Zoner: Shadow of Cherneighbyl

I groaned as I woke. Somehow I had wrapped a blanket over my face but left my muzzle exposed for fresh air. I also seemed to be hugging a pillow.

I started working my way free, my movements slow and clumsy. Thankfully, I didn’t have to endure another nightmare, but I still had far too little sleep.

“A rare beast, this sloth-pony hybrid finally emerges from her slumber, ready to tackle a new day. Or at least, what little is left of it,” I heard Blossy say. She had adopted a softly-spoken, formal accent.

Ugh, it’s too early for this. I kicked away the sheets and cold, damp air washed over me.

“The beast breaks free of her cocoon. Her extrication necessitates the destruction of the habitat, however, since she merely occupied the bed, it is of no great loss to her.”

I groaned again, rolling over to get a look at the annoying pony narrating my wakeup routine. I opened my mouth, but was interrupted by a wide yawn; my legs shot out instinctively, stretching.

“It takes a long time for these animals to regain all of their faculties. Even now, she may only issue primitive grunts –”

“Blossy,” I growled.

“Yeees?” she answered innocently.

“Stop… that.”

“Aww, I was just getting into it. I’d make a pretty good Everfree Wildlife narrator, don’t you think?” Blossy sat down, beaming up at me.

My only response was to glare daggers at her until that cheeky smile receded. Hopefully, my grogginess magnified the effect.

Finally, she gave in. “Oh alright. Do you know how boring it is, waiting for you to wake up?”

I managed to sit myself up, stifling yet another yawn. “Well, it’s not my fault that some ponies are allergic to sleep.”

“I think it’s more a case of some ponies having an allergy to being awake,” Blossy said pointedly.

I stumbled out of the bed, dragging myself to my side of the room. “Wha?” I asked dumbly, pointing at my neat bed.

“Oh, I took the liberty of clearing up after you. You’re an incredibly messy mare,” my friend chuckled. “Speaking of which, imagine my surprise when I awoke to find you drooling on my fur!”

“I do not drool!” I shot back, my voice squeakier than I intended. I tried to discreetly wipe my muzzle. Just in case. Blossy’s grin only grew wider. “I just… got cold last night, that’s all.”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. “That tends to happen when you kick your comforter off. I take it you didn’t sleep well?”

I sighed and made my way over to my friend. I knew how this would sound, but I was essentially an open book to her anyway. “I had a nightmare. A really bad one. Mum and dad…” I trailed off.

Blossy froze, her eyes open just a little wider than normal for a fraction of a second. If I hadn’t known her so well, I would have missed the crack in her countenance. “You really miss them.”

“Yeah. It’s like… I keep expecting to see them again. I’d walk into a room with a question on the tip of my tongue, only to find… nopony there.” I pawed at the concrete floor aimlessly. “What I wouldn’t give to taste mum’s cooking again, or even just have dad teasing me one more time…”

A yellow hoof appeared on top of my own. I looked up at Blossy’s soft expression, eyes pouring empathy. “I understand.”

I know you do, Blossy. I know you do.

I decided to move things along before I started to tear up. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Oh, could have been worse,” Blossy answered, waving her hoof dismissively.

I wished I knew how to tell her that she could confide in me. That she didn’t have to hide her own problems for my sake. I lunged forward and hugged my friend tightly. At least I could show that I appreciate her.

“H-hey! What’s this for?” Blossy asked, hesitantly returning the hug.

“Just, you know… for being you. And being with me.” I pulled out of the embrace and returned to my sitting position.

A bemused smile settled on the unicorn’s muzzle. “No need to thank me for any of that. I care about you.”

I looked up into Blossy’s bright blue eyes. Always so full of energy, so strong. A surge of hope rushed through me, and my heart started to race.

Maybe I could… no, I should! I opened my mouth to speak.

Only, nothing came out. Whatever words I was going to say died before even a sound had formed in my throat. The hope that I had felt only moments ago had evaporated, leaving cold reality to slap some sense back into me. No, no I can’t. Never mind. My ears had drooped, and I realised I was staring at her hooves.

“So anyway, I was thinking we should go see the trader after having a bite to eat. I had the opportunity to chat to some ponies while you were zonked out. Apparently, he should be able to get us smuggled out of the Zone.”

“Huh?” I shook my head clear. “But I thought you wanted adventure? Or at least to get an artefact? Hay, I wouldn’t mind one of my own.”

The unicorn fidgeted. “Yeah, but, honestly, I’m worried about you. The Zone is way more than we bargained for, and I can tell it’s affected you already.”

“Blossy, I’m sure I can stick it out for a while longer. You don’t have to cut this short because of me.”

Blossy gave me a sad smile. “No, we really need to leave. Look, it’s painfully obvious that we’re out of place, here. And”– she looked down –“I don’t want to have to use my weapons again, you know?”

“Yeah, I can relate to that.” I sighed. At least I wasn’t the sole reason for us ending our adventure so soon. “Alright, let’s get out of here. Let’s go home.” It was surprising, how merely saying that lifted my spirits.

***

After taking care of our morning ablutions and gearing up (we decided to leave our helmets in our saddlebags– better to have the improved situational awareness and not need the extra protection, we figured), we bought our breakfasts from Green Thumb, who was running the inn at that time. While not so talkative, he served us with a genuine smile. I supposed it would be hard to not smile, with a wife like Misty. Even living in a place like this, her general cheeriness was bound to catch on.

Unfortunately, my breakfast wasn’t able to put a smile on my face. Despite how empty I felt, I just couldn’t stomach much of the bland, congealing mass of oatmeal. What I wouldn’t have given for some sea salt and maple syrup to liven this up. As things were, ground oats and water (not even milk!) made for uninspiring fare indeed.

