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)