Equestrian Scavenger

The two of us walked for hours, only stopping once the sound of gunfire had long since disappeared. Twilight prodded me with questions about my past the whole while, but I refused to make any statements, opting to walk in silence. After a while, she took on her own silence as well.

Twilight showed some strange reactions to the various battlefield we passed; a smoldering crater of a grenade, a broken crowbar surrounded by bloodstains, and a crashed drone, clearly scavenged by some of the Detrota guards as the high tech weapon had been cut out via cutting torch. She looked confused as I explained what had happened in each area, apparently having no prior knowledge as to what any of the items we found discarded were used for. The one thing that threw me off about our journey to Detrota Central City was the lack of patrols. Twilight picked up on my concern as we approached the remains of a farmhouse.

“What’s wrong, Fray?” I shook my head of my thoughts and began to scout out the area around the house.

“There’s usually guards patrolling around here since we’re getting close to the city.” I halted, squinting at a broken window in the farmhouse. “Unless…” A door slammed from the house. I pulled Twilight down behind a log with me quickly. She hissed in pain as her side hit mine, hard.

“What was that for?” Came her harsh whisper. I held up a hoof and slowly peered over the top of the log at the farmhouse. As expected, a group of three ponies came stumbling out. They were too far away to hear, but from their yells and movements, they were clearly drunk. There was nothing noteworthy about them; they wore hoodies of various colors and state and each had a duffle bag slung over their side. I waited until they had passed by a hill and out of sight before I stood and helped Twilight to her hooves.

“Just some scavengers.” I sighed, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. “Sorry about that.” She huffed, making sure the bags were secure on her back before she continued walking towards the farmhouse.

Bang!

We both froze at the sound of the nearby gunfire.

Bang bang!

Twilight instinctively dove back for the log of her own will and I quickly followed, pressing my back against it. Screams of agony filled the area, making Twilight fold her ears against her head. Before we could say or do anything, another gunshot went off, ending the screams.

Twilight shivered as the final shot rang in her ears. “W-what do we do?” I mulled over our options. A quick check of a bit purse in one of my bags gave me an idea.

“Twilight, you’re going to be bait.” She stared at me wide eyed.

“What?” Came her horrified whisper.

My lips twitched back into a frown. The weapon did not follow the sound of a normal Detrota guard’s pistol, making the owner fair game. “You have a debt to pay, and that gun is going to be a good way to pay for it.” Twilight still looked terrified, but now carried a hint of anger in her voice.

“I could die!”

“Every day is another chance to die.” I sighed, running a hoof through my mane. “Listen Sparkle, I don’t know where you came from, but here in Haychigan, you do everything you can to survive, even if it means running the risk of death. I didn’t have the opportunity like those raised in the city to get a job and stay safe within the walls. I was born out here, and I know exactly what risks I take.” I took a breath. “And from the options we have, we wait them out and run the risk of not having any money to get food once we get to Detrota, or we fight.” My eyes locked onto her orbs as I stared. “So what’ll it be, Twilight Sparkle?” The white mare shrank under my gaze, looking at the ground.

“Okay.”

Twilight shivered as she stood in the middle of the grass.

“H-hello? Is anypony hurt?” There was a silence. And then…

“Oh ho ho! Is that a mare I hear?” Twilight’s eyes dilated as the large griffon stepped into view from behind the hill. He wiped away the blood along his beak with a paw and grinned. “A fine one too.” There was a pop as he stretched his neck. “Don’t you worry none,” he said chuckling as he approached. “I won’t bite. Much.”

“Hey!” Twilight watched, frozen in fear as the griffon pulled a black piece of metal from a holster on one of his front legs in a flash, only to drop it as a loud bang erupted from behind him. Blood began spurting out of its side. The grin that had taken place among his features disappeared in an instant, replaced by an awful gurgling as blood filled the griffon’s lungs. His eyes were wide with terror as he swayed to the side.

Thud.

Twilight stared at the griffon as he breathed his last, blood spilling over the ground beneath him as it flooded out from the new hole in his side. His eyes which had been once bright and full of malicious intent, now sat lifeless in their sockets. Twilight felt an awful feeling rising from her stomach.

“Yikes, sorry you had to see that.” There was a metallic click from behind the griffon. Twilight turned to stare at me. “Usually my aim ain’t so bad.” Twilight gagged, resisting the urge to vomit as she looked away from the scene. Twilight looked back after a time, looking a little more sick as I looted the griffon’s bag.

“How can you be so nonchalant after…”

“Killing someone?” I sighed, grabbing the griffon’s gun and moving to slip the dead bird’s holster off. “You just get used to the killing.” Twilight took a step back.

“Y-you’ve killed before?” Well I should have thought that one through a bit more.

