, but I thought I told you. Believe me, if I had realized I never did, I would have done it in a much more serious fashion. As opposed to just, y’know… casual conversation while you’re sick.”

“But-“

“And in all honesty, sweetie, does it really make any difference?” Mom looked me in the eye and smiled her scar-widened smile. “After all, I’m still your mother, and you’re still my little filly.”

“Well… I know… but…” I bit my lip and winced as my guts twisted again. “It’s kinda… I’m... I’m really your daughter, right?”

“Of course.” She nuzzled my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Always have been, always will be.”

I was silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”

Ashes burst out laughing. I shot her a glare.

Mom shook her head, a smile spread across her muzzle. “You know sweetie, you’re right. Maybe you’re not the foal I carried around in my uterus for eleven months.”

Ashes started laughing so hard that she actually fell out of the chair.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Sorry. Dumb question… I guess.”

“No, I understand.” Mom replied with a kiss on my forehead. “It’s a perfectly good question to ask. But like I said… you’re still my daughter, and I will always love you. Just remember that, okay?”

~~~

“Oh come on, let me help you!” Meda whined as she followed me down the street. “You owe me! Do you know how much it costs to get entire teeth replaced in this place?”

“Fuck off.”

“Look, I won’t do anything like that again, okay?” She continued. “I swear.”

“Swear all you want, you’re not helping me.”

“Fine.” She growled. “Then I guess I’ll tell the slavers that you’re trying to-“

I spun around and shot a glare at her.

“Holy fuck… what’s wrong with your eye?”

It took me a minute to realize what she was talking about. I looked at my reflection in a nearby pane of glass. In the darkness, my freaky eye had apparently dilated to the point where it actually looked normal, but now that the sun was shining as brightly as it could through the permanent cloud cover, the pupil was taking on its usual slit-shape. I smirked.

“Lost my old one. Had to get it replaced.”

“Oh…” The zony visibly relaxed. “You went all the way up to fifteen, then?”

I blinked in confusion.

“I’ll… take that as a ‘no’. Blech.” She grimaced. “So that means you’re a mutant, then.”

I frowned at her. “’Scuse me?”

“You don’t even know what a mutant is?”

“Of course I- No. No. I’m not doing this. Stop talking to me.” I turned around with an exasperated shake of the head and resumed my trotting off.

“I will tell the slavers about you.” Meda called back.

“Oooh. She’s got you there, ‘Purity’. Wha’cha gonna do, eh?”

I growled in frustration. “Fine. Just stop talking.”

The blue-maned zony smirked.

Manipulative bitch.

“I think I’m in love!” She started laughing. “Somepony who annoys you in just the right ways!”

“So, we’re looking for your coltfriend, right?” Meda asked.

“I could have sworn I told you to stop… oh forget it.” I let out an irritated sigh. “Stop laughing you fucking nutcase!”

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, actually.” She chuckled. “I wonder how long it will take for you to notice why.”

“And he’s not my coltfriend.” I added hastily.

“Oh, really?” Meda grinned mischievously.

I growled. “Where’s the brothel?”

“Just around the next corner.” She replied. “You’d have to be blind to miss it.”

I grunted in acknowledgement.

“Out of curiosity, you said you never met another zony before, right?” I nodded in response. “Are you from a stable?”

I didn’t answer for a moment, considering my options. “Yes and no.”

“But not Fifteen?” I shook my head.

She hrrm-ed, and much to my joy, didn’t say anything for almost a minute. “For the record, there’s a lot of half-breeds like us around Canturbury. They’re not just in the slaver dens. I know there’s some like you around here too. You know, the ‘lucky’ zonies with wings or horns.”

I stopped. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I’ve met a few pieces of canned goods that were halfies. Depressed and lonely, thinking there’s no-one like ‘em.” She snorted. “It’s even sadder when they don’t even realize they feel like that.”

“I suddenly like her a lot less…”

“Do…” I hesitated to ask the question. “Do others like me have weak magic?”

Meda shrugged. “Dunno. Never met a half-unicorn before. I just know they’re around. Sorry.”

I sighed. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Us weirdos gotta stick toether a little bit, right?” She smirked. “I’m still gonna keep buggin’ ya though.”

Oh, joy.

“Okay, it should be- ah! Here it is.” Meda made a dramatic sweeping motion. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I give you, the brothel of Raftwater! The Inferno Block!”

The building in front of me was probably one of the most gaudy things I’d ever seen in my entire life. Built off of what was likely an old hotel, it was painted entirely hot pink, decorated in all kinds of jagged scrap metal painted to look like flames. It had some sort of demon face over what I assumed was the entrance to the building. I couldn’t tell if this was an attempt at taking something way too seriously in the wrong way, or if whoever decorated was just screwing around.

“Why…” I asked. “Just why…”

“Yup. This is where everyone here goes when they’re feeling… anxious… if you know what I mean.” Meda blushed and coughed into her hoof. “Slavers and slaves alike.”

Indeed, many equines were milling about the place, all with varying degrees of… satisfaction on their faces. Some were covered in spikes, some had those colored tags in their ears. While most of them were stallions, there were quite a few mares among their number as well.

“So… Raid’s in there…”

“Might be. I’m not sure.” Meda shrugged. “It’s worth a look. If only for… y’know.”

I sighed, and made my way to the entrance. As I came closer, I was a bit surprised to find that it wasn’t as… loud as I expected. In fact, it was fairly quiet.

“Not everypony is as noisy as you, Knives.”

My face suddenly turned a bright shade of burning crimson.

“Are you alright? You seem a bit flustered.”

A bit? “No, no. I’m fine.”

“Whatever.” With that, Meda walked through the door.

I took a moment to regain my composure, and followed her in.

The inside was even more gaudy than the outside. Same motif, just a couple times worse. Numerous desks were in the front room, all holding ponies with pink tags in their ears and very obviously forced smiles. The one Meda took us to was a tired-looking zony buck, with a well-coifed grey mane, a blue coat, and stripes all along his back. I couldn’t see his mark, though, as it was hidden beneath his pinstripe suit.

“Welcome to the Inferno Block, what’s yer pleasure?” He said almost mechanically. “Looking for a stallion or a mare to –“

“I’m looking for a buck, and no not like that,” I interrupted, making damn sure that Meda couldn’t say anything.

The buck quirked an eyebrow.

“I’m trying to find a friend of mine.” I added.

He nodded, wrote something down on a clipboard, got out of his chair, and motioned for us to follow him into a room in the back.

He took us through several hallways of the hotel-made-brothel, all the way into the back of the building, until he brought us to another door leading into a room with a large heart-shaped bed. As soon as we entered, he slammed the door shut and let out a huge sigh.

“You have no idea how refreshing it is for someone to ask for something else in this fucking place.” He frowned when Meda facehooved. “No pun intended. Name’s Bilge.”

“Purity.” I shook his hoof, ignoring her laugh.

“Meda.” She did the same, but with a cocky grin. “Nice place you got here.”

“Why did we have to come all the way over here?” I asked.

“The rooms are soundproofed. Some don’t like to hear others while they do their stuff.” He rolled his eyes. “Bastard slavers try and make this place as ‘nice’ as they can. Interesting method of reward and punishment.”

I quirked an eyebrow.

“Enough people fuck up, they block us all off for a while.” He shook his head and put a hoof to his brow. “Better than what they do in New Tartarus, at least. Leaves less bruises… well… unless you’re into that kind of thing...”

“O…kay… then… uh…” I coughed into a hoof. “As I said, I’m looking for a friend of mine. He was brought in here with me and we got separated.”

“What’s his mark for?”

“Massage.”

Bilge deadpanned at me. “Don’t tell me... it’s the bird.”

“Probably is.” I assumed that ‘bird’ meant ‘pegasus’.

Bilge grimaced. “Poor buck got taken by Mildew. She has a tendency to… abuse the workers. Especially here. They’re usually too ashamed of themselves to say anything about it afterwards.”

I blanched.

“And as an added bonus, she hates pegasi.” Bilge sighed. “More than most, at least.”

I swore under my breath. “So, where are they, then?”

“Therein lies your problem,” Bilge said. “She hates it in here, so she takes them to her own house.”

Meda snorted. “It’s on the opposite side of the city, isn’t it.”

He nodded. “That it is.”

I groaned. “So I came all this way for nothing.”

“Yup.” Meda chirped. “Now you gotta go all the way over there.”

“Ugh. Great.” I growled in frustration. “Now I have to go and rescue him from some psycho slaver.”

I jumped when there was a loud beeping noise from the doorway. I spun to see that there was a large speaker next to the door with a button on it. While Meda laughed at me, Bilge went over and pressed the button.

“What is it?” He said.

“Bosses want to see that mare you went up with,” came the garbled, barely intelligible reply from the intercom.

Bilge glanced at me. I shook my head, and he nodded. “Not here. She got flustered and ran out.”

My jaw dropped and I let out an embarrassed squeak. Meda laughed at me again, as did she.

“Fuck. Any idea where she went?” Came the reply.

“Nope. Sorry.”

“Well, if you see her let me know. They’re gonna search the place. Make sure she doesn’t try and run.”

Just like that, the intercom beeped again.

Bilge looked at me with an amused expression. “We should go find your coltfriend.”

“He’s not my coltfriend.” I sighed.

“Ah. Can’t work up the guts to say anything.”

I blushed. “No…”

“Well, I’m sure you will eventually.” He smiled. “Now let’s get out of here.”

He went over to the window, releasing a blast of sound from outside.

“Wait… we’re going out the window?” I said, my face slowly turning pale.

“Of course. How else would we sneak out of here?” Bilge asked.

Meda happily trotted down the fire escape, looking none the worse for wear.

Ever so cautiously, I stepped over to the window and peeked down. I immediately regretted it, and jumped back. “Goddesses that’s high…”

Bilge raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I… uh…” I swallowed. “I can’t… I can’t go down there. I need to find another way.”

“There isn’t another way. This is the only hidden escape route in the building.”

“Look, I can’t go down there, okay?”

“Do you want my help or not?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m all for doing anything to piss off the Bone Eaters, but I’m not getting caught doing it. What’s your problem?”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and approached the window. Already I could see images of my own demise flashing through my mind. I tried to push those thoughts away as I carefully stepped through the aperture and onto the almost-two-century-old metal of the fire escape, which began to vibrate as soon as my shaking hoof touched it.

“Get a move on, already. They’ll be here any minute.” Bilge hissed.

I took another couple of careful steps, making absolutely sure not to look down.

“I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.” I whispered over and over. “I won’t fall. I won’t fall.”

“Oh, Knives. You make me so sad. You can’t even stand a short drop from the fifth floor?” She chortled. “Pathetic.”

I continued taking deep breaths and repeating that mantra over and over.

“Hurry the fuck up, Purity. Goddesses, you’d think it was the most important thing in the world.” Meda groaned from below me.

I swallowed hard, and started down the first set of steps. I heard the metal creak quietly, and my guts instantly twisted around inside me.

I’m not gonna die I’m not gonna die.

The other zony continued berating me for my slowness.

I reached the fourth floor. I was alive. I hadn’t fallen. My fear subsided ever-so-slightly.

I made towards the next set of steps. It felt like it’d been an eternity.

The third floor approached. I took a tentative step out and put my weight on the first step. A loud grating sound emanated from the ancient metal steps, and I jumped back and clung to the wall, hyperventilating and clenching my eyes shut so hard that I thought my eyelids would rip apart.

I heard Bilge casually trotted down the steps and drop to his haunches next to me.

He was silent for a moment.

“You’re scared of heights aren’t you?”

I nodded.

“Whatever. You’ll be fine here until I get back.” He snorted. “I need to make sure I’m here when the assholes come looking for you.”

I nodded again, and he went back up to his room.

Desperately trying to ignore the fact that I was making the whole fire escape vibrate, I slowly made my way towards the last stairway.

I took a step, and was met with the groaning sound again. I made a sound somewhere between a sob and a whimper, and took forced myself to take another one, desperately trying to ignore my instincts to jump through the window and find safety inside the building.

I took another step. Another rusty creaking. Flashes of my broken corpse impaled on the remains of the fire escape. I’m not gonna die. I’m not gonna die. I’m not gonna die. I’m not gonna die.

“Damn, you’re slow.” Meda groaned. “Hurry it up already!”

I clenched my eyes tighter. Another step.

My hoof slipped

I fell.

I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth.

I tumbled down the steps. Everything slowed down and turned into a blur.

Idon’twannadieIdon’twannadieOhgoddessesIdon’twannadie

I landed on the rusty metal floor and smashed into the safety railing. I tumbled over the edge.

I hit the ground in a crumpled heap, and as suddenly as it had all started, everything stopped.

“Purity!”

I sat there in a quivering heap.

Meda’s face appeared in the edge of my vision as I laid there, my eyes wide and streaming with tears.

“Holy shit, are you okay?”

She tried to pull me up, but my shaking legs refused to support my weight, and I dropped back down to my stomach.

She tried again, this time with more success, as I managed to not fall.

Slowly, I forced myself to stumble over to the wall, and lean against it.

Meda regarded me with a worried expression.

Then I threw up. I kept retching until I slumped to the ground again, resting against the wall and clutching my now-empty stomach.

Is it weird that puking my guts out made me feel a lot better?

“Holy… uh… do you want some water or something?”

I shook my head. “Just… just give me a minute…”

I took me awhile to regain my composure, but I eventually managed to stop my body from shaking as violently as it was before. I glanced around me and saw that we were in a mostly closed-off back alley behind the Inferno Block, accompanied by a dumpster that was even rustier than the fire escape and several piles of goo that might, at one point, have been some sort of garbage. There was a wooden fence separating us from the rest of the city, with a chain-link gate leading out.

“So, what the hell just happened?” Meda asked.

I blew out a still-shaky puff of air. “I have a fear of heights.”

Meda gave me a ‘what the hell’ look. “That’s it? You freaked out and barfed everywhere because you’re scared?”

“Scared doesn’t even begin to cover it.” I exhaled again, and finally managed to fully relax. “It’s more like absolute, all-encompassing terror.”

“We have to move, now!” Bilge hissed as he rushed down the fire escape, making me jump. “They’re sending Chamomile after you!”

“They’re what?” Meda’s jaw dropped as she stared at me. “They’re sending him after you? What the hell did you do to piss them off?”

“Uh… I snuck in, I guess.”

“WHAT?” Both zonies chorused.

“Why the fuck would you do that?” Meda’s eye twitched.

“We’re trying to find somepony else! Calm down!” I said, holding a hoof up defensively.

“This coming from a mare who just had a height-induced panic attack.” She tutted.

“That’s not important right now.” Bilge interceded before Meda could start yelling again. “We need to go and find your friend as soon as-“

His ear twitched, and he motioned for us to take cover against the wall.

Through the gate, I could see a group of slavers ran past, all apparently in a panic.

“Where the fuck is she?” One screamed.

“I don’t know! Just keep looking!” Yelled another.

“Goddesses, I’d rather deal with Hearteater! At least she’s-“

A third smacked number two in the head. “Don’t fucking mention her, idiot!”

“Oh shut up. It’s not like she’s going to appear if you say her name or anything.” The first snorted

A fourth chuckled. “Hearteater, Hearteater, Hearteater.”

“Dammit, Stain,” whined the third. “You’re freaking me out.”

“Okay, okay… Let’s spread out and search.”

I heard Bilge swear under his breath.

I elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention. “Bilge, Hearteater’s supposed to be invisible, right?”

“Yeah, and so is Chamomile.”

I grinned mischievously and levitated a shard of metal out of my mane. Bilge raised an eyebrow at it and my nearly invisible grey grip.

“What would happen if she were to come here?”

Bilge smirked. “Mass panic. All the slavers would go and hide indoors, just in case she goes after them next.”

Meda snorted a laugh. “Oh, this’ll be good.”

I moved over to the gate and peeked through. Three of the slavers were searching through buildings across the street, but one was getting dangerously close to us, but was just within my magical reach.

I moved the piece of metal behind the slavers neck. With a telekinetic punt, I send the jagged shard towards the back of his head…

And missed.

His head darted to the left at just the right moment to investigate something, and the shard harmlessly went past him, still surrounded by my unseen magic.

I facehoofed, and readied the metal shard once more.

I missed again. The twitchy bastard avoided his fate once more, and he wasn’t even doing it on purpose.

I tried three more times, until my eye started to twitch in irritation.

Stifling a growl, I gave up on an instant and painless kill and just whipped the metal across the stallion’s throat, hoping that it would be enough to scare the others off.

The stallion made a gurgling sound as blood began to flow from the slit in his throat.

“Oh-ho-ho-ho. Oh, that was horrible! How could you do that to another pony, Purity?” She spoke as if she was shocked, but I knew she was only trying to upset me. Still… it didn’t stop a massive ball of guilt from dropping into my guts. “Kinda reminds you of Lockpick doesn’t it… Knives…”

I clenched my teeth together and my eyes shut. A brief flash of a decapitated body in my mind’s eye, the dead filly’s lavender coat spattered with blood.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

I was just in time to see the other Bone Eaters freak out.

“OH FUCK! RUN FOR IT!” One screamed as she ran back the way she’d come.

“PLEASE DON’T KILL MEEE-HEE-HEEEE!” Another broke down in the middle of the street.

I blinked. “Uh… wow… Is she really that bad?”

Bilge smirked. “Oh yeah. I’ve seen some of her work. She kills the target and traumatizes the witnesses.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well, I never saw it myself. She’s attacked here a few times, though, and I’ve seen what it does to some people.”

“So basically she’s the slaver’s boogie mare.” I snorted a laugh.

“WooOOoo, Hearteater’s gonna get’chuuuu!” Meda giggled.

Bilge opened up the gate and trotted out, Meda and myself in tow, both laughing.

We were almost halfway down the street, when Meda was suddenly flung several feet back, crashing into a wall.

I stared in shock. Bilge yelped as the same happened to him.

I could just barely make out a large, vaguely pony-shaped blur in the air. In the distance behind it, there was a flash of golden light, and a familiar golden stallion appeared with a curious smile on his face.

And then I fell unconscious.

…

Again…

~~~

Green rubbed her sore face with one of her wings and huffed in irritation. The healing potion had taken care of the damage, but the pegasus filly could swear she still felt the needles in her face.

“Ah! There’s the town up ahead!” Wretch called out. “We should be there in about an hour.”

Green looked over the sand dune to see the Mall, separated from the wasteland desert by a ring of ancient city-scape.

Green grumbled to herself, her ears flattened back against her head, and followed the older pony.

Wretch looked back at the pegasus and frowned. “Are you okay, Green? I know the cactus needles must have hurt but-“

“I’m okay,” The verdant filly interrupted, not even looking up as she continued walking.

“Green if there’s something wrong, you can tell me,” Wretch offered.

Green only hastened her pace.

“Green? I’m serious, what’s wrong?” Wretch ran after the filly until she was trotting alongside her.

Suddenly, Green stopped, and turned to fix an angry stare at Wretch. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Green, you look like you’re trying to blow my head up with your mind. Are you mad at me for something?”

The pegasus was silent for a moment. Eventually, she turned away and stared at her hooves. “Yes.”

Wretch tried to put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder, but Green shrugged it off. “What for?”

Green sniffled. “I… I don’t know. You… I’m just… You killed Bark. You don’t ask me to do anything. It feels weird. I… It doesn’t feel right.”

She sniffled again. “I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. I… I hurt another pony! I didn’t even think about it, I just threw that plant into his face because I saw him hurting you and I got so mad, I just…”

The small verdant pegasus filly burst into tears. “I’m a bad pony!”

Wretch blinked at her in confusion, surprised by the sudden change of mood and unsure of how to respond.

Green continued to sob, her ears down and her wings drooping.

Eventually, and with a sad smile, the pink mare knelt down, and wrapped her forelegs around Green. The young pegasus returned the hug, buried her face in Wretch’s fur, and cried until she fell asleep.

Footnote 1: Diamond Purity Darkwater-Knives

EXP 50%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP???%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Sifting through the dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

Author's Note

(Author’s notes)

Nothing much to say, really.

Chapter Nineteen: I Can't Sit Idly

Chapter Nineteen: I Can’t Sit Idly

“Wish I had a StealthBuck instead of this bear trap.”

“C’mon, Blue, move!”

I flew down the tunnel after Stock, feeling the air whip around my flight suit. “Tr-trying! Wings hurt t-to much.”

“Just a bit further!” the ghoul called back. “Don’t worry, you’ll make it.”

I tried very hard not to glance back, to not look at the freakish monstrosity that was catching up to us at a frighteningly rapid pace. It didn’t help that I was tired from a full day of flight training, or that I wasn’t particularly fast to begin with.

The gorgon screeched in the distance. I couldn’t stop, it would catch up, latch on to me, rip me to pieces, tears blurred my vision, the wind whipped through my shattered goggles.

Stock was gradually getting smaller and smaller as I fell behind. I flapped harder and harder, but my breath was ragged, and my wings were getting weaker with every movement.

The gorgon let out another high-pitched scream. That horrible sound, like nothing a living pony could ever make, bouncing off the wall, coming in from every direction and reverberating through my skull, over and over as the thing came closer.

I flapped furiously, but fear was taking hold, my wings locked up, I pushed harder and harder, desperately willing my wings to keep working, begging them to not fail me as my face streamed with tears, my muscles burning with the effort of continued flight, yet I was still slowing down, unable to keep up, couldn’t keep going, losing height.

“Stock! Help!” I sobbed.

She turned around, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw me start to drop towards the floor. She changed direction and made a dive towards me.

My hoof caught on something, sending me straight to the ground.

I let out a muffled scream as I felt something in my face shatter from the impact.

Stock landed next to me, and tried to pull me to my hooves. I coughed up a bit of blood and a tooth.

“C’mon, let’s go!” She said, throwing me onto her back and taking off. “Just hold on!”

We shot past several ruined openings in the supply tunnels, Stock swore loudly, as each one was useless for an escape. We couldn’t stop moving, each second gave the monstrosity more ground.

“Gaaagh! Where the hell is the exit?” The ghoul screamed. “Why am I not getting a damned signal?”

The response came in the form of another shriek, too close for comfort.

“Blue, see anything?”

I frantically glanced around. No ledges to hide, no light from the outside, no floodlights inside, the tunnel just kept going. I glanced back and saw the sickly green glow from the gorgon’s tendrils. “Nothing!”

“We should never have trusted that lying little shit!” She tapped the side of her helmet with a forehoof. “Anypony hear me? We need backu-aaah!”

The gorgon caught up. It leapt into the air and grabbed onto Stock’s hind legs, though it only wanted me. I could feel it trying to wrap it’s tendrils around my own legs as it pulled Stock to the ground. The mare kicked at the creature’s face, trying to hold me out of its reach with her wings. Its eyestalks were fixated on me, the multihued irises shone in its eerie bioluminescence.

While she struggled with it, I tried to shift around and unholster my pistol.

“For the love of Celestia, get your fucking flanks down here! We have a gorgon infestation!” Stock screamed as she delivered another buck.

I tongued the trigger, but my shivering frame caused each shot to go wide.

“Goddesses damnit, stop fucking around! Get us out of here!” Stock screamed. “Nopony else is down here!”

One of the gorgon’s eyestalks exploded into a shower of green goo. The sound of a plasma weapon echoed through the tunnels. A pegasus mare in white Spectrum power armor was charging towards us.

The gorgon shrieked again and dropped us, flailing its tendrils.

“What the fuck are you doing down here, grandma?” The mare called to Stock.

“Hey don’t blame me. This was supposed to be endurance training.” The ghoul snorted. “Command sent us down this way. Probably using outdated maps. Nice to see you, by the way.”

“Same to you!” The other pegasus replied cheerfully. “Just keep going and you’ll make it out.”

She fired several more globs of green plasma at the gorgon, which kept shrieking in pain, as Stock picked me back up and shot down the tunnel.

“This is why they need to make a dedicated training ground. Fucking ridiculous.” She grumbled. “You alright, Blue?”

I nodded weakly. “I ding I broke by ndoze.”

She grimaced. “Well, it wasn’t the worst that could happen.”

~~~~

I am not, admittedly, opposed to wearing collars. I’d worn some during some of my identity crises, especially my ‘goth’ phase. However, those collars had very little risk of killing me by blowing my head to little bits, unlike the one the slavers had put around my neck. For obvious reasons, I was a bit more reluctant to wear that one. It was made worse by the fact that they’d forced me to take off the Pipbuck.

I wasn’t angry though. Mad or miffed, maybe, but not angry. After all, how could I be angry? I was smiling! I was positively shaking with not-anger.

Even as this bitch was decorating me in the gaudiest outfit I’d ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on, I was smiling. See? Not angry at all!

“Wipe that fucking smile off your face, Betsy,” screamed the mare who called herself Mildew. “Or I swear to Celestia I will break your fucking wings.”

Perfectly calm. No urges to rip her throat out. Nope, not a one.

“Now, would you like some more tea, Betsy?” She said as she held out the teapot, a vicious smirk on her face.

“Oh mah, yes, Mademoiselle Mildew. Ah would lahk that evah so much,” I replied in my best feminine Neigh Orleans drawl. It was pretty good if I say so myself.

Mildew chuckled to herself and sneered at me. She probably thought this was humiliating me or something, but I’d had far worse done to me, by far better, and come out just fine. Nevertheless, I just kept on smiling, and not being angry.

“You know, Betsy… I heard that a bunch of assholes tried to get into Raftwater today.” She grinned. “Isn’t that silly?”

“Silly as a snake with legs, Mademoiselle Mildew!” I gasped, causing the mare to guffaw at me. “They sound lahk such rude ponies.”

Not angry at all!

“Yeah. We caught ‘em, though. Don’t worry.” She chuckled. “They won’t try and come to get you in the night, Betsy.”

“Oh, well that’s mighty kind ‘a ya, Mademoiselle”

“I heard we even managed to kill one.”

…

Definitely not angry.

“I-is that s-s-so?” I asked. Perfectly calm.

“That striped unicorn, I think it was. Interesting sight, really. They’re not as common as regular halfies.” She snorted. “Heard she was cute too.”

N-not going t-t-to smash the teap-pot into her f-f-f-fucking face.

“W-well that’s mighty interestin’.” I smiled. “Would you happen to know the r-raisin that they broke in, Mademoiselle Mildew?”

Don’t attack her. Stay calm. Don’t get angry. Don’t attack her. Knives is okay. You saw how she fights, you know she won’t go down that easily.

“Aww, are you scared Betsy?” Mildew grinned evilly. “Did we kill your little marefriend? Isn’t that sad.”

Do. Not. Get. Angry.

She slammed her hoof across my jaw. “Get that smile off your fucking face, Betsy!”

With some difficulty, I forced my grin to turn into a blank expression. Not angry at all.

“Good…” She said in a satisfied way. “You fucking useless birds shouldn’t get to smile. You shouldn’t get to be alive, you know. Leaving us all to suffer under the clouds.”

She punched me in the jaw again. “WE WANT SUN BETSY!”

Non. Wütend.

“Now, why don’t we put you to good use, eh?” She turned her back to me. “Go on, put that cutie mark to use, Betsy.”

As I stepped forward, she spun back for a moment to say, “And don’t try anything. You know what’ll happen.”

Do not break the teapot against her skull. Do. Not. Do. It.

I moved behind her and began with the hoofwork. I swept my wings over her back, feeling for stiff muscles and bringing my forehooves over to massage them.

Mildew let out a moan of content.

I didn’t know what this mare did, but she had so many knots in her back and shoulders that it would take far more work than I was willing to put in in order to deal with it. Even with this being my special talent, I was very much unwilling to help slavers in any way. But I still kept calm, and not angry.

With my limbs occupied, I turned my thoughts to how I could help my companions.

‘Knives is dead, you moron,’ my subconscious said. ‘It’s all your fucking fault.’

No. She’s not dead. Mildew is just trying to get in my head. I frowned and glanced down at myself. Hence, the frilly dress.

‘Then she’s a slave because you were fucking around, instead of paying attention. It’s still your fault.’

That’s why I need to find her and get out of here. My eyes darted around the room. It looked as though somepony had tried to stuff a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom into a single space.

“I didn’t say you could-“ Mildew interrupted herself with another moan. “Could slow down…”

A grin popped back onto my face. Not angry at all.

‘Oh just admit it. You’re angry.’

Nope. Perfectly calm.

‘Calm ponies don’t vibrate.’

Who’s vibrating? I’m perfectly still! Not even a little- is that a key in her mane?

I stared at the back of the mare’s head. There was, indeed, a glint of metal between the hairs. I gently brushed the strands away with a wing, making the slaver moan again.

There was, indeed, a small key, tied around her neck with a bit of fishing wire.

‘Don’t try it,’ said my subconscious. ‘You know you’re a terrible thief.’

Truuuueeeee, But I am pretty good at talking ponies into things. Another grin spread across my face.

‘Really? Did you go on that date with Knives, then?’

…

Shut up.

“So, Mademoiselle Mildew,” I began. “What exactly do you do here, hmm?”

The mare snorted. “Trying to distract me, Betsy?”

“What, me?” Does a yao guai shit in the desert? “Now why would I ever try something like that?”

“You wouldn’t be the first slave to try it.”

I smirked. “Now, Mademoiselle Mildew… how could I lie to such a pretty face as yours?”

“Uh-huh. Sure. And the boss is a bloatsprite.” She spat.

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short, milady.” I grinned. “Yours, is a pretty face that leaves me with a certain… envie de vomir.”

‘What are you going to do if she speaks Prench?’

“Oh… uh…” Mildew giggled softly.

I stifled my own snort of laughter. She doesn’t. I doubt she knows this one either.

“You know, I once heard a phrase that describes you quite well.” She pricked up one of her ears, and I smirked. “Watashi wa anata o mita toki, watashi wa sabita supūn de jibun no me o eguri dashitai to omoimasu.”

Heh. Not the best insult, but still pretty good.

“What’s that mean?”

Oh crap… uh…

“That your beauty surpasses your loveliness,” I answered quickly. And both are in the negatives.

I saw a tinge of red appear on the slaver’s face and smirked. That was waaaaay too easy.

‘Then why can’t you seem to talk to Knives, hmm?’

Well, it’s easy to say if it’s not true…

‘So you go acting like a socially awkward teenager?’

…

I hate me.

“Well, to answer your question, Betsy…” Mildew let out another happy moan. “I run storage.”

“Oh? And what exactly do you do there?”

“Well, recently I’ve been making sure that the fucking morons I work with don’t put bomb collars on each other.” She snorted. “The last time they did that they used up about twenty of the damn things. It’s not like they grow on trees.”

Goddesses, I hoped they didn’t grow on trees.

“I also make sure that we have enough weapons and crap like that for when we go out on hunting runs.” She chuckled. “You know, you and your friend are probably the first ponies who’ve come to us. Pretty stupid if you ask me.”

My lips curled into a grin again. Not angry.

“And I told you not to stop!” She growled. “Keep going or I’ll-“

She was interrupted when a loud wailing noise sang through the air. It was one of those sirens that they used during the war to warn the citizens of incoming attacks.

Mildew stared out the window with a look of confusion. “What the fu-“

She was interrupted again when I smashed the teapot into the back of her head.

“Oh look, I JUST TRIED SOMETHING! I’M NOT FUCKING DEAD YET! HAH!” I shouted. Slowly, a feeling of calmness went through me, and I could feel tension that I hadn’t even known was there leaving my shoulders.

Then I noticed that there was blood pooling beneath her head. I looked at the teapot-I mean teapot handle that I was clutching in my fetlock, and swore under my breath.

I put a wingtip to her throat, feeling for a pulse, but come up with nothing and swore again.

‘Good going. You can’t even knock somepony out right.’

I groaned and ripped the key off the fishing line around her neck.

“So…” I thought aloud. “What is that siren for…”

I stuck my head outside. My ears swiveled around as I listened to the cries of the slavers who were running around the streets in a panic. To my surprise, almost every single one of them was begging for their lives or screaming in terror about Hearteater.

I frowned. She couldn’t have been in Raftwater. Jolly Rodger had said that she was around Loss, and that was on the opposite side of Canturbury. So, unless the expert sniper sprouted wings and/or a horn since the last time I’d met her, I was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to get to Raftwater this quickly.

I wasn’t exactly happy that somepony was apparently trying to impersonate one of my allies.

‘Hey, doesn’t Knives have invisible magic?’

I blinked as the thought popped into my head. That blink was followed by a smirk, and that smirk turned into a wide grin and a chuckle.

“Damn, that mare is awesome.”

Knock-knock-knock.

My ears went against my head as I turned to stare at the door.

“Oh… fuck…”

“MILDEW! OPEN UP!” The slaver pounded on the door. “We’re being attacked! For the love of Celestia, open the fucking door, you stupid cunt!”

“Crap, crap, crap…” I glanced around the room, and an idea came to mind. “Oh! Hehehe.”

I burst out the door, screaming my head off. “OH GODDESSES, HEARTEATER’S INSIDE! RUN!”

This had the desired effect of causing the slavers at the door to run off shrieking, yes shrieking, in terror.

“Now to find Knives!” I said triumphantly. Then I blinked in realization, and facehooved. “Aaand, I don’t know what her mark is for… wunderbar.”

Swiftly moving as far away from Mildew’s place as I could, I listened to the screaming of the slavers and the mutterings of the slaves to see if I could find even the vaguest hint of where Knives was. I was sure that I wouldn’t have to look for Zeed or Stock, as they would be smart enough to get away and start working on a method of escape.

I knew I should have asked at some point. I know that some cultures think it rude to ask about another ponies mark, but if I had known something like this would happen, I think I could stand be a bit rude. Really, all I knew was that Knives was a fairly decent cook, but that didn’t really mean anything.

After all, my mark has nothing to do with weaponry, yet I’m a pretty good shot.

I made my way to the place where they’d brought the two of us in, in the hopes of finding some sort of records or something. The Bone Eaters would have to be stupid to not keep records of their slaves.

I didn’t want to risk flying, though. It was bad enough that my wings were causing the slaves to give me angry glares, but if I actually tried to fly anywhere, I would likely get my stupid ass shot.

My thoughts were interrupted when a growling voice began to blast forth from the public speaker system.

“Attention brothers! This is Rex speaking. It has come to my attention that the majority of you are in a panic due to a supposed sighting of the assassin known as ‘Hearteater’. This sighting is false. Every single one of you is an idiot for believing in it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the last comment.

"If you are found away from your posts, I will personally drag you into the pit and tear you limb from limb. I will then feed your still-living torso to my pet. And speaking of the Pit… the little half-breed fucks who caused all of this panic will be serving as tonight’s entertainment. That is all.”

“Half-breeds… Oh, SONOFABITCH!”

I bucked a nearby lamppost in frustration as I realized that meant I would have to get Knives out of a pit fight. Possibly by getting involved in it myself.

A shame really… I couldn’t fight for shit…

~~~~

I stood watching for two hours, hiding in the top floor of a former office building near the Pit, which, as the name suggested, was little more than a giant hole dug into the middle of the street.

Despite my vigil, I saw neither hide nor hair of Knives.

My wings twitched impatiently.

Even the guards in front of the building where they kept the slaves, the remains of the city’s former police station, weren’t moving. I guess Rex’s speech was enough to get some of the slavers to obey their orders.

I wondered if I might have missed her, if she had already been taken inside before I got here.

I sighed, and turned away from the window, only to be stopped when I saw a familiar-looking dark green mane, with metal bits entwined into it.

With a grin, I spun back around.

I then proceeded to watch with a look of incredible confusion as Knives apparently levitated towards the police station, followed by two other zonies.

Whilst very obviously unconscious.

This was, needless to say, very confusing for me. At least, until I smacked myself in the face for being a moron.

They have stealth bucks. Or a stealth suit, or something else that makes them invisible.

‘You can’t really fight what you can’t see, you know.’

I’m well aware. I might need to break into the armory. Get a few grenades, maybe. The problem is this damned collar. If they catch me fighting, they will kill me.

I frowned and hrrm-ed.

Maybe I could find a way to deactivate the collar first?

‘If it was that easy, don’t you think there would be a few less slaves here?’

Never said it would be easy, just that I should try it first. Wait, what are they doing with Knives?

They pulled the tag off of her ear and replaced it with a dark red one.

“So…” I mused. “They’re actually putting her in the pit.”

‘You need to get her out of there. This is your fault.’

Obviously.

The roof of the police station had a few doors in plain view. I considered just flying over to them, but I didn’t want to risk getting shot and I didn’t want to risk sneaking past the guards. Chances were that I would fail. Stealth, after all, was never my forte.

‘What if you got involved in the fights?’

I’m not exactly a brawler.

‘Oh, you suck at fighting. You’re just trying to break back out anyway.’

True, but if I can’t then I’m stuck.

‘Talk your way in?’

I tapped my chin with a wingtip. “That could work.”

Click.

‘Or you could stand there while somepony points a gun at your head.’

“Wings up, hooves on the ground.” The way the stallion was talking told me that his mouth was free, meaning he was a unicorn.

A sound somewhere between a sigh and a frustrated growl left my throat.

“Turn around slowly.”

Following orders, I was met with a familiar orange unicorn, wearing an even more familiar jacket, one that looked like a cross between a duster and a ballistic vest, and a massive bandage on his neck from where Knives stabbed him. “Oh goddesses, not you again. Chamomile shot my fucking ear off because of you. And my neck hurts ‘cuz of your fucking bitchfriend.”

“That’s my jacket you’re wearing.” I smirked

He smirked right back. “Correction: it was your jacket. It’s mine now, slave.”

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged. “It’ll come back to me eventually.”

“What the fuck does that-“ He shook his head. “You know what, stop talking. I’m not letting you distract me again. Move.”

He herded me outside of the building and, much to both my surprise and irritation, towards the police station.

“Hey guys, I got a present for ya!” My ‘friend’ called out.

Upon seeing me, the guards started chuckling to themselves. “Ooh. Looks like we’ve got a pigeon infestation.”

“Oh, wow. I thought pigeons were all extinct!”

“Apparently we got a few left!”

I could only quirk an eyebrow at the pathetic attempt at humor.

“Yeah, apparently he wants to get in on the fights.” The orange unicorn snorted. “Don’t you birdy?”

“Really? We haven’t had a bird around her for a while, now.” One of the guards sneered at me. “Tired of the sunlight, feather-face?”

“Nah. Just wanted some fresh air.” I snarked.

I received a rifle butt to the face for my trouble.

“Shut up, scab,” he snarled. “Get me the tagger.”

“Oh, no… allow me!” Said the orange idiot in my jacket. He levitated the tagger over.

I gasped in pain as he ripped the pink tag out of my ear.

“Oops.” He snickered. “My magic slipped.”

Then I yelped as he put a red tag in the other ear.

Not. Angry. At all. Not. Going. To break. His fucking. Horn.

As he walked away laughing his head off, the two guards started dragging me inside, down into the lower parts of the station, where the walls were covered in cell doors. I was unceremoniously tossed into one, and the door was slammed shut after me.

All the while, I saw no indication as to where they’d taken Knives.

‘Good going, dumbfuck. Now you’re stuck.’

…

Fuck you brain. Just… fuck you.

~~~

Green awoke to the sensation of swaying motion. Cracking her eyes open, she realized that she was being carried on Wretch’s back, her legs dangling over the pink mare’s sides, her chest resting between the unicorn’s shoulder blades. They were in the middle of the city, both with a single neon green band tied around one of their forelegs.

The green filly let out a loud yawn.

“Hello, Green. Feeling better?”

The pegasus moaned weakly.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’, then.” Wretch sighed. “It’s sad to see you like this, you know.”

Green sniffled. “I’m a bad pony…”

“No. You’re not. You did something you felt was right in order to protect somepony else.” Wretch shook her head. “And he attacked first anyway.”

“I hurt another pony…”

“And he tried to hurt you first. For no particular reason, I might add.” Wretch wasn’t sure if the last part was true, but she chose not to mention that. “And it was sort of funny that you hit him with a whole cactus.”

Green giggled softly. “I guess he… kinda… deserved it.”

“See? It’s not that bad.” Wretch smiled. “Think you can walk?”

Green gently flapped her wings, lifting her off of the mare’s back and depositing her on the asphalt. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, Green’s stomach roared, drawing surprised stares from several passerby.

Wretch burst out laughing, while Green blushed profusely.

“Celestia’s sun, Green, how much can you possibly eat?” Wretch wiped a tear from her eye. “I swear, your gut is constantly making noise.”

Green used her wings to cover her face in embarrassment. “Sorry…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, it’s just that I’ve never seen anypony eat that much. Especially not when they’re your size. At the rate you keep going, you’ll gain a couple hundred pounds by the end of the week.”

Green’s blush deepened.

“You really never did get much to eat as a slave, did you…” Wretch sighed again.

“Usually Bark just gave me some water, and some yucca.” Green’s expression turned into a wistful smile. “But I really, really like yucca, so it wasn’t that bad. It’s so, so good… tasty…”

Wretch snorted a laugh. “Green, you’re drooling.”

“One time I snuck into bark’s storage shed and ate all the yucca he had. My stomach hurt so much I could barely move, and he flogged me for about an hour when he found out the next day, but it was soooo worth it…”

Wretch’s jaw dropped. “He… he what?”

Green didn’t respond, instead, she stared off into space, drooling at the thought of the plant. The ponies walking by gave her odd looks of confusion, at least, until she was distracted by another roar from her own stomach.

She spun to face Wretch with a hopeful grin on her face. “Hey, Wretch , can we get some yucca? Please? I’m really, really, really hungry, and I haven’t had any in a really long time, please?”

“Uh…” Wretch stared at her young friend in confusion. “Okay? Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Really?” Green squealed in delight as she bounced around the older black-maned mare. “I hope we can find some of the fruit or maybe the root, because I really don’t like the flowers and they aren’t very filling anyway, but the fruit is really bitter but in a good way because I really like bitter things and the root tastes really sweet but pickled yucca fruit is the best thing I’ve ever tasted and omygosh I’m so excited I can’t wait!”

Wretch blinked a few times. “I’m guessing that you really like this stuff?”

Green nodded so vigorously that Wretch was afraid her head might pop off.

“Well, then…” Wretch chuckled. “I guess we’ll go find some. After that, we’ll go find the memory orb expert.”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP ???%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP Level up! (12)

Speech 84

Perks:

Desert Soldier: You get a +5% bonus to critical chance when using conventional weaponry. You also get +5 to your guns skill.

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

-Find Knives

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Sifting through the dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

Author's Note

Chapter Twenty: Fun In The Basement

Chapter Twenty: Fun In The Basement
“Blammo! Blam-blam-blam!”

I sat on the couch, wrapped in blankets, leaning against Ashes, who was playing a guitar that matched her cutie mark. A steaming hot mug of coffee sat on the table beside her, accompanied by her glasses. I watched her intently, wondering just how in the hell she managed to play a guitar so well with hooves. As far as I could tell, she was using her fetlock on the upper part, but that wouldn’t-

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Ashes let out a sigh, put down her guitar, and plodded clumsily over to the door, makhing sure to grab her glasses along the way.

“Hey Knives,” she yawned. “What’s up?”

“It’s cold as aw hell out here. Mah ears’re freezin’ off.” I heard the striped unicorn respond. “Can Ah come in?”

“Sure.” Ashes let out another long yawn. “What’s with that anyway? It was warm yesterday.”

“Apparently yer ‘relatives’ decided it would be a great idea tae screw wi’ th’ air conditionin’.”Knives snorted as she approached the couch. “They broke th’ main control panel. And mom is pissed about it. Apparently it’s messed up th’ kitchens tae.”

I couldn’t help but stare at her as she sat down next to me.

“What?” She asked.

I quirked an eyebrow. She was wearing, of all things, a green flannel button-down shirt. “You wonder why ponies keep saying you look like a colt?”

“What? What are ye talkin’ about?”

“You do look pretty butch, Knives.” Ashes chuckled as she plopped back down next to me, and resumed her position as my pillow. “Might wanna lose the flannel.”

“Ah like this shirt!” She whined. “Ah’ve had it fer years.”

“It makes you look like a filly fooler.” Ashes grimaced, and coughed into a hoof. “Sorry Zeed.”

“Pfft, sorry? I was about to say the same thing,” I laughed. “Though, I wouldn’t be caught dead in that thing.”

“Shut up, both ay ye.” Knives grumbled.

“Anyway, you have any idea when they’ll get the thing fixed?” Ashes asked.

Knives shrugged. “Maybe a week, at best?”

I groaned as a shiver went down my spine, despite the blankets.

~~~

“Stock, I’m not liking this.”

“No kidding, we haven’t found anything!” The ghoul growled. “I hate this fucking place. It’s like a goddess-damned maze.”

“No, I mean they’re not coming after us,” I said. “It’s making me nervous.”

“It’s only been an hour. I’m sure they’ll find us soon.” She growled again. “My problem is that we’ve searched the entire floor and found nothing.”

“Maybe we’d get through a little faster if you’d stop searching EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ROOM WE PASS!” I screamed.

“Do you want to miss something important?” She snapped back. “I don’t, especially if it could help us.”

“You took twenty minutes to search through a fucking broom closet.” I deadpanned, pointing to the aforementioned room. “Why would there be something useful in there?”

“Well we-“ Her ear twitched, and she motioned for me to hide.

While she shot up, and hid behind the ceiling panels, I moved back into the closet. I was glad, and not for the first time, that I was as small as I was as I hid inside the empty tool cabinet. As I did, the sound of hooves on metal echoed through the hallway.

“Gotcha you li- oh.” Came a disappointed stallion’s voice.

“Corn, every time you do that, they figure out where we are. Shoot first, ask questions later.” Another stallion said.

“Hey, I wanna catch these little fucks, alright? Goddesses, gimme a break.”

“Just keep quiet.”

“I coulda sworn I heard somepony shouting.”

I groaned internally. Of course they heard that.

“Hey, ya think they’ll let us keep ‘em if we catch ‘em?” The second asked in an excited manner.

“This is the third time you’ve asked that.”

“So?”

“No. They won’t. They’ll probably be put to work before they’re thrown in the pit.” The first let out an exasperated sigh. “C’mon, let’s keep looking.”

Oh thank Luna, they’re leaving.

“Should we check the rooms?”

I just had to think that, didn’t I.

“Meh. Sure.”

In a state of mild panic, I used what little room I had to pull my laser out of my lab coat pocket. I wasn’t in much of a fighting position, but, if nothing else, I could get the jump on whichever one opened the door.

I silently and desperately wished for the slaver to ignore the broom closet. I’d left it open, so he’d probably just glance in and move on.

Of course, considering my luck he’d far more likely to-

“Here, filly, filly, filly. Come out come out.” The second chuckled. “I can hear you breathing.”

My eye twitched, and I fought the urge to swear loudly.

I wondered whether I should make a run for it when the cabinet opened, revealing another zebra standing there with a malicious grin.

“Ooh, hello sexy.” He said in the creepiest way possible.

“Fuck that!” I screamed around the trigger as I fired my laser, right into his face, sending him staggering back in shock and pain.

With him distracted, I took opportunity to scramble my way out of the cabinet, into the hallway, and as luck would have it, right into the other slaver. The earth pony blinked at me in mild surprise as I toppled over him. “What the fu-“

“GAAAGH!” I yelped in panic, sending several burning beams of light into his face.

Then I was slammed into the wall, pinned there by the throat as number one recovered enough to see again. He snarled at me and knocked my gun out of my mouth, following it up with a vicious headbutt, leaving me dazed. I hoped it wouldn’t give me another concussion, as the last one wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“Fucking bitch,” Hissed number two.

“Don’t say that, Kad. If the boss hears you, he’ll be pissed.” Number one said.

“Fuck him! She fucking burned the fur off my face!” Kad pointed at the charred bald spots on his muzzle. Then he grinned at me. “I saw we should get to have some fun with her.”

My eyes widened in terror.

Number two growled in frustration. “No! I’m not screwin’ a mare! Especially not a damn zebra!”

As Kad glared as his companion, I started struggling to get free, panicking at the thought of what he’d do to me. He responded by pressing harder against my neck.

“Eh… sorry… You know what I meant, right?”

No no no no no!

“Racist fuck.”

I kicked as hard as I could against his ribs, but only managed to make him wince.

“I’m sorry! I swear, I didn’t mean it like that!”

I was on the verge of tears, hitting him as hard as I could, still pinned in that spot, unable to even scream, knowing what he wanted me for…

“Right. Your ‘no interspecies’ thing.” Kad snorted. “You’re always doing this shit, Corn. It’s getting’ annoying.”

Part of the ceiling broke, and fell to the ground in a cloud of dust, scaring the two stallions to the point where they visibly jumped, Kad dropping me to the ground and leaving me gasping me for air.

The dust parted to reveal Stock, standing with her gun pointed at the two Bone Eaters with a cocky smirk on her face. “Mind if I drop in?”

After a second of staring in abject shock, I facehoofed.

Corn was the first to react, charging the ghoul as she let loose a barrage of .50 bullets. He got just close enough to knock the barrels away from himself with one forehoof before he drove the other into her muzzle, but not without having a sizeable chunk of flesh torn off his side. Stock spun with the punch, taking the opportunity to grab his hindleg with a wing and pull, dropping him to the ground.

Seeing his companion fall was enough to snap Kad back to reality. He drew a compact-looking gun from one of the bandoliers across his chest and started firing away with the automatic weapon. He wasn’t a particularly good shot, with just a few small cuts appearing on Stock’s legs, but it gave him the chance to dive for cover as Stock and I did the same, each of us hiding in a different room, leaving Corn in the hallway.

“Just give up, and we won’t hurt you too bad!” The earth pony called out. “We’ll just maim ya a little. Hah.”

“Corn, shut the fuck up and get over here!” Kad yelled.

“Both of you can go fuck yourselves.” I muttered under my breath. I peeked out to see my laser sitting on the floor, just next to Kad’s door, and swore.

Gunshots echoed through the hallway as Stock popped out of her room, laying down a carpet of suppressing fire as she charged towards me. Both Bone Eaters yelped in surprise and scrambled out of her line of sight.

“You alright?” The ghoul asked me.

“I would first like to say, thanks for saving my flank. The last thing I want is some jerk ‘hitting’ on me like that.” I said. “But why the fuck… did you have to do a dramatic entrance?”

“Fun!” She chirped.

“While I’m about to… to get…” I shuddered. “I don’t even wanna think about it.”

“Uh… Well… I… uh…” Stock’s smile faltered. “Oh… Oh, fuck… S-sorry… I…”

“C’mon sexy, I don’t bite!” Kad yelled, breaking the tension. “Much!”

Both slavers laughed, while Stock and I both facehoofed.

“Okay,” She said. “Just for that, they need to die.”

“Really.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s why they need to die.”

“Shut up. I haven’t seen you killing any of them,” the ghoul snorted, taking several shots as Kad peeked out.

“I’m sorry, I’m a medic.” I snapped. “I don’t like killing ponies. That’s kinda the opposite of what I do.”

“You think I do?”

“Oh, sexy! I can hear you talkiiiing!” Kad shouted.

I groaned. “Stock, think you can cover me? I need to get my gun.”

She nodded, and leapt out of the room, screaming as she pounded down the hallway. I leaped out after her, heading straight for the energy pistol, heard Kad and Corn yelp in fear as Stock slid past the door, and opened fire. I couldn’t see the slavers, but I knew they were hiding behind something.

Pistol now in my mouth, I turned to…

See a zebra mare at the end of the hallway, staring at me with crazy eyes. A few flecks of red were spread through them. It was oddly familiar. “YOU!”

“LUNA FUCKING DAMNIT!” I screamed around my weapon. “Why you, of all ponies?”

She made her way towards me, panting with a combination of fury and hate, her eyes never leaving me, even as I let loose a volley of red beams, several of which hit her directly in the chest. She didn’t even flinch.

“Uh… Stock?” I gulped. “Help?”

The undead pegasus whirled around, training her machine guns on the Zebra.

The guns clicked on empty chambers.

My jaw dropped.

The other zebra charged down the hallway at full speed, headbutting me and sending me flying into Stock. She made an attempt to catch me with her wings, but I only ended up getting clotheslined.

Stock gave me a sympathetic grimace as I tried to clear the stars out of my vision.

Kad popped out of his room and let loose another volley of lead-flavored death. For the second time today, Stock dragged me into a side room and took cover.

“Are you-“

“Fine.” I interrupted her. “Just annoyed.”

“GET OUT HERE TRAITOR!” The other zebra shrieked. “I’II fucking flay you alive!”

“Yeah, come here, sexy. I wanna do stuff to you.”

I gritted my teeth, wishing that he would shut up.

“SHUT UP, YOU USELESS FUCK!” The mare roared.

“Woah, calm down!” Corn replied. “If you want her you can have her. Kad, just let it go.”

I peeked around the corner, and was just in time to see the mare’s hoof fly into my face, sending me sprawling on the ground. Kad jumped around the corner, keeping his pistol trained on Stock, who raised her wings in defeat.

“Here’s how it’s going to work, traitor,” my ‘friend’ hissed, standing over me with a look of sheer rage.. “I’m going to beat the shit out of you, and Kad here is going to kill you if you try and run.”

Corn took this moment to speak up. “I think Kad wanted to do stuff to her, actually.”

The mare glared at the zebra in question with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Haven’t had any good lays in a while.”

After staring at Kad for a while, the mare grinned at me. “I think that’s a great idea. Kad can keep you for a while then.”

Oh dear mother of Luna not that. Think, think, think, what can I do, what can I do… Oh… Oh dear Luna, I’m so going to regret this.

“S-sorry, I don’t do stallions.” I stammered with as sultry a smile as I could manage at the moment. “But I’d like to try you out, h-hot stuff.”

All three slavers and Stock stared at me, dumbfounded.

Kad was the first to react, bursting out into peals of laughter. “Oh goddesses that’s hilarious! Stockhoof syndrome kicked in a bit early, eh? Someone’s got a crush on you, Mir!”

“Stockhoof what?” Corn asked, now even more confused.

Kad waved him off. “Never mind. Read it in a book.”

“Seriously?” Stock stammered. “You’re flirting? Zeed, what the actual fuck, are you insane?”

“More like literal fuck!” Kad laughed even harder.

All the while, the other zebra mare, apparently named ‘Mir’, just gaped at me.

So I kicked her between the legs, making both of the stallions in the room wince.

Mir’s legs suddenly refused to support her weight, instead reflexively moving to protect her tender areas, so I took the opportunity to buck her off of me, sending her tumbling into Corn.

I stood up, and glared at Kad, who looked between Stock, his fellow slavers, and me, back and forth. Eventually, he shrugged and dropped his gun, throwing his front hooves up into the air. “Okay, I give.”

“You’re a fucking pansy -ghe - Kad!” Mir groaned. “You are a complete fucking coward.”

“Hey, I’m not really into the whole ‘slaver’ business to begin with. It was either this, or keep bein’ a raider.” He smiled. “Fun, though it was, I’d rather have some stability in my life. So, I take it you’re here to break out all the slaves?”

I punched him in the snout. “Go fuck yourself!”

“Gaagh! Why?” He moaned, holding his nose and writhing on the ground in pain.

“’I say we should get to have some fun with her…’ I’ll fucking show you fun!” I was shaking . With anger or pent-up fear, I wasn’t really sure. “You do that shit to other ponies?”

“Other pon- you mean ‘people’?”

I punched him in the snout again. My eyes were streaming with tears. “What is wrong with you fucking psychos?”

“Zeed, are you okay?” Stock put a wing over my shoulder.

“He was… Luna’s moon… He was gonna do… that to me…” I shuddered in disgust.

Kad chuckled, and shot me a sly, if a bloody, grin. “Oh, come on, I’m pretty good in the sack.”

Corn groaned. “Why do I hang out with you?”

I narrowed my eyes at the zebra stallion. “I don’t fucking care how ‘good in the sack’ you are. Where’s the exit?”

“Aww, come on. What’re you, a fillyfooler?”

I delivered a two-legged buck to his face.

Stock grimaced, and pulled a coil of rope out of her saddlebags, and began to tie up the other slavers, who didn’t even try to resist.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” he chuckled. Several of his teeth were gone and he was bleeding from the nose and one of his eyebrows, but he still had that sickening grin. “I’ll bet you just haven’t been with the right stallion before. Why don’t you give me a shot, eh?”

My fur bristled, and with a shriek of disgust and anger, I wailed away at him, beating him to a bloody pulp with my forehooves until Stock finally had to pull me off.

“Zeed, calm down, you’re gonna kill him!”

“He fucking deserves it!” I screamed. My vision was blurred by tears, and I was shaking violently.

The stallion laughed. “Oh, you think this is bad? You shoulda seen me in my raider days! Woo, was I wild. I was even wilder than that one zebra raider, eh, what was his name… Ah who cares, he tore apart all of the west side of Canturbury. Raping, pillaging. Mostly raping. Gotta agree, that was the best-“

Stock grabbed his pistol and fired a single shot into his skull.

I stood there, shaking, staring at the now-dead slaver. He would’ve... How could he even think of doing that to me? T-to anypony? The way he was staring at me… I felt nauseous as the fear finally set in.

“Zeed? Zeed, are you okay?”

Just the thought of him being anywhere near me, touching me like that, m-making me… forcing me to… he could have killed me, or… he could have left me alive… held me down… again and again and-

I held a hoof over my mouth.

“Zeed, hey, it’s alright. Zeed?”

I staggered over to the door, and leaned against the wall just outside the room, feeling like I was about to vomit.

Stock cautiously walked over to me, and put a wing around my shoulder. She didn’t say anything.

I stayed there until my body stopped shaking, all the while the two tied-up slavers complaining about their situation. I hadn’t realized how much my heart had been pounding at the time, but I calmed myself enough that it slowed down to a normal speed.

Stock held out a bottle of water to me, which I took and gulped down gratefully.

“Feel better?” Stock asked quietly, her face bearing a gentle expression of concern.

I wiped my mouth. “Much better thank you. Mother of Luna… I can’t believe somepony would do that.”

“You’re alright. Don’t worry.” She gave me a quick, gentle hug. “He didn’t get the chance to do anything. You’ll be okay.”

“Thanks.” I exhaled slowly, and managed to fully regain my composure.

We were silent for a moment.

“So… we gonna get some info out of them?” I asked.

Stock guffawed. “Nah. We can figure it out ourselves. Let’s just leave them in there. Lock the door.”

~~~~

“Don’t say it.” Stock grumbled.

“I wasn’t going to, I swear.” I tried to suppress a laugh.

“Yes. I regret not getting directions out of them.” She continued. “No, I don’t wanna go back.”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

We stood in an iced-over security office, staring out the door at a very familiar flooded room with a blown-up catwalk. I could see the wet clothes that Raid and Knives had abandoned earlier, now frozen to the point where they were stuck to the floor.

“We’re not lost.” Stock sighed.

“Of course not. We know exactly where we are.” I chortled. “We just don’t know how to get where we want to go.”

Reaching into my lab coat pocket, I pulled out a cigarette, and began my usual method of lighting it.

I put the cigarette on the frozen floor, readied my laser in my mouth, and-

Slipped.

Instead of the red beam hitting the cigarette, it went wide, not even in the same direction as the target. Stock let out a yelp of surprise.

Pulling myself back to my hooves, I groaned. “Ow. You alright, Stock? I didn’t hit you, did- oh…”

The ghoul’s eye twitched. A bit of smoke was coming off the top of her head. I’d hit one of the few remaining tufts of mane she had left.

“Okay. We’re getting you a hoof lighter.” She said quietly, cautiously rubbing the smoldering chunk of flesh.

I chuckled nervously, and started back the way we’d come. “We should… ah… go back. There was a hallway earlier we could try going down.”

“Fine, just… don’t light any sticks for a while…” She sighed. “I’d like to keep what’s left of my mane.”

“Sorr- do you hear that?” My ears perked up.

“Hear what?”

“Shh, listen!”

There was a gruff-sounding voice with a weird echo back where we’d come from.

I shot down the hallway, Stock in tow, with both of us trying to follow the source of the voice.

“…ghting is f…” Just down the hallway? No, further than that. “... ot for bel…”

“Where is it coming from?” I growled.

“Down here!” Stock moved down a hallway we’d ignored on our first pass. I darted down after her.

“…pit and tear you li…”

“It’s the speaker system! C’mon, before they stop talking!” Stock hissed.

I ran as fast as I could, chasing after Stock and making sure we didn’t lose track of the voice.

And then, I smelled fresh air… sort of…

The cloying scent of sweat, misery, and things better left unmentioned filled my nostrils, making my eyes tear up. I spat out my cigarette and covered my muzzle with the lab coat.

“…who caused all of this panic will be serving as tonight’s entertainment. That is all.”

There were ponies and zebras everywhere. There were even zonies milling about. The only time I’d ever seen this many equines gathered in the same place was in the Section 3 cafeteria on fresh fruit day when some nutcase was giving lessons on anti-fruit self-defense.

Stock and I had come out into the lobby of a former dentist’s office, long since robbed of most of its equipment. It was a shame, as I could probably have used some of it, but there wasn’t much I could do.

Stock swore under her breath. Seeing my inquisitive look, she pointed to the nearest slave. I stared at him for a moment before I decided I had no idea what she was pointing at.

“I have no idea what you’re pointing at.”

“The collar! It’s a fucking explosive.” She hissed. “Fuck, that’s a pretty big problem.”

“Okay, so how can we get them off?”

“Keys. We need to find where they’re keeping the keys.” She tapped her chin in thought. “They’ve gotta have some kind of office in the city. Someplace they store the collars. There might be something we can use there.”

“Which brings us to the next problem, how are we going to get there?” I asked. Pointing at my neck, I stared at the undead mare. “We’re not exactly inconspicuous. Especially you. I don’t see many ghouls or pegasi around here, do you?”

She bit her lip and looked around. After a moment she looked at me, and cocked her head. “That could work…”

“What? What could work?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“We left them… hmmm… yes… yes…” She grinned. “Zeed, how good an actress are you?”

“Terrible.” My eyes darted around as I looked for an exit. “Why do you ask?”

“Think you could be a slaver for a bit?”

...

“Fuck.”

“C’mon, Zeed. We need to get these ponies… eh… people out of here.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “One: I hate that word. Two: I just said I’m a terrible actress. Three: How would I-“

“We left those three in that room, remember?” She stepped towards me. “We have to do something.”

“Can’t we think of something else?”

“Can you?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought. Now come on and let’s get your costume.” She trotted back inside.

~~~

“Of course they got out…” Stock sighed as she picked up the shredded rope.

“Wha- bu-how…” I stammered. “How? They were tied up!”

“The mare probably used one of her spikes to cut her way through.”

“Oh, wonderful.” I groaned. “Now we’ve got a couple of slavers running around who know what we look like. Luna’s moon, they even took that sick fuck’s body with them!”

“It’s okay Zeed. We’ll just have to try to get their barding some other way.”

“Like how?”

“We’ll think of something.”

“What, do you expect me to seduce one of them?” I clapped my hoof over my mouth. Stock grinned widely. “Crap.”

“Can you manage that?”

“Probably. The question is will I. The answer is a big, fat ‘no’.”

“Then why did you suggest it?”

“This is where my thoughts go, okay?” I frowned. “Besides, i doubt sleeping with slavers will give me points in getting my marefriend back.”

“Well, you don’t have to sleep with them. Just get them into bed and knock them out or something.”

“No.”

“You’d have a better chance of finding out where your father is.” She said.

I opened my mouth to reply, but despite the ridiculousness of the situation and how much I did not want to do this, I couldn’t seem to come up with an argument against that. Odd, considering how stupid the idea was and how many ways it could backfire.

I groaned. “I’m gonna hate myself for this... I just know it...”

~~~~~

Green bit into the fruit. As far as she was concerned, pickled yucca was the best thing to have ever been invented in the history of best things to have ever been invented ever, and as such she savored every single second of the meal. She almost burst into tears as the bitter juices washed over her tongue. It had been the one thing she looked forward to for as long as she could remember, the most delicious food she’d ever had. Upon finishing the first fruit, she used a wingtip to fish another out of the fairly large jar that now rested inside her saddlebag, next to the can of Brawnco.

Wretch watched the filly with a hint of amusement, as she herself munched on a tomato. “Don’t go too crazy, Green. We don’t want you to make yourself sick again.”

Green finished her third fruit, and turned to sucking some of the leftover juice off her feathers.

“You ready to go?” The pink-and-black unicorn asked.

Green nodded, her stomach full and a dreamy expression on her face, as she followed her friend out of the bar and back into the rest of the Mall.

Wretch chuckled. “So, the bartender said his shop should be around here somewhere.”

“Hi there!”

Green let out a squeak, and shot towards the ceiling, where she clung to one of the exposed rafters, the fur on her neck standing on end. Wretch spun around, automatically taking on a defensive stance as she stared at the grinning zebra who’d startled her friend.

“Heard you’ve been looking for me?” He said.

Wretch gave him a suspicious glare. “Who are you?”

Green, her panic now mostly subsided, descended from the ceiling, and stood just behind Wretch.

The zebra continued to smile, and took a dramatic bow. “Xixixix, master of the memory orb, at your service.”

Wretch narrowed her eyes at him. “Y0u’re a zebra.”

“I am?” Xixixix blinked, and looked down at his legs. “Oh! You’re right, I am! I hadn’t noticed.”

While Green stifled a giggle, Wretch enveloped her shotgun in her magic. “How does a zebra use memory orbs?”

“With the most complicated piece of equipment ever to be made in Canturbury.” He replied. “Took me four years to find it. Almost got killed repeatedly. Well worth the effort. Sorta.”

The glow of Wretch’s horn died down as she slowly began to relax. “Why?”

“Why?” He laughed. “Makes psychology easier. Also great for taking notes and such. Hello there, miss! Haven’t seen any pegasi in a while.”

“Um…” Green looked at Wretch, immensely confused. The older mare just shrugged. “H-hi?”

“Anyway, why, exactly, have you been looking for me?”

“He needs me to find some very specific memory orbs.” Wretch said.

“Ooooh. Vague and cryptic.” Xixixix whispered. “I like that! Okay, we’ll talk inside. C’mon!”

With that, the zebra merrily trotted into the nearest and most unassuming shop in the area.

With another shrug, Wretch followed him inside, making sure to stay on her guard, while Green kept close to her side.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP ???%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: 30%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP: ???%
`

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

-Find Knives

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

-Find a way inside Raftwater without getting killed

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Sifting through the dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

Author's Note

So... after thinking for quite a while (read: twelve seconds) I've decided that I simply can't consider mlp season 3 cannon for this story. Mind you, I'm not opposed to the whole 'Twilight is an alicorn' thing, in fact, I was expecting it at some point, considering all the fics with exactly that. My problem is just that it kinda, sorta, completely and totally screws with FO:E cannon. Also means that any stories that use or try to use S3 as cannon also won't be considered cannon here. Not like I was really doing that anyway, but still. Just means i can work more of the stuff I wanted to in.

Anyway, thanks to Kkat for making this delightful sandbox of ours, and everypony else who made me want to write.Thanks to Matkingos for making sure this doesn’t suck as much as usual. Thanks to whomever reads this, and, yet again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Twenty-one: Rule Number One

Chapter Twenty-One: Rule Number one
“Dirtnap... Makes my shadow GROW!”

I stalk through the steel corridors, sniffing at the air as my tail twitched.

My eyes dart back and forth as I glance into each room, hunting down the scent.

The blade of my tail sparks off the sides of the walls as I move.

I can feel the blood slowly drying on my coat.

A grin spreads across my face as I hear sobbing. A mare’s voice.

“Please don’t find me, please don’t find me…”

I follow it, and the scent, towards a closed bathroom. I start drooling as I approach. I can hear the sizzle of my saliva on the concrete floor.

One of the stalls holds my prey.

I stomp, making the mare jump, and try to hide further in the stall. She tries to quiet her sobbing, but I can still hear her heart beating in her chest.

I throw open every single door with my tail. Every sound makes the mare’s heart beat faster and faster… faster… and… faster…

I stop at her door…

And wait…

Gradually, her heart slows.

Then I whip open her door, making her scream in sheer terror.

I move into the stall, grinning widely, and chuckling.

“Hello there, Ms. Cane!” I say. “So nice to see you!”

My tongue runs over my sharp teeth.

She tries to scramble backwards, but can’t get any further.

I raise my tail over my head… my chuckle turns into a laugh…

Open up my jaws... Plunge the blade down into-

0100010001100101011000010111001000100000010000110110010101101100011001010111001101110100011010010110000100101100001000000100100001100101011011000111000000100000011011010110010100100001

I screamed as I scrambled out of my bed, tears streaming from my eyes, my body in a cold sweat. I sniffled and tightly hugged Mr. Stellar.

“Sweetheart?” Daddy asked from the doorway. “What ‘appened?”

I ran up and hugged him, crying into his chest and shaking as he held me.

“Ah… ye had tha’ dream again, didn’t ye?” He let out a sad sigh. “Shhh… it’s alrecht sweetheart, it’s alrecht.”

“Nnnn… wha’s goin’ on?” Mommy asked. She blinked as she saw the two of us. “Oh…”

She drowsily stumbled over and cooed into my ear as she gently rubbed my back.

Eventually, they managed to calm me down enough that I was just crying.

“It’s okay sweetie.” Mommy said. “It’s just a dream.”

“Aye. Yer mother’s right. Ah know tha’ it feels real, but it’s only in yer head.”

“But… I hurt another pony…” I sniffled and hugged daddy tighter. “I don’t wanna be bad…”

“Diamond, you are not a bad pony,” Mommy sighed, giving me a gentle nuzzle. “You’re a very sweet little filly.”

I just continued to sniffle.

Daddy chuckled. “Ye want tae sleep wi’ us taenigh’, Sweetheart?”

I nodded.

“’Sid, we can’t-“

“Ah know, Ah know.” He interrupted. “But it’s only th’ one night.”

I yawned as mommy picked me up with a smirk, and carried me into her and daddy’s bedroom. She and Daddy got into bed, and I settled down between them.

Slowly and happily, I fell back asleep.

~~~

“Subject 25687-CG-12 appears to be having a minimal reaction to the implant,” Whispered a male voice. “Only one effect has been observed, no other changes noticeable.”

I groaned, and gently put a hoof to my throbbing head.

“Subject appears to be regaining consciousness,” The voice continued. “Recovery seems to have occurred more rapidly than in most subjects. However, I need to retreat. Need to retrieve more supplies before returning for observations.”

My eyes cracked open, and I found myself in a concrete cell, complete with a door of iron bars. Standing just outside was a familiar golden stallion, speaking into a… pipbuck?

“Ah, hello miss Knives. Good to see that you’re awake.” He smiled. “I’d stay and interview you, but I’m afraid that I haven’t quite reached that stage of the experiment yet. My apologies.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “The hell are you talking about?”

“As I said, I can’t tell you that, especially as you don’t seem to be getting me any results.” He turned away from me. “Get some and I’ll likely tell you what you want to know.”

“HEY!” I yelled at him, only for the pony to vanish in a flash of golden light.

I snarled in irritation.

“QUIET IN THERE!”

My ears fell flat against my skull.

“Bilge? Meda? You guys around here?” I called out quietly. “Raid? Anypony?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

I growled, and then whimpered softly as my head throbbed again. My horn seemed to be getting the worst of it.

“Wow, he seems pissed.” Said a male voice from the cell opposite mine. “Even more so than usual.”

In the dim light, I saw a fairly large, smiling zebra, with a prominent scar across his right cheek, running from his mouth to his ear. He wore a necklace made of small broken metal rods attached to a chain.

I grunted in acknowledgement as I laid down on my stomach, clutching my skull in my forehooves.

“Not much of a talker, eh?”

“Sorry… My head hurts. Not feeling well.”

“That’s fine. Might wanna check your horn, though,” the zebra said. “Last time they threw someone in like that, he got a pretty nasty crack in his horn.”

“That would explain why it hurts so damn much…”

“So…” He casually leaned against the wall of his cell, sending me a friendly grin. “You’re one of the ‘half-breeds’ that got chucked in here, ah?”

“I guess? Why?”

“Just a little warning, old Rexy says you three are going into the pit later tonight.”

I groaned. “Of course. You know where they put Bilge and Meda?”

“The cells right next to you.” He pointed with both hooves. “They’re out cold right now, out like lights. Broken lights with those little squiggly thingies.”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What about a dark blue pegasus?”

“Eh… nope, sorry. Can’t say that I have.”