Fortunately, none of this would matter anyway– we were going home soon!

We returned our bowls (mine with a guilty smile), said our thanks, then headed outside. The sky was a lovely shade of… grey. Albeit a brighter shade than yesterday. In the distance, off to the west, I could see part of the snow-capped mountain range that acted as a natural barrier between the rest of Equestria and the Zone. Even if a pony were able to climb such steep terrain, I doubted they would last long in the icy conditions on the peaks. Well, probably long enough for an EAF patrol to spot and apprehend them.

In the noticeably dim light of day, I also had a clearer view of the Zoner settlement. To put it plainly, the extra light was not flattering. Time had taken its toll on the buildings; wood had rotted and parts of some of said buildings had collapsed.

It must have been a small village, before the Zone sprang into existence. Judging by the underground constructions, they were related to the Cherneighble project somehow. Tunnels were not a common feature of pony housing, after all.

Blossy and I set off towards the tunnel entrance that we were told belonged to Swift Bit. It had been built into the side of a hillock at the other side of the village.

On the way, I popped open a packet of dental gum. A refreshing, minty flavour washed over my mouth, and already I could feel the tingling of the gum’s cleaning spells doing their work. It was quite a relief, given that I had neglected to clean my teeth last night. I could see how helpful this would be for soldiers– it must be much more convenient than trying to use a toothbrush out in the field. It would even dissolve after a few minutes of chewing, and was safe to swallow. Ostensibly.

We passed a grubby pony who was making his way to the inn. He wore an old overcoat, tattered at the edges. A quick, jaded glimpse at the two of us, and he lowered his head, resuming his journey. The sound of hammering caused my ears to swivel to a house on the left, where a unicorn was boarding up one of the windows. She looked tired.

Then I heard something that seemed wildly out of place– laughter. Childish laughter. A pair of fillies burst out between two of the houses, the larger chasing the smaller. They skidded to a halt when they saw us, their eyes wide.

“Woah!” The fillies trotted up to us. Annoyingly, the taller one was almost level with me. “You guys sure are kitted out well. You’re so clean, too!”

“How deep have you been? Have you seen the Wish Granter?” The smaller of the fillies asked, full of wonder.

The flurry of attention took even Blossy off-guard. Or perhaps it was the fact that there were fillies in the Zone. I was having trouble with that, myself. Before either of us could reply, their questions devolved into arguing.

“Don’t be silly, Rain!” The elder filly scowled. “Nopony can get past the Scorcher.”

“Nu-uh! I bet these Zoners could!”

“Rose Burst, Raindrops, get over here this instant!” A mare ordered from the doorway of the house behind the fillies.

The fillies flinched, ears flattened. “Yes mom,” they chorused, hanging their heads low as they trotted towards their mother.

The mare gave us a worried look. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s really not a bother,” my friend replied with a smile.

“What have I told you about bothering strangers?!” the mare admonished her fillies as they marched over to her. “Inside. Now.” She gave us a nervous glance before disappearing back inside.

My heart went out to the ponies living here. Those fillies, especially. Hay, life was hard enough in the normal world, as I found out. I couldn’t imagine living here, or even worse, growing up in the Zone. And just five minutes ago, I was criticising how bland the food was. I felt a pang of shame for that.

“Well, that happened,” Blossy said. “I wonder what a Wish Granter is. Or a Scorcher.”

“Probably just some game they were playing,” I shrugged the question off. “I’m more concerned about there being children in the Zone. I mean just… why? How?”

Blossy smirked. “Ah, I think I can help you out there. You see, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much–”

“–I know how procreation works, thank you,” I cut in, rolling my eyes.

“Ooh, you do, do you? Who was the lucky stallion?”

“Bwa?! N-no, I haven’t…” My cheeks burned fiercely. “Ahem, no, I’ve not had any practical experience. I know the theory, though; the mare and stallion kiss and will the baby into existence,” I deadpanned.

Blossy looked at me and tilted her head in confusion. “I really can’t tell if you’re being serious.”

“Oh, come on! Give me some credit.”

“Nah, it’s way more fun this way.” The unicorn stuck her tongue out at me.

I harrumphed and turned up my nose, comfortable in the knowledge that the perfect retort would come to me in several hours.

A Zoner trotted back and forth near the entrance. The unicorn nodded at us as we approached, going back to keeping watch without a word. He wore an overcoat with pockets sewn into it, presumably housing some kind of protective plates or pads. The various stains and marks covering his outfit actually made for pretty effective camouflage.

I let my friend take the lead as we stepped through. I eyed the opened metal door which was like the one to our rented underground room, only much larger, and even thicker.

An old light shone from above, casting the world in a deep orange hue. It even leached the colour out of Blossy’s tail, which was wafting in front of me. I caught a hint of her scent; while I could detect the floral notes of her perfume, there was an undertone of raw mare now. The tunnel took a turn to the left, and the floor formed a ramp, taking us deeper underground. I reached out with my mind, magically feeling the pitted surface of the concrete walls. It was almost comforting to use my magic as an extra sense as we trotted towards our fate.

It wasn’t long before we reached the trading counter, which blocked off the rest of the tunnel. Behind it sat a dark brown stallion with a steely grey mane and a large belly. In the background, I could hear a mare absolutely murdering some song, her whiny voice grating at my ears. A secure metal hatch at the side looked to be the only way for a pony to get through, but it was firmly closed.

