Fallout Equestria: Dragon Fire

Funny, I never really put too much thought into dying. Sure I wondered about as much as anyone else if there was an ever after and, yea, I had been worried that one day I might pass. But I never thought about the process. Succumbing to old age, with your limbs aching, back cracking and bones snapping- that is how I imagined myself going. There weren’t that many options really in the stable.

Out here I had more, shall we say, opportunities. The wildlife could have killed me the first time I stepped outside. I could have walked through a poison bramble bush on the way to the bunker. Ghouls could have ripped me piece by piece and robots could have incinerated what was left. Hell the fringing sun could have killed me, how is that for lucky?

All the times before, however, it was never about death. It was about fear. I knew the bugs couldn’t really do anything when I hid. I knew the robots were brittle and old and the ghouls similarly so, even if not at first. The ghouls were unnatural, disgusting and violent though they couldn’t fight for shit, even in packs. That was because I was with a team, an amazing team that I somehow grew into. For the first time, I had really seen what great teamwork could do and felt what it was like to be a part of it, to be free, to be strong and to be safe. I wouldn’t have called them friends yet but they were certainly closer than anyone else had ever tried being.

Even when I was cowering with a shattered mind they were near and willing to help. Alongside them I grew strong enough to protect myself.

Then came the dam, the flood, the betrayal, and all at once my mind gave way while resting in an inescapable prison to think-

Is this what dying is like?

“Torbernite?” There was a sound of running water and of droplets hitting leaves. Slowly I opened my eyes and revealed a blue blur standing above me with a grey backdrop.

“Yes?” I said in a hushed hoarse voice.

“Are you alright?” That was a funny question to ask, I could talk couldn’t I? “You are pale, drink some potion.” Nimbus brought something I couldn’t bring into focus to my lips and I drank the fluid. A burst of clarity ripped through my mind revealing that, in fact, I was not dead, only trapped on the hellish surface, left by a manipulator no doubt for some nefarious plot that could lead to end of my home. I tried to bring a hoof up to shield myself from the sun behind his head but it wasn’t moving so much as crying in pain.

“S-Stop! You’re going to make it worse. You are probably too numb to realize this but you took some shrapnel in your front left leg.”

I leaned my head up, apparently I could still do that and yep. There it was, a nicely bound wound just below the knee that was becoming harder to ignore as time went on. I had plenty of other muscle pains to go around. Besides that I had lost nearly half the hair on my tail, a sizable amount of blackened skin and fur -which I was revoltingly watching bubble back together in between holes in my barding- and of course my lunch. Surprisingly the rest of my body was only mildly stinging thanks to whoever made that miracle of a potion.

“Shit-“ I flopped back. “Did all that really just happen?”

“If by all that you mean us killing that monster and getting left to die by Stonesaddle? Yea, it happened alright.” I could see far enough now to make out the place we were dragged to like a pair of carcasses. The cool wind gusted around me, stirring with the warm oppressive pressure of the ravine as I shuffled about on the pebbles. Suddenly Nimbus jabbed a needle into my leg making me involuntarily gasp for air. “Thanks for the heads up there bub!”

“It's just some Med-X.” A moment later I felt my limb go staticy and the previous sharp pain faded to a throbbing. Yea cause if I needed anything right now it was more drugs. “So we’re fucked then,” I squeezed my eyes shut, “so insanely fucked that it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“No, we can still make it to some villages or something, maybe they will have doctors to fix us up and we can get back to the stable-“

“FUCK THE STABLE!” I yelled. “… A member of the Council did this to us so who’s to say they weren't all in on it.” Already I knew what he was going to say even if I didn’t want to.

“But our parents-“ He stopped but not soon enough.

I let out a pained cry that no physical wound could could ever cause. They were gone. I would be reported missing or dead and the doors would close forever. My father, my brother- I would never hear them again. My mother, I refused to believe that she would be in on the festering shit cake that was Stonesaddle’s plan but you know what they say about that first deceiving though. It festers in the mind, always haunting and waiting for the opportunity to lead you astray.

Its funny though, he had always been the nice one. I remembered shooting in one of the rec rooms late one night with the rest of the group. He was the only one that actually made an effort to teach me without all the snark and sly comments aimed at my insecurities. It felt like some kind of cruel joke.

“Why are we still alive?” I managed to tone down my sobbing enough to speak.

“ I don’t know… You don’t premeditate treason like that without being completely sure they are dead.” I flexed my good hoof and felt a jolt run through it. Oh was that a mistake.

“Well the book we used to pick herbs was written nearly 200 years ago- maybe the poison is less effective than it used to be?” Ah yes, the book I had brought as a cover for whatever the hell we picked up.

I finally worked up the courage to shift myself around and sit belly side up. The clean air entering my lungs gave me a sudden burst of unwelcome clarity that only served to fuel an anger that I didn’t know I had in me.

“Are you alright?” Nimbus prodded setting off my short fuse.

“Of course not! Nothing is alright! We just went through hell to get some random shit for a place that left us to die!” He was sitting down and had a hoof to his face looking down towards the river. I could see some of the severe damage we had caused beyond him. Huge blocks meters wide of concrete lay strewn about, in a way the new water fall hardly looked new. I'm sure it had been anything other than an weer blocking an oversized creek we would have drowned long ago

I brought my attention to his torso which seemed twisted painfully away from me.

“… Turn around.” He looked at me incredulously. “Just do it.” His features softened as he stood and rotated 180 degrees revealing that, in fact, he was in as shit a situation as myself. His power armor had been stripped away. The entire right side of his body was covered in a series of cuts and burns running from shoulder to stomach. They looked painful as hell but lacked the depth I expected from close range detonation of high explosives, which was all fine except for one thing…

In Stable-z, what with all the inter species relationships, it wasn’t a surprise to see a lack of unicorns. Some considered us lucky to have in born arcane powers. After all, magic is precise and we were thusly suited for more cushy technical jobs. That was why I was allowed to work around the reactor for such decent hours and why my mother was on the council. Zebra unicorn hybrids were strange, but useful. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for pegasi.

Most of them simply flew away rather than going down into the Stable when we first went in. I imagined it would have been a hard sell what with the lack of fresh air and all. Of course they never would have been here in the first place if they hadn’t joined the Equestrian armed forces. They were supposed to join in the ranks with those who liberated them but I suppose most the POW’s had differing opinions.

To flee from service in such a way was unheard of for zebras and equally appalling for the ponies they had served beside. Thus there was always a stigma that was seldom officially noticed. It had been a few years but I could recall at least one case where a teacher went missing for a few days only to end up dead in a utility closet. With a name like Nimbus, it wasn’t exactly easy to hide I imagined but the majority tried to be decent folks about each other’s differences. So yes, I knew he was a pegasus beforehand.

What I saw before me was no pegasus. His wing had been bent and contorted flat against his side and with spots of blisters and exposed skin over bones. There were feathers, but they were blackened against his cool blue coat. It was unnatural. It was disgusting. Most frightening of all however.

It wasn’t new.

“Holy shit.” I withdrew my eyes and formulated a response without thinking. “Did Granite do that to you?” It took a while for him to say anything, but not until he hid his wounds and whipped his tail away.