I sighed in frustration.

Somewhere nearby, a door slammed open.

A slaver trotted through the passageway, completely ignoring us. He kept going for a while, until finally, I heard a stallion start begging for his life, and the sound of one of the iron-bar doors swinging open.

A moment later, the same slaver came back, forcing a sobbing zony stallion out with an electric baton.

I spotted a set of keys hanging from one of the slaver’s belts. Taking the opportunity, I tried to levitate them towards me, but only managed to cry out when a sharp pain went through my horn.

The slaver turned and fixed a vicious grin on me. “Don’t worry, you and your friends’ll be up tonight.”

I closed my eyes to try and shut out the pain while the slaver snickered, shoving the striped stallion out of the corridor.

“Poor buck… hope he does alright. Good singer.” The zebra muttered as he closed his green eyes and ran a hoof through his white mane.

Everything was silent for a while.

I tried to pull up my magic again, but I only managed to make my horn hurt again.

“Not feeling good, are you, Knives?”

I groaned.

“Awww, don’t be like that. I’m only trying to help.” She cackled.

“Stop talking.” I grumbled. “Just. Stop. Talking.”

“Sorry, what? You say something?” The zebra across from me asked.

“What’s the matter, Knives? Don’t like-“

“Oh, fucking Celestia, where the hell am I?” Meda whimpered. “Hello? Purity? Bilge?”

“I’m in the cell to your left.” I replied. “Are you alright?”

“Uh… I think?” I heard her shifting around noisily. “Nothing feels broken… How about you?”

“Pretty sure I’ve got a cracked horn, and I’ve got a splitting headache, but other than that I’m fine.” I put a hoof to my horn and groaned again. “Apparently we’re up for a fight soon.”

“A-a-a-a fight? I… I don’t know how to fight!” She wailed. “I-I’ve never been in a fight!”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yes! I just do what I’m told!” She broke down and started sobbing. “They’re gonna kill me out there!”

“Alright, relax. I’ll cover you. I’m sure-“ I let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re faking it aren’t you.”

“…”

“I’m not hearing a ‘no’.”

“No?”

“I think I like this mare again!”

I frowned. “Stop doing that.”

“Dammit.” Meda whined. “I didn’t want to get in this.”

“Then you shouldn’t have followed me.”

“I didn’t expect you to do something stupid!” The other zony yelled. “You’re the idiot who snuck in here!”

“I’m trying to find somepony.” I snapped back. “You’re just being annoying.”

“I’m sensing some hostility here.” The zebra interrupted. “Lover’s spat?”

I growled. “I’m not a stallion!”

“Woah, woah! Calm down, I never said you were.” He replied quickly. “Never said, spoke, spake or otherwise implied.”

I snorted in irritation.

“She’s definitely not my lover.” Meda said. “I’d rather get ploughed by a raider day in and day out.”

“This is an interesting conversation to wake up to,” A voice on my left chuckled. “How long have they been at this?”

“’Bout a minute and a half.” The zebra replied. “You’re up for a fight tonight, by the way. Rexy’s orders.”

“Fantastic.” Bilge’s voice practically oozed sarcasm. “I can’t fight for shit.”

I groaned.

“Ouch. That’s gotta suck.” Said the zebra.

“I know. I’m fucked.”

“I’ll cover you, since Purity is too much of a bitch to do it herself.” Meda snorted.

“You were trying to manipulate me, you lazy fuck!”

“You should just let her. Stop trying to think for yourself, Purity. Let someone else do it for you. Like me.”

“Shut up.” I sighed.

The door slammed open again, letting in the faint sound of a roaring crowd, accompanied by the groans of the zony buck from before, now covered in blood and bruises, who was being dragged through the hallway by a slave wearing medical gear. A moment later, he was followed by the slaver who’d hauled him out.

He sneered as he stepped in front of my cell, looking back and forth between Bilge, Meda, and myself as he unlocked the doors.

“Alright, scabs, get a move on. Boss wants the medics to take a look at ya.”

“Oh, goddesses… we’re the ‘special entertainment’, aren’t we…”

“Hehe, damn right you are.”

~~~

“Ow!” I hissed in pain.

“Shut up.” The slaver medic smacked me on the muzzle again as she continued poking at me. “I can keep this up all day. Can’t believe those fucking idiots cracked your damn horn.”

I grimaced. The thought of my horn being damaged was one thing, but broken would be horrible. Even if my magic was weak, not being able to use it would take away quite a big part of me.

“HEY! Where the fuck is the newbie!” She screamed.

“I’m right fucking here! L-goddesses. Don’t get your tail in a bunch.” A voice called back.

“Bring me another bag of bandages, dammit! Can’t you see these bruises?”

“Calm down Rusty, fuck!”

The medic growled angrily and turned to me. “You stay the fuck here.”

With that, she trotted out of the room, arguing with her assistant.

I looked at the mirror on the wall. Thanks to the medic, bitch though she may have been, I was free of any bruises that I might have had. I moved my mane, still entwined with multi-colored electrical cables, though most of the metal scraps had been removed, out of my face and away from my horn, which currently had a small, but visible crack in it. I gave the appendage an experimental poke, and once again hissed in pain.

With a frown, I took the opportunity to swipe a couple of healing potions and hid them in my mane, suspended within the hairs by a few wires each. I was lucky that the medic didn’t come back as I fumbled with the bottles, and was reminded of how clumsy I was without what little magic I had.

“I swear to Celestia, if you don’t shut up, I’ll have you do this your fucking self.” The medic screamed. “See how pissed Rex gets when you fucking kill his entertainment.”

“How can you not know how to fix a horn crack, dipshit?” The other voice responded in kind. “It’s not that fucking difficult!”

“Oh, that is fucking it. You wanna do this? Fine. I’m fucking out of here.”

I heard the sound of somepony storming off, followed by the slam of a door.

Moments later, a striped face popped into the room.

She looked at me with an irritated expression.

I quirked an eyebrow at her as she stared at me with a pair of dark green eyes. Her mostly stripeless face was covered in dirt and muck, and her barding looked like it was several sizes too big. Her long striped mane hung down near her-

“Zeed?” I blinked. “Holy crap, I hardly recognized you. I’m used to seeing you with a red mane.”

“No fucking duh.” She grumbled. “Took me forever to get the dye out.”

“Aren’t you a little short to be a raider?” I asked. “And why are you wearing slaver gear?”

“I thought I’d join in on the pillaging and… and raping…” She shook her head. “What happened to your horn?”

I shrugged. “I woke up and it was like this.”

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed a healing potion from a nearby first aid box, popped the cork, and grabbed my head.

Then, completely ignoring my protests and gasps of pain, she proceeded to screw the glass bottle onto my horn.

I stood there for a moment, holding my now-aching head with a forehoof.

“Zeed… Why?” I asked quietly. “Why did you attach a bottle to my head?”

“The potion’ll pull the bone back together.” She replied. “Just leave it there and you’ll be fine in an hour or so. Where’s Raid?”

“Ow… we got separated when I was knocked out. I have no idea where he is.”

“What about my dad? You seen him?”

“Uh…”

She glared at me. “You completely forgot what we were here for, didn’t you?”

“Well… I…”

“Dammit, Knives!” She growled. “I don’t even…”

She let out a loud groan of frustration.

“Zeed, are you alright? Did something happen?” I put a hoof on her shoulder. “Uh… where… exactly did you get this barding.”

She blushed. “You’d be amazed at how many ponies are willing to do… stuff with a stranger in the early hours of the morning.”

“Okay. I wish I didn’t ask.”

“So do I.” She sighed. “Why did you drop your accent?”

I froze. “W-what?”

“Yeah. You’re actually talking normal for once.”

She started cackling somewhere in the back of my mind.

“W-well… N-no reason. Hehehe…” I chuckled nervously.

“You didn’t even notice!” She laughed. “You had no idea the whole time!”

“Knives, are you okay? You’re looking a bit pale.”

“I-Ah’m fine. Heh. Dunnae worry about me…” I swallowed. “So… eh…. What… what does yer dad look like, eh?”

“Too late now, Knives…”

I swallowed again, and forced myself to focus on what Zeed was saying, pushing her as far back into her cage as I could get her.

The zebra let out another frustrated sigh. “Green eyes, solid white mane, scar on his cheek-“

“Talks a bit fast?”

“He used to talk really fast. He was kinda hyper befo- YOU SAW HIM?” She suddenly jumped into my face with a look of shock. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

“Ack! He’s fine! He was in the cells down… wherever the hell that was.”

“He was in the police station?” Her eyes widened. “Oh mother of Luna they’re gonna make him fight. Oh fuck, what am I gonna do?”

“Well ye should calm down fer one.”

“I doubt she’ll listen.”

“I can’t even get in there! They wouldn’t let me in without permission from their boss. I just spent the last couple of hours trying to find a way to get to you and Raid.”

“Hey! You done in there, yet?” Somepony called from outside. “Hurry the fuck up!”

Zeed looked at me, then the door, then back to me, and then to the door again. “Shit…”

“Relax, Zeed. Ah’ll be fine. If Ah see yer dad again, Ah’ll tell ‘im yer lookin’.”

Though she was nervously biting her lip, she nodded. “Uh… Good luck, Knives.”

“By th’ way, Aam goin’ by ‘Purity’ right nao. Just in case of…” I paused. “… Stuff…”

She raised an eyebrow. “Okay… I’ll see if I can find Raid, or Stock.”

With that, I left the medical bay, and made my way towards the exit, where Bilge and Meda waited with our mutual slaver friend. Meda tried and failed to suppress a laugh as she caught sight of the bottle on my horn. She stopped when I shot her a glare.

The slaver snorted. “Armory’s next.”

He pushed us through more corridors for several minutes until we reached a room with a large, wire-mesh fence leading outside, and walls covered in an assortment of weapons and armors.

“You have two hours to get ready. If you’re not, we’ll blow the collars.” He spat on the ground and trotted back out the door, locking it behind him.

I snorted in irritation and, while Bilge and Meda began to browse one wall of the room, quickly scanned the weaponry. I was sorely disappointed to see that, while not broken, most of the equipment was in the absolute worst quality.

Within the space of a few minutes, every single knife in the room was on the bench in the middle of the room. The effort had made my horn throb with excruciating pain, but I was glad my magic was working enough that I could actually use it.

I started to sharpen the knives on each other. It was probably the worst way to do the job, and it was slow going, but I eventually ended up with a useable knife.

Then I looked over the barding, and groaned as I grabbed a few of them and started patching them together.

“What are you doing?” Meda’s voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

“Aam tryin’ tae fix these.” I grunted.

The other zony blinked at me. “Why are you talking like that?”

“That’s a good question, isn’t it Knives… maybe you should tell her?” She whispered in my ear. I swallowed and tried to push her back down.

“Ah just am, all right?” I snapped back.

“Okay, okay!” She backed away from me, and returned to helping Bilge into a set of metal barding, her own set of padded barding already donned. “Sorry… Goddesses, what is with you?”

“Alright, scabs! Time’s up, haha!” The slaver slammed the door open.

I swore, and slung the padded barding over my back. It was still shoddy and pretty much useless, but it was better than nothing.

“Oh, you three are gonna be slaughtered.” The slaver chuckled. “Boss says you’re fighting one of his gladiators! Hah!”

Bilge groaned and shook his head, nearly hitting me with his sledgehammer in the process. “I’m fucking screwed.”

Meda sighed. “You and me both.”

I rolled my eyes at them.

The wire mesh fence rolled off to the side, and the slaver ushered us out, quickly pulling it shut as he sat on the bench to watch.

I recognized the place as the pit that had been dug into the middle of the city. It was a lot deeper than I’d thought, with multiple mesh fences put together quite a way up to make a kind of net. Around the edges of the pit was a very large number of slavers, all cheering and screaming for blood, with even more slaves amongst them simply watching us with dead eyes. The dirt floor had four large posts with chains attached to them near the center of the… I guess it was a ring. There was another wire mesh fence on the opposite side of the area, painted blue. Taking a glance behind me, I saw that ours had been painted red in a similar manner.

“Welcome my bretheren!” Growled a voice over the comm system. Almost instantly the crowd grew quiet. ”We are gathered here today to witness what happens when you defy the Bone Eaters.”

The voice was responded to with roars of agreement.

”Early this morning, a trio of zonies made an attempt to escape by creating a fake attack by the assassin known as ‘Hearteater’. This is an insult…” The voice made a pensive growling noise. ” And this is disobedience. A slave should not try and run from their master. A slave should not insult their master. Yet these three have seen fit to try and do just that. And they have failed.”

The red gate opened. I heard loud, metallic barking sounds.

”I give you those three who caused that panic. Those three who thought they could defy us,” the voice continued. ”Tonight, we will give them a trial. If they survive it… maybe we’ll set them free.”

I braced myself, taking on a defensive stance.

”You may begin.”

From beyond the gate, three silvery shapes shot out, heading across the field and straight towards us.

The first tackled me, throwing me to the floor as it snapped it’s jaws at me, held back only by my hoof against its throat. Its tail lashed at my sides, but only managed to make small cuts on my flanks.

I glanced to my sides to see Meda in a similar position to myself, and Bilge frantically swinging his sledgehammer at the ironwolf going after him.

I levitated out my knife, and quickly stuck it into my opponent’s mouth. As soon as the ironwolf closed its jaws, it howled in pain, the knife piercing the roof of its mouth.

Pulling it out quickly, I stabbed the wolf in the throat, temporarily interrupting its howl. Keeping the blade in its flesh, I dragged the knife down towards its collarbone.

It pulled away from me, making sounds that resembled metallic coughing. I leapt on it and stabbed my knife into the base of its neck, wriggling the blade around for good measure, and the creature dropped to the ground.

Seeing that Meda was still holding off one of the other wolves, I charged into the one that had its jaws around Bilge’s tail, slowly dragging him backward as he desperately flailed the sledgehammer, his metal armor now heavily dented from the ironwolf’s tail strikes.

The ironwolf was launched back several feet as I body-slammed it, and Bilge scrambled away.

I flipped the knife over in my magical grip, preparing to charge the ironwolf again as it slowly stood back up, its white glowing eyes staring right into mine, its tail twitching violently.

”Don’t you just love fights?”

Her whisper startled me, and the wolf took the opportunity to slam into me. There was a loud crack, and I screamed in pain.

"Ooh… right in the ribs.” She chortled. ”Try not to get killed.”

I grunted in pain as I forced myself to my hooves. I was just in time to be tackled again, this one pinning me down as its companion had.

Despite the pain in my chest, I managed to hold it at bay with the use of both hooves while it continuously tried to snap at my face. I tried to drive the knife into this one’s throat as well, but the ironwolf grabbed hold of the blade with its teeth and started lashing at me with its tail instead.

I swore loudly. I could barely hear the crowd scream with excitement.

Then the wolf’s head collapsed on top of me, howling with pain. I shoved its head out of my way to see Bilge start repeatedly whacking the thing’s back. He kept going until there was a loud crack, and the ironwolf stopped moving.

He stood there, panting as I wriggled my way out from under the thing. I smiled at him. “And ye thought ye coulnae fight.”

Then Meda was thrown into one of the posts in the middle of the pit.

I turned just in time to see the last ironwolf leaping at me, and managed to duck out of its way. It went sailing over me and into the wall. It stumbled back for a moment, apparently stunned.

Bilge ran up to it and slammed the sledgehammer into its hind legs. I followed up by grabbing its neck with my fetlocks and jabbing the knife into its spine. Then we continued beating it until I managed to pull its head off, due to repeated stabs.

I was a bit surprised to see that, instead of flesh and blood, the insides of the thing were comprised of something like concrete dust and oddly clean, shiny rebar surrounded by a metallic skin. There was no blood, or any kind of liquid at all, though a small amount of dust did fall away from the wound.

I smirked. “That was actually easier than th’ last ones Ah fought.”

I suddenly realized that the crowd was still cheering.

“Uh… alright… we killed them… what’s going on?” I asked the others. “Aren’t we done, yet?”

I glanced around.

“Meda? Bilge? Are ye two alright?”

Meda groaned. “I’m gonna be a bit sore, but I’m fine.”

“I…” I could see Bilge smiling beneath his helmet. “I feel pretty good, actually.”

The crowd’s cheering had turned into an unintelligible chant.

“What th’ fuck are they doin’?” I growled. “We killed th’ damn-“

“Purity!” Meda called.

Something stabbed me in the back, and I screamed out in pain, the severed head dropping out of my hooves and falling to the ground.

My cry was drowned out by a howl resembling nuts and bolts stuffed into a blender.

Craning my neck, I saw that the first ironwolf was now standing just behind me, about to try and bite down into my neck. I ducked and jammed the knife into its eye.

Meda galloped up and threw a punch into its jaw.

It whipped its tail into her side.

I drove the knife into its other eye, and it howled.

There was a clacking sound in front of me, and I looked over to see the severed head snapping towards me as its body began to move around.

My eyes widened in shock. In a desperate attempt to kill the damn thing, I stomped on its head, but while its skull was crushed, its body continued to move around.

“What the fuck!” I screamed. “This didn’t happen last time!”

The second wolf was still where we’d left it, its back end writhing about, making loud grinding noises as it apparently righted whatever bones it had.

The first one was lashing its tail about wildly, stumbling around and rubbing at its now-empty eye sockets.

Number two started to approach Bilge, who nervously backed away from it step-for-step.

Meda charged it.

It swung its tail at her in an attempt to drive her away, but at the last second, she stopped on her front legs, using her momentum to swing her back ones around, and delivered a full-force two-legged buck to the ironwolf’s face, making its head spin around past what any living thing would be able to take, but receiving the business end of its tail in her gut. She gasped as the force of her blow pulled the blade out, and left her bleeding out in the middle of the ring.

I ran up to her. “Fuck, are you okay?”

She put a forehoof to her stomach. When she pulled it away it was covered in blood. She shook her head, not removing her gaze from her reddened hoof.

I desperately tried to think of anything I could do to stop her from dying.

Number three’s body found its head, and the appendage began to gradually reshape itself.

Number one roared. The blinded ironwolf turned its head towards us, its ears a-twitch, and howled.

I narrowed my eyes at it and growled.

I stepped away from Meda, and slowly started walking towards it.

It did the same.

We circled each other for what felt like forever.

We kept going…

And going…

It charged.

I charged.

We collided half-way.

I drove my knife into its throat.

It drove its tail into my side.

I stabbed it in the eye socket.

It broke another one of my ribs.

I cut off the end of its tail.

It bit down on my leg.

My knife cut its chest open.

It howled in pain.

I cut out a piece of its new torso cavity.

It let out a sound like a gasp.

I cut away more of its dusty flesh.

It howled again.

My efforts revealed a small rod, glowing with yellowish-green energy.

I hit it.

I hit it again.

And again.

The rod cracked, and the glow dissipated in a small puff.

The ironwolf fell limp. Its skin immediately began to crack, and it fell apart into a pile of dust and rebar.

I spun around and charged at number three, now with its head back in place, screaming in rage.

I blinded it with two quick stabs to the eyes.

I cut into its spine until there was little left.

I didn’t give it a chance to respond.

I hit, and hit and hit.

Everything became a blur as I tore the beast apart, piece by piece, throwing chunks of its dust-filled body away until I reached and destroyed the green rod at its core.

Screaming, I shoved somepony aside to get to number two.

I cut it, again and again and again and again.

I stood there, panting, as I watched the glow leave the core of the last ironwolf.

All of my fury left me, and I fell onto my haunches, panting.

The crowd was silent.

I realized that it had been for quite a while.

Then they erupted into cheers.

~~~~~

“And this is the kitchen,” the zebra said when he pointed to a room filled with random junk and several refrigerators. “It’s where I keep about a quarter of my food and my waffle iron collection.”

Wretch worked her jaw for a moment, trying to figure out something to say about this.

Green, on the other hoof, seemed absolutely intrigued by Xixixix’s every word.

“This is my bedroom, where I store the mayonnaise.” He continued matter-of-factly. “For research purposes.”

Wretch grimaced. “Uh… why are you giving us a tour, exactly?”

“Huh, what?” Xixixix turned and blinked at the pink mare. “Oh… I kinda forgot why I brought you two in here to begin with. Sorry.”

Wretch deadpanned at him.

The zebra shrugged. “I did apologize.”

“Memory orbs.” The unicorn growled.

“Oh! Right. That.” He turned and walked back into the living room, which was really just the main room of the empty, nondescript shop. “So, what did you want to know about them?”

“I’m looking for a specific kind of orb.” Wretch said. Black mist on the inside.”

Xixixix put a hoof to his chin and hrrm-ed thoughtfully. “Nope. Never heard of ‘em.”

“Are you sure?” The pink mare’s eyes widened. “He told me I needed to find one. He told me they hold more than just memories.”

Xixixix blinked. “Now that I’ve heard of. There was some old project where they were trying to create a more… advanced memory orb. Didn’t work the way it was supposed to. I don’t think they had a chance to finish it before the bombs fell.”

“Do you know where I can find that project?” Wretch asked hopefully.

The zebra grinned widely. “Nope! I have no fucking idea! Eh… sorry miss…”

Green looked up from the waffle iron she was examining.

“But,” he added quickly. “I do know where to find how I can find where to find the way to find it.”

As he nodded smugly, Wretch blinked in confusion. “What?”

“I can help you find it.” He smirked. “I am an expert on all things memory orb, after all.”

“How is a zebra an expert on something that needs unicorns?” Green asked.

“Canturbury Tech Memory Thingamabob.” Xixixix replied. “I swear, that’s the actual, patented name. Kinda like one of those recollectors, but it’s supposed to be able to put memories in, and not just pull them out.”

He chuckled. “I love those crazy scientists.”

He led the two ponies into yet another room, this one housing a large, clockwork contraption.

Green oooh-ed at it. Wretch simply frowned.

“Yup. That’s pretty much my reaction.” He smiled.

“Can we get on with this? I’d like to do my job, please. I’d really rather not disappoint him,” Wretch sighed.

“Oh, alright. If you insist.” Xixixix huffed indignantly. “It’ll take a few hours to search through the orbs, though. So you’ll have to be patient.”

Wretch’s eye twitched. Green returned to inspecting the waffle iron.

“Why?” Wretch asked nopony in particular. “Just… why?”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level Up! (12)
Repair: 100 (maximum achieved)
Melee: 89

Perks:
Intense Training: +1 strength. Strength is now 5.

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP: ???%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

-Find Knives

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

-Find a way inside Raftwater without getting killed

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.

Sifting through the dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

3)–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

Author's Note

I have absolutely nothing to say except that I have absolutely nothing to say and to say that I have absolutely nothing to say about having absolutely nothing to say.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Horseshoes Are Supposed To Be Lucky

Chapter Twenty-Two: Horseshoes Are Supposed To Be Lucky
“We tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does...”

The pink unicorn pranced down the hallway, a smug look on her face, nose pointed in the air.

I forced down a laugh as Clothesline approached the target zone. Ashes had to keep her fetlocks clamped around to muzzle to suppress her own laughter..

The pink filly continued down the corridor.

Her leg snagged on the tripwire, which immediately snapped.

From the door in front of her, a small metal catapult swung out. It released its payload, and the cream pie was sent sailing through the air.

The confectionary hit Clothesline directly in the face with a loud SPLAT.

Ashes and I burst into laughter, falling out of the closet we were hiding in.

The pie tin slowly slid off Clothesline’s muzzle, revealing the shocked, goo-covered expression of the filly beneath it.

It made us laugh even harder.

Regained her senses, Clothesline growled. “What. The. Hell.”

“You should see the look on your face,” Ashes gasped. “Priceless!”

“You ruined my mane, stupid!” The pink filly screamed. “It’s gonna take forever to get this stuff out!”

I was laughing so hard that I could barely breathe.

“Oh, lighten up.” Ashes snorted. “We’re only having fun.”

“Only foals would think this is funny! You’re ten!” Clothesline growled. “This isn’t funny at all.”

“Y-yes it- aha- is!” I managed to rasp out. “Just look at you!”

Her horn glowed, and the pie-goop on her face exploded, spraying the walls, floor, Ashes, and myself in apple meringue.

Ashes burst into laughter again as she wiped some of the goo off her face, and flicked it right back at Clothesline, where it landed on her nose.

The unicorn’s face turned red. “This is attacking a Guard, you know!”

“Pffft, no it isn’t.” I said. “You’re too young to be a guard.”

“Yeah, and even then, I would be a guard too.” The grey filly licked some pie off her nose. “And I say it’s okay.”

Clothesline snarled. “I’m gonna tell my mom!”

Ashes blew a raspberry. “Your mom can’t do anything unless the warden says so.”

“Th-then I’ll get my dad to-“

I blew a raspberry of my own.

“Shut up!” The unicorn screamed. “Why are you always bugging me?”

“Us?” I asked incredulously. “You came over here. And you’re always talking like you’re so much better than everypony.”

“Well at least both of my parents are still here!”

At that, Ashes’ face fell, and her ears went back against her head.

I narrowed my eyes at Clothesline. “That was mean.”

“You threw a pie at me!” She yelled.

“Yeah, well you hurt Ashes’ feelings!” I yelled back.

“Diamond…” Ashes gently poked me in the shoulder. “Let’s just go home.”

After sticking my tongue out at Clothesline, I turned and followed the earth pony.

“Go cry to your stupid mom.Oh, wait.” She pointed a hoof towards me. “Only you can.”

Her expression turned into a smug smile. Ashes’ eyes teared up.

My hoof slammed into Clothesline’s face.

~~~~

I couldn’t seem to stand.

I turned my head to see Bilge trying to help Meda, holding his hooves down on her wound in an attempt to stop the blood.

My own coat was covered in a mix of ironwolf dust and blood, making a greyish-red sludge.

“Purity!”

I blinked.

“Purity, throw me that potion!”

Bilge was yelling at me.

“The one on your horn, hurry!”

Confused, I put a hoof to my horn, to find it blocked by a glass bottle.

“Throw it here!”

I pulled the bottle off my horn with a quiet pop, and chucked it to him with a telekinetic punt. There was barely anything left in it.

Bilge poured it onto Meda’s gut wound, and within seconds, her bleeding subsided.

I tried to stand, and collapsed back onto the ground in a heap.

That growling voice on the comm system started talking about another fight, but I was too tired to pay attention.

Then I was roughly grabbed by the shoulders, and dragged out of the pit.

Glancing around, I saw that we were all being hauled away by two slavers, one carrying Meda, another carrying Bilge and myself. Meda and I were leaving blood trails behind us, hers much thicker than mine.

”Oh look… Little Miss Knives is hurt again.” She snarked. I could almost hear her grinning.

“Fuck you…” I mumbled, feeling woozy.

I coughed and spluttered as a potion was forced down my throat.

Somepony thumped me on the back. “Shut up, scab. You’re fine.”

A bit more coughing cleared the liquid from my lungs.

“So, here’s how it is scabs…” Said one of the slavers. “We’re gonna lock you back in here ‘till your friend gets up. If she gets up. Heh. And if she doesn’t? Well, you’re going in… with… out… Holy fucking shit…”

I craned my neck to see what he was gawking at, and promptly joined him.

The door to one of the cells, the one just across from mine, was forcibly removed. The metal bars sat against the opposite wall, its former wall mounting now little more than chunks of concrete scattered on the floor, the wall itself now bearing large holes.

“Gentlecolts.”

The slavers, Bilge, and I all turned to see a grinning zebra stallion casually standing just behind us.

“You may have a security breach.”

He lashed out one of his front hooves, delivering an uppercut into the jaw of the bigger slaver carrying me, sending him tumbling backwards.

The smaller one responded quickly, dropping Meda and drawing a shock baton. He charged the zebra, who spun around and delivered a full force buck to the face with both hooves. While a sickening crunch signified the slaver’s end, the zebra lost his balance, hissing in pain while he grabbed his right hind leg.

The first slaver stood, picking up his comrade’s baton in his teeth and screamed bloody murder. Still on the floor, I managed to quickly muster what little focus I could, and magically took hold of the baton. With a telekinetic kick, I forced the weapon out of the earth pony’s teeth. With another, I drove it right back. He fell to the ground and had his head stomped in.

The effort nearly made me black out.

The zebra’s head popped into my vision, which had become blurry. He was asking me questions, but I couldn’t make any sense of his words.

He grimaced and said something to somepony else.

I clenched my eyes shut and tried to focus.

“-with a knife? Well fuck, I need a buzz-rifle to deal with those things. Not bad.”

“not b- they’re bleeding out!”

“Relax. Just grab those potions from fat-ass’s pocket. I can see them hanging out.” The zebra chuckled. “You are one panicky buck, you know that?”

“D-dammit... whatever your name is! I’m a hooker not a doctor!”

“Seriously? How the fuck did you get into that job?” The striped stallion snorted. Something tapped me on the cheek. “Here. Drink this.”

I happily obliged, gulping down the potion as fast as I could.

Within seconds, I felt much better than before, albeit exhausted.

I tried to sit up, but didn’t really manage to do anything more than squirm weakly.

Somewhere behind me, Meda let out a long, miserable moan.

The zebra patted me on the shoulder. “You still with me?”

“So… fucking… tired…” I replied, panting for a moment. “Nezan Kazdri?”

He blinked at me. “Yeah. Didn’t think anyone around here knew me. Or, wait… I don’t owe you money, do I?”

“Here with your daughter… Trying to get you out.”

He gave me a doubtful look. “My daughter is safe in Bladesville. With her mother.”

“Other daughter. Zeed.”

His eyes widened. “Wat.”

“Infer… Infermerrr… Ughhh…” I managed to put a hoof to my head. “Can’t brain… so dizzy… I think she’s in the infirmary.”

“WHAT?”

I tried to talk again, but my jaw didn’t seem to want to cooperate.

He growled, and hauled me onto his back. “We’ll talk later. C’mon. We’re taking these two to the infirmary.”

“They’ll shoot us the moment they see us.” Bilge sighed.

“Yeah, well they’re bleeding out, and I have a sprained pastern.” Nezan snorted. “Word of advice: don’t buck someone in the face when you’ve got a sprain.”

“No, really?”

“Yes. Now lead the way.”

We moved through the police station as fast as we could manage, me barely managing to cling to Nezan’s back as he limped along.

”Wow, Knives…You sure like getting hurt.”

I don’t know how long it took, but eventually, Bilge pointed to a door labeled ‘forensics’, and we barreled through it.

“Alright, listen up- oh, there’s nobody here.” Nezan said, slamming the door shut. “Quick, grab what you can and I’ll barricade the door.”

“You know we’re wearing collars, right?” Bilge replied as he gently placed Meda on a gurney and began searching through the cabinets and metal boxes scattered throughout the room.

Nezan growled. “Fuck, you’re right… we’ll have to think of something. Maybe I can find some scrap and make a-”

Nezan was shoved aside as the door slammed open again.

“Outa my way, medical emergency!” The striped mare cried. “Where did you idiots put the potions?”

“Hey!” Bilge yelped as he was shoved aside.

The mare started grabbing bottles and shoving them in a bag.

“Zeed…” I croaked.

“Not now, Knives I’m trying to…” her head snapped up to look at me. “Knives? How the hell did- When did-?”

“Axy?” Nezan said.

“Axy?” I muttered.

Zeed spun around, finally noticing that there were other ponies in the room. Her jaw dropped. “Dad?”

They stared at each other for a moment.

Nezan’s wide grin returned, and he shot over to pull his daughter into a hug, while she responded in kind.

“Bwahahaahh! Axy it’s really you!” Nezan cried.

“I almost thought I’d never see you again!”

“Oh, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you, kiddo.”

“Where have you been, dad?”

“Oh, you know, just fucking up my leg by kicking down a door.“ He rose an eyebrow upon seeing Zeed’s expression of shock. “We should probably deal with the wound- eh... severely wounded first, don’t you think?”

“Great idea. You!” She rolled several potions over to Bilge. “Give these to Knives.”

“Who?”

“Ugh! Purity! Whatever. just hurry up, we don’t have much time.”

She frantically went over Meda’s wounds as she spoke, not even looking up from her work. Nezan began to stack things in front of the door. Bilge, with a look of confusion on his face, held one of the potions to my mouth, which I drank down greedily.

I was on my third potion by the time I felt well enough to stand on my own, if a bit unsteadily.

By my fourth, Zeed had finished shooting Meda up with healing potions, and the zony’s wounds were almost healed, though she had passed out.

Zeed immediately popped back over to give Nezan another hug. I couldn’t help but snort a laugh.

“Shut up, Knives!” She snapped at me. “We still need to find your coltfriend.”

I blushed. “He’s nae… och fuck it. Ye know where he is?”

“Yeah. Somewhere in the police station last I knew. They caught him trying to sneak in.” She replied.

Nezan shook his head in disbelief. “Why would someone break into a slaver camp?”

Zeed smirked at him. “Gee I dunno, dad... Maybe to free their father or something like that?”

The older zebra stared at her for a moment. “No weapons, no plan, just you and a couple of friends sneaking your way past a horde of raving nutcases that make ‘paths look normal by comparison...”

Zeed winced and shuffled her hooves.

“Oh dear Luna, you are definitely my daughter.”

A wide grin spread across Nezan’s face as he pulled his daughter into another hug.

”Awww... look at that.” She muttered. ”Doesn’t it just make you miss daddy?

”Shut up... just... sh-shut up...” I forced her back down, feeling tears sting my eyes.

“Anyway...” Nezan released his daughter from their hug. “We need a way to get rid of the collars first. I’m sorta using my head right now, and I’d rather not have it blown up.”

Zeed tapped her chin with a forehoof. “Maybe we could make a fair-day cage?”

The older zebra shook his head. “Already thought of that. We wouldn’t be able to make a mobile one that’ll stay grounded. Maybe we could rig up a jammer?”

“We don’t know the frequency.” Said Zeed.

“Jukebox incident.”

Zeed grimaced. “Right, but we don’t have any of those available right now.”

As I watched the two throw ideas back and forth, I stared at the collar on Bilge’s neck, trying to think of a way to remove the collars myself. Sure, I could have tried to pry them apart and disable them, but that was hard to do when they were assembled, and it would likely be a process of trial-and-error. I doubted I could get, or even want, willing participants for that.

I realized something.

“Wouldn’t they need tae keep a key around here if they need tae get th’ collars off th’ slaves?”

Both of the zebras blinked at me for a moment, then turned back to each other.

“She’s right.” Said the elder.

“Well, yeah, but the slavers wouldn’t keep the key in here. Somepony might get the same idea Knives did.” The younger zebra replied.

“Do you know if there’s a head medic?” Nezan asked.

“Uh… Yes! I think he lives on the floor just above this one. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” With that, she darted off, shoving aside Nezan’s barricade and slipping through the door, leaving her father staring after her, grinning with pride.

Then his grin changed into a look of horror as he realized what she just said. “Wait, Axy! Ah crap… she’s gone…”

There was no response other than the fading of Zeed’s hoofsteps.

Nezan swore again.

I rubbed my aching head and moaned.

“Great…” Nezan sighed. “Now I’m nervous. I hate being nervous.”

“Why dae ye keep callin’ her ‘Axy’?”

He blinked at me. “Because of her name?”

“Her name is Axy…” I raised an eyebrow.

“What? No, that’s just what I call her. Shouldn’t you know this?” He smiled. “Her name’s Axadel.”

“Ah thought her name was ‘Vazjir’.”

“Ah… I get it.” He smiled. “I’m gonna shut up now. I’m sure she has a reason for not telling.”

“Wait, not telling what?”

“While this bantering is fun,” Bilge interrupted. “I think we have more important things to worry about.”

“Hey, pipe down. This is the first time I’ve seen my oldest daughter in eleven years,” Nezan retorted. “I think I have the right to be happy about that.”

His ear twitched, and he frowned. “The hell was that?”

My own ears perked up as I tried to hear what he was talking about. It was quiet, and sounded like somepony was screaming.

Then the ceiling started shaking. I could hear the pounding of hooves from the floor above us. A bit of dust landed in my left eye. I swore loudly as I tried to dig it out.

I was distracted when part of the ceiling exploded. Chunks of concrete, rebar, and a cloud of dust rained down on us. After the ringing in my ears passed, I realized that the sound actually was screaming. Specifically, Zeed screaming in panic, her voice accompanied by the sound of raging slavers as they shot down the hallways.

“AXY!” Nezan tried to charge out of the room, but gasped in pain as he put weight on his back hoof.

Several more holes appeared in the ceiling, though these ones were made by bullets instead of giant ear-destroying explosives.

Snarling with irritation, I snatched a medical brace and a syringe of Med-X from a nearby table and floated it over onto Nezan’s leg. With a grateful expression, he fastened the brace, took the full dose of the drug, and swiftly limped out of the room, calling for Zeed.

Though I was still a bit dizzy, I followed him.

We followed the shooting, screaming, and explosions for a minute until we reached a staircase. Just as we began to climb up, Zeed came galloping down, screaming her head off.

“FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA RUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!” her voice faded as she rounded a corner.

A grenade bounced down the staircase.

Yelping in surprise, I scrambled away from it.

Nezan just smirked and flicked it back up the stairs with a fetlock.

I heard several slavers scream in pain when it exploded.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Nezan called back to me, galloping after Zeed.

“HEY! GET OVER HERE!” A slaver yelled.

He shot at me, I yelped and ran after Nezan.

I kept hearing explosions and gunshots just behind me as I ran. The battle cries and death threats from the slavers echoed through my ears.

Sweat dripped down my face, stinging my eyes.

It was getting harder to breathe.

I’d already started wheezing.

I rounded another corner. The two zebras were getting further and further away.

I think my tail was on fire.

I was starting to slow down. I tried to push harder but I just couldn’t keep going.

Another corner.

I struggled to keep ahead of the slavers. I risked a glance back to see that they were slowly gaining ground.

Another corner.

Breath getting ragged.

Getting dizzier.

Another corner.

Almost tripped on my own hooves.

My eyes widened when I realized how far away Zeed and Nezan were. How close the slavers were.

Pushed myself harder.

Another corner.

So far away now.

Legs felt like lead.

Sweat in my eyes.

Head spinning.

The slavers still shouting their death threats. Just lucky none of the grenades actually hit me.

Another corner.

I was yanked to the side by a striped foreleg. I struggled against it, frantically, trying to push it away, beating at its owner with my hooves.

“Ouch! Knives! Calm down! It’s-ow- me!”

I stopped fighting and looked. Zeed was holding me down, trying to keep me from hitting her in the face.

“Z… Zuh… Zuh…” I swallowed. My head was still spinning. My breath was ragged, and coming in short gasps.

She helped me back to my hooves, and I put a hoof over my chest, continuing to wheeze loudly.

“Knives, are you okay?”

“I… I juh… can’t breathe… Gugh… need… need to lie down…”

I flopped back onto the floor, curling up into a ball and trying to calm down.

“Wow. Is she gonna be alright?” Nezan asked.

“She should be. I think she’s just exhausted. She did lose a lot of blood earlier.”

“Yeah, with the trail she was leaving behind I’m amazed she’s still alive.”

“Keh… Key?” I gasped.

Zeed grinned, put a hoof to one side of her nose, and blew. There was the tink of metal on linoleum as the key flew out of her nose. “Yup! Asshole had it on his desk. I just barely managed to snatch it off him before he woke up.”

Nezan raised an eyebrow. “The slavers?”

“Well… he woke up, so…”

“Right.” Nezan chuckled. “Let’s get these off.”

Zeed grinned. “Snot a problem.”

Nezan laughed. I groaned.

She grabbed the key in a fetlock and moved over to her father. With a smile, she stuck the key in the lock. Her face fell when she tried to turn it.

She groaned and threw the key against the wall. “Dammit.”

I blinked. “What’s wrong?”

“I grabbed the wrong one!” She swore repeatedly.

Nezan patted her on the shoulder. “It’s alright, Axy. We can find one somewhere else.”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “I know… I just… Ugh, dammit…”

“What are we goin’ tae dae, then? Ah doubt we can get out ay here with these damn thing oan.”

“I think we should go find Raid.” She said. “At least then we can get it all done at once.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Nezan said. “I’d like to fix this busted leg too.”

Zeed smiled. “Alright. Let’s go!”

~~~~~

Both ponies stared at the zebra, who was currently sitting in a chair connected to the machine, with a helmet on his head, and a blank expression on his face. A small bucket of clearish-white orbs sat on his right side, another sat on his left.

Wretch tapped a hoof impatiently.

Green munched on another yucca fruit.

After several minutes, Xixixix blinked, and popped a memory orb out of the back of the helmet and tossing it into the bucket on his left.

“Nope. Not that one either.” He said, grabbing an orb out of the bucket on the right.

Wretch growled in frustration. “Of for the- alright, that’s it. I’m going in too. What are we looking for?”

Xixixix blinked again. “Uh… anything related to programing or psychology? Are you sure you want to? There’s some pretty nasty stuff in these.”

“Yes! There’s something that I need to do, and this is taking forever.” She sighed. “Green? This is gonna take a while, alright? You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”

Green blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Wretch raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to stay here? You can do whatever you want. Explore the Mall, make some friends. You know, just do whatever?”

“Oh… um… Okay?” Green looked at Wretch, blinking repeatedly. “Uh… bye?”

With that, the pegasus awkwardly left the room.

“Nice filly. Bit dumb, though isn’t she?” Xixixix smirked.

Wretch glared at him. “She’s been a slave her whole life.”

“And you’re just throwing her out?”

“I’m not throwing her out!”

“I meant into the city. If she’s been a slave she might not be used to taking making her own decisions.” The zebra replied matter-of-factly.

Wretch worked her jaw for a moment, trying to think of a response. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Green wandered through the walkways of the Mall, taking in the sights and marveling at pretty much everything she saw. Particularly the neon signs. She really liked those.

With a smile, she sat on a bench and ate another bit of yucca.

She almost dropped it when a loud crash made her jump.

Over in one of the alley between the stores, two ponies were fighting. More accurately, a unicorn colt was running from an infuriated mare, laughing and taunting her as she repeatedly swiped at him.

“Come back here you little shit!” She shrieked.

“Make me!” He replied.

Green watched this with some confusion, unsure of whether she should get involved or not.

The choice was taken from her as the mare clipped the colt’s leg, and he was sent tumbling into Green’s bench.

“Owwww...” he said.

“Alright, little filly...” The mare said as she slowly stomped her way towards the two ponies.. “Just back away slowly, and I won’t hurt ya. I’m only after this little fuck.”

Green blinked. “Uh...”

The colt’s eyes widened, and he scrambled to his hooves. “Oh crap...”

“C’mon, squirt. Just leave now. His daddy pissed me off and I want some payback.” She grinned at the colt, who swallowed in fear.

Green looked around for anypony that could help, but nopony seemed to be paying any attention to the incident in the middle of the walkway. “Well...”

“It’s a simple request, ya little rat. Just get the fuck out of my way and-HEY!”

Green spun around, her wings flaring, and started pushing the colt down the street.

The mare screamed angrily, and started chasing after them.

Green squeaked in fear, being reminded of one of Bark’s drunken rages, and pushed the other foal harder. The colt’s horn began to glow, and a nearby stack of crates was knocked over into the raging mare’s path. To his chagrin, she leapt over it with ease.

Green frantically looked around, trying to find a way to escape. The alleyways were too far away, nopony was paying even the slightest amount of attention to them, and any stores probably wouldn’t appreciate them leading a psychopath into their premises. Glancing up, Green grinned.

She grabbed the colt around the chest, and flapped her wings as hard as she could. She was just in time to barely avoid another swing from the mare. She screamed at the two as Green flew to the top floor of the Mall.

Green landed on the broken concrete, panting with the effort of having carried another pony of her size to that height.

“Hey...” The colt said. “Thanks. I’ve been trying to get away from her for a while.”

“No... no problem...” Green managed to say.

He smiled. “I’m Barkeep! Who’re you?”

Green blinked. “Uh... I’m... uh... Green.”

Barkeep tilted his head in an inquisitive manner. “That’s your name?”

The pegasus filly nodded nervously.

Barkeep shrugged. “Okay. Wanna go get some stuff?”

“Huh?”

“You know, stuff?”

Green gave him a confused look. She continued staring at him for a moment, and eventually nodded.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP 72%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: 40%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP: ???%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

-Find Raid

-Find Knives

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

~~-Find a way inside Raftwater without getting killed~~

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

-Escape from Raftwater.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Can't... No Wait, I Can

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Can’t… No Wait, I Can
“AAAAH! Bats! Bats on my face! HEEEELP!”

I stared through the rifle’s scope from the top of the apartment complex, confused as I watched the slaver drag around the long-dead zebra.

“What the heck is he doing?” Said the disembodied voice beside me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, reflexively going into a combat position, my shotgun drawn before I realized who it was.

“Heart, stop sneaking up on me.”

The air shimmered, and a large mare with a black armored bodysuit, and a red-eyed helmet with teeth painted around the muzzle-plate, materialized in the chair beside me.

She laughed. “Sorry. I’m still getting some of the toggles mixed up.”

“Where’ve you been, anyway?” I asked.

She snorted. “Trying to get my armor on. Barely five months and I’m already having trouble with it. I shouldn’t even be showing yet. I actually had to take off a couple of the stomach plates.”

“You know, you could let somepony else take your place.” I said. “I’m pretty sure they’ll accept ‘I’m pregnant’ as an excuse.”

She laughed again. “I would if anypony else could figure out how to use it. Or fit in it.”

“In another few months you won’t fit either.” I smirked.

She shook her head. Even past the helmet, I could tell she was grinning.

“So, what’s up with him?” She nodded towards the slaver.

“I dunno. He’s just been dragging this corpse around for the past…” I looked at my pipbuck. “Half hour.”

“Can I see the scope?”

I raised an eyebrow and hoofed it over. “You don’t need to ask, you know. It’s your gun.”

She paused. “Oh… right… still not used to all this stuff.”

As she took a moment to balance on her hind legs, I shook my head in amazement. I’d only ever seen zebras fire a rifle the way she did, using her front hooves to control the thing, the trigger in her fetlock. It was weird to see her do it. She maneuvered the heavy sniper rifle with ease, looking down the scope at the slaver below.

“Well… that’s just friggin’… eugh...” She said, shuddering a bit.

“What’s he doing no-“

There was a phoot sound, as she fired the rifle. The poisoned hollow point round blew the slaver’s head apart.

“Uh…” I said.

“Sorry, but that was disgusting.” She shook her head again. “With a friggin’ corpse. What the heck is wrong with these ponies…”

I grimaced. “Never mind. I don’t want to know now.”

She plopped onto the chair, sitting biped-style, and rubbed her slightly bulging belly with a forehoof. “Oof… Aw, crud. I forgot to bring up food.”

I guffawed. “Want me to bring something up for you? I’ve got some free time right now.”

“Corn,” She said quickly. “Lots’n’lots of corn.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Corn?”

“The foal wants corn, apparently. So I’m getting a craving for corn.” She shrugged. “Would you deny a pregnant mare her cravings?”

“Weren’t you craving chalk the other day?”

“Touché, but still. I’m craving corn, so I must have corn. In abundance.” I could almost see her pouting at me inside the helmet. “Please? I’m friggin’ starving, and I’m too tired to walk back up the stairs again.”

“Well…” I said in mock thought.

“Please? I’m sooo hungry right now.” She begged, putting her forehooves together in a pleading manner. “Pretty please with lots of sugar on top?”

I laughed. “Yeah, yeah, alright. Anything else?”

“Coffee would be awesome. Preferably black as Luna’s plot.” She leaned back into her chair and rubbed her stomach again. “Hey, calm down, I’ll feed you when I can.”

I laughed again. “Yeah, you tell that unborn foal.”

~~~~

“Nine-nine-eight. Nine-nine-nine. Thousand.” I huffed and rolled over onto my side. “So… sit-ups, push-ups, wing-curls… what else?”

I started trotting in place.

“Okay…” Said the mare in the cell on my left. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I exercise when I’m bored.” I replied. “And I am very much bored.”

“That sounds stupid.” She snorted.

“No it doesn’t.” A buck snapped. “That’s a great idea! Keeps you from getting flabby.”

“Are you calling me fat?” The mare snarled.

“Yes.”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck your face!”

“Fuck your mother!”

I listened to them continue throwing curses back and forth for about a minute.

“Fuck your face with your mother’s face!”

“For the love of Celestia, shut the hell up!” A gravelly voice yelled. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Fuck you too, skinless.” The mare growled.

“I’m not the one waking everypony up with your yelling, smoothcoat, so fuck you.”

“You’re a ghoul!” She continued to yell. “You don’t even need to sleep!”

“What else am I gonna do?”

“Uh… well… I dunno, try and get out of here?” She went quiet.

“Porridge, are you insane?” The buck from before said. “They’ll just blow the collars if we try.”

The ghoul laughed.

I perked my ears, my curiosity piqued.

“The fuck’re you laughing about?” The mare snapped.

“Heh… Not very smart for a Steel Ranger, are you?” he laughed again. “Although… I guess I do have a… unique view of the situation. Heh.”

“What’re you talking about you undead freak?” She continued.

“Could tell you, but it wouldn’t really help you in here. Just make you feel even more miserable.” He let out a raspy chuckle. “And even if it did help, I don’t like you. Heh... ‘Raftwater’s big secret’.”

A nearby door slammed open. Two slavers trotted over to my cell and opened it. One pointed a rifle at my face, while another tied a rope around my neck. I was herded out, down the hallway.

“So…” I asked after a while. “Where are-Ghahgk!”

The slaver yanked on the rope around my throat. When he let go I broke into a fairly nasty coughing fit as I massaged my now probably bruised neck.

“We’re taking you to see the boss,” said the stallion with a gun. “You’re not allowed to talk to us. We’re not stopping for any reason. Even if we have to drag you by the neck.”

“And if you try anything, I’ll fucking throttle you.” Said the one with the rope.

I spat on the ground and they started pulling me away again.

As they dragged me along, I looked for an out. I didn’t even see any doors except for the one at the end of the hall. My ears went back against my head and I let out a sigh of irritation. Not anger, irritation. There’s a difference.

The door opened, and I was shoved through it. My rope was secured around a file cabinet, and the Bone Eaters promptly walked back the way we came in. Taking stock of my surroundings, I saw that I was in what looked like an overmare’s office in a stable. The large, round desk with the wall of computer terminals behind it, file cabinets in the corners, and an imposing-looking chair.

Scratch that… it was exactly like an overmare’s office, but nopony was there. Well… noone. The Bone Eater’s leader was supposedly a diamond dog, after all.

Hrrm-ing to myself, I stepped over to the main terminal. It was locked, so I didn’t even bother with it. I examined the desk. It was perfectly neat. Recently cleaned and recently used. There were papers stacked in neat little piles, each with labels like ‘fabrication’, ‘construction’, ‘inventory’, ‘brothel’.

With a raised eyebrow, I took a look at the top page of that last one. It was a list of details about a specific pony. Their measurements, their appearance. I blinked and laughed as I realized that they were actually mine. There was another page stapled to it. A transfer paper that had recently been approved.

“Wow… They really do keep paperwork.” I snorted.

“And you have no idea how hard it was to get them to go along with it.” Said a familiar growling voice behind me. I felt something press against the back of my neck. “I advise against moving.”

I froze. “Crap.”

“Chamomile, would you care to tell me why you let him look at my files?” The voice said.

The air in front of me spoke. “I wasn’t aware I was supposed to stop him, sir.”

The voice behind me sighed. “Why would I put you here if… Never mind.”

Something yanked on my shoulder, spinning me around. I ended up facing a distinctly canine, and distinctly undead, face with a disturbing grin. He wore a black pinstripe suit and a fedora. “Hello there, little slave. I’m Rex. I’ll bet you’re wondering why you’re here, eh?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s a pretty good question.”

Rex grinned wider, and turned to adjust the papers that I’d moved.. “Your little friends have made quite a mess of my city. Needless to say, I’m not happy about that.”

“Ah…” I said, nodding in agreement. “That’s a shame.”

“Indeed.” He continued. “I don’t like it when things get out of my control. Especially when it’s because of little shits like you. Breaking and entering was, at one point, illegal you know.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Oh, really? And slavery wasn’t?”

“Don’t get snarky with me, pony!” He snarled, hopping up out of his chair. I jumped and my wings flared in surprise. Some of the papers were blown out of place, and immediately replaced by the undead dog.

I mentally raised an eyebrow.

Rex growled quietly. “What makes you think you can get out of here, pony? Why do you think you can just… fight me and get away with it?”

I said nothing, but a thought popped into my head.

“Are you trying to be defiant?” he guffawed. He reached under the desk, and pulled out a box with a screen and a few buttons. I’d seen one before, but I couldn’t quite put my hoof on what it was. “I do have this, you know. Can you guess what it is?”

I faked a sneeze, making sure to flap my wings hard as I did. Several of the papers in the room were blown away by the wind. I kept careful watch on his expression.

Rex’s eye started twitching. He sighed, and got out of his chair to pick up the papers.

I quirked an eyebrow as I watched him.

Okay… the Bone Eaters are led by an obsessive-compulsive diamond dog. Interesting.

The tiny me in my head clapped his hooves sarcastically. ‘Oh, yay. You’ve managed to make a psychological diagnosis in twelve seconds. What’ll you do next, herr doctor? Find a cure for schizophrenia?’

Shut up. I’m thinking.

‘That’s a first.’

Rex finished putting his papers back, and returned to his chair.

He held up the device again. “This is the detonator for those collars that I keep around your necks. So, if you make me angry, I will use it. Clear?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “I asked if we were clear.”

“Did you just say ‘the’ detonator?” I asked.

He glared at me suspiciously. “Yes.”

“As in, it’s the only one you have?”

His face changed to a deadpan expression. “... No?”

I nodded. “Ah. Okay, just wanted to be sure.”

We remained silent for a moment.

“I gotta wonder why all your slavers keep threatening to blow us up if they don’t even have control of the collars.” I said. “Are they just stupid or something?”

“What the hell are you-“

“HOLY SHIT!” I screamed, pointing behind the ghoul.

He spun around in his chair to look behind him. I took the opportunity to grab the device out of his hand and hold it in my mouth. With a flap of my wings, I tried to fly out the door, only to slam into the empty air.

“GRAB HIM, DAMMIT!” Rex howled.

I felt an invisible hoof slam into my jaw, but I refused to let go of my grip on the detonator.

Rex dove at me. I was slammed against the wall, biting down on the device and hoping that I didn’t hit any buttons or break my teeth.

Speaking of teeth, he decided to clamp his around my hind leg. I screamed and kicked him in the face with the other one. “Get off me!”

The invisible hoof slammed into my head again. The blow knocked the detonator to the ground, where it slid out the open door.

“THE DETONATOR!” The diamond dog roared, letting go of my leg.

I took the chance to buck him in the snout and flap my wings. I shot towards the remote, grabbing it in my forehooves, and kept going down the hallway.

“Get him you useless fuck!”

“Yessir!”

I flew through the hallways, blowing past shocked slavers, knocking them over. I doubted that Chamomile would be able to keep up with me.

I didn’t stop flying until I’d found my way outside, at which point I zipped up into the top floor of an office building.

I sat on the ground, panting but smiling, as I looked out the window at the now-panicking Bone Eaters.

I blockaded the room I was in, shoving every single piece of large furniture I could find into the hallway on both sides.

“Heh…” I said. “This wasn’t as hard as I’d expected.”

I looked at the device, trying to figure out what it was.

A small metal box, with an old glass screen, a control wheel on one side, three large buttons labeled…

Status… Automaps… Archive…

I blinked, and turned the device over. A large number eighty-six was emblazoned on the back.

A pipbuck 2000.

“What the fuck?” I gaped at the device, fumbling with it as I turned it on.

“Initializing: PipOS… Complete.” The image of that irritating little cartoon pony said before the screen popped into menu mode.

“What the fuck?” I repeated. “Did he lie? Fuck… all that for… gugh…”

I clumsily flipped through the menus, the device not having been built for efficient use with hooves.

I was interrupted by a hoof slamming into my back.

Reflexively, I kicked out behind me, and was rewarded with a grunt of pain.

I tried to fly out the window, pipbuck in my teeth, but was pulled back as something wrapped around my hind leg. I fought against it, flailing my legs around until they connected with something solid.

The invisible pony screamed in pain, but held on, still pulling me back into the office.

I pulled my free leg back to kick again, when I was suddenly dragged out the window, which surprised the living shit out of me. The invisible Chamomile flew towards a building across the street from the police station as I struggled to get him to let go of my hind leg. I kicked at where I thought he was and flapped my wings as hard as I could, but I couldn’t seem to get out of his grip.

“Attention Bone Eaters! We have a loose slave in the city! Grab him and bring him back to me immediately, or I’ll have every single one of you fed to gorgons.”

A bullet whizzed past me. Another grazed my free hind leg. I screamed and grabbed the leg with my forelegs.

A third bullets passed just next to my flank, and I saw a spurt of blood from the air as it struck Chamomile, who roared in pain.

“Raid!” Called a voice from below. I glanced downward to see Knives, Zeed, and another, much larger zebra running vaguely in my direction.

Chamomile hit me in the face again. I twisted to punch at the invisible pony, and connected with something. Chamomile wobbled in the air, and we went spiraling downward, despite my desperate attempts to control our flight path.

We crashed into a salon, sending manebrushes and fur-care products flying everywhere. I think I landed on top of Chamomile, but I couldn’t’ be sure.

I grunted as I pushed myself up, and my eyes widened in terror.

Mirrors. All over the wall.

My mouth turned dry. I suddenly felt the intense urge to run, but my legs felt like jelly.

Chamomile growled from beneath me and slammed me to the floor on my back.

OH GODDESSES THE WHOLE FUCKING CEILING!

I clenched my eyes shut and tried to squirm away from the mirrors and the invisible pony holding me down, but only got hit in the head again.

Don’t look. Don’t look. It’ll be okay if you just don’t look.

I screamed when something hit me in the right wing.

You can keep going if you don’t look.

I scrambled to get away, but was grabbed by the leg.

You won’t stop existing. You’ll be okay.

“Raid!”

Chamomile hit me in the back. I screamed again.

You’ll stay real if you don’t look.

I just wanted to get away. I curled up into a ball.

A grey blur slammed into the air above me, and some glass on the floor a short distance away shattered.

“Raid, come on!” Knives said.

She dragged me out of the salon. I heard a door slam shut, and a loud crashing sound deeper in the building.

“Raid? Knives?”

“Get over here an check oan Raid. Ah think somethin’s wrong wi’ him.”

I’m real. I’m real. I’m real.

“Raid?” I felt a hoof on my shoulder. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking?”

“M-m-m-m…” I swallowed, but didn’t look up. “M-m-m-m-m-mir-r-r-r-r… Mirrors… S-s-so m-many m-mirrors. D-d-d-d-d-d-don’t wanna… w-wanna…”

“Oh crap… I think he’s having a panic attack.”

“What the hell happened?” Said an unfamiliar voice.

“Ah dunnae! Somethin’ was holdin’ him down, but Ah couldnae really see it.”

I’m sitting here. They’re talking about me. I’m real. I have a mark. I have a soul.

“Here, you’re his friends, you two deal with him. I’ll hold that door closed.”

“Raid? It’s okay.”

I took a deep breath and held it for a moment.

I’m real. I can feel. I have a soul.

“That’s good. You’re doing fine.”

I did it again.

I’m real. I can feel. I have a soul.

“Just keep going, buck.” Said the unfamiliar voice.

Another breath. I looked up to see Knives on one side, Zeed on the other.

I gulped down another breath and stood back up. I was still shaking violently.

“Raid, are ye okay?” Knives asked.

“No, but I will be eventually.” I said, swallowing again. “We need to move now.”

I started trudging down the street, away from that place full of… mirrors…

“What ‘appened? Ye scared us.” Knives said.

“I’m scared of mirrors.” I replied quickly. “And you don’t need to hold that door. I’m sure he already left.”

The large zebra in front of… that building shrugged, and went inside.

“Uh… dae ye need anythin’?” Knives offered.

I shook my head and swallowed. “No. I’ll calm down eventually.”

“You might want something for those cuts, though.” Zeed forcefully sat me back down and started wrapping bandages around my wounds.

I sighed. “What happened to Stock?”

“We don’t know. I lost her after I… eh…” Zeed glanced at the other zebra. “Got my disguise.”

“Well, I might have found out something pretty damn interesting about the collars and oh goddesses dammit, I dropped it in the fucking office complex.” I groaned. “FUCK! GAGH!”

Suddenly, I heard the flap of wings, and saw a cloud of dust puff off the ground. I swore loudly and flared my wings.

Before I could flap, I was tackled by Zeed. “You’re not going anywhere!”

“Zeed, let me go!” I growled. “Rex was waving a pipbuck saying it was a detonator. Chamomile’s going after it right now!”

“What, you mean this?” The large zebra trotted back out of the salon, holding the pipbuck with his teeth. “Makes sense. I think most of these have transmitters on them.”

I blinked. “How did…”

He spat the device onto the ground. “It was sitting on top of a broken mirr-“

“PLEASE don’t… mention those right now…” I exhaled shakily. “I don’t want to go into a panic again.”

Knives game me a sympathetic grimace.

“Okay… So…” I blinked at the zebra stallion. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Probably not. Nezan Imulane Mirivo Kazdri, trader, handler, farmer, and hunter, at your service.” He said in a fake posh accent.

I stared at him in disbelief. Then I looked at Zeed. Then I looked at him again. Then I looked back at Zeed.

“You’re… you’re her father?”

He gave me a confused look. “Uh… last I checked, yes. Why do you ask?”

I looked at him, then I looked back at Zeed once more. The height difference was significant. He was at least a head taller than me, she was at least a head shorter.

I blinked at them, and eventually shook my head. “O…kay then… Moving on. Rex said that this was a detonator.”

“Ah thought it would have… Ah dunnae, more buttons?” Knives shrugged. “What’s with the eighty-six oan it?”

“It’s from a stable. Rex was hiding in a room that was pretty damn close to an overmare’s office, so I’m guessing there was one under the city at some point.” I scratched the back of my head. “Kinda wish I had my pipbuck so I could be sure.”

Knives picked the device up in her magic and started flicking through the menus. “Maps… Inventory… Injury tracking… Huh… This thing is sorta cool. So… Ah guess it belonged tae somepony called th’ overmare. Eh…”

Dear Miss Upgrade,

We at Stable-Tec apologize. The stable numbered 86-F has, once again been delayed due to unforeseen setbacks. The experiment has been canceled and the collars have been stored in a nearby warehouse for the time being. We will begin construction of 86-G as soon as possible within the Broken Basin. The distributed pipbucks may remain in the possession of the chosen ponies for the time being.

Construction Foremare Rictus.

I chuckled. “I always wondered where ‘F’ was.”

“Personally, I only ever found ‘A’ and ‘D’.” Nezan shrugged. “Never really cared to look for them.”

“I kept running into them and decided to just go looking for them.” I smiled. “You should hear some of the reasons they got cancelled.”

“Oh! Here they are. Detonator codes.” Knives scanned the letter. As she did, her expression turned from one of amusement to one of shock. “Wat.”

“What is it?” I asked.

Her eye twitched. “WAT.”

“Knives, what’s wrong?”

Knives glared at me, her eye a-twitch, and gave me an infuriated smile. “The goddess-damned collars are duds.”

I blinked at her. “Wat.”

She held the pipbuck up to me. “There’s th’ note, written by Rex himself, tellin’ how he found th’ warehouse full ay collars, and how a bunch ay raiders had been takin’ all th’ explosives out ay them so they could blast their way intae th’ Stable.”

I read through the note. My eye twitched. “That… miserable… fucking piece of SHIT!”

Nezan sighed. “Oh that just sucks beyond belief.”

“So even if there was more than one detonator,” I laughed. “IT WOULDN’T FUCKING MATTER! GRAGH!”

We stood there for a time, Knives and I both fuming , Nezan with a hoof over his face, and Zeed patting him on the shoulder sympathetically.

“So…” Said Zeed. “What are we going to do?”

I thought…

And a grin appeared on my face.

“Anypony know how to hack a sound system?”

~~~

We found ourselves sitting exposed, in the middle of the street, near one of the badly-hidden speakers. Knives had managed to crack the wall open and, apparently despite never having seen one before, patched the pipbuck into the system.

She was still routing things through other things when a rotting face poked itself around the corner.

“Blue!”

“Stock, where the fuck have you been?” I hissed. “And keep it down!”

She looked taken aback. “Dude, what are you so angry about.”

“I’m not angry! I’m mad!”

Knives looked up and quirked an eyebrow at me. “There’s a difference?”

“Yes!” I turned back to Stock. “Now where the hell have you been?”

“Gathering slaves who’d be willing to make a break for it, and trying to find a key for the collars.” She nervously scratched what was left of her mane. “It hasn’t been going too well.”

Knives unplugged the pipbuck and showed the note to her.

The ghoul then turned a blank stare on us. “I don’t believe it. It’s too convenient.”

“Dunnae believe… it’s right here!” Knives pointed to the note.

“You guys’ve jumped the gun. You’re gonna get everypo- sorry, everyone killed.” The ghoul said. Zeed’s eye twitched a bit. “What makes you think this wasn’t planted?”

I worked my jaw up and down as I tried, and failed, to come up with a response. “Fuck, she’s right.”

“What, sae because it might ‘ave been planted, ye think it’s nae real?” Knives groaned. “Goddesses damn- what the hell?”

“What is it?” Zeed asked.

“Did it get foggy all of a sudden?” Knives swept a hoof around. “And does it seem weird tae any ay ye?”

I blinked. There was indeed a thick layer of fog, and as Knives said, it did indeed seem weird.

“Seems like normal fog to me.” Nezan said.

Stock took on a defensive stance and stuck the bit to her machine gun in her mouth. “Fog cover. They’ve got a pegasus with them.”

As if on cue, Knives yelled, tackled the air, then she started beating up the asphalt. Then she started stabbing it with a knife. It wasn’t until I saw blood pooling on the ground that I realized that she’d somehow grabbed Chamomile.

I had just run over to help when she was launched away, accompanied by the sickening crunch of broken ribs. She landed on the ground several feet away, her knife clattering to the ground beside her. I saw the fog shifting as Chamomile flew off.

Zeed and I both ran over to check on Knives, who was making a sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak of pain.

“Knives, are you okay? How did you-“

Chamomile interrupted me by driving his hooves into my side.

Nezan tackled the spot where I’d just been, but only managed to grab empty air. Stock was assembling large chunks of the fog into a ball about the size of a pony.

Knives forced herself back to her hooves, and brandished her namesake at the empty air, a pained grimace on her face.

The air shifted and she jammed the knife downwards. The tip of it disappeared, a pony screamed as the air seemed to bleed. Nezan tackled the now self-levitating knife, and was rewarded with a grunt.

Then the knife shot up into the air. I pushed myself up and flew after it.

Chamomile and I collided in midair, and I grabbed onto what I thought were his front legs and flew straight down.

“CLEAR!” Stock yelled.

And then I was struck by a massive bolt of lightning.

Words cannot describe how excruciatingly painful it is to be struck by lightning, even the weaker, pegasus-made lightning.

My entire body stiffened, and I was thrown back into a nearby building.

I think I heard somepony screaming, but my head hurt too much to recognize who it was. I couldn’t seem to breathe right. My leg hurt a lot.

Slowly, I made my way back to my hooves, just as the others found me.

“Holy… Raid, don’t move!” Zeed yelled.

“Oh calm down. He’ll be fine.” Stock snorted.

“He was just hit by lightning you moron! It was your fault!” The zebra growled as she checked me over for injuries.

“Oh please. Pegasi can stand electrical shocks.”

“F-f-f-fuck-k-k… y-y-ou.” I managed to get out.

“See? He’s fine already.”

“He has a broken foreleg ‘cuz of you!”

Knives rushed over to me. “Ye alright?”

I stared into those beautiful silver orbs of hers.

“You’re even prettier when you’re worried...”

Knives’ face turned red, and she worked her jaw for a moment trying to think of a response.

Then I fainted.

~~~~

“So, have you ever been to the Mall before?” Barkeep asked.

The two foals trotted down the pathways of the Mall, one merrily, one nervously.

“Um… n-no?” The nervous verdant filly replied.

“Really? Huh… well… honestly I’ve only been here once.” The red colt replied. “We’re just visiting ‘cuz mom wanted to borrow grandpa’s mix book.”

“Oh.”

“But since mom already paid Mrs. Rose to take care of her bar for the next month, I guess we’re here until then.”

“Oh…”

Barkeep turned to Green, and fixed his blue eyes on her orange ones. “You don’t talk much, do you.”

Green shook her head and backed away nervously.

The colt blinked, and rubbed his navy blue mane. “Sorry… I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

“Six?” Called a surprised female voice. “Six, what are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be at home.”

Barkeep grinned nervously. “Uh... I... uh...”

Green looked at the newcomer, a unicorn mare with a brown coat, brown mane, and azure eyes. Green noticed that her belly had a noticeable bulge to it.

The mare narrowed her eyes at Barkeep. “You snuck out again didn’t you.”

Barkeep shook his head frantically. “No! I didn’t! Backlash tried to break in while dad was out and chased me all the way here! Green helped me get away from her.”

The mare’s expression softened, and she sighed. “Again? Goddesses I can’t believe that fucking bitch. All because your father said one- Oh, I’m so sorry.”

She turned to Green, and smiled apologetically. “Thank you for helping my son. I really appreciate it. Your name is Green?”

The pegasus filly nodded.

“I’m Barkeep. It’s nice to meet you.” She offered her hoof, and Green shook it with a confused look.

“You’re... both Barkeep?” She asked.

The older Barkeep nodded. “Yup. I’m Barkeep the Fifth, and my son here is the Sixth. Eh... if you don’t mind my asking, why are you wandering around here? The Mall isn’t exactly... safe...”

Green swallowed nervously. “Um... well... I came here with Wretch because she needed to find an expert on memory orbs, but she had to um... go through them quicker so she started helping Xixixix. She said I could do... um... stuff...”

Barkeep the fifth rose an eyebrow. “Stuff?”

Green nodded. “She said I could do whatever I wanted, so I just went outside... I guess.”

“Is Wretch your mother?” The elder asked curiously.

Green shook her head. “She... she killed my master so-”

The older Barkeep gasped in shock. “You’re a slave?”

Green shook her head again. “No. Wretch set me free and let me travel with her. She... doesn’t really ask me to do much, though. I... I don’t really... know where my mother is, though...”

Green’s ears drooped. “I hope she’s okay...”

Barkeep the Fifth looked from Green to her son for a moment, who had become distracted by one of the vendors of the Mall. After a moment, she blinked, smiled, and patted her stomach with a chuckle. “Green, I was about to go and get some lunch. Would you like to come with me?”

Green smiled and nodded.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP 93%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: 70%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP:50%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

~~-Find Raid~~

~~-Find Knives~~

-Completed

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

Find a way to remove bomb-collars

~~-Find a way inside Raftwater without getting killed~~

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

-Escape from Raftwater.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Okay... Later than usual, due to a few severe technical difficulties. All taken caree of now, so I shouldn't need to worry about them again. Probably jinxing myself, but honestly, I'm too relieved to care.

Thank you Kkat for creating this gigantic sandbox we screw around in, thanks to all who inspired me to write, and thanks to everyone who reads the crap I write. Critiques are appreciated.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Love Stuff

Chapter Twenty-Four: Love Stuff
“...This is no place for a foal."

I awoke to find myself on the couch with Ashes, whose forelegs were wrapped around me. I rested my head against hers and let out a happy sigh.

The door opened, and I heard Knives groan. “Och fer th’ love ay… can’t th’ two ay ye keep yer hooves off each other long enough tae get tae th’ fuckin’ bedroom?”

I growled in mild annoyance as I sat up, the motion causing Ashes to stir.

“And ye did it oan th’ couch again.” Knives rolled her eyes.

Ashes yawned. I glared at Knives.

“Goddesses ye two, ye act like yer in heat.” Knives snorted a laugh. “Ashes, ye dae know she’s still only fifteen right? Ah mean, come oan, just wait a few months. Yer such a-“

“THAT’S IT!” I screamed. “Stop calling her that!”

Knives blinked. “Wha-“

“Do not call her a pervert again. We haven’t even done anything, you jerk.” I snarled. “How often do you come in here, whining about your couch and that we’re doing stuff on it. Well guess what…”

“Uh… well…”

“WE HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING! All we do is snog and cuddle. Nothing else. We haven’t even talked about going further. Do you think I want to get Ashes in trouble for that kinda crap?” I pointed to the earth pony in question. “Do you think she’s stupid enough to get into that kinda crap?”

Knives ears went back against her head.

“Oh, and since you’re clearly so interested in it… I am in heat, so, yes, I’m a bit frisky.” I continued. “Luna’s fucking moon, you are such a prude, Knives.”

“Ah am nae.” She replied quickly.

“Are you kidding me? You-“

Ashes interrupted me by grabbing me, spinning me around, and pressing her lips firmly to mine. As she held us close for a moment, I couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan. After what felt like way too short a time, she pulled away with a small smile.

“Cute when you’re mad.” She mumbled, letting out another yawn. “Be right back. Need coffee.”

I stared after her as she went into the kitchen, a goofy smile plastered across my face.

Knives chuckled nervously. “Hey, she managed more than five words fer once.”

I glared at her, and she shrank a bit. Though I had to be honest, Ashes really did have a hard time functioning at this time of day.

I heard the percolator start up, the gurgling sound echoing from the kitchen into the living room. I sat on the couch with my forelegs crossed, giving Knives a less-than-happy look, while she stared at the floor.

Eventually, Ashes came back, with her glasses perched on her nose, and holding a mug of coffee in her mouth. She set it down on the table, flopped onto the couch next to me, picked up the mug in her fetlocks, and chugged the whole thing.

We gave her a few more minutes for her brain to start up.

She sighed. “Okay… Zeed, I know it’s annoying, but it’s not something to get mad about.”

“Ash-“

“I’m not saying you’re wrong. Just don’t get mad about it.” she yawned yet again. "And Knives, I know it’s your couch, but you need to lighten up. You really are a prude."

"Ah am nae!"

I snorted. "Yes you are."

“You woke me up yelling about this crud. At noon.” Ashes sighed.

Knives grimaced, and scratched the back of her mane with a sigh of her own. “Alright, alright. Aam sorry. Ah’ll stop whinin’ about it. But can ye at least try and keep it off th’ couch?”

Ashes planted a big kiss of my lips again. “No promises.”

