It's a golden age we live in now a days, jobs are plentiful if you know where to look, you have the freedom to settle down anywhere you feel like it and it's real easy to get your hooves on the coolest toys "Gaaaah!" a Pegasus dressed in mangled barding made up of pieces of scrap metal and leather straps cried out in agony as a bullet passed through his hind leg, he limped slowly towards a rusted old shack as the hot red blood that oozed from the wound left a trail behind him, a loud crack like thunder followed by searing pain sent another jolt of pain through the stallion as his other hind leg was given the same accessory, remarkably in the same place.
He continued to crawl towards the shack, sweat pouring down his brow as the blood flowing down his legs onto the ground behind him ran hot, making his coat matted and sticky down his hind legs, a tug on his shoulder flung the stallion onto his back but when he looked up there was no pony there. Frantically he looked around but saw nothing and just when he though the heat was playing tricks on him, a small click from right in front of him caused the raider pony to direct his attention directly ahead towards the cloudy skies above him. "Alright big guy." a mare's voice, slightly garbled by something called out from right in front of the stallion, within the blink of an eye the Pegasus watched as a White Unicorn mare, dressed in a long brown coat and armoured riot barding seemed to materialize in front of him, this wasn't teleportation however. Teleportation magic had been lost for centuries but it was still well known it was instant. No this mare had just faded into view out of thin air. “I’m gonna give you three easy instructions, you will follow these instructions to the letter and if you’re a good boy and don’t try any funny shit with me I promise not to put the next one between those pretty blue eyes of yours.” The mare said in a cold, harsh and horrifically emotionless tone. The Stallion nodded to show he understood, not wanting to say anything in case it got him shot. "Good, now." the mare's horn glowed a soft blue as she used her magic to lift the stallion up into the air and ever so delicately, drop him on his face in a hard wooden cart. "You will sit quietly here until we get into town, when we get there you will co-operate fully and after we reach our destination you are going to have a nice long chat with my employer about why it's not very nice to carve foals up like a brahmin on a spit."
Something in the way the mare relayed these instructions, how calm and easily she was able to say them after shooting out both his back legs filled the Pegasus with dread, if it wasn't for his busted wing he would have just flown off, but would that have made any difference? Normally when a raider shoots someone and captures them, there's a hint of satisfaction and deranged pleasure in their tone. This mare didn't have that, she was stern and neutral as if she neither hated nor liked what she was doing, but didn’t care either way.
The cart ride was long, bumpy and bone chillingly quiet.
The mare just kept her eyes straight ahead, pulling the cart behind her, injured raider in the back as he stared up at the burning amber skies, hot sun beating down on both of them causing the raider to sweat, matting his coat further. Once or twice the thought of making a break for it crossed his mind but every plan he cooked up ended the same way when he played it out in his mind, the mare would notice him trying to escape and even if he did manage to lose her, how would he know she was really gone. It had taken some time to figure out but the stallion had noticed this rather intimidating unicorn mare had a Pip-buck strapped onto her right foreleg, normally these devices would be applied to the left foreleg but upon further inspection it seemed the mare had been tinkering with it, she'd completely refurbished the casing and even managed to splice a Stealth-buck into the device as an added feature... some pony that smart, it would be nearly impossible to escape from.
Several hours had passed, the sky was beginning to darken, and a trail of dust followed in the wake of the raider being dragged across the ground through town, mothers and fathers attempting to pull their children inside, shop owners and townsfolk all rushing to see what was going on. Inside the town hall an old stallion with a long grey moustache, his mane having completely fallen out dressed in a dirty old pre-war suit and a thick pair of cracked spectacles on his face was arguing with a young mare wearing a dusty old Stetson, a dirty leather vest and a set of old tattered denim chaps with a scoped six shot revolver strapped to one of her flanks. "Now see here Mayor, I've been the sheriff around these here parts for almost twenty years!" the mare said in a displeased tone, her heavy country accent couldn't be missed with a blindfold and earplugs. "We don't need no fancy Unicorn bounty hunter to track down this here varmint!"
"Now now." the mayor said trying to calm the fiery tempered mare down. "See here High Noon, this is precisely why I hired this bounty hunter, we need you here to protect the towns folk, not out there hunting down one dime a dozen raider, not even for a crime this horrific." this didn't seem to improve the mare's mood however as she glared down the mayor
"Well.. I still don't like it, something funny's up with this mare, she wears that gosh darn helmet twenty four seven, refuses to eat with the rest of us and won't even tell us her name."
"We've been over this High Noon." the mayor interjected before the sheriff could go any further. "Blackout's code name is to ensure complete confidentiality, we don't tell her our names, she only gives us the name she's known by as a bounty hunter.” The stallion cleared his throat. "that way if-" before the mayor could finish however High Noon slammed her hooves on his desk.
"That way if a bunch of dog gone, low down, yellow bellied raiders come a knocking on our doors we can't tell them anything about her, that confidentiality policy of hers is to cover her own tail not ours!"
"Calm down High noon." the elderly stallion said a tone of worry in his voice "If you keep working yourself up like this you'll give yourself a heart attack, think what'll happen if Bonesaw can't fix you up, it was a close call last time, what'll happen to Lasso if you kick the bucket stressing over a traveller who won't even be here come tomorrow morning." High Noon took in a deep breath.
"Fine..." she finally spoke up, sounding a bit calmer now. "But don't expect me to like it, bounty hunters aint no better than raiders and slavers in my opinion." she adjusted the old Stetson on her head and quickly bolted to her left as the doors to the town hall were kicked open and a pony shaped object flung in her direction which collided with the mayor's desk and dropped to the ground panting heavily.