“…Yes.”

“My goddess… If I had known I never would’ve bugged you. I mean I knew he was a strict, shitty dad but this is so messed up-“

“MY FATHER, LOVED ME!” He hobbled over until we were inches apart. One eye was swollen shut but that didn’t stop him from crying. “He-“ Nimbus gulped, “-We did what we had to! He got me into the MWT Power armor branch so I could actually do something with my life and get out of a deeper hole in the earth than even you fucked worked in!” He brought a hoof up in front of me. “Don’t you get it? I WANTED this! I- I wanted to help the stable- GIRRRR!!!” He stomped off to a sit on a boulder wet from the rain.

“I wanted them gone… We were never supposed to make it to the surface, never supposed to see the sky-” he breathed through his nose while his lips found the strength to continue “I can’t hate him Torbernite. I can never hate him.” At last Nimbus collapsed into a wheezing lump that couldn’t stop. It hadn’t dawned on me though that maybe the power armor wasn’t built for pegasi. To bind your wings just so you could have a chance at making something of yourself… It was respectable, but no one should have to go through all that pain.

I proceeded to stare as something deep boomed above and the rain thickened. His sobbing was muffled by the water as were my aches. We were both broken right now with nothing left but each other. I stepped slowly in his direction and sat down. I think it helped that I was also balling my eyes out till they were red and I couldn’t see but he never told me so. He rolled over, back to the ground and reached upwards.

“I can see the clouds Torbernite, but I can never touch them…”

It took a while to coax him away from the river. The rain hadn’t let up. We decided that the only way to go was home, even if the door didn’t open. Only after trying then would we go find a village, or what ever people lived in up here. Our clocks told us we had been out for around 5 hours, but it didn’t feel like rest, more like time that was brutally robbed at gunpoint and then burned in front of my eyes.

Neither of us spoke as we limped along the path. Soon enough we were at the giant immobile hunk of metal separating the Stable from this chaos. So close. So fucking close. We tried the door controls but evidently that was a lost cause so instead, after banging until our hooves were sore, we redressed our wounds, downed the last bit of a health potion and slept on the ground.

It was horrible even conceiving the idea of sleep. My mind had already burned itself out though and soon I found it almost easy to close my eyes whilst lying next to Nimbus. It was comforting not being alone, even when everything else was gone. Still, I clung to the silver pendant that my mother had given me, pressing it hard against my chest until the sobbing ended and I met the night.

A noise had awoken me. I stretched instinctively to find Nimbus already up with his light shining on the ground. He had eaten and was scrawling something on the muddy floor with a hoof.

Stonesaddle poisoned us and left us to die.

Nimbus & Torbernite.

Nice, quick and simple. Not an idea I would have come up with. Then again I hadn’t been doing much in the way of thinking. I had a headache and quivering body with not much else to focus on. Other than hate I mean. It really surprised me how much I could ignore as I got angrier and angrier. One second I had been an emotional wreck and then I felt this obscene desire for vengeance and violence.

“Step aside for a minute would you?”

“Have something in mind?”

“Hell yea I do.” I wrote in a nice neat print with my magic and a rock. With a smile I punctuated the sentence.

Ps: we have a few bullets for you jack ass.

“Torbernite… do you honestly think you could do that?” I shrugged.

“Why not? I have a gun, why can’t I just kill the bastard?”

“Because that’s not what you do- you hide when shit goes down. You could never take a life.” He seemed sincere which played into my anger.

“You didn’t see me down in that bunker. I killed two ghouls without flinching.” He looked exasperated as though he knew my words were wasted.

“That wasn’t you Torbernite. I couldn’t... do that. I might be trained to shoot and what not and after what he did I would love to beat him to a pulp… but I couldn’t pull a gun on Stonesaddle.” I laughed backpedaling with a stupid grin on my face.

“Why do you even care? What do you really know about what I am capable of?” I spat the words in his direction.

“You want to seem in control by shrugging it off, being the big bad mare who shoots first and asks questions later when in reality, that kind of thinking is going to get you killed.” He certainly had a knack for talking down to me.

“We’re already dead.” I muttered.

“Oh so you are going to just give up like that.” I didn’t bother looking him in the face. “I see, so if I left right now without you it wouldn’t matter? Didn’t you hate the Stable anyway?”

“It wasn’t his to take away from me.”

“My thoughts exactly. So if you are going to get all pouty and stuff, at least-” He sighed and gazed upwards for a moment before returning to me, “look at this as a fresh start. Out here you can do whatever you want and you don’t have to be subjected to the same boring bullshit like always.” It was a nice thought. Perhaps out here there really would be something else for us. A life and a new place to call home. Or perhaps it was the last bits of my fading optimism dragging me towards a false sense of security. Either way, nothing was going to happen by staying here even though I wanted, more than anything else in the world, to just lay down and never move again.

“So what do we do?”

“We survive.”

“That is quite the plan you have there.”

“I’m sorry, aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”

“I wish…” I ran a hoof over the metal only to become acutely aware of my wound splitting. “Shit,” I said withdrawing it before laying down, “do we have anymore Med-” Nimbus was grinding his teeth with a frown, he tapped a hoof to the ground absentmindedly. With a huff he turned towards me questioningly. I couldn’t help but see his side in that moment.“... Do we have more, gauze?” He quietly walked over.

“There was nothing we could do Torbernite. Maybe we could have blown the dam at a better time, but after everything else we went through, he probably would have found another way to get rid of us. I was just impressed to look back and see you leading that thing around.” He took my injured foreleg and began re wrapping it. The old bandage was appropriately stained dark red, the sight of which made me feel faint. “You were brave to come out here Torbernite.”

“Stupid. I thought it would be fun, and it was, until captain ass hat had to fuck us over.” He stopped wrapping.

“What do you think is going to happen in there without us?”

“I don’t want to think about it… no more teams to the outside I guess.” I did, however, think of a few ideas that it shouldn’t be entertained regardless. Stonesaddle overthrows Stable-Z’s government and turns security into a military. The council is disbanded, all of them shot on the range I’d used. He then commands the new army and pillages the landscape while mares and foals are slaughtered by my once friends. Soon he comes to rule all of the bay after which point he moves on to Roam itself, how hard can it be to climb over mountains anyway? At last when his thirst for power is at it’s peak he drops newly made balefire on dissenters, rebels, and all who would oppose him, sending this plane of existence back, once more, to the apocalypse.

“He chose us on purpose didn’t he?” Nimbus knocked me out of my downward spiral of imaginary wars and acts of terror before I let the feelings return.

“Well, based off the fact that he returned without two of the Council members children? Yea, I thought that was obvious.”

“No need to belittle me.” He finished tying off the bandage with a yank. I flexed and frowned at the reduced range of motion. I checked my pipbuck on my good leg and brought up the map. “Northwest then?”

“Galeria certainly thought so, the road outside leads to Florence after all.” It was either that or take it in the other direction and go through the ‘Swamp of the Forlorn’ which didn’t sound like very much fun.

Emerging once again I couldn’t help but be blinded by the dying light. The sun had all but set and the red glow sent a shiver down my spine. Wow my sleep schedule was fucked. More clouds blinked far off in the horizon.