The earth pony’s eyes flicked up to greet us; his grey gaze was piercing. “Ah, fresh blood. My name’s Swift Bit. I could give you gals the welcome spiel, but you look like you know what you’re here for. So, what can I do for you?” he said in a thick Stalliongrad accent. He actually reminded me of Iron Anvil. A fatter, greasy version of Iron Anvil.

“Well, I’m Blossom, my friend here is Moonlight, and we are looking to get ourselves smuggled out of the Zone. I’m sure it’s not a trivial ask, but we’re willing to pay,” Blossy said, stepping up to the counter confidently. I followed beside her, eager to not draw attention to myself.

Swift’s eye twitched. “Just out of interest, how much are you offering?” the stallion asked slowly.

“A hair under one hundred thousand bits for both of us. Hay, if necessary, we’ll give all our gear, too.” My friend looked at me and I nodded in agreement. Anything to get us out of here.

The trader looked heartbroken. “I wish I could accept, but my pony-smuggling contact has gone dark lately. Dammit! Unreliable, useless grunts. Fucking typical.”

My heart sank. I started to go numb and feel sick. We were trapped.

“There has to be something you can do! Look, once we’re out, I can even arrange for an extra reward for you. I’m quite wealthy, I assure you,” Blossy persisted.

Swift sighed heavily. “It just doesn’t work like that. It could be tomorrow, or it could be weeks, or even months before I get a new contact who is able to smuggle ponies out of the Zone. Believe me, if I could, I’d happily accept your offer.”

“Um, but we did just get smuggled in, yesterday. Surely the reverse could happen?” I pressed.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t have the right contact anymore, I can’t make it happen right now. But”– the stallion stroked his chin and his muzzle twisted –”tell you what, you do something for me, and I’ll point you to somepony who might be able to help you out.”

Blossy sighed. “What do you need?”

“Nothing you two shouldn’t be able to handle. There’s a couple of old farm buildings that a group of Zoners would like to settle in, but apparently, there are some mutants occupying them. You go in, clear out the mutants, and I’ll give you your lead.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Neither did Blossy, from the way she shifted. “Maybe we could just pay you for the information. I’m sure you can find some other ponies to do this,” she said.

Swift tapped his hoof on the desk slowly as he considered my friend’s counteroffer. After a pregnant pause, he said, “No. Most Zoners around here are poorly equipped, and it’d be seriously dangerous for them to do this, but you gals shouldn’t have a problem. Besides, I’m willing to bet that you’ll do pretty much anything to get a shot at going home. So, you clear out these buildings for me, and I give you the information you want. Do we have a deal?” The stallion’s grin made my stomach turn– he had us figured out, and he was willing to exploit that.

“Fine,” Blossy said through gritted teeth. “We will do it.”

“Excellent! Here, I’ll send the mission details to your PDAs. This will also let me track your progress; when your PDA detects the mission is complete, I’ll receive a notification, and I’ll contact you remotely.” The trader tapped away at his own device. After a few moments, in the top-left of my vision and underneath my minimap, a line of text appeared, saying:

New mission received: Clear Area of Mutants. See map for more details.

I mentally acknowledged the notification, causing it to disappear. Blossy was tapping her own PDA, probably taking the long way around what I just did.

“Alright, you should be set. Is there anything else?” The stallion asked.

“Um, why do you want us to do this so much?” I asked. I wanted to at least know why we were going out there with the intention of killing.

Swift focussed his stony gaze onto me. I wilted self-consciously, shrinking back. “N-nevermind. Sorry I asked,” I said weakly.

“No, my friend raised a good question. Why do you want us to do this, exactly?” Blossy asked, her voice firm.

Swift paused. He didn’t appreciate having his motives questioned, it seemed. “It’s simple– what’s good for the Zoners is good for me. If they manage to set up another safe area, it means more ponies surviving, and more of them in the area, which means more goods coming back to me, and more demand for what I sell. Now, are we done?” he asked testily.

Blossy looked to me, and I nodded. I still wasn’t happy about this, but at least it might help ponies in the future. “Yes, I believe so, thank you.” Blossy said. She turned to leave, but looked back at the trader. “Oh, and Mister Bit? If I find that you’re sending us on a wild goose chase, we’re going to have problems.” Her tone was polite, but the promise behind it made me uncomfortable.

The stallion looked up, eyebrow raised. “I’ll let that slide since I like you– we’re actually quite alike, you and I. You will see, I’m true to my word.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Blossy replied. We started for the exit.

“Oh, and Ms Blossom?” Swift’s deep voice rolled over us. “Don’t ever threaten me again. Because if you do, we will have a problem, and my problems don’t last long.”

Yes, it was definitely time to go.

***

My back was still prickly after the exchange with the trader. No matter how much I shifted as we walked, I just couldn’t shake it off. We were on our way to our first (and hopefully only) mission. All we had to do was follow alongside the main road that had guided us to the Zoner settlement, then take a short diversion to the left, which would be several kilometers to the north.

“He’s playing us! Using us! I can’t stand ponies like that,” Blossy was ranting to me. Knowing her, it also irked her greatly to not get the last word in.

“I know, but at least he will help us find a way out of the Zone,” I offered, trying to placate my friend.

“So he says,” Blossy countered. “I don’t trust him, Moony. He expects us to risk life and limb for him, yet only grudgingly offers any kind of justification for it.”

“Well, with any luck, we won’t ever have to deal with him again after this.”

Blossy sighed. “This is my fault. I let him see right through me. I wanted to keep us out of trouble as much as possible, and I failed at that. Look, I’ll go do this stupid mission myself. You can wait somewhere safe.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed. “What happened to us sticking together?! I know I’m not as strong as you, but I’ll be damned if I let you shoulder all the risk! If we do this, we do it together.” That came out more strongly than I had intended.