"Aaaw and here I thought we were getting along so well sheriff." the mare dressed in riot barding said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "That's one good for nothing cannibal, tagged and bagged.” There was a moment of silence as the two stared blankly at the raider, back legs still bleeding, bullets poking out of the wounds they were driven into, coat matted by dust and dirt and his face was roughed up a bit, a black eye and a fresh scar decorating his ugly mug. The two town officials then turned their attention to the mare standing in the doorway, sniper rifle strapped on her back as she brushed some dust off of her coat. “… That’s two hundred caps alive right?"
Slowly the mare made her way towards the mayor’s desk, hooves barely making a sound as she softly trotted over the wooden floor out of habit.
As she placed her hooves on the desk, using her magic to lift the raider up for the mayor to see she pinned him onto the desk in front of him. “This is the guy right? Green eyes, Dark coat, Mane styled like a buzzsaw got stuck in his head?” Upon inspection of the crippled Pegasus the mayor found that he indeed matched the description of the miscreant perfectly, his eyes were a dull sickly green, his coat dark and discoloured by bruising, dirt and blood, only some of it his own and his Mohawk styled mane although common among raiders was easily recognizable due to how he styled it to be spiked up like a buzz saw.
“Y-Yes this is the one.” The mayor said as he knelt under his desk and opened up a safe, retrieving two large sacks and placing them on the desk. “Two hundred caps, as we agreed.” He said calmly as he gently pushed them towards her.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” The mare said and turned to walk out into the town, bags of caps levitating beside her as she used her magic to pack them into her saddlebags strapped onto her sides.
The next morning that sorry soul was hanged, and tossed out into the wasteland to be picked apart by Rad-roaches and whatever other creatures stumbled across his carcase. And that same white mare, the one no pony ever said a word to unless it was strictly business, stood there and watched.
“It’s a golden age we live in.” I repeated to myself. “Jobs are plentiful if you know where to look.” I looked to the bag of caps I held in my hoof, counting out five before putting the sack back into my saddle bag. “Well, I’d say I’ve earned myself a sparkle cola.” I turned to High Noon who stood next to me, pretending it was purely out of civic duty. “... Care to join me sheriff?”
Chapter 1 A flip of the coin
I trotted casually into the saloon, followed closely by High Noon, her eyes fixed on me with all the scorn and disapproval she could muster until we came to sit at a table in the corner, light peaking in from outside through a small crack in the wall where a giant whole had been patched up with a mismatched piece of scrap metal. A bar maid dressed in a tattered showgirl's dress made her way over to us, smiling politely. "Afternoon there sheriff, can I get you a drink?" she asked. High Noon didn't respond, well at least not physically.
"Shot of Scotch if'n you please." she replied simply.
"A sparkle cola for me." I interjected.
"O-ofcourse, sh-shall I bring it up to your room?" the bar maid asked.
"If you'd be so kind."
As she walked away I noticed the sheriff roll her eyes and give me an even more dirty, disappointed look. "And here I thought you'd finally grow a spine and take off that helmet of yours out in public, folks around here are mighty eager to know who exactly brought that Raider son of a bitch in for what he did, young’uns especially. Pfft! don't know why they idolise you so much."
"They shouldn't." I replied coldly. "I'm nothing to admire, just another pony trying to make it from day to day out in this huge mess our lousy government and those assholes at Stabletech dropped us all in."
"Still." High Noon said taking her hat off. "You have done some pretty decent work helping us out all the way out here, I know we aren't as big or well protected as the New Pegasus strip but at least we've got something you can't find anywhere out there no matter how hard you look."
"And what's that?" I asked.
"Home... Friends, family, we may be a small town but when trouble comes a knocking we sure as hell don't back down for nothing or nobody."
"Sounds more like you’re all too stubborn to pack up and leave to me." I could tell my words didn't particularly tickle High Noon's fancy as the chestnut mane'd mare replaced her hat back on her head and allowed her momentary smile to melt away into a rather sour look once again.
"I'd reckon if any pony's stubborn, it's you missy. Heck how's some pony s’posed to be your friend without even knowing your real name?"
"They’re not." I replied sharply. "Look, things may be all hunky dory around here for the most part but out there in the wastelands, further east near the new Pegasus strip and all over the map from there, it's every pony for herself, even raiders who work together eventually turn on one another." I slumped back into my chair with a heavy sigh. "There's only one pony you can really rely on to watch your back out there in the long run sheriff... yourself."
High Noon gave a sigh, bowing her head to look down at the ground as she brought a hoof to her forehead, massaging it vigorously as the bar maid placed a shot glass and a bottle of scotch in front of her. “I want you out of town by days end, got it?” she said pouring some scotch into the glass.
“Come again?” I asked coldly.
“You heard, I appreciate everything you’ve done… but I want you gone by the end of the day, if you’re still here by tomorrow morning, I’ll kick your sorry flank out of town myself”
Now I really didn’t appreciate this mare’s attitude, I had just done what she couldn’t and now she was saying I wasn’t welcome to kick my hooves up for a while?
Standing up, I leaned in close to be eye to eye with her, my vision tinted crimson by the lenses of my helmet. “And just how do you propose to do that?… Sheriff.” I spat the word out like irradiated sludge.
“Well.” High Noon responded, gulping down her shot and raising herself to press her muzzle against the filter of my helmet, glaring back into my eyes with the same fury I offered hers. “I reckon I’d start by hog tying your hooves together, shoot off your horn so you can’t use any of your fancy magic, then drag your sorry plot out of town and let you fend for yourself down in the mines, course there are an awful lot of ghouls and Celestia knows what else down there, with luck you won’t come back out.”