Fiddling I decided maybe there would be something over the radio to keep me from panicking. There were two stations to choose from, Olive mountain and P77df-00 which was a load of static. Obviously I choose the former. Suddenly a drumline pounded over the voice of a heavily accented mare which I could only guess was recorded during the war. I couldn’t make out the words all that well but it sure made Nimbus do a double take.

“Is that really necessary?”

“I think so.”

“Fine just keep it down; we don’t want anyone sneaking up on us.” I did just that. Not like we weren’t already juicy targets though.

The woods let out their traditional assortment of creepy noises (not that I could hear them) as we passed the campfire we had stayed at not two nights ago. The remains had been completely scattered and brought back memories. Suddenly I was much less keen on being almost alone out in the wilderness, the bugs being what they were.

He had tried his best to hide it but every now and again Nimbus would curse under his breath or ask for a breather which i’d let him have. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate taking a break every once and awhile, I had just hoped he would have fared better than me, being the big strong pony after all. Our medical supplies weren’t going to cut it at the rate he was injecting himself.

The lights in the sky were brighter tonight than they had been before; some sort of country orchestral abomination came on as Nimbus and I rounded a hill giving us a view of a particularly impressive vista. The giant palms and evergreens, once scattered endlessly around the Stable, had given way to more temperate trees and greenery which stretched over the road, blotting most of our view. Farther down the road a light post illuminated the tree tops.

“Whelp, here goes nothing.”

The Astrological Mare Ale house, as the swaying engraved sign called it, was built on a flat area of short almost tidy grass and surrounded by an impressively tall 3 meter wooden wall. Solid chunks of trunks were used as posts with boards running between them replaced by the occasional rusted sheet of scrap metal. A sand path led up to a wide gate made entirely of the same rusted garbage. Two lanterns that burned with some kind of slow moving red fire I had never seen before Illuminated either side of the gate, which was being watched over by a single guard. He was mud brown, with light blue spots- all over an average build for an earth pony.

“Uh, sir?” The stallion which had been leaning peacefully looking off towards one side bolted up and adjusted their… refurbished helmet.

“Yes -eh- hello! Who might you be venturing through the forest at this hour?” He gazed over at us clearly wielding a rifle in a battle saddle.

“My friend here and I are in need of some rather serious medical attention.” I said.

“Oh dear! I will ask the master at once if you can be let in, do not leave!” He spoke rather formally for a pony. We milled around for 3 minutes until he returned.

“Well?” He shuffled to a fro and bit his lip.

“The master would like you to prove you have no ill intent.”

“How the heck are we gonna do that?” I asked before looking over to Nimbus who was slowly removing his weapons.

“Torbernite here couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn sir-“

“She is a Unicorn?!?” The guard sounded worried. Before long he cleared his throat. “Please do not hold my rash accusations against me, but I was worried you were a pair of would be thieves. I will open the gate at once.” He bowed before going out of sight. A moment later there was a noise as metal cross bar was removed and the single door opened inward. Oh so now I am important?

Inside there were four buildings, three really, one was a decrepit paper thin wooden shed with some tools resting within. The other three were just different large rectangles with more lanterns out front of each. The enclosed area, I realized was much larger than I had previously thought and encompassed what looked to be a vineyard of some kind. Rough picket fences meant to guide visitors flanked each side of the entry way leading to the largest rectangle that was also made of lots and lots of wood.

“Right ahead madam. Before the cool sets in proper.” He gestured smoothly with a hoof while standing off to the side. The gate closed and then he lead us up to the ornate double doors that had carvings of wheat on them. Sounds of laughter came from the other side.

Was this what civilization was like? Were they going to be friendly? Was ale better than the scraps I managed to make do with? Were we going to be able to figure out what became of the world and most importantly, did they have any Luna damned painkillers? The doors opened.

“-And that my friends is how I fought off an entire hoard of raptor bats.” A zebra wearing a thick and slick brown jacket adorned with too many pockets spoke from across the hall that was packed with tables and chairs. There was a small thin common area reaching up two stories that was simply littered with tables and chairs. A large balcony wrapped around the second floor but left a wide open space in the middle to look down from. Symmetrical steps on the right and left side of the entrance led upstairs where all the rooms were. Off to the left was a bar with tankards and kegs and shoddy looking metal pipes leading to and from taps. The middle held a blazing hearth with a metal flue hanging above it. There was a noticeable lack of patrons; the few here however were relaxing around the same table clinking their intoxicants and chattering away.

“Sir Horace, we have new guests.”

“Oh come right on in then.” His voice was thick, masculine, rather different than Nimbus’s which was almost boyish and bubbly at times. Horace, steadied himself and got off of the table to walk on over. “Nice to see some new faces. It isn’t very often we get hybrids around here, rarer that we have the opportunity to meet such a fine- specimen.” He winked.

“Pleased to meet you- we need medical care rather desperately.” I said shortly showing off my leg.

“Ah a mare of action I see! I, as you know am Horace. This here is Gaius, my loyal servant. You two would be…”

“Torbernite and Nimbus but please if you wouldn’t mind sir we are currently in a lot of pain-“

“Say no more! Gaius! See what you can do for this delightful pair and in the morning guide them to The Gram.”

“The… Gram?” I asked flatly whilst keenly aware that Horace was closing the distance between the two of us.

“Local Village, nice shaman too that can probably take care of most your immediate needs.” He grinned again. What was this? A brothel?

“Yea sure whatever, I would prefer we go now-“

“Torbernite…” Nimbus at some point had taken to sitting, or at this point laying down in the firelight. His left side was exposed. Muscles twitched and his body shook as he continued. “I can’t go much further.” I moved hastily to his side unsure what to do as he began to heave. His hide was hot.

“Shit, Gaius!” Horace’s demeanor immediately changed. “Get the medkit from behind the counter!”

“Right away sir!” He shot over the counter in one impressive leap, grabbed an old luggage case and hopped back in record time. “Torbernite, help him on his stomach.” I nodded and helped pull him up onto the table. The remaining patrons shuffled to their rooms as Gaius pulled assorted tools and tiny vials from within. He ran around the table to look closer at his injuries but stopped after removing the wrappings before taking action.

“Well? Can’t you do something?” I shouted loudly as he continued to stare.

“I… I apologize. I have never seen pegasus wings or cured such bizarre wounds before.”

“What? The wings, they aren’t the problem. Just… I don’t know, give him a potion and stitch him up! Don’t you have any disinfectant?” He nodded slowly in my direction before placing his tools down and grabbing a larger dark brown bottle and a towel. Nimbus gasped as the alcohol met its mark.

“Nimbus! Calm down we are just cleaning some cuts, you’ll be fine!” there was no confidence in my wavering voice.

“Torbernite,” He squawked, “I’ve never felt this much pain before.” But hadn’t he JUST used Med-X? Something wasn’t right.

“Well duh you were probably never stupid enough to get hurt this bad in the first place! So, why don’t you just relax and in the morning we will have you all healed up and ready to roll huh?”

“… yea…” He said as his eyes drifted away and his head met the table. Gaius moved away and disposed of a needle.

“What did you give him?”

“Just some-“ He looked quickly to Horace then back, “-Mild sedatives. You may want to leave for the next parts. I must admit though that I know little more than a field medic.”

