Fallout: Equestria - SURVIVOR

FALLOUT EQUESTRIA: SURVIVOR

Chapter 6: Liberation

I Ran.

I ran so fast that the walls around me were a blue of grey. Blood pumped in my veins, so much so that I could literally hear my heart beating.

Ponies looked at me as I ran past; but none of them stopped to ask what was wrong. I didn’t want to bother explaining anyway. All I wanted was to get where I was running to.

Thankfully, I reached the door I wanted and opened it as fast as I could.

“DAD!”

I screamed the word as loud as I could, keeping in the tears that were forming in my eyes. I held my right hoof in the air, trying not to put too much pressure on it now that I wasn’t running.

The stable guards that were loitering around the room all stopped and looked over at me. Some had on faces of confusion; others concern. But that didn’t matter, because just then a brown earth pony wearing stable barding rushed into the room. As soon as he laid his eyes on me, he quickly ran over and pulled me closer.

“Flatfoot, what’s wrong?”

I sniffed, trying to hold back the wall of tears that was trying to break through my eyes. “I….I was playing ball in the atrium with Zest and Caps. But then….then Beaker came up and started picking on me.” I sniffed again, letting a few tears leak out of my eyes. “He kept saying I was weak, and that I only made lives harder for ponies in the Stable.” Finally, tears started for flow. “And then he pushed me down and kicked me!”

Dad sighed, slowly rubbing the my back in a comforting manner. He’d learned that trick from mom, since she would do it every time I got upset. The other guards either watched or pretended to be doing something else.

“It’s okay Flatfoot,” he spoke as calmly as he could. “Did you do anything that might have caused him to act like that?”

I shook my head, flinging teardrops all over. “No, I’d never do that.”

“I know that kiddo.” He thought for a moment. “Ponies sometimes have problems with themselves. It ranges depending on the pony, but they all deal with it in their own way. Sometimes, ponies pick on others to make themselves feel superior.”

He wiped away some tears from my eyes. “Beaker’s doing just that, whether he knows it or not. And do you know what ponies like you need to do when he does stuff like that?”

I shook my head again, but this time there were no tears. “You pick yourself up, and say with a straight face: ‘I know why you do this, and that’s okay. I still see you as a good pony.’”

The other guards smiled and nodded at the statement. I myself was surprised; I thought dad would say something along the lines of ‘hit him in the legs with a security baton’. But now, he was telling me to be niceto a pony that was mean to me?

“Will that really work?”

Dad smiled again, giving my mane a good rub. “It worked when your mom used to pick on me.”

I looked at him, surprised by the answer he’d given me. He laughed while setting me back on the ground. “Now why don’t you go find Beaker and tell him what I told you?”

Could I have said no….yes. But the way he was looking at me, and the way the others were to, made me think I shouldn’t argue. So with a sigh, I walked out the door and back to the atrium.

***

My eyes opened to the sight of the dark grey ceiling of the hospital; just as it had the last time I’d woken up there.

Those dreams….why were they occuring now? They’d been in abundance in the months following….the event. But they’d stop as soon as I was able to move on. Was the outside tainting my brain, or was that just radiation? Either way, I needed something to distract me from those dreams.

So I slowly raised my head to spot the source of the snoring that I now noticed was reverberating throughout the room. My eyes soon rested on a dark brown ball of fur that sat at the end of the bed I was currently occupying. It rose and fell with each breath it took. It sat near my legs, so I flex them a bit to give it a slight nudge. The snoring stopped as the furball uncurled itself and raised a head to look over at me.

I frowned. “Winona, where have you been?”

I hadn’t seen my new pet since I’d left to see Drop yesterday She’d decided to stay at the hospital with Cuddles, but she hadn’t been there when I got back. Maybe she’d run off somewhere after the explosion.

She just looked at me with those large black eyes, probably not understanding a word I’d said. I sighed, then flew the blankets off me and started crawling out of bed. Winnona jumped off before the sheets covered her and sat on the floor patiently.

The room Cuddles had given me to use had been a quarantine room sometime before the war. Both the patients and hospital staff didn’t like the vibe they said the room gave off, so most stayed away from it. But for me, it was just what I needed for a one night stay. Guess since ponies would be in here for a long time, they’d tried making everything as cozy as possible. That meant a comfy bed, adjustable lights, and even room temperature control.

Thanks to the Mega Spells, only the comfy bed remained, but the rest of the room still had a good feel to it.

Once I’d rolled out of bed and given my muscles a good stretch, I walked over to where my supplies and Battle-Saddle sat. I grabbed the bag and slung it over my back. Once it was secure, I grabbed my saddle and quickly fit it back on so that it was level and comfortable.

Winnona walked up to me and wined, looking at me with….well….puppy dog eyes. I didn’t know what she wanted until I heard the rumble of her stomach. “You hungry girl?”

She responded with a happy bark and ran towards the bedroom door. I smiled, thinking about how hungry she must be after not eating for 120 years. And since I’d needed to fuel up before leaving, I figured now was as good a time as any to head to the cafeteria.

So I opened the door and watched as Winonna rushed out and sped down the hallway, probably already smelling the food in the kitchens. Since I didn’t want her to eat all the food, I followed closely behind her.

***

Like last time, breakfast consisted of a hearty bowl of Sugar Apple Bombs. The sugary taste and apple flavoring tingled my taste buds with every single bite. As for Winonna; I’d gotten Batter to give up a few cooked pieces of meat for her. She sat down next to me, devouring the steak like a wild animal.

Once I’d finished and given my thanks to Batter, I set off to find Cuddles.

She still hadn’t given me the medical supplies I’d asked for yesterday. When I asked her last night, she said they’d be ready tomorrow morning. Hopefully she was right and I could collect them and set off soon.

I decided to head to her room; thinking that would be the best place to start looking. Winona followed closely behind me, wagging her tail at any pony that walked by us. If pets were really that friendly before the war, I could only imagine what uses they had back then.

But soon we reached Cuddle’s room, and I could hear noises coming from inside. I knocked on the door twice. “Cuddles, it’s Flatfoot!”

