Chapter 2 - Fighting

The pony stopped, just on the other side of the door. I just stood there, unsure of what to do.The door creaked, a rifle barrel pushing it open. Inch by inch, the earth pony slowly revealed himself, stepping into the daylight. After a moment of silence, he looked at me. His blue eyes under a tan hat scanned me as a small gust of wind ruffled his white coat, and a hoof of his reached to pull his grey mane out of his eyes. He had a saddlebag over a brown jacket, covering his cutie mark. He didn’t seem surprised at the pause. He slung the long rifle over his back and spoke in a calm, deep voice.

“So, you’re the one who climbed outta that rubble.”

He was unfazed at the situation. I was confused at how calm natured he was, in spite of the ruined city.

The bombs fell… it’s the end... The experts said that everypony on the surface would have died. If anything could have lived, trust doesn’t seem like something they would keep. Why isn’t he shooting at me?

I had trouble finding some words, but after another pause they came to me.

“Why did you put away your weapon?” I ask, the speaker filtering my words to sound robotic. I was still unsure whether I should trust him or not.

“Because every robot that roams the surface trots along a patrol path, warnin’ you of trespassing. Then they will warn you to back off, and when you don’t, they open fire. Except one. You.” he said, his voice calm and confident. He had a good point.

“And what would you have done if I was a regular robot?”

“I came through the door using my gun. I know how to shoot it. I guard that skyscraper over there.” He stated, pointing a hoof at the skyscraper with metal sheets covering parts of it.

He chooses his words well, I think. I felt natural trust towards him, but my mind halted myself.

“Why should I trust you?”

“I have lived in this ruined city from the day I was born. I’m a good ticket to safety, shelter, and know my way around the best way to travel. The sewers. How well do you think you’ll fare?” He said, once more making a good point. After a moment of confliction, I let up.

“True. I suppose I don’t have much choice. You lead, I’ll follow.” I said, taking a step towards him.

“Nope. You don’t.” he said, turning to the door. He withdrew his rifle, taking it in his mouth.

“I hope you have a gun, because we may have a raider issue.”

And with that, he motioned to have me follow him. He started to go down the stairs. I followed, walking behind him, before I froze. I heard voices that seemed to be very, very close.

Wait, what was that about…. ‘raiders’...?

“HEY! I thought I saw some a pony dicking around here! Don’t worry, I just want to fucking KILL YOU!”

I flinch at the harsh tone the ponies below us had used, while the guard checked his magazine.

“We’re gonna to have to fight our way out of this one. Follow me, and cover behind us.” He said, his voice slightly muffled by his rifle.

The guard motioned for me to follow him, taking a step towards the door, gun pointed forwards.

Cautiously, we trotted down each flight of stairs, until we arrived at the collapsed case. I trotted to cover, an overturned desk laying in the hallway, following the other pony. My radar said there were nearly ten other ponies around us.

“D-do we have to fight all of them? There’s ten!”

“Ten? Piece of cake. They’re both insane and stupid. Life out here fucked up their head, now they’re about as smart as a brahmin, but don’t forget they still have a knife.” He said, resting his rifle on the desk. He took a sawn off double barrel shotgun from his saddlebag, resting it against the desk. The guard took his rifle, and took a breath in, focusing down the sights of his rifle. A red line came into my vision, going from the rifle barrel towards the hallway corner.

“COME OUT! Our last mare died the other day! I would LOVE someone to fuck!” an unnamed raider yelled, his harsh voice echoing down the halls. A machete hovered around the corner, covered in a red field of magic. A head peeked out, following the machete.

“I FOUND THEM!” he yelled, before...

CRACK!

If I was a pony, I would have been deafened. The wall behind the raider was coated in a thick layer of red as his head simply evaporated from the high caliber round. I stood there, shocked and appalled by the display.

Sweet Celestia! I… I had no idea that’s what happens! I feel… sick....

“HEY! That was above us! Get up there, NOW!” a pony shouted in a commanding voice, likely the leader.

“Here they come! Get ready! If you’ve got a gun, now is the time to use it!” He said, maintaining his defensible position in the fatal funnel.

He stared down the hallway, gun pointing forwards toward the door leading to the stairwell. I hold firm beside him, checking my radar. I get a bit of an idea for the location of the stairs as all nine take the same path. Using my magic, I slowly slide the bloody machete towards us. Before it makes it far, however, another raider trots in front of the doorway, meeting the same fate as his friend, his head disappearing and his body falls limp. Blood spews from the open wound, painting the wall and floor around him.

The pony beside me pulls the bolt, preparing another round for the next raider that comes through the doorway and straight into his line of fire. This time, however, two ponies charge through.

“I’LL FUCKING KILL Y-” one shrieks, before his brains splatter on the walls. What is left of him falls limp, sliding across the floor. His friend with a submachine gun doesn’t even notice, spraying bullets down the hallway as he charges. The guard takes cover, bullets slamming against the desk. A few ping against my body, the low caliber rounds bouncing off, ricocheting into the walls around me. I raise my hoof, aiming at the raider, hoping something would happen.