~~~

I tied off the gauze as I finished the splint around Raid's left forearm. It wasn't too severe a fracture, but it would be enough to make him limp for a while.

I shot another glare at Stock.

"What? I'm sorry, okay. Whaddaya want me to do, grovel?" She said.

"Found him!" Dad yelled from deeper within the building. "Looks like his equipment shorted out."

Stock grinned. "Exactly as planned!."

I glared at her again.

She shrugged. "It was."

"Uh-huh." I snorted. "Whatever. Knives, can you- oh for the love of Luna."

Knives simply sat there, her face bright red as she stared at Raid.

"You know, I will never understand how you manage to get so many coltfriends." I said. "You get flustered any time a buck you like says something nice."

Her face turned brighter. "Sh-shut up..." she squeaked.

"Hello? Anyone hearing me?" Dad yelled again. “I've got an unconscious bad-guy stuck in a pile of rubble here.”

"We're coming, dad!" I called back.

I gave Stock one last glare before I followed dad’s voice into the building.

The room, formerly the office for a storage lot, now had a massive hole in the ceiling where the invisible pony crashed through. Dad stood at the bottom of a pile of broken shelves and concrete chunks, digging into them. In the middle of it, I could see a reflective, silvery-colored hoof.

I started shoving aside concrete chunks' while dad carefully pulled the formerly invisible pony out. Stock came in after us, with Raid thrown over her back and across her machine guns. Knives stayed just outside the entrance, occasionally glancing back towards Raid.

I joined dad in getting the pony out of the rubble. As soon as we got his leg out, he began struggling weakly.

“Wow…” I said. “How come he’s still up?”

Dad grunted as he lifted a broken beam. “Probably ‘cuz of the suit.”

I pulled another leg free. “True, but he still has part of a building on top of him. He shouldn’t be struggling this much.”

“I guess we’re about to see.” Dad removed the last piece of rubble, and I dragged the formerly invisible pony onto the floor, where he weakly struggled to move his limbs, and his wings twitched every so often.

He wore a silvery full-body suit, with a helmet of the same color, though its visor was a bright blue. The suit kept fading in and out of my sight and making a loud crackling noise as he struggled to get his hooves to his face.

“What are we gonna do with him?” Stock asked.

“I doubt the suit is of much use.” Dad sait. “No point in taking it. And considering that its skin-tight, I think we can safely assume he has nothing else on him.”

“You sure about that?” Stock chuckled.

“Do you wanna frisk him?” Dad replied.

I gave the helmet a tug. “Knives, does that pipbuck say anything about him?”

Knives started. “Huh? Wha?”

I rolled my eyes. “Knives, stop ogling Raid and check the pipbuck.”

I glanced back to see her blushing as she levitated the device out and started flicking through the menus, still occasionally glancing back at her crush.

“Maybe we can use him as a bargaining chip?” Stock said.

Dad shook his head. “Doubt it.”

I tried to pry the helmet open with a screwdriver.

“Uh… Zeed? What are you doing?" Stock asked.

"I'm trying to get this helmet off before he suffocates." I grunted with the effort as I tried to wedge the screwdriver in between the cracks. "Dad, can you help me with this?"

With a grin, dad moved the pegasus’ head straight. He then pulled his hoof back and drove it into the visor, which sprouted spider-web-like cracks beneath his hoof.

I smiled. “Heh. Thanks dad.”

I stuck the screwdriver into one of the larger cracks and slowly wedged it in, widening the hole and letting the air in.

I was almost happy to hear the stallion start gulping down air.

I jabbed a syringe into his leg and gave him a dose of med-x. He let out a low, pained groan as I did.

"So..." Dad began, grinning at the pegasus. "Anything to say for yourself?"

“No.” The pegasus’ voice was a low monotone, eerily devoid of emotions.

“What about the fact that the collars are duds?” I snorted.

He turned his head towards me. “I see”

“‘I see’?” Dad laughed. “That’s probably the most profound thing I’ve ever heard from a slaver.”

The silver-suited pony was silent, apart from his raspy breaths.

“So what do you think we should do with you?” Dad’s eyebrow raised.

“Kill me.” The pony said simply.

We all blinked at him.

“You asked.”

“I’d really rather not kill anypony, thanks.” I said. “I haven’t done it so far, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Dad hrrm-ed for a second, and pulled me aside. “Axy, how long have you been out here, anyway?”

I tapped my chin in thought. “Not too long. We’ve been trying to find you for most of it.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. You’re already doing better than I did.”

“Thanks, dad.” I gave him a quick hug. “But seriously, I’d really rather not kill anypony.”

Dad gave me a sad look and let out a sigh. “I hope you don’t have to, but this is the wasteland. It’s unavoidable.”

The formerly invisible pegasus coughed. “I believe you were interrogating me?”

Dad chuckled. “Yeah. Mind telling us if the collars are really duds?”

“I think that much should be obvious.” He said matter-of-factly. “None of the slavers have detonators, the one we have is not, technically speaking, a detonator, and even if it was, the collars don’t even have explosives in them.”

Dad and I both blinked.

"Well... at least you're cooperative." Dad laughed. "Anything else you can tell us?"

"No."

"He was right. We should just kill him." Stock snorted.

"Looks like Rex doesnae really like Chamomile. Unless he's talking about the' tea." Knives popped back in, the pipbuck hovering in front of her face. "Ah can't read half at this crap, but Ah doubt he'd spend three pages ranting about all th’ things a drink has done wrong."

"Whaddaya mean 'you can't read it'?" Stock said, trotting over to the striped unicorn. "Oh... well then. Shame Blue's out. Can either of you read Shuck?"

Dad looked to me. I shrugged.

"I didn't even know that was a language." I said.

Dad quirked an eyebrow. “That reminds me... Est-il raisonnable de supposer que votre mère a continué de vous forcer à apprendre le françheval?”

I sighed. “Papa, je préfère ne pas parler de- I-I mean, I’d rather not talk about mom right now.”

He grimaced. “Ah. I’m gues-”

“Dad!” I groaned. “Please just don’t... She and I haven’t... spoken in a while. And we’re kinda in the middle of something.”

He glanced around. “Right. Bad timing.”

With a cough, he turned back to the pegasus. “Who are you?”

“My name is Chamomile.”

He said nothing else.

“Okay... Where did you get a stealth suit like that?” Dad continued.

“Rex gave it to me,” was the monotone reply.

Dad let out an annoyed sigh.

I stepped up to the pony. “Why are you working with him?”

He turned his head towards me.

“Because he owns me.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “You’re a slave?”

He nodded. “He has something of mine. Something he gave to me, but took away. Something I wish I could see again... even if just once.”

“What?”

Chamomile said nothing.

“We’ve got incomin’.” Knives whispered. “There’s ten or twelve ay them comin’ this way.”

"Oh, well isn't that lovely." I said. "Now we have slavers after us... AGAIN!”

I huffed, and dad patted me on the shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

“It would be best for you if you simply left.” Chamomile said. “Leave Raftwater.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not very loyal to your boss, are you.”

“I am not loyal to him.” He replied in that same monotone. “I twist his commands as much as I possibly can without him noticing. I do anything I can to slow his plans without him realizing what I’m doing. But he still owns me, and I still must obey him. I am sorry.”

We all stared at him for a moment. Eventually, Stock shook her head and sighed in frustration. “I really, really fucking hate it when ponies act all creepy like that.”

“Whatever, let’s just tie him down and go.” I growled.

“Fuck that, let’s just kill him and be done with it!” Stock yelled.

Dad snorted. “Oh, come on. He’s obviously not entirely willing to do this. Give the poor buck a break.”

“He’s an invisible slaver! I don’t care what he says.”

With a snarl of annoyance, I grabbed Stock, dug into her saddlebags, whipped out her rope, hogtied Chamomile, and threw him into the nearest closet. “Problem solved. Let’s fucking go, already.”

Dad laughed, and gave me a quick hug before we charged out the backside of the building and into the alleyways of Raftwater.

“So what now?” He yelled.

Raid let out a loud groan.

“Of course!” I growled. “Now he wakes up.”

“Fuuuck, duuude...” He slurred. “My frickin’ back hurts.”

“I knew it! You do still have it!” Stock cheered happily. “You still totally talk like a surfer!”

“What?” Knives asked incredulously, running just beside the ghoul. “Th’ hell are ye talkin’ about?”

“Dude, I do not have a freakin’ accent.” Raid continued. “And why the fuck am I on top a’ ya? Oh, goddesses that came out wrong. Just stop runnin’ for a sec.”

“Can’t. Slavers are coming again.” Stock said.

“I’m serious. Stop running or I’m gonna puke on you.”

“Oh come on! Your motion sickness isn’t that bad!” Stock whined.

“No, but I was recently HIT BY LIGHTNING!” He snapped. “And... and... oh fuck... I doubt the rocking is he-urp... helping any...”

“Fine. just gimme a-”

“No!” I said. “We’re not stopping again!”

“Calm down, Axy. It’s only for a minute. We’ll be fine.” Dad said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

My jaw dropped in disbelief. “Dad, don’t jinx us!”

He blinked at me. “Uh... Sorry?”

“Great, the second we stop we’ll probably get ambushed or something.” I groaned.

“Zeed, ye read too many comics.” Knives snorted.

“Oh, so you managed to keep the ones I gave you, then?” Dad grinned.

“Yeah. Had to hide them from mom, though.” I rolled my eyes. “She wanted to throw them away.”

“Pfft, of course she did. Bitch.” He snorted.

“That’s kind of an understatement, dad.”

“Okay, I understand that this is the first time you two have seen each other in years, but is this really the best time?” Stock smirked at me.

I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s keep going. We should be able to-”

The floor in front of me suddenly sprouted several puffs of dust, making me yelp and rear back in surprise.

"There they are, haha! Tear 'em apart!"

"Run!" I shrieked.

I was tackled by a striped blur as dad shoved me into a side street. The space behind us was soon filled with the explosion of a grenade. I heard Stock howling in pain over the ringing in my ears.

As the smoke cleared, I saw her snarling at something down the alley, Raid and Knives had been thrown against a wall, and both were dazed by the explosion. They shakily brought themselves back to their hooves.

I called out to them.

Stock clenched her teeth down on the firing bit, and the guns on her battle saddle started spewing lead down the alley. The startled yells of slavers getting hit was barely audible over the noise.Another grenade popped into the alley. With a flap of her featherless wings, the ghoul zipped into the air, and quickly settled back onto a rooftop.

Raid caught sight of the grenade, pushed Knives inside a building, and slammed the door shut, barely in time to avoid the shrapnel.

“Axy, come on. Let’s see if we can sneak up behind them.” Dad whispered.

“I can’t sneak for shit, dad!”

“Don’t worry.” He smiled. “You’ll be fine. Just stay near me and don’t make a sound.”

Nervously biting my lip, I followed him through the dark alleys, towards the shouting and whooping of the slavers.

“Dad, this is a terrible idea!”

“Oh, we’ll be fine.” He said with a smile. “They won’t see us.”

“What are you even going to do? There’s a shitload of them.”

His expression turned into a mischievous grin, and he continued on. “I recognize a few of them.”

“Dad? Dad!” I groaned, and walked behind him as quietly as I could manage.

“How are you gentlecolts?” He asked cheerily.

Suddenly, the slavers stopped their cheering and turned to him. I couldn’t help but cringe as he glared at the two of us.

Dad kept grinning. “All your guns are belong to me. You have no chance to survive, make your time.”

I facehoofed. “Dad, did you seriously just say that?”

They burst out laughing.

“You?” One chortled. “What, are we just gonna give ‘em to ya?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Dad’s grin grew even wider.

“Like hell we are!” Another slaver cheered, inciting the others to take threatening stances, malicious grins on their faces. I swallowed nervously, hoping that dad knew what he was-

“Oh! Oh, I am so sorry. I guess it must be hard to recognize me without the...” He chuckled. “Without the wolf-skull helmet.”

Several of their faces fell, their eyes going wide in shock.

“Ah, I see some of you remember me. Good! So you know what I’ll do to you if you put my family in danger. Guess what...” Dad frowned at them. “That applies to my friends, allies, acquaintances, and anyone else I might happen to like. I think you know where I’m going with this.”

Stock dropped down in front of dad, and opened fire on the clustered slavers, making them scatter. About half of them ran away, while the rest dove for whatever cover they could find. The ones that failed were torn apart by the barrage.

“Awww, I wanted to be dramatic.” Dad joked.

“No time!” Stock said. “Assholes incoming. Ten o’clock.”

“Seriously? Damn. they’re smarter than I gave them credit for.” Dad snickered. “Alright, let’s go get your friends and fuck off.”

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of... I think it was jealousy that he had another family. Whatever it was, I wasn’t proud of myself for feeling it, and pushed it into the back of my mind with a sigh.

As we trotted back the way we’d come, Stock kept a vigilant watch on the slavers still running around, shooting any of them who dared to pop up and attack us. Dad just smirked and chuckled with every bloody kill.

“Dad, that’s... that’s kinda creepy.” I said. “Why do you keep laughing.”

“Because every one of these shitheads she kills now, is one that can’t hurt another slave later.” He said. “Luna knows they’re hurt enough just being slaves at all. They don’t need idiotic tortures stacked on top of it. And these fucks scared Misty half to death.”

“Wh-why’s that?” I asked, that feeling rising up in my throat again.

His eyes narrowed. “Bad memories. She was... a slave for a while. Those bastards deserve-”

“WHAT?” Stock screamed as she slammed into the ground hooves-first. “Misty? As in Misty Air? The first to leave Spectrum?”

Dad blinked. “Yes?”

“How in the fuck did she get caught?” Stock asked, her expression one of shock. “She’s been gone for like, nineteen years!”

“I think that’s up to her to tell.” Dad frowned. “Why?”

“Fuck... I thought she died years ago!”

“Huh. That’s what Raid said too.” I mused.

“And she has a foal too? How the fuck did that happen?” Stock continued her rant.

“Again, that’s up to her to tell.” Dad replied with a glare. “I’m not saying anything. End of discussion.”

“Alright, alright...” The ghoul said. “Still glad to hear she’s fine, though.”

There was a series of explosions nearby.

I groaned. “I think I miss the Prison. Things didn’t explode as much.”

“Heh, you weren’t around when Minty was Captain.” Dad grinned. “He was fucking awesome. Oh shit, that’s not good...”

My jaw dropped. The building where Knives and Raid had taken cover was on fire. Slavers ran back and forth through the street, whooping and cheering as the fire spread to the buildings around it.

My guts twisted with anxiety as I watched the first structure collapse, my friends’ hiding place now destroyed. “Th-that’s... that’s the one where...”

“Axy, stay calm. just breathe.” Dad said, gently putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“They should be fine. Blue can just fly both of ‘em-”

“Raid has a broken leg, and Knives is too scared of heights to let him carry her from there anyway.” I said, my eyes tearing up.

“Don’t jump to conclusions, kiddo. With the way they kept checking each other out, I highly doubt they’d let each other get hurt.”

“They’re both moro-ho-ho-hoooons!” I sobbed, and charged towards the burning structure. “They’d probably just get stuck somewhere and die from the smoke!”

“Axy, wait!”

I started to clamber over the wreckage as soon as I arrived, barely hearing the fire of a gun as Stock shot down the slavers who noticed me.

“Knives? Raid?” I yelled, digging into a random spot.

“Dammit, Zeed, that is not how you do a fire rescue!” Stock yelled.

“You have a better idea?” I snarled.

She shrank back a bit. “No...”

I returned to searching, frantically calling out the names of my friends. I think I heard somepony calling me back in response.

“Just help me find them!” I screamed at nopony in particular.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when dad’s voice roared in my ear. “ZEEDERA NAZILU VAZJIR AXADEL DOREKKA KAZDRI!”

I spun around and blinked at him. His face bore an expression of mixed irritation and sympathy.

“That’s yer full name?” Asked Knives’ voice. I quickly glanced around to try and find where it came from. “What the fuck?”

“Knives? Where-”

“Look down.”

I was standing on top of a door. A large metal door in the ground, with a large beam jammed through it. Through the jagged hole, I could see a slitted silver eye looking out at me. “Ah’ve been yellin’ yer name fer a couple ay minutes nao. Ye alright?”

“I... I...” I gaped at her. “I thought you were... heh, I'm just glad you’re okay...”

“Raid and Ah managed tae find this door when the place caught fire. It’s nae budgin’ nao, though. Can ye move what’s blockin’ it?”

I frowned at the seven-foot support beam, and looked at dad, who shook his head. “No. Can you find another way out?”

“Aye. Raid said there’s a tunnel escape in th’ basement.” Knives said. “It’ll take awhile tae make our way out, though.”

"Alright. Uh... I... guess I’ll see you later then?”
“Aye. If we dunnae meet back here, Ah’ll see ye in Bladesville.” She snorted a laugh. "Dorekka."

I growled. "Hey, remember when I broke Ashes' nose?"

With a nervous laugh, the striped unicorn popped out of sight, accompanied by the sound of hooves tromping away.

Dad rubbed my shoulder. “See? They’re alright.”

I sighed. “Yeah. I know. Now what are we gonna do?”

Dad grinned mischievously. “I have a few ideas.”

~~~

Barkeep the Fifth watched the two young ponies scarf down food like it was the first they'd seen in years, her face bearing an expression of amusement. Green was already on her fourth ear of corn, while the younger Barkeep the Sixth was catching up with his third. The elder smirked at her first ear of corn, still only half-eaten and levitating in her magic.

"Wish I could still eat like that..." She muttered to herself as she took another bite.

“Su, Grnnn... Whaddaya dof fuf fuh?” The younger asked, spraying bits of corn everywhere and drawing a few chuckles from some of the other ponies in the dive.

The mare chuckled. “Six, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

He swallowed. “Sorry, mom. So what do you do for fun, Green?”

The Fifth blinked as she realized what her son had just asked, immediately starting to worry about what might be a sensitive topic for the filly.

“Uh... well... I kinda like... um... uh...” Green squeaked and started digging into her corn again.

“It’s okay, Green. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” The Fifth said with a sad smile.

Her son shrugged, and returned to devouring corn.

“R-reading...” Green said quietly.

The mare blinked. “Say again?”

“I-I l-l-like reading... when I can...” The young pegasus repeated. “B-but I haven’t had any books since Bark s-sold m-m-my m-mom...”

The younger Barkeep stopped eating to gape at the filly. “S-sold your mom?”

Green nodded solemnly.

The colt gave his mother a scared look, and scooched closer to her, after which he returned to his corn, this time more warily. Green seemed to sink further into herself.

The older Barkeep smiled sadly. “Well, it’s good to hear that you have something you enjoy. Did you read anything in particular?"

"Yeah! Like Daring Do or Mare-do-well." The colt cheered, spraying corn everywhere.

“W-well...” Green poked a cob of corn with a forehoof, and her lips curled up slightly. “Bark used to have th-this old science book... um... cooking... I always thought that was interesting...”

The mare’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “DId you just say cooking?”

Green’s smile widened. “Y-yeah. Bark was trying to cook for a while, but he got mad and gave up. When he threw the cookbooks away, I... uh... s-stole them... b-but he threw them away again when he found out and... uh... did... things...”

The mare winced as Green's face fell again. "I'm... I'm so sorry to hear that, Green. At least things should get better, right?"

Green nodded, her smile returning again. "I wish I'd gotten a chance to try some of that, though. It looked fun."

The younger Barkeep grinned. "Yeah, you could make all kinds of cake and stuff! That would be awesome."

The mare smiled. "There's more to cooking than cake, Six."

He puffed his cheeks out. "But all that other stuff is dumb."

Green frowned and puffed up a bit.

"It's not dumb! It... it..." She shrank down again. "It could be useful..."

Barkeep the Fifth gave her son a stern look. "Six, don't be mean."

"What? I'm not..." He stopped and glanced over at the pegasus filly, who heaved a sigh, and solemnly returned to her corn. Six's ears fell. "Oh... sorry..."

His mother thought for a moment, and grinned. "Green? How would you like it if I taught you a few things about cooking?"

The filly's widened, and a smile suddenly sprung to life across her face as she frantically nodded.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP 99%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: 76%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP:56%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Where For Art Thou?:

~~-Find Raid~~

~~-Find Knives~~

-Completed

Other quests:

Layin’ Down The Rails:

~~Find a way to remove bomb-collars~~

~~-Find a way inside Raftwater without getting killed~~

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

-Escape Raftwater.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Okay... So... Late again.

Well, it's better than never getting them out at all, at least.

In my defense, I've been pretty busy lately.

Nevertheless, next chapter should be in two weeks, assuming nothing goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Objectives On Map Are Further Than They Appear

Chapter Twenty-Five: Objectives On Map Are Further Than They Appear
“How did you survive?

Didn’t. Got killed...”

I trudged into the living room, bleary-eyed and staring down at my hooves. Mom was doing something in the kitchen. The chair scraped against the floor as I took a seat at the table and rested my head against its surface. Hearing the noise, mom turned to look at me, and gave me a sad smile.

“Hey, sweetie. You feeling any better?” She asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

I shook my head.

”yoU Don’t dEservE To feEl betteR.”

Mom sighed. “Same dream again?”

I nodded.

“Not afteR whAt yoU dId.”

She trotted over and pulled me into a gentle hug. I buried my face into her chest.

I couldn’t help but let out a small sob.

“Shhh... shhh... It’s okay. It’s okay. Just let it out.”

”MonsTer. MurdEreR.”

“You were only defending yourself. There is nothing wrong with that.” She cooed. “You didn’t have much choice left, okay? Please... just try and remember that, Diamond...”

I nodded again and pulled away, trotting over to the sofa, where I flopped down and shut my eyes.

“Gunna try and get some more sleep...” I mumbled with a yawn. “Can you... can you wake me up... when... wh...”

”KiLLer.”

Trapped. Nowhere to run.

”MisErabLe WreTch.”

In that pit again. Sobbing. Running.

”MurdErEr.”

“Knives! Come back! I just want to get back at you! It’s only fair!” Lockpick shrieks merrily. “You did kill me, after all!”

”WorthLEsS. juSt dIe.”

I chance a backwards glance. She’s chasing me, hear head attached to her neck with little more than a few vertebrae. She’s grinning.

”haTE you.”

I scream, and turn to run.

She’s in front of me.

”don’t DESErve to Live.”

I ready my tail, the blade reflecting what little light there is.

“S-stay back! G-get away from me!” I sob. “Just leave me alone!”

“Knives?”

I screamed and started flailing as I fell off the sofa. A hoof connected with something, and somepony yelped in surprise.

“Ugh... Darn it... I always forget you’re a leftie.” Ashes said.

I stopped flailing and saw that she was rubbing her jaw.

“That really friggin’ hurt.”

My heart felt like it was trying to escape through my throat and ribcage at the same time. I could feel that my face was wet with tears.

She and mom helped me back to my hooves, and Ashes frowned at me in concern. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I...”

”monster...”

“I...” I swallowed. “Aam fine, just... A bad dream. Sorry tha’ Ah hit ye.”

Ashes smiled. “It’s fine. I just came over to see how you were. Zeed’s trying to get her mom to let her out of the apartment.”

I cringed, yet another pang of guilt running through me.

“Oh, it’s not ‘cuz of you!” She quickly added. “I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but Zeed said her aunt’s visiting from Section Twelve.”

As my guilt drained away, I let out a small chuckle. “Well, she’ll be gone fer a while, then.”

“So... Uh...” Ashes rubbed the back of her head. “You feeling good enough to go out and do something?”

I sighed, and stared at my hooves again. “Ah dunnae...”

Mom came up and put a hoof on my shoulder. “Sweetie, I think it might help a bit. Besides, a thirteen-year old mare shouldn’t be cooped up in her room all day.”

“Uh... the Warden opened up the junk room again, if you’re interested.”

My ears perked up. “Are... are there any lawnmowers in it?”

Ashes shrugged. “Maybe. It looks like a pretty big pile this year.”

I grinned, my feelings of guilt forgotten. “Then what’re we waitin’ fer? Let’s go!”

~~~

"Raid?" I called out, my voice echoing weirdly off all the junk in the basement. "Where'd ye go?"

"I'm trying to get the door open. It won't budge." He grunted. "Think you can help out?"

I stepped into the back part of the room, to see Raid struggling with a large metal door, with a metal bar welded across its surface. The stallion was trying to pry it off with a crowbar, his good foreleg braced against it, but only managed to have it snap back into his face.

He clutched his now-bleeding nose in his forehooves. "Gaagh! Augh-ha-ha. Fuck!"

I rushed over. "Are ye alright? Dae ye need anything'?"

The pegasus shook his head. "Ah, fuck."

He snorted up some of the blood in his nose, making me grimace. "Nah. I'm... fine... it just hurt like hell. Oh. Wait."

He probed the inside of his mouth with his tongue for a moment, then spat the blood back out. "Yup, that's a tooth alright. Probably should get that replaced."

I gave him an incredulous look. "How are ye goin' take get a tooth replaced?"

"Root Chisel owes me a few favors. He can get teeth to grow back pretty quick. Hurts like hell, though." He said simply. "Nrgh... feels like I just chipped it, actually. Not so bad."

He spat out another gob of blood, and a trail of it started dripping from his nose. He swore under his breath.

"Uh... ye need a potion or anythin'?" I grimaced.

"No, but could you see about getting through that door? My everything is sore." He exhaled. "I think I need to lay down."

"Uh... aye, ah guess beein' electrocuted and havin' her face smashed can dae that tae ye..."

I took a closer look at the metal bar on the door, which was welded firmly onto the door frame.

Humming in thought, I trotted back into the main part of the basement, and started rooting through the junk for anything useful. Eventually, with a frustrated groan, I went back to look at the door.

It wasn't a particularly in thick bar, but the weld was strong. I groaned as an idea popped into my head.

"Och, Aam goin' tae regret this... Raid, can ye come here fer a second?"

He grunted and pulled himself back to his hooves. I hoofed him the crowbar, and he gave it a confused look. "Eh?"

"Ah need ye tae keep pressure oan th' bar sae Ah can get it off."

He blinked at me, but moved over to the door. "Okay... I'm curious now."

I took a few deeps breaths and focused on my horn. It began to heat up at a rapid pace as I cast the spell, sparks of my gray magic emanating from it and drifting to the floor. The tip of my horn ignited, holding aloft a miniscule but white-hot spark.

Already I was beginning to sweat from the effort.

I carefully placed my horn near the metal, which started to glow as the spark touched it.

"Pullpullpullpullpull!" I yelled at Raid, who immediately began tugging on the crowbar, making it gradually warp at the heated area.

The spark sputtered. I gritted my teeth, and focused harder, forcing the spark to burn a bit hotter.

My vision started to swim, but I kept at it.

I was finally rewarded with a metallic snapping sound. I looked up to see that Raid had managed to break off the last bit of metal keeping that side attached. He grinned at me. "Nice work."

I blinked, and suddenly found myself lying down, with a concerned-looking Raid hovering over me.

"Knives? Can you hear me?"

"Uuuuuugghhhh." My horn throbbed. "How long was Ah out?"

"About a minute. Are you alright? You just... fell over. And your horn is... eh...

I groaned again. "Oh goddesses, please tell me its nae broken..."

"No, no. Not broken." He raised an eyebrow. "Looks kinda burnt, though."

I raised a hoof and wiped it across my horn, and hissed when I felt a burning sensation. My eyes teared up from the pain.

"Uh... has that happened before?" He asked.

I nodded. "Aye. Ah was-nng... Ah was tryin' tae see if Ah could learn any other spells. Hurt just as much back then, too, but at least Ah know Ah can- ahahahaugh tha’ hurts...”

He glanced around the room. “Is there any way I can help with the pain, at least?”

“Nae really, nae.” I stood up, shaking and barely managing to keep my balance. “Och goddesses, Ah feel dizzy...”

He cleared his throat gently. “Uh... I could... carry you... if you want.”

”Aww... How cute.”

I groaned.

Raid frowned and quirked an eyebrow at me. “Okay, sorry. I’ll never suggest that again.”

I blinked. “Wait, no! That’s not what I- Ah meant!”

The pegasus shrugged. “Alright. Uh... just, like... climb on... I guess.”

He turned his back to me, and I took a shaky step forward.

”Oh, look at all the scars.” She chuckled. ”And those wings. Doesn’t he just look... Yummy...”

I couldn’t seem to stop staring as my eyes traced the contours of his feathers. There were splotches of peach color where his mane dye was coming off. I could see some of the color beneath, a weird mix that seemed familiar but I couldn’t put my hoof on.

”You gonna ride him or what?”

My face turned bright red and my jaw worked up and down, my only real response being a quiet and incoherent squeak. She burst into laughter.

I swallowed and tried to take another shaky step towards the stallion.

My front legs gave out, and I face-planted into the floor, where I let out another groan.

Raid turned back to me and winced. "You okay?"

I grunted.

"Eh... should I just pick you up?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

I grunted again.

With a bit of difficulty on account of his splinted leg, he managed to get me onto his back, tucked between his wings. His really big wings.

That were really soft.

And big...

And surprisingly warm...

And also big...

And... comfortable...

My face started to heat up again as he threw open the door and limped down the corridor with me on his back.

"Just hang on tight." He said. "And try not to kick me in the wings, please."

"What was it he said? Oh, right. Pretty eyes." She snorted.

"S-so where are we actually going?" I asked nervously.

"Hopefully out of here." He hrrm-ed. "Like I said before, there should be an exit down here. Can you use the pipbuck and see if it has a map?"

I tried to pull the device out from its hiding place amongst the junk in my mane, and was immediately reminded of my burnout when my horn sparked and pain shot through my skull, nearly making me blackout again.

I let out a weak whimper. "Oh, my head."

"Fuck, that sounded like it hurt." Raid said. "Knives, if you wanna wait a while before we get moving we can. You're shaking pretty bad right now."

I bit my lip. "N-no. I-Ah'll be... fine. Just keep goin'."

He sighed. "Alright. If you say so."

I shifted a bit, my forelegs dangling over his shoulders. "Ah get th' feelin' this won't end well..."

"Why's that?"

"Two ponies, one recovering from a lightning strike and a broken leg, the other currently severely burned out." I sighed. "Ah admit its mah own damned fault fer overdrawin' oan mah magic, but still."

The pegasus hrrm-ed again. "Alright, good point."

We were silent for a long time, the only sound being Rraid's hooves on the floor.

"Ah think we should see about gettin' our stuff back."

Raid stopped and blinked. “How in the hell did I forget about that? Well, we won’t have to worry about the jacket.”

I quirked an eyebrow in confusion. “Why?”

“It always ends up coming back to me.” He snorted and started down the hallway again. “Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in the Bayou, be very careful about who you talk to. Some of the ponies and zebras there are insane. Anyway, the question is, how do we even find the stuff?”

“Ah guess Ah could take a look at th’ pipbuck again. Put meh down fer a moment.”

The stallion did as I asked, gently sliding me off his back with his wings and setting me on the ground, where I pulled my legs beneath me.

I tried to use my magic again, much more cautiously, and groaned when I was rewarded with a painful throb in my skull.

“Feeling any better?” Raid asked.

”Oooh. he’s right next to you, Knives.What are you gonna do, eh?”

I swallowed. “Aye. Aam fine. Nothin’ tae worry about.”

With my hooves and some difficulty, I untangled the pipbuck from my mane and set it on the floor. I struggled with the buttons for a bit, the already hoof-unfriendly interface made more difficult to use by my shaking, but eventually I button-mashed my way to the maps menu.

"Wow..." I said, quirking an eyebrow at the massive number of markings on the map. "Rex even marked down all ay th' sinks in the city."

"Seriously?" Raid whistled. "Somepony had too much time on their hooves, er... hands, in this case."

"Look, there's th' salon ye crashed intae." The pegasus shuddered. "And Ah think we went this way, then here... and..."

I scanned the map. "Ah! Here's where we came from... ach crap."

Raid hummed in thought. "Looks like the storage area is on the opposite side of the city."

I let out a sigh. "Ay course it is..."

"But..." Raid grinned at me in a mischievous way. "There's a switchboard a couple doors down from here."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Aye. What's yer point?"

"I think the slaves might want a bit of good news. Don't you?"

I blinked at him and, after a moment, started grinning as well. "Ye know... Ah think they just might. Shall we away, then?"

I took a step forward. My legs buckled, once more sending me sprawling on the floor. I let out a defeated sigh. "Help me back up?"

He chuckled, and lifted me onto his back again. “I think the best way to do this would be to just go out and say it quick. That way we can be out before the Bone Eaters find out where we are.”

I snorted. “How th’ hell are they goin’ tae dae that? We’ve got th’ pipbuck.”

“I wouldn’t tempt fate at a time like this.”

“Ye sound like Zeed.”

He craned his neck to quirk an eyebrow at me.

“Alright, alright. Ah’ll try tae keep it short. Och, Ah see it.” I pointed to our destination, and Raid picked up speed as he limped towards it.

It was little more than a medium-sized door in the wall. Behind the door was, unsurprisingly, a large number of switches, all turned to the off position. I took a good look at all the wires leading into the wall.

“Okay... I don’t get it... How does this work?” Raid asked.

“Gimme a minute...” I fumbled around with the pipbuck, sliding part of the back off it and exposing input ports of varying types.. I took some of the loose cables in my mane and stuck them into the ports, and proceeded to plug them into the switchboard. The pipbuck chimed happily as I flipped the necessary switches. “Done.”

“Wait... seriously?” Raid said. “That was quick.”

“Aye. It’s a lot easier when yer nae tryin’ tae dae it from an individual speaker.” I replied with a proud grin.

He blinked at me.

I pressed a button on the pipbuck, and an indicator came on, telling me that the input was working. I cleared my throat, and heard my own accented voice echo throughout the corridors.

I took a deep breath, held the pipbuck up to my face, and stopped...

I worked my jaw up and down a few times, before I finally pushed the button again.

I turned to Raid, with an embarassed look on my face. “Ah... Ah have nae idea what tae say...”

Raid shrugged. “Just wing it.”

I frowned at him. “Funny, comin’ from a pegasus.”

The stallion snorted a laugh. “I’m serious. You’ll be fine.”

I looked at the pipbuck again. “Ah dunnae... This is a lot ay ponies...”

“I never would have expected you to get stagefright.” Raid quirked an eyebrow at me. “Maybe you could pretend to be somepony else? It worked for the Captain Mast.”

I blinked at him.

“Last host of Pirate Radio.”

I sighed.

^^”Umm... uh... H-hello slaves of Raftwater... This, uh... This is...” I grimaced and turned to Raid, who smiled and mouthed ‘go on’. ^^”This is! Uh...”

”Awww... Widdle Knives is scared.”

I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly in an only somewhat effective attempt to clear my mind. I forced myself to grin, and took another breath.

^^”Helloooo slaves of Raftwater! I’m... uh... The Prisoner! And do I have some great news for you! You know those collars on your necks? The ones that can blow up whenever your ‘masters’ want? Yeah... Not really. I have it straight from the horse’s mouth that they’re FAKE.” As I spoke, my grin slowly became a smirk. ^^”That’s right folks! The collars are duds. Useless. Non-deadly jewelry that went out of fashion the moment it was made.”

Raid quirked an eyebrow at me.

^^”You know what that means, right? The Bone Eaters have nothing. Except for their weapons.” I grinned even wider. ^^” Of course... it’s easy to steal weapons, now isn’t it? A few quick whacks on the head and they’ll go down. Word of advice? Rebellions work better when you have numbers on your side. Can you guess what you have? Have fun. Enjoy your freedom.”

I clicked the button yet again. "How was that?"

Raid grinned. "Bit shaky at the start, bit overdramatic, but other than that, it was beautiful. Kinda wish I could see the slaver's faces."

My cheeks reddened a bit. "Aheh... Sae what nao?"

"Now, we see about getting some of our stuff back."

I yelped in surprise as he charged down the hallway with me on his back.

~~~

“Which way?”

“Ah dunnae... crap... Ah think we’re lost.” I groaned. “Why can’t this place make any goddess-damned sense?”

“It wouldn’t be Canturbury if it made sense.” Raid snorted. “Are you sure the map is right?”

“Aye, but Ah think it’s got all ay th’ floors in the same damn screen. Stupid useless thing.” I slammed the cover shut and frowned. “Sae much fer getting our stuff back.”

“Well... maybe we should just keep walking?” Raid shrugged. “We’ll probably find something helpful... eventually.”

“Aye, but we’re still oan th’... whatever floor this is. Ah know it’s nae ground level. On account of th’ fact that we went down several floors.” I sighed. “Could ye put meh down? Ah think Ah can at least walk nao.”

The pegasus sat down, and I slid off his back. With a grunt, I cracked my back and neck, followed by my fetlocks. I jogged in place for a moment, and tested out my magic, putting the pipbuck on the floor and attempting to lift it. The act made my horn throb, but the pipbuck floated around exactly as I'd hoped. I rubbed my horn and put the device back into my mane. Taking the opportunity to glance around the t-shaped corridor.

“You alright?” Raid asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Aye. Just a bit sore.”

He tried to hold back a laugh. I gave him a confused look for a moment before I blushed and coughed into a forehoof. “Shut up.”

“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.” He said.

I just stared at him for a moment.

"What?"

I cleared my throat. "Eh... a...about... what ye... what ye said... earlier... uh..."

Raid blinked at me. "Huh?"

"Ye... ye said..."

I was interrupted when a large blur slammed into him, howling with hate and rage. My jaw dropped in surprise.

"YOU MISERABLE FUCKS RUINED EVERYTHING!" The biped screamed as he held Raid up by the throat, his other hand holding a large machete. "Now I have to go out there and deal with this little rebellion you started! Do you know how much of a pain in the ass that'll be?"

He snarled as Raid smacked at his arm, and pointed the machete at the stallion's throat. "I'll have to kill at least half of these morons who call themselves slavers just to get them to listen to me!"

I charged the thing, spun around, and delivered a buck to his right leg. While weak, the kick was enough to knock him over. His grip loosened as he fell, and Raid hit the ground, gasping for air.

The biped growled, stood and gave his neck two violent cracks that made me a bit envious. “I wish you hadn't done that. Now I have to deal with you little upstarts. This started out as a nice day, you know!”

“Well, sucks fer ye then doesn’t it!” I shouted, backing away as he twirled his machete around.

He cocked his head in a curious manner and narrowed his eyes at me. “Hmmmm...”

I glared back at him.

After a moment, he shrugged. “It seems we haven’t been introduced. Welcome to Raftwater. I’m Rex. THIS IS MY FUCKING CITY!”

I flinched as a bit of spit flew onto my face.

Raid spat on the ground, and flared his wings. “How the hell did you even find us?”

Rex quirked an eyebrow at the stallion, and casually pointed towards a spot on the ceiling with his machete, where there was a small black dome. “Cameras.”

Raid face-hoofed. “Of course.”

The diamond dog lunged forward, slammed Raid into the wall, pinning him there with his elbow, and grinned in a menacing way. “I think I’ll gut you first. Give your corpse to some raiders. I’m sure they’ll find a nice use for it.”

I leapt onto his back and wrapped my forelegs around his neck, trying to twist his head around. “Get off him you son of a bitch!”

He threw me onto the ground and frowned. “Har har. Very clever. Diamond dog, son of a bitch, Never heard that one before.”

He snarled as he stepped towards me, still twirling his machete in one hand. "C'mere."

I scrambled backwards, narrowing my eyes in defiance. "Fuck nae."

"I said come- gagh!"

Raid had slammed his entire body into the back of the diamond dog's skull, sending him tumbling forward. The stallion flapped his wings and swooped towards me, only to be stopped when Rex grabbed his tail and once again threw him into the wall.

"Leaving so soon?" He sneered.

He bent down to pick up the machete. Seeing an opportunity, I delivered a telekinetic kick to his backside, causing him to face plant. Ignoring the pain in my horn, I levitated the machete over to myself and held it at the ready.

Rex sighed, and attempted to stand up once more. I punted the weapon at him.

It spun as it flew through the air.

He held his arms up in an attempt to block it.

I almost thought he would...

Until it hit his groin handle-first.

Raid and I both winced as the diamond dog let out a choked squeak and curled up into a ball.

“F-fuck... both of you...” Rex groaned. “That was a... a cheap shot...”

We all stood silent for a moment, interrupted by an occasional groan from Rex.

Raid cleared his throat. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Possibly.”

Raid and I looked at each other.

He nodded.

I nodded.

“Okay.” We both said.

And in that moment, we completely understood each other.

For about twelve minutes, we kicked the shit out of Rex, and ran off, taking the machete with us.

~~~

Green sniffed the herbs, taking in the scent of thyme and lavender and thinking of how it reminded her of her mother. She let out a happy sigh and stared blissfully at the cloudy sky.

“Green? Are you okay?”

The pegasus nodded drowsily. "Uh-huh..."

Barkeep the fifth chuckled, gave a hoofful of caps to the shop owner and took the basket in her magic.

"C'mon Green!" Her son said cheerfully. "Let's go get the oranges!"

Green blinked, and chased after him, a smile on her face.

"Ah, wait!" Barkeep the Fifth called after the two young ponies. "Six, slow down."

It was too late, as they'd both rounded the corner.

She sighed and, with a grunt of effort, picked up some more speed. "Of course."

"'Course what, darlin'?"

She felt herself get swept up into a larger pony's hooves, letting out an 'eep' of surprise, and smirked when she saw the face of the teal-coated, vest-wearing unicorn who'd done it.

"Oh, nothing really. Just your spawn wearing me down from inside and out." She kissed her husband and put a forehoof on her bulging stomach. "Seriously, with the way he's been moving around in there, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a pegasus."

The stallion blinked. "Six is with ya?"

Barkeep rolled her eyes. "No, Amaretto, I just like calling him at random times of the day. My next question is..."

She pulled her husband's face up to hers and gave him a death glare. "Why did I find my son wandering around the town?"

Amaretto swallowed. "C-calm down darlin'."

"ESPECIALLY WITH THAT BITCH STILL AFTER YOU." Her fetlocks curled up, taking firm hold of his vest.

The stallion whimpered. "Ah'm sorry?"

She continued glaring at him for a moment. Eventually, she sighed and kissed him again. "You better be."

Amaretto let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh I'm still pissed at you." She continued. "But-"

A yell rang through the air as Six tackled his father. The two rolled across the ground until they came to a stop several feet fom their starting point, with Six proudly sitting on his father's chest.

"Hah! Got you!" The colt cheered.

Amaretto chuckled. "That ya did, son. Now why were you runnin' roun' outside, eh? Thought Ah said ta stay hidden."

The colt looked at the ground. "She smashed the window and I got... scared..."

"Ah, nuttin' wrong with bein' scared." Amaretto swallowed patted his son on the back and sighed. "She's gettin' worse, though."

"Which is why you can't leave Six alone." Barkeep frowned.

"Five, its also why Ah said we should get a dawg 'r two. The ponies Ah've asked swear by that one zebra who comes through here."

Green stood a short distance away, unsure of what to do as the family conversed. After a moment, she sighed and turned to leave.

"Green! Come and meet my dad! He's really cool." Six yelled.

The filly smiled and nervously trotted back.

She swallowed as she stared up at the teal stsllion. “Um... h-hi...”

Amaretto grinned. “Hey there, miss. Nice ta meetcha. I hear you helped Six?”

“Uh... y-yeah... I just... uh... p-picked him up and f-flew away from... um... that mare...” She swallowed again, but her grin stayed.

“Ah, ya don’t have ta be so nervous. Ah ain’t gonna-” He stopped as his wife whispered something in his ear. He blinked for a moment. “Well, shit. No wonder.”

“H-huh?” Green looked at the mare.

“Well, thanks fer savin’ mah son.” His grin returned. “Ah’d rather not find out what she wants ta do if she finds ‘im. She ain’t exactly ‘stable’, as Ah’m sure ya noticed.”

“Green, you should come and see some of the stuff dad sells!” Six said in an excited manner. “All kinds’a junk and armor and stuff!”

Green blinked. “Uh... well... O-okay...”

With that, she ran after him.

Barkeep trotted after the two, with Amaretto in tow.

The latter quirked an eyebrow and smirked at his wife. “Well Ah’ll be damned. Colt’s turnin’ inta me.”

Barkeep snorted a laugh. “Oh great. Two of you. Just what the wasteland needs.”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (13)

Melee: 100
Survival: 27

!!!-Item equipped:

Pip-buck 2000:
While not as hoof-friendly as the later leg-mounted models and lacking the E.F.S. systems, its inventory, map, and data management are generally considered, ‘better’. Then again, its a lot easier to lose and even easier to hack than a household computer with all the passwords on a sticky note. Better watch where you put it and who you leave it with.

!!!-Item acquired:

Machete: Bonus damage to limbs... and other extremities. Also good for chasing down obnoxious camp-goers.

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP:90%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Raftwater.:

-Get your shit and get out

Other quests:

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

-Escape Raftwater.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Something I would like to see:
William Shatner Speak-and-Spell.

Just think about it.

Oh, and so much for this one being in two weeks. Pfft. Sadly, life caught up to me and smacked me in the head with a bag of bricks. Ah well.

Thanks to everyone involved in this stupid thing. Thank you for bearing with me.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Slightly Minor Inconvenience

Chapter Twenty-Six: Slightly Minor Inconvenience
“Terrible air down here... oh, oh! Hey! Look at that! A pony! With hair! Hey, you think we can do somethin' about that?”

I opened the door and peeked inside. "H-hello?"

There was no answer, though I could hear the clanging of utensils in the kitchen. I snuck inside, putting my bag on the floor by the door. I quietly crept across the living room. I was almost halfway to my bedroom when I heard a voice.

"Hi, swee-"

I jumped in the air with a loud 'eep', and spun to face mom. I cringed, my ears going completely flat against my skull and my tail going even further between my legs as my face turned bright red. Mom stood there behind the kitchen counter, staring at me in mild shock and confusion.

“-tie... are you okay?”

I nodded frantically.

She regarded me for a moment, but eventually gave me a warm smile. “Look, if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m here, okay?”

I nodded again, and backed away slightly, my face still burning. She went over to the couch and sat down, picking up an old book. I swallowed, and just stood there for a while, due to a combination of nervousness and embarrassment.

I eventually managed to make myself go and sit on the opposite end of the couch. “You... you’re not... mad at me?”

Mom looked up and blinked her hazel eyes at me. “What? Why would I be mad at you?”

“Because... I was...” My face returned to a bright shade of red.

“Oh! Oh, no. I’m not mad about that at all.”

“But you looked...” I swallowed.

Mom laughed and pulled me into a hug. “Sweetie, it’s okay. I was just surprised. You’re...”

She sighed. “Growing up. Besides, it’s perfectly normal for a filly your age. I did stuff like that too.”

I looked up at her in surprise. “Y-you did?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I actually should have been expecting this, especially since this is the first time you’ve ever been in heat.”

I shrunk down again. “I am? Is that bad?”

Mom blinked at me. “They haven’t taught you any of this in cl- nevermind, of course not. Your teacher’s kind of an idiot.”

I giggled a bit.

“Anyway, no. It’s not bad at all. You might find it uncomfortable, but it’s not bad.” She rubbed my back. “Although... We might need to get you some deodorant. You... eh...”

She gave me another apologetic smile. “You smell pretty strong.”

My face turned red again. Seeing this, mom gave me another hug. “Its okay, sweetie. Like I said, it’s normal. You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

“Is... is that why you get really mad every year?” I asked.

She chuckled nervously. “Aheh... yes, but that’s because I, personally, hate being in heat. It’s mostly the mood swings, but my tail always seems to get a mind of its own.”

Seeing my scared expression, she smiled again. “That’s just me, though. Some mares actually like being in heat. Either way, it’s something you get used to.”

She gave me a kiss on the base of my horn. “Now, I have a very important bit of advice for you. It’s something that my mom told me when I was your age, that her mom told her, and that every other mother tells her daughters around the world.”

I stared up at her. “What is it?”

“Don’t ever drink alcohol when you’re in heat. Ever. I can’t emphasize this enough. It is a bad idea. I tried it once and I’m still embarrassed about it.”

My eyes widened. “Wh-wh-why?”

“Just trust me on this.” She kissed me again. “And don’t do drugs either. Then again, drugs are a bad idea anyway, so just don’t do them at all.”

I nodded, and nuzzled into mom’s chest again. “I won’t, mom. I promise.”

She hugged me once more. “Just one more thing, though, sweetie... Lock the door next time?”

~~~~

"Dead end." Slam!

"Same here." Click.

"Nothin'." Wham!

"Nada." Click.

"Grrr. Zilch!" Thud.

"Heh, I knew a zebra named Zilch. He didn't do much."

I snorted a laugh. "Och, shut up."

I opened yet another door. "Gaaagh! Nothin'! Alright , it's got tae be oan a higher floor. The pipbuck says we've passed it."

"Oh goddess... now we have to go back just for some stairs?" Raid let out an irritated laugh as he limped his way to the next door. "This day keeps getting better."

"At least ye dunnae have tae carry me around." I rubbed a still-shaky leg.

"Oh, that wasn't so bad." He said simply.

My face reddened. "Ahehehe... let's get goin'?"

“Right. Stairs that-a-way.” He smirked as he started back the way we’d come, with me close behind.

”Oooh, just look at that ass.”

My face went red as I snarled as quietly as I could. "Will ye just shut th’ fuck up already?”

“But why? It’s so much fun to see you embarassed by your own thoughts.”

”They’re nae mah thoughts, it’s ye whisperin’ in mah damned ears. Shut up.”

“So... uh... what...” Raid coughed into a wing. “ Sorry if it’s a bit rude, but I’m curious. What exactly is your mark for?”

”Goddesses, one minute yer tryin’ tae make meh miserable, th’ next yer just sayin’ stupid crap. What’s with ye?”

“Knives?”

She growled. ”I hate you. I want to do anything in my power to mess you up. How’s that?”

“Uh... Knives? Are you okay?”

”Just fuck off and leave meh alone!”

“Knives?”

“Huh? Wha?” I blinked at Raid. “Sorry, Ah guess Ah kinda got... uh... lost in thought.”

”Hmmph.”

“Well... I asked what your mark is for...” He scratched the back of his head. “Not to be rude, or anything.”

“Och... Makin’ things out ay th’ bare minimum and/or scraps.” I smiled proudly. “Cookin’, fixin’, if it can be made, Ah can eventually figure out how tae fix it or make it from practically nothin'"

He chuckled and quirked an eyebrow. “That’s probably one of the best skills you can have in the wasteland.”

I thought for a moment. “Aye. It would be, wouldn’t it. Ah could probably make quite a few bits off it too...”

"Wouldn't be that hard. Especially with all the pre-war tech around Canterbury."

"Gae left." I said.

"So how'd you get it?"

"Ah'd been workin' oan a jukebox fer a while. When Ah finally finished it, mah cutie mark appeared." I sighed happily. "Ah didnae realize Ah could cook too until Ah actually tried it. What about ye?"

"Eh... it's a bit weird. There was this filly I liked when I was eight. We were pretending we were dating. Heh. All we really knew about romance was that a stallion gives the mare a backrub." He chuckled. "I was good at it."

I laughed.

"Yeah. Mine isn't quite so useful out here." He frowned. "I’m just lucky that the Lover’s Guild extends into Dream Valley."

"There’s a ‘Lover’s Guild’? Are ye kiddin’ meh?" I asked incredulously. "Turn right."

"Yeah. It's... a..." His eye twitched and his voice dropped to a whisper as he slowly stepped backwards. "A bunch of Bone Eaters at the end of the hallway."

I peeked around the corner. Indeed, there was a small number of irritated-looking and well-armed ponies and zebras at the far end of the corridor, all pointing weapons at a nearby door and shouting at each other. "This is annoyin'."

"They haven't noticed us yet, though. At least that's something." Raid poked his head out, and quickly pulled it back in. "I can't hear what they're- waitaminnit..."

He looked again, and a mischievous grin spread across his face as he turned back to me. "I found my jacket."

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm going to see if I can get in closer." With a flap of his wings, he shot into the next closest room.

"Wha- Raid!" I hissed. "Get back here!"

He kept on going down the hallway, ducking inside of each room.

Cursing under my breath, I followed him, throwing nervous glances towards the slavers as I moved. It was sheer luck they didn't notice me.

I glared at Raid. "Th' hell are ye thinkin'?"

"Listen." He pointed towards the group. With an irritated growl, I did as he asked.

"... in there?"

There were five of them. A unicorn stallion in a familiar jacket, two zonys, and two zebras.

"No. They suddenly ran off because of our immense skill." The zony buck at the door snapped. “Of course they’re still fucking in there.”

“Oh fuck you. I still think we should just block the door and ditch this place.” The unicorn snorted.

The zebra in the corner yawned. “I don’t even wanna be here.”

“Shut up fat-ass.” One of the zonys hissed as she cleaned her shotgun.

The zebra snarled. “I’M NOT FAT! I’m pregnant you goddess-damned bitch.”

“Calm down, Vill.” The other zebra said with a faint smile. “You’ll just wear yourself out.”

The buck at the door snorted. “Oh, look who’s all zen and stuff.”

He turned and glared at the zony. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to my friend like that.”

“I think we should just use fat-ass as a battering ram.” The zony mare giggled. “Put all her extra weight to good use.”

“Hey, at least I can actually have foals.” Vill snorted.

The mare’s jaw worked as she tried to figure out a suitable comeback. My own jaw just dropped.

”Awww, did she remind you about something sad?”

“Woah, that was uncalled for.” Said the zony buck.

Raid looked at me with his brow furrowed. "Knives? Are you okay?"

My ears were flat against my skull, and I felt like I was on the verge of tears, but I nodded anyway. "Aye. Just a sore topic."

“And using me as a battering ram isn’t? Fuck you, Mine.” She huffed.

"You don't even know what that means do you? I'll bet you didn't even know how you got pregnant until someone told you." The zony mare snarled.

Vill opened her mouth. She closed it. She opened it again... and closed it. Her face turned red. "Shut up."

"I fucking knew it. You're such a dumbass." The zony snorted. "What are you, fourteen? And you don't know this shit?"

"Shut up!" Vill said indignantly.She dropped to her haunches, rubbing her belly and wincing. “Fuck my stomach hurts.”

“It’s ‘cuz you sit in bed eating crap all day.” Said Mine.

"Hey, I'm fuckin' hungry all the time now. Gimme a break." She harrumphed. "Not that either of you would know."

I bit my lip.

"Oh come on, now you're just trying to piss me off!" The zony mare screamed.

The unicorn stomped on the floor. “Hey! Hallway is blockaded, remember? Maybe you should try and break it open?"

"Calm down, Crane. I'm working on it."

Mine returned to fiddling with the door, while the mare glared at Vill, who continued to rub her stomach.

"Knives, are you sure you're okay?" Raid whispered, a comforting hoof on my shoulder.

"Aye. Ah'll be fine." I sniffled a bit, and wiped my eyes with a fetlock. "Ah dunnae want tae talk about it right now."

He patted me on the shoulder in a comforting way. It was surprisingly effective, and I couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Okay... you were right, Crane. We should just blow this damn thing open." Mine sighed.

The unicorn's eye twitched violently. "Just fucking do it!"

"Alright, don't get your armor all bunched up."

Vill yawned again, but stopped midway. I quirked an eyebrow. She held that position for a while, until I realized that she was looking directly at me, her eyes slowly widening.

"Spy!" She yelped, as she scrambled through her saddlebags. "Its a spy!"

The other Bone Eaters whipped their weapons out, and pointed them towards us. Vill continued to search her bags.

"Alright, out." Crane growled. "Now. We've got plenty of grenades over here, and we will use them."

I swore and stepped into the corridor. "Alright, ye got meh."

The zebra stallion rolled his eyes. "Great. A Grey Islander."

"What the hell?" Crane said. "You're that mare I brought in yesterday."

"Ach. Ah thought that was you." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Mah horn hurt like hell after that."

He growled. "I threw your feathery friend to the pits, you know."

I smirked. "Did ye now?"

He snarled. "Mine, get the door ready."

"Right." The zebra buck nodded, and started pulling grenades out of his armor pockets and wedging them under the door.

Crane stood there, glaring at me as his comrades relaxed, apart from Vill, who finally fished an SMG from her bag with an embarrassed look.

"Yer wearin' mah friend's jacket." I said simply.

"Yeah. I like it." Crane smirked. "Think I'll keep it."

I took one of mine's grenades in my magic and punted it into Crane's head. The unicorn turned and growled at the zebra. I punted the grenade back at him.

I pulled the pin and threw it down the hall.

"What the fuck wa-" Crane's voice was drowned out by the explosion, and the sprinklers going off.

Before I could even blink, Raid flew down the corridor and slammed into Crane.

The zony mare tried, and failed, to hit the pegasus with her shotgun, only succeeding in making large holes in the ceiling. The zebra stallion turned the assault rifle in his battle saddle on me.

I yelped and zipped back into the room I'd hidden in before.

All the while, Vill was screaming in terror and cowering in her corner.

A grenade bounced into the room. I dove behind a desk and punted the metal ball as far away as I could. It hit the other side of the room and exploded, the blast slamming the desk against the wall, pinning me.

With a grunt of effort I shoved the desk off me, and yelped as the zebra stallion charged in, leapt over the desk, and headbutted me back into the wall. I let out a squeaking noise as the air was knocked out of my lungs.

I flailed my forelegs and managed to drive a hoof into his eye, causing him to back off me and stumbled for a moment. Just long enough for me to catch my breath...

Only to have it have it knocked out again when Mine slammed into me.

I was starting to feel light-headed. Water was dripping into my eyes.

A hoof smashed into my face, and I felt something move in ways it wasn't supposed to. I would have screamed if I had any breath. The zony pointed a laser pistol into my face.

I flinched.

He was thrown off me when Raid fired a shotgun into his face.

Half of his visage now missing, the zony took to writhing on the ground and screaming.

The zebra chomped down on the firing bit, and his twin rifles opened up, only to be interrupted by another shotgun blast from Raid.

The zebra was thrown onto his back, and before he could recover, Raid pointed the shotgun into his gut and fired. The zony received the same treatment.

I gasped and coughed as I finally managed to catch my breath again and pull myself to my hooves. I spat out some blood, and gingerly touched my nose.

Raid gave me a few thumps on the back as I kept coughing. "You alright?"

I nodded. "Aye. Just a broken nose, Ah think. Ye get yer jacket?"

He smirked."Yeah. It'll regenerate in a minute. Fuckwit blew himself up on those grenades."

"Well..." I smiled. "Ah dunnae trust this. Too easy."

"Well, I'm fairly certain I re-broke my leg." He said, swaying slightly and staring at the appendage in question. "But other than that and a few bruises, I'm fine."

I blinked at him. "Yer... awfully calm fer somepony with a broken leg."

He frowned. "The med-x helps a lot. Makes me dizzy as hell, though. Actually... that might have a slight concussion."

“Uh... dae ye want anythin’?”

“Meh. I’ll just fly.” He sighed. “Until my leg heals. Come on. Let’s drag ‘em into the other room.”

I nodded, and grunted as the injured pegasus lifted one of the corpses onto my back, and dragged the other one just behind me..

I groaned as I dropped the dead zebra and stretched, feeling an ache in my back from being slammed against the wall. I glanced at the new exit made by Miner's grenades and at the water pooling on the floor. Something moved in the corner of my eye. There waswas a striped, wide-eyed face staring back at me from the corner.

“Och, yer still here?” I quirked an eyebrow.

The zebra screamed and fired her SMG wildly, bullets flying all across the room, one hitting my ear and making me scream in pain. Raid knocked me to the ground until the gunshots were replaced with clicking sounds.

“Gaaaagh! What th’ fuck?” I roared, holding a hoof over my bleeding right ear. “Why did ye dae that?”

“Don’t kill mee-hee-hee!” She screamed, tears streaming down her face as she tried to back even further into the corner. “I’m sorry!”

I released my ear so Raid could pour a healing potion onto it. My hoof was completely covered in blood. I suddenly wanted a mirror so I could look at the damage.

“I don’t wanna die!” The young mare continued, quivering in terror now that she couldn’t back up any further. “Please just let me gooo-ho-ho-hooo!”

Raid offered me the rest of the bottle. “Did she hit you anywhere else?”

I shook my head, and he put the potion back. “Nae. Just that ear. The rest ay me is fine.”

Raid turned to the crying zebra, a mix of confusion and irritation on his face. “Why the hell are you still here? I expected you to make a run for it with how much you were screaming.”

She just continued to sob, her pleas changing into quiet wimpers.

“Maybe she just got scared?” I whispered.

“That’s why I thought she would run.” The ultramarine buck replied.

“What should we dae with her?” I asked.

“Well, I’m not killing a pregnant mare.” He said. “But she’s still a Bone Eater, so I really don’t want to leave her where she can go and get help.”

I sighed. “Let me guess, we’re gettin’ a travelin’ companion?”

“Yup.”

“Can’t we just- Oh fer th’ love ay Celestia, shut up! We’re nae goin’ tae kill ye.” I groaned.

The zebra sniffled again. “Y-you’re n-n-not?”

“Nae.” I snorted. “And ye better love that foal in yer gut, ‘cuz it’s probably th’ only reason yer still alive right now.”

Raid gave me a confused look.

“Aam bitter about that particular topic, alright.” I growled. “Leave me alone.”

He winced. “Sorry.”

"We could just tie her up." I continued.

"We don't have anything to do it with." Raid shrugged.

I sighed, and turned to the young zebra. "Hey!"

The mare jumped. "H-huh?!

"Yer name's Vill, right?"

"Y-y-yeah."

"How old are ye?"

She swallowed. "Fifteen?"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Awful young tae be gettin' knocked up isn't it?"

"H-hey! I'm not that young!" She whined.

"We're takin' ye with us, apparently." I sighed.

"Oh... uh... okay." The pregnant zebra massaged her bulging stomach again, apparently relaxing now that she felt safer. "I guess that's fine..."

Raid gave her a confused look. "What, no argument? You're not even going to ask why?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "This place sucks. Nobody ever lets me do anything. Especially after... uh... this happened."

She poked her belly and sighed. "Now everyone just calls me stupid."

"Och. Yer life sounds sae difficult." The sarcasm in my voice was almost tangible. "Ye went and did somethin' stupid. Suck it up."

She sighed. "Whatever. Are we gonna go?"

I frowned and muttered to myself as I stormed through the hole where the door used to be, sending water up in the air with every step. Raid following closely and Vill trudging along a short distance away.

“Knives, is something wrong?” The pegasus whispered.

“She just pisses meh off. Ye dunnae have tae worry about it.” I grumbled.

“Is... eh... is it about the... ‘not having foals’ thing?” He asked.

I shot him a death-glare. “Yes.”

He withered as I glared at him, chuckling nervously and backing off a few steps.

With a snort, I continued on through the gradually flooding corridor.

”Oh look, little miss Knives is bitter about something.”

“Fuck ye. Dunnae speak.” I snarled under my breath. “Just stay quiet and keep in th’ back ay mah head where ye belong.”

”Oh, real scary. What are you going to do, huh?”

“Ah’ll think ay somethin’.”

“Did you say something?” Asked the pegasus.

“Nae. Why’s all this water still here? Shouldn’t it have gone down by nao?” I pointed to a nearby sprinkler.

“Not really.” Vill said.

Upon seeing that were were both looking at her, she shrank into herself. “I-I mean, we’re right above the wet levels s-so it’s... Sorry...”

“I doubt the flooded levels have anything to do with it.” Raid said. “That was fairly clever, though.”

The young mare smiled. “R-really?”

I quirked an eyebrow at the stallion. “Really?”

He shrugged. “She already seems smart than most of the slavers I’ve met.”

The zebra’s smile grew wider. Then she blushed. “Um... could... could we stop off at a bathroom? I... kinda need to pee.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out the pipbuck. “There’s one near th’ elevator.”

“What? Oh, come on! I really have to go. Isn’t there one closer?” She whined.

“Nae.” I said after a moment of flicking through the map. “Sorry.”

She moaned. “I hate being pregnant.”

I growled.

The young mare let out a sigh. “I guess I can hold it.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like you’ll explode.” Raid laughed.

“I sure feel like I am.” She groaned as she rubbed her belly. “And the foal keeps kicking me in the stomach.”

I growled again.

~~~

We kept on for a while, me occasionally checking the map to see if we were on track.

Even more often, Vill would groan and complain about something. Every time, my eye would twitch.

“My fetlocks hurt.” She moaned.

Twitch.

“My stomach hurts.”

Twitch-a-twitch.

“I... uh... still need to pee.”

Twitch-twitch.

Raid gave me a concerned look. I tried to focus on anything other than the sound of the young mare’s voice.

“Ow! Stop that!” She yelled at her stomach.

I pulled the map out again and searched it desperately. My eyes lit up and I let out a happy squeal. “Oh look! There’s a bathroom on the next intersection!”

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Vill sighed.

“Tell ye what, ye’ve been sae good about this, that we’re goin’ tae let ye head off oan yer own.” I said through clenched teeth. “Dunnae worry, we’ll wait fer ye.”

“Uh... thanks?” She smiled. “I’ll... I’ll be right back, I guess.”

With that she splashed through the flooded hallways.

I sighed.

“Is she really annoying you that much?”

I turned and grabbed Raid by the neck. “WHY ARE WE BRINGIN’ HER WITH US?”

“Gaaagh! I’m sorry! I just can’t bear to leave foals on their own!”

“She’s nae a foal, she’s fifteen!”

“She’s pregnant! As far as I’m concerned, that counts.”

“She’s drivin’ me fuckin’ crazy!” I snarled.

“Look, I’m sorry she’s whiny, but can you just bear with it?”

“Ah’ve been bearin’ with it fer the PAST HALF-HOUR!”

“It’s not like we’re going to keep her or anything. I just wanna make sure she gets someplace safe.” He said.

“Why dae ye even care? She’s a fuckin’ slaver!”

“But her foal isn’t.” He sighed, and rubbed a hoof across his face. “Look, I have to go by what I feel is right, okay? I’m sorry she’s annoying you, but I just couldn’t forgive myself if I let a young mare with a foal get screwed over by some petty shithead slaver who wanted... whatever it is that slavers want. I just couldn’t.”

My eye twitched as I struggled to come up with a response. Eventually, I just growled and let him go. “Fine. Ye owe meh fer this.”

“Thank you.” He said. “That’s all I wanted. Honestly, she’s getting on my nerves too. Oh, she’s coming back.”

“Oh joy. How convenient.” I grumbled.

”Poor little Knives. Jealous of the pregnant mare.”

My eye twitched again.

The young mare smiled sheepishly. “Thanks for waiting.”

Raid waved a hoof. “No problem. Let’s get going.”

“So... uh... you guys aren’t actually slaves, right?” She asked. “I mean... you broke in?”

“Yeah. We were trying to get somepony who you guys caught.” Raid said. “We... didn’t exactly plan things very well.”

“So... so that m-ow! Again? Ugh, why do you keep kicking me there?” She moaned.

Twitch-a-twitch.

”Aww, how cute. The foal’s kicking.”

I just need to stay calm.

“Have you tried poking yourself?” Raid suggested.

“Huh?”

“One of my friends did it whenever her foal was in a weird spot. Always seemed to work for her.”

“Oh... no. It never moves where I want it too.” She groaned again. “It always kicks me in the ribs.”

I tried to distract myself. “Ye dunnae know if it’s a colt or a filly?”

She blinked at me. “Uh... no? I can’t see through my own skin, duh.”

“I don’t think they have medical imaging equipment.” Raid mused.

“What’s that mean?” She asked.

“Sae, what about th’ father.” I asked before Raid could respond.

She stopped. “Uh... well... what about him?”

“Just wonderin’ who he is.”

“Can... we not talk about it? I... Sorry...”

I rolled my eyes and continued on again.

I reveled in the awkward silence, glad to not have to listen to her endless whining.

Just listening to the sprinklers pour out their water, with nopony to turn them off. Our hoofsteps splashing in the water, now up to the tops of our hooves.

“Hey... um... Mr. Pegasus? You’re... uh.. you’re dripping orange all over the floor. Are... are you okay?”

“Dri- ah, shit.” He turned and looked at his jacket, which now had large peach-colored splotches on it. “My mane dye is leaking. I didn’t even know that could happen.”

“Dae ye really need tae dye it?” I asked, leaning against the wall and glaring down the corridor.

He frowned at me. “If I don’t want ponies staring, yes. Also, I have a very... distinctive mane. I’d rather not have Spectrum finding me because of it.”

I snorted. “What’s sae distinctive about it?”

“Uh... Can we talk about this later?” He scratched the back of his head nervously, coloring his hoof peach.

I glanced at him, and returned to glaring at the walls.

My eyes widened and I looked again. Rivulets of peach were dripping off his mane, leaving behind streaks of its true color. “Eh... Nae, really, nae...”

He blinked at me. “What?”

My eyebrow raised as I continued to stare at him. “Ah can see why ye’d need tae hide that...”

He blinked again, pulled a lock of his mane in front of his eyes, and groaned. “Oh, for the love of... Come on! This is what I get for using two-hundred year old dyes.”

“That looks kinda cool...” Vill said.

“Sae... Ah guess Ah should ask th’ obvious question nao...”

He sighed. “Guess I’ll have to answer. Ask away, oh questioner of things.”