“I’ll be out in a minute!”

I rolled my eyes and began pacing in front of the door. Winona just sat still and kept her tail wagging. She did seem eager to see Cuddles again after the brief meeting yesterday.

Just as I was doing my third pacing line, the door swung open and Cuddles walked out. My eyes went wide with surprise.

“What are you wearing?”

The nice fitting nurse outfit had been replaced by a leather harness and knee pads. Her hair had been undone and was now flowing down her neck, coming to a rest just above her shoulders. Her cutie marks were covered up by two yellow saddle-bags with pink butterflies on them.

She looked sternly at me, puffing her chest out for emphasis. “I’m coming with you to Manehattan.”

WHAT!

“No,” I said sternly. Being from a stable aside, I knew what it was like outside the city. It wasn’t the place for someone like her, and I wasn’t about to put her in danger.

Cuddles tapped her chin gently. “If I recall correctly, you said you’d repay me any way I choose in exchange for getting you the medical supplies.” She gestured to her saddle-bags. “Well here are your supplies. In exchange, I want to go with you.”

I pinched the tip of my nose, trying to think of what to say. “Cuddles, I know you were born in the Wasteland, but you’ve also lived your life behind walls. Out there, there aren’t any walls; as I’m sure you told me yesterday.”

“So what,” she retorted. “Just because I was born inside a city; it means that I can’t defend myself?” She looked me over, still keeping a stern face on. “And don’t forget; YOU were raised in a stable, which is a thousand times more safe than Stalliongrad.”

I wanted to rebuff her; to tell her that Stable 11 was in fact much worse than Stalliongrad. But that would mean talking about the sacrifices, which I wasn’t in the mood for.

“But I’ve killed raiders, and have a gun. What do you have to defend yourself if I’m not there when Raiders, Mutants, or Celestia knows what else come to kill you?”

Strangely, Cuddles smiled smugly. She gestured into her room; towards the bookshelf that sat in the corner. “See that tin can,” she asked. I looked up and noticed a small dented can sitting on the top. I nodded my head in agreement.

Cuddles’ horn glowed brightly as she turned her head towards the can. Then, with a sharp pop, a blast of solid magic burst forth and blasted the can off the shelf. She looked back at me, still smugly smiling. “That proof enough?”

I thought hard. That wasn’t the most impressive magic I’ve ever seen, but it could definitely be deadly to those without proper protection. Unicorns usually had advantages compared to other ponies, and I guess this was the reason why.

I sighed. “....Fine, but don’t blame me if you get killed.” I began to walk down the hallway; with Winona followed closely behind me. Cuddles huffed happily and soon fell into step behind us.

“Oh don’t worry. I don’t plan on dying.”

***

The journey out of Stalliongrad was lackluster at best. There weren’t any ponies out and about this early in the morning, and the deafening silence could make anypony shiver. Drop wasn’t around to say goodbye, but he’d left a note at the secretary’s desk wishing us good luck.

At least he cared enough to tell us he didn’t want us to die.

Once we’d passed the city gates, I pulled up my map function and selected the marker that was supposed to be Manehattan. A little arrow appeared in my vision, pointing north-east of our current location.

We began walking, making sure we kept together. Winona ran ahead, happy to be back out in the wide open wasteland. Cuddles walked next to me, but made sure there was a reasonable gap in between us.

We stayed like that for an hour until Cuddles decided to break the silence. “So,” she began “what was life in a stable like?”

I raised an eyebrow questionably. “Well, that came out of nowhere.”

She looked ahead, not even sparing a glance at me. “I just thought I should know more about the pony I’m traveling with.”

I thought for a moment, thinking of a way I could explain the situation. The best option was probably to stay quiet, but that would give her the impression that I’m a jerk. Then I began to think about life besides the sacrifices.

“It was peaceful….to a degree. There wasn’t any fighting, or creatures that could kill us.” I looked up at the dark grey sky that stretched over us. “It wasn’t that spacious, but it wasn’t cramped either. Work was fine, but certain jobs really were a hassle.”

Cuddles nodded her head. “What about the ponies that lived there with you? Did you have many friends?”

I looked ahead, trying to not frown or (even worse) cry. “I had two close friends; Zest and Caps. Caps worked with me in maintenance. He was nice, if not sometimes full of himself. But we liked to place cards and even sometimes chess.”

Then, my mouth gave out and I frowned. “Zest was my best friend. She worked as a doctor in the Medical Wing; mostly performing surgeries. We were friends ever since we were blank flanks.”

She looked over at me; her large blue eyes filled with sympathy and understanding. “Do you miss them?”

I sighed, thinking back to days before when I’d decided to leave the stable. “Yes. I’d be a terrible friend if I didn’t.”

My mind was still playing over the way each of my friends looked the last time I saw them. Zest with teary eyes, Caps shouting with joy about the speech I’d given, even Shot Glass throwing me a bottle of aged cider. But with those came the image of the last thing I’d witnessed in the stable.

Mallet; looking at me with a death glare and telling me that I was going to die. I saw the stable door close, and the utter darkness that came with it.

I didn’t realize I was shaking until Cuddles put a gentle hoof on my shoulder. “Flatfoot, are you alright?”

My eyes, which had suddenly shut, popped open and looked over at her. The face she wore was a mixture of confusion and worry. It was then that I noticed my legs were still shaking slightly. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get the shaking to stop.

“Yeah. I’m….I’m fine,” I said, my voice shaking as much as my legs.

“You didn’t look like you were fine.”

That voice didn’t belong to Cuddles, and it definitely didn’t belong to Winona.

I quickly clocked my riffles and turned towards the the origin of the voice. To my surprise, I was staring at something that looked like a metal bug.

It was round with large, almost fiber-like, wings. A small metal cylinder stuck out of the bottom of it, and large antennas stuck out of the top.

Cuddles backed over to me, looking uneasily at the flying metal bug. “Did….did that thing just talk?”

I heard the bug huff angrily. “Yes, That Thing can. And This Thingdoesn’t like being called a thing.”