“So give him a fucking potion!”

“Maim, you have not paid us. Potions are difficult to find and expensive to buy-“

“Then fucking make one!” I shouted before pulling the alchemy book out of my bag as well as a few scavenged herbs. The two of them puzzled over what I brought out for a moment. “Or… or we can trade something, I have weapons…” I said fumbling through my bags.

“Where did you get such an spotless tomb?” I stopped and had to think on the spot.

“Unicorn, remember? We have always had access to important relics.”

“Forget what he said about payment, if you let us just look through this book it will be payment enough.” Horace said.

“That… was the idea?” I backed away as some ugly but familiar objects started to move from the med kit to a towel on the table.

“You do not want to stay for what you are going to see.”

“… And afterwards can I be by him?” Gaius gave me a sturdy nod. “…. Upstairs?”

“Room 114, here is the key-“ Horace tossed it my way from across behind the front desk which I caught in my magical grip. “Give it an hour, maybe two and then we will bring him up to you.”

“Is that safe?” Horace gestured with a hoof towards a back room.

“We have a lift.” I didn’t have anything else to say so after a plenty awkward pause filled only with Nimbus’s fevered breaths I moved away hesitant to let him out of my sight.

“Don’t you let anything happen to him you hear?”

“On my life maim.” Gaius said. Horace too looked my way but quickly averted his gaze down.

This was going to be a long night.

I had heard moans and muffled talking as I lay in the small rectangular pile of hay that passed for a bed. As ichy as it was, it beat the cold stone of a cave floor. But that wouldn't have stopped me anyway. No I don't think sleep was even on the table at this point.

I had almost had it under control. I had almost been capable of accepting this fate… I really hated that word. Then Nimbus just had to crash. He was the strong one for crying out loud! Why did he have to get torn up so badly? Now my psyche was in the blender and I was sweating out my worries in some sort of half lucid fever dream.

It was peaceful at night outside I supposed, regardless of the occasional murmurs that still came up from below. Still I panicked and waited, wondering what would happen if he died somehow. What would happen to me? What would happen to Granite? What would be left if I didn’t even have a single friend in this world?

It was incessant until it became routine. Then it simply served to numb my mind as I faded into a well needed hot slumber. Even before I fell asleep however, I knew that the only things that could have awaited me on the other side were nightmares.

I awoke to the sound of some sort of animal yelling into the air and a cloud of frosted breath. What a ruthless way to meet the morning. Stammering to consciousness I noticed that Nimbus was, indeed, in the room with me. Naked and curled up against my side.

Now, normally I wouldn’t be averse to waking to a cute stallion beside me after a night of drinking. This however was not the best time. I narrowly avoided pushing him off and instead reflexively slid up against the wall away from him as my heart pounded quickly.

No. This was wrong. I mean I was glad he was breathing but goddesses why didn’t they give him his own room or something? His injured side was wrapped again and faced away from me. In this tiny bed an outstretched hoof of his touched my sides making me quiver. I didn’t want to risk waking him so I just didn’t move as his chest gently rose and fell. Without his armor, he was surprisingly smaller than myself.

It took a minute before I was actually lucid enough to realize how ridiculous I was being. We were trapped in an entirely foreign place, barely cheating death, and here I was freaking out about sharing a bed with someone of the opposite sex. Facehoofing I slid out from the blanket and stepped over him. He grumbled but I didn’t care for the moment. I was covered in stains from nearly two days of endless stress and walking so clearly there was no way I was going to pass up a perfectly good bathroom.

My head was foggy but I managed to stumble into the hall and over to the mare’s room until I took care of my business. At the tiny mirror I finally caught a glimpse of my sorry state. I wasn't sure if it was the bed head or the singed hairs that were really completing the post apocalyptic look but both were equally bad. A purple welt covered most of the right half of my face. Black burn marks dotted the under-layer of the combat barding that I had worn all day and of course slept in. No doubt my fur was just as covered in charcoal. I had brought the actual barding in itself under the assumption that it MIGHT be fixable, but after what we had been through, it looked closer to a trash bag than to actual life saving equipment.

Tossing what scraps I could salvage back into my pack I donned something more familiar, a full length Stable z utility outfit. It wasn’t anything special, kind of just light day to day clothing, but it would do. I had a moment of hesitation however before I affixed the holster of the TRX to my belt. It felt heavy and imbalanced on my hip- I used ammunition on the other side to compensate. Looking back up at the mirror now I could almost imagine I was backstage getting ready for a grisly play in secondary school. That was one of the only places that had actual wood walls after all.

Exiting, the rooms down each end seemed quiet, had they already gone somewhere else? I supposed it was none of my business anyway. I trotted down the stairs and met with a weary eyed Horace who was brushing off chipped dishware in a dirty sink.

“Nice to see you doing well Ms Torbernite. Want some oats?” He pushed a little ceramic bowl my direction. Strange, everything about this place seemed to be a kind of mishmash of themes. None of the silverware were of the same set; the art on the wall was all old certainly but the subject matter ranged from nearly scandalous pin ups to abstract oil paintings. Frames that weren’t new looked like rot, tables were scared and the glass windows all had this same foggy texture to them. It almost looked like everything in here was salvage, which I supposed made sense. It was simply odd to see all these things in a place so much nicer than I had thought was possible. I really would have to get the history of this place from Horace at some point.

“Yea… good morning to you too.” I pulled up a stool to the bar and sat down to eat the stale food. The table that Nimbus had been laying on was missing or moved. “Um, Thank you for helping him. I don’t know what I would have done he had seized up on the way to town or something.”

“Think nothing of it.” He didn’t look up. “But don’t you get too comfortable; we aren’t going to give you special treatment from now on. You got me?”

“Oh uh of course not… “

“And on that subject it really wouldn’t be rude to show appreciation in the form of some caps.” He huffed.

“Bottlecaps?” I asked and he nodded. “Are you a collector?” He gave me this dumbfounded look as if I just insulted his god, which I promptly returned. “What?”

“Bottlecaps… it cost a lot to keep the astrological mare in ship shape you know.” So they were a form of currency? I suppose that almost made sense.

“Uh, would you be interesting in some trading then? I mean I did lend you the book but I would like it back.”

“I understand. It is fascinating however seeing all the herbs I have thought were useless weeds growing in the garden for years. I have three books from the old world myself, but I would never let them see the light of day.”

“Is that so?” I smiled a bit, that was rare. “Are you looking for any items in particular or…”

“Honestly I assumed that you and your stallion up there would have been able to just pay in caps or scrap, you are scavengers aren’t you?”

“… He’s not my stallion. He is my friend. And at this point we may as well be scavengers but we don’t have much money. We have ammo however.”

“That seems do able. Whenever you and your friend are ready, just get me. We can trade then, but I don’t suspect he will be very happy to move. We do have a cart you could throw him in. Heck, Gaius is such gentlecolt he would probably pull it for you.” Horace chuckled as the last of the dishes were done.

“Thank you so much. These past few days have been nothing but endless bouts of shit. It is nice knowing that there is at least one good person out here. He is going to be alright, isn’t he?”