“Only in self defence and for the innocent.” He grunted as the strap for the holster slipped out. “Those poor bastards he executed behind the hill were just a bunch of scavengers, Twilight. Ponies who wanted to just find and sell junk for their everyday meals. Sure, my motivation for killing is usually for profit, but when I kill, I at least have some morality.”

“But everypony deserves a second chance,” came Twilight’s murmur.

I snorted at that. “He was about to rape you. He’s probably done it before.” I stepped back from the body, looking directly at Twilight. “Everyone in this world is out to survive, and a lot of us have taken to less than peaceful means to do so. Practically all the griffon’s in Haychigan hunt ponies for food, the dogs go around killing anyone who won’t convert to their following, and even some ponies have taken to eating each other all because they couldn’t afford to buy some food that wasn’t pony meat.” Twilight was quiet for a time. I gladly took the silence as an opportunity to search through the griffon’s bag. “And some of us can’t find good entertainment, just like how he wanted to ‘play’ with his food before he ate.” Twilight looked sick again, but nodded.

I looked up, my expression neutral. “Got it?” She gave a slow nod. “Good.” Looking back in the direction from which we had come, I frowned. “Now, we need to get moving again. I’m pretty sure Detrota is just a two hour trot from here.” With another weak nod, Twilight returned to the log and picked up the saddlebags. I waited quietly beside the farmhouse, watching the tattered Equestrian flag wave in the breeze. Once Twilight had rejoined me, we set off.

The two hour tripped turned out to be far shorter than I expected. The lack of ponies had led me to believe that we were still pretty far from the city, but when we suddenly crashed into a guard checkpoint, Twilight more literally as she apologised profusely to the irate guard. I found that it had only taken thirty minutes by the time on my watch.

“Come on, Sparkle, we need to get going.” With another ‘sorry’ to the guard, we climbed down the slope and into the Sprawl.

The tent town, as the name suggests, was a sprawling sea of makeshift tarp shelters and ruined homes on the outskirts of Detrota. Every now and then, Twilight would look up and stare at the twelve-story wall of concrete that separated us from the inside of the actual city, just long enough to get it together and catch up to me in the crowd of ponies.

“So,” I began conversationally. “You’re going to need a pass.”

Confusion took over her face.

“A pass?” I nodded. “Why do I need a pass?”

“Well, you didn’t have a pass on you and you certainly wouldn’t be able to survive outside the city alone, and they can’t just let anyone into the city, else they’d have a bunch of ‘ruthless scavengers’ looting their city. They make you pay a bunch of bits for a pass, or go through a mountain of paperwork.”

“Why can’t I just do the paperwork?” Before I could answer, we found ourselves standing before a worn looking two-story office.

“Most can’t read or write. Now come on.” After ushering the white mare inside, I shut the glass door behind us.

Inside was a row of gently flickering fluorescent lights, the rays bouncing around the tiled room.  There was a pair of metallic sliding doors on the opposite side of the interior, flanked by two sunglass bearing guards. A small black orb jutted out from the ceiling in one corner of the room.

“Shatter here?” I asked the guards as we approached.

The grey earth pony on the left grunted. “Name?” I rolled my eyes.

“Let him through,” came a voice from the crackling intercom. “We’ve always got room upstairs for Fray.” With a pleasant ding, the elevator doors slid open. I stepped inside, Twilight following shortly before the doors closed.

“Who’s Shatter?” Twilight let out a little squeak as the elevator began moving. I rolled my eyes at her reaction.

“That’d be the pony you heard on the intercom, as well as the pony responsible for getting you a pass into the city.” I licked my lips, eyes shooting to the camera sitting in the ceiling for a moment. “You’ve got a unique opportunity; he’s got a proposal for you to get a pass, and as far as I know, you’re the first pony that has the background he needs for the job.” Twilight’s ears perked up.

“What background are you talking about?”

“You said you were a scholar, right?” She nodded. “Well, he needs somepony like you.”

“Wait, so nopony else has a background like mine?” Her eyes went wide. “How could that be?”

“Simple: there’s a massive lack of education for outsiders and city-dwellers alike.” I smiled at her as the elevator let out another ding and the doors slid open to reveal a well-furnished office. “And if anything you’ve told me is true, we’ll both be getting rewarded soon.” Twilight followed after me, tripping a little on the elevator as she exited. She opened her mouth to speak.

“What do you—”

“Fray.” I grunted as Shatter spun about in his chair to face us.

“Hello, Shatter.” He smiled from underneath his trilby, his eyes sparkling as they landed on Twilight.

“And hello miss…?”

“Twilight Sparkle.” He grinned, straightening up in the chair to set his hooves on his desk.

“Folks call me Shatter,” he said with a widening grin. “I believe we can help each other.”