I cleared my throat. “Raid... Why is yer mane rainbow-colored?”

~~~~

Xixixix couldn't help but smirk as he watched the pink mare's backside sway back and forth.

"Shame she's so fucking nuts." He chuckled under his breath.

"Green?" Wretch called. "Green?"

"I did say you shouldn't have-"

"I didn't ask you." She said with a quick glare. "Green?"

The zebra quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't that her over there?"

"Huh?" Wretch turn to see him pointing at a small group of ponies surrounding a prairie schooner, the verdant pegasus being among them, rummaging through the assortment in junk in the back of the cart. "Green!"

The filly looked up and waved at the pony and the zebra with a wing, a smile on her face. "Hi Wretch!"

"We've been looking for you. I finally found what I've been looking for." Wretch smiled back.

Xixixix smirked. "Correction: you found the way to find-"

"Stop talking." The unicorn growled, keeping her smile on.

The zebra rolled his eyes.

Green frowned. "Are... are you okay, Wretch?"

"I'm fine. I just... saw some..." The made shuddered.

"I told you there was nasty stuff in there."

"So, what've you been up to?" The pink mare asked.

“Uh... I saved Barkeep from a crazy pony, and then I met his mom and dad...” The filly scratched her mane nervously. “And now Mr. Amaretto’s letting me look through the... uh...”

“Inventory.” A brown unicorn mare popped her head around the canvas wall. “So you’re Wretch?”

The other unicorn nodded. “It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for watching Green.”

“It’s nothing. She’s a nice filly.” She smiled at Green, who blushed. “I’m glad I met her, actually.”

“So, you saved someone, eh?” Xixixix grinned. “Was it a marvelous adventure rife with danger and Prench onion dip?”

Green blinked in confusion. “Uhhh... I... saw him running away from somepony and I helped him get away.”

“Yeah! It was really cool! She just picked me up and zoomed away!” Six cheered. "And I knocked stuff over."

The zebra grinned wider. "I like him. He tells it better."

Six beamed at him.

"We really do appreciate what she did." Barkeep hopped off the wagon. "I'd... rather not think what would've happened if she didn't."

"Good thing I sent her out then." Wretch said.

"Hey, if you need help, I think we can manage." Xixixix ignored the death-glare he received from Wretch. "You said someone was after you?"

Barkeep blinked. "Uh... yeah?"

"Well, what can you tell us?" He smirked as he saw Wretch out of the corner of his eye, clenching her teeth so hard he thought they might break.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Exp: 25%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
EXP: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (13)

Speech: 96

Intense training: +1 Charisma

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Raftwater.:

-Get your shit and get out

Other quests:

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

-Escape Raftwater.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Well, better late than never, right? I should have gotten this out on Monday. Stupid life. Why do i even need you?

Hmmph.

Thank you Kkat, for this sandbox I'm ruthlessly ruining with stuff.

Muahaha, fear me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Cobwebs and Rainbows

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Cobwebs And Rainbows
"Are you a maker of war, or peace?”
“Pizza”
“That’s reassuring."

"Uuuugh..."

Over the edge of the bucket, I saw a lock of rainbow-colored mane shift over to sit next to me on the vertibuck's internal benches. Its owner's voice whispered in my ear. "Hey li'l bro. Ya feelin' any better?"

My response was to puke into the bucket and moan again.

"Uh... guess I'll take that as a 'no'..." The mare said. “Want some water or anything? Sorry I forgot to bring some ginger for you.”

I nodded. "Thanks, Lee..."

"Don't worry, Zim, we'll be back on the ground in a minute." Said another young mare with a brightly colored rainbow mane, one of my older nieces, Neon. "Just hang tight."

"Why can't I juss fly?" I moaned after emptying my guts again.

Arc Bolt giggled from her corner seat.. "'Cuz we need ta get past the Orange Storm? Duh."

"Give ‘im a break. He's sick." Neon said.

Lee hoofed me a bottle of clear water, which I sipped on slowly, glad to have something in my churning stomach.

"I don't get it." Arc shook her head. "How can ya fly like a hummingbird, but get sick standing on anything that moves?"

I only groaned again, and thanked Celestia as I felt the vertibuck start to descend.

"Whassa hummingbird?" Neon asked after a moment of thought.

"Uh... I think it's this big bird that, like... kinda flies the way Zim does? Somepony mentioned it in a book."

I felt the vehicle touch down, and saw the door open. Without a second thought, I sped out onto the ground. I sat on my haunches and reveled in being on solid ground.

“Wow. Ya got it pretty bad this time, huh?” I looked up to see Vivid Rush smiling down at me, her multi-hued mane tied in a tail behind her head. “Good thing we’re not actually startin’ yet,huh?”

I nodded.

“Mom!” Neon ran out and hugged Vivid, the older blue mare laughing and ruffling her mauve-coated daughter’s mane.

"How was the ride, squirt?" Vivid asked.

"Kinda boring, but uncle Zim kept blowing chunks." The filly said.

I put a hoof on my stomach and grimaced. "Eugh... I hate riding, like... so friggin' much..."

"Well ya won't have ta worry about that until next week." Vivid grinned, and pointed behind me.

I turned and looked past the vertibuck to see a large greenhouse, being guarded by a pony in Stable Fifteen barding. With an eyebrow raised in suspicion, I trotted inside, the guard simply giving me a nod and a smirk. After a moment of gawking at what was inside, I trotted back over to my sister.

I turned back to Vivid. "Dude... that's, like... a grove of mangoes..."

The mare nodded.

“Which are the most wicked thing that I have ever eaten in my entire life?”

She nodded again.

“Which I thought I’d never be able to taste again for, like, ever?”

Once more, she nodded.

"How many strings did you have to pull for this?"

Lee flew over to lean on Vivid’s side with a cocky smirk.

“A lot. And its not the only thing we're doin' either. I managed ta set’cha up with a massage tutor. Happy birthday, Zimmy."

I blinked. “Dude... there’s tutors for that?”

“Yeah, surprised me too.”

I nodded in understanding. "Righteous."

After a moment, I grinned. “Have I ever told you that you are, fer sure, the most gnarlatious sisters ever?”

With that, I charged towards Lee, hugged her, then hugged Vivid, and then charged back into the greenhouse, cackling with glee, and leaving my sisters and niece giggling on the tarmac.

~~~

“Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there was a mare named Rainbow Dash. She helped free Princess Luna from who-gives-a-crap-where, and helped Equestria in the war against the zebras. Some psychotic fan-mare of hers managed to get a hold of one of her feathers, and decided, ‘Hey! I think I’ll laminate this in fucking magic plastic, and keep it for future generations to enjoy!’

“Once she’d managed to get that done, the world blew up!”

I grinned and let out a dry laugh.

“Fifty years later, another psychotic fan-mare, this one a dashite, ha ha, from the Grand Pegasus Enclave, found the feather in the other psycho’s mostly-destroyed house, and decided to wander around Equestria, bringing even more obsessive fan-ponies together in a group that worshipped that feather. This was the start of Spectrum, the ultimate Rainbow Dash fanclub-slash-mercenary company-slash-religion-slash-government.

"Then, fourty-seven years ago, some scientist, probably a Stable Fifteen reject, came up to them and said, ‘Hey, I know how to make a whole pony from a few cells using this pre-war magic and crap I’ve got.’ So the leaders of Spectrum went, ‘Like, omigosh! Can you make a couple clones of Rainbow Dash for us so they can do a Sonic Rainboom and destroy the Enclave for us?’

"Thus, my oldest two sisters, Vivid Rush and Vibrant Smoke, were born.” I laughed again. “And all of Spectrum was disappointed when they couldn’t do a Rainboom, because that’s not how fucking clones work!”

Knives was looking at me with concern on her face. “Eh... Raid? Yer feathers are-”

“But wait! There’s more! When they found out that their ‘project’ failed, they tried it again! This time they made one clone at a time, but with itty-bitty little changes, BECAUSE THAT’S TOTALLY GONNA SOLVE THE FUCKING PROBLEM!”

“Raid, yer-”

“So they made my other sisters. Motley Split, Chroma Dart, Monochrome Race, Technicolor Streak, Faded Pace, Arc Bolt, and Pale Sprint... Each time going ‘Hey, maybe if we change this thing they’ll finally be able to do it!’” I cackled. “And at long last, they said, ‘Hey, I know! Stallions are supposed to be stronger and faster fliers than mares, right? So if we make one male, he’ll definitely be able to do it!’”

I laughed harder.

“Raid, calm-”

And so I, Prism Blitz, was born! But you wanna hear the kicker? None of us were actually fucking born!” I laughed yet again. “We were grown! IN SOME SORT OF FUCKING PLANT-THING MADE BY A FUCKING NUTCASE, BECAUSE HE WANTED TO SEE IF HE COULD!”

“RAID! CALM TH’ FUCK DOWN BEFORE AH RIP YER DAMNED FEATHERS OUT!” Knives screamed in my face.

I automatically pulled a hoof back to protect my wings, and realized that they’d flared out without my knowing, pushing aside my quarter-regenerated jacket.

“Eh... sorry... got kinda carried away there. Heh.” A nervous chuckle left my throat as I smoothed out my feathers and pulled the jacket’s tattered edge as far as it would go. “Anyway, as time passed Spectrum kinda... ditched everything else and just went full-merc to the highest bidder, second only to the Talon Company in Canturbury, but much less... honorable? I guess? Ah whatever. They started taking jobs that several of its members didn’t agree with, myself included, so we left. And here I am.”

Both of the mares in the room were looking at me with looks of mixed confusion, surprise, and possibly slight fear, though that may have been my imagination. “Questions? Comments? Applause?”

“Yer wings are ruffled.” Knives pointed out. “Ye seem a bit... angry...”

I smoothed my wings out and adjusted my saddlebags, formerly the property of Vill’s deceased friends. “Oh, I’m not angry. All that crap just makes me a bit annoyed.”

She gave me an incredulous look. “Rrrrriiiight... Sae, yer name’s actually ‘Prism Blitz’, then?”

I nodded. “Yup. Most ponies who know it call me ‘Zim’, though.”

“Can I call you Zim?” Vill asked.

I shrugged. “Sure. Not like I’ll stop you.”

“Sae did ye ever manage tae dae this ‘Sonic Rainboom’ thing?”

I gave Knives a blank stare. “You’re kiddin’ right? I was the slowest. You need speed to do one of those, and the only reason... she could do it, was probably because that was her special talent... Well, I think it was anyway. I’m not sure how much of the tales are actually true.”

Knives looked at me for a moment, her beautiful silver eyes shining with interest. Eventually, she shrugged. “Alright.”

“That’s it?” I blinked a few times. “Just... ‘Alright’?”

“Aye. What dae ye want meh tae say? ‘Och, goddesses, a clone! How terrible!’” She shrugged again. “Ye told meh, now Ah know. That’s all there is tae it, really.”

“Huh... I was... kinda expecting more of a reaction... Like, you being pissed off about me lying...”

“Why would Ah? Ah dunnae expect ye tae tell meh a damned thing.” She said, squeezing some water out of her tail. “It’s yer choice, nae mine.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I actually kind of appreciate that.”

“Besides, Zeed’s probably goin’ tae take all kinds ay interest in it, ye dunnae need meh buggin’ ye about it tae.” She grimaced, and started down the corridor. “Especially about th’ ‘plant-thing’.”

My ears went down. “Right... ‘course she would.”

"So what's it like being a clone?" Vill asked.

I rolled my eyes at the young mother-to-be. "Difficult. I have to take my face off every day and wash it. Then I have to eat my own hooves or they'll grow into my brain, and being fueled by equine souls is just so-"

I stopped as her curious expression changed to one of confusion.

"I don't know. What's it like not being a clone?" I pinched my brow with a wingtip and let out a rough sigh. “I mean, I kinda have nothing to compare it to, so I have no idea. Duh.”

"Uhh... well..."

"Is nao really th' best time fer a philosophical argument?" Knives didn't look away from the old pipbuck levitating in front of her. "Ah kind ay want tae get out ay here."

"No, but it helps to not think about the fact that we're pretty much surrounded by slavers who hate us." I blinked and glanced at Vill. "Well... most of us, anyway."

The zebra let out a sigh and pouted.“Not like I wanted to be...”

I gave her a curious look, but she just trotted a bit faster and avoiding eye contact. With a shrug, I checked my jacket again. Seeing that it was now past the wingtips, I nodded in satisfaction.

"There should be an elevator around here." Knives murmured to herself.

The water continued to pour down on us, my eyes stung a bit as my leaking mane dye dripped into them. I sighed as I shook some of the water off my head, and frowned as I caught sight of the peach dye I’d just splattered across the walls. “Sheesh... I really need my hat back.”

"Finally!" Knives exclaimed with a combination of irritation and relief. "Ah almost thought we'd never find th' damned thing."

"Does it work?" Vill asked hopefully. "I don't think I can... uh... waddle up four flights of stairs right now..."

I blinked. "Wait, how did you get down here?"

"I had to go down four flights of stairs." She grumbled.

Knives let out an irritated sigh. "Och, quit complainin'. It should be fine anyway"

The mare hit the call button.

Nothing.

She hit it again.

Still nothing.

She growled and gave it a rough smack.

To which the elevator responded with a profound nothing.

"Never mind. No power. Crap. Raid eh... Ah mean Zim, sorry,” She gave me an apologetic smile, to which I responded with an amused snort. “Can ye help meh pull this stupid door open?"

She pulled Rex's machete from her back and jammed it into the door, and we both threw our weight against it until I could get a hoof into the crack and pull. Knives took the opportunity to slip into the elevator while I held it open. Vill sat on the wet floor in the hallway, looking miserable and rubbing her swollen stomach.

Knives kicked the wall near the door, knocking the fake wood panel off and revealing the crystal matrix inside. “Fuck... Why couldn’t they just use mechanics? It would ay been easier.”

I snorted. “It wouldn’t be Canturbury if they did ‘easier’. Can you fix it?”

“Aye. It’s all connected right... Ah think. Maybe there’s a circuit breaker somewhere on the top. Can ye give me a boost?” I stood still as Knives hopped on my back, punched open one of the metal ceiling panels, and climbed up into the elevator shaft. “Och, come on! Why would they... never fuckin’ mind.”

“You alright?” I asked.

“Aye. There’s a power gem that got loose ay somethin’. Goin’ tae see if Ah can... find... iiiiit...” She hrrm-ed and haa-ed.

“You want help?” I popped my head up through the hatch, only to find that I couldn’t see anything in the darkness.

“Nae, Aam fine. Just got tae find... Ah!” There was a sparking sound, and I blinked as the place was filled with light. I blinked again as I saw Knives examining a hole in the wall of the elevator shaft that was filled with switches and crystals. A hole next to the door two floors above me. She didn’t seem to notice how high up she was. “Seriously, why would ye put th’ lights and th’ elevator oan th’ same fuckin’ system?”

She continued fiddling with the crystal matrix and switches within the panel, her tongue stuck between her teeth in a way that I couldn’t help but think of as ‘adorable’. The lights running up and down the walls of the shaft flickered a few times.

“Wow. You’re doing pretty good right now.” I smirked.

“What are ye talkin’ about?” A whirring sound started beneath me as she flicked one last switch, and a triumphant grin spread across her face. She slammed the door on the panel shut.

“Well, you’re about two floors up. That’s not bad.”

She froze.

“What?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

She swallowed hard and slowly turned her head downwards. Her eyes widened as she looked down at me, while her pupils contracted to the point where I could barely see them.

She snapped her head back up and clenched her eyes shut, wrapping her legs around the rungs of the ladder.

I grimaced. “Oh...”

The striped unicorn let out a choked sob. The ladder was shaking now, almost as much as she was.

“Eh... I’ll just, uh...” With a flap of my wings, I made my way up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Sorry...”

“PleasegetmedownpleasegetmedownpleasepleasepleasepleasegetmedownIdon’twannadiepleasepleaseplease...” She murmured, over and over again.

I bit my lip as I carefully put a hoof on her shoulder. “Grab on.”

She did just that, wrapping her hooves around my neck with surprising quickness, hiding her face in my mane and sobbing quietly. I felt her heart pounding against my chest, and a pang of guilt went through me.

The second I touched the elevator floor, she let me go and scrambled back into the hallway, shoving aside a confused-looking Vill, where she leaned against the wall and clamped a hoof around her muzzle, making sickening noises.

Vill quirked an eyebrow at me. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Uh... well...”

Knives threw up, making Vill and I grimace.

She wiped her mouth, and her breathing slowed down noticeably. None of us said anything as she recomposed herself.

Eventually, she exhaled. "Rai-Zim, can ye dae me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time ye see me in a high place..." she put a hoof on my shoulder. "DUNNAE FUCKIN TELL MEH!"

I winced. "Sorry..."

She spat on the ground and wiped her mouth again. "Fuck... Ah was fine until ye pointed it out tae meh."

"I'm sorry, okay?"

She looked at me for a moment, and smiled. "Thanks fer gettin' meh down, though. Uh... it was..."

Her face reddened. "Sweet?"

I blinked at her. "No problem..."

She rushed into the elevator. I heard her mutter something about 'quiet'.

I smiled as I stepped in after Vill, who gave me yet another confused look.

’She knows now. Say something,' hissed the little me in my subconscious.

I blinked, and my smile widened. "Knives?"

"Aye?" She hit the button for the top floor.

"When we get out of here, would you like to go out?"

Both she and Vill gave me a surprised look.

The striped unicorn worked her jaw a few times. "Yer askin' meh nao?"

I shrugged and grinned nervously. "Now's as good a time as any."

"Nao. While we're in th' middle ay a slaver base."

My grin shrank a bit. "Uh... well... aheh..."

She continued to stare at me. "Yes. That would be wonderful."

Ding.

“Heh... awesome.” The grin widened so much it almost hurt.

"Aww." Vill said, giggling a bit. "Cute."

Knives glared at her. It lasted about a second before she started chuckling as well as she saw my elated expression. She glanced out the door and her face suddenly fell. “Och wow...”

I turned to see that the elevator had opened into a now-crumbling building with large holes in the walls and ceiling. Shouts, gunshots and explosions snuck in through the openings in the rubble and junk, several bodies were buried under rocks and support beams. Vill’s eyes widened as she stepped forward.

“What the hell?” The mom-to-be gasped. "Oh... oh shit, Bridge is dead? A-and Xin?"

"Friends of yours?" I asked.

She went pale and rubbed her swollen belly. "Uh... well...I...kinda...never mind, can we go?"

"Th' storage building should be a block or two away from here." Knives stuffed the pipbuck back into her mane. "How is it out there?"

I peered out through one of the larger gaps in the rubble. There were corpses and wounded ponies spread throughout the streets, most of the surrounding buildings had large holes in them, and I could hear the sounds of combat not too far away.

"Not bad, but definitely not good." I said. "We'll have to make a run for it and hope we don't run into trouble."

Vill's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"Aam goin' tae have tae agree with ye there." I moved out of the way as Knives trotted up to peer through the opening. "There might be some better weapons oan th' way."

She levitated out a small pistol. "Aam nae tae fond ay guns."

I smirked at her. "You seemed to like that grenade launcher."

"Pfft, that's nae a gun." She grinned. “That’s- GET DOWN!”

She grabbed me by the withers and threw me to the ground.

Vill shrieked as something exploded near the opening, making the hole wider and sending concrete chunks everywhere.

I gave Knives an embarrassed grin. “Uh... thanks.”

She smiled back. “Nae problem.”

She looked back out the hole for a moment, before turning back, her smile turning into a smirk. “That date better be good.”

I burst out laughing.

Another explosion blew another hole in the crumbling building.

Vill screamed. And threw her hooves over her head.

Knives glared at her. “Have Ah made it clear that Ah dunnae like her?”

“Yeah, she is kinda whiny.” I admitted. “But still, it’s not like we’re gonna keep her with us forever.”

“Och, goddesses, Ah hope not. Zeed might take pity oan her.” The unicorn rolled her eyes, and offered me a hoof. I took it gratefully and followed her out.

"Come on Vill. Let's get out of here." I said with a sigh.

The pregnant mare continued to cower. "Please, don't make me go out there..."

Knives' clipped ear twitched right along with her right eye. She turned to me. "Can ye just drag her?"

"Okay, okay!" Vill hopped up, though I could tell she was still shaking. "I'm going..."

"Good. Now run for it!"

With that one shout from the striped unicorn, we all charged out from the rubble, Knives taking the lead and once more navigating by pipbuck.

Unsurprisingly, our mad dash for the storage area attracted the attention of damn near everypony in the vicinity. By the time we reached the end of the block, we had at least two dozen slavers chasing after us and screaming for our blood. By the end of the second, a swarm of slaves came screaming for theirs.

Without a word, Knives veered right and barreled through the door of a warehouse at the end of the street, slamming hard enough to dent it. She slammed it shut the second Vill and I ran in.

She was panting hard, and her face was dripping with sweat as she shoved a chair under the door.

"Stuff! Now!" She wheezed, rushing into the main room and frantically stuffing things into saddlebags that had been hanging on the armament-laden walls and junk-covered shelves.

"I'll go take a look and-"

"No time! We-" Her yell was interrupted by a wheezing gasp. "Just grab everything!"

She threw a few bags at me, and a few more at Vill, who was looking thoroughly confused and panicked. I only shrugged and did as I'd been told.

I had just spotted my pipbuck sitting amongst a pile of tools when I heard explosions from the entrance we'd come in through. I swept the tools and pipbuck into the bag and flew back to the two mares, who were already running towards the back exit. We forced the door open, just as the one in front blew inwards, releasing a stream of slaves fighting slavers into the warehouse.

“Fuck!” Knives gasped. I glanced back to see that the mass of equine bodies was now surging after us again. “Just keep goin’! Edge... Edge ay town is nae too far... far now.”

Vill screamed for the umpteenth time as she ran in front of us. I noted that she was surprisingly quick for a heavily pregnant mare.

“We gotta lose ‘em.” I said.

“Nae...” Knives wheezed. “Nae shit... Sherclop.”

With that, she levitated out her pipbuck and flicked through the menus, eventually she pulled out a large bunch of grenades.

She stopped in her tracks and. spun around.

“What are you doing?” I yelled.

She pulled the pin. On every single grenade. At once.

With a telekinetic kick, she sent them all flying into the horde of slavers, who immediately began to panic.

“Ru.. ru..." She took a deep, wheezy breath. "Just run!"

I couldn’t help but grin as I flew after her.

~~~~

“C’mere mea- oh fuck.”

The slaver’s head suddenly vanished as I fired the shotgun, flew back into the air and scanned the area.

“Alright, we’re clear.” I called out. “That’s the last one.”

“We-we’re safe?” Vill asked breathlessly.

I smirked. “Afraid of your own friends?”

She snorted.

“Yeah. We can stop running now.”

Knives said nothing. Instead, she stopped and dropped to her haunches, a hoof on her chest as she continued to gasp for air.

“Knives, are you okay?” I landed beside her and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I... I...” Her words were punctuated with long wheezing gasps. “I’ve... never... run... that long... in my life...”

“Well you did pretty good. You won’t have to worry about that for a while.” I smiled.

“I... I can’t... I can’t breathe... fuck...” Her front legs gave out, and I barely managed to catch her. “Think I’m... I’m gonna faint...”

I grimaced. “Uh... alright... just... let’s just take a breather, alright?”

She nodded, and I gently put her on the ground.

Vill stood in the middle of the street, panting heavily but looking no worse for wear. “I never wanna do that again! I feel like my guts are about to bust open."

“Agreed.” Knives shakily stuck a hoof in the air for emphasis, before letting it flop back onto the ground..

I shrugged, and started to dig through one of my bags for my pipbuck. Apparently, they’d figured out how to get it off of me, but not put it on anypony else. I smirked as I quickly flipped the latch, fastening it around my leg, and let it boot up.

Knives continued to sit on the ground, her breathing gradually slowing down.

Vill took several boxes of food out of her own bags and hastily opened them up, examining their contents. She sniffed each of them and stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“We didn’t get any bad food, did we?” I asked.

“Goddesses Ah hope nae.” Knives sighed.

Vill didn’t reply. Instead, she grabbed two bottles out of her saddlebags, one ranch dressing and one hot sauce, and popped the corks.

She then stuffed the contents of several boxes into a larger one, and poured a good amount of both bottles into it.

Knives and I both stared in confusion as she gave the box a vigorous shake, opened it again, and stuffed her muzzle into it.

We continued to stare as she gorged herself on the bizarre concoction.

After a moment, she pulled her head back out of the box, wiped the gunk off her muzzle, and let out a satisfied sigh.

"What?" She said when she saw us staring at her. "What? I'm hungry, leave me alone."

Knives, still lying on the ground, shrugged. "Ye got any more ay that hot sauce?

The zebra tossed her a bottle, which Knives caught in her magic and guzzled it down.

"Oooookaaayyyy..." I said. Blinking the confusion away, I started tapping at the pipbuck's controls. "So... we're quite a way further from Bladesville now..."

Knives groaned. "How long?"

"Another day."

"That tells meh nothin'."

"Four days walk."

Both mares let out a long groan.

"My fetlocks hurt enough already!" Vill moaned. "Why did you have to take me with you?"

"Och, quit whinin'. We could ay shot ye." Knives' growl was made significantly less threatening when she wheezed immediately after. "Fuck, mah lungs."

"Well, can we at least get inside for a while?" The young zebra glanced around. "This place is making me nervous."

"Aye." With a grunt of effort, Knives forced herself to her shaking hooves, still coated with a sheen of sweat, and started stumbling towards a nearby apartment building. "Ah'd like tae get inside mahself. Och, goddesses... Ah need tae start excercisin'..."

"You don't already?" Vill asked, a look of surprise on her face. "I don't believe you. I mean, with those long, skinny legs and a sexy ass like that, there is no way you don't work out."

My eyes, of course, immediately went to Knives' backside, and despite my best efforts to pull them away, they just drifted right back.

The unicorn stopped and gave Vill an incredulous look. "Yer kiddin' meh."

"I am so fucking jealous of you." Vill rubbed her belly and pouted. "I gotta lug this around all the time."

Knives let out an irritated snort. "Well, at least ye didnae call meh a colt."

"Hey, tomcolts are hot!" Vill frowned. "I mean, I don't like mares or nothing, but tomcolts get all the stallions."

Knives rolled her eyes and started towards the apartment again. My eyes remained glued to her backside.

"By the way, has anyone ever told you that you're really tall for a zony?"

~~~~

“Shut up.”

“Oh, calm down Wretch. It’s not like a memory orb is just going to up and walk off, now is it?”

“I don’t know. I know next to nothing about it. He could only gave me a few vague images of it.” The pink mare growled.

“Well, then maybe you’ve already found it, and you just need to figure out what it is?” Xixixix smirked.

Wretch turned a death glare onto the zebra. Even though it wasn’t directed anywhere towards her, Green suddenly found herself terrified. Xixixix, however, only continued to smirk.

After a moment, Wretch growled again, and continued trotting through the mall. “l can’t beIieve you ropeD us into this.”

Green swallowed. “Um... I think we should help them, too...”

Wretch stopped again, and blinked at the filly.

“Uh... it’s... it’s just c-c-cuz they were so nice to me a-a-and I th-think I... uh... should do something for them?” Green swallowed again, and her ears went down behind her head.

“See? Even she wants to help them.” Xixixix put a foreleg around Wretch’s neck. “Come on. What harm could it do?”

The unicorn glared at the zebra. “Fine. But as soon as we’re done, we’re going out to Loss.”

Green smiled.

"Good! Let's go find a crazy." The stallion merrily trotted off, glancing around as he moved.

Wretch frowned. "Do you even know who we're looking for?"

"I do!" Green chirped. “She was this really big earth pony with a blue coat and a dark grey mane and these angry green eyes.”

“You mean like the one running at us and screaming?” Xixixix pointed. “Wow! That was easy!”

Green turned and shrieked as she caught sight of the mare in question charging towards her.

The filly barely managed to dodge with a flap of her wings, the mare continuing on despite Green's sudden disappearance and sending Xixixix spinning.

Wretch drew her shotgun, sending the nearby citizens of the Mall running for cover.

The earth pony spun around and narrowed her eyes at Green, whose own eyes widened in fear.

"You piece of shit." The mare snarled. "I almost had 'im. I coulda wrung his little neck if it weren't for you."

"Wow, you're crazy." Xixixix popped up behind her, resting his elbow on her back, and his chin on his hoof. "I've seen 'paths who're less crazy than you."

"What the-" she snarled again, and swiped at the zebra. "Get off me!"

Xixixix hopped away, landing on his back hooves with a flourish. He grinned at Wretch, who stared at him in confusion.

"You gonna shoot her or what?" The stallion asked.

The earth pony lunged at him, headbutting him in his exposed stomach and knocking the wind out of him. He was sent tumbling into a pile of crates.

Wretch fired, but the other mare only growled as the pellets hit, blood spraying from her new wound. She turned and fixed a malicious grin towards Wretch.

"And they say drugs are bad for you." She charged at Wretch, who fired several more ineffective shots before she received a vicious headbutt to the skull and collapsed to the ground, clutching her head in her forehooves.

The earth pony reared back onto her hind legs, preparing to stomp.

She stopped as a loud clang sounded against her skull. Blinking, she turned to see Green hovering in the air, holding a large metal trash can.

The filly grinned sheepishly. "Uh... I'm sorry.... Miss Backlash?"

The mare swiped at Green, who squeaked and blocked with the trash can. It was sent flying out of her hooves, and the pegasus was left holding only the lid.

Her assailant's grin grew even wider, and Green's eyes widened along with it.

The mare lunged.

Green swung the side of the lid into Backlash's face.

The older mare lunged again and once more took a lid to the face.

She snarled. "I'm gonna rip your fucking wings off, and then I'm gonna find that brat and wring his neck. Howzat sound? Fun, yeah?"

Green's swallowed. "S-stay away from m-my friend."

Backlash laughed. "What's a little shit like you gonna do?"

The hovering filly worked her jaw for a moment.

“Green, just run!” Wretch called out, her shotgun making several more holes in Backlash’s side, who roared and charged at the pink unicorn.

Green considered it.

She looked at the trash can lid in her front fetlocks.

Then her face lit up.

“IgottagogetsomethingI’llberightbackbutI’mnotleavingIswearI’llseeyouinaminutebye!”

With that, she flew off.

Xixixix coughed and shoved a crate off himself. “Wow. Longest sentence I’ve ever heard without a breath.”

“HELP ME YOU DUMBASS!” Wretch screamed as she tried to force Backlash back with the side of her shotgun.

“Alright, alright.” The zebra rolled his eyes. He turned to a nearby stallion who was cowering under a chair. “Mares. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Amiright?”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Exp: 75%
~~~
Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
EXP: ???%
~~~
Footnote 3: Prism (Raid) Blitz
EXP: 42%
`
To-Do List:
Active Quest:
Raftwater.:
~~Get your shit and get out~~
-Completed
Other quests:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:
~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~
-Escape Raftwater.
Sifting Through The Dust:
1) Find information on the location of Ashes.
2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

One ay dese days, life... One ay dese days... Bam! Zoom! Straight ta da moon!

Still, at least it's here now. You can resume your happy lives knowing that this story has once again updated.

I know, I know. No need to thank me.

Thanks to Kkat for this wonderful sandbox I'm ruining with copious amounts of rubbish. Thanks to Matkingos for making sure that this doesn't suck as much as it could, and thanks to everyone who reads this.

In the words of Victor Borge, Threedles!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sand Skipping

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sand Skipping
“Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm."

I sighed again as I stepped off the stairwell, my hooves clip-clopping on the sterile white tiles, lost in my own thoughts.

I yelped as I rounded a corner and found myself tackled by a monochromatic blur.

"Zeed! You're finally back!" Ashes planted a kiss on my muzzle. "I was just starting to miss you."

I smiled and happily returned the kiss.

"Aye. Ah dunnae even know where ye were." Knives said. "Ye were gone fer almost two months."

My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered why I was here. "Nonono! Ash, get off! My mom will be up here any second!"

She rolled off me, and I felt a lump in my throat as I caught sight of the hurt look on her face. "I'm sorry I'll explain later please forgive me. Just not right now!"

"Zeedera? " My mother's voice bounced up through the stairwell and made my ears twitch.

"Je suis ici, ma mère. Je parle avec un ami." I said as cheerily as I could while I scrambled to my hooves.

The older zebra trotted around the same corner I had, to see me standing there with a forced smile. If she realized that it was forced, she didn't seem to care. Her blue eyes flickered over my friends before they bore into mine. "Ah. Vos amis en... poney. Hello. My daughter speaks highly of you."

"Hello, Mrs. Kazdri." Ashes said simply. "Pleased to meet you."

"Aye. Same here."

My mother snorted. "I am not 'Mrs. Kazdri.' I am 'Miss', thank you very much. Zeedera, je crois que je n'aime pas vos amis."

I hoped that she couldn't tell how hard my teeth were clenched. "Je suis désolé, maman. Je suis sûr qu'ils n'ont pas l'intention de vous offenser."

"J'en suis sûr. Bien que je n'aime pas ce que vous associez avec des gens comme... cela,” She glanced at Knives before letting out a snort. "En particulier que l'on ..."

My teeth felt like they were about to break.

"Je suppose que c'est mieux que rien." She turned and began to trot back towards our room. "Essayez de ne pas nous embarrasser."

"Oui, ma mère.” I stuck my tongue out at her as she left my line of sight and let out a snort. “Le seul nous embarrasser, c'est vous.”

“So, uh... what was that about?” Ashes asked.

I let out a sigh. “Désolé. Ma mère est juste d'être... ma mère. Elle n'est pas la personne la plus gentille au monde.”

“Ah didnae get a word ay that. What about you, Ash?” Knives smirked.

“Nope. Nothing.” The grey earth pony shrugged.

I blushed and grinned sheepishly. “Uh... déso- I mean... sorry. Kinda forgot who I was talking to. So... how come you were so excited, Ash?”

The mare grinned. “I finally gained enough weight! I’m not scrawny anymore! Well... I’m still pretty skinny, but I’m healthily skinny now! Look, I actually have a belly.”

I snorted a laugh as she poked herself in the stomach. “You’re probably the only mare in the world who would be happy about gaining weight. You definitely look a lot healthier.”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better. I also feel really energetic right now." She grinned mischievously. "And, I should be a lot more fun to cuddle."

My face turned red, but I smiled as she hugged me, and nuzzled into my neck.

“So how come you don’t want your mom to see us?” She gave me a curious look and I felt my heart jump into my throat.

“Well... uh...” I swallowed. She stared at me with her beautiful amber eyes. “She... uh... She... doesn’t actually know that I’m... ya know... gay...”

I grinned sheepishly.

She blinked at me. “Oh."

“How in th’ hell does she nae know yer gay?” Knives asked incredulously. “How many fillys did ye kiss before th’ two ay ye started datin’? And ye've been datin' fer how long, nao?"

My face reddened again. “Fifteen."

“How in th’ hell did she nae notice that?”

“Well it’s not like I did it in front of her. Even if I did... mom can...” I scratched at my neck for a moment, trying to think of the right words. “Mom is pretty dense.”

They both chuckled. Ashes gave me another kiss and started down the hallway, an obvious spring in her step. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry. I’m going to try and pack on a few more pounds.”

She giggled, and I laughed with her.

~~~

I bucked the door down and spun to face the equines cowering inside. They stared up at me in shock and fear as I gazed at them over my shades, my lab coat fluttering from my movements and the heat of the flames, revealing the laser pistol strapped to my foreleg. Gunfire and explosions sounded all throughout the city. I shifted my cigarette to the left side of my mouth, and dropped the bag slung around my shoulders.

“What are you waiting for? Freedom awaits.” I grinned, and threw each of them a weapon from the bag. “Let’s get going!”

Without waiting for a response, I ran back out, leaving them to chose their own fate. I saw dad doing the same thing on the opposite side of the street, followed by an entourage of freed slaves helping him with the larger buildings. I glanced back at my own following, and pointed down one of the side streets. Several of them nodded and sped off to start their own groups of escapees.

With a satisfied smile, I chased after dad.

"You alright, kiddo?" He grinned at me.

I grinned back at him. "Yup. No problems so far. You think we've got enough ponies to do this?"

"A full-on push out of the city? Are you kidding me?" He chuckled. "We've got enough to push all the way to Canterlot.”

“So... Uh...” I coughed. “You wanna start?”

Dad cleared his throat, and raised himself to his back hooves. “Hey! Can I get your attention, please?”

Everypony out in the streets stopped what they were and looked at him. He blinked. “Uh... Huh. Well... uh...”

He cleared his throat again.

“Insert dramatic motivational speech here!” He took on what could only be referred to as a ‘dramatic pose’.

As everypony stared at him in confusion, I burst out laughing.

“Dad, you are such a dork.”

“What?” He gasped. “How couldst thou calleth thine own father a mere dork. I am clearly the king of dorks! All dorks boweth before me and despaireth, for they shalt never becommeth as dorkly a dork as I!"

I barely managed to keep mysekf from giggling.

"Now let’s try that again. Slaves of Raftwater!” He interrupted himself with a chuckle. “Sorry, former slaves of Raftwater. We are about to do something incredibly stupid! But, it is something so incredibly stupid that there is no way that it can-”

“DON’T FINISH THAT SENTENCE!” I screamed.

“I was going to say ‘possibly work’, kiddo, calm down.” He turned back to the crowd. “There is no way that it can possibly work, which is exactly why it will! Because a stupid plan is often the best plan to use in my experience. Yeah, a few of you from Bladesville know what I mean.”

“So, according to our eye in the sky up there,” He pointed to Stock, who was on top of a building taking potshots at several fleeing Bone Eaters. “They’re clustering around the edges of the city, probably because they can’t actually see us.”

He grinned. “So we’re gonna stampede.”

"That's what we're doing?" One mare screamed.

Dad nodded, a smirk on his face. "I said it was a stupid idea. We'll have unicorns with guns in the front. No offense guys, but it's just easier for you to aim and run at the same time, and we just don't have enough guns for everyone. When we get close enough you'll fall back to the middle. Once we’re out, you’re free to go as you please.. Any questions?"

"Who the fuck are you?" A stallion yelled.

"Excellent question! Let's go!" With that, there was a cheer from the slaves, and they began to gallop down the street en masse. I could actually feel their hoofsteps thundering off the ground.

Dad smiled at me, and we both followed after the impromptu herd.

"I really hope this works, dad." I bit my lip.

“It should. Especially with Stock laying down suppressing fire." He motioned with his head towards the airborne ghoul, who was screaming war cries and dive-bombing things I couldn't see.

Gunfire sounded out in front of us. The unicorns in the front of the herd had started shooting. The rest of the slaves picked up speed. Through the sea of dirty coats and manes, I saw terrified-looking Bone Eaters clustered together and holding their weapons up in as threatening a way as one could while hiding behind a pile of auto-carridges.

Stock landed behind two of them, took them out with a few well-placed shots to their heads, and shot back into the air.

Dad grinned again. "See? I told you th-"

"SCATTER!" I screamed.

The herd reacted in time for a good number of them to avoid the incoming missile. Only three were caught in its blast, one of whom was thrown sideways. The smoke cleared, revealing two ponies with massive burns, writhing and screaming in pain.

I stopped running, covering my mouth with a forehoof as I let out a choked squeak.

"Axy?" Dad stopped and looked at me while the rest of the herd converged on the Bone Eaters.

I ran over to the closest one and jabbed him with a shot of med-x and started to examine his burns. Within moments, his screaming began to die down, replaced with panting.

"Second degree. Second degree." I muttered to myself as I went over the largest spots. "Third degree. Need potion. Nothing else. You'll be fine."

He hissed as I poured the liquid on him but I ignored that and rushed over to the other pony. I choked again.

Most of her face was missing. What was left was charred. She had severe burns all across her body.

I reached for another potion bottle when she let out a choking gasp and went still.

"Fuck..." My ears went down.

"Axy, come on." Dad put a hoof on my shoulder.

I sighed and hopped back up to my hooves. "Right... sorry..."

My hooves pounded on the ground once more, following dad through the fray. I winced at the sight of every single injured or dead pony I saw, but I kept after him as he charged a small cluster of Bone Eaters, scattering them like bowling pins.

"More incoming!" Stock dropped down next to another of the slavers and blew her head off. "Five o'clock!"

"Ah, crap. INCOMING! MOVE MOVE MOVE! LETS GO!" He once again charged through the streets, with me just behind him. The slaves dropped what they were doing and tagged along as well.

“Dad, why are they even listening to you?” I had to ask.

He grinned at me as he continued to run. “Raw charisma!”

With a cackle, he charged further ahead of me. A grin of my own on my face, I picked up the pace as well.

“Just a bit more and we’ll all be home free!” The herd let out yet another massive cheer at dad’s call. “Tally ho!”

I found myself laughing along with him.

“Alright, final push.” He muttered.

The slavers at the edge of the town didn’t even try to fight. They threw their weapons down and ran away, some knocking over their gruesome territorial markers.

And just like that, We were out of Raftwater.

We kept running for a while. Eventually, the herd began to slow down, and dad and I were soon left in the middle of a large group of tired equines, all panting heavily as they trotted on.

Stock landed beside dad and myself.

"Okay, I'm suspicious now." She said. "This went too smoothly."

Dad frowned. “I’d rather not question it.”

“That’s just asking for trouble, dad.”

“Yeah, well...” He shrugged and gave me a smirk. “If I questioned every lucky break I got I’d quickly turn paranoid.”

"So now what?" I asked.

"Now we head back to Bladesville." He grinned. "Kinda wanna see my wife again."

My ears went back and I bit my lip. "Oh... right..."

"What, we're just leaving?" Stock motioned with a wing towards the now-former slaves. "What about them?"

"They'll be fine. Most of them'll group together and travel in twos or threes." The stallion chuckled. "See over there? Guess we just introduced a new couple. Life or death situations tend to do that. Heh."

I saw the two he was talking about. A zebra buck and a pony mare were walking alongside each other, staring with what could best be described as 'bedroom eyes'. I chuckled as they trotted away from the herd together.

Stock deadpanned. "Cute. What makes you so sure they'll group up?"

Dad looked at her like she was crazy. "Equine instinct? Because we're... you know... herd animals? Our ancestors traveled in herds?"

"He's got a point, Stock."

The ghoul glanced around once more, and let out a sigh. "Right. Of course."

~~~~

“Like I already said, Stock... I’m honestly surprised that they chose to join up with us.” Dad laughed. “But I was still right.”

I smiled and looked back at the herd. It had dwindled over the past three days, with some of the ponies and zebras simply getting tired of our generally slow pace and leaving, but said pace was necessary in order for some of us, myself included, to treat the injuries that had been taken during the fight. A potion could only do so much, after all. Dad and I hadn’t really gotten that many chances to talk, and Luna knew how much I wanted them, but I knew that we’d get plenty of them once we were alone.

“And yet, you are once again planning to leave them alone.” Stock frowned. “What is with you?”

“They can take care of themselves.” Dad waved a hoof dismissively. “They’re all adults.”

“Most of them are younger than twenty. Few of them are old like you and me.”

I burst out laughing, and dad blinked. “Old? I’m thirty-six.”

Stock scratched her mane. "Oh... wow... you do not look... that old... uh..."

"Heh, I'll take that as a compliment. Look, most of them are gone. If it means that much to you, go with them." Dad wrapped a foreleg around my shoulders and pulled me to him. "We'll be fine on our own. My camper's just on the Northeastern side of Bladesville."

"What the hell do you want to leave for, anyway?"

"I'd like to spend a bit of time with my daughter." He deadpanned. "Whom I haven't seen in eleven years "

The ghoul frowned again. "Hmmph. Fine, but I'm taking them all to a medic."

She flew off towards a small group of slaves and started talking to them while dad and I snuck off into another part of the ruins.

~~~

"Metric."

"Imperial."

"Metric."

"Imperial."

"Equestrian. Metric."

"Griffon. Imperial."

Dad pinched his brow with a fetlock, continuing to move along with three legs. "Why? I don't get it, why would you use Griffon Imperial? Even griffons don't use it."

"Dad, how many griffons do you know?" I rolled my eyes.

"Four. And they all use metric." He glanced towards the direction Stock and the ex-slaves went. "I mean, seriously... why? We don't have feet. We have hooves. Why would we measure anything in feet? Even griffons don't have feet, they have claws and paws."

"Because it's convenient and there isn't any reason to change it. Especially since the world is kinda... ya know..." I gestured around at the ruined outskirts of Bladesville. "Blown up? Not really much need for globalisation any more."

Dad laughed. "Alright. You've got a point there."

An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.

"So... eh... how've you been, Axy?" Dad coughed quietly.

"Uh... good... I was working at the infirmary before we left..." I smiled. "It wasn't that bad. What about you?”

“I’ve been doing great.” He smiled. “Been taking care of Misty, Kara and the dogs.”

“Dogs?” I blinked at him.

“Yeah. Never actually thought I could put my glyph to use like that, but I got four dogs with me at the moment.”

I blinked again. With a glance at his flank I confirmed for myself that his glyphmark still, in fact, resembled a leaf.

"Dad... how are dogs related to your mark?"

He gave me a cocky smirk. "You'll see."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Sure, dad."

We were quiet again. Simply trotting through the street in silence.

I paused to wipe a bit of sweat out of my eyes, and grimaced as I caught sight of the dirt and grime that was on my coat. “Dad, do you have a shower at your place?”

“Sort of. We have a portable water purifier and a water heater in the camper, but they’re not that good.” He laughed. “We might even be able to take a couple hot showers when we get there, assuming Misty hasn’t used it all.”

“Misty...” I bit my lip and glanced at the city. "R-right... you... got married again, huh?"

Dad let out a happy sigh. "Yeah. She's a beautiful mare. Smart. Nice. I met her the first time I went to Open. Fell in love on the spot."

I smiled again, despite the pang of jealousy I felt.

"What about you, Axy? Any colts in your life?"

“Not really, considering I’m gay.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I shut it and clamped a fetlock around it, my eyes widening as dad stopped and gave me a surprised look.

“You are?” He blinked a few times.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! I wasn’t gonna tell him yet! What do I do, what do I do? I gulped, and nodded weakly. “Y-yeah.”

“You’re gay, as in: you are attracted to other mares?”

I nodded again.

He stood there, staring at me.

I found myself wishing that something would shoot at us, just to break the silence.

“Are you sure?”

“Uh... yeah. I’m... I’m pretty sure.”

After a moment of thought, the stallion trotted over to me, and dropped down to his haunches.

I stared up at him and swallowed again, my eyes misting up.

I jumped when he suddenly pulled me into a hug.

“I’m sorry, Axy. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I’m glad you told me.” He smirked. “Even if you did just blurt it out. Saves on most of the drama, at least.”

I stared at him. My vision was blurred by tears.

"Are you alright?" His brow furrowed.

"You're okay with it?" I made a choking noise as I tried to keep myself from crying.

"Uh... yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" He said, like it was obvious. "Axy, what's wrong?"

I let out a quiet sob. "I missed you so much, dad."

A smile spread across both our faces as he drew me into another hug. "I missed you too, kiddo. I love you."

We stayed like that for a while.

"You're a strong, beautiful mare, Axy." He said, gently rubbing my back. "I know i haven't been there for far too long, but I'm proud of you, and I'll always love you."

"Thanks. That means a lot." I sniffled, and let out a laugh. "This... this went a lot better than with mom."

"Wait, what? What?" His expression changed to one of confusion. "Since when does she have a problem with that?"

I snorted. "Apparently I'm just going through a 'rebellious phase'."

Dad's jaw dropped. "A reb... she... buh... WHAT? What the fuck? How is that rebellious?"

I crossed my forelegs across my chest. "Apparently because I won't 'continue the family line'."

He gaped at me. "Have I ever told you that your mother's an idiot?"

A smile worked its way onto my lips. "No, but it's nice to hear."

"Well... oh, Luna's moon, that made my head hurt. Okay, uhhh... something happy, something happy..." he rubbed one of his temples. "Oh! You know about Misty, but did you hear about Kara?"

"Uhhh... yeah." I bit my lip and started trotting again. "I... uh... heard you have a ten year old daughter..."

"Heh, she's eleven now. I think you'd like her." He grinned. "She's a big fan of pre-war sci-fi stuff. She's got all kinds of old posters on her walls back in Fifteen."

“Oh...Uh.. Alright...” I coughed and glanced around in an attempt to find a topic that was far less awkward for me.

It came in the form of four specks heading down the street at top speed, one far in the front, and the other three far in the back.

"Dad? Uh... dad we have incoming."

He turned to see where i was pointing and squinted at the quartet of dots. A grin threatened to split his face in two. "I know who it is. Come on."

With that, he dashed off, leaving four small plumes of dust where he'd been.

"Ah- dad, wait!" I ran after him.

“C’mon, Axy!” He called back.

“Dad! Dad, wait!” I yelled, chasing him down as fast as I could.

He kept going, a look that somehow combined amusement and determination on his face.

I groaned and picked up as much speed as I could manage. The specks grew larger at a rapid pace, until I could tell that the one in front was a small zebra in what looked like a denim hoodie that was way too big for her.

"Oh..." I had a fairly good idea who it was. "Uh..."

After another moment of running, I caught sight of the thing following her.

Large greenish things with far too many legs, and long, whip-like tails. Their heads resembled those of an ironwolf.

"D-dad?" My eyes widened.

I looked to see him and his other daughter tackle each other, rolling on the ground and laughing happily.

"Dad, you're back!" The striped filly hugged him tightly. I could see that the back of her jacket was covered in patches, most of which showed random things from the old world.

"Of course I'm back." Dad ruffled her mane and flipped the blue hood over her head. "What, you really think I'd leave you guys?"

"Mom was pretty scared. She almost thought you died." The filly grinned and pulled her hood back. "But I knew you'd be okay. You're too dumb to die."

My eye twitched. I couldn't decide whether to run from those things or stay. Dad and the filly didn't seem to mind, but dad wasn't known for being the most observant stallion in the world.

Dad laughed and pulled her into another hug. "Good to see you too, Kay. Hey, there's someone I want you to meet."

Her ears perked up. "Who is-"

"What the hell are those?" I yelled, panic finally getting the better of me as the weird-looking creatures approached.

Kara snorted. “Those’re our dogs, duh.”

“Kay, be nice. I didn’t know what those were when I first saw them, either.”

I gaped at them I looked at the things, which were close enough for me to make our some details. I looked back to the two zebras. Again, I stared at the monstrosities, now only a block away, and snapped my head to look back at Dad and Kara in shock. “Those are dogs?”

“Yup.” Kara chirped. “They’re vinedogs!”

"What the hell is a vined-oof!" I was thrown to the ground as the dogs leapt on me. "AAAAAAAAAAGETITOFFGETITOFFHOLYSHITAAAAAAAA!"

Their entire heads opened up, with their noses splitting in two, and their lower jaws in three, while heir tails whipped about behind them as they licked me with slimy green tongue-like appendages.

"Carver, Hooke, Mendel, heel! Come!"

The moment dad shouted, the things all leapt off me and scrambled over to him.

I stayed where I was, hooves held over my face as I shivered from the sensation of the slime-spit on my fur. My eye was twitching violently.

"Uh... dad? Is she okay?"

"Axy? Axy can you hear me?" Dad gently rubbed my back. "I'm sorry about that. They... kinda like new people."

I brought myself to my hooves, though I continued to shiver violently. I raised a forehoof and stared at it as slime started dripping onto the ground.

"Ew." I whispered. "Oh dear Luna... I think it's moving."

The zebra filly passed me a towel from her sandbags. I accepted it gratefully and wiped the slime off.

"Anyway... uh... Kara? This is Zeed." Dad smiled weakly. "Zeed, this is Kara."

The filly's eyebrow went up. "You're dads older daughter?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow... how come you're so short?"

"Wha- Kay!" Dad spluttered. "Come on!"

"What? You're really tall and she's really short!" She said defensively. "It's kinda weird."

I snorted a laugh. "She has a point, dad. I get it from my mother. She was even shorter than I am."

Her eyes widened. “B-but my mom’s short... D-does that mean I’m gonna end up short too?”

“Eh... I don’t think you need to worry about that.” Dad chuckled.

She seemed to shrink into her jacket as she pouted. “I don’t wanna be short forever! I wanna be big like dad...”

I laughed again.

“Kay, you won’t be short forever. Alright?” Dad patted her on the back. “We keep telling you this. Don’t worry about it. You’ll grow when you grow.”

“I know, I know...” She sighed.

“So what are you doing out here, anyway? Where’s your mother?”

“Uh...” She grinned sheepishly. “I dunno?”

Dad gave her a blank look. “You don’t know.”

“I thought she was behind me! I swear!” She whined.

“Kara, you know your mother can’t move particularly quick right now.”

“Give her a break, dad. I’ll bet she was scared something happened to you and got excited when she saw you.” I looked at the filly, who nodded vigorously.

“And Schwann’s still with her!” She chirped.

“That’s not the point. You still ran off on your own.”

“B-but I had them with me!” She pointed to the three vinedogs, who were all standing in that same spot, just staring at the sky... not moving at all. I still felt a bit violated from being slimed. “A-and Hooke can beat up ironwolves!”

Dad sighed.”Again, Kay, not the point, though that does help a little. They’re just plants.”

I blinked. “Uh... don’t you mean animals?”

He grinned. “Well, technically ‘plant’ isn’t accurate either, but it’s easier than saying ‘fungus-bug-plant’. I think they’re more plant than anything else, anyway.”

I gave him a confused look. “What?”

"Anyway, let's find Misty and go home." Dad smiled.

He started down the street, with me, Kara, and the dog-things in tow. I swallowed hard.

So... I'm actually doing it. I'm actually going to go and see dads... wife... I'm actually going to meet her.

I glanced at Kara, the filly was talking with dad, trying to get him to tell her about where he'd been.

Well... Kara doesn't seem so bad. I think I kinda like her already... so I guess her mother can't be... that...

I gulped again.

I can't do this...

"Uh... dad?"

"What's up, Axy?" He paused and turned to look at me.

"I... I think I'm gonna go and help Stock with... with all the sl- I mean ex-slaves." I let out a nervous laugh, one that was almost a whinny. "I'm guessing she could probably use my... uh... help."

His gave me a concerned frown. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, you font need to come with me. Just... uh... go home and..." I swallowed again. "Be with your family."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Axy, you're my family too. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! Really! I just..." I sighed. "I'll be back, okay? I promise. I... uh... just wanna help them out."

Kara gave me a suspicious look, while days simply gave me a sad smile. "Well, alright, then. If you really feel like you should. We're on the east side, in a large white cart. You can't miss it."

I nodded.

"Be safe, Axy." He gave me a quick hug, and trotted off again.

My ears down and my head hung low, I trotted in the opposite direction.

~~~

Barkeep the Fifth sighed.

Her foal was kicking her in the ribs again.

"Y'alright, darlin'?" Her husband asked.

"Mmph." She gave her bloated stomach a hard poke, hoping to dislodge the hoof. "I feel blugh..."

She sighed again, this time receiving a kiss from Amaretto. "It'll be alright, don' worry."

The mare's eyes flicked over to her son, who was messing about with some of the junk on their cart. "Easy for you to say. You try being beaten up from the inside."

Amaretto laughed, and wrapped his forelegs around his wife, kissing her again. “Ah know, Ah know.”

The mare rested her head against Amaretto’s chest and closed her eyes. Within a minute, she’d fallen asleep.

She woke up ten seconds later when Green suddenly appeared beside the cart, hovering in the air, panting, and generally looking frantic.

“Fight... Wretch... help... need... I need...” She gasped.

“Woah, woah, calm down, miss.” Amaretto put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Just breathe.”

Green did as asked, her breaths gradually slowed down, until they had become almost normal, but she still remained hovering.

“Alright, now what’s wrong?”

The filly took a deep breath.

“Wefoudntheponyyouwho’stryingtogetyoubutshe’sattackingWretchandXixixixbutshewasreallyattackingmebecauseIhelpedBarkeepandIhitherintheheadwithatrashcanwhileshewasdistracedbut-” She took another breath. “Itdidn’tworkshejuststoodthereandyelledatmebutWretchgotherattentionandIflewoverheresoIcouldfindsomethingtohitherwith!”

Amaretto and both Barkeeps blinked at her.

“Miss, would ya mahnd slowin’ down a bit?” The stallion spoke slowly. “We can’t understan’ja when yer talkin’ lahk this.”

“I need something I can hit her with!” Green yelled.

Barkeep the Sixth pulled something from the pile of junk he was sitting on. A large sledgehammer. “Will this work?”

Green zipped over and grabbed the sledgehammer. “Thank you!”

With that she zoomed off, leaving the family staring at her in confusion.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

Exp: ???%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Level up! (12)

Energy Weapons: Maxed

Science: 67

Future Mare (3/3): Your love of comics has given you insight into the use of lasers, plasma, and rail-gun type weapons. You gain +5%(+15%) critical chance and +5%(+15%) critical damage per rank of this perk.

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP: ???%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

~~Escape Raftwater.~~

-Completed

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Hooray! More gratuitous French! Eh... I meant 'Prench'... is... what I meant to say...

Uh...

Quick Johnny! Play me off!

Speaking of French, if anyone happens to see any problems in the French I'm using, please for the love of all things purple, correct me!

Thanks to Kkat for the sandbox, thanks to Mattkingos for making this suck less than it could, and thanks to you for putting up with this crap.

Interlude One: Hate

Interlude One: Hate
“You’re going to love me!”

Heeeeelllllooooooooo again Canturbury! You are listening to Pirate Radio! I am your Hotter-than-Celestia hostess, Jolly Rodger, bringing you news about stuff!

A few days a- what? Oh... right... that...

Fine.

Today's news brought to you by the Fifteen Biological Research Society, better farming for all.

Because apparently we’re suddenly doing advertisements now. Glad Uncle Mast is too deaf to hear this. He’d probably buck my head in for letting this happen.

Anyway... Raftwater was apparently set on fire within the past few days. Scavengers trying to sneak their way in have reported large numbers of fleeing people, and gunfire from within the city. We don't have any further details, but I can guess that someone in Bladesville finally got fed up and torched the damn place.

In other news, several beetle-breeders on the outskirts of the Eastern Fifteen Research Outpost have reported an increased number of gorgon sightings in the area. If you had any plans to go that way, make sure you pack a shit-ton of weaponry. Celestia knows you’ll need it.

Mare-Do-Well is still M.I.A., by the way. Anyone willing to help, please do so.

Last, but not least, what the- Who the fuck let him in here? Buzz, get the hell ou-ack!”

Hey there, assholes. Got a letter from a fan here. Miss Honey Mustard from Common.

Give.... back....... PRICK!

‘Dear Jolly Roger.’ Oh, sorry, ya spelled it wrong. There’s a ‘D’ in there. D for dumbass who can’t spell ‘Roger’! Hah!

FUCK.... Quiche....!

‘Why are you so obsessed with Mare-Do-Well? It’s kinda obvious that nopony cares about that stupid goody-two-hooves cunt.’ Ooh! I like this mare. Well, Miss Mustard, the reason-GAAAGH! My fucking leg!

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY STUDIO! QUICHE, HELP ME!

Fuck you! The damn hero is Jolly’s fuckin’ aunt!

….BUZZ! GETTHE FUCK OUT OF HERE!

Jolly’s got the hots for her own aunt, HAHAHAHAHA! Suck it bit- oh shit NOT THE- AAAAAGH! MY FACE!

Hi, Ranger Quiche here. As I’m sure you can tell, we’re having some... personnel difficulties here.

BUZZ I’M GONNA KILL YOU!

You can’t even spell your fucking name right!

It’s supposed to be like that!

Uh... We’re just going to go to commercial break while I take care of this.

***

BRAWNCO THE THIRST BUCKER! It’s like drinking a SONIC RAINBOOM made out of CHAINSAWS that fire LASERS! BRAWNCO’ll make you HUGE and give you the power of EATING SOLID IRON!

The only thing MORE AWESOME than BRAWNCO is NOTHING because NOTHING is MORE AWESOME than BRAWNCO because BRAWNCO will make you INVENT NEW SPORTS because normal sports are TOO SLOW and you’ll be PAINFULLY HYPER because you’ll be drinking BRAWCO!

RAAAAAAH!

I just FARTED FIRE! Drink BRAWNCO so you can FART FIRE at ANY TIME YOU WANT! Or maybe you can FART FIRE at RANDOM because when things happen at RANDOM it’s extremely AWESOME like EXPLOSIONS or PUPPIES or MORE EXPLOSIONS!

Drinking BRAWNCO will make your BEARD even BIGGER because everypony knows that MARES LIKE MASSIVE BEARDS, but BEARDS aren’t as awesome as BEARS because BEARDS are AWESOME but BEARS will RIP YOU IN HALF WITH THEIR BARE HANDS which is a TERRIBLE PUN but it’s COMPLETELY TRUE so you should DRINK BRAWNCO and you can WRESTLE BEARS TO THE GROUND WITH YOUR TEETH but if you don’t have a BEARD then YOU JUST PLAIN SUCK but that’s okay because BRAWNCO WILL FORCE YOU TO GROW A BEARD AT GUNPOINT!

The undead diamond dog stumbled through the corridor, grunting in pain with every step.

“Fucking ponies...” He snarled. “Fucking useless idiot ponies.”

He wrapped his hand around the doorknob and turned it, only to be met with resistance. Rex snarled in rage and pounded his fist against the door. “FUCK! Fucking, fucking...”

He stood there, panting and pacing back and forth in front of the door, continuously muttering to himself.

He turned back to the door and pulled a fist back, only to stop when it swung open to reveal a pegasus in a silvery body suit that seemed to randomly fade in and out.

“Chamomile!” The ghoul barked. “Where the fuck have you been? Those damn slaves got away.”

“The slaves are revolting.” Came the monotonous reply.

The ghoul blinked in surprise, and his expression switched to one of amusement. “I wasn’t aware you had a sense of humor, but I’m not doing that joke. Where the fuck have you been?”

Rex’s eyes narrowed. “And what happened to the chameleon suit?”

“Electrocuted by another pegasus.” Chamomile stepped into the corridor, letting the door shut behind him, muffling the sounds of combat from outside. “And I have been thinking.”

“Thinking, eh?” Rex snarled again. “You’re not particularly good at thinking. Especially when you’re supposed to be TRACKING DOWN ESCAPEES!”

Without warning, the stallion smashed his own head into the wall. Rex simply stared in confusion. Again and again, Chamomile smashed the faceplate of his helmet into the wall, gradually breaking it away.

Rex frowned. “What.”

Chamomile stopped and, his face now exposed, glared intensely at Rex. The greenish, blood-soaked fur on his face only served to emphasize the almost glowing orange of his eyes, and the white color of the lock of mane hanging between them. “Where.”

“What do you mean ‘where’?” Rex snapped. “Be spec-GHACK!”

He suddenly found himself pinned to the wall by his throat.

“WHERE.” The pegasus reiterated.

Rex simply glared at the pegasus.

“WHERE IS SHE!”

Rex continued to glare.

Chamomile delivered a swift punch to the diamond dog’s face. “ANSWER ME!”

The ghoul pointed to his throat and made a choking noise, after which he flipped a single finger up in a rude gesture.

He then proceeded to kick Chamomile between the legs.

The pegasus released his grip and fell to the ground, clutching at his injured area and gasping in pain.

“I’m surprised, actually.” Rex straightened his tie. “This is probably the most emotion I’ve ever seen out of you. Guess I might as well tell you. I sold your little lover.”

Chamomile’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, some asshole of an independent. Cocky bastard. Didn’t even pay all that much for her. Thought he ripped me off.” Rex smirked, and delivered a kick the the stallion’s exposed ribs, cracking several of them. “Anyway, I believe that I have... things to do...”

The diamond dog strode through the door as casually as one can when they’re grunting in pain in every step, leaving Chamomile in a pile of seething rage.

~~~

“Well, shit.”

“You said it.”

The two zonies stared at the burning brothel from afar.

The stallion sighed.

"Whatcha gonna do?" The mare asked.

"Eh?"

"Well, the brothel's gone now. You gonna leave Raftwater? I know I am." The mare yawned.

Bilge frowned as a portion of the brothel's roof collapsed with a crash. "I wonder if I could get into the Lover's Guild..."

Meda blinked. "There's a Lover's Guild?"

The stallion rolled his eyes.

"You think Purity got out okay?" Meda scratched her neck with a forehoof and yawned again. "Fuck, my back hurts."

"That tends to happen after you get horribly injured." Bilge sighed again. "And I figure she got out just fine. That 'Prisoner' on the intercom sounded like her.

The two zonies remained silent for a while, simply watching as the city turned to ash around them.

"So..." Meda glanced around. "Wanna do it?"

Bilge stared at the mare for a few moments.

He shrugged. "Eh. Why not?"

~~~

The two pegasi stood in front of the office, blank yet threatening looks on their faces. Nopony dared to approach, lest they face the wrath of those guards.

The exception was the golden unicorn currently striding towards the door.

The guards glanced at each other, and tensed up, ready for a fight. "This is a restricted area."

"Is it?" The stallion blinked his pale blue eyes. "I hadn't been told."

"Well you have now. Step away and be on your business." The female guard said.

The male guard nodded in agreement.

The golden stallion glared at them, his cheerful expression suddenly changing to one of sheer hatred. His voice took on a grating quality that made both guards ears itch. "My business lies in there. Move."

"Back away, now." The mare took a firm hold on the bit for her battle saddle. "I won't warn you again."

The stallion's eyes narrowed, and his horn lit up in a dark yellow glow."I don't think I will. Let me through."

The mare growled, but when she chomped down on the firing bit, nothing happened. She glanced at her companion, who was having the same problem.

Then her jaw dropped as several pieces of his battle saddle were enveloped in the stranger's magic, and suddenly bent inwards with a loud snap. Her fellow guard screamed when the jagged pieces of metal dug into his flesh. The cracking of bone sounded through the air as the rest of the contraption began to constrict, breaking several of his ribs. The stranger’s magic enveloped his chest, and bulges could be seen under his skin as the broken sections of rib started to pull away. The mare found herself frantically pulling her own battle saddle off as it began to warp around her jaw.

"You sick bastards." The stranger growled. "Do you have any idea what you're interfering with? I will-"

The door slammed open, revealing an old, pale yellow mare in a white military uniform. "Let 'em go and get your damn flank inside."

The stranger's infuriated stare switched once me again to a calm smile, and his horn abruptly stopped glowing. “Skylight! How nice to see you! How have the foals been?”

“Don’t you dare talk about my foals you psychotic freak.” Came the mare’s deadpan reply. “You two, get up and make your way to the infirmary.”

The female guard nodded, and helped her sobbing companion to his hooves, carrying him away.

Skylight sighed, and fixed a glare on the stranger. “In.”

“Oh, no need for that. I’ll only be here for a bit.” He continued smiling. “You’re looking lovely, Skylight.

She growled. “What do you want?”

“Well, I heard you’d turned to... particular services recently. I’ve decided that I’d like to cash in those favors you owe me.” His smile widened. “I need you to find somepony for me.”

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “‘Find somepony’?”

“Yes. One of my experiments has...” His expression darkened. “Gone stale. Awry. I need something to catalyse it, and start it back up.”

“‘Catalyse’ it? Really?”

“Yes.” The stranger simply stared.

“Fine. Give me the information and get out.” She held out a hoof, in which the stranger placed an envelope.

“Excellent! I’ll be watching.”

With a flash of golden light, Skylight was left staring at the opposite side of the street. She sighed. “Can’t believe I’m doing this.”

She retreated into her office and pressed the intercom button on her desk. “Radlove?”

“Yes, Director?”

“I need the raptor readied up.” She pinched her brow with a wingtip. “Can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we have a job.”

“Yes, Director.”

Skylight smacked the button and sighed again. “This is gonna go to shit real fast.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alrecht sweetheart, ye ready?" The black stallion smiled.

His daughter, a striped unicorn filly, nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

"One, two..." They both took a deep breath, the third count being a silent one.

"BLOOD AND VINEGAR!" The pony and his daughter roared.

"Aye, well done!" The filly giggled as the stallion ruffled her mane.

The heavily-scarred zebra mare on the sofa rolled her eyes, the smile on her face made wider by the twin scars on her cheeks. "'Sid? Why am I letting you teach Diamond battle cries?"

"It's a famileh tradition!" He replied. "All Knives know a few war cries."

"Daddy, I wanna sword-fight! I wanna sword-fight!" Diamond cheered, bouncing up and down around her father.

The black stallion chuckled. "Alrecht, Alrecht. Calm doon, sweetheart." From behind the sofa, a pair of cardboard tubes floated out, enveloped in the stallion's blue magic. He floated one near himself, and the other to his daughter, who took it in her own almost-invisible grey glow.

"Ye remember th' spell?"

The filly nodded, and gave the tube a small kick to show it. "I'm gonna beat you, evil wizard!"

Obsidian chuckled. "Sae aam a wizard, nao? Ah think Ah can bide wi'that.”

“Yeah! And I’m Diamond the Sword Princess! Rah!” She swung the ‘sword’ in a vicious manner.

“Och, really?” The stallion grinned mischievously. “Then ‘ave at thee!”

The two swung their cardboard tubes at each other, laughing and dancing around each other in an epic battle of skill and wit.

Until Diamond started coughing.

The fight stopped instantly as Zala hopped up from the sofa and rushed over to her daughter, Obsidian moving to the kitchen to bring a glass of water, giving it to the filly once her coughing subsided, turning into a quiet wheeze.

“Oi, sounds like ‘er lungs are actin’ up again.” He sighed.

“Well, she has an appointment tomorrow. I’ll ask the doctor to check.” Zala nuzzled the filly, whose ears had gone flat against her head, and walked over to the cabinet, searching through its contents.

“Aww... I wanted to play more...” She said in a dejected manner.

“It’s alrecht sweetheart.” Obsidian smiled. “Yer still healin’. It’ll go away eventually. How about a pony-back ride, eh?”

The filly squeaked as she founded herself levitating in his magic. “Nonono! It’s too high, it’s too high!”

“‘SID, PUT HER DOWN!” Zala yelled around a pill bottle in her mouth.

“Och, goddesses, Aam an idiot. Aam sae sorry, sweetheart.” Obsidian grimaced, and gently placed Diamond back on the ground. “Ah fergot abou’ tha’...”

Diamond hugged her father’s leg. “It’s okay, daddy.”

“Ah wont’ pick ye up unless ye ask me, alrecht? Ah dun want tae scare ye.” He ruffled her mane again, as Zala hoofed him the bottle. He pulled it open and levitated one of the pills to the filly, who swallowed it. “Ye feelin’ okay?”

She rubbed her stomach. “My tummy’s still scared.”

“Eh...” Obsidian blinked.

Zala rolled her eyes. “Stress from the acrophobia. Because somepony thought a ‘pony-back ride’ was a good idea.”

“Aam sorry! Ah fergot.” He sighed dejectedly.

Zala trotted over and kissed him on the forehead. “I know. You were only trying to be nice. How about we all just go and go to bed, huh?”

As if on cue, Diamond yawned.

“Aye. Ah think that’s a guid idea.” Obsidian kissed his wife back. “Come on, sweetheart. Ah’ll read ye a story.”

“Okay, daddy.” The filly yawned again, and followed her parents to her bedroom.

Author's Note

Well... that took longer than expected. Actual chapter will hopefully be along next week.

Thank you Kkat, for making a nice sandbox that we can screw around in. Thank you Matkingos for making this suck far less than it could. Thank you people with eyeballs who read this crap.

Ta!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: R & R & R

Chapter Twenty-Nine: R & R & R
"Like it? Like it?"

"Guuugh, where the heck did I put those friggin' things?" Ashes slammed the box shut, pushed it aside, and moved to the next one.

"Ah doubt they're in any at th' boxes, Ash." I said, as I shut the lid of yet another box and stacked it with several others. "Yer messy, but yer nae that messy."

The grey earth pony sat on her haunches again as she tore through the box's contents. "Come on! I’ve been trying to find the dumb things for three days!"

"Are you sure they aren't in your room?" Zeed offered.

Ashes sighed. "Yeah, I looked there ten times, already."

"Dae ye really need yer glasses that badly?" I rolled my eyes.

"I do when I start getting a headache from looking at the other side of a room, yeah." She shoved yet another box aside and groaned into her hooves. "I can't believe I lost my glasses again!"

"Can't you get another pair?" Zeed asked, opening yet another box.

"Not for a week." The grey filly muttered. "Stupid doctor."

“I’m sure you’ll find them sooner or later.” Zeed said.

I snorted a laugh. “Your place is still a mess.”

Ashes huffed and hopped onto her sofa. There was a loud crack, and all our eyes widened.

Ashes’ eye twitched.

“Uh...” I said.

She slowly reached under her flank, digging around in the cushion, her eye twitching the whole time.

She pulled out her glasses, bent completely out of shape. As she held them up, one of the lenses fell out in two pieces.

The young mare's eye twitched again.

I scratched the back of my neck nervously. “Well at least...”

“FUCK! FUCKING FUCK!” Ashes screamed, throwing the glasses at the wall. “THREE FUCKING DAYS!”

Zeed jaw and mine almost hit the floor.

Ashes continued screaming as we stared at her in shock.

“Did...” I swallowed. “Did Ashes just swear?”

Zeed nodded.

Ashes stopped yelling and blinked at us. “What are you talking about? I swear all the time!”

“Nae ye don’t.” I coughed.