Given one more second I would’ve sucker punched her right there and reminded her who just did her own damn job for her but a curious little filly in the corner of my eye caught my attention, her head peaking curiously out from under the table to stare at us.
High Noon saw her too, her anger turned to concern and her focus drifted from me to the filly as she dropped onto all fours again and turned the filly to face her gently pushing her cheek with her hoof. “Lasso, darlin what’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?”
Lasso shook her head.
“Teacher dismissed us early today cuz she had to hurry out and do some business with the passin traders before they left town, figured I’d come see where you were momma.” The sweetness and innocence of the filly’s voice could melt even the iciest of hearts and it showed as High Noon hugged her, a warm smile now firmly planted on her face.
Lasso smiled back as she hugged High Noon back, nuzzling her affectionately. “Well that’s mighty sweet of you sugar cube, but momma’s a little busy right now, why don’t you go play with your friends for a bit ok? Saloon aint no place for a little filly.”
“Alrighty momma.” She replied nodding as she turned to gallop out of the saloon.
No sooner had she hopped out the door, High Noon called out after her. “Be back before dark and don’t go wandering off without an adult!” she called at the top of her voice.
A rather shady and pretty scratched up pony in a matted and tattered brown cloak chuckled, their muzzle and hooves hidden by rags that didn’t look like part of their normal attire. Their voice sounded like a broken sprite-bot.
“Something funny?” I asked the pony, they turned to me, their face hidden under the hood of their cloak but their eyes could be seen clear as day and around them I thought I saw…
Stripes? No that was impossible, wasn’t it? I squinted at the pony and got up, slowly trotting towards them as they turned back to their Applejack Daniels.
High noon caught me out of the corner of her eye and with a sigh trotted after me. “What’re you up to now?” she asked.
“Something’s up with this pony.” I said. “I thought I saw…” I trailed off as I leaned in closer, the pony purposely making it difficult to see their face as they tugged on their hood with a hoof, showing off a cracked and badly damaged Pip-buck that was somehow still in working order.
The screen flickered and flashed, static obstructing the display every few seconds, a number of randomly named audio files littered the screen.
“Hey there, give the pony some space!” High Noon snapped as she pulled me back. “Sorry about that ma’am, or uh… sir?” she raised an eyebrow just as confused as I was as to even the pony’s gender.
We watched as they raised their Pip-buck to their muzzle and tapped the screen, a few seconds of static followed by that same electronic, garbled style voice, though a different pony’s voice, a stallion’s this time replied. “No harm done.” The voice was gravelly like a ghouls.
“Um sir?” a shake of the pony’s covered hoof cut High Noon off. “Oh uh sorry ma’am, are you alright?” the pony nodded and tapped the screen of their Pip-buck again.
“All system’s nominal.” A robotic voice, easily recognized as a sprite-bot system check responded.
“Cut the act, or are you afraid to speak to me like a mare.” The pony tapped her Pip-buck screen again and the same electronic chuckle from earlier could be heard.
The pony pointed to her throat and then stroking her hoof across it, shook her head as if to sign out something.
I tilted my head in confusion. “Huh?”
High Noon face hoofed. “Of for buck sake, are you blind? Or just dense, she had her throat cut, probably by raiders, reckon they probably severed your vocal chords right?” The mare nodded and High noon took her hat off looking solemn and apologetic. “I’m mighty sorry there ma’am, tell you what, here take this, we won’t bother you again.”
I watched as High Noon put her hat back on her head and handed the rest of her bottle of scotch to the shrouded mare who only tilted her head in slight curiosity, then turning to High Noon, taking care to keep her face hidden she nodded and tapped her Pip-buck again. “Much obliged partner.” A recording of a stallion with a deep but clearly thankful tone of voice said and High Noon smiled.
“Don’t mention it.” And with that she turned to walk away, dragging me with her by my coat “Come on you, leave the poor gal alone.”
“Huh? Hey hooves off!” I snapped and I only got more pissed as the mare gave that same static garbled chuckle. “Laugh it up buddy! We’re not finished here!” I yelled as High Noon dragged me upstairs.
The mare tapped her Pip-buck and a barely audible sound file garbled by tons of static blared out. “See you next time mares and gentle colts.” Picking up the bottle of scotch and packing it into her saddlebag the mare walked out after pouring the last of her Applejack Daniels into a canteen strapped around her neck.
I hit the wall hard as High Noon gave me a hardy toss into my rented room above the saloon, my sparkle cola tipped over as she slammed the door behind her, spilling all over the rusted metal floor.
The room was poorly lit thanks to the only light source being a small window that had been reinforced with a metal bar grate to prevent ponies form bailing out on paying in the middle of the night, I could tell simply by looking at the stern expression on her face and her hooves crossed out in front of her that High Noon wouldn’t be budging anytime soon from in front of the door though if she had anything to say she was certainly taking her time in saying it.
“Everything, alright their Sherrif?” I asked slowly, no response. “Listen fi this about that mare I-” but I was cut off as High Noon suddenly spoke.
“Take… it… off.” Were the only three words she uttered.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“You hear me, Yer helmet. Take it off… now.” I could tell by how she never budged or showed any signs of change in her attitude that she was deadly serious.