“I don’t think I can make that call…” He shied away a bit and I frowned. “How did yall manage to get so torn up in the first place if you don’t mind me asking?” Oh boy that was quite the question.

“You see, there was an incident at the old military base, we got attacked by a few turrets and monsters and things. But that happens right! Comes with the job.” I let out a nervous laugh.

“Ah, I wasn’t aware that there were many places safe enough to scavenge from without getting attacked by the Solaris Ira.” Everyone must have known about them.

“Trade secret I’m afraid.”

“You aren’t good at this Torbernite. Everyone this close to port Augustus knows what the burns look like and what happens to those who get them.”

“W-what do you mean?” I stammered out an explanation as his expression deepened.

“… He should be dead. I don’t know what kind of skills the two of you have but the wounds of the wrathful NEVER stop burning until they kill the victim. At least they should have. How many days has it been?”

“Uh, two?” He slammed a hoof down.

“What in the name of the stars are you? A pegasus and unicorn scavengers, both of mixed blood, that are somehow immune to the one of the most dangerous creatures that roam these lands? It is like a foal’s tale.” It was incredibly difficult looking into his eyes and knowing that with a few words I could reveal the entire Stable if I wasn’t careful. Regardless it seemed we had already messed something up.

“I don’t think I have to tell you anything- and you don’t have to ask.” I kept my head held high.

“True I don’t need everything, but just look at it like this. You two could be valuable customers and obviously have serious clout throughout the bay. Again I do not need to know everything, but... if you try to keep me in the loop around the aristocracy in Florence, I can make it worth your while.” He looked out toward the stairs cautiously before leaning in close and whispering.

“I know you killed it. Nimbus stammered like a foal last night. I don’t know how you managed to pull it off but if I was in your shoes I would do my best to keep quiet about the whole ordeal. You two stand to be a massive target. And that armor of his is Equestrian in origin isn’t it?” I attempted to keep the best poker face I could, but I was tired and my oat filled mouth betrayed me. “Deface it or just don’t wear it.”

“Why do you care? And we aren’t going to just be spies for you.”

“If zebra start hearing that they can be killed, then suddenly the entire valley will be full of amateurs willing to run off and perish in that death trap. Sure I get a few more customers but they would be a rowdy bunch and I don’t like the idea of giving people their last meal. And you wouldn’t be spies exactly- informants would be a better word.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about us running around like idiots.” I sighed. “… but if it means work, then maybe, MAYBE we might be able to do something for you.” What was there to lose at this point really? It was a job wasn’t it? Financial stability is always the first step to a good life. Well presumably anyway; the stable didn't really operate on anything other than necessity and favors.

“Good. For right now I have a letter for you to deliver to the marketplace in Florence to mare named Calypso. She will have a stall with her name etched on the front, you can’t miss it.” He reached under the counter grabbed a tan envelope sealed in wax and hoofed it over. “Don’t dare read it. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

“Shesh I’m not going to pry.”

“Anyway, I think that’s it. I’ll just remove the 200 bottlecaps from your tab and see you when you next come down.” Before I could go back up to the room however he spoke again. “Also Torbernite, I would watch yourself around your friend. You seemed to be able resist the curse but... Be careful alright?”

“You can count on that.” I gave him a lighthearted smile as I shuffled off the stool. "Before I go-“ I’m not going to get a better chance am I? “There are a few things I need to learn about... well pretty much everything. It might seem weird, but please just hear me out”

“Sure I guess, but what would you like to know?”

After the bombs fell across Roam, all access past the mountains to the far west was blocked. Only one megaspell ever reached over top of the bay, it was all that was needed. Just like Galeria had told us, the world burned and those who survived fled deep into the mountains where very little grew. They lived off emergency stockpiles in caves for as long as they could. Few were willing enough to go out into the radioactive wastes until at last a springtime came and the zebra spread out far and wide to reclaim territory.

The people of the forests returned to their native lands to the far north west where some grooves had actually held out against the heat and subsequent cold. They became reclusive and a faction to be rivaled with though seldom have they been interested in affairs outside of their capital city of Deirhaven. They are apparently rather nice to visitors however.

On a ridge overlooking the valley of the twin peaks grew a settlement of trade. That eventually turned to the fortified citadel of Florence which is widely considered the last remnants of true civilization. In recent years they have been trying to fix a coal powered factory which would allow them to generate more electricity than the small alchemical batteries (which exist for some reason) that people have grown reliant on. They have two rulers of equal power, an empress that is currently like eleven or something and an elected leader of the guild merchants. Below her there is the senate which were a far cry from the original Roaman senate but hold similar powers nonetheless. All and all they turned out to be the most Roaman place east of the mountains. Caps will make friends here.

In the furthest corners of the southwest, in what most would consider a harsh muddy land unfit for settlement, some tribes made their home and pushed for a return to a great many of the old zebra ways. The inhabitants of Troutsberg were tough and plowed the land forming a great agricultural area that had become the staple of a rapidly growing civilization even going so far as to trade far and wide. They are wary of outsiders but make a mean black bean stew.

North of the port of Augustus there is a shipwreck of an Equestrian naval vessel. This battleship was far from any targets during the apocalypse and miraculously survived adrift at sea. When the bombs fell they were left to fend for themselves with hardly enough food. Eventually the tempests of the sea and rampant starvation led to them to the shores of these burning lands. Here they scavenged from the dead as best they could before retreating away from the radiation. They continued to do this risking as few lives as possible until the mega spell powering the incredible vessel finally gave out. Thus they found themselves stuck in zebra lands. From that point forward they tried to be amiable and brush off the animosity bred by the old war, but early conflicts with tribals prevented them from getting off to a good hoof. Now they are mostly but fishers and farmers. The ponies of Neighples get along poorly with most other groups.

There were a few no go areas which Horace made sure to mention, other than the port of course. Most were odd ghost towns not too far off the beaten path but we were bound to pass one in fact that used to go by the name of Stabiae. It had been one of the only large towns that had existed before the war and contained the easiest pass to the summit of the Olive mountain geographically speaking. Now it was covered in an omnipresent grey fog and crawling with the undead. The Roamans had been doing some scary shit when the big old sun bomb happened from the sound of things. Aside from that there were still old world houses, bunkers, and villages scattered in the woods and prairie that held similar scary things. Oh joy.

It could have been said at one point that the people of Florence controlled the Reyzar bay but that was no longer the case. Raiders and bandits plagued farms and convoys looking for an easy target. Militias had been sent out but none of them were strong enough to actually stamp out the seemingly invisible and uncivilized menace. Unfortunately, it seemed like the competing militias often crossed paths and only served to further enrage territorial disputes.

In the light of day, the forest with all its thickets and great trees reaching over the path were revealed. The air was thick but cool as we made our way through the dirt and mud into what soon became a marsh. Gaius hadn’t initiated any conversations, neither did I for that matter. Nimbus some how slept as the cart made it’s way over vines and roots. It was an hours trot down the road to the Gram as it was called.

The first indication I saw of settlement were the rickety woven flank high fences, a far cry from the almost extravagance of the Astrological Mare, which had been constructed over a mound of dirt that ran alongside the road. Another bend and there we were.