Cuddles looked embarrassed, and was now staring at the ground with more fascinating than she should have.

“Sorry,” I said for her, “from the way you look, it does kind of give off the impression that you have thought.”

The metal bug laughed slightly. “I guess I should expect that. But just so you know, this isn’t what I really look like. I only took over this Sprite-bot so that I could talk to you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What’s a Sprite-bot?”

The bot was silent for a while. I guess I must have sounded like an idiot, but being who I was I guess that wasn’t a large problem.

“You’re not from around here are you?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m a Stable pony.”

“Oh, stable pony huh? Never met one of you before. I figured all ponies would never want to leave the safe life that stables provide.” He remained silent for a few seconds. “I’m guessing yours wasn’t so great; since you left that is.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“So what Stable did you come from?”

Whoever this pony was, he sure was noisy. Was I going to have to tell him my life’s story? Because I really wasn’t in the mood to have to make up another story again.

“Stable 11,” I said, trying my best to sound gruff.

The bot kept silent for another minute. “Never seen that one on my records. But since you said it wasn’t pleasant, I guess that’s a good thing.”

I nodded my head in agreement. “So,” the voice continued, “where are you and your friend heading?”

Surprisingly, Cuddles walked out from behind me to answer instead. “We’re heading to Manehattan to talk to the Steel Rangers.” Her voice was soft, but also a little shaky.

“The Steel Rangers? What in Equestria would make you want to talk to them?”

“Help,” said Cuddles. “Flatfoot needs their help.” She looked at me, then nodded her head in the bot’s direction. A silent way of telling me ‘go on, tell him.”

I sighed. “My stable is being run by a dictator. He’s in control of everypony, and can even decide who lives and dies.” I closed my eyes tight, trying to keep down the anger that was building up inside of me. “I left so that I could find a way to stop him. Mayor Drop in Stalliongrad told me that the Steel Rangers might have the firepower needed to take him down.”

Once again, silence spilled from the robot. In fact it was a full two minutes before the voice returned. “Well, I can definitely see your reasoning. Hell, I’d probably do the same thing if I was in your hooves.” He paused for a moment. “So, do you have the guns and guts needed to get to Manehattan?”

I pointed to my saddle-bags. “I bought as many bullets as I could get. Plus Cuddles has two bags of medical supplies. I’d say we’re all set.”

The robot huffed. “I wouldn’t.”

Okay….what was this pony’s deal? He pushes into our business, and now he’s telling me we’re not prepared to make it to Manehattan? I was very tempted at this point to aim my guns at the bug and blast it into spare parts.

“Why?”

I looked over at Cuddles, who was staring at the bot. But she didn’t look angry; she looked concerned.

“For one thing; you don’t have enough bullets. I looked at your inventory, and it could be a lot more full.”

I looked down at my Pip-Buck, which had somehow switched to my inventory setting. “How did he do that?” I thought.

“Noted,” said Cuddles, “anything else?”

“Guns. That battle-saddle is nice, but you need more than that. Plus, both of you should be carrying a gun on you at all times.”

Cuddles rubbed her mane nervously, choosing to look away from the robot. “Is that it?”

“One more thing; armor. Flatfoot, you’re raider armor is okay. But it looks like crap to and it won’t last long. As for your friend, she needs some armor pronto. Without it, she’ll be dead in no time.”

This time, Cuddles was the one who was silent while I nodded in agreement. I may not like the way this pony operates, but he definitely seemed to know what he was talking about. And right now, good advice was something I could really use.

“So,” I replied, “since I spent most of my caps buying what we have, do you know where we could get all of this for cheap?”

I felt my Pip-Buck vibrate before the bot even had a chance to speak. “I sent a location icon to your Pip-Buck. There, you’ll find everything you’ll need.” He was quiet for a moment. “But I should warn you, other ponies already have it.”

I groaned, already knowing what the answer was going to be. “Let me guess; Raiders?”

The robot chuckled. “Have you dealt with raiders before?”

Part of me didn’t want to go into details about the medical center. What went on there still rung in my head. But this pony had given us info and possibly a chance at new loot. The least I could do was answer a few of his questions.

“I cleared out a nest of raiders that were attacking Stalliongrad. They were hold up in an old MoP center.”

“You killed the raiders that were attacking Stalliongrad?” The voice sounded surprised and shocked at the same time. “Wow, that’s pretty impressive.”

I waved a hoof at the bot. “It was nothing really.”

Cuddles walked up and gave me a playful punch in my shoulder. “I can speak for a whole town that says otherwise.”

The robot chuckled. “Well, either way, I think you’ll have no trouble with these. Guess all I can say now is good luck.”

I may not have liked the way the pony acted, but I guess he wasn’t all bad if he was trying to help. It was hard to imagine many other ponies doing the same thing.

Just as the Sprite-bot began to turn away, Cuddles called out to it. “Wait, we didn’t even get your name?”

The bot stopped, and I head the soft chuckle of the voice.

“You can call me Watcher.”

The robot gave a slight buzz as the voice faded away. It was replaced by music that reminded me of the military marching songs I’d heard on the old stable holo-tapes.

The bot paid us no attention as it turned in the opposite direction and buzzed away.

***

“I’m not sure if we should trust him.”