“That isn’t how it works Sheriff.” I repeated myself for the third time that day. “I have very simple rules… You don’t tell me your name and-”
“And you don’t tell us squat!” High Noon snapped. “Then some big mean raider types roll into town hearing you’ve been here and start smashing up the place asking who you were and where you’ve gone! All we can say is the same thing every pony says, that we got no clue and the only name you gave us is that gosh darn code name tied to nothing and no pony, so you vanish like dust in the wind and we suffer while they wreck the town looking for even the slightest scrap of where you went!”
“Watch it sheriff.” I said sternly. “You’re letting emotions get in the way, you’re not thinking clearly.”
“Oh I’m thinking perfectly clear, now for the last time.” Her eyes squinted until they were almost closed. “Take… It… Off!”
“… Make me.” Admittedly probably not the smartest move… but at this moment I was in a confined space with a mare who’s only weapon was a six shot which at present wasn’t loaded, the odds were in my favour as far as I knew. Without warning High Noon lunged at me, knocking me to the ground. Ok so admittedly I didn’t see that one coming but that was the last time she’d get the drop on me, I felt her hooves clamp tightly around my helmet trying to pull it off but if she thought I was going to just let her expose my only secret then she had another thing coming. “Take! It! Off!” she grunted as she tried with all her might to yank the helmet off my head.
“Get your damn hooves off me!” I snapped back, no matter how hard I fought she fought back harder, damn it one of the disadvantages of tussling with an earth pony.
I thrashed about trying to knock her off to the side, no good she was too heavy, an internal chuckle sounded itself in my had. ‘Bet she’d get off if you brought that up?’
No! No, no shut up! I told myself mentally. That was undoubtedly the dumbest idea I had ever had.
A smirk crept along High Noon’s face as she felt my helmet begin to shift, I did too obviously and it unsettled me somewhat but I haven’t kept my face hidden this long to just have ti ripped off by a self-righteous law mare.
I felt the helmet start to slowly slide up, the cool air brushing against my muzzle as I gritted my teeth.
It was at this moment I would’ve gladly welcomed any kind of intrusion, the barmaid checking to see what all the racket was, some drunkard bursting in to yell about something, literally anything. And low and behold some pony answered my prayers.
“Sheriff! Sheriff!” a stallion wearing a dirty green apron and half burned white, well dusty brown now, shirt with a visor that looked like a diamond dog had used it for a chew toy. “It’s an emergency! Come quick!”
“What is it Bargain?” High Noon asked not faltering in her efforts to unmask me. “I’m kinda in the middle of something!”
“But Noon.” The stallion insisted, his voice trembling as he seemed to panic, like he’d seen a ghost. “It’s Lasso, she’s gone!”
At that moment… High Noon froze like she’d just stared into the eyes of a cockatrice.
“L… Lasso?” she half asked half whispered and without another word, jumped off of me and galloped as fast as she could out of the room, down the stairs and out of the saloon.
I straightened my helmet as I stood up, then taking a deep breath I followed her, I didn’t care what she thought of me, if that kid was in trouble I sure as Tartarus wasn’t gonna just sit here on my haunches and let it happen.
After heading down the stairs and asking the barmaid to clean up the spilled cola in my room I opened the door to see High Noon running up and down the road checking every nook and cranny of the small settlement. “Lasso?! Lasso! Has any pony seen my filly please!”
Just as I was about to trot up to the mare and give her a hard slap across the face to snap her out of it, the mayor placed a hoof on her shoulder. “High Noon, calm down please. You won’t do Lasso any good if you panic yourself into an early grave.”
I watched as High Noon nodded, taking deep breathes to try and calm down. Then turning to a group of filly’s talking just across the street I decided it’d probably be worth a try to see if they knew anything, after all these could’ve been her friends, they might’ve seen what happened.
“So what, it was some kind of giant bug? Like a Radroach?” I overheard one of the filly who I recognized by her curly cobalt blue mane as Bluebell ask.
“This wasn’t any Radroach.” Another filly who’s name escaped me replied. “It was as big as a pony, had a hide thick and black like armour and it’s eyes glowed like radioactive goo.” Was she exaggerating? It was certainly possible, after all they were children but still, better to be safe than sorry.
“What do you think it’ll do to her?” a third filly with a green spikey mane and an earthy brown coat asked trembling.
“Don’t know.” Bluebell said. “Maybe it’ll eat her.” The three of them gave a simultaneous gulp and identical looks of wide eyed horror.
“Not if I can help it.” I said calmly and out loud, the three fillies turned to me with a jump and one or two gasps. “This thing you saw, which way did it go?” I asked sternly.
“I saw it heading for the mine.” Bluebell said pointing to the west side of town to a nearby hill where an open cave was visible with what looked like a mine cart toppled over in front of it and wooden support beams stacked in a frame at the cave mouth.
I gave a nod to the fillies and began trotting towards it.
As I trotted up to the entrance I felt a chill run down my spine as I gazed down into the deep dark tunnel leading into the mineshaft, turning on my helmet’s built in light, the beam of white light piercing the darkness ahead, giving me a clear view of the dank caves ahead of me as I stepped forward, walking away from the cave mouth behind that lead out into the bright warm daylight.
The air grew colder around me and every so often I swore I felt water drip onto the long dusty brown coat I was wearing over my armour, guess this mine was under a lake or a reservoir, either way it was thankfully clean, or at least it had low radiation levels.
Searching through my saddle bag I gave a long sigh, that incident with the bandit out in the desert had been a complete bluff, three different guns and I only had ammo for the one. Amidst the numerous crystal fusion cells in my bag, the small beam pistol and silenced ten millimetre there was only on ammo type that would fit any of my weapons, a clip of three O’eight bullets for my sniper rifle. “Luna I need to find a trader.” I sighed as I loaded up the rifle and continued on, the weapon strapped to my side and held up near my cheek with my magic.
