Chapter Three: Reach Out To The Truth

When the world collapsed, it left a lot of things behind. Most exuberant was the technology. I didn't know what Little Pip did to gain her connections, but I respected her dedication. Little Pip had switched priority to another eyebot, leaving the bot from before at the cave. The girl spent a good chunk of time explaining what she wanted.

I reviewed the coordinates in my pipbuck, making sure to wear it over my cryosuit. I found it hard to believe I didn't need the helmet, just the suit.

Pip explained that all I needed was the torso and the spiked collar. There were tanks fitted in the pauldrons wired through the torso and into the collar. The collar itself was a reprogrammed explosive collar with the plastic explosives switched for respiratory function. The collar either injected me with the preservatives directly, or sprayed constant vapor against my snout.

I took the spray option. Needles inside my neck was a recipe for disaster. Not to mention even if I didn't feel pain all too well, it still existed. Just like before the great war. My trip down memory lane brought memories of my service.

Back then, I had marks and tailgating assignments. Blackmail. Elimination. It was all I had left of a crumbling world. When Solid Diamond told me I'd been relocated, I was unsure of what to think. The blur in my mind grew hurtful and bludgeoning. Back then, when the world was so complicated, people like myself didn't belong. I had to thank Lil Pip sometime soon, I thought, loading my combat shotgun.

The simple click of a drum magazine sent shivers down my spine. Not literally, of course. Even if it did happen, the extremely low temperature pinched my nerves. I grinned softly, savoring the way it felt, levitating a shotgun again.

Most ponies didn't know, but unicorn horns weren't necessary for using magic. Innately, all Equines had some type of magic. Horns and antlers just made it easier.

I trotted my way out of the cave, slipping my pack over my waist. The weight was new to me. I traversed the corroded wastes near Canterlot and took a sharp turn south. There, Tesla Coil was being held hostage. His wardens were typical low-tech raiders, Pip told me. And nearest to that region were feral ghouls scattered across the emptiness. A vast majority of the dirt I travelled had melted from the rain.

An awesome, titanic boom woke my senses. Above me was a live thunderstorm. Thunder, unlike other weathers, innately soothed me. Not only was it a reminder that I'd be shrouded, but it brought me back to the trenches. Harkening on those old days brought serenity to my chest.

I crept underneath a cluster of dead logs, scouting the place out.

Between me and the sprawling highways far south, I found a scrap village full of hoarded junk. Most of the junk must've been reasonably valuable if raiders were stockpiling it in their base. But the majority of it was odd trinkets. Things like teddy bears and baby rattles, to baby bottles and toys littered the settlement grounds. I took caution in slipping closer, watching for movement nearby.

Among the hole-ridden rooftops and open roofs, I found a pair of snipers. They were raiders dressed in some sort of amalgamated armor made from chariot parts and fitted leather. One of them, the spotter, was smart enough to wear a construction helmet. His friend, a nearly naked mare, lacked head gear. Instead, she wore thicker armor, bulky at the chest with plates of scrap protruding sharply. The resulting shape resembled a ship's bow.

I navigated my way over my cover and climbed an erect rock formation. The stone was slippery, but Little Pip fitted my suit with treads. Climbing was a chore. But slipping off the rocks and onto the shacks... that was thrilling. I took my time striding from rooftop to rooftop, dashing right when thunder struck. The snipers were two meters in front of me. I knew there'd be hell to pay if they caught me there. So I advanced, noting each and every creak of the structures beneath me.

One of the raiders perked up and raised his weapon. I twitched softly realizing he didn't even reload. Must've had a full magazine of .308's. From the view I had of the rest of the village, everypony else was either sleeping, or elsewhere.

I went prone against the rickety metal, hoping it'd camoflague me.

"Hey, Bruise... What the hell is that?"

"Looks like... oh shit, it's a Canterlot ghoul!"

Oh boy. They saw my eyes, didn't they. I cursed at my own stupidity, ripping the pin of my grenade and tossing it over. Before they could scramble, the shock of the explosion tore the roofing. That was my cue to flee the scene and relocate to another rock cluster.

I was fortunate the raider settlement had so many dead trees and fallen logs about. They offered ample cover from impending bullet storms. Geographically, they'd built a death trap, sandwiched between the towering highways structures, which served for good sniper nests and then antler-high stone concentrations.