Once the bot had left, Cuddles had started pacing back and forth across the dead grass. Apparently that’s what she did when she needed to think, so I left her to it.“Why not,” I asked. The information he’d given us seemed legit. Plus if he really wanted us dead, a simple head blast from that pistol might have been able to do it. But more than anything; he seemed legitimately concerned about us. The tone he’d used clearly showed he wasn’t intending to do us harm.Cuddles stopped pacing and looked towards me. “What if he’s lying. What if we’re just walking into a trap; there are ponies out here who would do things like that.”I clicked my battle-saddle into “stand-by” position. “Then I’ll take care of it. But he was right; you need armor and a gun. And more ammo is always a good idea.”“Magic works just fine for me,” she said, lighting her horn up for emphasis.“Well no offense Cuddles, but I think I’d rather listen to the pony who seems to know his way around the Wasteland.”I really didn’t want to have to argue with her about all this. No matter the pony, good advice was good advice; and you’d have to be an idiot to ignore it. If there was a way to get better armor and more bullets, I’d be willing to take it.Cuddles huffed angrily, but gave me a slight nod of her head. “Fine, but don’t expect me to do that much killing. I close wounds, not open them.”“Fine,” I huffed, “then please stay out of the way while I take them out.”I removed the marker from Manehattan and switched it to the mark that Watcher had made on my map. “It’s not too far, so we should get there fairly quickly.”Cuddles nodded again. I let out a low whistle, and soon Winona was barreling towards us from whatever location she’d been hiding in. “Time to kill some raiders girl.”She barked happily, which made Cuddles look at the dog nervously. “Let’s go,” I said as I began walking in the direction of our newer destination.My two female companions were not far behind me.

***

The building in question could be summed up in one word; decrepit.It was situated a small distance away from a nearby town that my map had labeled “Shimmerton.” I had thought about stopping in a few buildings to see if they held anything valuable. But wanting to keep the good ammo for the raiders, I decided to leave them until later.Me and Cuddles were crouched behind a large concrete slab near the building. I noticed a few ponies prowling the outside, but not that much. Another thing I noticed was that, from the outset, they did have good armor.Unlike the leather pads that I was wearing, this armor looked strong. No duct tape patches or strings holding it together. Of course that meant that it would be even harder to land a deadly blow on them. I had a sneaking feeling that V.A.T.S. was going to have it’s work cut out for it.Cuddles peared over the slab, keeping her eyes on the two ponies closest to us. “How many are patrolling the outside?”“Five,” I said, counting the red dots that appeared on my E.F.S. But they were the only ones that showed up; everything inside the building seemed to almost disappear. I made myself a note to find out why after we’d cleared the place out.“I could knock out maybe two with my magic; three if they don’t notice me.” She looked over at me with an uneasy frown. “I guess that should give you enough time to take out the rest.”“What happened to the plan that you stay out of the way while I take care of them?”She huffed angrily as she began to tap her hoof on the ground. “I wasn’t really thinking then. Plus we don’t know what these ponies are carrying. So, I thought it would be best to help you out.”Angry or not, she did have a point. If Watcher sent us here because they had more guns, bullets, and better armor, then there was no telling what they had at their disposal.With that in mind, I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out the small pistol I’d also taken from Stable 11. I held it out to Cuddles. “Just in case.”I expected her to argue; to refuse to even think about spilling another ponies blood. So I was fairly surprised when she grabbed the gun with her magic and floated if carefully in front of her. “Just in case,” she repeated.With a silent agreement between us, I looked down at Winona. She’d been fairly quiet since we arrived, but I could see the excitement in her eyes.I wasn’t too sure if she would even be able to take part in this. She didn’t scream the killing type, nor did she look it. However, she had speed and size on her side; small enough to sneak up to the raiders, and fast enough to run away.“Okay girl, time for action.”I looked over the slab and pointed at the raider that was starting to come around the corner. “Get Him!”In a flash, Winona had ran around the slab and was barreling towards the raider. He didn’t even notice the furball until she jumped right on him.I really didn’t know what I expected; maybe she’d lick him, or maybe just knock him to the ground. I was just hoping she’d distract him for a minute so I could line a shot up.What I didn’t expect was for her to bite down on his neck.Me and Cuddles watched in shock as Winona tore into the raider’s neck amidst a shower of blood and meat. No screams permeated the air, but I could see his eyes. They were opened wide with shock, terror, and confusion. He let out a strange gurgle noise as he fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head as his chest stopped moving.Winona let go of the raiders throat and looked back at us with a smile.I really didn’t know what to even say. We’d just witness Winona, a sweet and lovable dog, tear apart a raiders neck. Then after all of that, she was looking at us like she’d just done a good job. “But I guess, technically, she did,” I thought.I could have probably stood like that for a whole hour, but thankfully there were other things to worry about. I saw a red dot move across my E.F.S., and just a moment later another pony rounded the corner.Her eyes, bloodshot as they were, grew as she witnessed the gruesome sight in front of her. Letting out a snarl, she pulled a gun out with her magic and pointed it at Winona.“Stupid….murdering….BITCH!”Winona jumped behind the wall as two bullets exploded out of the raider’s gun. She growled angrily and ran over to try again.“Oh no you don’t,” I thought. Slipping into S.A.T.S., focusing my attention on the head before unleashing a barrage of bullets into her head. It exploded into a bloody pulp that left blood oozing off the wall.“What the fuck was that?”I heard the raiders before I saw them run around both sides of the building. Each had one a metal chestplate and metal leg braces. They held low quality guns that looked like they would fall apart after one shot.S.A.T.S. still needed time to recharge, so now was a time for distracting. “I could really use some magic right now!” I aimed my saddle and let loose a barrage of bullets. They all missed their target, but the spray did cause the raider to duck back behind the wall.“Working on it,” Cuddles replied. Her horn glowed brightly as she turned towards the second approaching raider. A veil of magic enveloped his head, and I saw his face begin to strain. He dropped his gun and started pulling at the magic field around him. But his legs just passed through it, and soon he began to move slower and slower. Then, with a final breath, he fell onto the ground and didn’t move again.I was surprised to say the least, but I kept my focus on my current opponent. The raider levitated her gun around the corner and began firing wildly. I ran behind the other wall and waited until the sound of gunshots subsided. Taking a look around the corner, I saw the mare quickly trying to refill the gun with more ammo.My PipBuck showed that S.A.T.S. was recharged, so I quickly slipped in and sent two pellets into the mare’s head. Blood and meat blew out the back as the lifeless body slumped to the ground. I checked my E.F.S. to see if there were any leftover raiders on the outside, but it came up empty.Cuddles walked up to me, looking like she’d just had the wildest night after a party ever. “That was….that was….”“Exhilarating, Bloody, Fun?”“....All the above,” she replied. Winona ran up to us, still covered in raider blood from paw to tail. Cuddles looked uneasily at her. “I can’t believe she did that.”I smiled and gently patted the dog’s head. “Good Girl Winona.” If she could start doing that more often, I might not have to waste so much ammo when dealing with ponies. That, and I could threaten to send my dog after those that bothered me.But time for joking was over; we still had to get armor and bullets. I began to look through the raider bodies; searching for anything useful. Two of the raiders had guns that were basically junk, so I left those behind. But they did have bullets, caps, and even some good piece of armor.One raider had on metal leg braces, which my inventory said were much stronger than the ones I was wearing. I swapped them out before moving onto the other two bodies. The one Winona had taken down had a metal back brace and a few pieces of ammo; both of which I took.But it was the final raider that had the best stuff. She may have been using a pistol, but my PipBuck told me it was in much better condition than the two other pistols I had. The caliber was different, but she also had some bullets to go with it. Finally, she had the piece de resistance for my protection; a sturdy metal piece of chest armor.After peeling it off the body and swapping it with the leather on, I looked towards Cuddles with a smile. “So, how do I looke?”She raised an eyebrow. “Like a raider.” When I gave her a puzzled look, she rolled her eyes to. “With the blood over you and the dirty metal armor, you look like you’ll eat the first pony you come across.”I smirk and gave my lips a quick lick “Hm….well you do look good enough to eat.”Cuddles’ cheeks began to turn red again, and I couldn’t help but smile at that. It was so easy to get her embarrassed that is was almost ridiculous. But in all honesty, I think it helped me keep a level head. If I didn’t have somepony to joke around with, I might have gone insane from loneliness. And I wasn’t ready to paint a face on a rock and start talking to it.“So, is that all of them?”“Nothing’s coming up on my E.F.S., but I did see a pony walking inside when we got here. I’m guessing that’s where we’ll find the last of them.” I looked the building over again. “Since it’s not that big, there shouldn’t be that many inside.”Cuddles shook her head, “looks can be deceiving….but I hope you’re right.”“Just keep your magic ready and your gun pointed.” I began walking around the building until I reached a old wooden door on the other side. A sign next to had faded away, but I could still see the words etched into it.“Equestrian Military Recruitment Office.” That didn’t make things any better for our cause. If this place used to recruit ponies for the army, then more than likely had a few high power guns in their possession. I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out two grenades. I a few hooks on the chestplate and attached the two to them. Hey, better to have them at the ready.Cuddles are Winona finally caught up with me, each looking at me with confusion. “What’s with the grenades?”I pointed at the sign beside the door. “I’ve read about a few Pre-War places in the Stable. Recruitment offices usually came equipped with different kinds of ammunitions. I want to be ready if they have something that’s going to either mutilate and or annihilate us.”“Good call,” said Cuddles. “Now, let’s go ahead and get this over with.” She pulled out her pistol and slid six rounds into the cartridge. “I’m already getting sick from all this blood.”I couldn’t say I disagreed with her; killing was necessary, but not very pleasant. The lives lost and the blood spilled could drive anypony to insanity. For now, I was fine. But for the long term….well I couldn’t say just yet. Hopefully this would turn out differently.“Just watch your back,” I said before reaching up and pushing open the door. I quietly slipped inside, with Cuddles and Winona following silently behind me.