“Yeah, the worst thing I’ve ever heard you say is ‘buck’.” Zeed continued staring.

Ashes frowned. “Well, why are you acting like it’s weird?”

“It’s just... Ah’ve never heard ye... swearin’... before. It’s weird comin' from ye.”

"No it isn't!"

"Its kinda scary." I continued.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Actually, Ah dunnae think Ah've ever seen ye mad before, either."

Her ears went back. "That was my favorite pair. And I've been looking for them for forever. Of course I'm mad."

Zeed trotted over and gave her fillyfriend a hug. The earth pony leaned into it with a sigh. "It's okay, Ashie. You should get to be mad sometimes."

Ashes sighed, and nuzzled into Zeed's neck.

"Did ye ever consider carryin' spares?"

Both young mares gave me an incredulous look.

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry..."

~~~

"Goddesses, my legs'r sore." Vill whined for the umpteenth time. "Can't we stop for a minute?"

Yet again, my teeth ground together.

"Just relax. We'll be in Bladesville less than half an hour." Rai- Zim sighed.

"Awww, are you getting annoyed?"

I growled under my breath.

"Please? My fetlocks are sore as hell right now and the foal keeps kicking me in the ribs. It's really uncomfortable."

Zim gave me a questioning glance. I sighed and sat down on the cracked sidewalk, rolling onto my back.

The pegasus shrugged and sat next to me. "Fine. Wouldn't hurt to get the sand out of my splint."

Vill muttered a 'thank you', and sat on a nearby bench, where she started massaging her legs and stomach. "Owww... everything hurts."

"It was just walkin'." I muttered.

Zim gently elbowed my side. "I know she's annoying, but come on, give her a break. She's pregnant."

"Doesnae mean she needs tae complain constantly."

"Okay, you got me there." Zim laughed.

"Admit it. You're only annoyed because you're jealous."

"Still, though, just give her a break."

I sighed.

"Guys! I've been wondering when you'd get here." Cried a familiar voice.

I popped one eye open to see Zeed trotting up.

She blinked as she caught sight of Vill, who was suddenly looking nervous, then turned back to Zim and I with a smirk. "Who's your friend? You trying to replace me?"

"Aye. We figured another moody mare would work just as well." I snorted a laugh.

"Uh... h-hi... I'm Vill." The expecting teenager stammered.

"Zeed. Nice to meet you." She offered the other zebra a forehoof, which was gingerly shaken. "So why're you traveling with them?"

"Uh..."

"Apparently, Mr. Hero here couldnae bear tae leave a pregnant teenager in Raftwater after we got in a fight wi' her friends."

Zeed blinked in confusion as she looked at Zim. "Mr. Her-holy fucking shit your mane is rainbow-colored."

"I'll explain later." The pegasus sighed. "But yeah, I wasn't about to leave her like that. Not with a bunch of slavers

"Even though she's one ay them?" I growled.

With a grunt, I stood back up and stretched.

"Luna's moon, what happened to you?" Zeed gasped. "Half your ear is gone! And your horn is-"

"She shot mah ear off." I glared at Vill. "And Ah had tae use tha' weldin' spell tae get through a door."

"While we're on the subject of injuries, I think I may have broken my leg again." Zim poked the appendage in question. "I've been taking med-x, on and off, but I'd rather not rely on it."

Zeed gaped at us for a moment before her expression shifted to a frown. "Let me guess, Vill. You have some injuries to go along with theirs?"

The younger zebra shook her head. "Uh... no. Not unless being pregnant counts."

"Might as well check you anyway." Zeed muttered, trotting deeper into the ruins. "Come on."

"Aam goin' tae take a wild guess here and say yer avoidin' yer dad?"

She froze. "Uh... no?"

"Come on, Zeed. Ah know ye better than that."

“Anyway!” She said quickly. “I-”

“Sae, where’s Stock?”

“She’s making sure the ex-slaves get settled in. I just helped to make sure their physical injuries were taken care of. Now let’s go and-”

“It’s ‘cuz he got married again, isn’t it.” I didn’t even know why I bothered asking.

“I’m nervous, okay?” She yelled, giving me an angry glare. “Stop bugging me! I already met Kara, I’ll meet Misty later! Leave me alone! It’s not like the worlds about to end! Hell, it already did end! I’ll meet her when I meet her! Stop making a big deal out of it!”

I just stared at her with an incredulous eyebrow raised.

She held the glare for about twelve seconds before she shrank into herself. “Can you go with me?”

“Ah was waitin’ fer ye tae say that.” I smirked. "Ay course Ah'll go wi' ye. What else're friends for?"

“What just happened?” Vill asked.

“I think I’ve been living in Canturbury too long, cuz I don’t care.” Zim shrugged. “Though i think I’d like to meet Misty as well, considering she’s part of the reason I came here.”

“Well, I’m still going to check on you guys, so...” Zeed coughed into a forehoof in a barely successful attempt to regain her composure. “Let’s go. Especially you, Vill.”

The walk into Bladesville was uneventful and quiet, which I was glad for, being too tired and irritated by Vill's whining to think. We ended up simply going to Stock's place, which was apparently an old restaurant filled with guns and survival gear, and were greeted by the sight of a large number of equines gathered outside her house, while Stock hoofed out old-world camping supplies, apparently giving everypony large discounts. We pushed through the crowd and into the main building, receiving a happy wave and a smile from the ghoul. Zeed pulled me into a pantry that had been converted into a medical room, with first aid kits and random equipment all over the place.

"What th' hell dae ye have most ay this crap fer? Yer nae a surgeon."

The mare snorted. "No duh I'm not a surgeon. Doesn't mean I can't pull out a bullet. It's just your ear and horn, right?"

"Aye. Dae ye have a mirror?"

She nodded and pulled a hoof-held one off the shelf behind me.

My horn just looked burnt, which didn't particularly bother me, as I hadn't filed it in a while, anyway. What surprised me was that, as Zeed had said, half of my right ear was completely gone. I wasn't entirely sure how a bullet did that, but it looked like something had just bitten off the top of it.

Despite that, the first thing I said was: "Holy crap, Ah look awesome!"

"Uh... okay? I'm guessing you want to keep it like that, then?" Zeed gave me a confused look.

"Aye. Maybe Ah can get some scars tae go wi' it." I chuckled. "Ah'll start tae look like mom."

"Suit yourself. Let's just make sure it doesn't get infected or anything." She gently pulled on my ear with a pair of tweezers in one fetlock, and another pair in her mouth. She used her free hoof to pour small amounts of water onto the ragged edge, or dab at it with an alcohol swab, making me hiss in pain. "Well, it looks like you just dumped a healing potion on it."

"We did. Why?"

"Don't do that. You got burnt hair in the wound."

"You dae it all th' time!" I hissed in pain again as she pulled on several hairs on the ear.

"I actually know what I'm doing. Hold still."

I grumbled as she continued checking on me.

"So... uh... how are you feeling? You seem like you're pissed at Vill." Zeed said.

I let out an angry sigh. "She's whiny, among other things."

"Oh... the fertility thing?" She started to wrap some gauze around my ear.

"Aye."

"Awww... poor widdle Knives."

"SHUT UP! Just shut the fucking fuck up! I swear to Celestia you have done nothing but talk for the last four fucking days, just shut up!"

"Knives, you okay? You're kinda spacing out."

"Aam fine."

"No you're not."

"Am Ah done yet?"

"Uh... yeah, sure. Can you send Raid in?"

I stepped out of the pantry and waved the pegasus in. Vill had fallen asleep in the corner while I was getting fixed, and was snoring lightly. The young mare shifted in her sleep, holding her belly protectively and letting out a scared whimper.

Plopping down into a chair and stretching made me feel much more tired and a lot more comfortable. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Kniiiiiiivessssss. Oh, Kniiiiiivvvvvessss."

Heart pounding. Empty corridor. Run run run run

"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY THAT EASY, HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Help! Somepony help!" I scream. My hooves pound on the concrete. Tears flow freely down my face. "Mom! Zeed! Ashes? Help me!"

I'm thrown into the wall as she slams into me. I scream as her spit burns through my fur.

"Diediediediehahahaha!" Her tail rips into my-

I woke up with a loud yelp. After a second of panting and getting my bearings again, I sighed. "Can't Ah get some sleep without horrible nightmares?"

"Aaaaaah not the tentacles!" Some pony screamed.

With a confused blink, I glanced at Vill to see her panting and coated with sweat, a hoof on her bulging stomach and her eyes darting around as she whimpered.

"Tentacles?" I asked. "Ye alright?"

She jumped at the sound of my voice. After realizing that it was only me, she swallowed. Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "Y-yeah... I just...I dreamt that I... gave birth to this t-tentacle-thing and it... tried to kill me..."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Weird. Ah was gettin' chased down and slaughtered by a monster from mah foalhood."

"Oh... that sucks..." She rubbed her stomach again.

"Ye should tell Zeed about it."

"Tell me what? I heard you guys screaming. You okay?" The short zebra trotted out of the pantry, Zim not far behind.

"I had a weird dream." With a grunt, the pregnant mare brought herself to her hooves and sped into the pantry.

Zeed gave me a confused look, to which I responded with a shrug. She then followed the other zebra inside.

I rubbed a hoof across my eyes and yawned.

"You okay, Knives?" Zim landed beside me and gave his mane a nervous scratch.

"Aye. Aam fine. Yerself?"

"Got lucky. Just needed a new cast. Uh..." He coughed into his good forehoof. "We... we still doing that date?"

My face turned red. "Uh... if ye still want tae, aye."

He grinned. "Yes. Yes I do "

"Great! But..." I pointed to the pantry door and dropped my voice to a whisper. "We should deal with Zeed's drama first."

"Her drama?"

"Aye. At th' rate we're goin' we'll turn th' wasteland intae a giant soap opera." I rolled my eyes.

He blinked for a moment before he burst out laughing.

I let out a laugh of my own. "Sae, eh... did ye have any plans fer it, then?"

"Well... you like messing with scrap, right?"

"Among other things, aye."

"Well, I've always kinda liked scavenging, myself so... I figured we could go to the Bladesville Scrapyard?" A nervous grin spread across his face.

I eyed him for a moment.

He swallowed.

My ears twitched towards him. "Yer plan was tae go tae a scrapyard?"

His face fell. "Uh... well..."

"Ah like that idea." I gave him a mischievous smile. "Clever move."

He sighed in relief and smiled back. "Great. What are we gonna do about Zeed, then?"

"Drag her tae her dad's place if we need tae." I shrugged. "Otherwise we just give her a push."

"I'd really appreciate it if you two didn't talk about me behind my back." Zeed sighed.

Vill sat on the ground behind her, once again rubbing her stomach.

"Well, let's get goin'." I hopped up to my hooves again and started pushing Zeed towards the exit.

She protested loudly, her hooves scrabbling on the floor. "Knives! Hold on!"

"Nae. We're goin' while yer relaxed." I chuckled evilly. "It's also nae often that Ah get tae make ye dae anythin'."

"Knives!" She managed to latch her hooves onto the door. "I need-"

"Ye need tae actually meet yer dad's family and nae get depressed over it." I poked her nose for emphasis. "We need tae get this done before ye have another mood swing. Zim, can ye help meh out here?"

"'Zim'?" She glanced at the buck. "Why is she calling you 'Zim'?

"I'll explain when this is dealt with." The pegasus hovered over, slipped past Zeed, grabbed her tail with his good fetlock, and pulled.

"Owowow! Okay, cut it out!" We gently put her on the ground, where she rubbed her rump. "I like my tail where it is, thanks."

I heard Vill try, and fail, to suppress a giggle.

"Where are you guys going?" Stock asked, giving a bag to yet another slave.

"Dealing with drama." Zim called back.

The ghoul gave us a confused look before she shrugged. "I'll just stay here and keep doing this, then. Later, guys!"

~~~

"Deep breaths, Zeed. Deep breaths." The stripy mare repeated the mantra, her eyes shut tight.

"Relax, Zeed. Ye'll be fine." I said.

"I'm just gonna meet her." Another breath. Her eyes popped open. Her jaw dropped. "Holy crap, dad lives in that?"

Sitting at the bottom of the incline was a construct that looked something like a giant melon that had been hollowed out, cut in half, had wheels slapped onto it, and a small house stuffed inside. It was surrounded by three tents, around which were two zebras, one of whom I recognized as Nezan, and four bizarre-looking creatures about the size of a pony, with six legs and a head that bore a passing resemblance to a dog's. Three were varying shades of green, but the fourth was red, with yellow stripes that I could see clearly even at that distance. The way they were shaped reminded me about a book I once read about something called a grasshopper.

"What the hell are those things?" Vill squeaked in fear.

"Oh cool, vinedogs." Zim grinned.

Vill blinked. "Those are dogs?"

"That's what I said." Zeed threw her forelegs into the air. "The green ones slimed me!"

She shuddered. "I can still feel it."

The smaller zebra by the... melon... house... thing... threw a stick, which the vinedogs all chased after.

"Okay, now I just wanna see the dogs." Zim hovered towards our destination.

I glanced at Zeed, who swallowed and went after him. Vill and I stayed close behind.

"Axy! I was starting to think you forgot about me." Nezan called out after telling the vinedogs to stay put. The green ones sat there and stared at the sky, but the larger red one watched us carefully.

"Hi Zeed!" The smaller zebra, a filly in a blueish jacket, waved frantically.

"Uh... h-hi d-d-dad." Zeed gulped again. "How've you been?"

"Great! We were actually figuring out some plans for the birthday filly while Misty's taking a nap." Nezan ruffled the filly's mane. From what I could see of her stripes, they still had some of the brown color of a younger zebra. "Gotta make up for missing her actual birthday."

"It's okay, dad!" She smiled and hugged him. "You don't have to do anything."

"Don't have to. I want to." The stallion said. "I'm sort of surprised that you don't."

My ears went down a bit as I watched the father-daughter moment, feeling a pang of longing. The corner of Zeed’s mouth turned up into a smile.

"Anyway, I'm guessing you're here to see Misty?" He smiled hopefully. "She's been dying to meet you."

Zeed blinked. "S-she has? Uh... okay."

While Nezan went inside one of the larger tents to wake up his wife, I gave Zeed a reassuring pat on the back. "Ye'll be fine. She's just yer stepmother. She's nae goin' tae bite yer head off."

The mare took a deep breath. "Right. I just need to stay calm."

"Not hyperventilating helps." Zim said.

"I'm nervous, okay?"

"Nervous? Why are you nervous?" The filly adjusted her denim hoodie and sat down next to Vill, who was trying very hard to look like she wasn't there.

"Uh... well..." Zeed stammered.

"She's worried about meetin' yer mom."

"Knives!"

The filly blinked. She then proceeded to burst out laughing. "You're scared of my mom?"

"Uh..." Zeed's expression changed to one of confusion.

"Mom is, like, the nicest person, ever!" The filly guffawed. "She gets along with everyone."

Zeed chuckled, and I could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. "Oh, really?"

"Hey! Misty, wait!"

The tent flap opened again, and out stepped a small mare, only slightly taller than Zeed. She had a blue striped coat and a pair of wings. Her middle bulged out in a way that could only mean one thing. My jaw dropped as I stared at her.

She was pregnant. She was a zony, and she was pregnant.

"Well now, this is interesting."

She blinked her blue eyes, she smiled at Zeed. "Hi, uh... I'm guessing you're Zeed?"

"Y-yeah. It's-"

"Holy crap you're pregnant." I blurted.

The mare looked at her swollen belly and winced. "Shoot."

Nezan stuck his head out of the tent, a thick duster held in his mouth. "Yeah. You forgot this, honey."

I just stared at her with my jaw dropped. "Bu-bu-but y-you're a zony! How are... what?"

With a sheepish smile, the striped pegasus took the jacket from her husband and slipped it on. "Great. Awake for, like, a minute and I mess somethin' up. And I was all amped up, too."

I continued to stand there, spluttering, my emotions flipping between shock, confusion, and joy. "B-b-but... zony! Foal! In belly! You! How?"

The mare scratched her neck nervously.

Zeed coughed into a forehoof. "I'm... kinda curious too... to be honest. Sorry."

Misty sighed. "No, it's cool. I guess it is kinda... surprising. Uh... yah... I guess I can have foals. Boss, right?"

"Awww. Isn't it nice to know that zonys can have foals? Just think about it! All those fine gentlecolts you courted." She laughed. "How about Butter Crisp?"

My jaw dropped even further.

"Ooh! Or how about Xiphiz? He was fairly nice, especially when he set you up for all those delightful little pranks of his!"

My eye twitched.

"Knives? Are you okay?" Zim asked.

"And think of the foals you could have had with Bucket! Oh, what a charming buck he was, with that nasty disposition of his."

The only sound that left my throat was a quiet squeak.

"Zeed? I think we broke Knives." Zim said, attempting to comfort me by rubbing a hoof along my back.

"Oh... probably my fault." Misty sighed again.

"Oh, but Oil Rag, oh what a handsome buck. I loved it when he had the entire class laughing at you the entire day! What fun!"

"Actually, I think she just remembered how many of her coltfriends were assholes." Zeed said. "She has that kind of look on her face."

"W-well, I think I just got a bit of schway. I don't really get it, but the doctors said it's, like, a one in a million chance. Um... Knives?"

"You could have had a cute little foal with any of them! Isn't that nice?"

I blinked as I felt a poke in my side. Zeed was giving me an amused smile. "Knives, if you could have foals, don't you think you would have by now?"

It took me a moment to process what she’d said, but when I finally did, I let out a nervous laugh. "Right! Right, of- ay course... aheh..."

"I really don't know how it happened.Well... I, like, know how it happened, but I don't know how it happened. I mean, I'm glad, and I wouldn't give Kara up for the world," Misty hugged her daughter. "It's weird how some'a the kooks look at me when they find out."

Nezan pulled both into a hug of his own and kissed the mare. "They just don't know how beautiful you are."

Misty giggled and kissed him back.

"Ewww!" Kara stuck her tongue out and made a gagging sound. "Gross."

Zeed let out a small laugh.

"Well, I guess I should, like, introduce myself then?" Misty cleared her throat. "It's nice ta meetcha. I'm Misty."

She offered a forehoof, which Zeed shook merrily. "Zeed. So what do you do for a living?"

"Well, I run the shop while we're at home. We're just headin' back home after bringing a pack of vinedogs to Cormrant." The zony said. "You?"

"Uh... well, I was trying to get a medical licence before I left the prison with Knives." Zeed pointed to me. "We met up with Raid shortly after. We've been looking for dad, her dad, and a friend of ours that got exiled a while ago. And... I guess Knives and Raid picked Vill up in Raftwater."

"H-hi." Vill waved. "Uh... nice to meet you?"

Misty smiled wider. "Hi!"

"So, how'd you meet dad?"

"I was in Open, and I saw him makin' some deal with the sheriff. We hooked up pretty quick from there. It was, like, six years ago?" She thought for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah. That's right. He actually gave me Schwann on our first date."

With a giggle, she nuzzled the stallion's neck.

Zeed blinked. "They don't... creep you out at all?"

"The dogs? Nah. They look a bit trippy, but they're nice. Unless you're a roach'r a rat. Schwann!" She whistled. "C'mere, brah!"

The large, red vinedog moved slowly over, apparently keeping a close watch on everything around it, but the second it approached, it started panting, its tail whipping about as it gave Misty a lick with a thin, vine-like tongue.

Zim grinned. "Gnarly. Can I pet it?"

"Sure! Just don't go too quick. He's pretty chill otherwise."

Still grinning, Zim flapped over and scratched under the bug's chin with his good forehoof. It licked him as well. "Epic."

"See? They like people."

Zeed shuddered. "Eugh. They still creep me out."

"But they're cool!" Kara said, looking at Zeed like she was crazy.

"They're still weird." Zeed rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

While she and the rest of the family continued to chat with each other, with Zeed gradually becoming more and more relaxed, I moved over next to Zim. "Ah think this went well."

"Cheah. It went totally chill." He grinned at me, patting Schwann on his sectioned muzzle. Noticing my surprised look, he blinked. "What?"

"Wow. Stock was right. Ye dae have an accent."

"What're you talking about?" He gave me a confused look.

"Eh... never mind?" I said.

He shrugged. "'Right then. So, do you wanna go to the scrapyard now or later tonight?"

"Let's gae later tonight. Aam pretty sure walkin' through a desert's made meh kinda stink. Ah definitely feel gross." I grimaced as I wiped a glob of sweat-dampened sand off my leg. "And Ah look terrible."

"Nah. Ya look great. Even if you're covered in damp sand." He said nonchalantly, making me blush.

"Th-thanks. Sae, are there any showers or anythin' around here?"

"Dunno. Hey, Misty, there any showers around here?"

"Oh, yeah. It's set up on the other side of the wagon."

"Thanks." I smiled, and trotted off.

~~~

Wretch coughed as she swatted at the hoof pinning her to the wall by the throat. The earth pony pinning her pulled a hoof back to punch the unicorn and roared.

She gagged when a loaf of hardtack was jammed into her mouth.

"Taste the fury!" Xixixix cheered as he punched the rock-hard bread further into her gullet.

She reared back, clutching at her throat as she tried to spit out the bread. Wretch fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Xixixix leapt into the air, and landed on the earth pony's stomach, knocking the wind and hard-tack out of her.

He rolled off her and popped onto his hind legs, taking up a boxing stance.

The mare stood up and growled at him.

"Buck..." Xixixix groaned. "Why won't you fucking drop, already?"

She charged at him with a scream of drug-induced rage, only to rush past him as he side-stepped. She stopped, spun around, and snarled again.

"Olé!" He cheered, and smacked her on the nose.

She reared back and threw a hoof towards his face.

She stared in surprise and confusion as he took it full on, moving with the punch, rolling along his spine until he was standing on his head with his hind legs sticking straight up, and continuing to roll until he was back on his hind legs, his forelegs crossed in a dramatic pose as he smirked.

"Nice shot. Try again." He chuckled, absent-mindedly rubbing the spot where he'd been hit.

She lunged once more, only to fall to the ground when something hit her in the middle of her back.

"Hey, Green! Where've you been?" Xixixix waved at the filly, who was hovering over the writhing mare and holding a sledgehammer with a horrified look on her face.

"I... I..." The pegasus stammered. "I just..."

"C'mon, Green, hit 'er again!" He called.

The earth pony made a weak lunge at Green, who squeaked in terror and swung the sledgehammer into her skull, sending her sprawling on her side, her eyes unfocused.

"Nice shot! Let's tie her up." Xixixix hopped away in search of rope, making sure to bounce off the mare's chest.

Wretch coughed. "Green? Are you okay?"

The filly stared down at the sledgehammer still clutched in her fetlocks, her wings still keeping her in the air. "I just hurt somepony again..."

Wretch forced herself to her hooves and stumbled over to the filly and hugged her. "It's okay."

"I think I broke her back."

"It's okay Green, don't worry."

The two were quiet as the zebra returned with a coil of rope held in his mouth and merrily hogtied the earth pony.

"I... I think she deserved it..."

Wretch blinked and looked down at the pegasus. "What?"

"She... she wanted to hurt Barkeep." Green pulled away from Wretch and swallowed. "She kept chasing him. I... I think she would have... gone after sompony else too..."

"You're probably right." Xixixix said from his perch atop the tied-up mare. "And don't worry about her spine. You just cracked the ribs. She'll heal. Eventually."

The pegasus filly nodded. "Sorry I... ran off. I needed-"

"It's okay, Green. We needed the help." Wretch frowned. "For some reason."

Xixixix trotted between them, and patted Green on the head. "You did what you had to. Relax. You're still better than most of the wasteland. Let's get dummy here locked up."

Green nodded, and the two ponies followed the zebra through the Mall.

~~~

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Exp: 75%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Exp: 10%

~~~
Footnote 3: Raid (???)
EXP: 42%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

O’ Father, Where Art Thou?:

~~Infiltrate or assault the Bone Eaters’ base near Bladesville.~~

Complete

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

I should know better than to say when I'm going to do something. I really should. Stuff always gets in the way.

Anyway thanks to Kkat for creating this fantastic sandbox, and thanks to Matkingos for making sure this thing doesn't completely suck.

Chapter Thirty-One: Burning Love Comes In Hunks

Chapter Thirty-One: Burning Love Comes In Hunks
"Well, what do we have here, huh?"

“Three pistols on the ramparts, four rifles and a shotgun on the door,” I whispered into my earpiece. “No birds, no horns.”

“Anything behind the wall?” asked the voice of Hearteater.

I craned my neck, not really expecting to be able to see past the makeshift barriers. “No visual.”

“What, you can’t fly over?” a stallion’s voice snorted. “What the hell good are you.”

“It’s not that dark, Crunch. I think a low-flying cloud would be a bit suspicious.” I poked my misty camouflage for emphasis, despite the fact that I knew he couldn’t see it. “This is risky enough. I’d rather not attract the Enclave as well.”

“Oh for the love of… Heart, can you sneak past the wall and look?” he groaned.

“Uh…” the mare said.

I facehoofed.

“Crunch, did you seriously just ask the pregnant mare to run into the line of fire?” a female voice with a heavy Trottingham accent snapped over the line. “Goddesses, you’re an idiot.”

“What? She’s got that invisible stealth-suit-armor thing!”

“Uh, I’m not sure how you didn’t notice, but I’m kinda not wearing the suit right now. I haven't been able to. It doesn’t really fit around my belly at the moment.”

“And even if she’s invisible, there’s still a chance of her getting hit by stray fire. We’re lucky she even agreed to come with us.” The other mare ranted. “I mean, come on! She’s huge!”

“Wow. That’s just rude,” Crunch snorted.

“No it’s not. I am huge,” Heart yawned. "You really aren't paying much attention, are you?"

"Oh, shut up, all of you," the stallion grumbled. "I'll go do it myself."

"You should have in the first place," Split snarled through the transmitter.

Heart giggled. "You should stop fighting and just make out."

I stifled a laugh as both ponies stammered.

"You know," I began. "I'm not gonna be using my room tonight."

"Shut up!" Split squeaked.

"Oh, shit. Heart, you got incoming," Crunch hissed.

I darted to the other side of my cloud and scanned the ground. There was, indeed, a pair of large equines, a pony and a zebra, trotting down the street, glaring harshly at every corner.

"I see them." There was a faint flash of light, and a quiet bang. The pony collapsed, which sent the zebra into a panic. Before he could turn and dive for cover, though, there was another bang, and he collapsed on top of his dead friend.

"Well... that was anticlimactic." I turned back to the slaver encampment. "Good shooting."

"Thanks!" Hearteater chirped. "Any more?"

"Nope. We're clear to move once you get started." I caught sight of Crunch hiding behind a stack of barrels near the camp's entrance, a full squad of ponies in stealthy barding hiding in random places around him.

Several more quiet bangs went off, and three of the guards on Crunch's side fell in quick succession. I couldn't help but grin at the effectiveness of our sniper.

~~~

I laughed. Everything was funny. The lights were funny, the refrigerator was funny, even those really angry robots trying to blow up the door were funny.

"This fruit has a really nice texture." Knives giggled as she bit into a cucumber. She was funny too. And pretty.

'You thought she was a colt when you met her. And something is wrong here.'

I frowned. Halt dein Mund Gehirn. Schönen sie ist und großen Stabile ist.

I blinked, and snorted a laugh at what I'd just said to myself. "Oops, wrong language."

'Pay attention, moron. Something's off about this place,’ my lame, downer of a brain continued

I rolled my eyes at my silly conscious.

"Zim, ye want some?" The pretty mare held out what was left of the cucumber.

"Sure! Have some cheese." We swapped food. I loved this place. "Anything on the... uh... boxy... thing?"

She giggled. "Aye. Ah guess th' Overmare really liked it here."

"I know, right?" I chomped down on the cucumber. "The food is so good."

'Stop eating and think!'

Knives' ears went down. "Wish Ah could taste it."

Mine went down as well. "Oh, right... sorry."

"It's alrah... alr..." She burst into laughter.

She had a really nice laugh. It was like... bouncy 'n stuff. I started laughing too.

The angry robots were still hitting the door. I kinda wished they'd be happy too. They were yelling an awful lot.

"Ooh... somepony else made th' robots angry, too." Knives let out a low whistle. "Sompony was talkin' about how they all needed tae get out ay th' Stable and th' robots took 'em."

"Really?” I scratched my head, trying to think of anypony who wouldn’t want to live in an awesome Stable like this. it had everything! Food… a bed… food... “Why would they want that?"

"It says, 'Poor stallion kept yelling about how the robots are controlling everything. I don't know why he'd think that, though. They're so nice!'” Knives read, giggling a bit. "Nae, they're nae. They're just big... dummies."

I laughed in agreement.

"'He told me they're messing with the water, trying to make him forget, but that's just silly. We've only been in here a'... a week?" Knives blinked. "Weird. She wrote a lot fer one week."

I trotted back into the kitchen. "Whaddaya mean?"

"Well... there's almost a hundred entries here." She poked the computer screen. "What's that, a few months?"

"I think so?" I scratched my head, shrugged, and pulled out one of the numerous hay sandwiches in the fridge.

"Please enjoy this wonderful meal."

I smiled at the fridge. "Thanks."

'There's something horribly wrong here.'

"'The robots took him down to the infirmary, and sent him right back up, good as new. He was a bit twitchy, though.'" Knives was suddenly looking less happy. "Zim, that's suspiciously... uh... suspicious."

'She thinks there's something wrong, too. Think!'

"Oh, come on, that's just silly. I'll bet my... uh... I'll bet my cutie mark that nothing's wrong!" I lifted my jacket away from my butt to show said mark, and nodded decisively.

Knives stared at me for a moment before she started giggling.

I blinked at her. "What's up?"

"Lotus."

I looked at my cutie mark, which was, in fact a rainbow lotus. "Yes. Yes it is."

"Lotus Eaters!" She covered her mouth with a forehoof. "Zim, what time is it?"

I looked at my pipbuck. "Almost midnight."

"And what time did we get here?"

"About seven." I stared at her for a moment with a smile on my face. "Oh dear."

"Exactly! Zim, Ah think th' damn food is drugged." She threw her hooves into the air and started laughing.

I blinked at the cucumber I was still clutching in my fetlock and soon joined her.

"Whadda we do?" Knives asked between chuckles.

"Stop eating for..." I snorted. "Stop eating! I don't know what they're using, but I... pfft, hahahahah!"

Knives was desperately trying to hold back her own laughter. "That's nae funny at all!"

"We... we gotta figure out a way to get out of here," I barely managed to say. "Did you see anything about hidden passages or anything on the computer? Maybe a security password?"

"Nae." Knives stifled another giggle. "Nothin' at all."

"Okay..." I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. Looking at the door, I grimaced at the realization that it had several large dents in it. "Okay... so… we have only one exit, and a bunch of robots trying to break in. Maybe you could make an… uh… electric bomb?”

A bit of anger broke through Knives’ drug-induced glee. “With what? What dae ye think Ah am, McGryffon?"

I winced. "Sorry, I just figured that since you... well..."

"Dae ye know how much power it would take fer somethin' like that?" She frowned. "Aam nae even guid enough wi' magic the set that kind ay thing up. Th' only electrical thing Ah've got is this."

She pulled out a small black box, which I recognized as part of the shock baton she'd been using when we met, with two sparking nubs.

She harrumphed.

"Right... sorry..." I scratched my neck. "I guess I shouldn't assu-"

Suddenly she squealed with delight and threw her forelegs around me. "That gives meh an even better idea!"

She tossed the box on the computer desk and rummaged through her bags.

I blinked and watched her in fascination as she pulled out the machete and several bundles of wires, throwing them all onto the desk and humming to herself. Several tools began to orbit around her head, held by her magic, and she set to work.

It was amazing how focused she was, even despite the drugged food. Her eyes flicked back and forth across the desk as she tore the handle off the machete and stripped wires, soldering them together with incredibly small bursts of her welding spell despite how much it must have been draining her.

It was the most beautiful and hypnotic things I'd ever seen.

And suddenly, it was over.

Now covered in sweat from heat and magical exhaustion, she held up her creation and beamed at me.

I blinked. "You... made a fancy machete?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nae, Ah made a fancy shock machete."

"Why?" I asked.

"Uh... Ah..." She groaned and rubbed her face. "Goddesses may head hurts. Ah guess... Ah can use it oan th' robots?"

I blinked again. "What robots?"

"Th' ones outside! They're tryin' tae beat th' door down?" She groaned again. "Zim, focus! Its like ye said, we need tae get out ay here!"

I nodded blissfully.

She smacked me. "Zim! Robots! Death! Plan?"

I rubbed my face. "I dunno, fight through them? Isn't that why you made the... sword-thing?"

"Ah... Aam nae sure... really..." she looked at the weapon. "Why did Ah make this?"

"Goddesses, we really are drugged, aren't we..."

"That wasnae obvious before?" Knives snorted.

"Alright... if we can catch them off guard maybe we can kill them?"

"Can robots even be surprised?"

"I don't know, maybe? Its kinda all I got right now." I glanced at the door again. A sizeable dent had formed, though I wasn't sure when. "Maybe we can wait until they run out of ammo?"

Then came the sound of the door being punctured by a missile. A small gout of flame puffed in, igniting the nearby sofa and filling the room with smoke.

"You know, this date was supposed to be fun." I drew my shotgun.

Knives looked at me and hrrm-ed. "Ye know, Aam nae sure why this is springin’ tae mind nao, but Ah read about somethin' that we could dae here."

I turned to ask, but was interrupted when she suddenly pulled my face to hers and kissed me.

Several thought went through my head, the first being: 'Holy crap! She's kissing me?' The second: 'Yes! Score!' Followed by: 'Weird... she tastes like copper and engine oil.' The last thought was something along the lines of: 'Kiss her back!'

So I did.

The kiss lasted for quite a while, with both of us finally separating when we remembered that we needed to breathe.

We stared at each other with dopey grins on our faces.

"Well... maybe those novels give some good advice." Another gout of flame burst through the hole in the door, making both of us jump. "Maybe nae th' best timin' though."

I shrugged. "Hey, this date was going nowhere anyway. Heh. Might as well spice it up a little."

She blushed. "Well... least we-"

Fsshhh-thoom thoom thoom thoom!

We covered our ears as an apparent hail storm of missiles struck the door, which creaked as it was continuously forced inwards.

Knives ran up to the door, poked her grenade rifle through, fired a few shots, and took a position beside the door. I took mine on the opposite side.

"Ready?" I asked with a grin.

"Nae really, nae."

The door took one last hit, and was thrown against the far wall as rest of the volley hit it.

We stuck our weapons around the corner and started firing. While I fired at random, Knives kept making more careful shots. More missiles and a bit of laser fire streamed in as Knives' grenades detonated. She peeked around the corner and took careful aim. The sound of her firing was immediately followed by the sound of one of the robots exploding.

"Woo! Got its power gem!" The mare pumped her hoof excitedly before she fired again.

Another robot began screaming some anti-zebra propaganda and firing on its allies.

Knives laughed. "Awesome. Two in a row."

“Wow. You’re awesome with that thing.” I grinned at her around my shotgun and poked my head out to fire a few shots of my own, all of which were significantly less effective than hers.

She shrugged. “Well, dad did say that where ye hit is more important than how hard ye hit.”

“Still, though… There’s a lot of them.” Another was destroyed as the malfunctioning one destroyed one of its more heavily-damaged former allies. “I don’t think either of us has that much ammo.”

“True. But Ah think we might be able tae make a run fer it nao...” She grinned mischievously and whipped the shock machete out. “Because Ah have this.”

“You’re gonna- KNIVES!”

She charged down the hallway, ducking past the frantic robot and magically kicked the blade into another’s abdominal joint. It immediately began sparking as the electricity coursed through it.

“C’mon, Zim! Hurry up!” She giggled.

I swore and flew over the robots, who were still engaged with their comrade. Apparently they weren’t much good at fighting each other.

She kept ducking between them, often taking ineffective slashes at their shells, but occasionally, she would manage to jam one into a vital joint and either fry it or frenzy it. All the while she was giggling and laughing happily.

I glanced at my pipbuck map. We were, at the very least, heading towards the exit, but nevertheless, I kept swearing and hoping to Celestia that Knives didn’t get horribly injured.

“Why the hell are there so many of the things?” I groaned. “The ponies were fucking drugged! They didn’t ne-OOF!”

A missile struck the ceiling just behind me, its explosion throwing me further down the corridor and into the ground.

With a grunt of pain, I pushed myself up and found myself face-to-legs with one of the robots.

It pointed its laser minigun at me and revved it up. I gave my wings a quick flap to push myself out of the way.

I scrambled back to my hooves and galloped after Knives.

“How far is the exit?” She asked.

“It’s through the Atrium. This way!”

A missile flew over my head, nearly hitting Knives before it struck the far wall. She grimaced and galloped after me.

“If we keep going left and up, we should be able to make it before the robots do.

“What if they’ve sealed it up?”

I blinked. “Then we’ll need to find another way out or we’re fucked.”

Knives gave me a surprised look over her shoulder. “What?”

An energy beam struck one of her back legs. She screamed as she tumbled across the floor, slamming into the wall.

I stopped by her to help her up, only to push her down again to dodge a missile. A glance back revealed the line of robots rolling down the two branching corridors behind us.

I picked her up in my forelegs and flew, zipping through the Stable as quickly as I could manage, with robots pouring out of what felt like every hallway we passed. I was frantic, panting from exhaustion and fear, feeling like my wings were about to just give up.

It didn’t matter, though. When we rounded the corner, one of the robots was there, waiting with the one we’d broken when we got here, and fired at me. I barely managed to release Knives before the missile hit, and I crashed into the rubble and junk from our entry. Knives took advantage of her momentum and used it to drive her machete into the robot’s sensors.

To my horror, there was no sunlight. The hole in the ceiling was now completely filled with detritus.

“Zim?” Knives limped over to my side. “Zim, are ye alright?”

I shook my head. “We’re screwed.”

“Nae, we’re nae!” She yelled with a frown.

I forced myself up and gestured to the rubble pile, flexing my right wing. “Knives, there’s just too much of this crap. They’ll get here before we can move it all.”

“They’re nae even that tough, if Ah can kill ‘em.” She growled and pointed to the dead robots. “Aam riggin’ their guns up, sae we’ll have that too.”

“You’re gonna what?”

“Just watch!” She spun the robot’s corpse around and beat the thinner metal on its launcher arm until the shell fell off, spraying lubricants and various other machine-related fluids everywhere. She then took several of its wires, studied them for a moment before opening up the other arm and ripping those wires out, and put several of them together. To my surprise, the weapons on both arms fired, creating a new crater in the far wall. Knives grinned at me. “See? Easy.”

I just stared at her. She stared back at me, covered in oil and dirt, her coat was charred in several places, and her mane had become a complete mess.

“Knives? I think I love you.” I said. “Probably way the fuck too soon in the relationship, but at the moment I really don’t give a shit.”

She blushed, her face bore an expression of surprise and confusion.

“And if we die, I just want to say, that was the best damn kiss I’ve ever had.” I nodded and stomped my hoof with a sense of finality.

She blinked her beautiful mismatched eyes a few times. Her shocked look turned into a smile. “Ye know, that was probably th’ nicest thing a date’s ever said tae meh. And ye know, what? Fuck dyin’! Aam nae sure if it’s th’ drugs or th’ adrenaline, but we’re fightin’ our goddess-damned way out ay here, and when we dae, we’re findin’ th’ nearest bed and ruttin’ each other’s brains out!”

Her hoof slammed the ground as well, and we both nodded.

“Let’s do this,” we chorused.

She threw her weight against the robot, pushing it just past the corner, where she spun it around and set its weaponry firing down the hallway.

She fired her grenades along with it, while I joined her with shotgun blasts placed as well as I could manage, occasionally making a missile detonate in the launcher, sometimes just disabling some key component on a weapon.

We took out a dozen of them before the turret ran out of rockets, at which point Knives hoofed me her rifle and went to set up the other robot. In a matter of moments, we were hiding behind it and shooting at any robots that managed their way past our turret.

More and more kept came. Each one falling to the ground, only to be shoved aside by another, and another, and another.

A grenade sent one spinning on its legs, firing wildly.

My shotgun blew a leg off, its owner falling to its side.

Knives’ rifle clicked.

She tossed it aside and drew her sword, charging into the fray.

“BLOOD AND VINEGAR!”

I followed her in.

She ducked behind one, which was destroyed by another trying to get her.

I blasted a hole in a thirds torso.

She broke an inhibitor.

I broke a weapon.

One managed to get her in the side with a laser volley, I cut it short with a blast to the arm.

One grazed my wing, she stabbed its eyes.

A missile knocked her down, I blew its sensors out and pulled her back up.

It felt like hours.

I couldn’t even feel my legs anymore.

Both of us were out of breath.

Charred.

Bruised.

Exhausted.

But the last attacker fell with a final scream against zebra kind.

We stood there. Panting.

The few robots left were the ones incapable of movement or attack.

Knives and I looked at each other.

“Well…” I said.

“That was quick.” She finished.

We smiled.

We chuckled.

We found ourselves laughing in relief, tears streaming from our eyes as we collapsed against each other.

I felt happy.

Knives wiped a tear from her eye. “Ye know… Ah think we can dae without th’ bed.”

I blinked. “What are you-”

She kissed me again.

Never thought I'd like the taste of oil.

~~~~~

"How far until we get there?" Wretch paused to wipe some of the sweat from her brow. "I can't see too far through all this dust."

"I'unno." Xixixix shrugged. "I just walk until I get where I'm going."

Wretch sighed. "Of course you do."

The zebra propped his foreleg on the unicorns shoulder, walking beside her on his back legs. "Wretch, please, don't be so down, with those big fat eyes and your big, fat frown. The world doesn't have to be so grey!"

"What?" Wretch gave him an incredulous look.

"Wretch, when your life's a mess, when you're feeling blue, or are in distress, I know what can wash that sad away." He took a dramatic breath. "All you have to do is-"

"If you tell me to put anything in my ears, I'll hit you."

Xixixix blinked. "Why would I say something dumb like that?""

Wretch stopped for a moment to deadpan at him. He only put on an innocent grin.

"How are you doing, Green?" The black-maned unicorn called towards the cloudy sky.

The filly didn't respond. Instead, she continued to soar lazily through the air, partially hidden by the thin upper mists, flying upside down and munching on a piece of pickled yucca with a blissful smile on her face, her forest green locks billowing about in the wind.

Xixixix smirked. "So majestic. I wonder how she learned to fly."

"Probably from her parents, like I'd imagine most pegasi do." Wretch rolled her eyes.

"HEY GREEN!"

Green yelped, and almost immediately dropped out of the sky, barely managing to catch herself before she hit the ground. She hovered there for a moment, trying to prevent her heart from escaping her ribcage while Xixixix trotted up to her.

"Where'd you learn to fly?" He asked with a merry smile.

"Uh... my... my mom taught me?" She stammered. "It was when Bark still had bomb collars... he said there was no point in owning flightless pegasi."

The zebra blinked. "Well, he's probably the smartest slaver I've ever heard of, then. Most of them are too stupid to figure that out. Pegasi that can fly are worth quite the pretty bit."

"And you know this, how, exactly?" Wretch gave him a suspicious glare.

“I know a very large number of things that I really shouldn’t. I also don’t know an equally large number of things that I should, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.” Wretch growled at the zebra. “How do you know what slavers are doing?”

He responded with a perfectly calm and neutral stare. He held the gaze for a few moments, to the point where it actually made both ponies feel somewhat nervous.

"I have thousands of memory orbs stored away throughout Canturbury." He began trotting again. "Surprisingly few of them are pre-war."

Both ponies shivered under his gaze.

He smirked. "Ooooo, spooky zebra. Run away, run away!"

Green snorted and giggled, earning a confused look from Wretch.

The pink unicorn opened her mouth to speak, but immediately covered her ears when Xixixix screamed.

"IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?" He charged off, leaving a cloud of orange-tinged dust in his wake.

"What the- hey!" Wretch growled. "Where are you going?"

The stallion charged into the orange mists.

Wretch considered calling after him, but huffed and turned away. A second later she turned back when she heard him screaming.

He charged back through the mists, and stopped in front of her.

"Yeah, it's exactly what I think it is," he said in a cheery voice. "We should run. Fast. Very fast. Beyond rapidly and right into 'there's a gorgon trying to say hello' fast. If we go that way we should be able to make it to the edge of the herd before they trample us."

With that, he grabbed Green, put her onto his back, and galloped away, once more screaming his head off.

Wretch stared after him, her mouth hanging open. She suddenly became aware of a rumbling sound.

She glanced back and forth in confusion for a moment, taking note of the fact that the mists seemed to me shifting.

"Wretch! Run!" Xixixix yelled.

The rumbling was accompanied by a familiar buzzing sound. Wretch's ears twitched as she listened. Her eyes widened slowly.

A gigantic black blob just barely visible in the dust. A herd of rampaging, gibbering equines, one she recognized.

"Wow... he never told me... oh goddesses..." She stepped back and swallowed a lump in her throat. "There's this many?"

“WRETCH! COME ONE!” The zebra grabbed her tail in his teeth and pulled, making her yelp. With a last glance at the rapidly growing blob she started following him.

Green clung to Xixixix’s mane, her eyes shut tight as the stallion charged through the sands at top speed with the shocked Wretch close behind. The screaming of the herd penetrated the filly’s ears, and though she couldn’t understand the words, she got the distinct impression that they wanted her to join them.

They were gradually getting closer, the dark mass on the horizon spreading out more every second. It looked like it could consume all of Canturbury if it continued. Green wasn’t sure if they could get out of the way in time.

The pony and zebra picked up their pace, their hooves leaving tracks in the sand, their breathing heavy.

Then Wretch rammed into Xixixix’s backside, and fell flat on her own as the stallion came to a sudden stop in front of a cactus.

"Hey! I recognize this cactus!" He yelled, giving the succulent a buck.

Wretch gawked at him. "What are- ack!"

She suddenly found herself in the middle of a staircase, with a torrent of sand pouring onto her head. "Owwwww... my ass."

"Wonderful! I guess we can just hide here until they pass." Xixixix happily trotted down the stairs and, upon reaching the bottom, closed the entrance with a push of a nearby button, and let Green off his back. "Maybe we can explore a bit, too."

Wretch groaned in response.

~~~

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

Level up! (14)

Speech: 30

Survival: 40

Perks:

Intense Training: +1 Endurance. Endurance = 3

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: ???%

~~~

Footnote 3: Prism (Zim) Blitz

EXP: 98%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

For whom my heart does beat:

-Go on a first date with your crush, you lovebird, you!

-Oh, and get out of the Stable, moron.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Chapter Thirty-Two: About Half A Day

Chapter Thirty-Two: About Half A Day
"What a lovely, but absolutely ridiculous sentiment."

The room was filled with the sound of several fans, metallic clanging, and the noise of the air vents blasting their contents out, despite the numerous objects we'd put out in the hopes of blocking the heated air.

I let out a groan and slid a hoof across my sweaty face. “Luna’s moon, its hot. I'm tempted to shave my coat off."

Ashes grunted, her ears drooping, her body swaying gently back and forth as she sat on the couch beside me. The bags under her eyes were even bigger than mine and she looked like she was about to fall asleep any second, but she just kept sitting in front of one of the fans.

Knives kicked the fan, eliciting another clang. “Grrr. This thing is crap! Ah coulda made a better one mahself!”

“I thought you-" I flopped back against the couch and groaned. "Oh, forget it. I don’t even care right now.”

“Maybe Ah could get some ice and throw it at th’ damned thing.” The striped unicorn kicked the fan again. “Be a buttload more useful.”

“Can’t fucking believe this place,” a voice said from the door. “One week the air conditioning is going into overdrive, the next the heaters do the same damn thing.”

“MOM! Please tell meh ye got th’ pump?”

Mrs. Knives pulled the device out of her bag. “Is it the right one?”

“Yes! Just set up th’ rest of it and Ah’ll get this set up.”

With that, Knives dashed into her room, which began to emit... mechanical...sounding... noises, and her mom started putting charcoal and salt into… bucket… thingies and...

“Crap…” I moaned. “I think my brain’s stopped working. How’re you doing, Ash?”

“So tired. Want sleep.” The young mare yawned. “Hot…”

"Don't worry, Diamond should be able to get her cooler working soon." Mrs. Knives rubbed her face. "Ugh... this heat is actually making my scars itch. Unbelievable."

Ashes groaned again, and gently leaned into me. I looked up at the clock. Way past when my marefriend usually slept, and since the heat had been keeping her awake for three days, she looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

I rubbed her shoulders a bit before I hugged her, enjoying her warmth despite the heat. She hugged me back and hummed contentedly, a smile crawling onto her face. "My fluffy pillow."

I pushed her away so I could glare at her. "I am not fluffy.”

Her lip curled into a pout. “Zeeeeeed…”

I kept glaring at her.

Her pout was interrupted by a massive yawn. She swayed again as her eyelids drooped a bit more. “C’mun, Zeed. Yer c’mfy. Please?”

“No,” I harrumphed. “it's too hot. And you called me fluffy again.”

Mrs. Knives snorted a laugh. “You remind me of my first coltfriend.”

“Whaddaya mean?” Ashes pouted even harder as I turned to look at the older zebra.

“I used to-” She grinned as her daughter popped out of her room. “Did you finish it?”

“Aye. Can ye help meh carry it?” Knives vanished back into the room, followed by her mother.

Ashes collapsed further onto the couch. She sniffled a bit. “You’re no fun, Zeed.”

“I’m am so fun! I just don't want to be a pillow.” My forelegs crossed over my chest.

“No pillow? Just bein' mean.” She sniffled again and rolled over, facing away from me.

"Ash, c'mon. I'm not being mean." She didn't move. "Ashes, come on, really?"

She harrumphed at me. "No. You're mean."

"You know, you didn't used to be this bad when you were tired. Now you act like a foal." She stuck her tongue out at me. I frowned. "Hey!"

"Meanie."

I stared at her for a moment.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll be a damn pillow."

"No. You're a jerk."

"Wha-hey!"

She stuck her tongue out, this time playfully, and kissed me on the nose before she hugged me.

"I still want you to stop calling me fluffy."

Her response came in the form of a light, fairly adorable snore.

"Of course..." I muttered, marveling at how weird my mare friend could get without sleep.

~~~~

Vill pointed to her belly and giggled at the visible outline of a tiny hoof pushing out. "See? It's like its having a party in there. What are you doing you little crazy?"

"Oh, wow," Misty laughed. "How far along are you?"

Knives rolled her eyes and hopped out of the chair. "Aam goin' tae go an' see if Zim's ready.

"See you later, Knives. Have fun." I called as she trotted away.

When the striped unicorn was out of sight, Vill's ears went back against her skull. "How come Knives hates me so much?"

"Don't worry about it. She's easily pissed off." I waved a hoof dismissively. "Sometimes I think she has no idea why she hates who she hates. What's she actually been doing, anyway?"

"She's always glaring at me and talking to me like I'm stupid." The young mother sighed. "I mean, yeah, I didn't know... well... how I even got pregnant, until somebody gave me a book about it, but... how was I supposed to know?"

Misty smiled at the mare. "Vill, you were raised by a bunch of slavers. You're lucky you even knew how to read that book at all. So Zeed and I totally don't think you're dumb."

"How'd you end up with the Bone Eaters, anyway?" I asked.

She tapped her hooves together as she thought. "Dad wanted me to go with Rex when he came looking for recruits. We were... poor, so he wanted me to have a chance to make something of my life."

"He wanted you to make a life as a slaver?" Misty gave her an incredulous look.

"It was either that or..." She grimaced. "Uh... never mind. It's just weird."

"What about your mother?" Misty continued, propping her head up on her forehooves and looking interested. "Was she around?"

Vill scratched her neck. "Uh... not really? She was... well... um... can we not talk about it? It... kind of makes me uncomfortable."

"Fair enough. What about you, Zeed?"

I blinked at the blue striped pegasus.. "Huh?"

"Well, Nezan told me some about when you were a filly before he left, but I kinda, like, wanna hear it from you." She smiled again.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked. "I mean, I've lived in the Prison my whole life. Not much there except for petty, elitist Guards, my idiot of a mother, and pretty much every mare I've ever slept with. I'm also a moody insomniac and the thought of eating insects makes me nauseous."

Vill made a gagging noise. "Bleagh! Why would you eat bugs? That's just gross."

"I know, they're so... crunchy." I shuddered. "And I already told you I was training to be a medic before I left."

"Is that what your mark is for?" Misty asked.

"Nope. It's actually for making medicine." Her eyebrow went up in an incredulous manner and I sighed. "Yes, that includes chems. No, I don't go making them for anypony who asks. I usually stick to healing potions when I have ingredients."

"You could make a lot of moola from that, ya know," Misty said. "People get hurt a lot out here."

I tapped my chin. "True, but like I said, I need ingredients. Besides, I seem to just end up using them."

"Ow. So how come you're out here, anyway?"

"Knives and I ran before a riot started." I gave my neck a nervous scratch. "I'm... also... kind of trying to find... one of my exes..."

A sigh left my throat. "I kinda owe her a few things."

"Oh... what happened with her?" Misty asked.

"Well... she... did something pretty bad, but... I overreacted. Especially since she was so upset about it. She didn't even try to lie about it either, she was completely honest, and..." I sighed again. "I didn't even give her a chance. I hope she's okay."

We all sat there quietly for a while. I suddenly felt bad for making things awkward.

"Hey, I have an errand I need to run." Vill's ears perked up as Misty spoke. "Do you two wanna come with me?"

"What's the errand?" Vill asked.

"I just need to pick something up from Carabiner."

A smile spread across the young zebra's face. "I could go for you. Please? I can use some exercise and I haven't run in a while. Uh... well... I ran from Raftwater, but that was more like sprinting and I hated that. Blech. Felt like I was gonna pop."

"Are you sure you wanna? It's pretty far and there’s a lotta stuff."

"Yes! Please, please, please, please," Vill begged, cupping her forehooves together as she pleaded.

"Can you run when you're that big?" Misty tapped her chin. "I, like, can't even fly like this, and I'm only eight months."

Vill nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “I'm really used to it 'n I can go for hours if I take it easy. Come on, please?"

"Well, if you're feeling up to it, I guess you can. There’s a travel supply shop in the middle of town. It’s called ‘Blue Satchel’. Just tell the owner that Misty sent you and he’ll give you some saddlebags.” Mist winced and rubbed her stomach. “Are you sure you wanna go? When I say its a lotta stuff, I mean it.”

“Of course. It’s what I always did in Raftwater. I just went through the city doing odd jobs and making deliveries.” She giggled in a gleeful way. “It’s fun! I’m gonna get on it right away. Oh, wait, is there anything else I could do, too? I mean, there’s no point in just doing one thing, right?"

"Vill, you really wanna go around running errands all day?" Misty asked again.

The young mare gave an emphatic nod. "I wanna do stuff while I'm not feeling like crap! Who wants to stand around and do nothing?"

Misty regarded the zebra for a moment. Eventually, she retrieved a piece of paper from the saddlebags under the table, quickly writing down a list before hoofing it over to Vill. "Alright. I guess you have a point, but don't stress yourself out. If you get tired, feel free to stop, alright? Its not like all this is urgent, so you don't need to rush."

"I'll get right on it!" Vill dropped to her haunches and gave a quick salute and a giggle.

With that, she ran off. She was weirdly fast for her current size. I briefly wondered what her glyph was for.

"Now I'm wondering why Knives hates her," Misty said. "She's so nice."

"Maybe she said something. Knives can hate a pony for really stupid reasons and-" I found myself falling off my chair as a large red blur slammed into me. I looked up to see the face of a vinedog staring at me. It gave me a lick, leaving a trail of slime on my face. "Augh! Get him off!"

"Uh... Sch-Schwann, come here! Bad dog!" Misty moved over and tried to pull the thing off me while I pushed from beneath it.

"Mom! I can't find- oh... uh..." Kara joined the older mare in trying to get their pet off me, while it continued to lick me. "Mom, hold his head."

Just like that, the vinedog rolled away from me, making a sad chittering noise.

The two helped me to my hooves, and I started wiping vine dog slime of my face. "You know, I like being licked and all, but not there, and not by that."

Kara made a dramatic gagging noise.

"Sorry, Zeed. Again." Misty grinned sheepishly.

I flicked a large glob of slime off my hoof. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Schwann, what are you doing, you nut?" She patted the dog on the snout.

Schwann replied by panting, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"At least he's not attacking me or anything." I nervously reached out and gave the bug-plant-animal thing a pat of the back, which made his tail twitch happily.

"I think he likes you." Kara giggled. "He never jumps on anyone else like that."

"He used ta do it ta me all the time. Where's your father?" Misty pulled her daughter into a hug.

"Still trying to find Schwann." The filly smirked.

I grinned. "I think I did that for him. By the way, I like your jacket, Kara."

"Thanks!" The filly chirped and brushed something of the denim hoodie. "Hey, where'd Vill go?"

"She went off to do an errand for me." Misty picked up her cloud-chair, squashed it down with her hooves, and shoved it into her saddlebags. "I dunno when she'll be back."

Kara's face fell. "Aww... I wanted to hang out with her. She seems cool."

"Don't worry, she'll be back soon, at least. You two wanna help me set up shop?" Misty asked, glancing at me.

"Heck, yeah!" Kara cheered.

I shrugged. "Alright. I'm okay with that. I guess I'm staying here 'till Knives and Zim get back, anyway."

~~~~~

"Okay this is freaking me out a bit." I peeked out of the collapsible shack again.

"C'mon, Zeed. Chill out," Kara hoofed a stack of caps to Misty. "They'll be fine."

"Knives doesn't normally stay out on a date for three hours. Usually that means something has gone horribly right, or horribly wrong."

"What the heck does that mean?" Kara asked.

Misty chuckled. "It's an adult thing."

Kara blinked a few times before she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Eugh, gross!"

"I'm back!" Vill called as she walked up to the booth, covered in a sheen of sweat with her saddlebags laden with stuff. "Um... s-sorry, I only got half the list done."

Misty blinked at the young mare. "You what?"

"I'm sorry, I tried to get the rest of it done, but... I... just got really tired and only managed to get half of it." Vill hoofed over the list, which was now covered in check marks.

"Only ha- Vill, I didn't expect'cha ta go and get all of it." Misty looked at the list. "Holy... this is... how can ya carry this much without hurting yourself?"

"Uh... I... I'm used to it?" Vill scratched at her neck. "My dad always said that exercise and practice were important, and that book said it was a good idea to keep doing when you're pregnant, so... I just kept doing stuff."

"Vill, exercise is good, yeah, but you still need to take it easy," I said.

"It is easy!" She said defensively. "I do stuff like this all the time. I... I just got tired this time. I'm trying, okay?"

"Relax, Vill. It's just surprising, is all." Misty gave her a gentle rub on the shoulder. "I think it's about time we closed up and headed to bed. We're all tired, and you especially need a break."

Vill blinked a few times as she stared at Misty. Her expression gradually turned into a smile, and she nodded.

"I'll put the stuff away!" Kara yelled.

"Guess I'll count out the caps. Zeed, could you fold down the booth, please?" Misty gestured with a wing.

I smiled. "Sure."

"Vill, you can just sit back if you want."

The younger mother-to-be yawned. "Yeah, okay. I... I think I'm just gonna go to sleep."

"We have a spare sleeping bag if you want." Misty smiled gently, and started towards the cart with the box of caps.

Vill followed with a nod. "Thank you."

I slung the folded booth over my back while Kara hooked me up to the wagon full of merchandise and started after them, the filly trotting along beside me.

"Where's dad been this whole time?" I asked my step-sister.

She shrugged. "I think he's finishing some deal that those slavers interrupted."

I hrrm-ed. "Dad said you like comic books."

A grin popped onto her face. "Heck, yeah! Comic books are awesome! Especially Mare-do-well."

My own face lit up. "Really? Which series?"

"I like Dread Knight, and Sky Break was pretty cool, but that Daring Do crossover just plain sucked." She stuck her tongue out.

"I'd have to agree with that. I liked Sky Break more, though. The darker setting was nice."

"Yeah, but Dread Knight had more action!" She paused to make a punching motion for emphasis. "She kicks butt!"

I snorted a laugh.

"She's almost as cool as dad," she continued with a grin.

"You're prancing." I snickered.

Her face turned red and she dropped to her haunches. "N-no I'm not!"

"Yes, you aaaare."

"Sh-shut up!"

"You. Were. Prancing." I smirked. "And it was adorable."

"I'm not adorable, I'm cool!" Her face was bright red.

I started chuckling. "I think I could get used to being a big sister."

Kara pouted. "Well I'm gonna be a big sister too, and I'm not gonna be mean."

"Oh, relax. You can prance all you want and still be cool." I gave her a nudge with my shoulder. "I think you're cool."

She perked up. "Really?"

"And trust me, when you get your glyph you'll be prancing for a while." I snorted again, and pointed to her clothes. "So, where'd you get that, anyway?"

"The jacket? Dad gave it to me for my seventh birthday." She yawned. "He said I should look as tough as I am."

The filly puffed her chest out, and I barely managed to not burst out laughing.

She yawned again, this time hard enough to make her eyes tear up.

"I'm guessing you need some sleep too, then?" I teased.

"Yeah..." a third yawn, and she paused to rub at her eyes.

"Well, we're almost there, so you can just crawl into bed if you want."

She nodded.

"Glad to see that you two are getting along."

I looked to my right to see dad hurrying down the street, followed by the vinedogs.

"Hey, dad." I said. "Where've you been?"

"Finishing a deal. We're sending Bladesville a few dogs for security." He gave me a quick hug. "Anyone miss me?"

"I missed you!" Kara yelled before yawning yet again.

He grinned. "You tired, kiddo?"

The filly nodded.

"Guess its good night for you, then, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, only to yawn again. "Fine. Night, dad."

Giving him a quick hug, she ran down the last block to dad's cart.

"A jacket as tough as she is?" I smirked at my father.

"Hey, she was six years old and scared of everything. I wanted to help her feel more confident, and it worked." He shrugged. "Also, she likes it. The only times she doesn't wear it is when she's sleeping or when Misty makes her wash it. So, you want to get some sleep, too?"

"Do you have enough room for five ponies?"

"Five?"

"Misty's letting Vill use one of your sleeping bags."

Dad blinked. "Oh... uh... well..."

"It's alright, dad. I was gonna stay up and watch for the others anyway. Put this wagon away."

"Well, alright then." He scratched his mane. "I guess I'll see you in the morning. Try and get some sleep?"

"Sure, dad, I'll try." I hugged him. "Night."

~~~

I made another circuit around the cart, stopping to glance around, bite my lip nervously, and return to my pacing.

"Axy, just calm down. I'm sure your friends are fine," Dad sighed.

"Honey, I don't think that's helping," Misty whispered.

"Gotta try, right?"

"It's almost noon!" I yelled. "Where the hell are they?"

"Maybe they're off doing something else?" Vill shrugged.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

"I thought you said you'd get some sleep," dad said.

"I did! I took some of the potion and just slept outside."

Kara blinked at me. "On the ground?"

"Yes, I... may have underestimated the potion and passed out. I'm fine, but I'm still worried about- you two!" I pointed at the two ponies casually trotting towards the cart. "Where the hell have you been? I thought you guys got killed or something and..."

I narrowed my eyes as I took a closer look at Knives. After a moment I laughed. "On the first date? Really?"

Knives and Raid blinked at me, the former's face turning bright red. "Uh... well... Ah... ye can tell?"

"Knives, I've known you for years. Of course I can tell." I crossed my forelegs. "Your mane's a mess, you're walking that way, you have that satisfied look on your face. Which is covered in scorch marks, by the way. What happened?"

"We fell into a Stable, got attacked by robots, got drugged, got attacked by robots again, had some... fun... and left." Zim shrugged.

"It was th' worst date Ah've ever been oan." Knives' expression changed to one of satisfaction. "Apart from that last bit."

I deadpanned at Zim. "You got attacked by robots."

"Twice." Knives nodded.

I stared at them for a moment and shrugged. "Okay. Makes sense."

"Sae how long have ye been panickin'?"

"She has been since I got up, at least."

"Dad!"

"What?" He held his hooves up defensively. "It's true."

"You don't need to tell her that." I frowned.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled.

"Och, ye missed meh, didn't ye." Knives smirked and gave me a pat on the head. "Well, ye dunnae have tae worry about that nao. We're both fine."

Her smirk faltered under the half-hearted glare I gave her. I grinned mischievously. "Knives likes belly rubs."

Her face turned bright red as Zim let out a snort of laughter.

"Shut up, Zeed." She grumbled.

"Oh, so it's okay to make fun of me, but not you?" I poked her shoulder.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Dad interrupted.

I looked at him, then at Knives. "We going after your dad next?"

She hummed thoughtfully. "Nae. Ah think we should gae fer Ashes next."

My ears went back. "Are you sure?"

"Zeed, don't start that again. It was bad enough wi' yer dad, yer nae doin' it wi' Ash, got it?"

I winced. "Uh... okay? Where the hell did that come from?"

"We have enough problems between th' two ay us, we dunnae need more."

"Yeah... alright, fine. I'll try to not start freaking out." I groaned. "Now we just need to find her."

"You know," Zim started. "That name sounds familiar. What's she look like."

I sighed. "She... she's an earth pony. Kinda tall, just a bit bigger than Knives, charcoal coat…”

Raid’s eyebrow went up.

“Gunmetal mane, amber-colored eyes. Kind of-”

“Laughing at everything she can?” Raid said. “Almost never swears? Pretty much useless in the morning and hard to wake up? Glasses that she’s incredibly protective of? Plays guitar strangely well with only hooves?”

My jaw dropped and my heart leapt into my throat. “Yes! That… you’ve seen her? Wh-where?”

He grimaced. "Yeah... but... eh... I don't think you'll like it."

A grin spread across my face. I finally had a chance to see her again. "Look, I don't even care right now, just... what was she doing? Is she okay?"

"Why did ye nae say anythin' before?" Knives lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Ah told ye her name."

The stallion sighed. "Okay, just... don't blame me, alright?"

He cleared his throat. "She only told me her real name once."

"Hah! I knew she'd use a fake name." I grinned.

"I kept calling her 'Heart' anyway. Short for 'Hearteater'."

Everypony in the area blinked, particularly Vill, whose eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she stared at him. "You know Hearteater?"

"Yer tellin' us that Ashes became a buckin' assassin?" Knives said in the most incredulous way possible.

"Yeah, I actually had no idea she was canned goods." He shrugged. "She's an amazing sniper."

I laughed. "She practised a lot on the range."

"I was working with her at Loss. She probably could have done it all herself if she had the time." He scratched his mane.

"What's th' bad part? That sounds amazin'!"

"Last time I saw her she was ten months pregnant. That was just over two years ago."

Everything stopped. I stared at the pegasus, my mouth hanging open. "Wat."

"She never said who the father was, just that she regretted meeting him. I never actually asked, though."

"Wat." I repeated.

"Well... that honestly doesnae surprise meh that much," Knives said.

I stared at Zim. "Pregnant?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

My hind legs buckled underneath me. "I... I..."

Dad put a hoof on my shoulder. "You okay, Axy?"

"Sh-sh-she h-has a foal?" My eyes started tearing up.

"Axy, just take deep breaths." Dad rubbed my back.

"Knives, how are you not surprised by this?" I was almost sobbing.

"Because she slept with a stallion while in heat." The striped unicorn shook her head.

Dad looked up at her in surprise. "What?"

"Ye know that thing that all mother's tell their daughters?" Knives said.

"Uh... no, actually. I don't." Dad shook his head.

"It's alright, honey, I do," Misty said. "Don't drink when you're in heat, right?"

"Aye. That's th' one."

"So your friend got drunk?" Dad blinked.

I wiped my eyes. "No... it's... she went to this party and..."

"Zeed and Ash had an argument because Zeed was obsessing over a test. Ashes went to a party without her." Knives said. "We didnae find out until later, but th' hostess' brother has a reputation fer..."

"Spiking the drinks?" Misty offered.

"Spiking is an understatement. It was more like he laced th' punch wi' copious amounts of every drug in th' Prison. And ay course, Ash just happens tae be one ay those mares who can't tell she's in heat, sae... she ended up gettin' drugged out ay her mind and sleepin' wi' some stallion." Knives paused to glance at Zim before hiding a cough behind her hoof, her face turning red.

"She came and told me about it, no lies or anything, and I just flipped out and started screaming at her." I shrank into myself, my ears folding back. "She... she was sobbing her eyes out when she told me and... I said I'd never forgive her..."

"Zeed, ye found out yer mare friend cheated on ye and ye got mad. Stop beatin' yerself up." I opened my mouth to protest, but Knives cut me off and continued. "It may not have been oan purpose, but she still cheated."

Dad hummed. "Gonna have to talk to this mare."

I groaned. "Dad... don't. Just don't."

"C'mon, I was joking." He grinned. I just deadpanned at him. "Cheer up a little?"

I sighed, gently patted his head, and gave him a wry smile. "Only if you stop being a dork, dad."

"I think I can try that.”

"Sae dae ye know where Ashes is nao?"

"Probably still in Loss. She said she wanted to stay and make sure everypony there was safe." Zim scratched his chin. "She set up in an apartment near the edge of the town.".

"You know, that's not too far off our route back to Fifteen. We could, like, go with you," Misty said.

Dad looked at the expectant zony, who bit her lip nervously before nodding. Dad raised an eyebrow. Misty nodded again and shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Zim asked. "The city still gets attacked once in a while."

Misty whimpered, but nodded. Kara sidled up next to her and hugged her.

"You know, we could just split off when we get close." I offered. "You don't have to wait for us."

Misty sighed. "I know that but, like, you haven't seen your dad in years, and I think it would be a total bummer if we didn't get to, like, hang 'n stuff. I mean, we're family, right?"

I blinked at her, and smiled. "Yeah. Fair enough."

"Well, then." Dad whistled for the dogs. "Let's get going, eh?"

~~~~~

Wretch stared at the ceiling, her ears flat against her skull. She could still hear the pounding of their hooves on the desert sands above her head, small amounts of sand trickling through the trap door.

"Hey, another vase! Let's open it!" Xixixix's voice was followed by the sound of clay being smashed and a squeak of surprise from Green. "Woo! More gems! Shame they're unrefined."

With a frown, Wretch trotted back down the stairs to see the room filled with broken containers of various kinds scattered across the room, with Green standing in the middle of the room on a pile of random objects. Several more objects flew onto the pile from another room, and Wretch peeked in to see a happy zebra with a crowbar.

"Wow, why are there so many vases down here?" He cackled. "Stable number blah, filled with potteryists! Or... whatever they're called, anyway."

"Why are you breakIng everything?" Wretch pinched her brow.

"Fun? I'unno." He shrugged. "What else would I do?"

The unicorn sighed. "WhaT are you doing, Green?"

"Sorting." The filly grinned sheepishly.

Wretch looked at the pile of junk, then back at Green. "Really."

"Hey, she's doing great! Junk over there, stuff over there. Simple!"

Green giggled.

"What haPpened to exploring?" Wretch frowned.

"I am exploring," Xixixix said. "Through mindless destruction."

"Uh-Huh... any idea how Iong these things last?"

"An hour or twelve."

Wretch sighed. "Of course."

"Green!" The pegasus jumped as Xixixix called her name. "Wanna cook something for us?"

Her face lit up. "S-sure! I'd love to! I'll see if I can find a kitchen."

With that, she ran deeper into the facility.

"You gonna follow her?" The zebra grinned at Wretch. "Make sure she doesn't hurt herself?"

She glared at him before dashing down the corridors. "Green!"

The kitchen was surprisingly clean, apart from the thick layer of dust that covered everything but the counter. The smiling filly shuffled some of the food she'd dumped out of her saddlebags, mostly fresh vegetables, and started looking through them.

"Green, what are you doing?"

"I'm cooking!" She bucked the stove, and a small flame popped into life.

"Y0u've cooked before?"

Green paused. "Well... no, b-but I did say I've read about how, right?"

"WeI1, yeah. You did say that." Wretch scratched her neck. "What are you trying to make, then?"

"Uhhh..." Green looked over her 'ingredients'. "Potato salad."

Wretch blinked. "We have stuff for potato salad? "

With a nod and a few deft flicks of her hooves and wings, Green separated the necessary ingredients, and the rest into a saddlebag.

"Let me guess, Xixixix packed your bags?"

"No, these are his."

Wretch looked at the jar of mayonnaise and the can of olives. "Of course."

Green went into one of the cabinets, retrieved a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a knife. Within minutes, she had cut up all the potatoes and pickles, and was already mixing her ingredients in the bowl.

Wretch blinked. "Wow. How do you do all that with hooves?"

Green blinked back. "Uh... I... just... do it?"

"Hey!" Xixixix popped his head through the door. "The stampede's stopped. We can get moving now."

Green's ears fell. "Really? But... but I didn't get to finish..."

"Relax. We'll just have Wretch mix it while we move." He waved a hoof dismissively.

"Why me?"

The zebra casually trotted up and flicked the mare's horn. "That's why. You can mix and walk at the same time. Now, come on. We got stuff to do."

With a sigh, Wretch levitated the bowl, glaring at it before she began the arduous task of mixing its contents.