My little outburst stunned Blossy– her eyes widened slightly, then she looked away. We walked on in silence.

To our left, the gently rolling landscape was littered with those distortions like we’d seen yesterday. I cursed myself for not thinking of asking about them while we were in the Zoner settlement. Trees and bushes were dotted around the area somewhat more densely than normal. I pulled out my binoculars and scanned the area; one tree looked like it had been exploded from the inside– the trunk was a mess of splinters, and the top half had fallen to the side.

“Did you see anything?” Blossy asked, breaking the silence between us.

“No, just more of those distortion thingies. They’re weird– I can’t even see anything that could be causing them. They just… exist,” I replied, floating my binoculars down so I could see normally.

“Oh. Um, I… I’m sorry, Moony,” Blossy said, scraping an armoured hoof against the ground, ears pinned. “I didn’t mean to patronise you. I feel like I’m constantly on edge, and Swift didn’t help.”

It was unusual to see my friend so tense. Truth be told, I found that profoundly unsettling, even more than the freaky distortions and mutant dogs. “Don’t worry about it. And, I’m sorry I shouted at you,” I said, putting on my best brave face.

Blossy snorted gently. “That wasn’t shouting, Moony. Well, okay, maybe for you it was.”

At least that got a hint of a smile out of her. “I did mean what I said, though; we’re going to have to rely on each other. You can’t take everything on for the both of us, nor do I want you to.” I bit my lip. “And… I–”

–Barking sounded out in the distance, cutting me off. My ears swivelled to the right slightly, towards the source. A bassy growl rolled out from the same direction, and I noticed a pair of large forms running away from a pack of smaller ones. We seemed to be at a safe distance, for now.

“Um, Blossy…” I said, pointing towards the mutants with my foreleg.

My friend looked over to where I indicated, and levitated out her binoculars. “I see them. Must be those mutant boars Shadow told us about. They’re big.”

I brought my own binoculars back up, the scene in the distance slipping into focus. The dogs, I was already acquainted with, not that it made them any less horrific. The boar, however, was a great mass of muscle and tusk, easily double my height. Thick, wiry hair ran along its back and under its belly, and its darker hide wasn’t as marred as the dogs, but there were still discoloured patches of fur randomly strewn about its body. The prospect of being charged down by one of these beasts did not appeal to me.

They were heading towards the field of distortions, which fortunately kept them at a reasonable distance to us. The dogs seemed content with chasing the larger mutants for the time being, barking loudly as they tailed the pair. Perhaps it was a territorial thing, and the boar were being chased out? After all, the dogs didn’t seem to be interested in actually attacking them.

The lead boar made a turn away from us, but a group of dogs broke off and surged forward, cutting it off. I watched as the lead boar turned back, continuing on its old course, and dodging past the first of the distortions.

Then the dogs became more aggressive, darting in and snapping at the larger mutants while nimbly slinking around the odd pulsations, trees and foliage. There was a sudden flash and a powerful THWUMP, ending in a wet-sounding crunch as the lead boar’s head exploded in a crimson haze of gore. The corpse skidded to a halt, blood gushing out of its severed neck. I had to close my eyes for a moment after witnessing that. My stomach tied itself into a knot, and a sense of dread closed in on me; this could happen to me. To us. It wasn’t enough to simply lose your life here, the Zone wanted you to end in as undignified a way as possible.

The pack now focussed their efforts on the remaining mutant, which was now lashing out at any dog that chanced an attack. Sharp tusks savagely scythed around as the boar wildly tossed its head, slashing deep into one unfortunate dog’s neck. It wasn’t enough, though; each bite was taking its toll, and the beast’s movements became more and more laboured, its fur matted with blood.

I could only watch on, transfixed. I had underestimated what these mutant dogs were capable of. I suspected our first encounter went so well because we were able to surprise them. If Blossy and I had stumbled into a pack, however…

The remaining boar was now charging in a blind rage. It knows it’s done for, it’s just trying to take as many down with it as possible, I thought sadly. Another charge, right at a dog standing in front of a pulsating distortion, only the dog dodged aside and the charging boar careened forward. The surrounding terrain illuminated in a flash, grass flattening from the explosion and another bassy THWUMP ripped out across the land.

A long squeal stabbed at my ears; even at this distance, it had a piercing quality. A large part of the boar’s side had collapsed in a gruesome deformation. The beast lay down, thrashing about, somehow still alive. The dogs saw fit to change that, swarming in and taking deep bites, twisting their heads for better purchase. The boar squealed one last time, an expression of pain that died out with its owner.

I stored my binoculars away– the dogs were busy enjoying their kills, and we were far enough away. Besides, I didn’t want to see any more. I simply felt cold inside. While I knew those boar would have happily killed me, nothing deserved a fate like that.

“Did you see that? It’s like they were corralling those boar into that field.” Blossy observed, putting her own binoculars away.

“Unfortunately, yeah,” I responded. At least they weren’t ponies, I tried to console myself. “It was uncanny, how they were able to avoid those exploding things.”

Blossy nodded. “I wonder how they did that without even being able to see.”

Normally, my keen curiosity would want to know that too. But I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted to get out of here. I found myself truly empathising with the first Zoner mare we met; if not for my friend, would I be turning myself in? As much as I aspired to be strong, to be brave, I suspected I knew the answer.

“Let’s… let’s move on.” I said, wanting to keep us working towards our escape.

***

We continued following the road, keeping to the side so as to make us less obvious. As we trotted through the desolate landscape, my mind wouldn’t stop replaying the hunt we witnessed earlier. I hoped I never found myself in the boar’s hooves.