There were only about a dozen hovels constructed of dark wooden planks with little to no distinguishing features. They were loosely arranged around a dusty plaza which had a well in the middle. Half as many zebras looked up from what tasks they had before darting off in fear. There were no doors, only colored cloths hanging over poles to block the entrances. Behind each house was a plot of land that acted as a garden, but even so it was still much to early for anything other than some shrived stalks from last year. Beyond that were the reeds of the river that flowed around the settlement and parallel to our little road to Florence.

Overall, it was poor, shabby and unsettling. Sounded like a great place to get medical care.

“Right this way.” Gaius said moving past towards one of the more square houses which even had a little planter with tiny blue flowers in the window. He detached himself from the cart and knocked on the wall three times. “Hello? Marta, we have a dire need for your skills-“

“Yea yea, I heard the sounds of everyone cowering in fear and figured as much.” An older mare poked her head out from behind the curtains and looked me up and down. Her hair was braided and tossed over one shoulder. She wore a simple brown garb with an absurd amount of small pockets. “It’s been too long Gaius, you really need to get out more often.” He simply nodded respectfully. “So what did you get into dear?”

“Somewhere I shouldn’t have.”

“Oh what a conservative answer- get in here and we can fix you right up.” She grabbed the curtain and pulled it aside.

“Actually it's him we are worried about ma’am.” Gaius gestured to the cart. She huffed and continued inside.

“Well don’t just mosey around, bring him in!”

Past the heavy cloth there was a long hallway lit only by candles haphazardly mounted to the wall. More doorways and curtains flanked us on either side though directly ahead was of most interest. Beyond an archway lay a kitchen and a newly cleared dining room table that must have cost more than half the house based on its appearance. Gaius and I carefully moved the stirring Nimbus on top of it.

She trotted around Nimbus who was laying belly down on the table. Marta poked a few spots on his side and made some not so encouraging faces. “It looks like you and Torbernite had quite the run in.”

“Wait how-“

“I’m a mind reader! Didn’t you know?” She lightly cackling before backing away into an adjacent room to get a book.

“Pardon, but Horace had me radio the situation last night. Don’t mind her like this. She likes to get on peoples nerves don’t you?” Gaius said almost playfully. She had a two way radio? I wondered what for.

“Ruining my fun again-“ She shook her head and set a book down on a pedestal. After flipping a few pages she spoke again. “He is going to be fine by the way, shouldn’t have kept you waiting, though his injuries are bizarre. How did you say this happened?”

“I didn’t.” I stated flatly. “We had to blow a dam to kill a Solaris Ira-“ It had suddenly occurred to me that Gaius had not been informed of this. That might have accounted for his deranged look in my direction.

“Now what in the hell were you doing trying to kill a damn Solaris Ira?”

“That is none of your business."

“It is generally a courtesy to tell your doctor you know.” She shook a gourd threateningly in my direction.

“Look, it was the only way we could get away. We figured it would be extinguished in the flood.”

“And it worked by the looks of it.” She continued looking at her book and at some shelve before grabbing a few herbs to drop into a bowl. I had no idea what Marta was making but I didn’t interrupt. “I can’t fix him entirely though. The burn wounds are superficial but widespread, not a problem for what I am whipping up. The poor patchwork done on this colt ought to be enough to get him back into working order. The main problems are the wings. It would take major surgery and a lot more than what I have here to get him to fly again.”

“You can fix them?” Nimbus spoke startling me.

“Well of course, not here and not now though. It would also most likely cost a small fortune to procure enough white wisp dust.”

“Have you been awake this whole time?” Nimbus nodded with his eyes clenched.

“He is in lots of pain, deary drink this.” She lifted the bowl to his hoof and then backed far away as he downed the substance. Instantly tense muscles relaxed and his side began to glow a green color. The previously gentle ticking of my pipbuck accelerated for a moment or two before quieting as the light ended.

“What the hell?” I backed away at what could only be some kind of freaky alchemy.

“Interesting! The potion is extruding the toxins out of his body and releasing it as magical radiation- as I would have expected- but it seems you had a magnificently small dosage. Usually those I treat have only just had minor burns and even then… well, just be thankful you didn’t spontaneously combust.”

‘Holy shit…” Nimbus exhaled after the drink was through. “That feels so much better.” He had started to perk up. “I was supposed to explode?”

“Yep, you must have worn some very thick armor to have resisted the way you did.” Marta started moving potions away and placing forceps and other tools in their place.

“I guess you could say that.” He chuckled. That was enough to sit myself down and let out the breath I was holding. “But then shouldn’t Torbernite be worse off? She had light barding and was actually closer to the thing than I was.”

“Dear, get over here.” I slowly sat up. She took my muzzle with one hoof and looked into my eyes one at a time. “… Nothing. Beyond being a bit twitchy, I can’t tell in the slightest if you are sick.”

“But how can that be Marta?” Gaius stated. This room was getting crowded.

“For now, who cares? Don’t test your luck young lady or you will end up like your friend here or more than likely dead.”

“I don’t think you have to worry much about that. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Yea…” He trailed off and wore a frown.

“While he is fine dear, you have a small infection and a shard of metal a few centimeters long stuck in your left foreleg.” She raised an eyebrow.

Oh great now it was my turn.

Back in the stable I had been known as sort of a klutz, so I had been used to all manner of bumps, bruises, scrapes, torn ligaments etc. Shrapnel though, that was new. This particular splinter was impossible to remove without some, shall we say, creative thinking. Oh and expletives, can’t forget expletives in the healing process.

After a not so painless extraction, we were properly bandaged up. Nimbus had, for all intents and purposes, been put back into working order and was thusly all too ready to leave. He had left to fabricate something useful out of the remains of his power armor a half an hour ago without mouthing more than a thank you in Marta’s direction. I had told him what he missed from my conversation with Horace this morning which he took just fine. In the meantime I stood by the furnace with Marta hoping he was out of earshot.

“So about those wings of his, what would you need?” I leaned on the metal and immediately bolted upright clenching my teeth.

“Wow deary you certainly know your way around the kitchen.” She snarked as I rubbed my sore leg. The teapot had started to bubble and the fire below whooshed with a crisp noise. “I’m not a doctor anymore, I… probably wouldn’t even be of much help really.” She grunted. “They are fixable though, don’t get me wrong, but why do you care?”

“I care because he’s my friend, why else?” That wasn’t the response she was expecting. “And you used to be a doctor? What made you give that up?”

“Oh I just loved the idea of living in a mud shack that gets partly submerged for two weeks each year.” She fluttered her lashes then pouted. “The same reason everyone as anyone else in this dump,” Birds flew past the window in the morning light, “I was banished.”

“Banished?”

“I am doing my best not to smack you upside the head. Just let me talk.” She sat on a rickety bar stool and took a deep breath. “There was a prince once in the Florence royal palace. He was young, adventurous and simple minded, always trying to be the hero and bust raider dens. Only problem was he had this nasty mole near his right eye which ruined his ‘princely charm’.” She mockingly gaged. “I, being the senior surgeon at the hospital- that is not an invitation to call me old by the way- told him it was a stupid and risky procedure to chop it off. He said do it, so I did.” She poured into a tiny clay mug and brought it to her lips. “The bastard went blind in one eye with how deep it ran. So what's the first thing this pirate does? Banish me for getting rid of it.”