***

After the MoP center, I thought I’d be used to the blood soaked insides of raider buildings. But the sight of mutilated corpses hanging from the ceiling still made my stomach churn.

Unfortunately, Cuddles didn’t have a stronger stomach.

“Oh….oh my Celestia! I think….I think I’m gonna….” She wasn’t even able to finish her sentence. Instead she turned her head around and ejected the contents of her stomach onto the bloody floor. I slowly rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

Once she was finished, she looked up at me with watery eyes. “How can ponies do something this horrible?”

I was beginning to wonder that myself. Did these ponies really find joy in mutilating and decorating dead bodies? Raiders were a curious breed on their own, so I could only imagine what their world with no proper upbringing or restrictions was like. But really, the evidence was all around me.

As Cuddles recovered from her episode, I took a better view of the room. The walls, besides streams of blood, were completely bare. The tiled floor was streaked with blood and vile patches of rotting gore. Other body parts were either hung from the ceiling or nailed to the walls.

Across the room was a staircase leading up to the top floor, which was also decorated in assorted body parts. A small desk sat beside it, which held a few worn out terminals and busted lamps. A radio was positioned near the end, which was only broadcasting static.

Cuddles walked over from her corner and looked around the room. Her face still seemed pale, but she put on a tough look of concentration. “Are there any raiders down here?”

I looked at my E.F.S., which showed three red dots in my vision. All three had a small arrow pointing above them, indicating that they were above us. “There’s three on the top floor.”

“Well that’s good. As long as they aren’t too protected, we should be able to take them on.”

“Let’s just wait until after we spill their blood to make comments like that,” I replied as I began walking towards the stairs. I took care not to step on any spleens or gallbladders, or at the very least slip on the blood soak tiles. Cuddles was following me as closely as possible, while Winona was curiously sniffing a legless body by the stairs.

When the two of us reached her, I clocked my gun and checked my E.F.S. again. Two of the dots were stationary, while the other was moving back and forth across the room. “Why aren’t they coming to attack us? Didn’t they hear us talking, or even the gunfire outside?”

“Maybe the walls are soundproof,” said Cuddles as she levitated her gun up to her face. “Or maybe Raiders just have bad hearing.”

“I really hope it’s the second option.” But I wasn’t going to get anywhere by just standing here. So without any worry of what’s next, I took a step up the stairs.

And that’s when I felt something thing push against my leg. Before I could even look down, I heard a click and something fell down from the ceiling. When I did look at the floor, my eyes fell on a small red colored grenade….with its pin pulled.

“GRENADE!” I screamed, and I quickly ran as fast I could towards the opposite side of the room. Blood splattered on my hooves and legs as I tried my best to get to away from the explosive. My experience with them was minor, but I knew what kind of destructive power they had.