I moved slowly, keeping low to the ground to stay as quiet and un-noticeable as possible. I could’ve used my cloaking device sure, but for all I knew this creature saw by body heat which would basically make it pointless.
The tunnel I ventured down eventually opened up into a large dimly lit cavern that was filled with similar tunnels in the walls and ceiling, looking down I noticed that surrounding a large pool of water were piles of bones, mangled some even halfway turned to dust and all of them had small grooves and scratches like claw or teeth marks cut deep into them.
I griped tighter onto the trigger on my gun, making sure not to pull it all the way so I wouldn’t fire it off and alert whatever was in here that I was here, that is if it didn’t know already.
A soft whimpering sound caught my attention, pricking up my ears I snuck softly towards it. Turning a corner into a small narrow trench created between to large piles of bones, I saw a little filly, curled up and sobbing softly into her hooves. “Lasso?” I whispered to her as I came closer.
The filly looked up, tears still streaming down her cheeks from her sparkling blue eyes like the purest water from the lake below the Hoofer dam, her short curly mane a mangled mess like something had grabbed at it, a piece of it had been torn out by the looks of it but not enough to leave a bald spot. “H-who’s there?” she asked before drying her eyes as best she could. I stepped closer, coming into the light, she smiled when she saw me. “O-oh, hey… yer that strange pony that wandered into town right? The one that doesn’t take her helmet off?”
I felt my mouth curl up into a small grin. “Yeah.” I replied. “That’s me.” Now given this filly was apparently taken by a creature that only left mangled, sometimes broken bones of it’s victims I would’ve normally just told her to stay quiet and rushed her out of there, but taking that into account and the fact she was a filly, I decided it was a good idea to keep her calm.
Children aren’t like grown mares and stallions, they can be unpredictable and they sure as heck aren’t as strong or smart as a fully grown pony.
“Momma said I’m not s’pose to talk to you cuz you wear that helmet all the time, she sez it’s cuz yer a sneaky no good gun fer hire… but I don’t think that.” She said with a smile. “I think yer just shy.”
Shy? I was anything but, there’s shy and then there’s cautious, I made it a habit not to get attached to ponies, places or heck even objects… well except my armor.
And my Pip-buck but hey when you spend as much time as I did studying and modifying something this advanced why in Celestia’s name wouldn’t you keep it?
“Hey I know y’all probably came down her to save me and all but, we aint safe, none of us are so long as those things are down here.”
“What things?” I asked.
“Those big bug like things, one of em dropped me here and was about to eat me till it’s wings started buzzin and it ran off down that cavern there.” She pointed to a tunnel just behind me. “Please miss you gotta get rid of em otherwise we’re all gonna wind up like these ponies down here.” She gestured to the piles of bones that surrounded us.
There was no denying it, she was right and as much as I’d like to just see her to safety and move on, I know she wouldn’t really be safe until I took care of whatever snatched her in the first place.
“Alright.” I said looking at the tunnel before turning back to her. “But you need to get out of here, this is no place for a little filly.”
“Alrighty.” She nodded and turned to leave, but stopped. “Oh almost forgot, here I found this in one of the bone ponies hooves, might be of some help to ya.” The filly reached into her saddlebags and pulled out what looked like an old holotape.
I took the small tape in my hooves and slotted it into my Pip-buck before patting the filly’s head. “Thanks kiddo, now hurry and get out of here before those things come back.” With a nod the filly smiled up at me one last time before turning to run out the way I came in.
Looking down at my Pip-buck I hesitated before finally pressing play.
A few beeps were followed by some subtle static and then. “Alright it’s on, are we ready to start?” A mare asked.
“Yes miss Sparkle.” Another mare replied.
Sparkle? As in Twilight sparkle? My thoughts were answered as the first mare spoke again. “This is ministry mare Twilight Sparkle of the Ministry of Arcane Science. Research number two hundred and forty five, the I.M.P or Impelled Metamorphosis Potion, batch number three hundred thirty eight.” She gave a long sigh. “Was a failure, we’re dumping it far far below the surface in an old mineshaft now to avoid any accidental contact with any organic life but at this rate I fear the formula will never be perfected. But this has to work, it has to… otherwise I fear Equestria won’t stand for much longer.”
I slipped into thought for a moment, I swore I’d heard of something like this before, what was it that old pony had told me? Something about a failed ministry project that caused random mutations. UGH! what was it?!
My frustrated struggle to think was abruptly halted as screams could be heard from the recording currently being played through my Pip-buck. “Run for your lives!” a stallion cried before more screams blared out from the recording.
“What?! What is it?!” Twilight asked, tones of both fear and tenseness filling her voice.
“Changeling hive! We have to get out of here!”
“Oh no, Everypony out! Now!” a loud buzzing accompanied by almost primal hissing was the last thing I heard before a beeping sound signalled the end of the recording.
Changelings? No pony had seen one of those in over two hundred years but there was apparently a hive right here? And if a failed ministry project had been dumped down here, there was no doubt about it.
Whatever was down here now, would be dangerous.
Raising my rifle I headed down the tunnel Lasso had pointed to, slowly and cautiously, making sure to tread lightly. As I came to a turn I noticed a strange multi-coloured light in the distance. It glowed every colour of the rainbow and cast a multitude of shadows all bundled together in a large dark shape.