“Sorry to hear that.” I levitated a mug of my own and poured some of the peppery tea into it.

“Bah, It's in the past. last I heard he died in a tragic hoofball accident.” She laughed in between gulps. “No depth perception, hit him right in that very same spot bursting a blood vessel.” With a sigh Marta looked back towards me. “What you said earlier, about why you wanted to know… people don’t have too many friends around these parts. Tends to get them killed.”

“Must be a shity life.” One I would no doubt experience first hoof from now on.

“Could be worse. The neighbors are quiet and I have plenty of time to tend to my garden or help passers by.”

“That seems a bit hypocritical don’t you think?” She tilted her head and squinted with one eye. “People don’t make friends in the wilderness and yet here you are, helping complete strangers and asking for nothing in return.”

“Huh, I suppose you’re right.” She passed it off mildly. I took a sip, thankful that this wasn’t anything like what I had tasted back home. Unfortunately that still served to remind me of the shit spiral the two of us were taking a short break from. “Are you okay Torbernite?”

“Oh yea. It's just been a tough few days.” I couldn’t work up more than a meager half smile to cover that understatement. “I think I’ll go check on Nimbus.”

“Very well then.” She turned away not probing further.

With that depressing note out of the way I went down the hall and knocked on the entrance to the bathroom.

“Are you done in there?” I waited before leaning against the wall. There wasn’t any shuffling, only slow quiet breaths. “Hellooo?” Something metallic, almost like a pin but louder clattered on the wooden floor of the bathroom; this was soon followed by muffled curses.

“Be right out Torbernite.” Nimbus spoke tiredly. He shoved aside the cloth and strutted out wearing the lopsided shreds that were once his armor. Still he pulled it off well. No one could see his wings, his body was protected- at least on the left side. All the leg pieces had survived and were functioning somehow. On his back was a retrofitted battle saddle, I wasn’t exactly sure where he had gotten the parts for that, but it looked like the grenades were back in action. Yea, we could work with this.

“Not too shabby.” I nodded.

“I feel exposed, I don’t like it.” He looked away and shifted one hind leg behind the other in a rather unintentionally cute gesture.

“Well I doubt we are going to come across any other suits that you could salvage any time soon.”

With that we packed our things. Nimbus was eager to leave or maybe just get some blood flow back in his limbs. I rather enjoyed the company of Marta and Gaius, they seemed like good people and they asked for so little; It was hard to imagine that just a few days out we would have already been sent on our way as if nothing had happened. Regardless, we were still poor, homeless and indebted but we were also free to roam if we choose which made all the difference in the world.

Marta and Gaius gave an altogether warm goodbye as we left. Marta had taken care to pack some cheap food for the two of us. I couldn’t really complain, they were probably going to be the nicest people we encountered for a while. She tried to convince us to stay off our injuries for a few days, which sounded like a good idea, but neither of us wanted to. I suspect moving on was the only thing that helped us… move on so to speak. On our way out we saw some of the villagers leave their homes timidly. From there then on we stepped out and made our way over a high arching stone bridge above the river. We were finally bound for Florence.

The trees had grown quieter than I liked as the day wore on. No chirping could be heard as the swamp enclosed on us. The warmth of the bay was fading fast. Even the water was still. I was used to enclosed spaces, loved them actually, but this was nothing but a chaotic jungle of pines and ceders where every slight deviation yielding an icy dip in mud. The sky grew orange before we decided to camp, aka, lay in the grass like the dirty ponies we were.

“UHGgggg.” I cried out plopping myself down on the side of the road. It had close to ten hours since we set out again and I was already filled to the brim with boredom, not to mention my legs were killing me. Nobody told me there would be this much walking when we got to the surface!

“June, we aren't there yet.” I just let out another moan as he came to a halt at my side. He must of had some serious endurance from wearing that blasted power armor all the time. I couldn’t really call him lucky though, what with the whole lack of the ‘power’ part of his power armor.

“Let's just take five alright? I mean it's already dark out, how much further can we go?” He reluctantly agreed and laid down slowly in the hard grass to eat some instant oats from a string tied bag.

I probably shouldn’t have been complaining so much at this point. The dirt path had actually merged with a pre war concrete road which maintained some (not all) of its integrity. The air was clean and cool. The forest had slowly faded away to plains with scattered clusters of trees in the distance. Heck we had even past a short convoy of zebra that gave us a watchful glance as they passed back the way we came. A mother had ushered her foal to the opposite side of the road from us telling him ‘not to talk to muts.’ A bit hurtful if you asked me but they didn’t give us any trouble.

The Olive mountain was to our south, closer and more imposing than before. There had been a sign and a frighteningly rocky path towards Stabiae not long after we had taken to the road just as Horace had told me. Fog obscured much of the dip in the area which only further drained any curiosity we had left of going up there.

To the west the lands were becoming more chaotic hills and we were beginning to make out a new mountain peek or two. Occasionally we would see paths leading to cottages with farms around them. Most were made of mud and straw, built into the hillsides and supported small but bountiful farms. Not the prettiest things in the world but I wouldn’t rule out living in one if need be.

In an effort to pass the time I began to fiddle with my pipbuck and flip through logs and what not as I had before- well, you know… Mostly I just looked at this or that from my mother’s personal email. It was a bad idea really; there was some sentimental stuff where she was talking about Turnip’s birthday where she mentioned me for some reason. My pipbuck clicked as I flipped past it- I didn’t have the courage to read that today.

A jubilant tune came on over the radio and for the first time I heard something other than song come from the Olive mountain radio broadcast.

“Good evening folks of The Sylvam Opacam valley and beyond! This is your host, Mr Blue returning from your weekend of rhythm.” His voice was deep, supple, kind of reminded me of my father (gee thanks for the kick in the gut universe) but with more pizzazz. “Hope you all had some nice days regardless of the less than stellar weather. Anyway, i'm sure a nice lot of you farmers enjoyed it. Anyhow, it's 6 pm- time for the news.” Wait, they have news over the radio? Son of a bitch we could have just listened to the fucking channel instead of being idiots our first night out!

I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes. This was not turning out to be a good break. Resisting the urge to kick something I returned my attention to the show host, missing whatever he had just said.

“... So that makes them both dead AND dumb. Hey folks, can’t save ‘em all.” He grunted happily. “On to the northern plains. It would seem that some little ponies from Neighples didn’t quite get the hint last night when they tried to raid some supply lines to Oasis. They were caught in the act for the second time this month and over what, some bath salts? Really fillies, you ought to try earning a more honest living cause if you keep this up, you’re gunna get shot. The representative for the Neighples government declined an invitation to be on tonight show but he did have this to say about the growing unrest in the younglings out over yonder.

It is a sad day when you hear of groups of foals, no older than 14 trying to get by through robbery and deception. It points to a systematic flaw in the way we raise our children. A flaw, not in our own Equestrian culture but in the brutish nature of the zebra who influence- you know what folks, I think you can gleam the rest of the message there.” He cleared his throat and the sound of shuffling papers could be heard.