But after reaching the opposite wall, I realized that Cuddles hadn’t followed me. Looking back towards the stairs, I saw Cuddles enveloping the grenade with her magic and lifting it up into the air. “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”

The grenade, which probably had a slower detonation time, was flung up the stairs to the floor above. The red dots on my E.F.S. started scrambling around like crazy. I could even hear them screaming from my position. “SHIT, FUCK, SHIT FUCK!”

The screaming came to a stop when the grenade finally went off. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the explosion ripped through the room above. Two of the red dots disappeared from my E.F.S., while the other one didn’t move at all.

When the dust settled, I walked back to the stairs and a very stiff Cuddles. Her breathing was normal, but her face was stuck in one of surprise. Winona was crouching next to the stairs, her ears down and winning slightly. I gave the dog a little pat, which thankfully got her up and smiling again.

I turned to Cuddles, “are you alright?” She didn’t seem inclined to answer, instead remaining silent and keeping a constant breath. Waving my hooves in front of her, I tried again. “Equestria to Cuddles, do you copy?”

Her eyes finally blinked, and her open mouth closed while still forming a frown. She slowly turned her head towards me, as if only just realizing I was there. “That was….a lot more energetic than I thought.”

“You get used to it,” I said as I began to climb the stairs. I kept my eyes open for more traps, but it looked clear all the way up. Cuddles slowly followed behind me, with Winona right next to her.

When I reached the floor above, I looked around at the carnage the grenade had caused. There were three burnt mattresses next to the wall across from me. Crates covered in blood were stacked along the other walls, while a bucket filled with what looked like eyeballs was below the only window.

Two of the raiders were in pieces in the center of the room, their body parts thrown all over the place. The third raider was lying in a corner; his legs were covered in blood and he was staring at me with a death glare. “You….you….FUCKER!”

I loved the small yet potent list of insults that raiders seemed to spew out. It really showed how the wasteland could affect a pony like them. But for now, all I was really interested in was what this raider had to offer. I walked over to him and knelt down until we were staring right at each other.

He made a move to try and bite me, but Cuddle’s magic wrapped around his throat and held him back against the wall. “Stay down like the sick dog you are,” she seethed.

I smiled at her before turning my attention back to the bleeding stallion. “A little sprite-bot told me you and your friends have some interesting supplies? That true?”

His bloody eyes sprang back and forth between me and Cuddles. He gave Winona a quick look, but then noticed the blood on her lips and quickly looked back at me. “So….what’s it matter if we do?”

I chuckled slightly. “Well you see, me and my friend need those supplies more than you do. I’d be okay with tearing this whole place apart to look for them, but I think it’d be faster if you just told us.”

He growled, giving me a good look at his yellow and cracked teeth. His breath wasn’t much better; it had the distinct smell of the stable sewage processor. That was one memory I wish I could forget.

“Why would I tell a cunt like you anything?”

I raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the limbless bodies of his partners. “Uh, because we can do the same thing to you. But if you tells us where they are, then we’ll let you go.”

“WHAT!” The magic tightened around his neck, causing him to cough slightly. I looked back at Cuddles, who was looking at the raider with a death glare. “You want to let that monster go? Don’t you see what him and the others have done to innocent ponies!?”

Trust me, I’d seen plenty at the MoP center, but that was another place and another time. “Didn’t you tell me that killing wasn’t right?”

She shot me a warning glance, tightening her magic around the stallion’s throat. “I don’t do the killing….but you do. And if anypony is more deserving to die, it’s ponies like these.”

I couldn’t say I disagreed with her, but these ponies were our ticket to better equipment. “I do the killing, so I decide who dies.” I turned back towards the raider. “So, do we have a deal?”

He stared at me, still with a death glare. But eventually he nodded his head in agreement. “Good,” I stepped away from him and adjusted my saddle. “Try anything, and your head gets blown off.”

***

The raider lead us back down to the first floor. His legs were still messed up, even after two healing potions. Cuddles wasn’t very happy about letting them go, but thanks to some sweet talk I’d been able to convince her. But she kept the magic wrapped around the raiders throat tightly; “Just in case”.I will admit, I was nervous about trusting this stallion to. Raiders were labeled as vicious killing machines that would butcher your body, defile it, and eat it….and not particularly in that order.But I had better equipment on the line, and I wasn’t going to lose it just because my companion wanted the colt dead. If he was more helpful alive than dead, then that’s exactly how he was going to stay.I just hope that nagging at the back of my head would stop telling me I’m wrong.The colt stepped up to a door I hadn’t even noticed when we first walked in. It was situated behind the reception desk, covered in torn and bloody rags that dripped fresh red goo. He looked back at us when we were all in front of it.“I need to get the key out of my bag. Or am I not allowed to do that?” His tone was understandably cross, but I at least happy he wasn’t calling me cunt or fucker anymore.

“Cuddles, can you get the key out of his bag?” I asked her. I didn’t want to take my gun off him, or get too close. Hopefully, with magic, the job would be easier for her.