There was no telling what was casting the shadow, but my caps were on an entire hive of changelings.
Activating my Pip-buck’s cloaking device, I lowered myself until I was practically crawling, heading straight towards the turn and the source of the strange light. As I crept out into another large cavern I peered out over the ledge I was standing on. My heart stopped beating for a brief second and my eyes gaped open as I gazed down to the glowing lake below me, barrels upon barrels of a viscous prismatic liquid leaking into the water supply and collecting in large puddles throughout the cavern.
In the centre of the cavern sat a large insect like creature, it looked like a pony, but it had a thick armoured shell that was as black as the night sky and shone like a polished surface. It’s eyes were hazed but glowed a sickly green, it’s mane was mangled almost looked like spiders webs, four large insect wings with glowing flame like patterns giving of a glow like a balefire blast curled in at it’s sides from it’s back. Four legs like a pony’s ending in hooves but filled with holes all the way up to the joint stuck out from a large bloated thorax behind it, and form the sides of it’s torso two large appendages like the pincers of a mantis ending in sharp hook like spikes that almost resembled talons.
The creatures jaw unhinged, sending a shiver down my spine as it let out a bone rattling hiss, it’s large razor like mandibles twitching as it exerted an assortment of clicks and shrieks.
Atop the creature’s head a long misshapen horn like that of a unicorns extended, curving slightly to stick out infront of it.
My attention was drawn momentarily away from the creature as two much smaller creatures, similar in biology but closer to the size of a pony scuttled towards the Celestia sized monstrosity.
Like the massive insect like creature these things were protected by a shiny black shell but theirs was much thinner and a lot smoother, they walked on four legs with two more jutting out from their shoulders ending in small appendages that looked like a hoof being crossed with a scorpion’s stinger. Two small hole filled insect like wings twitched in their backs making faint buzzing sounds ever so often, small mandibles almost the same size as their small pointed and curved horns on their heads made themselves known as they stuck out from the sides of their mouths which were filled with curved hook like fangs.
Their eyes were a hazed milky white, so it was safe to assume they were completely blind, which only begged the question would the larger creature see me if I turned off my cloaking device.
These weren’t changelings but there was enough similarity to link them to the long since forgotten species of shape shifters. These creatures were much more insectoid and I had a serious doubt in my mind that they feasted on love as the stories said, that much was made evident by the mountains of bones in the cavern behind me.
Which meant that massive lake filled with diluted rainbow substance and the puddles of bright glowing prismatic ooze.
There was only one thing it could be.
“Taint.” I muttered under my breath. The glowing goo that turned ponies into those unity alicorns, well if you were lucky anyway, had mutated the hive of changelings that the Ministry of Arcane science into something that could only be described as fear given manifestation.
A horde of monsters from your deepest darkest nightmares.
Chapter 2: Belly of the beast
I couldn’t believe my eyes, this was horrifying. Who knows what these things would do if they knew I was hear and even if they didn’t catch me, this cavern was filled with taint with only a thin pathway carved through the mutagenic ooze to the hulking monster that I could only assume was this hive of twisted abominations queen.
Ever part of me said just back out now, turn and sneak out while you can.
But every time I listened to that voice in my head, another only asked questions. What about the ponies in the nearby town? How will they fend off these things? You know they’re dangerous just from looking at them. What about Lasso?
I froze as that last question echoed in my mind. There was no way I could leave, not with these things scuttling about so close to the town. If they snatched Lasso once they could do it again and after her who knows how many others would be next.
No if I left now, these things would just feed off the town until every pony was gone and then what? They’d move on to the rest of the Marejave. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing that was going on and I had snuck away with my tail between my legs when I had a chance to stop it.
Looking to my left I noticed a slope that lead down the path I saw carved in the massive puddles of ooze and the lake full of taint, it was probably my only way to get down there and get a clearer shot at the queen, I take her out and the whole hive should collapse in theory.
As I pondered this, looking around I noticed a ponies skeleton right under the queen, in it’s hoof there was clutched a saddlebag full of C-4 charges.
If my cloak held I could sneak down there, arm one, then sneak out and set the rest at the cave entrance, that way I could cause some damage to the hive and bury them at the same time so no rouge drones went rampaging into town.
Weighing my options I decided rather than risk the queens shell being too thick for my shot to penetrate it’s skull I began quietly creeping down to loot the C-4 from the skeleton below it.
As I made my way down I made sure to keep my eyes forward but at an angle downward so I wouldn’t accidentally step on a bone or kick over a rock and make any noise. Everything was going well, that is until I actually reached the cavern floor, the heads of the drones and the enormous queen all turned to me but looking down at my hooves I was still invisible, how had they detected me? As far as I could tell they were blind and changelings didn’t see by body heat.
A chuckle, almost choked out followed by a voice that hissed every word spoken with it drew my attention and I looked up to see the queen looking directly at me. “What foolish prey creeps into our nest like a thief in the night?” it chuckled again as I slowly began to creep backwards. “We may not see you outsider but we sense your heartbeat. Mhhh it is like music to us.”
I had to admit, for a moment there I had been somewhat surprised, then creeped out, then as I calmed down I made sure to note down that fact for future reference. Deciding stealth would do me no good since I couldn’t mask my heartbeat, I turned off my cloaking device and stood up straight to present myself, walking slowly along the path, being careful to avoid the puddles of taint around me, my Geiger counter went nuts, I’d need to be sure not to stick around too long.