After another kilometer or so, the road dipped slightly and ran under a bridge which spanned a gap between an embankment that cut out perpendicular to it. Part of the bridge had collapsed, one of the abandoned train’s freight containers tilting precariously into the hole. We had to walk under that. The fact that it looked like it had been like that for years didn’t make me any more comfortable with the idea.

Makeshift barricades had been constructed out of rubble, and several freight containers rested under the bridge, beside a heavily rusted barrel. There was also an early tracked industrial digger lying in the road, badly bashed up. Presumably, it had been onboard the train originally.

“It doesn’t look like anypony’s home,” Blossy commented.

I nodded. Curiosity got the better of us and we started poking around– somepony might be in trouble, after all. I made my way past the digger, its yellow paint chipping away. Thick sections of aluminium with deep channels cut into it were built into the engine area; those early magical engines must have put out a lot of heat. Overall, despite the battering the machine had taken, it was still in one piece, and may have even been in working condition.

My friend investigated the containers, while I trotted over to what looked to be the campsite. I looked up nervously– seeing that container right above me made me feel nauseous. I peered into the rusted barrel, if only to keep my mind off of my potential doom from above. Only ashes resided in there, and I could feel a faint heat radiating onto my muzzle as an ashy scent flooded my nostrils.

“No, there’s nopony here anymore. All I found were some old mattresses in these containers,” Blossy said, rejoining me.

“Yeah,” I agreed. The only vaguely interesting thing I’d found was an empty Cossacks vodka bottle sitting on a metal box near the barrel; ‘Stalliongrad’s finest,’ it proudly proclaimed. “There definitely was somepony here though. Not long ago, either– the barrel’s still warm.”

“I guess we should carry on. At least if we need shelter, we know this place exists.”

I nodded in agreement, and we pressed on, leaving the encampment under the embankment behind us.

A short trot later, we happened upon an old truck, which had crashed into a tree beside the road. It looked like it had been heading the same way we were. The grass underneath had been stained a reddish-brown, from years of rust being washed down. The back of the truck was open to the elements– only the warped ribbing structure remained, the fabric cover having long since disintegrated. Crates sat in the back, apparently undisturbed for years.

The door on the driver’s cabin had been left open, leaving me an unobstructed view inside. Pony bones were strewn about the cabin; some poking out of some old, rotting overalls, others had fallen to the hoofwell. The skull was pinned against the headrest by a branch that viciously lanced out from the tree into its eye socket.

I shuddered, not the eyes! My stomach lurched, but settled down surprisingly quickly. Had I already become so jaded? Or perhaps it was because I hadn’t eaten enough. I found myself wondering about the driver of this truck– what was he transporting? Did he even know? Did he know what was going on here? I at least hoped his demise hadn’t taken long enough to be painful.

A hoof touching my withers shook me out of my daydream. “Moony, you okay?” Blossy prompted.

I blinked a few times, gathering my wits. “Yeah, just… I dunno. I’ve never seen a pony’s skeleton before. A real one.”

Blossy’s eyes dipped. “It’s not pleasant, no.”

“I wonder if there’s anything in there?” I pondered aloud, pointing at the crates. “Maybe something that might explain what’s going on around here? Why this pony died?”

“I don’t know… there’s probably a good reason it’s been untouched for so long,” Blossy said uncertainly.

“I’ll take a quick look. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” I said. Though I didn’t know what I had to be careful of.

I trotted closer, but an ominous click… click-click filled my hearing. I immediately pulled back to safety. “Woah, keep back, Blossy! My radiation detector just went off,” I warned my friend. I felt prickly all over, but my radiation indicator hadn’t budged from a null reading.

Blossy looked at me, worry etched into her features. “Are you okay? Here, I’ll get you an antirad potion.” The mare immediately started rummaging through her pockets.

“No, I’m fine thanks, it didn’t even register on my meter,” I reassured my friend, who stopped looking through her pockets. She still looked concerned, though. “Really, I’m fine. We can worry about it when I grow an extra leg or something,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Blossy’s muzzle twisted in disapproval. “Alright, but... please don’t joke about that, Moony. Your health is not a subject for frivolity.”

“Right, sorry,” I said, bowing my head. She was right, of course; I wouldn’t have liked it if she had joked that way about herself. “I could try levitating one of them off the truck, instead?” I offered, still curious as to what we might find. Surely the ponies who lost their lives deserved to have their story known?

Blossy shook her head. “And if that’s radioactive, too? No, let’s just do what we need to get out of here. It’s not worth the risk, and we don’t know if there are any long-term effects to being irradiated, even after taking antirad potions.”

I had to admit, my friend made a good point– it would be awful to get out of the Zone, only to suffer some horrible aftereffect years down the line. “You’re right, I guess I’m getting too wrapped up in things. Let’s go. It’s not too far, now.”

***

We finally had our ‘mission’ in sight– two modest buildings made out of white bricks with a dirt path that led back to the main road. Some strange metal apparatus had been constructed on the side of the more distant building, but since farming wasn’t one of my interests, I had little idea what its purpose was.

We had decided to circle around from our initial approach to the nearest elevated ground, so that we could get a better view of the environment before going in. Each building seemed to have two entrances– a larger one that fed out into the dirt path between them, and a smaller, side entrance that faced our initial approach.

“What do you think?” I asked Blossy.

The mare stroked her chin. “I’m thinking I should go in, while you set up here. It’s a good place for a sniper rifle, and if any mutants try to run away, you can get a good line of fire on them. Sound good?”