~~~

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP: 2%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: 10%

~~~

Footnote 3: Prism (Zim) Blitz

EXP: 98%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Dusting off old apologies:

-Get to Loss. Find Ashes. Don't panic when you see her foal.

For whom my heart does beat:

~~Go on a first date with your crush, you lovebird, you!~~

~~Oh, and get out of the Stable, moron.~~

Completed

Sifting Through The Dust:

~~1) Find information on the location of Ashes.~~

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

...

Well, at least it was only a week late. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to put more focus on school now and... nope. Couldn't keep a straight face.

My excuse is as thus: A bunch of writing assignments metaphorically ran into the metaphorical room and put metaphorical knives to my metaphorical throat, and metaphorically threatened metaphorical me.

Sorry for sucking, I guess.

Thanks to Everyone!

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Remembering of Things

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Remembering of Things
“Busy having fun!”

I growled in frustration, pushing the wire back into place.

“Okay, let’s see if it works now.”

I flicked the switch on the toaster and waited a moment before checking the heating element.

“Come on! What is wrong with this thing!” I screamed, bucking the toaster across the room, the casing cracked against the wall.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” Mom called from the living room.

“I’m fine, mom!” I snapped. I quickly slapped a hoof over my mouth as I realized that I’d just screamed at my mother.

Unsurprisingly she was in the room a few moments later, giving me an unamused look. “Diamond…”

I groaned. “I can’t fix this stupid toaster! I don’t get it! I put the heating coils in, I got the casing back on right, I put it back together just like it’s supposed to be, and it isn’t working!”

She frowned. “Well that’s not good.”

“I know! I don’t know what the heck I’m doing wrong.” I growled angrily.

I levitated the toaster over to me and glared at it.

“You know, your uncle had a problem like that, once,” mom said, pulling me into a hug. “He just couldn’t figure out what he was doing wrong when he was trying to figure out some calculation or… something.”

“Calculation?” I blinked at her.

“His special talent was... basically doing physics. I honestly didn’t understand all that much about it.” She sighed. “But he ended up pacing up and down the hallway outside his room, muttering angrily and glaring at anypony who talked to him, telling them to go away.”

“Really?” I said in bafflement.

“Yeah. He was dealing with… oh, what was it called…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Oh, that’s right. ‘Talent failure anxiety.’”

I frowned at her. “That’s a dumb name.”

“You can call it ‘cutie mark failure insanity disorder’ if you want, but it’s the same thing. Some ponies get really bad symptoms when they think they messed up at their special talent.”

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“Oh, well, honestly we all dragged him back into his room and tried to work on the problem with him.” She smirked. “It turns out that he forgot to carry a one. Repeatedly.”

“That’s dumb, mom!” I yelled. “I didn’t even do any math for this! How would that make a difference?”

“Did you think that maybe you’re missing something obvious?”

“Like what?”

"Well, if you put everything together right, and it still isn't working..."

She gently pulled the toaster out of my magic and looked at it for a moment before picking up the power cord and pointing to the end of it.

"You should make sure it's plugged in."

My face turned bright red, and my anger drained away.

"Oh... oops?"

~~~

I blinked and yawned, feeling the fuzzy feathers of my… now coltfriend, I guessed, against my back, his right wing wrapped around me under the towel serving as our blanket. The cold morning air wafted under the cart, making me shiver. I opted to just stay there and continue to be comfortable and warm.

”It’s not going to last.”

“Shut up.”

”He’s just going to dump you.”

“Shut. Up.”

”I mean, come on. Already with the cuddling? You’re already calling him your ‘coltfriend’? Somepony’s moving fast.”

I growled and covered my ears with my hooves.

”Oh, like that’s going to help. So immature.”

“What th’ hell dae ye even want?”

”Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Just shut up and die,” I growled. “Go away, vanish, Ah dunnae care, just leave meh alone.”

“Knives? You okay?” Zim’s voice made me jump in surprise. “Are you sleep-talking or just muttering to yourself?”

“She’s nae me!” I hissed.

He blinked in confusion, and I felt the color drain from my face.

“Uh… aheh… sorry, bad dream.” I cleared my throat in an awkward manner.

The kind that never goes away.”

“S’alright.” He wrapped his hooves around my barrel and pulled me closer, planting a kiss behind my ear. “No harm done.”

I nuzzled into the elbow of his wing. “Zim… dae ye think we’re movin’ too fast?”

“Well… Honestly, we’re moving really damn fast, yeah. I mean, only one date.”

”How sad. Even he agrees with me.”

“But, that’s how a lot of wasteland relationships go. Too little time for ‘dating’,” he made air quotes with his free wing. “So ponies just get to know each other on the fly. Regardless, I’m okay with it, especially since I get this juicy flank.”

He gave me a gentle prod in my backside, making me squeak and blush.

“And that was probably the cutest sound I’ve ever heard you make.” he chuckled. "Who'd want to give that up?"

"Plenty of stallions, apparently."

Ignoring her, I kissed him. "How sweet ay ye."

"Hey, lovebirds, could you keep it down?" Zeed whispered, popping her head under the cart. "Some of us are desperately trying to get some sleep before we get to town today."

"Hey, which one ay us keeps havin' panic attacks?" I snorted.

"At least I don't puke after every one." She stuck her tongue out.

"It's nae mah fault! It's ae like Ah want tae." I harrumphed and pulled my pipbuck out of my mane. "It's almost nine, anyway. Why are ye sleepin' nao?"

"Uh… because I'm not getting up at the crack of dawn?" She rolled her eyes.

"Yer tryin' tae avoid Ashes aren't ye." I smirked.

The zebra deadpanned at me. “How am I trying to avoid her by sleeping at a perfectly normal time?”

”Pffft- HAHAHAHAAH! You’re such an idiot!” I blushed in embarrassment at her comment.

“Besides,” Zeed continued. “It’s not like she’s gonna suddenly start getting up in the morning, right?”

"Nope. You wanna just get some breakfast?" Zim asked.

"Aye, Aam fine wi' that." I rolled away from him and crawled out from under the cart, standing up and cracking all my joints, earning the usual pained grimaces of my friends. Taking a glance around me revealed that we were still on the foundations of some old house, surrounded by ruins, with the town of Loss only half a day away.

"Okay..." Zim shivered as he rolled out and straightened his jacket. "That, I could do without."

I pouted mockingly. "Awww... ye dunnae like mah joint-crackin'?"

"It sounds like you just broke something." Zeed rolled her eyes. "My medic senses are tingling."

"Uh-huh. Sure." I cracked a fetlock as Zim brought himself to his hooves, making him wince again.

"I'll laugh if you end up with arthritis." Zeed yawned.

"Anypony else up?" Zim asked.

"I'm up! Just making breakfast." Misty yelled from the other side of the wagon. "Pancakes for everyone!"

I heard a squeal from inside the wagon, and Kara shot out the front, stumbling a bit in her freshly-awoken daze, and running towards her mother's voice. "PANCAKES!"

"Ah could gae fer pancakes." I trotted after the filly, with Zim close behind, Zeed sighed and popped back into the wagon.

Misty was standing in front of a portable stove, a propane tank attached to a burner, flipping over a pancake with a twist of her fetlock. Kara sat beside her, her mane a complete mess, a smile on her face. I could see Nezan doing something with the vinedogs a good distance away.

I chuckled. "Aam guessin' ye like pancakes?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I love pancakes. Especially mom's."

"They're honestly the only thing I know how to make. Usually Nezan does the cooking." She patted her bulging belly. "But I figured since this one woke me up again I might as well make some."

"Gonna get jealous of her too?"

My ears went back as I pushed her back again.

"Jealous!"

I sighed angrily.

"You okay, Knives?" Zim asked.

"Aye. Aam fine, dunnae worry." I growled.

Zim gave me a worried look before putting a wing over my shoulder and giving a gentle rub.

Misty flipped several more pancakes onto the plate and put it on the table. Kara immediately snatched one in her hooves and crammed it into her mouth. We all laughed as she tried to chew the large pancake.

"Kara, slow down. I can make more." Misty shook her head in bemusement.

The filly gave a hard swallow and a happy sigh before grabbing another pancake. "But they're so good..."

"Also, I'm sure you're not the only one who's hungry." Misty pointed to Zim and I.

Kara looked at us for a moment before groaning. "Fine. I'll share the most awesome, delicious pancakes in forever."

With a chuckle, I levitated two off the plate and gave one to Zim and took a bite out of the other.

"Huh. This is really good," The stallion said. "I like Knives' pancakes a bit more, though."

Kara scoffed. "Yeah, well mom's are still better."

"What do you think, Knives?" Misty asked.

"Well, Ah can't actually taste it, but it's soft and moist. Ah like it." I swallowed the mouthful and took another bite.

"Thank you. My mother taught me how to make it, like, right before I left Dream Valley." Misty grinned.

"Hey, whaddaya mean you can't taste it?" Kara gave me a suspicious glare.

I sigh and rolled my eyes. "Ah have nae sense ay taste or smell. Haven't since Ah had an accident when Ah was a filly."

Her ears went back, and she suddenly looked ashamed of herself. "O-oh... what happened?"

My own ears twitched as I grimaced. "Ah'd... rather nae talk about it much. Ah fell and cracked mah head. Let's leave it at that."

"Wow... that's..." her ears went down further. "That really sucks."

"Aye. Ah lost a few ribs, tae." I shrugged. "Still... nae th' worst that can happen. It's rarely a problem unless mah allergies get involved."

Misty's ears perked. "Allergies?"

"Citrus, aye."

Misty seemed to relax a bit and returned to making pancakes. "Oh, good. You freaked me out for a sec. Thought I, like, poisoned you or something."

"Wouldn't be your fault!" Zeed called from the wagon.

I frowned. "Stop eavesdroppin'."

"For somepony with allergies, Knives doesn't pay all that much attention to what she shoves in her face." She giggled.

"Hey, Misty, want me tae teach ye how tae make radroach burgers?" I smirked.

I heard Zeed make a gagging noise, and chuckled.

Misty put down another stack of pancakes and took a look at the tent by the wagon. "Kara, could you see if Vill is awake?"

"Sure, mom!" The filly trotted to the tent and lightly tapped on the flap a few times. She stuck her head in after a moment. She came back out a second later with Vill crawling her way out. The young mare stretched and yawned before she waddled over to join us around the stove.

"Morning, Vill. Pancakes?" Misty smiled.

"Please." She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Around nine." I grunted.

Zim passed her the plate of pancakes. She immediately wolfed down three of them.

"Hungry, I'm guessing?" Misty laughed.

Vill blushed. "Uh... yeah, sorry..."

"Hey, you and I are eating for two. We're allowed to do that." The winged zony snickered and smiled. "Besides, I can totally make more. We have, like, a ton of this stuff, so eat as much as you want."

"Really?" The younger mare asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yup. Everyone, dig in!"

Within ten minutes, the first plate of pancakes was gone. It was followed by a second, most of which was eaten by Vill and Kara. While I'd stopped on my fourth, they seemed to have started racing each other, each having eaten about four of the medium-sized pancakes. When they reached their fifth, Vill stopped, patting her bloated belly and letting out a satisfied sigh. "Okay... I'm stuffed."

"Hah! I win!" Kara yelled before wincing and rubbing her own stomach. "Ow... I think I ate too much."

"Did ye even taste it?" I snorted at Vill.

Her ears went back. "Well... yeah... it's the first time in a while I've been able to eat something without hot sauce."

"Hey, pancakes!" Nezan said cheerily, trotting towards us with the vinedogs in tow.

"Better get some before I scarf 'em all." Misty kissed her husband on the muzzle.

"Nah, it's fine." He replied. "We can probably get to town by around two. We might wanna get moving soon, though. The dogs are being finicky. Probably smell raiders."

Misty winced. "Okay, yeah, maybe we should get moving again."

"Hey, relax. Take your time, okay?" He rubbed her back, between her wings.

She gave him a gentle nuzzle, and hoofed a pancake to him. With another kiss, the stallion took it and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.

"We shouldn't be in any rush, unless there's something else we're doing here. Heart doesn't seem to even wake up 'till late in the afternoon." Zim said.

"Actualleh, even when she does get up, she's more like a zombie until ye put a few cups at coffee in 'er. Can barely manage more than five words at a time." I added. "Assumin' she hasn't changed tha' much, anyway."

"She still did when we were working together." Zim glanced around. "We mostly pushed towards the city at night. As a matter of fact..."

He zipped up into the air, looking around at the broken buildings before shooting towards one a ways off.

"Hey! Zim!" I called out. "Where are ye goin'?"

There was no reply.

I frowned and glanced at the others, who shrugged and started talking amongst themselves. A moment later he came back with a case labelled ' Heart's special ammo'.

"What's that?" I asked.

He grinned around the handle. "Her favorite percolator. I'm surprised she never came back for it after that botched run."

I hrrm-ed. "Ah think Zeed should give it tae her. It could put Ash in a good mood, at least."

"Why would she be in a bad mood?"

"If she has a foal, she's probably pretteh stressed out, aye?" He replied with a nod. "Well, since she loves coffee sae much, she'd be pretteh damned happy if she got that thing back? Since Zeed wants tae make up wi' her, let her dae it."

"Fair enough, Zeed it is." He nodded.

"Nao, let's get ourselves ready tae move." I kissed him on the nose.

He kissed me back.

~~~~

"I can't do it!" Zeed sobbed.

I gave the gate guards an apologetic look.

"Axy, breathe." Nezan said. "You can do this, you just need to relax."

"She's gonna hate me!"

"Somehow Ah doubt that." I rolled my eyes.

"She won't even wanna talk to me..." the mare sniffled. "Luna's moon, I wouldn't wanna talk to me after what I said."

"Sorry about this." I whispered to one of the guards. "Ah didnae expect her tae break down right here."

"Eh, no biggie." The cheery, but scruffy-looking mare shrugged. "It's not like we're busy 'r anything."

"Zeed, trust me on this, she will not hate you," Zim said. "I don't think she hates anypony. Well, unless you're a slaver. Or a mass murderer, but other than that, she's probably the friendliest pony I've ever met."

"Wait... I thought you said she slept with someone else?" Vill scratched her head.

"Well, yeah, but I... the way I treated her... screamed at her..." Zeed's ears fell.

"But she messed up, and even admitted it. Why would she be mad at you?" The expectant zebra said.

"Exactly! Why would she blame you for getting mad about it?" Nezan threw his forelegs into the air. "C'mon, Axy, it'll be okay."

"But-"

Zeed was interrupted by Misty, who placed a wing over the taller mare's shoulder and gave a warm smile. "Zeed, I haven't known you for that long, less than a week, and most of that was, like, traveling, but I can tell that you're totally a nice, caring mare. She'd have to be wicked crazy to hate you."

"Yeah, she's pretty chill about a lotta stuff. Just don't hurt anypony who doesn't deserve it." Zim patted the zebra on the back.

"I... I just..." Zeed sighed. "Okay, I'll... try to stop panicking."

"No. You're gonna stop panicking!" Kara frowned, her voice stern as she scolded her step-sister. "It'd be, like, totally uncool if you just let her think you still hate her. Just tell her you forgive her, and that you're sorry for being a total lolo kook!"

The filly harrumphed after her brief tirade, and crossed her forelegs over her chest.

Nezan burst out laughing. He was soon joined by his wife, and Zeed started chuckling as well.

"What?" The filly asked. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, kiddo. It's just adorable when you start talking like your mother." Nezan wiped a tear from his eye.

Kara blinked before she frowned again. "Heeeey, that's not funny. Stop making fun of me, dad!"

Nezan pulled his younger daughter into a hug. "Alright, alright."

"She is right, Zeed." Misty said. "Relax."

Zeed took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I can do this. I can do this."

"So, business or pleasure?" The chipper guard asked.

"Business, technically. Is Split still in charge?" Zim asked.

"Uh... just security. Why?"

"Because he's probably trying to pull off some dramatic entrance thing." A voice with a Trottingham accent called out above us. From the roof of the building beside us, a mare's head popped out. She hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Or maybe Crunch is rubbing off on me. Anyway, hi Raid! Gimme a minute and I'll be right down."

The guard mare shrugged. "I guess you can come in then?"

Zeed took a deep breath, and I gave her a pat on the back. Following the others in, I noticed that almost all of the building were in a severe state of disrepair, some looking like they would fall apart at any moment. Ponies and a few zebras milled about, most with calm, if not happy, looks on their faces. Almost none of them looked to be over age twenty.

"So, what brings you back here, then?" The earth pony mare asked as she stepped out of the structure.

"Oh wow." Zim blinked. "You're pregnant!"

"Really? I was wondering why I'd gained weight, had cravings for the oddest things, constantly feel movement in my womb, and terrorized my not-quite-but-might-as-well-be-husband with severe and random mood swings." She giggled. "Any other stupid questions?"

I sighed and raised a hoof. "Aye, Ah got one."

"Oh? Do tell." She smirked.

"WHY IS EVERYPONY AROUND MEH GETTIN' KNOCKED UP?" I screamed, pulling on my mane with my forehooves and drawing the looks of about half the ponies in the area. "Vill's pregnant, Misty's pregnant, Ash apparently was pregnant, wait, wait, let me guess... Zeed! Are ye pregnant too? Don't answer that!"

I let out a long growl of frustration.

"Well... how long have you been holding that in?" Split whistled and turned to the staring masses. "It's alright everypony, just a bit of frustration."

"Knives, if you think this is bad, you couldn't even take a step through my high school without bumping into some pregnant mare." Zim chuckled, rubbing my back with a wing.

I covered my face with a forehoof and growled into it. "Apparently th' universe likes remindin' meh ay mah shortcommin's."

"Not just the universe."

"Fuck everythin'." I spat on the ground.

"You okay, Knives?" Zim asked.

I pinched my brow with a fetlock. "Aye. Don't mind meh, just a bad mood."

"Right, then. Once again, what brings you to Loss?" Split smiled. "I'm guessing you'll want to visit Heart for a tick?"

"Actually, she's the main reason we're here. Although..." Zim snickered.

"I'll nip this in the bud now. Yes, Crunch is my lover, yes he's the father. No, actually, I was already sleeping with him before you left." Split sighed. "Anything I missed?"

"How far along are you?" Zeed asked.

"Oh, about ten months." She gave a warm smile. "Anyway, I'm Banana Split. Nice to meet you."

"Steel Ranger?" Nezan tapped his chin.

"Oh, no, not at all." She waved a hoof.

"Well, this is Zeed, Nezan, Misty, Vill, Kara," Zim said, pointing to each of us in turn. "And this is my marefriend, Knives."

I beamed at him, a small blush on my face.

"Nice to meet you all." The mare grinned.

"So how's Heart been?"

"Fine. Want me to take you to her?"

Zim, Zeed and I all blinked.

"Ye mean she's actually up?" I said incredulously. "Before four? Seriously?"

"I know, surprising, isn't it? She's been trying to get up earlier recently. Probably gone through a whole field of coffee beans this week alone." Split laughed. "She's playing at the bar right now, and Crunch is over there watching Snow."

"So, is it a colt or a filly?" Zim asked.

"Probably the most adorable filly I've ever seen. I swear, the sheer cuteness is what's been killing the raiders outside." She snorted a laugh and shook her head. "Come on, I'll take you to them."

She motioned for us to follow her through the city. We did so, leaving the cart behind with the dogs, who stood there in their eerily still manner, just staring at nothing I could see.

One of the things I noticed was that there seemed to be construction going on everywhere I looked, with holes in buildings being patched up with pieces of other buildings, the air was filled with the sounds of hammering and drilling, none of it particularly loud.

"Wow... this isn't at all what I expected." Misty said. "I thought this place was surrounded by raiders?"

"It is, but they're so scared of Hearteater that they won't go anywhere near the place. On top of that, any time the city's attacked, everyone grabs a weapon and fights." Split's smile widened. "Most of them are ex-slaves. No intention of going back to that."

"Good to hear," Nezan said.

Zeed whimpered a bit as we approached what was very obviously a bar, what with the drunk ponies stumbling out and the muffled music.

Zeed took a deep breath and whimpered. "I can do this. I can do this."

"Relax, Zeed," Nezan said. "Just relax."

Split opened the door, letting out the sounds of a guitar and a familiar voice.

"-you know how I feel,
It's a new dawn,
It's a new day,
It's a new life,
For me
And I'm feeling good..."

Ashes was sitting on top of a stage on the left side of the room, completely focused on her playing. There were bags under her eyes, her mane was tied into a ponytail with a thin, pink ribbon, her glasses were perched on the end of her nose. She had a small smile on her face. Tables around the room were occupied mostly by cheery equines with drinks in their hooves or magic. A grinning ghoul in a suit stood behind the bar itself.

Zeed whimpered and backed away. "I can't do this!"

I sighed. "Nezan, maybe ye should calm her down a bit? I should get Ashes ready fer it. Might nae want tae surprise her like that."

The stallion nodded, and went to his hyperventilating daughter's side.

"I'm gonna stay out here," Misty said. "I'd rather not be bringing Kara into any bars yet."

The filly groaned. "Mooooom..."

Vill shrugged and sat on a nearby bench, massaging her stomach.

"Well, then, I suppose that's settled." Zim and I followed Split in and to a nearby table. She let out two quick, sharp whistles, and one of Ashes' ears twitched towards us. She glanced over and grinned at Split, then at Zim. Her jaw dropped as she caught sight of me, and the chord she was about to play turned into a twanging sound. I waved casually.

"Uhh..." she said, turning to the microphone as she realized she was being given confused looks. "S-sorry about that, guys, uh... I'm gonna have to cut this last song a bit short, there's somepony I really need to hug right now. Sorry, Zero."

The ghoul at the bar shrugged, and moved to buck a jukebox at the end of the table, starting up some punk rock song.

Ashes then proceeded to jump of the stage, charge through the room, and body-slam me out of my seat, rolling both of us across the ground a short distance before somehow popping back to her hind legs with me trapped in a tight hug.

"Oh my gosh I can't believe it's actually you you're seriously here oh my gosh oh my gosh I could just cry right now!" Her eyes were brimming with tears of joy as she held me.

I gave her a few weak taps on the shoulder. "Ash! Need air!"

I gasped as she let me go with a sheepish grin, and I sigh in relief as air filled my lungs again.

"Sorry, Knives, it's just..." she laughed. "Wow... it's been three years. I thought I'd never see you again. How've you been? What... and what the heck happened to your eye?"

I touched the cheek under my right eye. "Och, eh... Clothesline shot meh in th' face."

Her eye twitched. "She what."

"Ah'll tell ye later. How've ye been? Ah heard ye have a foal?"

"Yeah. She's backstage with Crunch right now. She's just such a cute little filly." Ashes beamed. "And I've been great! I'm guessing Raid told you about Loss?"

"He told meh that ye took down a slaver base."

She blushed and scratched her neck. "Well... it's not like I did it myself."

"Ye look like ye lost some weight. Ye alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I've been trying to wake up earlier, and... well, I kinda haven't had much of an appetite. Heck, the only reason I'm even awake at the moment is 'cuz I drank a can of Brawnco and two cups of coffee. Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

"There was a riot. Zeed and Ah ran."

Her hoof went to her face. "Another one? Oh, goddesses... is... do you know if Uncle Gate is okay?"

"Sorry, Ah dunnae. Haven't seen much of him since... since mom died..." I sighed.

"I'm... I heard about that." Her ears went back. "Sorry about your mom."

"Anyway, like Ah said, Zeed's with meh," I said. "She's outside havin' a panic attack."

Ashes blinked. "Why?"

"Apparently she thinks yer goin' tae be mad at her."

She blinked again. "Mad at her? For what?"

"Because she thinks she treated ye like crap. Ye know she has problems."

"What... treated... but... what?" She frowned. "Okay, she and I need to talk."

"That ye dae." I smirked. "Aam glad tae see yer alright, Ash."

She hugged me again. "You, too, Knives. Let's go deal with Zeed before she explodes or something."

"Oh, drat. That means I have to get up again." Split sighed.

"C'mon, lazy-butt." Ashes giggled as she helped the other mare to her hooves.

"Like you have room to talk." Split gave the grey mare a light punch on the shoulder and made for the exit.

"Hey, I was still working when I was pregnant."

"Yes, well aren't you the perfect athlete."

"Yup. Years of working out." Ashes stuck her tongue out.

We stepped back outside the bar to find Zeed breathing into a paper bag. Ashes' smile shrank a bit as she exhaled.

"Hey, Zeed," she said. "What's up?"

The zebra froze, and gulped audibly.

~~~~~

"There it is, fillies. Loss." Xixixix grinned proudly.

Wretch stared down at the walled city with an exhausted expression. "Yaaaaay..."

"Oooh..." Green said. "There's so many ponies down there..."

"Yep. Loss is pretty big. I was glad to hear it got liberated. But we're not going in." He pointed off in the distance. "That building over there, is where we'll find your 'special' memory orb."

"Yes. We're goIng 1n." Wretch growled. "I'm tired and I have a headache."

"I thought you wanted to find it as quickly as possible?"

"...right, fine. Just... ugh..." the unicorn sighed. "My head..."

"What's in there?" Green asked.

"Canturbury Psychological Research Division offices. One of them, anyway. They should have the location of any 'special' projects like your orb." Xixixix shrugged. "Probably full of automated defenses. Robots, turrets, blah, blah, blah. Should be easy."

"Yeah... easy." Wretch rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, easy!" The stallion started trotting merrily down the slope, humming to himself. Green giggled and followed suit, with Wretch continuing to trudge along behind them.

The building was several stories tall, unassuming, with no windows or decorations. A shattered sidewalk ran around it, resting in a sea of sand-covered asphalt.

Xixixix kicked open the broken glass doors, further shattering them, and yelled. "Lucy! I'm home!"

The response came in the form of several turrets dropping from the ceiling and letting loose a volley of red-colored energy. He yelped and ducked out of the way. “Well… I was right about one thing…”

“Can you not be stupid for once?” Wretch yelled, whipping out her shotgun and immediately firing several shots, taking out the turrets in a few blasts each.

Green simply took cover behind a bench, far away from the entrance to the building.

“Hey, I’m never stupid! Dumb, maybe, but not stupid!” Xixixix crossed his forelegs over his head and snorted. “And stop yelling at me.”

“Goddesses… let’s just get this over with so I can do what I need to do.” The pink mare stormed into the structure, leaving an impetulant zebra and a cowering filly outside.

“Just for that, I’m not coming in with you!” He shouted back.

"Fine!" Wretch continued deeper into the facility. "Idiot."

Another turret was shot down within moments of its appearance. A second didn't even get the chance to fire before it exploded in a shower of sparks.

Wretch glanced around the lobby, muttering unpleasant things under her breath.

She smiled as she caught sight of a building map on the wall, and after examining it for a moment, started towards the nearest stairwell. The top floor was mostly barren, with dust-covered walls, white tiled floors, and gurneys lying about. The pink unicorn checked each room as she went past, looting every bit of medical supplies she could find, filling her saddlebag almost to bursting.

Eventually, she came to an office door, easily opening the lock by sticking her leg through the broken window and letting herself in. She was met with the sight of a computer, it’s skeletonized owner sitting in the chair in front of it. Shoving the long dead pony aside, she took the seat and started magically typing away.

~~~

No stat changes.

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Sifting Through The Dust:

~~1) Find information on the location of Ashes.~~

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Chapter Thirty-Four: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalm

Chapter Thirty-Four: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalm
"Aw, if I push her around on this floaty thing, it'll be fun and relaxing!"

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE- smack!

Rubbed my eyes. Yawned. Curled up in sheets. Nice. Warm. Didn't want to get up. Just stayed in bed for a while.

"Ashes?" Uncle Gate called out. "You up, yet?"

Groaned. Threw off sheets. Rolled off bed. Trudged out. Smelled coffee, smiled. Uncle in the kitchen.

"Hey, squirt! I almost thought I'd have blah blah blah-" rest was a blur.

I blinked and yawned.

He stopped. Sighed. Laughed. Held out a mug. "Just like your mother."

I smiled, took the cup. "Thank you."

Coffee. Nice, black, strong. Happy sigh.

Yawned again, Rubbed my eyes. Another sip.

"Zala said she'd be over later," Uncle Gate said.

I smiled again. “Mmm.”

“You know, you’re the only twelve-year-old I’ve ever met who likes coffee.” He chuckled. “Well, I just came over to check up on you. Oh, and your friends left a message for you. It’s sitting on your desk. Uh… well...”

Blinked at him.

“Sorry… I’ll… see you tomorrow, squirt.”

Gave him a hug. “Thanks Uncle Gate.”

Awkward like always. Love him anyway. He ruffled my mane. Left.

Sat on the couch. Strummed mom's guitar for a while. Felt my brain gradually start up.

Picked up the note from the desk in my room.

Ashes,

We’re going to the junk room today. Going to be there for a few hours.

-Zeed

It took me about twenty minutes to make sense of Zeed's chickenscratch. Poured some coffee into a canteen, put my glasses on and made my way out of my apartment and into the hallway.

Found them among a bunch of other ponies searching through the pile of junk. The Guards’ usual solution to having random things they don’t know what to do with. I often wondered where it all came from.

My friends waved me over.

"Ash! We found a cool strap for your guitar!" Diamond waved it around in the air.

I oooh-ed at it. The same shade of grey as my mane, with bronze-colored clips. I soon found it dangling off my muzzle, with Diamond giggling as her near-invisible magic faded completely.

"It looks good on you," Zeed giggled.

A light blush appeared on my face. I hoped it didn't show under my fur, but I smiled anyway and threw the strap across my shoulders. "Thanks."

"Still sluggy?" Diamond asked.

I nodded. "I'm waking up, don't worry."

“We haven’t found anything other than that strap.” She kicked over a stack of newspapers. “It’s kind of a sucky haul.”

“Dig deeper?” I asked.

The filly grinned. “Yup.”

~~~~

"Hey, Zeed," I said. "What's up?"

She gulped.

"It's been a while," I continued. "I missed you guys."

She dropped the paper bag.

"What, no 'hello'?" I joked.

She turned to face me, with a forced smile and her mouth open to speak, but then she stopped when our eyes met. Mine stayed on her face. Hers, however, moved on to the rest of me. Her reply was... eloquent...

"Uh... um... I... uh..." she swallowed. "You... uh... you look..."

Knives groaned and gave the zebra a gentle shove. "Zeed, just say something."

"MILF," Zeed blurted.

We all stared at her, Knives, Split, Raid, and the zebras and the zony who'd been trying to calm Zeed down.

I burst out laughing. "Did you just call me a 'MILF'?"

Her face turned bright red as Knives and the zony started snickering.

"Good to know I'm still hot." I smirked at her.

"H-hey! Who kept getting tongue-tied when they asked me out?" She snapped back.

I started laughing harder. "I'm sorry! I really shouldn't laugh!"

"Then stop," she said in a flat tone.

"I do appreciate that, though. Especially since it wasn't intentional." I wiped a tear from my eye and pushed my glasses up. "I missed you, ya know."

Her face reddened a bit. "You did?"

I nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just..." she scratched her neck. "We never..."

"Zeed, even if we broke up, you're still my friend, okay?" I pulled her into a hug, noting and dismissing the smell of cigarettes. "We can talk about that later, but for now, I haven't seen you guys in three years."

She blinked in surprise. "You're not m-?"

"Zeed? Shoosh." I put a hoof on her muzzle. "Relax. We'll talk later."

She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're r-"

Her eyes popped open, then narrowed at me. "You just shooshed me."

I stuck my tongue out. "And you did it."

"Wha- I..." she twisted her mouth into a smirk, though there was still a hint of nervousness. "Touché."

"I thought you hated Prench?" I said.

She rolled her eyes. "I do, but that's not very Prench-y Prench."

I snorted a laugh. "Uh-huh, sure. So, who's everypony else?"

"Oh, well this is my dad, Nezan." She pointed to the stallion.

"Hi." He shook my outstretched hoof.

"This is Misty, my... stepmother."

The zony waved. "Hello."

"This is Kara."

The filly waved as well, a big grin on her face.

"And that's Vill, over there."

I followed her hoof to the heavily pregnant zebra asleep on a nearby bench. I blinked. She couldn't have been older than sixteen.

I turned to the others. "I'm Ashes. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you!" Nezan grinned.

“So, uhhh… you guys… want a tour?” I shrugged.

“Sure!” Knives said.

Misty nodded. "Sound like a nice idea."

“Cool, just let me pick up Snow and my stuff and we can get going. Come on in.” I waved and hopped back into the theatre-turned-bar. I took mom’s guitar from the seat on the stage where I’d left it and hefted it over my back before heading backstage. It was a small room, with dressing rooms one side, broken make-up mirrors on the other, and a large sofa in the middle, facing towards the radio in the back.

“You done already?” Asked the corn-colored earth pony stallion sitting in a chair off to one side.

“Nah, I cut the show short. Old friends came to find me.” I trotted over to the sofa and looked over the back, finding a small, white ball of fluff with a teal streak sitting next to the hoofrest. I smiled.

“Old friends? What, from that Prison place?” Crunch carefully folded his book shut and put it on the floor.

"Oh no!" I cried out in a dramatic fashion. "I can't seem to find my filly anywhere!"

I threw a forehoof against my head and collapsed onto the sofa, resting my head on the fluff ball, making it squeak in surprise. "I guess I'll just sleep on this conveniently placed pillow while I wait."

Crunch rolled his eyes.

The little fluff ball started to squirm.

"Hey!" I said. "Pillows aren't supposed to move!"

"Momma! 'M nodda pillow, 'm a filly!" The 'pillow' said.

I sat up and gave the 'pillow' a suspicious look. "Are you sure? You look an awful lot like a pillow to me."

"'M nodda pillow, momma!" It protested. "I have wings, see!"

The 'pillow' held out one of its wings as proof.

I hrrm-ed. "I dunno... I'm pretty sure pillows can have wings."

“I have hooves!” It clapped its front hooves together. "Pillows don't have hooves!"

“But you’re nice and soft, like a pillow.” I poked its tummy, making it giggle.

“Fillys’r soft, too!” It stared at me with its wide amber-colored eyes.

“You know what? I think you’re right. You must be a filly.” I picked my daughter up and gave her a nuzzle. “I guess I’m just being silly, huh?”

She giggled as I ruffled her teal mane.

"You have a nice nap?"

"Yeah!" She cheered, her wings a-twitching.

Crunch rolled his eyes again. "Only took the whole show to get her to sleep."

I poked her nose. "Well, she’s just energetic, aren’t you, my little fluff-ball?”

She giggled and poked my nose with the tip of her wing. “Boop!”

I picked her up in my forelegs and hugged her, a smile on my face. “So, you wanna meet some of momma’s old friends?”

Her eyes widened as she gasped and nodded emphatically.

"Alright, then." She hopped around me with glee as I turned to the stallion in the chair. "Thank you, Crunch."

He stared at me for a moment before he shrugged. "Yeah, any time."

"You know, Split's waiting outside." I chuckled as I left the room. The stallion charged out of the former dressing room and out of the bar before I even got off the stage.

"Well, I guess he's really excited, huh?" I asked Snow. She responded with a giggle.

Making my way outside with Snow in tow, I found Crunch and Split nuzzling each other, with Zeed and her family talked amongst each other, and Knives and Raid in their own little world.

Zeed smiled nervously when she saw my daughter prancing along beside me. I smiled back and gave my little filly a nudge. "You wanna say 'hi', Snow?"

She happily pranced up to the striped mare with a big, adorable smile. "Hi! I'm Snow, and I'm two years old!"

Misty hid a laugh behind a forehoof.

"Uh... hi there Snow." Zeed said, a smile of her own starting to appear. "I'm Zeed. Nice to meet you."

"Aww, she's adorable." Knives trotted over and ruffled her mane, making her giggle. "She looks just like ye, Ash."

Snow squealed in delight. "Yay! I look like momma!"

I snorted a laugh. "I know. It's like looking in a mirror."

"Mah name's Knives. Aam one ay yer mother's old friends."

"Hi Miss Knives! I'm Snow!" My little filly repeated.

"Sae Ah heard. What dae ye like daein'?"

"Reading!" Snow cheered. "Momma says I'm a really good reader! And I can count to twenty!"

"Wow," Misty said. "That's a big number."

I let out a massive yawn that actually made my jaw hurt.

"Great," I muttered. "Need more coffee. So, anypony wanna head to my place?"

"You still on the edge of town?" Raid asked.

"Nah, I moved out and took over this pretty decent house on the west side." I smiled. "It's pretty close. I figure the pregnant mares could use a rest."

"How nice of you." Split chortled.

"Come on, Snow, we're heading home," I said to the filly currently prancing in circles around me.

"Yay!" Snow cheered. I barely managed to catch her tail in time to stop her bounding off. She scrabbled against the ground for a moment, not realizing I had hold of her. When she finally did, she stopped to blink at me in confusion.

"Slow down, silly." I let go and gave her a nuzzle. "Stay with me."

"A'kay, momma!" She hugged my leg, prompting everypony to go 'd'awww'.

"Vill, wake up." Kara gave the sleeping made a poke in her swollen stomach, making her jolt up and glance around with bleary eyes.

"Huh? Dad?" The young mare rubbed her eyes. "Mmm... how long was I asleep?"

"Not long." Kara said.

"Hi there!" I chirped. "I'm Ashes. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, uh... hello? I'm Vill." She grunted with the effort it took to lift herself off the bench. "Oof..."

"I'm Snow!" My daughter yelled, bouncing up and down in front of Vill.

The zebra laughed. "Hello, Snow. Nice to meet you."

"C'mon, Vill. We're heading to Hea-Ashes' place," Raid said.

~~~~

"This is your house?" The stallion yelled.

I snorted a laugh.

"Ash, why do you live in an abandoned hardware store?" Zeed asked.

"'Cuz it's big and I wanted space for Snow." I grinned. "There's also places to hide if things go pear shaped."

"That happen often?" Raid flew up to the roof to take a look at the 'Curry's Goods' sign above the door.

"Not yet, but we haven't been attacked in a while." I swallowed the bit of nervousness that thought caused. "It... never mind. Yeah, if it happens, they're there. A couple offices in the back that I'm using as bedrooms..."

I snorted when I caught sight of Snow, who was flapping her wings as hard as she could trying to join Raid in the air, grunting and hopping up and down.

"You having trouble, Snow?" I asked.

She gave me a pleading pout, whimpering and nodding.

I pulled her into a hug. "Aww, it's okay. You gotta be patient, okay."

"I'd offer a chunk of my cloud, but I don't have it on me at the moment." Misty said with a smile.

"Chunk of cloud?" I gave her a questioning look.

"Yeah, I've been keeping it held together since I left Dream Valley. A lot of foals used clouds to learn how to fly without gaining much altitude," she explained. "Their wings usually can't bring them up very high, and their weight keeps the cloud down, so they just hover along on the ground."

"It's actually pretty funny to see," Raid said.

"Could we talk inside, please?" Split sighed. "My fetlocks are rather sore at the moment, and I'd like to sit down."

"Oh, right. Aheh..." I trotted up to the formerly automatic door and pushed it open, revealing the well-lit interior.

Snow immediately ran inside with a happy squeal, followed by the rest of us, with me last.

Zeed and Knives both laughed a bit, while Raid sort of gawked at the short shelves of crates lining the walls. A set of living room furniture sat near the door to the 'offices'.

"Looks like ye made yerself right at home, Ash. Ye acshully managed tae fill half a room wi' junk."

"Well, really most of that is ammo and gun parts," I said matter-of-factly. "Mostly taken from the city's... previous residents."

"Wow. You got all this from them?" Raid let out a long whistle.

"Yeah, they had a- Snow! Don't do that!" I rushed over to pull my foal away from the box she was trying to open. I knew it was locked, and probably empty, but I didn't really want her figuring out how to get into ammo crates just yet.

"But momma..." she gave me her best wide-eyed pouty-face.

"Snow, I told you I don't want you playing with the boxes." I hugged her and nuzzled her cheek. "I don't want you getting hurt, okay?"

"Okay, momma." She snuggled into my chest.

"That's so unbelievably sweet," Split said.

"Hey, don't think I haven't seen you talking to your belly." I snickered when her face turned red.

Knives sighed in a frustrated manner. Raid put a wing over her shoulder and pulled her against his side.

"So, Raid... of all the ponies you could have met in the wasrmteland, how'd you end up meeting two of my old friends?" I asked with a smirk.

"I saw them wandering around the Mall and asked them to help me with a job." He shrugged. "Knives asked me to come with them. She technically hired me as a bodyguard "

My smirked widened. "Just 'bodyguard', huh?"

Knives blushed, making me laugh.

"Well... I volunteered for that." The stallion grinned.

"Eeew!" Kara yelled, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Why is everyone so groty? Ugh..."

Nezan gave her a nudge. "You want to help me with the dogs?"

"Please!" The filly said, trotting out the door with her father.

Misty chuckled. "I remember when I was like that."

"Same here." Split sighed. "Never liked colts until I was fourteen."

"Aren't you glad you found me?" Crunch poked her side with a mischievous grin on his face.

Split sighed happily and rubbed her bloated stomach. "Yeah. That I am, you blithering imbecile."

The stallion frowned. "Hey!"

Raid and I both started laughing, quickly joined by Snow.

I found myself interrupted by a yawn from my own throat. I rubbed my face, the fuzzy feeling of 'not-enough-sleep' coming over me.

"Momma! Momma! I wanna start the coffee!" Snow yelled.

I smiled at her. "Okay, okay. Calm down. You guys want anything while I'm in the-"

There was a loud bang, one which I immediately recognized as a gunshot. Almost reflexively, I grabbed Snow and threw her on my back, ready to bolt, making her squeak in surprise. In the same motion, I spun the combo on the safe under the couch and swiped out a pistol and ammo with my other foreleg. My heart pounded in my ears.

Split and Crunch both did something similar, drawing their own weapons from their saddlebags and taking a defensive position, with Crunch closer to the front. Even Raid whipped his shotgun out from under his jacket.

Everypony else just stared at us in confusion as we focused our weapons on the door. After a moment, Misty and Vill took cover behind a shelf, while Knives drew some custom sword, and Zeed pulled out a worn-looking energy weapon.

After several moments of staring threateningly at the entrance to the building, Raid flew over and poked the door open. After peeking through, he slipped out.

"Sae, what are we daein'?" Knives whispered.

Nopony answered.

“It’s alright!” Raid flew back into the door. “Somepony just saw a bloatsprite and panicked.”

I let out a huge sigh of relief and put the safety on the gun, carefully placing it back into its safe, locking it in place and hiding the magazine separately.

I craned my neck to look at my foal and bent down to my knees. “You can get down, now Snow. It’s okay.”

“A’kay.” She hopped off my back and pranced around for a moment..

“What the hell was that?” Zeed asked.

“I… uh…” I blew out a puff of air. “Sorry. Gunshots usually mean a fight.”

She shook her head and trotted towards the door. “Luna’s moon… guess I can't blame you there. That was... phew... I’ll be back in a bit.”

I blinked. “Where are you…”

If she heard me, she didn't respond, as she continued out the door.

"Where's she off to in such a rush?" I asked.

“Probably goin’ fer a smoke.” Knives said, putting her sword on her back once again.

"Zeed smokes?" I said with a bit of disgust. "Since when?"

"Couple years."

"Eugh." I grimaced. “At least I know what that smell is.”

“Glad Ah can’t.” Knives rolled her eyes. "Didn't ye need take talk tae her?"

I sighed. "Yeah. Split? Could you watch Snow for a bit?"

"'Course." The mare said.

I took a deep breath, glanced at Snow, and went out after Zeed.

She was, in fact, smoking outside, a look of relief on her face as she drew on the stick.

With a roll of my eyes and a smirk, I easily snuck up behind her. I got close to her, moved to her ear, and yelled. "BOO!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin, almost swallowing her cigarette and coughing out smoke. I giggled a bit as she caught her breath, gasping and wheezing.

"Don't do that!" She yelled.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just..." she exhaled. "You scared me is well."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." I smiled at her.

We were quiet for a while. Zeed took another draw.

I scratched at my mane in a nervous manner.

"So, uh... your daughter's adorable." She coughed.

"Yeah." I smiled. "She is isn't she?"

"Uh... is... is he the... father?"

"Well... yeah. Who else would it be?".

"Oh... right..."

Another awkward silence.

“You… do know I’m not mad at you for anything, right?” I said. “I mean, you had every right to get mad at me.”

“No I didn’t.” She grumbled.

“Yes, you did. I freaking cheated on you, Zeed.” I pinched the bridge of my nose with a fetlock. “That’s really bad.”

“It wasn’t intentional.”

“That doesn’t-”

“Do you remember how many times I screwed something up between us? You didn’t blow up at me. You never said you hated me. You didn’t even get mad at me. You just… gave me a playful swat on the nose and let it go,” She yelled. “But you mess up once and I start screaming at you like… like you just blew up Equestria or something, I dunno.”

“Zeed, most of the things you messed up on weren’t even that bad. I CHEATED on you. That’s kind of a huge freaking problem. Doesn’t really compare to… heck, I can’t even remember any of your screwups because they weren’t a big deal.”

“I told you I hated you!”

“I know you told me that, and yeah, it hurt,” I yelled. “But considering what I’d just done, I kind of think I deserved it."

"You didn't deserve to have me screaming my head off at you!"

I sighed and covered my face with a forehoof.

"I... I'm sorry, Ashes. I always just... I always took you for granted." She hung her head. "We could have worked it out..."

"Maybe, if we had the chance."

There was that silence again.

She blew out another puff of smoke.

"Zeed?" I put a hoof on her shoulder. "I forgive you. I'll be honest, I'm not sure what you think you did, but if it makes you feel better, I forgive you. I don't blame you, I'm not mad at you, and I don't hate you, okay?"

"I... I..." she sighed, but a smile found its way onto her face. "Thanks, Ashes."

I sighed as well, though in relief.

"Ash?"

"Huh?"

"I forgive you, too."

I smiled. "Thank you."

We became quiet again.

"Huh... guess I was worried about nothing..." Zeed laughed. "That was... that was just so..."

"Easy?"

"Yeah."

"I told you."

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did."

"Shut up, Ash." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Zeed... I really am sorry."

"Would you do it different if you had the chance?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but couldn't think of one, thoughts of Snow's smiling face running through my mind. "I... don't think... it's... no... I'm sorry, but... I... Snow... I just... don't think I can actually answer that, but... probably..."

I bit my lip and glanced at the building. "I think Snow is worth a lot of the trouble..."

She sighed. "So no fairy tale ending for 'us'? Ah well. I can't blame you for loving that adorable little ball of fluff."

"Thanks."

At least the silence wasn't so... angsty this time.

"I gotta admit, I'm kinda surprised that you had a pegasus."

I laughed. "So was I. First time I was glad I wasn't in the... in the..."

My jaw cracked as I let out a long yawn. "Ugh... getting tired."

"Well, then let's get some coffee in you!" She spat her cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, a grin on her face. "S'what we came here for, right?"

I couldn't help but glance at her backside as she pranced back into my house, humming to herself. I giggled and followed her to find everypony drinking from hot mugs of coffee.

To my non-surprise, Snow galloped up and hugged me as soon as I stepped through the door.

"Momma! I made stuff!" She pointed to the kitchen.

"Oh, really?" That's..." I yawned again. "That's very nice of you, Snow."

She giggled as I hugged her back.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked to see Split offering me a mug. I took it gratefully, wrapping my fetlock around the handle and taking a sip.

"So how long are you guys staying, anyway?" I asked my old friends.

"Well, we're actually goin' tae find mah dad. Apparently he's in the deep mists," Knives said. "But Ah think we're headin' tae Loss first.”

“Loss? Really? With a pregnant mare traveling with you?”

“Hey, you were wandering around Canturbury when you were pregnant.” Raid pointed out.

“And I’ve been going on trade routes with Nezan,” Misty said.

I gave her a confused look. She lifted up her duster to reveal her bulging stomach.

“Oh… huh…” I blinked a few times. “Okay, two pregnant mares, that’s not much better.”

“Well, we do have a wagon with us,” she continued. “But still, it’s not like it’s impossible.”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

“Also… I like to think I’m pretty good with going for long distances.” Vill smiled. “I delivered all kinds of stuff in Raftwater.”

“You’re from Raftwater?” I asked in surprise.

“Well… no. I just lived there.”

“Aye, she was one ay th’ Bone Eaters.” Knives scoffed.

I glared at the zebra, suddenly feeling suspicious. “Really, now… If I remember correctly they’re slavers.”

Her eyes widened, and she waved her front hooves in front of her in w nervous manner. “I-I-I didn’t do anything like that! I swear! I mostly just ran messages back and forth! I never made enough caps to buy slaves anyway, even if I’d wanted too, really! A-and I did work for the slaves, too...”

She gulped.

I hrrm-ed and shrugged. "Alright."

She heaved a sigh of relief, placing a hoof on top of her stomach.

"So, when are you guys heading out?"

"Well, we were kind of hoping you'd come with us," Zeed said.

"What? Why?"

"Well... it's just that... well..." She scratched her chin for a moment. "Come to think of it, we never really thought this through."

I frowned.

"Well, we didnae expect her tae have a foal, either." Knives shrugged. "Ah couldnae blame ye if ye said 'nae'."

I grimaced. "Well... I didn't say that..."

I glanced at Snow, who stared back with her wide amber eyes and a happy smile.

"I just have more than one pony to think about, is all, so... maybe." I hugged my daughter. "I'll have to... well, I'll have to think about it."

Zeed's face fell, just a little bit, but enough that I could notice.

Snow noticed it as well, apparently, as she struggled away from me and galloped over to give the confused mare a hug. After a moment of staring at the fluff ball wrapped around her middle, she laughed.

"I like you, Miss Zeed!" The foal yelled.

"Awww. I like you too, Snow," the mare replied.

"You're soft and fluffy, too!" Snow added.

Zeed frowned as she caught sight of me holding back a snicker. "Great. Just great. I am not fluffy."

Snow's ears went back and her face slowly turning into a pout as she pulled away. "'M sorry, Miss Zeed."

Zeed stared at her for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh, caving in to the cuteness. "Fine... I'm fluffy."

Snow squealed happily and once again wrapped herself around Zeed's leg.

The mare glared at me. "You taught her that, didn't you."

I shook my head. "Nope. Not at all."

"Yes, she's an adorable little fuzz ball all on her own." Split rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a foosball, I'm a filly!" Snow yelled, hopping off Zeed again and puffing her cheeks out at Split.

~~~~

"Alright... mass storage orb, test number one." The dark yellow earth pony adjusted the helmet on his head. "You ready, Rude?"

"Stop calling me that," the orange stallion growled.

The yellow one rolled his eyes. "Are you ready or not?"

"Yes. Get on with it."

"How about you, Twine?"

Wretch's host nodded merrily. "Ready to go, sir!'

"Right. Flip the switch!" The orange stallion pointed dramatically at Twine, who flipped the switch with a smile.

Rude began frantically writing on a clipboard as the orange stallion's face rapidly shifted between various expressions. His entire body twitched a few times before Twine flipped the switch back down. The stallion collapsed onto his side, breathing heavily.

Twine bent over him and poked his side. "Doctor Benchmark? Are you okay?"

He groaned. "My entire life just flashed before my eyes. Good. Means we're close."

Rude scoffed. "I can't believe they're funding this."

"Neither can I, but they are." Benchmark stood back up and cracked his back. "Okay... let's check..."

He stumbled forward a bit and shook his head. "Let's... bucket..."

Twine pulled a bucket out from behind her and held it out to Tray, who took it and immediately emptied his stomach into it.

"Welp..." he said. "There's my lunch... hello, lunch."

The other ponies present grimaced.

"Ahem... as I was saying, let's check the orb." He wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead. "To the machine!"

Rude rolled his eyes again, and pulled a black orb out of the device connected to Benchmark's helmet.

"Black, huh?" The orange unicorn rubbed his chin, humming thoughtfully. "I really hope that doesn't say anything about me. Time for testing!"

With that, he snatched the orb and tapped it against his horn, immediately collapsing.

Rude facehoofed. "Twine?"

"Yes?"

"Can you take that stupid thing to the Psych facility before he wakes up?" The yellow unicorn pinched his brow. "I have to watch him while he's doing this."

"Which one?"

Rude growled in frustration. "The closest one, I don't care! We just don't need this moron killing himself with this crap."

Wretch felt her host remove something from her head, and jolted up into her own body, looking around as she realized the memory had ended. She wiped a bit of drool of her face.

Wretch looked at the memory orb sitting on the desk beside her. Rubbing her head, she placed the ball in her saddlebags and shut the door to the room labelled 'Archives'.

"Map, map... l need a maP..." she muttered as she rummaged through the open drawers, adding to the piles of papers that were already scattered across the floor. "Come on!"

She opted to rip the drawer out and put it on top of the desk, continuing to look through it.

"Boo!"

Wretch screamed and threw a pile of papers at the voice before pointing her shotgun at it.

Xixixix stared cross-eyed at the barrel of the gun, a grimace of surprise on his face.

"Uh... hi!" He said.

"You scared the shit out of me," Wretch growled.

"Goddesses, I hope not."

The mare blinked a few times and grimaced. "Eugh. Disgusting."

She rubbed her head and groaned. "Where's the 'Psych facility'?"

"Up near Common."

Wretch growled. "Wonderful. We're going to Loss, then. I'm tired and really need to get some sleep."

"Uh... 'kay. Can you stop pointing that at me?" He gave the gun a tentative poke.

Wretch glared at him for a moment before shaking her head and pushing him aside as she moved through the door.

"Rude, much?" He protested.

“I’m trying to get something done, thanks!” Wretch screamed, spinning to face him with a wild glare. “Unlike you. You seem to exist for the sole purpose of being annoying.”

“Well… yeah, I do, but you’re still rude.” He huffed.

Wretch’s eye twitched, and she rubbed a hoof across her face. She stormed out with one last glare.

Xixixix took out his notebook and pencil and began writing.

“No patience. Starting to look like familiar symptoms, but she’s not quite that crazy. Considering how she keeps talking about her 'mission', it might be some sort of ‘ancient prophecy’ type thing.” He tapped his chin with his pencil. “Not likely, but something along those lines. Further study is needed. Gotta keep an eye on Green. Don’t need the poor foal hurt.”

He read over his notes again, nodded in satisfaction, stowed the writing implements away, and headed out the door.

~~~

No stat changes.

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Sifting Through The Dust:

~~1) Find information on the location of Ashes.~~

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Yet again, I fail to meet my own self-imposed deadline. Good on me.

Hope it's not too bad, but at least its here! Yay!

Happy belated Thanksgiving, early Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukka, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy Holidays.

Chapter Thirty-Five: I Don't Want to Wait

Author's Note

I'm not dead, I'm just pining for the fjords.

Chapter Thirty-Five: I Don't Want to Wait

Chapter Thirty-Five: I Don't Want to Wait
"I’m sorry, it’s just that nothing is making me mad."

I ducked into the cracked entryway and shook some of the water off myself. I could just barely hear the creaking of the building over the pouring rain.

Wringing out my hat, now with splotches of peach dye on the inside, I caught sight of some familiar graffiti on the wall of a nearby house. 'Mare-do-well was here'.

"Another one? Huh... convenient." I tapped my chin. "Sheesh, that mare's been everywhere."

I squeezed in through the open door and pushed it further shut, the sound of the harsh rain outside becoming muffled and joined by the dripping of a leaky ceiling.

I pulled off my jacket and adjusted a few of my feathers before throwing my hat onto a nearby bookcase. I dropped to my haunches and shook the jacket out, then threw that on the shelf as well.

I felt something press against my head and froze.

"Who are you?" Asked a disembodied voice, one with some sort of distortion effect that made it sound a lot deeper and raspier than I figured it actually was.

"Uh... hi, I'm Raid. Didn't mean to bug you or anything, just wanted to get out of the rain," I replied as calmly as I could. "I can leave if you want."

"Are you a slaver?"

"No."

"Raider?"

"Do I look like I'm wearing a bunch of cobbled-together crap for armor?"

The voice was silent for a moment. The pressure against my temple lifted away.

"Right, sorry..." there was a shimmer in the air in front of me, and a somewhat large pony in black armor appeared. "Nopony followed you, right?"

"Not that I know of."

The pony groaned in relief. "Thank Celestia... I am not up for fighting just yet..."

The pony reached up to the helmet and gave the neckpiece a slight twist, pulling the entire thing off and revealing an exhausted-looking charcoal-colored mare with brilliant amber eyes.

She rubbed one of her temples. "Uhn... what time is it, anyway?"

I took a look at my pipbuck. "Almost eleven at night."

"Really? Wow... I must have been more... ugh…” She rubbed a hoof across her face. “More tired than I thought."

"So are you 'Hearteater?" I asked.

"Uh... maybe? I've kinda been out of it for a few days. For the record, I don't think there's anything to loot in here," she said. "The place was dry when I found it."

"Really? Shame. I was hoping there might be some better food than what I've got."

Her ears perked up. "You have food?"

"Yup." I smirked at her in a friendly way and produced a jar of pickles. "Plenty to go around if you want any."

"Please!" She asked hopefully.

I rolled the jar over to her. She opened it with a happy squeal, and immediately ate three of them, barely chewing the first two and scarfing down the last.

"Wow... you must have been hungry."

"Mmm..." she finished off a fourth pickle and put a hoof on her stomach with a satisfied sigh. "Yeah, I've been having some trouble keeping anything down. Feeling much better today, though. Still feel like crud, but not as much. Just lucky I haven't been attacked in a while."

"Yeesh." I winced. "Sounds rough."

She hummed in agreement. "Least I get some help, though. Split's tinkering upstairs."

I hrrm-ed. "Think I could join up with you?"

"What, fighting slavers?" She blinked when I nodded. "You want to help a random mare who pointed a gun at your face fight slavers?"

I nodded again.

"Uh... okay, I guess."she narrowed her eyes at me. "But if you turn out to be a spy I'll do horrible things to you."

"Right. Message received," I chuckled.

~~~~

"Alright, up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right," I said, watching as the filly made the motions with her wings. "Back, around, aaaand... go!"

Snow charged forward in the direction of her mother, launching herself a foot into the air with a flap of her wings. She came back down somewhat hard and ended up stumbling, almost crashing into Hea-Ashes, who simply caught her foal in her forelegs.

"Good try, Snow." The mare smiled.

Snow giggled and buried her face into Ashes' chest. The other three mothers in the room let out a chorus of 'awww's, while Crunch, Zeed and Knives just chuckled.

"For a two-year old? That was amazing." I laughed. "Most pegasi don't actually fly before they're six. These are really just exercises anyway."

"Well it was still a good try." She nuzzled the little white pegasus, smiling as her daughter giggled again.

The sounds of a vinedog yelping in an excited manner made both Ashes and Snow jump.

Zeed moved over to the window and peeked out. "Oh hey, dad's here!"

"Oh, good," Misty said. "I almost thought I'd have to go find him."

The dogs yapped again, making Snow squeak and try to hide beneath her mother.

"Hey, it's alright, Snow." Ashes gave the filly a gentle nudge. "I’m right here."

Zeed trotted outside, a cheerful smile on her face. Ashes cautiously followed her out, with Snow staying under her. Misty and the others went next, with me behind them.

The dogs panted happily as they pulled the wagon along, with Kara holding the reins. Nezan sat beside her with a grin on his face, giving her bits of advice. Upon seeing the vinedogs, Ashes seemed to relax quite a bit, despite keeping Snow close and stayingnear the door.

Nezan hopped off the wagon and unhitched the dogs who, with the exception of Schwann, rushed over to start licking Misty. She laughed a little and gently pushed one away.

"Hey, cut it out," she said, patting... Hooke, I think, on the snout.

Kara hopped off as well and ran to give her mother a quick hug.

Snow, still hiding behind Ashes' front legs, watched the vinedogs in awe.

Ashes hummed in thought. "I thought vinedogs had wings?"

"Just the females," Kara said. "In case they gotta get away real fast."

I flew over to Carver and patted him on the head, a smile on my face. "Hey, dude, what's up?"

He panted happily as I scratched his back between his front and middle legs. His back leg started kicking.

I heard Snow giggle as she watched me.

"You can pet them if you want," Nezan said, grinning. "They won't bite or anything."

The filly's eyes widened, and she gave Ashes a hopeful look. The mare regarded Schwann for a moment.

"Alright, but you have to do what Mr. Kazdri says, okay?" She nuzzled her foal.

Snow squealed in delight and rushed over to Nezan. I paused to watch.

"Snow, this is Schwann," he said.

"Hi Swa- um... zw..." the filly wrinkled her nose as she tried to say the name. "Hi Schwann!"

"Now, most vinedogs are friendly, so they'll just walk right up to you." He gave Schwann one of those almost imperceptible 'trainer's signals', and the bug-like animal bent his head down and nudged Snow, who giggled. "Usually that means they want attention. So, just reach out, and put your fetlock on his muzzle, and move your up."

The zebra demonstrated, using Schwann as an example. Snow watched intently, her eyes wide in amazement. Ashes seemed to gradually relax as she observed the demonstration.

"Here, you try." He gave the vinedog another signal, prompting Schwann to lower himself to Snow's level.

The filly reached out and touched Schwann's muzzle. She giggled when he pushed his face into her hoof.

Not really looking, I reached out to give Carver a scratch behind the ears, and was surprised to find a patch of soft pony fur instead of vinedog moss.

"Eh... Zim, not that Ah mind, but why are ye scratchin' mah head?"

I looked to see Knives giving me a wry smile from beneath my hoof.

“Eh… Sorry.” I chuckled and scratched the back of my neck. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

She sidled up close to me and grinned. "It's alright. It's nae th' weirdest thing anypony's done tae meh."

"Well, now I'm curious," I said.

Knives gave me a small kiss on the cheek. "Nae tellin'."

Ashes, Misty and Vill all started laughing about something. Knives frowned for a moment, sending a dirty look Vill's way. She looked away again and muttered something, the frown still on her face.

I rubbed her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Aye. Aam fine," She grunted. "Dun worry about it."

"You sure? I know you don't like her, bu-"

"Ah said Aam fine, alright?" She glared at me.

I chuckled a bit. "Right. I'll... I'll just stop talking... aheh..."

She winced and her ears went back. "Sorry, Ah didnae mean tae snap..."

"Hey, it's fine. You don't wanna talk about it." I pulled her into a hug. "Still, though..."

My train of thought was derailed by a loud squeal of laughter from Snow. The filly was riding on top of Schwann, with Ashes holding back laughter as the large, red vinedog walked around the area, keeping the filly stable with his tail wrapped around her middle.

"Yay! Go Snow!" Ashes cheered with a giggle.

Snow laughed hysterically as the vinedog paraded around, flapping her wings in excitement.

"She's sae cute." Knives chuckled.

Schwann snorted and gently deposited the filly in front of her mother.

Snow's ears went down as she pouted at the dog. "Awww..."

Schwann licked her nose before slinking towards Misty and sitting beside her.

"It's okay, Snow. Sometimes his back starts to hurt," Kara said. "He used to give me rides, too."

"Heh... I remember that." Nezan chuckled. "You were adorable."

The filly's cheeks reddened, a small groan of embarrassment leaving her throat.

"He also hadn't been shot as much back then." Nezan patted the vinedog on the head. "Almost lost a middle leg, once."

Schwann snorted again.

"What do you say to Mr. Kazdri, Snow?" Ashes nudged the little pegasus.

"Thank you, Mr. Kazdri!" She squeaked happily. "Thank you, Schwann!"

Yet again, the vinedog snorted.

"You're welcome, Snow." The zebra grinned.

Snow giggled, then gasped. "Momma! We gotta go get the stuff!"

Ashes blinked. "Why's that?"

"It's Tuesday," The filly squeaked. "We have ta get the stuff, momma!"

"Stuff?" The mare blinked again. "Oh! Right, Strainer's here today."

The filly nodded frantically.

"What's going on?" Zeed asked.

"We gotta go get stuff for momma so she doesn't fall asleep again," Snow whispered in the loudest possible way.

"Strainer is bringing more coffee from Fifteen, today. First, though..." Ashes explained, sweeping Snow off the ground and onto her back. "We are going to clean you up, Miss Messy-feathers."

"But momma..."

"Hush. You have to preen so your feathers can grow right."

"She's right, you know," I said. "It's harder to fly when your feathers are all messed up."

Snow's ears went up, and she looked at one of her wings in a curious manner.

Misty smiled. "Yup. Clean feathers are totally nicer. And they look prettier."

The filly gasped. "I wanna be pretty!"

Her mother snorted a laugh and trotted back into the house. "Okay, okay, calm down."

Snow giggled. "I'ma be a princess!"

"Oh, and I promised you guys a tour." Ashes chuckled.

"Cool!" Kara said.

"I'm gonna get a piece of cloud for Snow." Misty made for the wagon. "Before I, like, forget again."

~~~

"Well, the barricades get inspected every other day," Ashes said, gesturing to the wall of junk metal down the street. "That's what Split's been doing. Keeping watch and making sure it stays in one piece."

"Anything different from the last time I was here?" I asked.

"Not really." She yawned. "Not that I've noticed, anyway. Snow, come back here.”

The filly flapped her wings, slowly scooting along atop her cloud until she bumped up against her mother. She smiled at the older mare, who shook her head with a smile of her own. “Be careful, you little nut.”

“A’kay!” The foal squeaked.

“Tell him about the statue.” Crunch snickered along with his marefriend.

“Oh, yes. Tell him.” Split smirked. “I’m sure he’d like to hear it.”

Ashes sighed. “I don’t wanna tell him about the stupid statue. He can see it himself.”

My eyebrow went up. “Statue?”

“Oh, definitely.” Split moved over and whispered conspiratorially in my ear. “It’s bloody massive. The ex-slaves made it entirely out of scrap.”

Crunch sidled up next to me in a similar manner. “You shoulda seen the look on her face when they showed it to her. She keeps trying to convince them to tear it down, but they keep saying ‘no’.”

“Stop it, guys. They’ll see it in a minute anyway.” Ashes groaned.

“Not if you go this way they won’t.” Split’s smirk widened.

The grey mare rolled her eyes and grumbled to herself.

“Come on, Heart.” Crunch laughed.

“Fine! Just shut up about it.” She stopped walking for a moment to rub her face in irritation. “Not like I can pretend it doesn’t exist.”

The couple snickered for a moment while the rest of us continued to follow Ashes. Pointing out shops and landmarks along the way, she took us down several streets, each becoming busier and busier as we reached the center of the town, something I found a bit odd, considering the sun had gone down hours ago. Finally, we found ourselves in the busiest street, and were met with the sight of a gigantic metal statue, maybe about ten feet tall, of a pony in a familiar helmet standing on her back legs with a rifle held in one hoof and a pistol in the other, pointing the larger gun down the street towards the entrance to the town.

“What is that?” Zeed squinted at it.

Ashes sighed and rubbed her face again. “Last year everypony said they wanted to make something to ‘commemorate my good deeds’. Apparently this is what they had in mind.”

“It’s not as fun to hug as momma…” Snow pouted, hopping from her cloud onto her mother’s back, tucking the cloud under her wing, and snuggling into Ashes’ mane.

"Hey, at least they didn't use your face," I said.

"Wait, that's supposed tae be Ash?" Knives twitched one of her ears.

"Nope. It's Hearteater." Crunch laughed.

"Huh... they got the teeth on the helmet and everything." I tapped my chin.

"I had to stop them from making this weird voice recorder thing for it, too." Ashes rolled her eyes. "I really don't want it yelling propaganda all the time."

"It's kinda cool." Vill tried to stand on her back legs to get a better look, almost falling over before Kara caught her.

"Cool? It's awesome! It looks like she's about to shoot a bunch of bad guys in the face!" The younger zebra laughed, making banging noises with an imaginary gun.

"Aye. Aam wi' ye oan that," Knives added. “Looks like mom’s advice really worked fer ye.”

“Yeah, actually. Especially that bit about making a reputation. Nopony messes with me at all.” Ashes’ smile wavered for a moment. “Not sure how long it’ll stay that way, though.”

“I dunno…” Crunch grimaced. “I can still hear some of the screaming.”

Split nodded. “That makes two of us.”

“Hey, after what he did, he deserved it,” Ashes huffed. “Poor foals…”

Knives and Zeed glanced at each other, a worried look crossing both of their faces.

Suddenly, Vill gasped. “Are those grapes?”

The mother-to-be sqee’d in joy and rushed over to one of the nearby stalls. “Holy crap, they are!”

Knives blinked. “Is she seriously excited about grapes?”

“Apparently,” I chuckled.

Vill started frantically searching through her saddlebags, quickly withdrawing a bag of caps. The pony at the stall gave her a confused look as Vill slammed down a surprisingly large number of them. The stallion shrugged, and hoofed over four paper bags, with Vill took with an excited grin and rushed back to join the rest of us. She immediately took out a hooffull of grapes and scarfed them one by one.

Kara laughed a bit, and Misty gave Vill a knowing smile.

"Hey, mom, can I take a look around?" Kara asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

Misty hummed in thought, pausing when Ashes whispered something in her ear. The zony gave her an inquisitive look, to which Ashes nodded.

"I can go with her if you want," Nezan said.

"Well..." Misty bit her lip. "Yeah, I guess if you're with her..."

"Hey Vill, you wanna come?" The filly grinned at the teenager, adjusting her jacket.

Vill stopped shoving grapes into her mouth for a moment to shrug and nod before swallowing. "Sure, okay."

“Cool!” With that, the filly grabbed Vill by the foreleg and pulled her further into the market. “Come on.”

Nezan chuckled and gave his wife a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

Misty smiled and waved after him.

“Your husband’s quite handsome,” Split said.

“Yeah, he is.” Misty sighed dreamily.

“So, how about we see something more interesting than…” Ashes sighed again. “The giant statue of my alter-ego?”

“What, yer a superhero nao?” Knives snorted a laugh.

Ashes threw her hooves up into the air. “Sure, why not! if Mare-Do-Well can get away with it, why not me? Heck, I heard rumors about Jolly Rodger doing a show about me.”

“Hey, is that a pegasus?” Zeed asked, pointing towards a small dot in the sky.

I squinted at it. “I think so… too small for a griffon… but the wings are all… Oh, it’s Stock.”

“What’s she doin’ here?” Knives asked.

“I dunno. Hope it’s nothing bad.” I said. “Be right back.”

I pulled back my jacket and flew towards Stock. She stopped in mid-air and gave me a disapproving look. I stop just in front of her and blinked. “What?”

I barely managed to dodge her punch, rolling out of the way and zipping behind her. “What the hell, Stock?”

“You left me behind you prick!” She glared at me. “You didn’t say you were leaving or anything.”

“You were busy!” I yelled in a defensive way.

“You still could have said something.” She snorted. “I went all the way to Fifteen trying to find you.”

“How would I have gotten to Fifteen by now? I’m traveling on the ground, remember?”

“Well I didn’t expect you to take a detour. The hell are you doing here?”

“Knives and Zeed have a friend from the Prison here,” I said. “I happened to know where she was.”

“Yeah, well you’re family’s on their way, just so you know.” Stock snorted again.

My face paled. “What?”

“Yeah, my husband came to visit because his squad was in town.”

My eye twitched. “WAT?”

“They should be leaving Common, soon. At least two Verts. They’re taking the usual search route.” She sighed happily. “Cracked even said he might stay a bit longer.”

“Your husband’s name is- gah, never mind. Any idea when they’re getting here?”

“Maybe about two days.” She shrugged. “You know how slow they are.”

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit, what am I gonna do?” I rubbed my temples as I tried to think. “How did they even find... oh, fuck. Somepony from Raftwater must have told them!"

"Relax, they're not searching for you."

I blinked. "Oh... well at least there's that, but I do not want to deal with this

"Yeah, and I don't like getting ditched."

"Shut up, Stock. You would have hung back anyway."

"Well, yeah, but still..."

I groaned in frustration and dropped out of the sky, zooming back down to join my friends and ignoring Stock's protests.

"Guys, we have a problem," I chuckled. "Apparently my family's heading this way..."

Everypony stared at me.

"Is that bad? Do you hate your family or something?" Zeed asked.

"What? Oh, no, I love my family." I waved a hoof dismissively. "I just don't know of they feel the same anymore."

Ashes raises her eyebrow. "Oh, really. So you've been wandering the wasteland when your family is out to get you?"

"No, I just left when they didn't want me to. Spectrum was turning into...something I didn't like." I coughed. “They might want to shoot me on sight, now. Well, maybe not my sisters, but the rest of Spectrum probably will.”

Ashes frowned. “So now you’re being chased by your murderous family?”

“They’re not murderous. They don’t even know I’m here.” I gulped. “I hope… But-”

“They’ll be here in a couple days. It’s some hunting contract they picked up. AND STOP DITCHING ME.” Stock smacked me on the head. “It’s annoying.”

I rubbed my now aching skull and glared at the ghoul.

"They probably won't be too happy to see me. A lot of ponies went with me, after all." A grin spread across my face. "About twenty soldiers and fourteen civvies."

"And did they stop looking for you?" Ashes was giving me a suspicious glare.

"Yeah. I got lucky and found about eighty bottles of useable mane dye in an old house." I grinned. "Nopony ever saw 'that rainbow-maned stallion' again. Except for you guys."

Ashes blinked in surprise. "Rainbow?"

"You never did explain that..." Zeed mused.

"Eh... I'll tell you later. Anyway, I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible if that's okay?" I gave the group a sheepish grin.

Misty glanced around for a moment. “I’m okay with that. I… don’t really feel comfortable here anyway, to be honest…”

“Aye. Aam fine wi’ it as well.” Knives shrugged.

Zeed glanced at Ashes. “I dunno…”

The earth pony sighed. “I’ll… just give me a bit to think, okay? I’m not actually sure if i want to go…”

“Really? I thought you were planning on leaving once you got the chance?” Split’s eyebrow went up. “Didn’t you say you wanted to get to Fifteen?”

“Yeah, but…” Ashes sighed again in a more frustrated manner and gave me a dirty look. “I didn’t expect my chance to be rife with danger.”

“What? It’s not my fault,” I said. “They’re not actually after me.”

“Just… look, I have more than one pony to think about, okay?” She pointed to the drowsy-looking filly on her back. “I mean, what would I even get from going to Fifteen?”

“A well-defended city, an abundance of jobs, friendly atmosphere, foals about Snow’s age, fellow pegasi who can teach her to fly,” Misty waved her hoof back and forth as she rattled things off. “Free health care, really good doctors, inexpensive housing, easily available and organic food that hasn’t been sitting around for almost a hundred-and-eighty years, emerging musical scene, the research team recently came up with this weird prosthetic-plant-thing… I can’t think of anything else at the top of my head.”

Ashes stood there for a few moments. I could almost see the gears turning in her head as she processed everything the zony said.

“Uh…” She scratched the back of her head, careful not to move Snow. “Well, then…”

“Bloody hell, now I’m tempted to move out there,” Crunch snorted.

“Sorry, love, but I’m not. I’d rather stay here.” Split kissed him on the nose. “And I’m not moving anywhere in my condition. I already hate traveling.”

“I’m… not coming up with any reasons not to…” The grey mare tapped her chin.

“Can I come too, momma?” Snow asked.

“Of course you can come, silly. I’m not gonna leave you.” Ashes craned her neck to look at her foal. “But… we’d have to get a new house. You wouldn’t have your old bed. Everything would be different. What about your favorite couch?”

Snow stared at her mother for a moment, then her eyes widened and she hopped up and down on the mare’s back, fluttering her wings. “Exploring!”

Ashes grunted. “Gugh… Snow, please- erk- don’t jump- geh- on momma!”

“I wanna explore! New house! New house!” The filly squeaked.

“Okay, okay, calm down!” Ashes managed to get a hoof on her daughter, holding her in one spot for a moment and dropping to her haunches. She let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ma explore and find special doors and dragons and treasure!” Snow cheered, sliding down her mother’s back.

"Uh... well, I guess that answers that..." Ashes chuckled. "But..."

She bit her lip. "But I'm not getting into any fights. If we hit trouble, then I'm taking Snow and hiding. I'll... give some fire support from a distance if I can, but that's it."

"I'm okay with that." I shrugged.

"Same." A smile spread across Zeed's face.

"Aye. Ah can gae wi' that."

Ashes grinned. "Great! I need to get some stuff packed. I'll see you in a bit, guys."

With that, she moved Snow onto her back again and charged off.

Knives laughed. "She fergot th' 'tour' again."