I saw a pink light envelope the colt’s saddle-bag. A moment later a small and rusty key floated out and over towards the lock. It slid in perfectly and turned until we heard the click on the other side. The door swung open slowly as Cuddles placed the key in my bags.“Seems strange that raiders would lock up what they would use the most,” she said sullenly.The colt began walking down the stairs as we followed behind. “It’s because we don’t want ponies like you sneaking in and taking our guns….or our livestock.”I raised an eyebrow at him. “You raise animals down here?”He paused for a moment; his bloody eyes making quick glances in almost every direction. I didn’t know if he was dodging the question, or just acting like a raider. It was hard to tell with ponies like these.“....Not exactly,” he finally replied.It wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but it was probably the best answer I was going to get.We continued down the stairwell for a little while before finally reaching another door at the bottom. The raider pushed open the door and the three of us walked in.What my eyes fell upon was both spectacular and horrible.The room we had walked into was about the size of the stable atrium. Shelves were set up along the walls, though most held either empty cans or nothing at all. A few random shelves held guns, bullets, and even mines. No blood lingered on the floors or dripped from the ceiling.In the center of the room was a set of three cages. Inside each were up to three or four bloody, bruised, and weary looking ponies. They all looked at us with shock and fear, some even moving as far from us as the cages would allow.Now his answer made sense, now I understood what he’d meant when he said “livestock”. Those mutilated corpses had to come from somewhere, and it looks like this was where they got them from.I turned to the stallion; possibly to start yelling at him. But before I could fully turn my head, he suddenly was yanked to the side and smashed against the wall. The pink magic enveloping his neck tightened, causing him to cough and gag repeatedly. Cuddles, her face aglow with furry, stared directly into his bloodshot eyes.“You….You….You….BASTARD!” She screamed, her magic tightening a bit more. “So you don’t only kill ponies, but you keep them captive to. What else do you do with them, eat them, rape them, make them into slaves?!?!?”The stallion desperately tried tugging at the constricting field of magic, but each tug simply slipped through it. Cuddles looked back at me, still having the look of fury plastered on her face. “Flatfoot, kill him. KILL HIM NOW!”It was safe to say that anger had completely taken over my companion. Breaking so soon outside wasn’t something unexpected. But the things that these ponies were doing, it was downright unthinkable. I was still trying to process what I was going to do.One thing that was clear was that I couldn’t kill the stallion. No matter the actions, we’d made an agreement. But right now, it wasn’t my hooves holding that pony down; it was magic. And from the looks Cuddles was giving me, I knew that it could only get worse the more I was silent.I stepped towards the pair, slowly reaching my hoof out. “Cuddles, let the stallion go.” One wrong action, and she could use that magic on me. And I for one didn’t want to use my gun on her at all.Thankfully, she dispelled her magic and stepped away. The stallion fell to the ground, coughing badly while he breathed in as much air as possible. I knelt down before him, making sure we were looking right into each other’s eyes. “Unload everything from your bags.”The stallion didn’t respond as he pulled off his saddle-bags and spilled their contents onto the floor. Items included a small pistol, some ammo, and a second set of keys. I could only hope that they were the cages behind us.Once everything was dumped out, I reached into my own saddle-bags and pulled out two healing potions, a can of pure water, and a box of sugar bombs. I placed them in his bags and then shoved it forcefully into him.“Leave. Don’t ever think of coming back here. If you send ponies after us, we’ll kill them. If we see you again, we’ll kill you. Do You Understand!?”“WHAT!” I glanced back at the raging unicorn, who now looked even more vicious. She was breathing heavily; keeping her death glare on the shaking raider.“After all that we’ve seen, you still want to let that monster go free?!”I nodded my head slowly. “I made him a deal, and where I come from deals are binding.” I glanced back at him, “and if he does anything similar again, I’ll personally track him down and kill him.”I was expecting Cuddles to argue, or even use her magic against us. She’d looked ready to kill when she’d been holding him against the wall, and I was worried she’d do the same now.But I guess Celestia was working inside her head, because she engulfed the keys with her magic and headed over towards the cages. The ponies inside looked at her with a mixture of fear and wonder; she must have put on quite the show for them.I turned back to the shivering stallion, now giving him my own death glare. “Get out,” I seethed, pointing a hoof at the door we’d entered through. “And remember what I told you.”The stallion quickly nodded. He put his bags back on before getting to his hooves and making a run out the door. I waited until I heard the sound of the front door slamming shut before walking over to the cages.Cuddles was unlocking the last one, while the ponies in the other two slowly advanced towards the open doors. I walked as close as I could before they started backing away. Some had even stayed huddled against the cage corners.“Are you alright?” I tried not to talk too loud or in a way that would scare them. Celestia knows what those raiders had done to them since they’ve been down here. I just hoped that the blood on the floor came from only cuts or nosebleeds.A skinny orange unicorn stepped out from the first cage. His eyes were bloodshot, and a multitude of cuts covered his face. He kept one hoof in the air; more than likely broken from whatever torture he’d been through.“Who….who, are you?” His voice was shaky, and his breaths were ragged and slow. His teeth were broken in different places, and his horn looked like it’d been rubbed with sandpaper.I reached out to him and gently placed my hoof on his shoulder. He flinched, but didn’t pull away. I took that as a sin that I could keep going.“My name is Flatfoot, the mare’s named Cuddles.” I thought for a moment before continuing. “As to who were are? Well I guess you could say were liberators.”

***

It took a while for me and Cuddles to corral all the ponies out of the cages. Two in particular didn’t even want us near them; even with coaxing from the others. Eventually we decided it wasn’t worth the time trying to get them out; instead we just gave them some food and left them to cower in their small prisons.

The others, while still looking nervous, were much more cooperative. After all the ponies were out and huddled near the door, Cuddles went along every shelf checking for useful supplies. Any food found was automatically given to the slaves, and any medical supplies was divided between our group and theirs.

Meanwhile, I was looking along the shelves too. But instead of food and medical supplies, I was looking for any guns and ammo that was still there. It seemed the raiders had taken most of the supplies for themselves; leaving only empty shelves and ammo boxes. I was able to find two automatic pistols and more ammo for my shotguns, though the latter's conditions were somewhat questionable.

I didn’t really have to do this now, but I needed a distraction from what I’d seen. Everytime I closed my eyes, I saw the dead, ghostlike faces those ponies wore. The meaty read cuts that sliced down to the bone; the small stumps were hooves once were; cutie marks scratched  to points where very few had something let; the eyes filled with longing for salvation, which was now being granted.  The images were so revolting I could almost feel the same thing on me. The feeling sent a shiver down my spine every time.

Once all the guns and ammo had been collected, I headed back to where the former slaves had gathered. Cuddles was moving around them, giving out food or helping heal cuts and bruises when needed. I walked up to the pony I’d spoken to earlier and sat down in front of him.

He was levitating a box of Crisp Apple Farm Apples in front of him, quietly eating the dried apple bits. Cuddles had put magical healing bandages over his worst cuts, but there was still a multitude of them over his body. His eyes quickly looked me over; the blood staining them lower than it was before.