Once again, she wants to put herself in harm’s way so I don’t have to. “Actually, what if they don’t try to run away? What if you need help? We don’t even know what mutants we’re fighting. If you take the main entrance and I take the side one, we can box them in, and we’ll be able to help each other if need be,” I countered.

The unicorn chewed her lip, clearly unhappy. “Very well,” she finally said. “I’ll go in first; when you hear my first shot, head in.” Her voice was oddly subdued.

“Sounds like a plan. But first, I’d like to try my hoof at a scrying spell, so we at least know what we’re fighting.”

Blossy’s eyes went wide. “You know a scrying spell?”

“Well, no, not exactly.” I deflated a little. “Couldn’t hurt to try? If it works, it could give us the upper hoof.”

My friend rolled her eyes. “Alright, just try not to burn the building down if it goes wrong– there are Zoners who’d like to use it after we’re done,” she said with a small, nostalgic smile.

“That was one time!” I narrowed my eyes. “And it was only a ball. Seriously…” I huffed at Blossy’s smirk before setting my mind to the task at hoof.

I cleared my mind as much as possible, beating that old image of my ball in flames into submission. I closed my eyes and my other senses dulled as I connected more deeply with my magic, trying to figure out a pattern that would form a spell that would allow me to see from somewhere that wasn’t my own eyes.

‘Simulating’ a new spell made it much easier to manipulate it, and it took a lot less magical energy than with a live spell. I played with the fabric of my magic, weaving it into a pretend likeness of the new spell. In addition to the scrying spell itself, I had to add a locational element to tether it, and a directional element for where I was going to look at; best make them easy to adjust, too. It seemed like it would work; it felt… right. I didn’t know how long this process took me– my sense of time had dulled along with my other senses, but I thought I had it. Time to try it for real.

This time, I formed the live spell, allowing it to draw on my magical reserves as needed. Casting an unfamiliar spell was often inefficient, but I was taken by surprise as an overglow erupted around my horn, siphoning my energy into the spell at an alarming rate. Something clicked, and I opened my eyes.

For a moment, I thought the spell had failed, but I noticed my vantage point was a bit higher than I was used to. A swirling darkness framed my vision, giving me a second clue that the spell had worked. A third clue was that the colours I was seeing were somewhat desaturated.

I tilted my view downwards, which caused an increased strain on my magic. I could see the top of my head! An intense, deep violet glow enveloped my horn, and my mane was becoming a mess– I really needed to get my hooves on a brush. My attention latched onto my opened eyes, which had become entirely jet black. That wasn’t unnerving at all.

I tore my attention away from my own eyes, and moved my spell to get a look at my friend. She was watching me, or rather my body, intently. Her brow was furrowed, and I could see the worry dripping from her eyes. Eyes that flicked up to where I was scrying from. Blossy frowned, and pointed towards the objective.

Right, yes. I need to check those buildings out. Already, the spell was taking its toll on my reserves– I needed to hurry. With a blink, I found myself much closer to the nearest building. Unfortunately, moving the spell further away also increased the energy draw, and my horn started to ache.

The windows were all boarded up, so I slid towards the small entrance, the movement feeling as though I were wading through syrup. I started to be able to see inside, but the swirling darkness was creeping in from the edges. I had to get closer, get inside. I snuck around the frame, into the building and– my spell fizzled out.

I was overcome by dizziness as my normal view asserted itself. The entire world wobbled before me, and my ears filled with a disorienting tintinnabulation. A pair of forelegs wrapped around me as the ground rushed up, and I was forced to sit down.

“Hey, take it easy Moony. Are you alright?” Blossy said, giving me some space.

“Um. Just a bit… thingy,” I said slowly. “Thanks. For catching me.” I popped the drinking straw out, hoping some water would soothe my swimming senses.

“Think nothing of it. So, did it work? I saw a… well, it was like a little swirling cloud, the same colour as your magic.”

“Yeah, but it was weird.” I knew I wasn’t being very helpful, but simply speaking took considerable effort at the moment.

“You know, I wish I could make a new spell up like that,” Blossy said. Was that a touch of jealousy I heard?

“On the plus side, at least you didn’t nearly get a mouthful of dirt,” I grouched. “My spell failed when I entered the building, so I didn’t get to see much. If I’d been able to cancel it, I probably wouldn’t be so out of it.”

“Are you alright? I hope you didn’t push yourself too hard.” Blossy looked like she was itching to do something, but there wasn’t anything that could be done to help another pony experiencing magical burnout.

I shrugged. “I’m getting there, don’t worry. I should have been able to hold the spell for longer, though,” I reassured my friend. “I think the spell failed when I moved out of direct line of sight with… me.” If my reasoning was correct, that rather limited the usefulness of the spell. Not that I’d have much use for such a spell outside of the Zone. I bit my lip– or would I?

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about a certain somepony scrying on me while I’m in the shower when we get back home,” Blossy said with a smirk.

I blinked. “What?! I wasn’t thinking about anything like that! And if I were to use my spell, it’d be for purely educational observation,” I said, with a prim nod. It was only a half lie. “Besides, I’ll figure out how to fix that limitation,” I added, with a hint of smugness.

Blossy groaned. “I’m sure you will. I just have concerns over what you’ll consider ‘educational’.”

“Oh, you know, stuff that will help me learn. Stuff.”

My friend rolled her eyes. “Anyway, do you think you’re up to this? The sooner we clear the place out, the sooner I can start worrying about my privacy.”

I experimentally got to my hooves and took a look around. I felt pretty much okay, just a dull ache still persisted in my horn. “Yeah, I think so. Let’s get this over with.”

We stalked to the nearest building. A sense of apprehension nagged at me as we closed in. It’ll just be a group of dogs and we’ll take them by surprise. It’ll be fine, I tried to reassure myself.