--TAZER ACTIVATED

A small electric bolt releases from my hoof, flying towards the raider, shocking him. He falls, face slamming into the ground. The guard rests his rifle on the desk, releasing a shot. The raiders head explodes, meeting the same fate as the others.

“Hey! He was unconscious!” I say, riled up about his action. My wings instinctively flare, and would be menacing if they weren’t chipped and worn by time.

“Unconscious or not, he’s a raider. He’s gone. There’s no point in saving them. You don’t want him waking up and shooting you in the ass.” He says, seeming a bit agitated at my words. I decided not to press the issue.

The machete is nearly halfway down the hall, slowly dragging towards us. The closer it gets, the stronger I feel my grasp. The guard eyes it, having an unsaid plan about what to do when it reaches us. On my radar, the ponies stop in the hallway just outside the door. They learned their lesson.

“They stopped coming through the door.”

“I can see that.” He snaps, at me. “Take that machete, and this grenade. Blow them all to hell. When you get close enough, pull the pin, pop the lever off, and throw it.”

With that, he hands me a small green sphere with a lever and pin. I pull the machete up hovering it next to me. It felt surprisingly light in my magic as I slowly trotted down the hall.

“Go! Hurry up!” He urged, and I began to trot faster, picking up my pace. The four dots stayed there, stacked up against the door, as I approached them. One peeked his ear around the corner. I pulled the pin, popped the lever and threw the grenade as hard as I could. It soared past his ear, hitting the wall and bouncing out of sight.

“RUN! GET BACK!” The guard yelled as I stood there for a moment, not realizing the gravity of the situation. I quickly turned around, hearing his words, and started sprinting down the hallway towards him. I didn’t make it far, my heavy metal body not aiding me. The grenade went off.

BOOM!

The floor shook as rubble flew, a sizeable piece hitting me in the back. The force sent me onto the floor. An even larger piece flew over my head, one that would have caused a lot more damage. Some smaller pieces of concrete bounced off my rear, some falling around me harmlessly. In a moment, the spray was over. I looked behind, at the door. It was gone, and the bodies of the raiders were gone, as if they’d never existed. One raider was on the edge, and was only sent flying a few feet. He would have lived, but the heavy pack on his back and his friend’s bags crushed his bones as he landed.

The guard mantled over the desk, swapping to his sawn off. He approached, noticing the pony who had been carrying the packs.

“Ah, well, it looks like we can still get some of the loot. You carry it, I’ll deal with the last two raiders.” He said, trotting towards the stairwell. He left me in the dust as I hauled the rock off of my back, getting up. I take the packs and bags using my hoof, lifting them onto my back without an issue. I start trotting towards the stairs.

BAM!
BAM!

Two shotgun shells are fired on the floor below, and two dots disappear on my radar. I hesitated, and after a few seconds he shouted to me.

“Well? You coming or not?” he nonchalantly said. I could hear him trotting towards the stairs, so I climbed down and met him in the doorway.

Walking downstairs, I saw the mangled bodies of the last two raiders right next to the stairs, buckshot leaving most of their bodies shredded and torn. Looking at the guard, I saw that he had some blood splattered on the front of his face and body.

“Come on. Let’s go.” He said, like the fresh bodies weren’t even there.

I stare at the dead raiders, their mangled, bloody coats standing out at me. The guard seemed so nonchalant about killing, I was very uncomfortable at his reaction. Following the guard, we wander across the bottom floor, ruined machines surrounding us. I look up at the roof, and I spot a ruined manufacturing machine hanging from the ceiling, various wires hanging out of holes in the rusted metal sheets, showing the wear and tear of time.

Following the guardpony’s lead, he walks down the street, heading towards where a river used to be. I take a closer look at the various building that make up the ruined city, each one in a state of rubble and ruin. As we got closer to the old river, I spotted him opening up a packet containing an orange liquid, downing it quickly and tossing the trash back into his saddlebags.

When we reached where the river should’ve been, I only saw a long, empty ditch, water seemingly evaporated a long time ago. A large concrete pipe rested at the bottom, the entrance wide open, seeming to welcome anypony who wanted to enter.

I looked at the guard, and he walked to the ledge, and slid down the slope, letting gravity drag him down towards the bottom. When he reached the bottom, he looked back at me, expecting me to follow. Leaning over the edge, I slowly walk forwards, relaxing as I step completely onto the slope. Due to my metal body, as well as the gear we grabbed from the raiders, I slid significantly faster than the guard, a large plume of dust coming out from under where I land.

Standing up, I flapped my wings, using the wind to get some dust off of my body. The guardpony gives me a second, before walking into the sewer. I peer into the dark sewer tunnel, the dim lights giving me some vision before I quicken my pace and follow my guide into the sewer, unsure of what to expect of this new world.

Author's Note

So, my second chapter.

Is it believable that this is my first fanfiction? Probably.

At least I can punctuate correctly.

/shrug

I still shudder at those fanfiction who somehow managed to get into the system....

as always, gdocs formating is a (BUY SOME G(BUY SOME APPLES) APPLES)