He swallowed a mouthful of apples, coughing a bit as he tried to speak. “Thank you, for saving us I mean.” He was silent for another minute, putting a few more dried apples in his mouth. “It’s all so strange; being free after being enslaved for so long.”

“Didn’t look like you were their slaves,” I said, glancing at the blood and body parts along the wall. “It looked more like you were their cattle.”

The stallion shivered. “That doesn’t make that experience any less traumatizing.”

I nodded in agreement. Knowing your a slave is one thing, but learning that you were on the butchering block is even worse. And if there was anypony who understood him the most, that would be me.

The stallion finished off his box of apples, then held his hoof out to me. “Never should forget my manners; my name’s Buck Shot. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m basically the leader of this group you see here.”

“I had a feeling,” I said with a smile as I shook his hoof. For some reason, this stallion just seemed to radiate “leader.”

“So, what brought you two here in the first place? I suspect you don’t go barging into raiders nests that often, so why this time?”

I scratched my mane nervously. “Let’s just say a pony told us there was good armor, bullets, and guns here. He figured since we’re trying to get to Manehattan, it’d be good to get those supplies.”

Buck Shot looked around at the empty shelves that surrounded us. “Looks like they cleared out all the good stuff beforehand.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. The thought of going through all of this and only coming out slightly more armored wasn’t the best thought to float through my head. Plus with Cuddles giving out some of our supplies, it seemed more like a loss for us.

“So since we’re on the topic of asking questions, could you tell me how your group got here?”

Buck Shot looked down at the ground sadly; his ears following a similar course. He didn’t speak for a minute; instead only breathing and giving me an occasional glance. I might have see it as a sign to move on if he hadn’t spoken up.

“Were what ponies call Scavengers. We go from place to place in the Wasteland; trying to find anything that could still be valuable or useful. We either sell if for caps, or keep it for ourselves. Our main base is in Bucktown; a small settlement a few miles northeast of here.”

His breathing became slower the more he talked. But he didn’t miss a beat as he continued with his story. “Our group was on a mission similar to yours. We had to scavenge ammo and guns from this recruitment office; but those assholes never told us there’d be raiders here. When we arrived, we were no match for the guns and armor they had. Half our group got killed, while the rest of us were captured and locked up. We’ve been here ever since.”

Not wanting to say it out loud, I began to think about how weak these ponies actually were. Me and Cuddles were able to defeat them with ease, and we didn’t have the best armor. Heck, even Winona had taken out a raider in a spew of blood and neck meat.

Buck Shot glanced over at Cuddles, who was wrapping a pony’s leg in more healing bandages. “Your friend’s good….maybe a little too good,” he said looking back at me. “As much as we appreciate the help, I don’t want to drain you two of your supplies.”

I waved a hoof at him and gave my eyes a roll. “Don’t worry about us; supplies or not we’ll be just fine.” I looked over the battered and bruised ponies again. “Beside, I think your group needs it more than us. Plus Cuddles carries our food and medicine, so what’s done with it is basically up to her.”

Buck Shot chuckled. “Makes me wish there were more ponies like her out in the wasteland. Nowadays you’ll be lucky to find someone willing to pass you a piece of rotten food. Let alone one who’ll heal you up and give you supplies.”

I sighed, thinking about all I’d seen since leaving the stable. The mutated creatures, the killer ponies, the tyrannical nutcases; it really messes with a pony's’ head. “Yeah, not really what I expected it to be like.”

Buck Shot chuckled again, “your a Stable pony aren’t you?”

“What gave it away; the stable jumpsuit or the utter cluelessness?”

“Both,” he said smiling. “I’ve only ever met one other stable pony before. He was out here looking for something to help his stable. Stopped by Bucktown, did a little looking around, then left. Never knew what happened to him.”

Now I was curious. I’d never taken into consideration that there would be other ponies that have left their stable too. The pony Buck described had a good reason to leave his stable; so he could help it. But were their others; ones that grew tired of their normal everyday lives and wanted something with more adventure?

I put a mental note down to ask a that if I ever came across another stable dweller.

But my train of thought was derailed when Buck Shot spoke up again. “So back to the matter of your supplies. Now I know you said it’s no big deal, but ponies like us like to pay back what’s been given to us. And I’m certain that everypony here would agree that we owe you big time.”

I opened my mouth to counteract, but he put his hoof up in defense. “I don’t want to hear anything other than ‘okay Buck Shot.’ We have our principles, and we’re going to pay you back.”

I sighed, trying not to get irritated at this stubborn as a mule pony. We had come here to get supplies, but things changed when we found them. They didn’t ask for our help, so they didn’t owe us anything. I still got better armor, as well as a few guns and bullets.

“Tell you what,” he said “why don’t you accompany us to Bucktown?” I guess my look of confusion was pretty strong, because Shot rolled his eyes and elaborated. “Bucktown has everything a pony needs to survive outside. You come with us, we’ll get you the supplies you used on us. Deal?”

“Is no an option?

Buck Shot shook his head. “Fraid not partner.”

I thought the proposal over for a minute; thinking of all the positives and negatives. My PipBuck buzzed, signaling something new being added in. I brought it up and looked at the MAPS function. A small square had appeared on my map, a small distance northeast of our current location.

“It wouldn’t be too far out of your route, and the scouts in town probably know some quick ways to get to Manehattan,” Buck Shot said with a smile. “But remember, it’s up to you.”

I glanced over at the group of freed slaves; at the bullet holes, the cuts, the bruises, and even the busted legs. How long could ponies like that make it outside, even with armor and guns?

These ponies didn’t need to repay us….but there were other reasons for taking them back home.

I turned back to Buck Shot, who was looking at me with a calm and unreadable face. That was impressive on his own; looking calming even with those scars and cuts all over his head.

A smug smile formed on my face. “So, when do we head out?”

***

LEVEL UP!

Perk

Animal Friend: Pets and Animals under your command now do 25% more damage when in combat.