Blossy whispered in my ear, reminding me to go in after she had opened fire. I nodded my understanding, and we split up. I crept up to the entrance, standing beside it, next to the wall. My legs didn’t feel like they were my own anymore. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited.

And waited. I hadn’t heard any trouble, but– BLAM! The sudden blast made me jump, and my heart lurched painfully. I moved up, only dimly aware that I was drawing breath noisily.

I edged through the doorway, cautiously. Since this was going to be fairly close-quarters, and my magic was depleted, I had selected my twin carbines. My readout indicated that I had three hundred rounds for each. My eyes frantically darted around the interior, and I felt my weapons stir as they tried to track my vision.

A wall separated me from the majority of the rest of the interior– I was in a small corridor. It was dark inside, so with a mental command, I activated the lights on my armour. Two beams shot out from my left and right, pushing back the gloom. I regretted leaving my helmet in my saddlebag– its light was more powerful, and it wouldn’t be restricted to where my body was facing.

I trotted up, my eyes fixed on the end, dreading what might come around. BLAM-BLAM! I flinched from the sudden barks of Blossy’s shotgun, and my guts tightened from the scratchy squeal that followed.

I could hear something– not quite hooves, but something– beating out a four-legged pattern. I edged around the corner, cold sweat making parts of me itchy. A large room spread out before me, walls made of more white bricks.

The room was empty– except for a bloody mess in the far corner. I refused to acknowledge that the leg and neck I could see were pony-like. It was dark, and my eyes were playing tricks on me. And that fabric must have been there before. Something shifted in the darkness.

I immediately turned, my beams illuminating a… thing. A thing that promptly turned and started towards me, with a shrill, distorted shriek. I stared dumbly for a moment, paralysed by the horribly mutated visage of whatever this creature was. Its face was set directly into its round, lumpy body, a loose eye wobbling as it locked onto me. A revolting mix of blood and saliva dribbled from its mouth. The thing’s sheer bulk gave it an imposing profile; while its face was of a height with my own, pillowy flesh towered above it.

It’s coming straight for me, I thought, snapping myself out of it. I actually had trouble looking directly at the creature– it was so horribly disfigured. I let loose a burst from my twin carbines, the rapid rattle echoing loudly off the nearby walls. My unwillingness to look directly at my target meant the rounds that did hit only punched into the spongy flesh of its body, merely causing it to grunt and flinch back.

I started backing up, and my eyes widened in horror as I caught a glimpse of the mutant’s legs. Four knife-like appendages stabbed out at the ground, their wicked cutting edges glistening against my lights and ending in sharp points. My carbines rattled again, but the little 5mm rounds once again were swallowed up by spongy flesh. I could have sworn one of my rounds bounced off of a blade-like leg.

My rump collided with the doorframe, and a stab of panic shot through me– I was trapped! The mutant was getting awfully close. I forced myself to look into the thing’s face, and let off a long burst. Flesh tore open, spewing black fluid, and the beast collapsed in front of me. It smelled foul.

I quickly scanned the room, thankfully clear. I gave myself a moment, breathing slowly and deliberately to calm my nerves. “Okay, I’m okay,” I told myself. What wasn’t okay was the fact that my carbines had used twenty seven rounds. Each. Be disclipined, Moonlight. Short, controlled bursts, like Anvil told me.

Light danced around the second doorway to the room, and the familiar thudding of armoured hooves approached. It had to be Blossy. But just in case, I kept my attention on that entrance, crosshairs right in the center.

To my relief, I was correct– my friend carefully edged around the corner. I had to fight an instinctive urge to open fire at her moving form. My close-call must have set me on edge. Unfortunately, this was also when I found out that her lights were much more powerful than my own and my world turned a painful, blinding white.

“Turn it off!” I whimpered, shielding my eyes with a foreleg.

The thudding stopped. “Oh, sorry,” Blossy said. A moment later, the tortuous beams shut off. I heard her trot around the mutant’s corpse and to my side, getting out of my own lights. “We’re clear, from my approach.”

I tried to blink away the afterimage that was stained into my vision, but a giant turquoise blob dominated all I could see, only slowly receding. “Yeah, same. This is the only mutant I found,” I replied. “Next building, then?”

Blossy agreed, and we headed back outside. “Okay, let’s do the same thing– it seemed to work well enough first time.”

I acknowledged the plan. “Be careful, Blossy,” I pre-empted her.

A small smile flashed across my friend’s lips. “You too.”

I stood waiting outside my entry point, ready to go in on Blossy’s signal. My mind worried over the mutant I had killed. What the hay could cause that kind of disfigurement? I couldn’t even figure out what it used to be. Would my armour protect me from a slash or stab from those legs? Could any organic material really be hard enough to– BLAM!

That was it! I rushed into the entrance. I came face-to-face with another mutant.

Instinct took over, and I let out a panicked neigh. I reared up onto my hind legs, reflexively. Thanks to the weight distribution of my gear, I lost my balance and came crashing down on my back.

Ouch! This time, I really regretted not wearing my helmet. My rifle and sword made for an uncomfortable mattress, too. I glanced down, across my belly, to the mutant that was charging at me. My carbines couldn’t track at that angle!

“HELP!” I screamed.

I fired up my telekinesis, trying to free my sword without slicing myself apart. I just couldn’t get a good grip with my magic– terror, desperation and an aching horn conspired to make me flounder. It dawned on me: I’m going to die! I’m going to die to this horrible, stinking thing!

BLAM-BLAM! BLAM!