I looked up at the queen who simply smirked back down at me, squinting her eyes to focus, as I had expected she wasn’t blind like the drones but she still possessed very poor eyesight, probably attributed to the dim lighting of the caves. “Ah a pony, we have seen many of your kind and consumed them hahahahah! Mmmm but this one is different, this one wears a shell like one of us… tell me, little pony are you a drone? Or a soldier?”
“I’m neither.” I replied. “I’m a mercenary, a gun for hire, the name’s Blackout.”
The mutated queen just laughed. “A soldier is a soldier regardless of their loyalty.” I watched as the queen clicked her mandibles and her drones which had been standing rather closely too me took a few steps back, giving me room to breathe. “So tell me little soldier, what brings you into our hive? Never before has a pony ventured into our lair of their own free will.”
I thought carefully, my next words could either get me killed? Or bring harm to the town. I had to be smart about this, luckily that was my specialty. Giving a bow to the queen I raised my gaze up again to look her in the eyes. “Your majesty, I have been sent to barter with you.”
“Is that so?” she asked. “And just where is it that you come from, that you would be so bold as to enter our nest and attempt such negotiations?”
“A small settlement to the south west.” I replied.
“Ahhh yes we remember, one of our drones told us of this place, he brought back one of it’s young, it smelled delicious.” Then the queen’s smile faded as she let out an exasperated sigh. “Mhhh but unfortunately it got away before we could feast.”
“I know, I saw her running back to the town. That’s why they sent me.”
“Is that so?”
“Well no, originally they thought you were mindless beasts and sent me here to exterminate you, but you aren’t like the drones… you’re intelligent.”
“Intelligent hahahahah!” the queen’s smirk returned. “Is a recording intelligent simply because it mimics the words of the one who made it? No my little pony, do not confuse intelligence with the capacity for speech.”
“Alright, the point still stands however, I believe we could make a deal.” I replied.
“Oh?... hmm well you have shown courage in seeking me out on your own, perhaps it would be permitted to hear your… proposal.”
The hiss of her voice sent chills down my spine, making me shudder. “That pony skeleton at your hooves, um pincers?... clutched in it’s hoof is an explosive device, Allow me to take them back to the town as a show of good faith and I will convince the town to supply your hive with food in exchange for protection.”
The queen was silent for a moment, her smirk only growing wider as she cackled. “You take me for a fool? What assurance do I have you will not simply detonate the charges and destroy the colony?” clearly I was correct in assuming she was intelligent, she had seen right through me. “You have spoken your piece soldier and failed. Now I will show you the way in which we consume our prey, Soldiers!” she gave a blood curdling shriek followed by an assortment of hissing and clicking as her mandibles twitched.
I turned to see two soldiers marching towards me.
Thinking fast, I grabbed the satchel with my magic and pulled out the detonator. “Stay back! Or I’ll blow us all to Tartarus!” the drones froze but didn’t show any intention of backing off. Meanwhile the queen behind me refrained from slashing at me with her pincers but I still didn’t trust her.
There was a long time where no pony did anything, I simply stood there, detonator hovering above my head with two drones staring me down one way, an angry queen behind me, surrounded by taint with Celestia knows how long before I suffer from rad poisoning and more of those things could be heard scrambling in from the tunnels to aid their queen.
I weighed my options carefully but every idea I thought of came up short and then as I primed the detonator I made my biggest mistake.
In a brief moment of hesitation, I left myself open, allowing the queen to lunge at me from behind and sink her mandibles into my neck. “GRAH!” I cried out in pain, dropping the detonator which one of the drones picked up and ran off with as I fell to the ground.
My vision hazed and my limbs went numb, I couldn’t move and all feeling had completely left my body, I was paralyzed.
“Now.” The queen hissed, exerting a few more clicking sounds. “Let’s see what you’re afraid of.” She beckoned one of her drones towards us and as my head began to throb like someone was repeatedly kicking full force at the inside of my skull I clenched my eyes shut.
When I opened them again, I felt a wave of confusion wash over me and a twine of fear clutch my chest.
“What’s wrong miss bounty hunter pony? Get up, ya gotta get up.” Lasso was now standing in front of me where the drone once had, a look of fear and concern in her big sad eyes. “Come on, we gotta get outta here, get up!” tears were welling up in her eyes.
“K-kid.” It took all my strength just to choke out that one word. “G-get… out… of here.”
“Come on! Ya gotta get up!” the filly cried, sounding utterly terrified, didn’t she hear me? Look kid if you don’t get out of here you’re gonna be in a lot more trouble then I am right now. “Get up miss! Get up!”
No, listen to me you need to run, now.
It was at that moment I realized I’d stopped saying words and now only thought them, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, Heck I could barely breathe.
Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong. “Gears ya gotta get up! We gotta run before- AH!” Lasso exerted a shrill cry as one of the soldiers scrambled up behind her and sunk it’s mandibles into the sides of her neck. I watched as the blood sprayed out from the wound as it sunk it’s teeth deeper and deeper into Lasso’s neck.
A loud crunch sent chills down my spine, my eyes gaped up at the filly, watching as she dropped to the ground, blood spilling out to touch the glowing rainbow coloured ooze as her head rolled towards me.
I stared, terrified, into Lasso’s blank gaping eyes. It was horrifying, I wanted to look away but couldn’t turn my head, I desperately wanted to close my eyes but my eyelids refused to lower themselves. I just laid there, staring through the crimson lenses of my helmet at a decapitated filly.
Dear Luna what would I tell High Noon? No way her heart could take this, she’d beat the crap out of me, or at least try to, then… she’d drop like a stone.
Lasso was dead… I was dead… we were all dead.