~~~

Green sighed, her ears flattening against her skull. The zebra had left her there without even saying anything. The filly glanced at the bright spot in the cloud cover, noting that it had moved a fair distance.

She jumped when the broken glass door was, once again, kicked open by a grinning zebra stallion, sending a wave of glass shards scattering across the ground.

"Guess who's back!" He yelled. "It's- augh!"

Wretch stormed out of the building, not bothering to look back at the stallion she'd shoved aside and punched in the chest.

Green stared in confusion as the unicorn headed towards Loss, muttering to herself.

Xixixix rubbed his chest and grunted. "Wow... she gets bitchier every minute..."

"Wh-what happened?" Green asked.

"She's just nuts, don't worry." He coughed a few times. "Erk... I think she broke one of my ribs... wasn't expecting that... c'mon, let's catch up before she beats someone else up."

The filly nodded, and with a flap of her wings, followed the zebra from a short distance away, hovering in the air.

"Wretch! Wait up!" Xixixix panted.

"Fuck y0u!" The mare screamed back. "JUst fuCk you, moron!"

"Yeesh, you weren't this hostile before." He laughed. "What the hell pissed you off?”

Wretch spun around and stormed back over to the stallion. She pressed her nose against his, and set her expression into a deep glare. Xixixix barely managed to keep an arrogant smirk on his face as he stared back at her. After a few moments, her glare started to waver.

“I don’t Knoooo0o-hoo-hooo!” Wretch burst into tears, pulling the zebra into a hug and sobbing into his shoulder. “ “I just feel so mad about everything and I don’t know whyyyy-hyyy-hyyyy!”

Xixixix blinked a few times, giving the upset mare a few awkward pats on the back as Wretch continued to cry. Green simply stared at the two in confusion.

"Uh... there, there?" He shrugged at the filly. "It'll be alright... I think..."

"He just told me he wanted me to help, that I needed that stupid orb, and now you keep doing stupid shit!" Wretch pulled away from the zebra and rubbed her eyes. He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "And I don't even know why I'm crying either..."

The unicorn sniffled.

Xixixix patted her on the back. "Hey, don't worry, it's not your fault I'm obnoxious. Come on, how about we actually head into the city, eh? Maybe get you some sleep?"

She sniffled again and started to trudge off towards Loss.

"Alright, let's go, then." He gave her a warm smile. "You coming, Green?"

"Is she going to be okay?" The filly asked.

"Hell if I know. She's completely nuts." Xixixix shrugged and followed the unicorn into the city.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

No stat changes.

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

No stat changes.

Footnote 3: Prism “Zim” Blitz

No stat changes.

Footnote 4: New companion! Ashes

S:8
P:5
E:8
C:7
I:5
A:8
L:6

Traits:

Primary:

Four Eyes: You can’t see for shit. +2 to Perception with glasses, -1 without.

Night Owl: You’re not sure if you have some batpony in your blood, or if all the coffee over the years has permanently altered your biology, but you just can’t stay awake in the daytime. +2 to all stats from 6 pm to 6 am. -1 to all stats from 6 am to 6 pm.

Secondary:

Steady Hooves: You get +20% accuracy when aiming with your hooves, but -20% when aiming with anything else.

Tag Skills: Small Guns, Sneak, Survival

Perks:

Intense Training (x7): Endurance +3, Strength +3, Agility +1

Toughness (x2) : +6 to DT
Cherez La Filly: +10% damage to the same sex. Also grants additional dialogue options.
Dark Mare: +10% damage to the opposite sex. Also grants additional dialogue options.
Silent Gallop: Run whilst sneaking with no penalty.
Expert Organizer: You’re pretty efficient at organizing your inventory. Halve the weight of all items in your inventory that cost 2 or less.
Strong Back: You can carry an additional 30 pounds… or 13.6078 kilos if that’s your thing…

Quest Perks:

Mother’s Wrath: Don’t ever mess with a mare and her foals. EVER. Especially when she’s a fairly good assassin. Whenever you think your foal is in danger, you get +15 to DT, +2 to Strength, and +15% damage, and you automatically succeed on intimidate attempts.

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Let’s Go Sunning: Make your way to Fifteen. Try not to die.

Other quests:

Sifting Through The Dust:

~~1) Find information on the location of Ashes.~~

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Chapter Thirty-Six: Fear & Loving In Canturbury

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Run Away

Author's Note

Well... this took a hell of a lot longer than it was supposed to. Can't say I'm surprised, but still.
Anyway, hopefully the next one will come sooner now that I've got some of my shit back together. Started losing steam for a while, but I think i can get back on track.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Run Away

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Run Away
"This is my decision, and I'm gonna make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise..."

I tried to scratch at my chest, but mommy caught my hoof and sighed.

"Sweetie, don't scratch," She said, ruffling my mane. "We don't want your stitches getting messed up."

"But mommy, it's itchy..." I whimpered and scratched again at the nearly bald patch on my chest.

"Diamond, if you keep scratching it, it won't heal." She nuzzled me and lifted me onto her back. "It'll only be another week, okay?"

I nodded, and coughed a few times.

"Diamond!" Ashes ran up and hugged me. "Hi Diamond!"

"Hi Ashie!" I hugged her back.

"Hello, Ashes, what are you doing here?" Mommy asked.

"Momma went to go see a doctor." Her ears went back. "But I don't wanna go in. It's stinky."

Mommy laughed. "Yeah, I guess it kinda is.”

“Ashes?” Somepony called out. “Where’d you go?”

“She’s over here, Sand,” Mommy said.

A tan mare trotted out of a room. She looked sleepy. She smiled when she saw Ashes. “Hey, stop running off, you. I don’t want to lose you, now do I?”

“A’kay, momma!” Ashes said.

“Sand, are you feeling okay?” Mommy asked.

Miss Sand stopped smiling for a moment. “Y-yeah. I’m okay… Just tired.”

Mommy hummed. Ashes and I just looked at her.

“You know, ‘Sid and I don’t really have any plans this week.”

Miss Sand’s ears went up. “You don’t?”

“Yeah. We could look after Ashes for a bit. Let you get some sleep? You look like you haven’t been getting enough sleep.”

“Are.. are you sure? I mean…” Miss Sand scratched her neck. “I don’t wanna be a bother…”

“I wanna be a bother!” I screamed, hopping up and down.

Mommy snorted a laugh.

~~~~

I watched Vill out of the corner of my eye, pretending that I wasn’t actually glaring at her, but staring at a particularly interesting rock. The greys of my freaky right eye didn’t really seem to mix well with the colors of the fire in my left, making the left water and generally giving me a headache. I rubbed that eye yet again, muttering curses under my breath.

Vill was talking happily with Ashes, Misty and Zeed. Snow snoozed on one of the chairs around the fire, while Kara and Nezan were asleep in the tents. Zim had a wing wrapped around me as I leaned against him.

Vill laughed.

”Just wanna punch her, don’t you?”

I covered my ears and swore again.

”Admit it. You didn’t even want her to tag along. Just wanted to go along with what your crush wanted.” She snickered. "Bet she doesn’t even care about that foal.”

I clenched my teeth. I tried to push her into the back of my mind. Vill’s annoying voice kept distracting me.

”Hey, I’m just saying what you’re thinking. Not my fault you’re a bitch,” She said in a sing-song way. ”I could take care of her, if you wanted.”

“Ye just keep talkin’ moar an’ moar,” I muttered. “Why won’t ye just fuckin’ shut up?”

“You say something, Knives?” Zim gave my shoulder a gentle rub.

”Yes, because that silly accent is so intimidating.” I could almost imagine her slitted eyes rolling. My own eyes twitched.

“Nae,” I growled. “Ah didnae say anythin’.”

He eyebrows furrowed. “Uh… did… did I do something wrong?”

”Is dating a bitch wrong? Is a single date and a couple minutes of ‘fun-time’ even considered dating?”

“Nae, nae at all.” I forced a grin onto my face and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Aam just irritated, is all.”

He smirked at me. “Aren’t you always irritated?”

I tapped him on the muzzle. “Shut up, ye.”

He replied by planting a kiss on my muzzle. I happily closed my eyes and leaned into him.

”Mmm. Cute.”

My eyes popped right back open as I gasped and somehow ended up choking on my own spit. I pulled away from my coltfriend and started coughing, only to hear her start laughing hysterically from somewhere in the back of my mind. My face burned a bit.

Zim patted my back. “You okay?”

After a few thumps on my chest with a forehoof, I stuck my tongue out. “Aye, Aam fine.”

Zim shrugged and pulled me closer with a wing. I leaned against him again and rested my head on his shoulder.

0100100001100101011011000111000000100001

I'm shaking. I try to hide it and frown, but she doesn't buy it.

She smirks.

I gulp and once again try to steel myself.

Her tail twitches, smashing into the crystal wall and sending a spark fluttering around. I flinch

“Oooh,” She says. “Look at the big scary mare in the cage, eh?”

I growl.

She cackles.

She bends down, towering over me, and grins. “I hate you.”

I take a step back and swallow nervously.

“I’m going to get out, you know.” her grin gets wider. "Just wait."

"Sh-shut-"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU," she screams.

Her hoof lashes out, puncturing the crystal cage and sending a shower of diamond shards crashing into me.

I scream in terror and scramble back as far as I can.

Her hoof flails as she reaches for me. Blood starts to drip from her leg as the gaping hole closes around it.

Her tail stabs into the crack and it grows wider. She roars in fury.

I'm quivering in terror, trying to move as far away as I can. Every step makes her lash out again and again.

She jams her other hoof into the crack and starts to pull.

The skin on her face starts to slough away.

I panic and start screaming. The shards on the ground lift into the air and I try and force them into the exposed flesh of her leg.

She slams her horn into the crack.

It's going to break.

010000100101001001000101010000010100101101001001010011100100011100100001

"Knives!"

I jolted up and screamed at the top of my lungs. I struck at her.

"Gagh, hey, hey! Calm down!"

I stopped flailing my forehooves and blinked the dark.

With my weird eye, I could see Zim rubbing his face. Ashes, apparently in the process of putting a gas mask on Snow's face, had paused to stare in confusion. Misty and Zeed had stopped disassembling the tents to stare as well, both with masks of their own, and Vill had taken a moment from carrying lighter things to the wagon to give a confused, look.

"Yeesh. That's a nasty left hook, there," Zim said.

"What?" I glanced around, still shaking in fear. "What happened?"

"You dozed off and started screaming when Raid woke you up," Ash said. "Last time I heard you scream like that was after Lockpick."

I flinched. "Please don't... talk about that... please..."

"..."

Her face fell and she bit her lip. "Right, sorry."

"Goddesses, Knives," Zim rubbed my shoulder. "The hell were you dreaming about?"

"..."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Foalhood nightmare. It's... been coming back up for-"

My ear twitched. I gulped. "Commin' back oop fer a while nao."

"Hey, we gotta hurry up before that storm gets here!" Nezan yelled from the front of the wagon.

"Storm? Is it goin' tae start rainin' again?" I asked.

"Ehhh... no. We just have to get away before it gets here," Zim grimaced and held out a mask.

My eyes widened. "Wait... that orange crap that's all over th' place?"

"Yeah, that. With the zombies and stuff," Zeed said.

My coltfriend blinked as I slipped the mask onto my face. "Oh, you've dealt with it before?"

"Sort of. When Zeed and Ah got out, we had tae hide from it wi' some arsehole." I rolled my eyes.

"It was friggin' creepy." Zeed kicked the rolled-up tent into the back of the wagon.

I turned to our grey friend, who had put on her 'Hearteater' helmet. "What about ye, Ash?"

"I hate 'paths. They even scare the slavers. Come on, Snow." The little pegasus rushed into the open ammo crate and shut the lid, which Ashes strapped to her side. The top opened a small amount, just enough to reveal a pair of large golden eyes peeking out. “They’re easy to fight off, but… there’s just something really wrong about them. Makes me nauseous.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel,” Misty grumbled.

Kara came charging towards us, a nervous look on her face, and started picking things up and throwing them onto the wagon.

"Kara, calm-" Misty began, only to be cut off by her daughter.

"Can we just hurry up, please?" The filly yelled.

"Kara! Watch your tone," Misty snapped.

Kara's ears drooped and she shrank a little. "Sorry, mom."

"Its okay, Kara, I know you're stressed out right now," The older mare said, letting out a sigh.

"Right, dogs are hitched up, one we get loaded, we can head off." Nezan started picking things up and tossing them into the wagon.

Misty frowned and opened her mouth, only to shut it again and shake her head with another sigh.

"Storm's getting closer," Zim mumbled, peering into the distance. "I think I can see the 'paths."

"Ah cannae really see. It's down over there, right?" I squinted and tried to follow his eyes, the colorless vision of my right eye clearly showing the land around me.

He nudged my shoulder and pointed. Following his hoof, I finally saw the large blob of something smoky in the distance.

I frowned. "It's that far? Why are we freakin' out about that?"

"It moves quick." He shrugged.

"Let's move, guys," Nezan shouted as he helped Misty and Vill onto the cart. He climbed up into the driver's chair and was joined by Ashes, who took out her rifle and held it at the ready. He whistled at the dogs, and they started pulling at a rapid pace.

"Come on, let's go." Zim trotted to the cart, taking his usual position beside it.

I took another glance at the cloud before I joined him.

~~~

Apart from the wind and the sound of Ashes' guitar, the desert was silent. Snow had, at some point, crawled back out of her ammo crate to snuggle against her mother's side, eventually dozing off to the mare's wordless lullaby. I couldn't see Ashes's eyes, but I saw that she constantly turned her head back and forth, occasionally looking behind us. Zim walked beside me, Vill and Zeed walked next to the Vinedogs, and Misty and Kara were in the wagon itself.

The vinedogs seemed a bit frantic, apart from Schwann, who simply plodded along in a stoic manner.

It had taken less than an hour for the fog to catch up with us and put an orange tinge over everything.

”You’re so good at guessing, Knives.”

I grit my teeth. She hadn’t shut up the entire time.

“Why are we freakin’ out about that?’’ Hilarious. Well done, Knives.”

I tried to push her back, only to have her bounce right back into my head with an evil cackle.

”Go on, keep trying, b1tch, but you’lI never get rid of me.” I growled. ”Awww, look! My... oh, sorry... I meantyour eye’s tw1tching!”

“Sae, Zim!” I asked, my voice cracking a bit as I blurted out the first thing I could think of. “Hao exactly does one preen?”

He turned his head towards me. “Uh… What?”

She snorted a laugh.

“Preenin’? Hao exactly does it work?” I asked, trying to hide my twitching eye from him. “Ah, mean, Ah’ve only seen ye daein’ it once, and Ah didnae really get what ye were daein’.”

He was silent for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“Aye, just… tryin’ tae make friendly conversation…” I coughed. “Ye know, tae kill th’ time?”

He was silent for a few moments more before he shook his head in bemusement. “Oookay. Well, there’s not much to it. You just pull out the bent and broken feathers and smooth out the rest. Make sure the shafts are aligned and all that.”

”Pffft, excellent choice. Completely distracted you, didn’t it?” She laughed.

“Well, good to know I’ve been doing it right,” Ashes said, gently stroking her filly’s feathers.

“How’d you even figure it out, anyway?” Zim asked.

“Oh, it took a while, but I finally found a book on multi-tribal parenting,” She rubbed the back of her helmet. “Unfortunately it had little on actual preening so I kinda had to work off some anatomy textbooks in Prench, and I can’t read Prench, so…”

“Y’know, I can teach you if you want,” He said. “I am, surprisingly, still licenced, despite how long it’s been.”

I gave him a confused look. “Ye need a liscence tae teach how tae preen?”

“No, you need a licence to preen other ponies. I, however, got mine as part of the Lover’s Guild Initiation.”

“You’re part of the Lover’s Guild?” Nezan twisted around to look at the pegasus. “Seriously?”

Zim stopped and waved his hooves in a defensive way. “No, no, not like like that! I’m just a masseuse. Well… actually not even that now. I need to get my membership reinst-”

“Incoming!” Ashes called out. “Fifty meters out!”

“Damnit. All of you, get on.” Nezan yelled.

Zim paled. “Uh, I’ll just fly behind you.”

“Zeed, can you take Snow in with you?” Ashes asked.

“Yeah, sure.” The zebra trotted over and Ash put the foal on Zeed’s back, tossing the Ammo crate down to where Zeed could catch it. The smaller mare then ran to the back of the wagon and hopped in, followed by Vill and myself, though I paused to give Zim a quick peck on the cheek before joining them. Zeed and I drew our weapons, with her awkwardly holding her laser pistol in a fetlock, and me levitating my grenade rifle and sword, while the two pregnant mares took Snow and Kara closer to the hidden hatch in the floor. Snow whimpered a bit and hid once more in her ammo crate as she was comforted by Misty. I glared at Vill, who simply sat down and rubbed her stomach with a grimace.

“Oh crap…” Zeed whispered, staring out the back window.

I looked past her head and cringed. There were hundreds of them, all charging mindlessly through the mists with their blood red eyes, a veritable sea of equine bodies. I shuddered.

There were a few thumps on the roof, which I presumed were from Ashes.

The ‘paths approached at a steady pace, inching closer as we rolled along. I could easily see their twitching pupils move back and forth.

One of them locked eyes with me.

An orange one with a grey mane, a stallion. He grinned at me with black, rotted teeth that nearly made me gag. He said something, but I couldn’t quite hear it.

Suddenly, a spurt of blood sprang from his skull. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell, the brand-new corpse tripping up the other ‘paths behind it, cutting a line through the massive herd as its members were halted in their tracks. The hole in their ranks was filled back up in seconds.

Zeed groaned. “Luna’s Moon, that’s creepy.”

“Y-yeah.” Kara gulped. Misty wrapped a wing around her and gave her a soft nuzzle. The sight made my heart ache a bit.

”Aww, somepony misses her mommy.”

My expression turned into a deadpan stare, directed at nothing in particular. “Fuck ye.”

“What? What’d I do?” Zeed asked, tilting her head at me.

“Eh…” I bit my lip. “Sorry, thinkin’ about somethin’ else.”

She continued to stare for a moment. “Riiiiii-”

Another ‘paths’ head exploded, creating a hole similar to that of the first one.

All at once, their heads turned towards us, the same eerie grin appearing on all their faces.

I shuddered again.

“THEY’RE SWARMING, OPEN FIRE!” I heard Zim scream.

“They’re what?” Zeed asked.

“Just start shooting,” Misty yelled.

I shrugged, and fired a grenade at the closest one. The direct hit send a small cluster of them flying through the air, landing on some of their companions and once again creating multiple spaces in the herd.

”Oooh, big hunter on the field. Look out, we got a bad-ass over here!” She snickered.

I growled and fired another shot.

The closest ones to us charged, giggling and babbling in a bizarre manner. One’s head exploded, and another had its legs struck with red laser fire. The third dropped to the ground when Zim slammed into her from above and threw her at the herd. Several tried to jump out at the pegasus, making him zip higher into the air with a grimace on his face as he fired off his shotgun.

“Damn, there’s a lot ay them.” I muttered.

“What?” Zeed yelled. “I can’t hear you.”

With a groan I turned to her. “Ah said, there’s a- AAH!”

A splash of blood hit me as one of them dropped dead almost within hoof’s reach.

“Guys, come on!” Zim said, flying just in front of us. “You have to pay attention. You can’t tell they’re getting closer?”

As if to demonstrate his point, one of them made a grab for his tail. Zim responded by casually swinging his gun around and blasting the ‘path’s head off.

I took another shot into the herd, scattering more of them around. “Och, they’re nae that tough.”

Zeed smack me on the head. “Don’t jinx it!”

“Yeah, say that when they grab hold and start dragging you down,” Zim snorted. “I’d rather not see you taken by these guys, thanks.”

“Aww, how sweet.” I smiled. He shrugged and flew off.

Zeed shot at some of the closer ones, aiming for their legs and sending them tumbling into the others.

A few more thumping sounds came from the roof. I looked up and hummed to myself. “What’s she daein’?”

“What?” Zeed yelled.

“Ah said-”

I felt a tug on my tail, and barely had time to grab something before I lost my balance, sending my weapons flying through the wagon. I was left hanging off the edge of the wagon’s door frame as Knives screamed and started shooting at my attacker.

“Damnit Knives, he just said to pay attention!” She said.

”You shouLd just let go, Knives.”

“KNIVES!” Zim called out.

I tried to pull myself back in, but grunted in pain as more pressure was put on my tail. Kara and vill ran up to try and tried to pull. I could hear Zim’s shotgun firing wildly.

I craned my neck to see behind me. Several of them had taken hold of my tail. I glanced around for my sword, lying on the opposite side of the wagon, next to Misty.

Seeing where I was looking, Misty grabbed the weapon and rushed over. I reached out with my magic, taking the sword and moving it over to my tail, ready to cut it.

The wooden beam I’d latched on to splintered, and I fell. I was sent tumbling through the ranks of the ‘paths, desperately holding my sword in my magic.

I grunted when I stopped rolling. There were hooves all over me, slipping and sliding. I pushed them away, slashing and kicking at them, but they kept swarming over me.

I kicked a few of them and managed to scramble back a few feet, but they simply piled on top of me again.

“GET OFF AY’ ME!” I screamed.

Their babbling was constant, a low drone in my ears.

They grabbed at my mask, trying to pull it off.

I struggled to get away, but every time I managed to get lose, another swarm moved over me.

My mask came loose. I found myself coughing from the dust, my eyes tearing up. Something large and grey moved towards me from amongst the advancing swarm.

”Nice to see you.” She said.

I screamed in anger. Swung at HER.

”Oh, no, that won’t do.”

“KNIVES!” Zim’s voice echoed.

”STOP F1GHTING, KNIVES!”

I struggled against the hooves that were grabbing me.

(0m3 0||! Their voice made my head hurt. J0ln u$! |)0||’7 |=1g#7? 11$73||,

“GET OFF, GET 0FF!” I screamed through my coughing.

KNIVES, SAY SOMETHING! WHERE ARE YOU?”

Too many of them! I tried to get away but I can’t seem to get free.

“W3 should just ign0re your lover for n0w. Don’t really need him, now do we?” I seE it clEarly. her face, Right in fRonT of Me. “You ANd i NeED, to Have? A lIttTtTtlLllllE ChaAaAaaAaAAt. Don’t; We?”

A gr1n.

I scream. I fight, Struggled against the hooves. They keep dragging me back. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. “NONONONONONONONONO-”

“KNIVES!”

$74y w17# u$! St4Y wI7h u$! Hard to understand them, like they weren't real words.

"ZIM, HELP!"

I barely catch sight of a blue blob through my teary eyes.

”Jus7 l3t mE (kill you) Kn1v3s. Just D0 1t, don’t? even b0ther f1ghting,” The sizzle of acid. “Just let yourself die.”

She’s going to kill me. I scream.

Something wraps around my hoof and pulled.

|)0||’7 60! (0|\/|3 |34(|<! They call.

”WhY do You evEn (b0Ther)? I’ll Just come aNd. Find You…”

“Come on, let’s get out of here!”

High above them. Cling to the hoof, still sobbing. Don’t know how long. She’s after me.

“Don’t let her get me, don’t let her get me, don’t let her get me, don’t let her get me-”

“Luna’s Moon, is she okay?”

I hit the floor. Scramble to the wall. Clamp my hooves over my ears. “I don’t wanna die, keep her away, keep her away-”

“I-I don’t know. She’s been muttering the whole time.”

“Don’t let her get me, please, please, don’t let her get me, I don’t wanna die-”

“Knives? Knives, come on, snap out of it!”

“Don’t let her get me, don’t let her get me-”

“Quick, get the mask off her neck.”

I struggle against the hooves on me, screaming in fear.

“Okay, this isn’t working, back off a bit.”

“Don’t let her get me, don’t le-” WHACK.

I blinked a few times. My face stung like hell. In front of me was Kara, a scared look on her face, her hoof held back for another blow.

My right eye started tearing up, and I hissed in pain. “Fuck… you hit hard for somepony your size.”

“Kara!” Misty screamed.

“What?” The filly said. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

Zeed gave me a confused look. “Uh… that’s not actually supposed to work…”

“Knives, are you okay?” Zim asked. “I pulled you out of the herd and you kept muttering about somepony trying to get you. What happened?”

I felt the blood drain out of my face, my mouth went dry. The back of my head felt… lighter…

“N-nothin’. I-I-Ah don-dunnae wh-what that was about.” I swallowed.

He pulled me into a hug, wrapping his wings around me. “At least you’re all right.”

I smiled and kissed him, closing my eyes as I nuzzled his neck. “Thanks.”

“How the hell did you even get that far?” He asked. “It took me hours to find you.”

My eyes popped open, one a-twitch. “Hours?”

“Yeah, once you fell off, they stopped chasing us and went after you. Zim was flying overhead trying to find you.” Zeed tilted her head, a look of concern on her face. “What happened to you?”

“Ah was just tryin’ tae get away from them, but they kept grabbin’ meh and...” I rubbed my face with a fetlock. “Ah’ve really been gone fer hours?”

“So, what happened? Is Knives alright?” Ashes dropped down from a hatch in the ceiling and pulled me into a hug before I could get a word out and started squeezing the air out of my lungs. “Oh, thank Celestia you’re not dead.”

My response was a wheezing gasp.

"How did you even fall off?" She asked. "I mean, you were doing just fine and I suddenly.heard you screaming!"

I choked again. I felt dizzy from the lack of air.

"Ash, I think you're squeezing her too hard," Zeed said.

I nodded frantically and tapped the mare’s shoulder, gasping for air.

“Uh…” She gently lowered me to the floor and gave me an embarrassed grin. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I wheezed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Knives. I’d… I’d hate to lose anypony again. Especially now.” She sighed and glanced out the back door. After a moment, she yawned. “Hope they don’t catch up again. Be right back, gotta grab Snow and get to sleep.”

“What, yer goin’ tae bed already?” I asked.

She blinked at me. “Yeah, you have any idea what time it is? It’s I past my bed-time and much further past Snow’s. I can already feel the coffee wearing off.”

"You can use my bed, if you want," Misty offered. "I doubt I'll be using it tonight."

"Actually, uh..." Ashes pointed to the hatch in the floor. "Mind if I sleep down there?"

Zeed and I snorted a laugh.

She rolled her eyes and let out a lighthearted sigh. "Shut up, you two."

Misty gave us a confused look. "Uh... well, I guess if you'd feel comfortable, go right ahead, but why?"

"Ashes is like a cat," Zeed said with a grin. "She likes to sleep in the smallest places she can fit."

Ashes frowned. "How would you know, you've never even seen a cat."

"Oh? Maybe one wandered into the Prison one day." Zeed stuck her tongue out.

Ashes simply quirked an eyebrow. "Really."

The zebra rolled her eyes. "Fine, I've never seen a cat in real life."

"That's what I thought." Ashes smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Ah've read about 'em."

"Ugh... come on..." The grey earth pony gently set her ammo crate on the floor and opened the lid, revealing a white-and-teal ball of fluff. "Hey, Snowball."

The foal shifted in the box, blinking wearily at her mother.

Ashes smiled. "You wanna sleep in your box or do you wanna come with me?"

Snow yawned and crawled out of the crate, stumbling around a bit before finally shoving her face into her mother's chest and mumbling something.

“Oh, really?” Ashes giggled and wrapped her forelegs around the sleepy foal’s middle, lifting her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I guess you’re not, huh? Glad you told me.”

"Mmph..." the filly said.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop bugging you." She gave the foal's mane a gentle stroke and lowered her into the hatch.

"See ye tomorrow, Ash," I said with a chuckle as the mare hopped down after her foal. "Dunnae get stuck down there."

She stuck her tongue out. "Shut up, Knives. Night, every pony."

Misty blinked as the door closed. "Huh. 'Kay, then."

"Zeed, your marefriend is kinda weird." Kara mused. "Cool, but weird."

"Ex-marefriend." Zeed sighed. "And she kinda is."

"Well," I said, stretching out my back. "Ah think Ah'll gae out and play guard yer a bit."

“You’re going to stand on the top of the cart?” Zeed asked with a hint of incredulity.

I shivered. “Hell nae, Aam stayin’ oan th’ ground, thank ye very much. Ah’ll keep movin’ around th’ wagon. Nae like Aam gettin’ any sleep tonight anyway.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugged.

“I can stay on top,” Zim said.

Zeed snickered. “I’m sure you can.”

Kara made a gagging noise and my face turned bright red.

”...”

I felt a shudder go down my spine as I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I turned to look, finding that the door to the outside was hanging open. With a shrug, I pushed it open and hopped onto the sand, quickly spinning around to catch up again after brushing myself off, with my grenade rifle floating along behind me. The vinedogs up front were looking a bit ragged, and Nezan seemed to have dozed off a bit.

The sunlight barely managed to pierce the clouds. Pulling my pipbuck out of my mane, I took note of the time, nearly five in the morning, and sighed before checking my ammo supply.

Shoving the device back into its hiding place, I began my patrol around the wagon.

~~~~

"There isn't really much point to all this."

Green blinked. "Huh?"

"It's just pointless." Xixixix shook his head. "Check."

The filly furrowed her brow as she stared as the game board. "Really?"

"Luna on E6. Why?" He tapped his chin. "Just why?"

Wretch replied by letting out a loud snore.

"There's really no reason to just attack out of nowhere."

"Um... didn't Wretch shoot her?" Green smiled and moved the guard. Her frown returned as the stallion immediately moved the phoenix.

"Check. I mean, Wretch doesn't even look that violent." He hrrm-ed in thought.

Green blinked. "Um... she shot my old master in the face."

Xixixix quirked an eyebrow at her. "Right..."

Green gasped and slammed a piece down on the table. "CHECKMATE!"

Wretch snorted in her sleep. Xixixix hummed thoughtfully. "Yup, you got it. Well done."

Green squealed happily, her wings fluttering as she danced on the tips of her hooves.

“I just can’t stop thinking about it. What was her name… Knives? Fuck, she was nuts.” He tapped his chin again. “Hot, but nuts.”

Green glanced at the sleeping pink unicorn. “But... Wretch is kinda nuts too, isn’t she?”

“True…” The zebra shrugged. “Whatever. Play again?”

Green grinned. “Sure!”

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

EXP: 15%

$0|\/|371||6’5 \/\/20||6. 5#3’5 |\/|1$51||6. \/\/#323 |)1|) 5#3 60?

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

EXP: 5%

Footnote 3: Prism “Zim” Blitz

EXP: 5%

Footnote 4: Ashes
EXP: 20%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

Let’s Go Sunning: Make your way to Fifteen. Try not to die.

Other quests:

Sifting Through The Dust:

~~1) Find information on the location of Ashes.~~

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

A note from the author

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter One: The Freedom To Die

Chapter one: The Freedom to Die

Now I release you!

Floating. I was floating. The only things in here with me were the things that were attached to my skin and flesh.

My eyes wouldn’t open, but through my eyelids I could see a sickly green light.

Through the walls of my fluid-filled prison, I could hear muffled voices.

I was content. Happy. Peaceful. No fear, no worry.

Then I started falling.

The fluid drained away, taking me with it.

I screamed.

As the things in my flesh were removed, the pain was excruciating, I started crying.

Then, someone was holding me.

Tears fell on me, somepony else’s. Tears of joy.

Someone spoke.

“See?” They said with a hint of triumph in their voice. “Perfectly healthy, just as I said.”

“Thank you!” Said another between sobs. “Thank you so much…”

“It’s no problem. I’m always happy to help a comrade,” said the first. “But…”

There was a pause.

“I need you to do something for me,” the voice continued. “I need to keep an eye on her for a few years, only about five or so. Don’t worry, it’s just to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Why nao? Why wi’ her?” Replied a third.

“She is a unique case. I’ve never had to deal with this before,” the first sighed. “I told you why I agreed to this, right?”

With a short pause, the third eventually replied with some reluctance. “Aye. Ah ken. Yer “sikrit projects”. Silly me.”

“Good. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what are you going to name her?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Miss Knives? Diamond Knives?” The old earth pony Guard asked incredulously as he eyed my papers. He absent-mindedly reached up to scratch his head with a hoof, only to be blocked by his combat helmet. It was blue with the logo of the Guards; a golden star within a circle, with words written in some old language all along the arms of the star. “What kinda name is that?”

“Buck aff ye old bastard.” I growled. I assumed he must be new to this part of the Prison, as everyone else here knew me pretty well. I mean, come one! Who the hell else had a heavy-as-shit accent like mine? “Ah’ve heard worse names, and Ah happen tae like mine.”

He glared at me, puffing out his blue-armored chest. He probably thought it was intimidating, but in reality it just made him look fat. I stifled a giggle. “Insulting a Guard is a serious offense you know.”

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes as I said as convincingly as I could, “Och, Aam sooo sorry sir, Ah didn’t mean it like that…”

That seemed to be enough for him. He smirked and took a look at his clipboard, hmm-ing and haa-ing as he read, “Let’s see here, ah, Diamond Knives. Looks like you’re fixing sewage pipes again.”

“Aam practically oozin’ wi’ joy,” I snarked. “Shall I away then?”

“Yeah. Your crap’s in the lockers. Get your barding and get to work,” he scoffed. “Don’t fuck up. Next!”

I was quickly replaced by a scrawny and nervous young buck as I walked off the platform and into the locker room.

There was little to say about the place. All the walls in the Prison were a sanitary white. No tiles, no planks, just solid, unicorn-sculpted concrete with colored lines leading in all directions from place to place. Sometimes the colored lines would branch off here and there to be replaced with other colors of lines. Occasionally, you could see cameras on the wall, or an inactive emergency light, but that was about it. The ceilings were probably the most interesting, as they had running lights along their edges, but not a lot… You get the point. It was the Prison, thusly, it looked like a prison.

The locker room was no different. Well, except for the lockers of course, and the fact that several mares were milling about. A couple Guards were standing at the entrances, their faces hidden behind the face-plates of their helmets.

When I reached my locker I found, much to my irritation, that the lock had changed position, telling me immediately that someone had tampered with the lockers contents.

With a groan I stood to the side of the locker, undoing the combination lock with my telekinesis, enveloping the door in a nearly invisible grey glow. Swiftly, I threw it open, expecting a bucket of crap or a massive pile of drugs to fall out or something. Instead I was met with the simple sight of a large stack of magazines.

I made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. Someone had stuffed Playbucks in my locker again, and I knew exactly who.

Under my breath, I counted down. “Four… Three… Two… One… Clothesline! ‘ow are ye?”

I’d spun around to see the pink mare standing right behind me. She tossed her black mane with a hoof, smirking. “Oh my, Knives. I didn’t know you were into mares… I certainly hope you don’t feel anything for me…”

I glared at her. “Really, Clothesline? Resortin’ tae grade-school filly pranks again? I thought ye were a wee bit more clever than that.”

“Oh, you blame me for this? Well I certainly didn’t make you a fillyfooler,” she said, the last part a bit louder than necessary. A few chuckles came from some of the other mares. “I don’t know why you’d think me capable of such horrid things.”

I just gave her a deadpan look.

“I mean, look at yourself,” she said, indicating the mirror attached to my locker’s door. I liked to think I had a fairly lithe build. I was small and agile, but unfortunately for me, I had the stamina of an asthmatic foal, and I could barely gallop for a short distance. My striped leg fur blended easily into the greyish fur on my sides. My blackish-green mane was, as usual, a complete mess, as I’d never cared to do anything with it, feeling it was just fine as it was. I blinked my silver eyes as I looked at my cutie mark, a diamond turning into ash, or, depending on your outlook, ash coalescing into a diamond.

“You look just like a young colt.”

My entire body tensed up noticeably at that, but I managed to hold back my anger. Okay, admittedly, I sort of did look like a colt. I had little to show my femininity, and I knew that. But just hearing it drove me fucking crazy, especially with her saying it. However, I said nothing, trying to keep myself from punching Clothesline in the face. She just had to say the one thing that angers me above all others.

“Oh. I’m sorry,” she said mockingly with a huge grin plastered on her face. Oh what I’d have given to break those teeth. I could feel my eye twitching with rage. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

You may be wondering why I didn’t just hit her. The reason was simple: She was the Guard Captain’s daughter, and that assault would have been a crime punishable by death. Throw in the fact that I’m half-zebra, and they would make it a painful death, accompanied by torture under that ever-so-old excuse of me being a “potential zebra spy.”

So, I stood there, fuming, as she walked away laughing, making a point to whip her tail into my face. When she was gone, I gently pulled my bright orange utility barding out of the locker, calmly closed the door, put the neatly folded barding on the floor, and beat the ever-loving shit out of the lockers door with my hooves, leaving several dents in it.

I trotted through the Prison, thinking of how many ways I could kill Clothesline without getting caught. I had reached method number seven when I came across the Door.

It was just a simple metal door, with a terminal embedded into the wall beside it. I think that anywhere else in Equestria, it would have been nothing special. Here, however, the Prisoners generally tried to avoid it, as did many of the Guards. Personally, I passed by it any time I went off to work, but I could understand why they didn’t like being near it.

This was the only door to the outside world that I knew of. It’d been sealed shut for a hundred-and-eighty years, closed when the first megaspells hit. Nopony but the Guards knew what was out there anymore, but rumors among the prisoners hinted at things like an endless void, a massive expanse of barren desert, alien civilizations, massive fields of toxic cheese that turned you into a walrus… Yes, we did have more than a few crazies, why do you ask?

I wished I could just leave. The Guards, my cramped-as-fuck cell, that bitch Clothesline, the fact that my job was basically being the plumber, I had a plethora of reasons, but the main one was that I wanted freedom. The Guards controlled almost every single aspect of life here, and I’d lived here for all of mine. I’d known nothing else, but…

I felt a longing to be outside. I’m not sure why. Whether it be nothingness, aliens, or what have you, I wanted out. I wanted to see… Something other than the barren concrete walls.

“Miss?”

I turned to see a gold-furred white-maned unicorn stallion with a cutie mark of a broken red cross. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he seemed vaguely familiar. He was smiling gently at me with his head tilted slightly in curiosity. “Would you happen to be Diamond Knives?”

I nodded. “Ye know me?”

“When you were just a filly. There aren’t many Half-zebra, half-unicorns around here,” He grinned. “I was hoping to find your parents somewhere?”

With a sigh and a frown I said, “Good luck wi’ that. Dad was thrown out of the Prison an’ mom died in th’ last riot years ago.”

He looked surprised for a moment. “Ah. I see. Well… You have my condolences.” Under his breath he muttered, “I’ve been gone far too long.”

I looked at him, confused. I just smiled nervously sand started walking away slowly down the corridor.

“I’m sure they would be proud of you. Especially your father,” he called back gently. “But he always did hate this place.”

When I’d rounded the corner, I trotted away at full speed, hoping to get far away from the crazy old stallion.

~~~

The sewage pipes were heavily guarded, with a Guard at every possible exit, and several standing along the walls. Between them, posters were stuck up saying things like “The Guards are your friends” and “All glory to the Prison Guards, they keep order for all”, standard propaganda crap. Cameras were looking at every inch of the room in which the pipes were housed. The floor was covered in stains of various, but even in here, the walls and ceiling were that same perfectly sanitary white.

I worked diligently, as I usually did. Taking a bucket of metal plates and small pipes in my mouth and a small toolbox in my nearly invisible magical grip, I pulled out old, rusted pipes, and replaced them with the new. Sludge was everywhere, but I barely noticed it as I moved from pipe to pipe, checking every inch. I may have hated the place, but damn me if I’m going to let the place fill up with raw sewage.

I was so ensconced in my work that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice behind me commented, “I will never understand how you can stand to do that with your mouth.”

I glared at the speaker. Why the hell was he here? He lived in a completely different section! “Well, it ‘elps if ye fall from a decent height and land on yer head as a foal. It’ll buck up yer senses pretty good.”

“But still… It’s in your mouth…” The blue unicorn grimaced. His black mane was well-coiffed into something he referred to as a 'pompadour'. I always thought it just looked like he had a dick on his head. “You know you’re a unicorn, right?”

“Aye, but Ah can’t lift a goddess-damned thing, ye feckin’ prick. How many times have AH told ye that?” I growled. “Why don’t ye go suck your stallion aff or something?”

“Ooooh, still upset about our breakup, huh? Well, sweetheart, I’m sorry I hurt you, but you’re just going to have to get over- OW!” I’d thrown a pipe at him. “Oh, so it’s like that is it? Fine. If you can be a bitch, then so can I. At least I can admit what I am. You still keep lying to your-AGH!”

The second hit wasn’t me. A large orb had popped out of a broken pipe above his head, hitting him right between the eyes. I nearly fell over laughing.

“Goddesses… You know what? Fuck you Knives. Just… fuck you.” He growled. “When the shit hits the fan, you’re on your own. Just thought you should know.”

“Huh?” I stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled. “Oh, you’d like to know, wouldn’t you? Well, All I’m saying is that it’s happening soon. Goodbye Knives.”

I just stared after him as he trotted away, with a confused look plastered on my face. I looked down at the orb that had fallen on him. It was clear and a bit larger than my hoof, with some sort of black crap floating around in it. Dad told me about these once, called them mind balls or something. I thought he said they were white though…

I gave a quick look around to make sure I wasn’t being watched too closely, and attempted to pocket it. I say attempted, because the second I tried to pick it up in my mouth, it jerked away from me, rolling over into a corner. Slightly confused and a bit more surprised, I walked over to its new position. I eyed it carefully. I didn’t know much about this thing, but I knew enough that I didn’t want to pick it up with magic, as I couldn’t afford to be stuck in somepony elses thoughts for a couple hours while on my shift.

Cautiously, and assuming that this must be some sort of prank, I tried to pick it up again, but it only continued to roll away, this time into a broken-open pipe. I just knew that it was another one of Clotheslines stupid pranks, who the hell else could it be? And yet, I continued. Sneaking through the pipe, I followed the ball… orb… thing… until I reached a grate, against which the orb was resting.

I stared at it for a moment.

I touched it with a hoof. There was a slight tink sound, telling me it was made from some kind of glass.

As I bent down one last time to pick up the orb, I noticed that something was brushing my mane. It took me a moment to figure out that the air was moving. I wondered whether or not I was hallucinating, when the realization hit me. I took a deep breath and snapped my mouth shut.

WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH

I was just in time, as the wave of raw sewage blasted through the grate, dragging me, along with the orb, down the pipe and past where I’d come in. I tried desperately to keep my mouth closed as I let the wave carry me. I may not be able to taste it, but it’s still a bad idea to swallow sewage, for obvious reasons. I didn’t bother trying to swim out, the pressure was simply too strong and I was too weak a swimmer to get anywhere.

I felt myself being thrown into the sides of the pipe.

A particularly nasty hit knocked the wind out of me, leaving me struggling to keep my breath in.

I was quickly running out of air.

I fought the urge to inhale.

I had to get out.

I had to get-

There was a loud crash, and suddenly I was on the floor, coughing, spluttering, and gasping for breath.

It took me a moment to get back to my senses, when I discovered that I was in the Guard captain’s bathroom. Mind you, I’d never been in there before, and I really had no idea where it was, but the Prison Guard logo painted on the floor sort of gave it away, as did the fact that she was standing in the doorway, staring at me, looking like she was about to kill me.

Panting, I tried to stand, but my shaking knees refused to hold my weight, and I collapsed. My ribs and head hurt like hell. There was brownish liquid everywhere.

I grinned weakly at the Captain. “Sorry marm. We seem tae be havin’ a few technical difficulties.”

Then I passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~

“No mum. I didnae eat the cake,” I grumbled as I awoke. “Huh?”

Looking around, I found that I was in a medical bay. There were those same barren walls, just with some medical equipment strewn about the room. My chest was heavily bandaged and, looking in the nearby mirror, I saw that my head was as well.

“Ugh. Who th’ buck took a goddess-damned hammer tae mah skull?” I whined from the cot. “Hello? Anypony ‘ere?”

A zebra with a red-dyed mane popped her head into the room. “You’re awake? Damn, I thought you were going to be asleep for weeks.”

“What happened?”

“You popped out of the Captains bathroom through the floor. Heh, you should have seen the look on her face. Priceless!” She chuckled, and then her expression got serious. “Anyway, you have several broken ribs and a minor concussion. Sorry, but they only gave you a small potion to deal with it. I got you some med-x, but I recommend holding onto it for a while.”

She tossed me a small bag. “You really do like getting injured don’t you?”

Suppressing a grin, I looked around and, dropping my accent, said with mock confusion, “Where… Where am I? Who are you? Who am I?”

Her hooves flew to her face as terror filled her eyes, making me burst out laughing. Her expression quickly turned to one of irritation as she glared at me and complained, “That’s not funny Knives! I thought you were serious!”

“Oh come on Zeed! How could Ah ferget Ye? Yer mah best friend in the whole buckin’ Prison.”

Rolling her eyes, she went back into her ‘doctor mode’ and asked, “Can you stand?”

I got out of the cot, and managed to stand for a whole few seconds before I felt all the blood rush to my head. The dizziness nearly made me fall over. She rushed over to help me, and I smiled weakly.

“Aam fine. Nothin’ tae worry yerself abit.” I shakily walked over to the chair on which my barding lay, followed closely by Zeed. The orange jumpsuit had been thoroughly cleaned of sewage. “What are ye doin’ here, anyway?”

“Checking up on you, obviously. I was working with Dr. Cold when I heard what happened. Come one, let’s get you to the room. They said you could go as soon as you’re up. The Captain has even forgiven you for effectively destroying her bathroom.”

After I’d shakily put my barding back on, we started towards the cell blocks, where we shared a decent cell.

“So, you chased a memory orb into a sewage pipe…”

“Aye. That Ah did.” I replied as we made our way down the corridors.

“Hmm… Maybe the head injury didn’t come from the pipe then.” She pretended to think, rubbing her hoof across her chin. “Oh! I know! You’re an idiot.”

“Aye. That Ah am.”

“So…. Did you at least manage to get it?” She continued, rolling her eyes.

“Sadly, nay. But Ah guess it doesnae really matter, now does it?”

“Come on, Knives! You tried to chase a ball into a pipe! Why? Don’t you remember what your dad always said? I mean, it’s not like he didn’t remind you of it every day.”

I pondered for a moment. “Never ferget tae eat yer veggies?”

Then I saw the Door again. I stopped and stared, feeling again that desire to leave. That longing to see the outside. That odd hope for something more. I knew it was supposed to be a lifeless hellhole, but I couldn’t help it. I just wanted to know.

“Still got that feeling, huh?” Zeed whispered beside me. “Gotta admit, I’m kinda curious as well…”

We just stared at it for a moment, in complete silence.

“I dare you to touch it,” she said.

I blinked in confusion.

“Go on. Touch it.”

“N-No! Ye can go and touch it yerself!”

She laughed. “What are you, scared?”

“What are ye, immature?”

“Admittedly? Yes. Yes I am. But…” she cleared her throat. “As a medic, I must point out that it is unhealthy to stare at doors like that. Thusly, I think you should touch it.”

“Fine, fine. Whatever,” I grumbled as I trotted over to the door, and then stood in from of it.

I just stood there.

In front of the Door.

The Door that separated us from the outside.

Where nopony could ever stay alive for very long.

Which the Guards said there was no point going to.

Where the megaspells had destroyed everything that they touched.

I felt nervous. Why the hell do I feel nervous? I thought to myself. It’s a door!

Slowly, I reached out a hoof, and froze. It was just centimeters away.

“Knives? You’re shaking, are you alright?” A look of concern was on her face.

I inched my hoof closer.

“Uh, Knives? You’re scaring me now… I was just kidding. You don’t have to… Wait, what the hell was that?”

I gave the door a light poke.

Nothing happened.

I smiled.

BWARP! BWARP! BWARP! ALERT! ALL GUARDS TO THE CELL BLOCKS! ALL GUARDS TO THE CELL BLOCKS!

I jumped back into the opposite walls, yelling in surprise, “I didn’t do anything!”

There was an explosion from the cell block area. I looked to Zeed whose eyes were wide with terror. The realization dawned on me.

Someone had just started a riot.

“Oh shit shit shit shit shit…” Zeed started pacing back and forth as the sounds of screams and gunshots began to reach our ears. “We gotta hide. They’ll barricade everything, we gotta go back to the medical bay!”

“What if they find us?” I shrieked. I was in a panic. “Where are we supposed tae go?”

“I don’t know! I was in our room last time!”

Suddenly, there was a loud click, and the door opened. We both stared at it in awe.

There was a corridor beyond the door. The walls were completely covered in ancient rust. It seemed to go on forever. I thought I saw a flash of gold near the end.

“Shit! They’re escaping!” Cried a voice from our left. Several Guards were charging down the hallway. Among them was Clothesline. Fuck, I thought, everything’s going too damn fast, what do I do?

Clothesline had that same grin plastered on her face as she levitated a shotgun out in front of her. “Blitz, Cane, with me. The rest of you deal with the cell block.”

I grabbed Zeed with my forehooves and threw her out the door. We ran as fast as we could, followed by Clothesline and her backup.

The corridor seemed to go on forever, and the three Guards were catching up fast. I was quickly starting to run out of steam, my ribs hurt like hell, I was wheezing like mad.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, we burst through a wooden door, and slammed it shut, locking it behind us. I could hear them as they slammed their weight against it. More likely, it was the two larger guards trying to break down the door while Clotheslines screamed at them.

We were in a small concrete structure. Most of it had collapsed in on itself, leaving only a few walls with tattered and peeling wallpaper. A few benches were scattered around the area, mostly lying on their backs, some had a skeletons near them. Rain was pouring in through the holes of the damaged structure.

“Oh goddesses…”

I turned to see Zeed standing behind me. She was staring upwards, through a hole in the ceiling. Taking a look myself, I saw… I saw…

Clouds…

Endless clouds…

They seemed familiar…

Comforting…

They seemed to shift before my eyes…

I could see the raindrops falling…

It was so…

Hypnotic…

Why did the clouds do that…

I knew them… Somehow.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Zeed was shaking in terror. I pulled her head towards the ground, making sure to cover her eyes. She was gasping as if she’d nearly drowned.

“Are ye alrigh’?” I asked.

She nodded and we continued on, with her trying desperately not to look up.

There was the sound of splintering wood, and I heard Clothesline screeching.

“Get back here! Nopony escapes the Prison! Nopony!”

The sound of beating hooves prompted us to gallop faster, but it was too late. They slammed us into the ground, there was the sound of a bone breaking as Zeed cried out in pain, I could sympathize with her, as the pressure against my bruised ribs made me do the same.

Clothesline was panting with rage. She looked from one of us to the other for a minute or so. I could hear the sound of radio chatter from her helmet, she was so close to me.

“Do you…” She started, but pondered her next words. “D0 you know what pisses me off most ab0ut you?”

I spat at her.

“Lift them,” she growled to the guards pinning us down. They promptly hooked their forehooves beneath our arms, holding Zeed and I in the air, side by side. Zeed whimpered as she held her one broken foreleg in the other.

Clothesline was panting. Her eyes were darting all over the place, always coming back to my face, but immediately shooting towards something else. She was muttering to herself. “What the hell is that n0ise?”

“The rain, boss?” one of the Guards ventured.

“N0 you idiot! I know what that is! I’m talking about that buzzing n0ise!” She shook her head angrily. “Never mInd.”

Turning back to me, she whispered. “Do y0u know what pisses me oFf most about you?”

“Mah charmin’ personality? Ye can’t understand mah accent?” I growled, glaring daggers at her.

She chuckled. “Cl0se.”

She motioned for the Guards to follow her. “F0r as long as I can remember, you have been theRe. And all my liFe…” She stopped and looked around. “There it is Again. Why doEs it keep coming back?”

“Boss, are you alright?”

“ShUt up! N0pony asked You!” She shook her head again. “All my life, you’Ve thought you were better than me. I hate That.”

“Ah don’t know what th’ hell yer talkin’ about,” I said. “I’ve never thought I was better than-“

I was interrupted by her hoof striking my mouth. “SHUT uP! I’m talking here! ME! ME! ME!”

She threw off her helmet with her magic and stared into my eyes. Hers, a light purple, were… wrong. There were flecks of red in the white of her eyes, and her pupils were contracted to the point they almost weren’t there. I could only assume that she was drugged up like noponys business. She screamed at the other two Guards. “THE SITE! N0W!”

We were dragged outside. The sight of the clouds had stunned me for a moment, but this… This was terrifying. All my life I’d known the walls of the prison, keeping me inside and everything out. I had expected… something… anything… But the sight before my eyes was a barren desert. There was nothing but orange sand and a few ruined buildings in the distance. An orangeish haze seemed to float just above the ground. I was pulled out of my stunned state by a rope being tied around my neck by one of the Guards magic.

The journey took hours. All the while, Clothesline was ranting, waving the shotgun around in her magical grasp. She was continuously ranting as her voice started cracking, and she kept giggling at nothing in particular. I kept wondering what the hell was going on with her. I’d seen ponies going crazy, but that usually took a while, even with drugs, but this was just too damn quick for something like that.

Her ranting became gradually worse. She kept stopping to complain about that same buzzing noise, only to screech when we couldn’t tell her its source.

“WherE is that c0ming from? What the helL iS it? H0w can you m0rOns not Hear it?”

Neither Zeed nor I said anything.

She continued on and on as we traveled. I was becoming increasingly nervous.

“Ar3 yu FUC1ng Stoop1d? U c4n’t hE4r That? It’s Fuck1NG everywh3re. Everypony #ere is Wor7hles$,” she screeched.

“Uhh… Boss… We’re here.”

We’d finally stopped, for good this time, in a large fenced-in area. The ground was covered in some sort of black concrete with white lines painted in some pattern of squares attached to lines. The fence itself had a large number of skeletons just piled up along its length. A broken sign attached to a large pole read:

Loading Site
Canterbury Research

“WH3R3 1S i7 c0M1ng FR0m? WhY W0n’7 I7 ST0P?” Clothesline had dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hooves. She was screeching at the top of her lungs. “m4k3 It St09 M4Ke1t s7oP mAke it ST0p!”

“Boss… what are you talking about?”

Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and the rope around my neck fell slack as the Guards head explode, the gore filling his helmet as Clotheslines explosive round punctured the plastic faceplate. The other Guard backed away slowly, dropping Zeeds rope. He didn’t get far, as Clotheslines shotgun tore through the armor on his back, killing him instantly in a shower of blood.

“N0w eYE h4ve u all 2 myself…” She started giggling, I wasn’t particularly surprised by her mood change, but her speech creeped me the hell out. “N0w 3ye c4n d0 wh473v3r eY3 wan7 2 u!”

She swapped out the magazine in her shotgun. Zeed was trembling in terror as the now psychotic mare started swaying back and forth, cradling her weapon. I stood in front of Zeed, hoping to protect her.

“4www. H0w Cut3! You th1nk 3y3 care ab0ut Her?” She let out another giggle, then started sobbing within seconds. “Y d0Es it Hurt? D0n’t u f33l it?”

“Ah have no idea what yer talkin’ about ye goddess-damned madmare!” I roared at her. “What th’ buck is wrong wi’ ye? Have ye lost yer mind?”

“l0st? N0, s1lly. 3ye haven’t lost i7. 17’s right here,” She pointed to her head, giggling. Then her eyes widened, made creepier by her pinprick pupils. “3y3 no what’s wrong! H3e3e Hiiii heEE3EE. I just h4v3 to k1ll U! That’lL make t3h buzz1nG st0p!”

Suddenly, somepony started shouting in the distance. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they seemed panicked. Looking behind me, I saw a large vehicle moving rapidly towards us. I thought I saw a flash of gold in the distance behind it.

Then I heard the k-chack sound of a shotgun being pumped.

I turned to find the weapon in question pointed at me. Clothesline was grinning that same psychotic grin. “Eye’m gonna k3el u! Th3n, 1’m gonna go b4ck h0m3, and make everyp0ny happy! Won’t thAt b3 fun?”

BLAM!

Half my vision suddenly went dark. Behind me, Zeed shrieked.

As I couldn’t feel anything, I briefly wondered if Clothesline had missed, but immediately discarded that thought as I fell over on my side. Suddenly, my head really hurt. Zeed limped over to me with her broken foreleg, I saw the panic in her eyes. Clothesline ran off, giggling all the while.

It seemed that it was an eternity when I heard someponys hoofbeats pounding the dirt, accompanied by the sound of what I assumed to be a cart’s wheels. It makes a nice harmony with my heartbeat, I thought. Zeed was screaming something, I couldn’t tell what. I tried to say that it was okay, but my mouth wouldn’t seem to move… Weird…

I felt myself being lifted up. I saw a light green earth pony buck opening some kind of box that was attached to the back of… a thing.

Why was he carrying a box? On a thing? Who carried around a box? Especially on things?

Slowly… I was put inside….

As everything…

Faded…

Away……………
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within the walls of the prison, a white ball, filled with black smoke, rolls out of the sewage pipes. As it rolls, it passes fighting ponies, Guards and prisoners. It stops for a moment, as if pondering the sight that lies before it, the blood splattering the walls from various gunshot wounds, the dismembered corpses that have been flung around by the blasts of fragmentation grenades. Eventually, it continues on, out the Prison's lone door, which still stands open, forgotten by the Prisons residents. The ball rolls out into the wastes, chasing down its target.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
S: 3
P: 7
E: 1
C: 5
I: 5
A: 9
L: 10

Tag Skills:
Repair
Survival
Melee

Traits:

Hot Blooded: You are generally irritated easily. Because of this, when your health drops below 50% you go into a rage, in which you get +10% more damage, but you also suffer -2 to your Agility and Perception attributes.

One in a Million: You're not particularly lucky or unfortunate, but when lightning strikes, it strikes hard! Whenever you or someone near you scores a critical hit or failure, the effects are essentially tripled!

Secondary trait:

Look ma! No hooves!: Like any unicorn, you are able to use the spell of telekinesis, but for you, it’s a bit different. When you use telekinesis, your magical field is almost invisible. The downside, however, is that the spell is weakened for you, so you can only hold less than six pounds.

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
S: 5
P: 8
E: 5
C: 7
I: 10
A: 5
L: 1

Tag Skills:
Medicine
Science
Energy Weapons

Traits:

Good Natured: You studied less-combative skills as you were growing up. Your combat skills start at a lower level, but other skills are substantially improved. You get +5 to each of Barter, Medicine, Repair, Science, and Speech, but -5 to Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed.

Small Frame: Due to your small size, you have +1 Agility but your limbs are more easily crippled (25% extra limb damage).

Secondary trait:
Stance: Due to years of practice, you are able to stand on your hind legs indefinitely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author’s note) Well… I did that… Shame on me…

I know what you might be thinking.

“Oh goddesses! Not another fucking Fallout Equestria fic! Don’t we have enough of those?”

And the answer to your unsaid and probably unthought question is:

No. No we do not.

So I made one myself. Partly because I was bored, partly because I need practice writing. Mostly,
however, it was because the idea got stuck in my head, so I figured, “What the hell, I got nothing to lose”, and went ahead and did it.

Critiques are appreciated!

Until next time! (if there is one) Toodles!

P.S.: I don’t have an editor, so that should partly explain why it’s as bad as I assume it is.

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Two: The Northwestern Information Dump

Chapter two: The Northwestern Information Dump
”it isn’t much, but I want you to have it.”

I looked around the lunch room. It was small, but then again, there were few foals in the Prison.

They sat at their tables, eating the lunches so ‘graciously’ provided by the Guards, while they waited to return to the single class, to hear more of the Guards ‘generosity’.

A small zebra filly sat alone with her tray and its contents. She looked so forlorn. I put on my best smile, and sat next to her.

“Hi there!” I said as cheerfully as I could. “My name’s Diamond! What’s yours?”

She looked at me, surprised. Looking at her dark green eyes, I realized that she’d been crying. She sniffled. “M-my name’s… Zeed… Kazdri…”

“Woah. Your name sounds cool! What are you so sad for? Did something bad happen?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “My daddy just got exiled.”

“Ouch. I kinda know how you feel. My dad got exiled a long time ago.” I rubbed my chin in thought.

She continued to stare at me as if I’d sprouted a second horn. “But… You’re not sad at all?”

I shrugged. “Nope. Well… yes, but he always says that there’s not much point in being sad all the time. So I’m not!”

She smiled at me, and wiped her eyes.

“Say, you wanna see Lockpick get a face full of frosting?” I asked, holding up a cupcake.