“Florence is gearing up, once again,” He spoke tiredly, “to try and hunt down the group of raiders known only as the ‘Novae Flammae’ which executed… well, an execution of a prominent trade minister sent from Troutsberg. They are wanted for a number of crimes throughout the greater valley area including burning, raping, pillaging- you know, the works. The whereabouts of these fiends are unknown, but I heard some bands of zonies dresses in red armor could be found russlin in the woods out on the north end of the Olivine road. Any travelers should take caution to stay in groups-”

I shut off the transmission. My morbid curiosity could only go so far. I looked over at Nimbus who stopped chewing to shrug. I guess he had heard enough himself. Fantastic, one day of recovery was that too much to ask for? Hell maybe we should have just stayed at the Gram, strength in numbers and all.

With the new prospect of raiders we put out the idea of traveling any further or starting a campfire. The nights this far from home- ACHEM... Stable Z, seemed colder which just added to my bad mood. Nimbus had taken the liberty of finding a cozy lopsided tree which provided us relative cover from all directions with its large exposed root system. There were quite an unfortunate amount of bugs around, but it could have been worse.

We didn’t chat much while our eyes got tired. He went off to read by the light of his pipbuck and I started on a riveting game of Atomic Command until passing out.

“What now? You don’t know the first thing about alchemy June.” It had been some time since we went through what was now starting to feel like the rhythm of morning on the outside. We were making our way along the now plenty wide road that curved with the mossy hillside. Everywhere there were big boulders and layers of smooth rocks.

“Hey I had some lessons! The results weren’t always pretty but I think that was due to a lack of real desire to apply myself, you know?” Nimbus stifled a giggle. “Ah- none of that.” I tapped the book on my head, “I got the knowledge.” I let out a sigh at the trees that were only partly through blooming this high up. There was something about the fact that each little blossom would be a leaf one day. It seemed absurd that something so small could change so drastically.

The mountains were starting to come into view from all sides and with them the snow caps. I could only wonder what snow would be like. Just one more thing to add to the list of things that couldn't possibly be real.

“Sure, because a foals introductory botany lessons are going to be so useful scraping a living out here.” I pouted and lowered ears. “Oh come on! Where are you going to get a distillation column? A bunsen burner, hot plates, beakers, vials, a centrifuge-”

“A centrifuge? I’m suggesting we make potions not start some fancy ass polymers. Besides we don’t need the rest of that junk. All we need is a cauldron and a mortar and pest-”

BOOM!

A crackling explosion sounded in my ear bringing me to the ground. I ducked off the road. Heart racing and eyes wide, I started to hyperventilate.

“Torbernite!” Nimbus said running to my side. “It's ok! Something happened over there.” He gestured to the sky where I could see a small black cloud rising up. “It probably was just an accident, nothing major. Torbernite?”

I was resisting the overwhelming urge to scream for fear that whatever caused that was headed our way. Scanning through the trees I heard shouting. The wind rustled a spew of bullets whizzed by.

“Awe fuck!” Nimbus cursed before donning his helmet and readying his battlesaddle. I however went into full panic mode. people were SHOOTING at us!

I rolled and felt the gun within my holster roll with me. Staring down- the shock. I had a gun too but by Luna I didn’t think I could touch it right now, let alone defend myself with it.

You mean kill right?

The thought... was frigid.

A bullet struck the tree we had hid behind sending out splinters and eliciting a frightened squeal. I curled up into a ball and brought my forehooves to my head letting out a high pitched cry.
“P-please make it stop!” I called out with my eyes closed.

“Damn it Torbernite!” Nimbus said in my direction before turning to the source of the gunfire. “Hold your fire! We are not involved in what-” A duo of bullets laced his chest, ricocheting off his armor but not without harm.

Nimbus fell over clutching at his side and shaking, each quick breath was strained and his eyes were wide. He was having a panic attack. His pleading eyes met mine for only the slightest of seconds.

In that moment something primal- something greater than myself erupted out in a fit of mixed emotions. Rage. Fear. Hate. Acceptance. They all danced madly in my mind until they agreed now was the time for action, not cowardice.

I rolled prone on my stomach, telekinetically drew the TRX, and checked it for ammo. It was loaded. My head snapped to the location of the nearest gunfire. A zebra searched frantically through the bushes. They wore nothing rags and a battle saddle. One stood over a pair of smoking corpses in shambles of armor while another zebra put a shot point blank into the head of one of the once moving bodies.

This was our battle now.

I would like to say that I remembered my training in that moment, but I didn’t. I didn’t really think, I just called up my Eye’s Front Sparkle, checked for hostiles and then locked onto the closest one.

Readying I let out a burst.

Thu Thu Thu

They connected and the zebra called out in shock as two shots flew through their hind legs. There was no blood that I could see yet. They dropped temporarily before aiming towards me. I ran as a spray was let out.

The bullets danced, close, much too close-

I clenched my teeth and flinched as something hot cut across my belly. I was grazed and every step thereafter was a reminder to run faster- faster- faster still.

I ducked into tall grass and the shooting stopped. But my legs didn’t stop moving. I couldn’t stop moving now. I sprinted in a hot dash around their location before stopping atop a hill, taking aim once more and locking into S.A.T.S. Then the world came to a near standstill and-

Here I was, gun at the ready, watching her eyes close then open then crawl towards mine. I could tell that she was female now; I could make out scars on her face probably from too much rough housing as a child that left her… not ugly, but not beautiful.

Average. She was completely ordinary in every conceivable way. She had a mohawk, like mine only better kept. Her right ear was adorned with two golden rings- her left had only one. The realization of her imminent demise met her mind, shaking the momentum of the gun she was bringing to bear.

I saw another blink- lethargic, needing- followed by a full facial expression I couldn't place. Fright? Rejection? Surrender? Her brows were furrowed, mouth barely open and pulled back. Pain? Who could tell. Her eyes were wide, they were amber, same as-

91% Head-
Confirm-
Thu Thu Thu

The world dropped out of pause as the mare’s head was imbued with three vertically aligned bullet holes.

Now, there was blood.

My gun clattered to the ground as the emotions returned but directed in all the wrong ways.

Good goddesses. I killed someone…

“Torbernite? Torbernite!” Nimbus called from the other end of the path I carved through the grass. I slowly turned my shaking body’s attention towards him. “Oh no.” He said flatly before rushing to catch me as I tumbled over trembling. Trembling and crying. Still I didn’t blink. My face would show nothing in those moments, only the flow of tears that didn’t seem like they would stop.

“Shhhh…. Shhh…. d-don’t look, it's all going to be alright-” I just sat there being held as he brushed my hair with an armored hoof. Once or twice he brushed away my tears, but my blurred gaze never failed to look directly ahead and only ahead. “It’s all going to be alright Torbernite…”

It was self defense. She attacked first. She would have killed us both if given the chance. There was no diplomacy. Running would have meant leaving Nimbus to die. It was the only choice.

It was the only choice...

If only I could believe that.

End of Chapter 5
Footnotes:
Level up!

...
Your leg was fixed so you only get -1 agility now! (6)

The Off Switch- There is a percent chance that during life or death combat you will become an emotionless killing machine.

Changes stats :
S. P. E. C. I. A. L
+1+1+1 -3+1+1-1