I noticed a number of red, highlighted ticks were located by my compass. Those were always enemies. Little Pip made sure to drill that into my head. When I crept along the dirt to see them, I found a squadron of poorly-armed raider ponies.

Six or seven, I estimated, tossing another grenade. Two of them were quick enough to sprint away and hit the deck. The others, wounded or neutralized. Four crippled and severely injured, one dead.

My chances were looking up. I blindfired around the side opposite of my position, flushing out the two unscathed enemies. When they turned the corner, I stabbed one in the neck with my combat knife and ripped it all the way across his jawline for good measure. The other one fired at my helmet with his assault rifle. The immense spread only struck my collar, which, in turn, boosted my numbing supply.

"Asshole! Just die already!" He barked, spraying frantically in my direction.

"You first, dirt bag."

I sprung forward and gored him in the gut. A weak 'oomf' hit my ears. I'd forgotten that my antlers wouldn't be in effect if they were covered. It still knocked him down; just barely. It's rotund shape forced a glancing blow, spreading too much of the force over a wide area. Most of the impact was dispersed perfectly against his ribcage.

The thought of barely hurting him filled me with something else. Something deep and slumbering.

I shifted my weight and spun halfway around, launching my hindleg into his chin. He wobbled backwards, before collapsing onto the dirt, bloody and broken. His last words were painful, tragic even.

"Luna damn it-! Bruise! Bruise, run! Forget the ransom, get out of here!"

Out from the former sniper nest, I heard that same mare answer his call. Bruise was the raider with the ship hull armor. Though she didn't seem to have a weapon at first... I was wrong to think it'd stay that way. The scattered shack rubble started to kick and shift. That's when Bruise burst forth from the ashes, donning a securitron head. She threw the rest of the roofing off her legs, toting a massive broadside cannon.

My E.F.S indicated a skull next to her name, telling me she'd mutated.

"You think you're tough?! I'll show you tough!" She screamed, loading a cannonball into her weapon.

The sight of her struggling lover filled her with determination. I knew it. I saw it in her eyes; they were alive.

Her cannon fuse started sparking. I hit the deck, barely dodging her first shot. She leapt extravagantly port-side, forcing me on the tips of my hooves. I strafed starboard, escaping her second shot by the hair of my fur. I fired three shells into her head. I nearly flew backwards when one of my own buckshots ricocheted against my sternum.

My pupils shrunk.

Bruise was right in front of me. She stuck the barrel of her broadsider against my helmet and lit the fuse. My neck snapped backwards as she launched me skyward. I crashed violently against the apex of a sharp rock segment. The stone impaled me, sticking through my spine. I couldn't feel my legs. Or my chest. Nothing. I grappled with my failing synapses. I shoved my midsection off the impaling stone. And then, crawling on my knees, I downed a health potion.

Another cannonball kicked me backwards. I grunted hard as I slammed the health potion against my muzzle, shattering the poultice. I forced myself back into consciousness, wobbling to my hooves. And as I did, I remembered the words I heard in the vault.

"Never lose hope, remember these words."

I glared up... meeting eyes with the one that'd beat me down.

"You think you're the only one with determination...?"

I raised up and tossed my helmet away.

"You think you're the only one who has purpose? I survived the bombs." I grunted, cracking my back.

"You? You're just in the way."

I galloped forward, wind rushing in my hair. An all-consuming assault engulfed our battlegrounds. The artillery fire missed me every step of the way. One. I rushed beneath the ball. Two. I snaked aside, portside. Three. I was one meter away. Four. I dashed forward, meeting her muzzle-to-muzzle. Her eyes went wide, and I launched my foreleg into her chin.

Bruise buckled in her knees, wobbling every which way as she dropped her massive cannon.

"N-no... I can't... I can't lose now." She whimpered, trembling, tired.

"You didn't lose, okay..." I murmured, wiping the blood from her cheeks.

"You won the battle. I just won the war. At ease, soldier... you did good."

I fed her two healing poultices and left to heal the other one. The male raider she cared so much about. I cursed as I found him dead, bled out and frozen in fear. He died begging for her victory. I stayed silent and found Tesla Coil in a rusted jail cell. He gazed up in awe.

"How the hell did you do that...?"

"Don't lose hope. That's all it takes." I answered, setting him free and falling to the darkness.