Her smile changed into a grin as I chucked the cupcake at the unsuspecting filly a few tables over.

~~~~

I awoke with a loud groan. My head was throbbing like I had the mother of all hangovers, and all my muscles were sore, and I couldn’t open my right eye. There was an itch in the back of my head, one that I couldn’t seem to scratch, as if the bone itself was itching, and it was covered in bandages. I tried to throw my pillow over my head and go back to sleep, but the lack of said pillow made it difficult.

With another groan, I slowly opened my good eye to find that I was in what looked like an infirmary. Turning myself over, I saw Zeed sleeping on a chair beside me, her head resting in her forelegs on my cot. I noticed that one of her legs was splinted. Behind her was a familiar box, with a trio of blue butterflies on the front. It looked like someone had tried many times to break it open, as it was heavily dented, and the paint was scratched in many places.

I tried to remember what had happened to me. This didn’t look like the Prison’s infirmary, at least not the one in Section 3.

What was I doing… oh… right…

Clothesline shot me. She lost it and tried to kill me, I thought to myself. Obviously, she failed, but that doesn’t explain what I’m doing in here.

I tried to roll out of the cot and stand, but I only managed to flop onto the floor and puke my guts out.

After a bit more groaning and a little sobbing, I finally managed to stand on my four shaky hooves. This lasted all of fifteen seconds, as I was almost immediately hit by a black, white, and red blur that was sobbing loudly.

“Argh! Zeed! Crushing… me…” I gasped as she hugged me tightly with her uninjured foreleg.

With a sheepish grin, she let me go. I could tell that she’d been crying. “Sorry… it’s just… I thought we’d lost you.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I feel like-“ I was interrupted by another bout of nausea. A pool of bile trickled towards a drain in the center of the floor. I fell back onto my side, and groaned again. “Yup… I feel like shit.”

“Knives… Your voice…” She coughed lightly.

“What about my voi-“ I blinked a few times. “Right. ‘Course Ah fergot that.”

“I still don’t know why you do that accent at all.”

“Sign ay respect. Let’s leave it at that,” I let out a sigh. “Goddesses mah head hurts.”

“Yeah… about that… I… uh… How do you feel right now?” She was switching into her ‘doctor mode’ again.

“Mah head feels like somepony smashed a hammer intae it, mah muscles are sore as aw hell, and Ah’d like to go back tae sleep. Why?” I yawned. Then I noticed that she was shifting from side to side, which was not a good sign for me, as it meant she was nervous. “What? What’s wrong?”

“It put something in your head. We managed to get some of the imaging equipment here working, but I just can’t get a clear image of what the damn thing did,” she started pacing, her broken leg making it difficult for her. “All I get is a small, shadowy blob in your cerebellum! It’s not a tumor, I can tell that much, but it’s frustrating. I don’t know if I should try and do a biopsy or try and get that auto-doc on analysis mode. I-“

“Zeed, Ah didnae understand a word ay that. Could ye try an’ spick in Equestrian?”

She blinked at me a few times. “Right… Sorry… You have a thing in your head and I don’t know what it is.”

“How did it get there? Did Ah drink too much again?”

“Well… You were shot in the head… Lost your eye… Oh…” She paled. My surprise must have shown on my face. “I should have mentioned that first. I can’t believe I actually forgot. Oh shit… Knives I…”

I shrugged. “Just an eye. Nothin’ tae worry yourself abit.”

She looked at me like I’d sprouted a second horn. “That’s… Not the reaction I was expecting… You’re not upset or anything?”

“Not really. Worse things have ‘ave happened tae me, an’ Ah can still see well enough. Didn’t really care that Ah lost mah sense ay taste an’ smell when ah did either,” I snorted. “Nae much Ah can dae about it anyway. Nao, about th’ thing in mah head?”

She muttered something along the lines of ‘you can’t stand to touch a door…’ before she continued. “Well… Trowel just happened to be wandering nearby… with a portable auto-doc…” She grew paler, a remarkable feat considering that most of her face was white anyway. “He heard me… screaming… and ran to help. We put you in the box and it… Did… Things… it fixed all of your injuries… and put something in your skull…”

As she trailed off I felt that I had to ask something. “Are ye tellin’ me… that somepony just happened tae be wanderin’ by with a box that puts ponies back together?”

She nodded meekly.

“Damn. Ah knew Ah was lucky, but that’s just ridiculous.”

“One in a million I’d say,” said a voice from my right, just outside of my new field of view.

I nearly jumped right out of my skin as I screamed. “Mother of Luna! Where in the hell did you come from?”

“Knives…” Zeed coughed. “Voice…”

“Right…” I sighed. “Why th’ hell did ye sneak up on me like that?”

“Sneak up on you?” The light green buck said in an undignified manner. “Why in the hell would…”

As his words tapered away, I noticed that Zeed was pointing to her right eye, to which he responded with a knowing nod. “Ah, right. Sorry, I forgot about your… eh… injury. I assure you, it wasn’t intentional.”

“Nae… Nae. That was mah fault. Aam gonna have tae get used to this eye,” I smiled and put out a hoof. “Anyway, Aam Knives.”

“Bladed Trowel,” he responded as we shook hooves. “Welcome to the Canturbury Hellhole. I hear you come from a prison?”

“Aye. That we did,” my smile changed into a frown. “Where are we now?”

“Most of us call it ‘The Northwestern Safehouse’. It’s a day’s walk away from where I found you two. It used to be one of the minor medical bays before the war… I think. Might have been major. Hell, for all I know it might have been a storage facility. Celestia knows that nothing those scientists did ever made any sense.”

I’d stopped listening after he said ‘a day’s walk’. I turned to Zeed, with look of irritation. “’Day’s walk’?”

She paled again, laughing nervously. “Aheh… Uh…”

“How long, Zeed?”

“Three days?”

I balked. “Three days? Ah’ve been out fer three whole days? Ye couldnae mention that earlier?”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. I didn’t think it was that important,” She growled. “You’re awake now aren’t you? What would you have done in that time anyway?”

“Ye could ‘ave just- urp… Oh Goddesses,” a wave of dizziness and nausea passed over me, and I fell to the ground, groaning, clutching my roiling stomach with one hoof and my aching head with another.

“Knives?” Zeed’s look of irritation was quickly replaced with one of deep concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Ah feel like crap, is what. Wish Ah could just go back tae sleep,” I groaned again. I tried not to vomit.

Zeed ran out of the room, calling “I’ll be right back.”

A few moments passed.

Trowel bent down and looked me in the eyes. “So… Who’d you piss of that made them want to kill you?”

“Her name is Clothesline, and apparently all Ah had tae do is exist,” I choked back more vomit, covering my mouth with a hoof again. “Can we not talk right nao? I’m not feelin’ tae well.”

He chuckled. “Fine by me.”

Zeed returned carrying a bottle with a strap attached. “Sleeping potion. Considering how you’re probably feeling, you might need it.”

Taking the bottle in my magical grip, I took a couple sips, and gave it back to the concerned-looking zebra. I didn’t even have time to thank her before I passed out.

01001001011011010111000001110010011010010111001101101111011011100110010101100100

Cold dark tunnel.

No walls. Only cold, dark blackness.

My hoofsteps echoing off the endless void.

I am carried by the sanitary white tiles.

I can see it in the distance.

An enormous gem. A gleaming spire in the emptiness.

I know that gem. I’d created it myself.

The only thing keeping HER hidden. Locked away.

I don’t want to be here. I want to turn around and walk away.

Yet, I continue on anyway. I need to go on.

I have to make sure she’s still inside.

Need to patrol the prison, do my rounds, be the guard.

I hear her laugh.

“Knives! So glad to see you.” That smile, her teeth sharp points, insincere, full of hate. “It’s been too long.”

“Ah can’t say th’ same.”

“Hah! Even in here you use that stupid accent? Trying to keep the memories of daddy alive?” That laugh. Her slitted silver eyes narrowing, burning into my soul. “You still think you can differentiate yourself? How stupid of you.”

She spits on the walls of her prison. Smoke rises from the liquid.

“Shut up. Ah don’t want tae hear yer voice.”

The clicking of her hooves on the gemstone’s inner wall. Her tail twitching back and forth, writhing, the blade sparking off the gem’s surface with every strike. The clearish grey flash as she tries to force her way out by magic.

She growls.

“You can’t keep me in here forever, Knives. You’ll crack soon.” The last word echoes of the infinite void. She bares her inequine teeth, they mesh together perfectly. “I. Will. Be. Free.”

I stare into those eyes. Empty. Heartless. Monstrous.

“I’m never letting you out! You’ll stay here ‘till we’re both dead, you hear me?” I scream.

Another smile.

“Knives, You forgot your voice again,” She chuckles. “You’re slipping.”

Glaring, I turn away from HER.

Her laughter echoes in my ears again.

I can hear the hatred in her voice.

“See you soon… Knives.”

01000110011011110111001001100101011101100110010101110010

My head still hurt when I awoke, but at the very least I was no longer nauseous. I rolled off of the cot again, successfully landing on my hooves this time, and yawned.

I began my usual morning ritual.

First, my shoulders.

CRACK

Second, my back.

SNAP. POP. CRACK.

Finally, my neck.

POP.

I continued by rolling the rest of my joints around in their sockets and stretching my legs out. For some reason that I’d never quite understood, my body had a tendency to stiffen up whenever I slept. Doing this also helped me to relax and forget dreams like the one I’d just had. I could already feel my fear passing, becoming little more than an afterthought. I yawned again, this time so hard that my entire body shuddered.

My head clear, I looked around at my surroundings. The box was still there, but Zeed and Trowel were nowhere to be seen.

I was about to call out to them when I heard a loud bang.

I zipped through the corridors. Junk was everywhere, most of it used to be equipment of medical nature. A few skeletons were lying in the middle of the walkways here and there. I vaulted over these, the muted sound of my unshod hooves echoing through the halls with each landing.

Finally, I heard the two of them in a heated debate. The words were unclear, drowned out by a loud screeching noise. Rounding a corner, I found the two of them trying to force a door shut, past a mass of wailing ponies. They both wore gas masks, giving a somewhat eerie look. The screeching sound was the wind wailing throughout the entrance.

Trowel was the first to notice me. Holding the door with his hooves, he pulled a third mask out of his saddlebags and threw it at me, screaming something as he did, and motioned for me to help with the door. Slipping the mask over my muzzle, I grabbed the closest thing that I could hit with, a discarded IV rack, and ran to the entryway.

I started whacking away at the many hooves and legs that were trying to force their way through the door. A wall of unintelligible screams was rolling over my ears. I could make out a few words, but not enough to make any sense.

I looked at their eyes, every single one the same shade of red.

No iris.

No whites.

Just a blood red orb with a black dot.

The screaming winds continued, the sound making a strange harmony with the screaming, all the sounds rising and falling in time with one another.

I thought I might be dreaming again.

Until one of them got a hold of my leg, that is.

With more than a hint of panic, I flailed the IV rack at the offending forelimb wrapped around my own. The magically held rack began to bend and warp with the fury of my blows. I decided to just snap it in half, and jabbed one jagged end into the pony behind the limb. He shrieked and fell off of me, back into the mass of ponies.

I got back on my hooves and used my body to push the door as hard as I could. For the first time in my life, I wished that I wore shoes. My hooves slipping on the metal ramp, I scrambled to keep on the pressure as the ponies retracted their arms from the aperture.

We finally managed to shut the door, and it emitted a faint click as Trowel engaged the electronic lock. I could still hear the crazies moaning. Their cries carried meaning in them, something along the lines of “Come with us! We only want to be your friends! Come look at this thing we found and be just like us!” (read: let us eat your souls!)

The three of us stood there, panting in our gas masks.

Zeed tore hers from her face and screamed. “Luna fuck me with the stars, the moon, and whatever the fuck else she feels like! Who in the fuck were they? Friends of yours?”

“Them? In The Mall we call ‘em ‘paths’. I warned you about this. I told you they would come sooner or later,” he said, voice muffled by the gas mask. “They’re a pretty good reason to stay out of the Mists.”

“The what now? Could you maybe… I dunno… EXPLAIN THIS TO ME?” I actually backed away a bit in slight fear, afraid that she might snap at any moment. I hadn’t seen her this pissed since she came out to her mother. “We almost got killed by those Luna-damned freaks!”

“You know, for a zebra, you seem to have an odd obsession with Luna…”

“DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!” She pointed at the door, standing on her hind legs. She was panting heavily, fury in her eyes. I could see where this was going. I began to search for a decent amount of water. “Explain. Now.”

To his credit, Trowel didn’t even flinch, or at least I think he didn’t, I couldn’t quite tell due to the mask that he seemed to have forgotten he was wearing.

Oh! Even better than water, I found a partially functional icebox! I magically grabbed a bucket and scooped up some of the freezing water.

“I assume you’ve seen that orange haze on the ground? Yeah. Try and stay away from it. Nopony has any fucking clue what it is, but the ‘paths tend to hang around in it. Sometimes you get clouds of it floating around, and that’s when you get situations like this, where the path’s follow it around.”

When he was silent for a few moments, Zeed growled and put a hoof to her forehead. “And what exactly do these ‘’paths’ try and do to you?”

He shrugged. “Like I said. I have no fucking idea. All I know is that if you get caught by the ‘paths, you’re never seen again. Oooooh, scary!”

Her eye was twitching violently, she was shaking. She was definitely losing it. “HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS? WE ALMOST DIED!”

“Zeed, ye really need tae relax. You’re panicking.”

Trowel turned his head in my direction. I think that was a look of surprise behind his mask. “That’s panic?”

“PANICKING? I’M FINE!” She was clenching her teeth so hard I thought they might crack. “DON’T PATRONI-“

I dropped the water on her. She squeaked as her body shuddered violently, and her face turned slightly red.

Trowel removed his mask and rubbed his eyes in confusion. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

“She really weird about cold water,” I trotted over to Zeed. “Feelin’ better?”

She gave me a goofy grin and nodded. Her normally spiky red mane was plastered to her face. She stood up, giggling a bit. Her face was still red. “Aheh… Sorry… I think I got a bit carried away…”

“Nae kiddin’. Aam supposed tae be th’ one with rage issues,” I sighed. “When was th’ last time ye slept right?”

Her eyes widened as she put a hoof to her mouth in thought. “I have no idea. I think it was in the Prison? I’m not sure. Fuck…”

“And ye though Ah needed the potion…” I scoffed, and she whined. “Och, come on Zeed. Don’t ye got enough mental problems as it is? Dae ye really need more sleep deprivation oan th’ list?”

She grumbled something about mothers as she trotted into a corner and got comfortable. Within seconds of sipping on the potion she was out like a broken light.

Trowel stared at the sleeping zebra with a look of irritation, having removed his mask moments before. “Okay. What in the fucking hell is wrong with her? She went from fear to rage to calm in ten seconds flat!”

“Zeed suffers from chronic insomnia. Oan top ay that she’s already prone tae mood swings,” I shook my head and sighed again. “Been like this fer as long as Ah've known her.”

I turned to Trowel, scowling, as I loudly put my forehooves together, sitting on my hind legs. “Nao… Ah never got a clear answer. What in th’ buck did that thing do tae mah head?”

“Why the fuck are you asking me? I don’t know shit about auto-docs.” Seeing my glare he groaned and returned the look. “Look… I don’t know, alright? I got it from a medical bay a few miles north of here. The only real reason I took it is because it’s portable. That’s worth a lot of caps.”

“A lot of what?”

He blinked at me a few times before he facehooved. “Right. You might as well be canned goods. We use bottle caps as currency. Don’t ask why.”

“Did ye just call me ‘canned goods’?” He rolled his eyes at me.

“You’ve lived in a sealed facility your whole life, right? Little or no contact with the outside world?” I nodded. “Well… Be you from a stable or whatever the hell your ‘Prison’ is you’re all canned goods. Make sense? Good. Now then, class is dismissed. Professor Trowel is done for the day, as I have dismembered limbs to clean up!”

I looked at the door and nearly retched. In the chaos of the fight I hadn’t noticed, but several pony forelegs were sitting just in front of the large metal exit, pools of coagulating blood around them. I was glad that Zeed hadn’t noticed, I don’t want to know what she’d have done if she’d seen that. I briefly wondered if I’d been the one to sever any of those appendages.

“And you know you’d have wanted to, don’t you Knives.”

I spun around to see where the voice had come from, only to find that nopony was there. I looked around. Nopony but Trowel and the sleeping Zeed. I shook my head.

“Hmm… It must have been th’ wind…” I thought aloud, then snorted. “Or one ay those crazies. Heh.”

As if to punctuate my statement, there was a loud thud from the door, making the two of us jump. Zeed just rolled over in her sleep, muttering something about ‘nice flanks’.

I began to wander through the Northwestern Safehouse.

~~~~~

“Celestia chuck me tae th’ sun,” I screamed. “Again? The same damn one again?”

I’d been wandering around for Celestia knows how long trying to find my way back to the entryway. Or the infirmary. Or anywhere I could backtrack from. I’d ended up in the same hallway about fourteen times now, and I was about ready to start smashing the walls down.

In three words or less: I was lost.

Grumbling, I sat in the middle of the hallway, trying for the umpteenth time to remember how I’d gotten here. I wished that I had a map. Maybe an electronic one. In the form of a large watch. With a radio. But that would be convenient, now wouldn’t it? So instead I just continued to wander through the hallways, calling out to Trowel and Zeed and hoping that one of them could hear me. I mostly did this by loudly cussing myself out for being an idiot.

As far as I could tell, this section of the facility had once served as the office complex, as the corridors were lined with rooms filled with file cabinets and desks with a very large number of clipboards. I ignored most of these, instead just stomping through the hallways in my irritation. There was so much dust around that just touching pretty much anything created huge clouds. The only sounds were those of my hooves on the tiles and my own breathing through my mask.

“Ah need a trail or something,” I mused. Taking a look into the closest room, I grimaced as I looked at the skeleton sitting in front of a terminal, its hooves still on the keyboard. I’d really wanted to avoid rummaging through the belongings of dead ponies. I absent-mindedly scratched at my eye socket; it had started itching as soon as I entered the complex.

I trotted over to the skeleton and, apologizing repeatedly to the dead pony, pushed it out of the seat. The first thing that I noticed was that the terminal was still on. There was a massive jumble of scientific crap that I had no hopes of understanding, but I did find a single message from some other pony.

Subject: Need help testing

Hey Reed, I think I finally got what I need to finish the armor. I’ve built it from that new memory compound the biotech folks came up with. Thing is, I need to find out what it takes to break it. Since I can’t exactly bring a hoofwitzer in here, I was hoping you could bring some of the guns in your collection? What I really need is a high caliber rifle. The plating has managed to resist everything else we’ve thrown at it so far. If you could help me with this that would be greatly appreciated.

-Storm

Well. That was a waste of time. I searched through the desk to find something I could track my progress with. I sighed in relief as I retrieved a large black marker.

The first thing I did was to write ‘START’ on the floor, followed by an arrow. I trotted down the hallways, feeling much better about myself as I drew more large arrows on the floor. Then the lights began to flicker. I swore loudly and started moving faster.

I managed to go several more hallways before the lights gave out completely.

“GODDESSES DAMN IT TAE HELL!” Then I rounded a corner to find a massive hulk of a robot. The four wheeled legs that had kept it standing had gone limp due to the lack of power, but the rocket launchers that it sported on its shoulders were fully loaded and very intimidating, despite the fact that the machine was in a bad state of disrepair, various plates falling off of its chassis. “Uh… Never mind… Ah take that back…”

I looked past the gigantic thing to find… another robot, identical to the other. And another one. And another. There were at least five of them, all inactive. Leaving a large line on the wall I darted past them, hoping to make it through before the power came back on.

I fell down the stairs at the end of the hall.

There was a sickening crunch and pain blossomed in my chest as I screamed.

I sat there a few moments to catch my breath. I gave my ribs an experimental poke and fought back tears as more pain coursed through my body. Probably broken. My eye socket was itching again.

Groaning in pain, I forced myself to my hooves. I found myself in a large circular room, with banks of computers lining the walls. A cylindrical glass case stood in the middle of the room, a small piece of paper magically suspended within. Curiously, I walked up to the case, and read the note.

Took suit to armor labs. Will return when testing is done.

-Storm

Well… That was a complete waste of time. The lights began to flicker again. I trotted over to the nearest terminal, and had just booted it up when my ears were filled with a loud, screeching siren.

I immediately jumped out of the seat and dashed towards the exit, only to find my way blocked.

“INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!”

A large box was hovering before me.

“STAND DOWN OR BE DESTROYED.”

I tried to push past it. As if anticipating my attempt, an arm-like appendage sprang from the bottom of the box, and slashed at me with an odd-looking stick.

I tried to dodge, only to get hit in my right flank. Spikes of pain shot through my body as I started twitching violently, screaming in agony.

I grabbed the floating box in my magic and threw it against the wall, where it exploded in a shower of sparks. I ripped the arm off of the robot. Small sparks of electricity seemed to float around the stick.

I limped my way back towards where I’d begun, only to find the five giant metal monstrosities active and in my way. I barely managed to duck to the side as the rockets flew past me into the back wall, the blast forcing me to my knees, shrapnel stabbing me across my body. I was bleeding a lot. I felt weak.

Five robotic voices shouted at me. “STAND DOWN OR BE DESTROYED.”

I stood shakily, and felt my good eye twitching. These things were pissing me off. I held to stick at the ready.

Then I charged.

“BUCK OFF YE WORTHLESS PILES AY JUNK!” I screamed as I repeatedly smashed the stick into one of the robot’s legs, which became covered in dancing sparks as the robots speakers started to fizzle. After several strikes, the limb gave way with a loud snap, and the machine toppled to the ground, still threatening me in its staticky voice. I charged again, this time past the forward robot, and into the one behind it. My vision was consumed by a haze of red rage as I swung away with my electrified weapon. “AAM HAVIN’ A REALLY BAD DAY!”

I saw the flare of red as one of the robots on the far end of the hall fired at me, only to hit the one I was currently fighting, turning it into so much scrap metal.

Charging the one behind me, I made several swipes at its photoreceptors, each one sparked as they were destroyed, and the robot began to fire wildly down the hall, several of the rockets striking its companion. I then began to smash away at the robot’s chassis, working my way towards its core, eventually breaking open one of its main oil tubes. I found myself covered in a wash of black liquid.

I let out a roar of rage as I charged my final mechanical opponent. Grabbing a nearby metal shard in my magic, I chucked it at the robot, right into the path of an incoming rocket. The explosion was close enough that the shrapnel tore into the robot, destroying a few vital components, and the machine slumped to the ground.

I took a few more moments to completely annihilate the robot with the damaged leg. My rage eventually subsided, and I took a look at my handiwork.

I was somewhat surprised to find that while the robots were completely destroyed, I had only taken a few small injuries which, while inconsequential on their own, added up to a lot of pain for me.

Grumbling and sore all over, I continued back the way I’d come.

I stumbled through the hallways until I heard somepony calling my name. Following the voice, I eventually found Zeed, who had apparently woken up about an hour ago. She took one look at me and shrieked. I was quickly forced to down three or four healing potions before she calmed down. I explained what had happened in the offices and with the suit. This just made Zeed panic again.

“You got electrocuted? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Ah said it felt like electrocution. Ah doubt there was anythin’ ye could have done anyway. It’s not like ye have any decent equipment here, and Ah’d rather not use the auto-doc after it screwed with my head.” She started to speak, but I cut her off. “And Mah head is fine, thanks. Where’s Trowel?”

“Outside, messing about with his cart. We’ll hopefully be going soon. I just really wish you’d let me fix your ribs.”

“Ah wish ye could fix mah ribs too, but Ah just don’t trust that damn thing.”

“Well… At least let me check your…. Uh… Eye…”

I rolled my one good eye and held still while she examined the other, shining a mouth-held light into the socket while I held the lid open with magic. “It’s been itchin’ fer a while. Anythin’ in there?”

“Nope. It looks clean. We should probably get you a patch or something though. Might have to bandage your head to keep you from scratching it.” She rummaged through the medical supplies, retrieving a large roll of gauze, which she swiftly wrapped around my head. A makeshift patch to cover the eye.

“That’ll do for now. Hopefully we can find someone who can treat it better than me. Hell, we might even find some working cybernetics!” She grinned widely, in a slightly creepy manner.

“Ah’d rather not get have… cyber… whatsits. Ah’d much rather just get a glass eye or somethin’”

Trowel called from his cart, “Hurry up you morons! I wanna get the hell out of here!”

The both of us rolled our eyes in his general direction as we trotted out of the Northwestern Safehouse, and into the Canturbury wastes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The black orb continued on its trek, its mists swirling constantly within its glass form. It followed the tacks that its target had left in the sand. It was close. The shape of a pony with a horn loomed in the distance, image made unclear by the orange mists. The orb’s motions became more urgent as it approached.

It reached the pony, only to stop, as its black mists began roiling. This pony was not its target. The pink mare with the black mane was the wrong one.

She sobbed uncontrollably, her tears stained orange by the mists. Her mutterings were barely coherent apologies.

“3ye’m S0rry… EY3’m $0 s0rry… 1 n3ve2 wan7ed 2 kill h3r… i nev3r w4nted 7#at… 3y3’m sor2y… 3y3’m s0 s0r2y…”

Her sobs were interrupted by giggling fits.

“F0llow… Follow… 4lL 3y3 need 2 do… All 1 eve2 n3Ed 70 do…”

The black mists of the orb ceased their roiling. The orb was still for a moment as the mare passed.

Its mists shifted once more, and the orb began to follow the pink one. She would bring the orb to her destination, from where it would retrieve what it needed to find its target.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up!

Melee: 43
Repair: 35

New perk!
Little leaguer: It’s not so much that you hit hard, more than you know where to hit! You gain +5 to both Melee Weapons and Explosives.

Quest perk:
One-eyed: You are missing an eye. This gives you a -1 penalty to perception, but you get unique speech options with certain characters.

New item:
Electric baton: -4(hp/s) KO damage on hit. Extra damage to machines and power armor.

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

50% xp

~~~~
Current quest: Find a quest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Author’s note) Quality drop: 50%

Meh, whatever. Long as I can get this idea out of my head.

“Sigh, that was just plain crap! What the hell is wrong with you?”

I’m a nub is what. Bugger off.

Like I said before: Critiques are appreciated.

Trolling is also appreciated.

Okay not really.

Please don’t troll me, I don’t think my fragile psyche can take it.

Next chapter will come… Eventually… Maybe… Toodles!

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

P.s. If there’s any seemingly random symbols like * or ^, that’s a leftover due to my formatting practices. Please tell me if you find any.

Chapter Seven: The Exit Is Here Now. No, Really.

Chapter Seven: The Exit Is Here Now. No, Really.
“What do I WANT? I don't really know. Most of the time I ignore my quest and walk into the homes of others, riffling through pony's shelves...”

The Guard in front of me looked somewhat irritated as I followed him through the Prison, holding a small brown box in my magic. I just kept worrying about what my mother would do when she found out that I’d gotten into yet another fight, and on her birthday, no less.

He banged on the door to the cell. My heart was in my throat.

The door opened, mechanically sliding into the ceiling, to reveal a large zebra, covered with scars, the most noticeable of which were the ones running from the corners of her mouth to her ears, making her warm smile seem all the wider.

That smile turned to a look of shock as she caught sight of my badly bruised body.

She looked to the Guard, who quickly answered her unspoken question.

“She got in a fight with the Captain’s daughter. Again. You need to teach her to control herself, Zala. The Captain is already considering…” He sighed and removed his helmet, revealing the earth pony’s red mane and purple coat. “Look, Zala, I can’t keep getting her out of these things. I’m going to have to start putting her in solitary if she keeps this up.”

Mom sighed, and gave him a weary smile. “Thank you, Gate.”

He nodded, and left to return to his post.

Closing the door as I stepped in, my mother gave me a somewhat disappointed look. I grinned weakly. We both stood there for a moment.

Eventually, she sighed again. “Did you at least win the fight?”

I nodded, my grin becoming a bit more genuine.

“She didn’t call you a colt again, did she?” Mom quirked an eyebrow.

“No, she tried to um… take this… from… me…” I floated the box over to her. “It’s for you. Um… happy birthday, mom…”

She opened it with a bizarre dexterity that shouldn’t be possible with hooves. She gasped when she saw what was inside. A bracelet, made of small strips of metal twisted to look like her glyphmark, which itself resembled an eye.

Slipping it on, she brought me into a tight hug. “I love it, sweetie. Thank you so much.”

I hugged her back, smiling happily.

“You still need to learn to control yourself, though.”

I laughed nervously.

“Well, come on Diamond… You’re almost an adult. When you turn sixteen, I won’t be able to help you with things like this.” She put a hoof on my shoulder. “You can’t keep fighting Clothesline. Even if she’s a bitch.”

I snorted.

She laughed. “Okay, an extreme bitch, then. But she is still the Captain’s daughter.”

I let out a defeated sigh. “I know… she just pisses me off so much, though.”

“Diamond, I can help you with other prisoners as long as I live. Hell, just knowing me means they probably won’t mess with you, but the Guards don’t care. They’ll do whatever they think they need to do.”

“Or want to.”

“Yes, true, but still…” She hugged me again. “Just be a bit more careful. Okay?”

~~~~~

Throb, throb.

I groaned, and put a hoof on the back of my aching head.

Throb, throb.

Oh, goddesses, what the fuck did I do last- oh… right… sewer…gorgon…drugs…

Throb, throb.

“Oh thank Luna, you’re awake,” Zeed said from beside me. “How do you feel?”

Throb, throb.

I groaned again. “Head hurts. Want sleep. Go away.”

“Sorry, Knives. I’m out of sleeping potion.” I felt a poke in the ribs. “You know I’d rather just let you rest, but this isn’t really the best place to do that. Besides, there’s… uh… something we need to deal with…”

I groaned yet again.

“Well, I guess you can stay there for a minute. Don’t need you up for this anyway.” I could almost hear her smirk. “How many hooves am I holding up?”

I cracked open my good eye and glanced at her, then turned away. “Three hooves.”

…

Wait a minute.

I shot up and looked again. She was indeed holding up three hooves, somehow managing to balance on one, a smirk on her face.

“Welcome to the Land Of The Living, where misery is mandatory!” She said cheerfully as she dropped back down.

Chuckling, I rolled off of the piece of cloth-covered metal I’d been laying on and stood up. I immediately regretted it when the pain almost made me fall back over. Zeed barely managed to catch me. “You alright?”

“Like I- Ah mean- Like Ah said, mah head hurts. Again. Why does this shit keep happening tae me?” I rubbed the back of my head again. “So, what did ye need tae talk about?”

She bit her lip, and inhaled. “First off, all your bones are fine. Whatever the fuck Raid did to you worked, much as it pissed me off.”

“Alright. Second?”

“Second…” She paused for a moment. “Second is that you have a right eye again, but we’ll need to make sure it works right.”

I grinned happily. “That’s great! The lack of depth perception was a bit annoyin’.”

“The third… is that you have a… well… your right eye is… uh…”

“What? What is it?” Her hesitation was making me nervous.

“Eh… it’s… probably better if I show you. Hold on.” She began to rummage through her saddlebags, which were propped up against a wall.

Looking around the room, I realized that it was the shack in the entrance of the sewer. Through the door, I could see the floodlights shining on the wall outside, and part of the warning that was painted on it. The shack itself was full of shelves stocked with various odds and ends, almost entirely junk. After a minute, Zeed returned with a broken shard of mirror, which I took in my magic.

“Just… just don’t panic, alright?”

Slightly nervous, I took a look at myself.

I first looked at my left eye. A dark silver color.

Then I looked at my left eye.

It was the same dark silver color, but instead of a rounded pupil, there was a needle-like slit. The first thing that came to mind was ‘draconic’. The second, and far more disturbing, was ‘her’.

Her eye was in my face.

My nightmare. The monster in my dreams. The creature that had tormented me for as long as I could remember.

Her eye… in my face.

I could have sworn that I heard her laughing.

“Knives? Say something…”

I think that I was shaking as I stared into that… thing.

Did she do this? Is Raid working with her?

I mentally slapped myself.

Of course he’s not, you fucking moron! She’s a figment of your imagination. She’s not real.

“Oh yes, Knives. I’m just a figment of your imagination.” She said. “That sometimes talks to you.”

I frowned.

“Shut up.”

“Oooh, clever. Fine. I’ll see you in your sleep.” She muttered.

“Knives? Answer me, please!”

She had nothing to do with this. It’s just a coincidence.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder.

I turned to see Zeed with a terrified expression on her face. She looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Zeed, what’s got ye so worried?”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Luna. Don’t scare me like that! I thought you’d… something! I didn’t know what to think!”

I shrugged, and looked at the eye again.

“Are… are you gonna be okay?” She continued.

I hrrm-ed. “Probably. Looking in a mirror is goin’ tae freak me out fer a while. Ah’ll get used tae it, though.”

“You’re… taking this awfully well. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” She now seemed confused, in addition to worried.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter if Ah have a problem, now does it?” I quirked an eyebrow. “Dae ye know anypony who can put it back tae normal? Ah sure don’t. It’s better than not havin’ one at all, at least. Although…”

I closed my left eye, looking only through the new right eye.

There was no color. Everything was suddenly painted in nothing more than shades of grey.

“It’s colorblind.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Everything is just… grey… What the hell did Raid do tae me?”

She snorted. “Dunno. Let’s find out.”

She trotted over to the door and stuck her head out.

“RAID! Get your fucking stupid flank over here!” She screamed angrily. Without waiting for a response, she stomped back and sat on her haunches next to me, with her forelegs crossed.

A minute later, he trotted through the door.

“Goddesses, your voice really echoes. Knives!” He smiled. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

I smiled back. “Glad tae see ye too.”

Zeed facehoofed. “Oh for Luna’s- Raid, stop flirting and explain what this ‘Synth’ crap is before I figure out how to perform a lobotomy.”

“No need.” I said. “He’s already brainless.”

Raid laughed. “Not me very smart am.”

Zeed growled. “Knives, do you even realize that he could have killed you?”

“Look, I already told you that Synth isn’t lethal,” Raid began. “It’s basically just a really powerful healing potion.”

“Oh really? Healing potions don’t make you pass out. Care to explain that?”

“Maybe she has an allergy?”

“Did you see her eye? That’s not an allergic reaction.”

“I’ve never even heard of something like this before. I don’t know what to tell you. Sorry.” He shrugged. “Look, if I’d known that would have happened I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Zeed, calm down. He was just doin’ what he thought would-“

“KNIVES, HE COULD HAVE KILLED YOU! Do you realize that?” She was panting with anger.

“Zeed. Calm. Down.” I growled. “You’re overreacting.”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?” She roared. “I AM CALM! I’M THE FUCKING EPITOME OF CALM! CALM LOOKS AT ME AND GOES “HOLY SHIT SHE’S GOOD AT THIS”!

“Then why are you screaming?”

“I’M NOT SCREAMING!” She seethed. A moment passed, and her eyes widened. “Oh… I… I… uh… I’m so… I’m so sorry…”

Raid shrugged. “It’s fine. I understand. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been beating myself up about it more than anypony else ever could.”

She smiled weakly.

“How long have Ah been out, anyway?”

Raid looked at his pipbuck. “Eh… About four hours. She’s been watching you the whole time. I’ve been trying to figure out how to open the door.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“I have no fucking idea. Zeed managed to hack the console, but it’s not working. There’s no lock to pick either, though I’m terrible at that anyway.”

“Did ye check th’ network connection?”

He gave me a blank look and blinked at me. Zeed did the same.

“Ye know… th’ connection between th’ door controls and the console?” The blank look continued. I tried to simplify. “Did you make sure all th’ cables were plugged in?”

“What cables?” Zeed asked, much to my surprise.

I gawked at her. “Are ye kiddin’ me? Ah thought ye were supposed tae be th’ smart one! That’s like… basic computer maintenance! A foal could figure that out!”

They both laughed nervously. I facehoofed. “Alright... Zeed, you can’t call Raid and idiot anymore, because you’re just a stupid as him.”

I sat on my haunches and sighed. “Before we start away again, ye said ye wanted to test mah eye, right?”

“Oh… Uh…” She coughed lightly. “You said you can’t see colors through that eye?”

“Nah. Just grey.”

“Hey! What if you have night vision?”

We both quirked an eyebrow at him, then looked back at each other.

“You know,” Zeed said as she put a hoof to her chin in thought. “That might actually-“

“Zeed, Ah know this is a bit dumb of me,” I tilted my head slightly. “But what happened tae yer cast?”

“Huh? Oh. I took it off while you were out. Why?”

“Ah thought her leg was broken…”

“I’ve been injecting a bit of healing potion every so often. Hurts like fucking hell, bit it works.”

Raid groaned. “Now I really wish I’d asked first. That was my last dose of Synth.”

“What, ye can’t get more?”

He shook his head. “I’d have to scavenge for it. It’s pretty rare. Safer than Hydra, though, so it’s usually worth it.”

Zeed shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter anyway. It still takes a while to heal, and if you don’t set the bone right you have all kinds of problems. Now, let’s test that eye and get the hell outa here.”

~~~~~

Several hours later, we were back in the tunnels, me trotting through the sludge triumphantly.

Unsurprisingly, I was right, and neither of my two companions had bothered to check and make sure that the door controls were connected. At the moment, they were trudging along behind me as I hummed happily.

On an unrelated note, I found that I liked this new eye of mine, as it did indeed give me decent night vision. I could see everything down here! Then again… there wasn’t that much to see other than the winding tunnels and a few not-very-interesting sludge-banks in the water… but still, I could see all of them!

Sadly, that did not stop me from tripping on something and falling flat on my face in the sludge.

Not for the first time in my life, I was glad that I had no sense of taste or smell.

Zeed and Raid laughed as I pulled my head out of the muck, my mane plastered over my face and dripping wet. I spat out a bit of sewer water. I muttered under my breath, “That can’t be healthy.”

“Oh dear Luna, ahaha! She looks like the Thing From Froggy Bottom!” Zeed managed between peals of laughter.

“No, no, no… more like the Lord of Slimes from The Equine Answer!”

“Or the Amazing Mister Sludge! Bwhaha!”

“No, wait! It’s Muckthulhu! She’s come to eat our souls!”

They fell against each other laughing.

Great, I thought as I spat out more water. The buck I like is as big an egghead as Zeed.

I shrugged. Well, at least they’re getting along.

“Zeed, shut up before Ah make ye eat radroach.”

She stopped laughing immediately, but Raid continued laughing regardless.

“Why would you even say that? You know that just…” She convulsed a bit, like she was about to puke. “Just… ugh…”

I thought for a moment, and smirked. “Raid, if ye keep laughing, Aam goin’ tae have tae kiss ye.”

“Hmm… Well, I never could turn down a kiss from a nice mare. Even *if she’s covered in sewer muck.” He gave me a cocky grin.

I think I blushed so bright that I was glowing. Well… that backfired.

Zeed once more snorted with laughter. I shot her a glare.

Briefly, I fished around in the muck with a foreleg to find what I’d tripped on. It was…

A corpse. And it was now biting me. Fairly hard, actually. It was pretty painful. So, I did the only logical thing.

“AAAAGH! Get it off, get it off, get it off!” I shrieked as I desperately beat it with the baton, flailing my foreleg around in an attempt to remove it. Unfortunately, the electric shock didn’t really seem to do much to the corpse, other than make it twitch a bit more and bite deeper into my leg.

Several gunshots rang out, and the corpse’s neck blew off in a spray of ichor. The head loosened its grip and fell off of my bleeding leg, which I held to my chest. “Ow, ow, ow…”

Zeed rushed over and slowly poured some clean water and a healing potion over the bite while Raid took a look at the dead pony.

“Ah! I was wondering where all the ghouls went.”

“I’m not going to turn into a zombie am I?” I asked nervously.

“What? Of course not. Well...” He paused. “Not unless you start eating balefire, but a bite won’t do anything to you other than hurt a lot.”

“Balefire?” I wondered aloud. “Zeed, isn’t that what we used tae use in th’ generators?”

“Just the type twos.”

Raid blinked at us. “You used… balefire… to…”

He shook his head and shrugged. “Okay, you know what? I’m not even going to bother asking why the fuck that is. Let’s just chalk it up to the ponies of pre-war Canterbury being morons.”

“What’s wrong with-“

“NO! No. I do not want to know.” He held up a hoof. “No. Pas. Nein. Do. Not. Want.”

“All right, all right, I won’t say anything. Fuck, calm down.” Zeed returned to examining my wound. “So, what exactly is a ghoul?”

He dramatically cleared his throat and pretended to don a pair of glasses while reading an imaginary book. “The ghoul is the result of a pony being afflicted with too much magical radiation from balefire bombs and other such things. The ghoul is effectively dead, not needing to breathe or eat, and does not age. They appear as rotting corpses and, while a good number of them manage to retain most of their sanity, most of them have sadly been reduced to psychotic feral husks.”

“Sooo… zombies?”

“Basically, but the sane ones hate being called that. It’s kinda like me calling you a…” He thought for a moment. “It’s like calling you a ‘striped little slut’.”

Zeed smirked. “I am a slut, I have many stripes, and I am also very short. So, yes, I am a striped little slut.”

He stopped and deadpanned at her for a moment. “I do not know how to respond to that.”

I laughed. “Is that really th’ best one ye can come up with?”

“I make it a point to not base my insults off of race, thank you.” He crossed his forelegs across his chest. “I find that there’s enough of that without me adding to it.”

He stopped me before I could ask another question. “We have bigger problems to deal with right now. For example, why is there a live ghoul in here?”

“Ah thought ye said-“

“I know what I said. That’s not what I meant by ‘live’. The gorgon should have killed them all off.”

“Well…” Zeed began. “The door was closed. They might have been protected by that.”

“Hmmm… That would probably explain it. So we’ve got a bunch of… ghouls… over…” He trailed off. “Crap.”

“What?”

“I don’t think I brought enough ammo.” He sighed. “We’ll have to go through Celestia knows how many ghouls to get out of here.”

Zeed groaned. I smiled. “Well, at least Ah can see them.”

“We can’t.” he continued. “And judging from the one we just killed, that stick is not going to work.”

“Could we just make a break for it?” I suggested.

They looked at me for a moment. Eventually, Raid shrugged and said, “That might work.”

~~~~~

“There’s about thirty ay them,” I said as I peered around the corner. “One’s glowin’ green.”

“Only thirty? Well… that’s better than I expected.” He frowned. “There should be a lot more than- OW!”

Zeed smacked him on the head. “Don’t jinx it, moron.”

“Whatever. Anyway, I can probably distract them for a bit. Get them to run the other way while we slip past.”

“With what?”

He held up a small box with a big red button in his hoof, and grinned. “I haz a detonator.”

He pushed the button.

One second later, a loud boom echoed from where we’d come from. The ghouls all roared at once, and began charging towards the sound.

It took a moment for all of them to clear out of the area, but when they finally did, Raid stepped out and said, “All clear. Let’s go!”

As we followed him, I looked back and thought, Well… *hat was anticlimactic.

Of course, then I almost ran into a straggler, who screamed at me.

Reflexively, I spun around and bucked it in the face, sending it staggering backwards. It was dispatched by a flurry of laser fire, leaving it a charred husk.

Unsurprisingly, there was a roar from farther back in the tunnel. About where I guessed the other ghouls were.

“Oh dear Celestia.” Said Raid as his eye twitched slightly. “Run! We should be able to stay ahead of them if we keep moving.”

So we ran. Raid’s light swung all across the walls as we kept going, with me telling the others when a turn was coming up, being the only one able to actually see. I made the mistake of looking back in the middle of a long, straight leg of the tunnel, seeing the swarm of ghouls growing ever closer.

“They’re catching up!” I screamed.

“We’re almost there, just hold on!” Raid shouted back.

The ghouls came closer and closer and we ran. All of us were getting tired, I felt as though I could collapse at any moment.

“Exit!” Zeed panted.

Indeed, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We pushed ourselves that last short distance.

Then, we were outside. The tunnel had long ago collapsed past that point, the street actually having fallen into the ground, making a ramp out of the sewers. We were once more in an old ruined city. We ran up and out into the night, and hid inside a relatively intact building. I could hear the ghouls screeching from the tunnel, having lost their prey.

I collapsed against a wall, my heart pounding, struggling for breath.

We all just sat there in the dark for several minutes, all panting heavily.

“Well,” I said, dripping with sarcasm. “That was fun. Let’s never dae that again.”

“How in the…” Zeed panted a bit more. “How in the hell did you get past those things last time?”

“Last time we had a Steel Ranger with us. She blew them to bits with a grenade launcher. That was also about… nine- no, ten years ago.” He started to examine himself, and gasped in apparent shock when he reached his tail. “Uh… I’ll be right back. I gotta go… do… something…”

He quickly stuffed the end of his tail into his shirt and ran off, grabbing a bucket as he galloped past it.

I leaned back against the wall, while Zeed just flopped onto her side in the middle of the floor.

We sat there for what seemed like an hour.

“You should go find your coltfriend.” Zeed said. “See if he needs help.”

“He’s nae mah coltfriend.”

“Not at the rate you’re going he isn’t.”

“Well, Aam sizin’ him up is all.”

“You’re flirting to see if he likes you.”

“Basically.”

“Oh, just go look for him. I’m gonna try and get some sleep.” She rolled over, facing away from me.

“Ye sure?”

She waved a hoof dismissively.

I walked out into the city, looking for Raid’s pipbuck light, which he would surely have on.

Of course, after about half an hour of looking for said light, I finally heard him cursing loudly to himself from inside a building. It was part of a small apartment complex, like most of the buildings seemed to be, but only one floor as opposed to seven or eight. Half of the place had been destroyed, one of the larger buildings nearby having fallen on it.

I trotted up to the door of the room he was in.

“Gaah! Come on, damnit! This place is supposed to have its own water supply, magic and everything.” There was the sound of hooves crashing on metal. “Come. On. Damnit.”

As I was about to knock on the door, a dull thumb sounded, accompanied by a humorously fillyish squeak and the sound of water spraying.

I went into the apartment and into the bathroom, to find him soaked with water, standing next to a broken bathtub. I tried to suppress a laugh, and he jumped at the sound, scrambling to turn off his pipbuck light.

“KNIVES! Uh… uh… hi? How are you? You didn’t… eh… see… anything… did you?”

“Nae, but Ah heard ye screamin’ like a filly.” I laughed.

“Please, don’t remind me.” He said in an irritated tone. “But… uh… you swear you didn’t see anything?”

“Raid, what could Ah possibly see? What, are ye really a mare in disguise or somethin’?”

“No, nothing like that.”

I took a look at the bathtub, which was still spurting water from the broken showerhead. There was a bucket in there. On the floor was a bottle of…

“Hair dye? What, yer not really blue?”

“Ultramarine, actually.” He let out a defeated sigh. “But no, just my mane and tail.”

“Och, well ye don’t need tae worry about me seeing anythin’ then. It’s tae dark fer me tae see colors. New eye, remember?” I quirked an eyebrow at hm. “Why are ye tryin’ tae keep this a secret anyway?”

“I’d rather not talk about it, please.” He grinned weakly.

I shrugged. “Well, at least let me help ye.”

“Help me?” He looked surprised.

“Aye. How doe ye think Zeed does it? It’s a pain in th’ flank tae dae without getting’ dye all over yer coat.” I smirked as I magically twisted around a few pipes, directing the stream of water into the bucket. “Aam tryin’ tae let her sleep anyway.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Insomnia. When she isn’t drunk off her flank or takin’ sleepin’ potions, she usually can’t sleep at all. Ah definitely doubt she’d be able to after… well… but Ah might as well let her try.” I twisted the broken showerhead until the water stopped. “So, out ay curiosity, why are ye dyin’ yer mane now?”

“Eh… Sewer water messed it up. My mane’s fine, I was just going to deal with my tail. That's what causes me problems.”

I grinned. “So… what’s wrong with yer mane?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He frowned.

“Och, come on. What, is it pink?”

“I’d much rather have that than what I actually do have.”

“Show meeeee.”

“No.”

“Shooooooowwwww mmmmeeeeeee.”

“No!”

“Show me or Ah’ll dump all the dye on ye.”

“I think I can take looking like a peach.” He grinned.

“Pleeeeeeeease?” I batted my eyelashes at him.

He tried to stifle his laughter at my uncharacteristically marish display. “Sorry, Knives. Not happening.”

“Ah, yer no fun. Fine, let’s get this done then.”

~~~~~

Clothesline- No. Wretch. Her name was Wretch now.

Wretch trotted through the numerous corridors. A bit confused as to how she knew her way, but choosing to just accept it.

She was more interested in the state of her kin, anyway.

They stumbled through the mists within the facility, often screaming incoherently, or muttering meaningless sentences. She felt a pang of sympathy for them.

It hurt when your words were little more than babble.

She shook her head with a sigh, and continued on.

She reached the exit with ease, as though it were a path she’d taken a thousand times before.

He was there. The pony with an orange blob for a head.

No, that was wrong. He didn’t have a head. The mist just stuck like that so he could think properly, emanating from the device attached to his neck.

“Good…” He said. “You are awake. Do you feel well?”

Clot- Wretch nodded, smiling.

“Good. And you know your task?”

She nodded again.

“Then I allow you another gift. You are free to do as you wish, unless you are aware that it will interfere with your task.” He smiled. Not physically, though. It was something she felt. “And I return to you your belongings. They-“

As he held out the Guard’s armor, Wretch shrunk away in panic, feelings of guilt making her guts twist in their places. The gun, though. She missed its weight against her side, the feeling of the kickback fighting her magical grip.

“Ah… my apologies. I did not think the garment would cause you such pain. Your weapon then.” He floated it over to her, the mist surrounding it, making it move. “You may begin at your discretion. Know that I trust your judgment.”

As Wretch stroked the gun lovingly, he retreated back into the facility.

Smiling, Wretch strapped the gun to her back, and stepped out into the wasteland that was Canterbury.

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives
Level up! (7)
Melee Weapons:70
Repair: 71

Perks:
More Criticals: You are more likely to cause Critical Hits in combat if you have this Perk. Each level of More Criticals will get you a +5% chance to cause a critical hit. This is a good thing.

Quest perk:
Lost perk-
One-eyed.

Gained perk-
Freak-eye: One of your eyes is not like the other. You can see easily in the dark, but your odd appearance freaks some ponies out. -1 to charisma, and you have access to some unique dialogue options. You now have night vision.

~~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri
Level up! (6)
Energy Weapons: 52
Medicine: 70
Science:47

Perks:
Vigilant Recycler: Waste not, want not. When you use Energy Weapons, you are more likely to recover drained ammunition. You can also recharge energy pack and cells more effectively and efficiently.

~~~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)
Level up! (7)
Guns: 65
Speech: 49

Perks:
Commando: You really know how to use that battle-saddle! Your accuracy in S.A.T.S. when using battle-saddles is increased by 25%

`
Quests:
Active quest:
O’ Father, Where Art Thou?: Go to Bladesville to find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri.

Other quests:
Sifting through the dust:
1)
Find information on the location of Ashes.
2)
Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives
3)
–Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri

(Author’s notes)

*Slaps self*

Bad moron! Work harder!

I would have had this up two days ago, but I decided to re-write the whole thing.

Not sure if I should have, though.

Ah well, no sense crying over every mistake. I’ll just keep on trying ‘till I run out of cake.

So the writing gets done, and I still have some fun.

Next chapter might be a bit late as well. I’ll see what I can do about that, though. Don’t you worry.

TTFN
-Delakirus

Thanks to Kkat for Fallout Equestria, and Somber for Project Horizon. Thanks to whoever reads this, and again, critiques are very much welcome.

Chapter Thirty: Can you feel the love, et cetera, et cetera

Chapter Thirty: Can you feel the love, et cetera, et cetera
“You're my shmoopy-doopy sweetie-weety pony pie.”

"Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
Nopony you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do but-”

TWANG!

Ashes’ eye twitched. “Friggin’ stupid string.”

“Ash, are you okay?” Mom asked. “You’re getting frustrated again.”

The young mare forced a grin. “Y-yeah. I’m okay. I just don’t have that many spare strings left.”

“You seem like you’ve been really angry recently.” Mom raised a knowing eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine!”

“Ye know yer in heat, right?” I said.

Ashes’ face turned bright red. “Uh... No?”

“Diamond, come on.” Mom gave me an exasperated look.

“What? If Ye kept hintin’ at it, she’d never ay gotten it. Seriously, how can ye nae tell when yer in heat?”

"At least I don't stink when I am." Ashes stuck her tongue out at me.

"Shut up! At least Ah dunnae get all frustrated over everythin'," I shot back.

"You do that anyway," She huffed.

"Hey! Stop fighting, you two." Mom sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with a fetlock. "I know you're not used to this , but you both need to relax."

I deadpanned at my mother. "Mom... ye destroyed th' shower this mornin' because we ran out ay hot water."

"Yeah, and I heard you screaming about your tail when I came in," Ashes added.

"Then ye scared th' crap out ay Monkey Wrench when she came tae fix the showerhead."

Mom frowned. "And I'd rather you two not end up doing the same thing when you're older, and we can start by not fighting about silly things like who stinks."

Our ears went back, and Ashes and I grinned sheepishly at each other.

"Mostly because you both stink." Mom chuckled mischievously at our collective groan.

"I do not stink," Ashes grumbled.

"Yes ye dae." I covered my mouth to try and hide a snicker.

"How would you know?"

"Girls!" Mom yelled. "How about we go do something to take our minds off the frustration?"

I groaned.

"I dunno," Ashes sighed. "I don't really wanna do anything right now."

"Me neither."

Mom shrugged. "Okay. Fair enough. Don't worry, girls. You get used to it after a while."

"Ah still dunnae get how ye can't tell yer in heat."

Ashes groaned. "I just don't! Leave me alone, it's embarrassing enough as it is."

~~~

"He's taking you to a scrapyard?" Zeed hmm-ed thoughtfully. Tapping on the ground with a forehoof. "Seems fitting for you."

I smiled and stretched out on the blanket that we'd lain out in front of Misty's tent. "Aye. That's what Ah thought, too."

"You excited?" Misty chirped.

"Ay course Ah am! It's a scrapyard." I giggled at the thought of all the junk I could find. "And Aam goin' wi' Zim, sae it's even better."

"Well, it'll be nice to see you stop being so awkward now," Zeed said.

"Unless something goes... wrong... heh..."

My ears went back, and my face fell a bit. "Y-yer one tae talk about bein' awkward."

Zeed rolled her eyes. "Relax, Knives. I doubt Raid'll be a jerk. He's been nice enough so far."

"Ye said tha’ about th’ last one," I sighed.

She scratched the back of her neck. "Okay, true, but still... he's not too bad in comparison."

"Thanks fer th' confidence," I muttered.

"Sorry. Uh... want me to help with your mane?" She shrugged.

I smirked at her. "Since when've ah ever done anythin' wi' mah mane? Besides, what would Ah dae it wi'?"

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow at me. "Who was it that recently re-wove a crap-ton of metal into her mane?"

"Ah was more worried about filin' mah horn, actualleh." I touched the appendage with a forehoof. "Ah got th' gunk off, but it's still pretty sharp. Need tae find a-"

Vill interrupted with a loud snort. Glancing over, I saw that the young mare had fallen asleep in her seat, cradling her head in her forelegs.

"Poor mare musta been exhausted." Misty said.

Zeed laughed. "Wish I could just fall asleep like that."

"Yer still havin' trouble sleepin'?" I blinked in surprise.

The zebra deadpanned at me. "Knives, I've had a grand total of six hours of sleep over the past five days."

"Oh, wow. Really?" Misty hissed in sympathy. "That can't be fun."

"It isn't. It makes my mood swings worse." The zebra sighed. "I have too many dumb problems."

I gave her a gentle pat on the back. "It's alright, Zeed."

"I have a few sleeping potions if you'd like." Misty said, patting her belly. "This little monster has been keeping me up all night for a while, so I, like, stockpiled a whole bunch."

Zeed's eye lit up. "Really? Oh, please, please, please! I could really use one."

"Sure, I'll go get one." The blue zony grunted as she pushed herself out of her cloud-chair and stretched her wings. I hadn't noticed how short she was before, shorter than Zeed even. "Be right back!"

Vill murmured something, and my face shifted to a frown.

Zeed scooched closer to me and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why'd you bring her along if you don't like her?"

"Zim insisted." My eyes rolled. "And we didnae want tae risk her exposin' us tae any ay th' other slavers."

"Are you sure she was one of them? She doesn't seem the type." Zeed glanced at the mare.

"She was hangin' around a bunch ay them, and she had nae collar, sae Ah can only assume she was." I idly tapped the blanket. "She's just sae damned whiny."

"She's not that bad."

"Try travelin' wi' her fer a few days." I harrumphed. "And ye only met her this mornin'. How-"

"Here it is!" Misty flew back into the room and dropped a large purple bottle onto the table, making Vill wake up with a start. "It's pretty strong, so, like, don't drink too much at once."

Vill wiped some of the drool off her mouth and yawned. "Mmm... how long was I asleep."

"An hour. You feeling any better?" Zeed asked.

"Yeah! Much." Vill said with a cheerful trill, a smile on her face. "I always feel better after a nap."

"I know that feeling." Misty grinned. "Ya ever fall asleep standing up?"

Vill blinked. "You can do that?"

"Yup. I keep doing that." The zony chuckled. "I can't stand still or I start to doze off."

"I don't think I could do that. Every time I'm standing still my foal starts kicking." She stood to demonstrate, and pointed to her belly, giggling. "See? It's like it's having a party in there. What are you doing, you little crazy?"

"Oh wow," Misty laughed. "How far along are you."

With a roll of my eyes, I hopped onto my hooves and trotted towards the melon-wagon thing. "Aam goin' tae go an’ see if Zim's ready."

"See you later, Knives." Zeed waved. "Have fun."

The pegasus, along with both Nezan and Kara, were playing games with the vinedogs. The blue stallion was laughing happily and throwing a stick, which the vinedogs would chase after. His mane was freshly re-dyed and his jacket kept his wings hidden once more. I was disappointed to see them both hidden.

"Uh... is he alright?" I asked the two zebras.

"I don't think he's ever had a pet before." Kara laughed. "It’s kinda funny."

"Knives, check this out! These guys are gnarly!" He patted one of the green vinedogs on the head, and it rubbed itself against his hoof, its lower jaw splitting as it made a panting noise. "Who's a cute doggie? You are!"

I snorted as I struggled to hold in a laugh. The dog rolled onto its side as Zim continued scratching it and panted even more, flailing its four front legs about while one of its back legs kicked.

"What's its name?" I asked Kara.

"The big red guy is Schwann, the one with red stripes is Hooke, the one with red spots is Mendel, and the one with bright blue stripes is Carver."

I looked as she pointed to each dog. Zim was playing with Carver, and Hooke and Mendel were chasing each other around, but Schwann was nowhere to be seen.

After a moment, Zim gave carver one last pat on the head, and turned to me with a smile. "You wanna get going?"

I smiled. "Aye."

He grabbed two sets of saddlebags from the side of the wagon and hoofed one to me. "We got a few potions and some bandages just in case, a few towels, your machete, your grenade rifle, my shotgun, a toolkit, and plenty of space for scrap. You still have that pipbuck, right?"

"Aye." I chirped, slipping the bags onto my back. I pulled on my mane and exposed the small metal pocket I'd woven into it near the base of my skull. "Aam glad its been forever since Ah got mah mane cut. Ah couldnae dae this if it were any shorter."

"Huh." He tapped his chin. "Cool."

"Well, we ready tae get goin'?"

He bowed with a dramatic flourish. "Mi'lady."

I rolled my eyes and laughed as he started trotting down the street in a similarly dramatic fashion.

"Watch out for the giant rats!" Nezan yelled. "They're vicious little bastards."

I nodded, and waved back to him.

"Sae, how big is the place?" I hurried until I was side-by-side with Zim as we walked into Bladesville.

"Huge. You could probably turn it into a small city if there were any buildings in it."

"There aren't?" There were a large number of ponies, and a few zebras, milling about the place. I wondered how many of them were from Raftwater.

"I think it used to be a parking lot." He frowned. "Canturbury seems to have a lot of those."

An excited grin spread across my face as we started up an incline. "An entire parking lot full ay junk?"

"Yup. And it's all for the taking. Some of it is refuse from when Bladesville was cleaned up, but the rest was there already. There should be plenty of useful stuff." He smiled. "You got any ideas what you're looking for?"

"Nothin' specific, but If ye see any lawnmowers, tell meh."

"Lawnmowers?" He blinked.

"Aye. Ah've been tryin' tae find some lawnmower blades fer years." We moved past a set of broken buildings, with ponies peddling wares from the holes in the walls.

He blinked again. "You were looking for a lawnmower in a prison?"

"We had multiple levels and rooms full of junk. We never did find out where it came from." I hummed thoughtfully. "'Course, now that Ah know there's still ponies livin' out here, Ah think they were bringin' it in from outside."

"Uh... why would they do that?"

"Nopony ever accused th' Guards ay bein' smart." I snorted. "Excludin' themselves. Th' only exceptions were Ashes and Gate."

Zim frowned. "That name sounds familiar. Odd. You said she's your godsister, right?"

"Aye. She wa-" We rounded the corner and my jaw dropped. "Och sweet Celestia... this is the scrapyard?"

Before me was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. Gigantic mountains of scrap and junk, piled almost two stories high. Broken auto-carts, medical machines, and farming equipment littered the stacks of refuse, a seemingly endless paradise of junk and hidden treasures.

"Och, goddesses..." A smile spread across my face as I caught sight of some of the equines looking through the junk at the entrance. "It's beautiful...."

"Glad you like it." My date smirked, and nudged me with an elbow, offering me the same limb. "Shall I escort thee in, oh fair maiden?"

"Och, that would be delightful, good sir." I giggled and took the outstretched limb. "How far in does this gae?"

"Pretty far. Where do you want to start?"

I tapped my chin for a moment. "Over there. Th' stack wi' th' auto-cart oan top."

"Sounds good to me." He smiled. "So, what did you actually do in the prison?"

"Uh... well... Ah kinda just fixed things." I frowned. "Officially Ah was a 'sewer technician', a.k.a. plumber."

He grimaced. "Sounds fun.

I shrugged, and yanked a wad of bent scrap metal out of the stack to inspect it. "Ah dunnae think it's as bad if ye have nae sense Ay smell. Ah usually kept a bottle ay mouthwash at hoof, though."

"Oh, that had to suck." Zim grimaced, looking up at me from another stack. "I'm guessing you didn't really have much choice?"

I snorted a laugh and threw the wad away. "Nae even close. Clothesline begged her mother tae put me somewhere unpleasant." I bit down on a piece of metal to test it.

"Sounds like my nephew." He chuckled.

"Ah just went wi' it, though. What about ye? What dae ye dae fer a livin'?" I said as i placed a small ball of electrical wires went into my saddlebags.

"Eh... mostly odd jobs until I got roped into the soldier's guild. Then it was mostly guard work."

"This stack doesnae have much... let's try that one." I pointed to a pile of junk further into the maze. "Anythin' interestin' happen as a guard?"

He tapped his chin with a wing for a moment. "Well... there was one time..."

~~~

"And then she just stood there wi' this horrified look on her face."

Zim kept on laughing, leaning against the stack with his forelegs wrapped around his stomach. "Oh, oh Celestia, I can't breathe! Hahahaha!"

"She kept makin' th' same gaggin' noises th' rest ay th' night." I finished.

"That's-aheh... that's horrible!" He laughed.

"Aye, but it's still pretty funny." A smile found its way onto my face again, and I threw the last piece of scrap in the stack I was checking into my almost full saddlebags.

"Where... where did you even get... get enough propane for that?" Zim gasped, his laughter gradually dying down.

"We stole a big canister from th' kitchen supplies. They used it fer th' fancier cookin' at th' Guard's cafeteria." I rolled my eyes. "Arrogant bastards. Here, let's try this pile over here.”

He chuckled as he followed me to the new stack. "Yeah, I can guess how you feel. The higher-ups in Spectrum could get pretty uppity. Oh, hey, is that a lawnmower?"

"WHERE?" I spun to see where he was pointing, and a wide grin spread across my face at the sight of a large, bright red, magically-powered lawnmower. From the looks of it, it was fully intact and half-buried in junk. I let out a delighted squeal and rushed towards it. "Yes! Finally! I can finally make- hey! It's stuck."

I yanked on the handle with my forelegs, but it stayed where it was. I pulled harder, it continued to resist. I tried pulling away some of the junk surrounding it, but that wouldn't move either. Grumbling, for what was probably the hundredth time in my life, about my weak magic, I gave the lawnmower another tug.

"You want some help?" Zim smirked.

"Ye- Aye! Th' damn thing," I hit it for emphasis. "Isn't mov-AAAAAH!"

The entire stack suddenly collapsed on top of me. As Zim yelled my name, I found myself buried in an avalanche of junk and darkness within seconds. It stopped as suddenly as it had started.

"Knives! Knives, are you okay? Say something!" I could hear the pegasus frantically rooting through the refuse. "Knives!"

"Owwww... Ah think Aam alright." I moaned from among the junk. "But there's somethin' pokin' meh in th' ass. Ah really hope it's just a broom."

"Can you move?" His question was accompanied by the sound of more shifting junk. There was a low groaning noise beneath me.

"Aye. Need tae get mah leg out ay this thing and... hah! Got i-" I was suddenly hit with the gut-wrenching feeling of falling as the ground dropped out from beneath me. I screamed in terror as I fell through the new hole in the ground, accompanied by some of the junk that was left in the stack.

Just as suddenly, it was over, and I hit the ground with a loud 'oof', then got showered with detritus and broken chunks of asphault.

"Knives?"

"Still-ow. Still okay! Ah landed oan mah ass again, but Aam still okay." I let out a small laugh and immediately gasped in pain. "Ow. Ah take that back. Nao mah back's hurtin'."

Zim breathed out a sigh of relief. "Hold on. I'll be right down."

I winced in pain and looked up to find that the sky had turned into a ceiling. One with a large hole and a blue stallion looking at me. I couldn't see much else past all the junk around me. "Take yer time. Aam nae goin' anywhere."

After shifting some junk out of the way before he dropped to the ground beside me. I grunted as I sat up and brushed some dust off my chest before taking his outstretched hoof.

"Och..." I rubbed a hoof along my spine. "Goddesses that hurts... where's th' lawnmower?"

"You're worried about that?" He gave me an incredulous look. I nodded. "Uh... I think you landed on it."

I glanced behind me to see the lawnmower, now buried in more junk than before. An annoyed groan left my throat.

"Great. Thanks fer comin' down tae get meh." I said.

"No problem. Do... don't you want to check for injuries?" His voice took on a worried tone.

"Well... could ye make sure mah back isn't bleedin'?" I rubbed my spine again.

He nodded and turned his pipbuck's light on. After shining it on me, he made an unpleasant noise. "Nope. You're good."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia. Ah'd hate tae ruin this date by gettin' mahself hurt."

"Pfft. Screw the date, I'd hate to see you get hurt."

My face reddened a bit, but I smiled. "Same tae ye."

"So you wanna get that lawnmower out?" Zim grinned.

“Hell yes!” I said resolutely. “Ye grab that side, Ah’ll grab this one. Ah really just need tae get th’ blades.”

He nodded, and with a count of three, we heaved the lawnmower out of the junk. I squealed with glee at the sight of my prize.

With a couple kicks, I snapped off the two sides of the blade, leaving only a metal stump, wrapped them up in a towel, and stuffed them into my bags, a huge smile plastered on my face.

"Mah life is complete." I sighed happily.

Zim snorted a laugh. "Uh... okay, then? Wanna get out of here?"

I looked up at the hole in the ceiling, then took a good look at the place I'd fallen into. I was instantly reminded of the Prison, with the wide corridors and sterile grey walls lined with only partly functional running lights. At the same time, I was reminded of the Stable under Raftwater.

"Why nae explore down here?" I shrugged.

"You wanna explore a stable? Well... I am kinda curious how nopony noticed this before." Zim scratched his mane for a moment as he thought. "I guess we could. We should be careful, though, Stables can get pretty fucked up."

There was a loud cracking noise, and the light from the ceiling disappeared.

We both sighed.

"Why am Ah nae surprised?".

"So, Knives, enjoying our date, yet?" He said in a dejected manner.

"Och, it's nae that bad. Ah've had worse." I snorted. "Ah've had much worse. Let's see if we can get out ay here."

"Right behind you." He said.

"HALT. THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA." A robotic voice roared through the hall, accompanied by the sound of motors.

"Oh, great. Robots." Zim groaned.

"Oh, wonderful! Scrap metal!" I chirped, whipped out my grenade rifle.

"WARNING: SEDITION DETECTED. PLEASE GO TO YOUR ROOM AND ENJOY A NICE, PLEASANT MEA- ZEBRA PRESENCE DETECTED! WEAPONS FREE!" The robot sped around the corner, it somewhat resembled a pony with wheels instead of hooves, with a Gatling laser and a rocket launcher on its back.

"Okay, apparently they're racist robots."

"RACISM DOES NOT REGISTER. SURRENDER AND DIE ZEBRA SCUM."

"What? I'm not a ze-ACK!" He ducked as a missile flew over our heads, sending debris throughout the hallway. "Knives? We should r-"

My response came in the form of a volley of grenades to the robot's torso. The sound was almost deafening, but several sections of the metal plate were now heavily dented.

"Or fight. I'm fine with that." He drew the shotgun from his back and started firing.

The robot sparked and sputtered under our fire, not even getting a chance to fire back. Eventually, something inside it caught fire, rapidly filling the hallway with smoke. I began coughing as the smoke filled the hall.

"Is... khaff... is it dead?" My eyes were tearing up.

"No, I can still hear it- kha, khah moving." He moved his jacket over his mouth. "Maybe you should shoot again?"

Thoomp-bang!

The smoke billowed out further, sending both of us into another coughing fit.

I barely heard the sound of the robot's laser revving up before Zim slammed into me, pressing me against the wall. A volley of red lights appeared over the spot I'd just been in, followed by a lone missile.

"H-H-H-H-H-HALLLLLLT! I-INNNT-T-TRUD-DDDDDDDDD ALERT!" A salvo of badly aimed missiles flew down the corridor, making us duck again as they sent junk flying everywhere. "THIS IS A RESTRI-RESTRI-RESTR-WEAPONS PRIMED! PRIPRIPRI WEAPONS PRIM-"

I growled and launched another few grenades at it. "Shut up and die already!"

"ZEBRA SCUM! ZEBR-WEAPONS PRI-PRI-" its rolled unevenly out of the smoke, straight towards us, its head sparking and twitching in a violent manner, one of its front legs blown completely off. I jumped on its back, drew my machete, and smashed at the base of its neck, while Zim fired careful shots at the intact front leg.

After making a large dent in its neck-plate, I pried the thing off, and started ripping out cables and gems haphazardly. Eventually, the robot stopping shouting, though it kept trying to drive itself deeper into the junk pile.

I yanked out one last wire, and cheered as the damn robot finally stopped. "Yes! I am awesome!"

Zim laughed. "That you are."

I grinned at him, my face reddening. "Thanks. And now to strip this stupid thing for parts!"

"Let me get its weapons. I know a buck in the Soldier's Guild who'll buy them for a ton of caps."

I dug through my saddlebags, giggling with glee as I withdrew a wrench and a crowbar, and climbed on top of the robot once more.

I nearly dropped my tools when an eerily happy robotic voice roared through the corridors.

"Alert! There is an incident on level one. All civilians return to your quarters immediately. Task force is en route now. Your overmare will alert you when the crisis is over. Until then, please enjoy some of the wonderful food this stable provides. Thank you."

"Creepy." I sighed as the message repeated itself. "Ah can see where this is goin'."

"Same. Run like hell?" Zim asked hopefully.

I gave the broken robot a sad look, but turned back to my date and nodded.

~~~

"Left! Go left!" I screamed.

"HALT!" A horde of robots chorused behind us. "SURRENDER AND BE DESTROYED!"

I launched a few grenades behind me, not bothering to try and aim. Zim held me in his forelegs as he literally flew through the corridors, barreling through any robots in our way.

"Left again!" I yelled. "OH SHIT! BACK BACK BACK!"

With a yelp, Zim ducked away from a volley of laser fire, and zipped back the way we'd come.

"What is this, a maze?" Zim whinnied. "Why is it so damn dark in here?"

"Open door up ahead!"

"Thank Celestia! It's the overmare's office!" The pegasus flapped harder. "Let's hope it holds. Knives? I'm gonna slide you across so I can close it behind us. Ready?"

"Wait wha- ACK!" He suddenly released his grip on me, and my momentum kept me going through the door. My hoof caught of the threshold, and I ended up tumbling into the wall.

"Sorry, sorry, so-HOLY SHIT!" He barely managed to sidestep a laser blast, and started frantically started pressing the button to close the door.

When said door dropped down from the ceiling, he hit the emergency lock, and both of us sighed in relief. The room was filled with the sound of missiles pounding against the door.

We stood there for a while, catching our breath. My heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest.

The room was a small, simple office, with the back wall lined with computers and a locker, a ring-shaped desk in the middle with another computer and a fairly nice office chair, another door leading to a small apartment, complete with a kitchen. The lights weren't particularly bright, but they were functioning enough that my normal eye could see clearly enough.

Zim and I glanced at each other for a moment. Both of us were covered in scratches and scorch marks, his hat and jacket were full of holes, the latter of which was spouting random green sparks as it repaired itself. After almost an hour of flying, I was surprised the buck didn't look all that tired. At some point the bandage on my ear had fallen off, and I felt itches and stings all over my body, a low ache in my back.

Apart from all that, though... we were just fine.

We both let out a relieved chuckle. Then we let out another. And another. And another. Eventually, we simply burst out into full-on laughter.

We kept on like that for a while until our laughter gradually died down into chuckles again.

We just stared at each other's eyes, grins on our faces.

"You okay?" He asked.

I nodded. "Aam fine. Aam tired and mah back hurts, but Aam fine."

"This... wasn't really what I had in mind when I asked you out." He chuckled nervously.

"Aye, Ah figured that. Ah'll be honest with ye..." I sighed. "This is, sae far, th' most interestin' first date Ah've ever been on."

His ears went down. "Yeah. I can imagine."

"It's also th' most fun Ah've ever had."

He blinked at me. "Running from killer robots and being trapped in an office is 'fun'?"

I grinned. "Apparently."

"Uh... you know they can still probably break in, right?" He looked at the door. Thuds still emanated from the other side.

"Dae ye know anythin' about computers?" I pointed towards the desk.

"Not really, no."

I trotted over to the machine and started tapping away at the keyboard. "Crap. It needs a password."

"Oh... what are we gonna do, then?"

"Well, Ah guess we could just keep on tryin' tae hack our way in..." I leaned back in the chair and stretched out my spine a bit. "Goddesses, mah back's hurtin'. It's goin' tae take a while."

We were left with silence as he stood beside me and watched, the only sound being my tapping on the keyboard. It seemed like it lasted forever, but for some reason, I didn't really mind, and there was a small smile on my face.

"I'm gonna see if there's anything edible in the kitchen. Want anything?" Zim said.

"Anythin's fine wi' meh," I chirped. "Ah could use a quick snack."

"Out of curiosity, what did you need lawnmower blades for, anyway?"

~~~

"You... why... well, we're damn grateful y'all took care of her, but why in the hell did'ja have ta bring'er over here?" Amaretto stared at the mare currently tied up and sitting in front of him.

The zebra blinked. "Proof of the deed, I guess."

Wretch's eye twitched. "You guess? I had to carry her all the way here because you guessed?"

Green hid a giggle behind her wing.

"Well, soooorry! I'm not used to doing random things for people." Xixixix rolled his eyes. "I usually just do whatever I want."

Wretch's eye twitched a bit more, and she growled, rubbing her temples as she tried to understand the striped stallion. "Why am I bringing you along again?"

Xixixix smirked. "Because I know more about stuff than you do."

The other ponies present watched with mild amusement as the zebra continued to annoy the pink mare. The older Barkeep nudged Green to get her attention.

"You okay, Green?"

"Yeah. I don't... I didn't like hitting her, but..." The young pegasus smiled. "But I'm really happy that I could help you guys. You were really nice."

Barkeep couldn't help but smile back. “Thank you. I’m guessing you’ll be leaving soon, then?”

Her son’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Green bit her lip as she thought for a moment. “Maybe? I... I don’t... actually know what Wretch is doing...”

“Well, if you ever need some help, just go find a Barkeep and tell them Five sent you. Or you could just come to Common." The pregnant mare smiled. “It would be nice to see you again.”

Green nodded, a smile of her own spreading across her face. “Thanks Mrs. Barkeep.”

“It was my pleasu-”

“DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!” Xixixix suddenly screamed, attracting the stares of nearly every single pony in the area. He glanced around in mock confusion and smirked at Wretch, who had her hooves over her ears. “What? Oh, gee, why’s everyone staring at me? I wonder.”

“What is wrong with you?” Wretch hissed.

“I think I made a list once. There were quite a few instances of the word ‘mxdfs’.” He shrugged. “It’s probably because I’m an impossibly bad typist, However... if you take into account the fact that I research mayonnaise in my bedroom, collect waffle irons, and have shortened my name down so that it doesn’t include the letter ‘Q’, you can make a pretty good guess as to what’s right with me.”

Wretch blinked. “Wat?”

“Exactly.” The zebra smirked again.

Wretch shook her head in a desperate attempt to forget his words and started to trot off. “No. No, no, no. I’m not doing this. Shut up. Why am I letting you travel with me, no don’t answer that, I know the answer, just stop talking, please.”

Xixixix’s smirk vanished as the mare faded out of sight. He hrrm-ed and tapped his chin with a forehoof. He stuck a hoof inside his tail and pulled out a notepad and pencil, quickly jotted something down, and placed the items back into his tail.

“I may be nuts,” he growled. His eyes narrowed. “But you’ve got more issues than all of Canturbury, Ms. Fake-Eyes. Hey, Green, you coming?”

Green blinked.

Barkeep the Fifth bent down and whispered in her ear. “Maybe you could just stay here?”

Green shook her head. “Um... no thank you... I... I kinda... want... to stay with... Wretch... I think.”

“Alright. But if you ever need us,” the mare repeated. “For anything. I’d hate for you to get hurt, okay?

The filly nodded. “Okay... thank you.”

She gave the mare a quick hug.

“I’ll see you later, Green!” the younger Barkeep called out.

“Let’s go. The foal’s kicking me in the stomach again.” Five sighed. “Amaretto, your son’s are way too active sometimes.”

“Ah know, darlin’.” The stallion chuckled.

~~~

Footnote 1: Diamond Knives

Exp: 85%

~~~

Footnote 2: Zeed Kazdri

Exp: 10%

~~~

Footnote 3: Raid (???)

EXP: 52%

To-Do List:

Active Quest:

For whom my heart does beat:

-Go on a first date with your crush, you lovebird, you!

-Oh, and get out of the Stable, moron.

Sifting Through The Dust:

1) Find information on the location of Ashes.

2) Find information on the location of Obsidian Knives

~~3)Find information on the location of Nezan Kazdri~~

Author's Note

Busy busy busy. So damn busy. With the stupidest crap, no less.

Thanks to Kkat for making an amazing sandbox, Matkingos for cleaning this pile of junk up as much as he can, and you people for actually taking the time to read it.