“Hahahaha, mmmm delicious.” The queen hissed. “I’d say she’s almost ready, mmmm any moment now.”
Wait, what was that?
What she said, any moment now. What does that mean?
Something clicked in the back of my mind. Earlier, lasso called me Gears.
She used my name… my real name.
How did she know? As far as her and the rest of the town knew my name was Blackout.
Unless…
“N-not… her.” I mustered up the strength to speak, I could move my lips, breathing became easier.
“What is this?!”
“Not… Lasso.” My legs. I could feel them, more than that, I could move them. “It, wasn’t… real.” I continued as I slowly pulled myself up to my hooves. “Some, kind of… trick.”
“How is this possible?!” I heard the queen ask. “Her fear! Where is her fear?!”
“Not… afraid.” I took deep breathes as I slowly regained my strength. Everything became clear as the warm, stinging of every muscle in my body made me realize. “I-it, wasn’t, real... The, the bite.”
The queen hissed “So... you figured it out.” The queen said as she clicked and twitched her mandibles, signalling for two of her drones to begin shoving and herding me towards her while I was still off balance. “Yes, as you have probably figured out by now. Our venom paralyzes our prey, causing them to hallucinate. Marinating them in delicious fear.”
“But I thought Changelings… fed on, love.”
“We did indeed but during the war there was not enough to sustain our kind. Our colonies scattered in a vain attempt to find a source of sustenance and ours… ours prevailed. We found this cavern deep, deep in the mines, abandoned by Pony kind but not forgotten.” I watched in disgust as her mouth curled into a wicked smirk. “Here we waited, we dwelled and hunted those who came here in search of treasures.” She cackled. “Little did the fools know it was a salt mine hahahaha! Mhhh then they came.”
“M-ministry, of… A-arcane, science.”
“Yes.” The queen’s smirk grew into a wide toothy grin. “I was but a pupa back then oh but I remember the day, I drank from the lake as our soldiers drove the intruders out, capturing many and bringing them to our queen at the time. Without love we did not know what to do with them, we had survived this long by feeding on the weak and pathetic love that those with an enormous ego gave to themselves… it sickened me. But then we were changed.”
“By the taint.”
“Yes, the vats of that failed potion those fools tried to dump down here transformed us. Made us, stronger.”
“It… mutated, you.”
“Yes. Now we did not need to feed on love, only it’s source hahahaha! Mmmhh the heart is the most delicious part but we did gain ample nourishment from the other parts aswell. And fear, fear makes it all the more. Delicious.”
I shuddered at the last word, these things were nightmares, creatures far worse than any cannibal.
I had to do it. Somehow, someway I had to make sure they didn’t get out of here but first.
I had to escape.
“End of the line little soldier.” The queen cackled before throwing back her head and screeched, clicking her mandibles.
No choice, I couldn’t fight them, I was only just getting the feeling and range of motion back in my legs, so instead I took the saddlebag of C-4 and bolted back the way I came.
As the monsterous drones swarmed behind me I felt my heart begin to race which only seemed to make them more ravenous. Focusing as best as I could I used my magic to levitate one of the charges out of the satchel, without the detonator I’d need to rig it for a timed detonation.
As the glow of the taint was left behind me I darted down a dark tunnel, the only glow now were the thousands of glowing eyes behind me as I dashed as fast as my legs would carry me towards the large bone filled cavern, gnashing mandibles and scuttling insect like legs loudly making their presents known mere inches from my heels.
“Stop her!” one hissed.
“You cannot escape!” another added, every word they uttered sent chills down my spine, the way they said it wasn’t like the queen, it was almost like a snarl or a growl, as if it took every ounce of intelligence they had just to say those few words.
As the light of the sun came into view I looked up briefly before returning my attention to the charge, throwing it behind me and ducking for cover behind a nearby boulder as it exploded with a boom like thunder. The explosion caused a cave in and as it settled only one of the creatures was left crawling out, it’s hind legs separated from it’s body and crushed under the rocks.
With a sigh I tossed the tattered saddlebag over my back with my own to sort out it’s contents later as I walked up to the mutilated mutant.
It snarled and hissed as I stood on it’s neck, it squirmed and writhed under my hoof before I leaned forward, my weight being supported on my front hooves and snapping it’s neck.
“I hate bugs.” Those were the only words I uttered before turning to head back into town as the sun began to set, I didn’t care what High Noon did, I had to make sure Lasso got back ok and if I had to wipe the floor with her sorry flank, so be it.
Footnote:
Vilified: in closing the entrance to the cave you also crushed their queen, for your savage brutality the Nightmare Horde have become frenzied and aggressive, especially towards you.
Liked: The ponies of Li'l Salt Lick heard from Lasso about your exploits in the cave and are grateful to you for saving them.
Level up!
New Perk Added: Demolitions expert -- you now do 10% more damage with explosives.
Author's Note
yeah so this chapter was kind of short, sorry about that but i promise from now on all chapters will have a 3 to 4 thousand word minimum
the reason this chapter is so short is because i got my fallout 4 today and it gave me a brainstorm of fresh material to put into my story some of it i already had but the fact you can do it in FO4 only made it all the sweeter so i wanna try get to at least ONE of those ideas before the ideas fade out of my head
anyway like i said, all chapters will be longer after this.
and thanks to fallout 4 confirming it is possible many of Gear Grinder's hidden character details will be revealed
no spoilers but the next few chapters will be focused on a journey from the Marjave back to where the rest of the story will take place closer to the north
anyone who knows their equestrian geography will know where that leads (and yes i mean BEYOND canterlot)