A scratchy squeal, and a soggy-sounding impact. A sour stench assaulted my nostrils. I dared to open my eyes. A heap of spongy flesh sat mere inches from my hindquarters. Then Blossy appeared, and I’d never been happier to see those beautiful blue eyes scanning down at me.

“Oh no, are you hurt? I don’t see anything wrong. Oh, please be alright!” Blossy’s verbal barrage carried a hint of distress.

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” I responded, waving a foreleg. It was shaking.

“Oh thank Celestia,” My friend sighed, relief flooding her features.

“Actually, thank you,” I commented dryly, to which Blossy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Um, a little help, please?”

As my friend helped me back up, a notification appeared under my minimap, stating that the mission had been completed. However my PDA detected the mission completion, it certainly worked. Unfortunately, my legs were a little less functional, shaking like leaves in a stiff breeze.

“So what happened?” Blossy asked. She was clearly still worried about me.

“Oh, I uh…” I looked at the mutant that had nearly claimed me as its next lunch. Blossy’s shotgun had taken great bites out of the thing’s flesh. The grievous wounds oozed a sticky, black ichor. I really didn’t want to tell her the truth– I must have already been pretty pathetic, in her eyes.

A high-pitched beep interjected itself into the lull, and a stallion’s deep voice cut directly into my mind –“Swift Bit here, I see you’ve cleared those buildings for me. Just give me a moment to upload your co-ords.”

Blossy looked around, frantically. It was a fruitless effort, though. The sound wasn’t coming from outside our heads. “Hello? What’s going on?!” She said, her voice gaining an uncanny echo.

“I said I’d be in touch; I’m holding up my end of the bargain, Blossom,” the voice stated. I imagined the stallion was smirking as he said that. “Alright, I’ve sent you a new waypoint, it will guide you to the other main trader in the Zone. If anypony can arrange to smuggle you out, Barkeep can. You may have to pay the guards to pass, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

A new arrow appeared in my minimap, presumably for the new waypoint. I groaned when I saw that it was nearly twenty kilometers away.

“You’ll need to go through the Scrapyard. Things have been heating up around there, so be careful,” Swift warned. I thought it went without saying to be careful going anywhere in the Zone.

“So, there’s no guarantee that this ‘Barkeep’ pony will be able to get us out?” Blossy asked.

“No, but he’s honestly your best bet. Good luck, Zoners!”

I muttered my thanks before Swift cut the line with another high-pitched beep. Blossy gave me a funny look. In hindsight, I wasn’t sure why I thanked Swift, either. I was still shaking thanks to what he put us through.

Blossy and I decided to press on. Barkeep wouldn’t get any closer, otherwise. It took a while for my shaking to subside, and my walking speed suffered as a result. I badly needed to eat something to help replenish my magical reserves; physical energy also drained from me as I came down from my adrenaline high, however, images and smells of the latest mutant horrors flashed in my mind and thoroughly killed my appetite.

***

Checking our maps, we continued to follow the main road to the north. The thought of coming back home was the only thing giving me any energy to carry on. My stomach had finally given up trying to tell me I needed nourishment, thankfully. I wasn’t even feeling all that hungry anymore, anyway.

I made a note in my PDA to check over my rifle when we next took shelter. I doubted falling ontop of it did the weapon any favours, and the last thing I needed was for it to fall apart or explode when I needed it most. As Anvil had explained, G2 weapons were more highly-strung than the other weapon generations.

We spied a small pack of dogs, padding along the road ahead of us. We decided to hang back and rest our legs for a bit. When they stalked off into the wilderness, we carried on, keeping a wary eye out in case they returned. A pair of run-down Zoners passed us the other way, and Blossy warned them about the pack. They gave us their thanks and we went our separate ways.

According to my map, we were nearing the edge of the ‘Cordon’ area. After a little checkpoint, the concrete walls and metal gate of which we could see in the distance, it would be a few kilometers before we entered the Scrapyard.

Off to the side, a lone distortion pulsated above scraggly grass. This was as good a chance to investigate these things as any– for the moment we were clear of any trouble, and as far as I could see, there was only one of them. Remembering what they did to those boar, I thought it was a good idea to try to learn a bit about them, before we found ourselves having to traverse an entire field full of them. Blossy agreed, and we made our way closer.

A deep rumbling sound rolled out from the odd feature, making me uncomfortable. I still couldn’t actually see the source. It was just… open air.

“Hey, Moony, remember when Anvil gave us those bolts?” My friend spoke up.

“Um, yeah?” I stared dumbly at the unicorn.

“Well, he said they were to help spot anomalies. What if this is an anomaly? It is hard to see, after all,” Blossy reasoned, seeming pleased with herself.

How could I have not made that connection already? My brain felt leaden, thoughts coming slowly. “Well, yeah, that sounds reasonable, actually.”

“I have my moments,” Blossy said, with a smile.

“Hm, shall I test your hypothesis, Professor Sunrise?”

“Very well, my faithful assistant.” Blossy waved her foreleg imperiously. “You may proceed when ready.”

Oh, she was way too good at that. With an indignant huff, I levitated out one of my bolts. While I wasn’t going to be achieving any great feats with my magic anytime soon, I was at least able to control it properly, again.

I gave the bolt a sudden, sharp shove towards the possible anomaly, feeling a strange tingle in my horn just as I released my magic. The bolt flashed, and soared away, glowing red-hot, almost like it bounced off of something. The anomaly itself then flashed, and I felt a pressure wave crash over me with a great KRSHWUMP!

My ears popped and we both jumped back, but thankfully we were already a safe distance.

“Well, I’d certainly say that bolts help in finding them,” Blossy observed, shaking her head clear. “For now I think it’s safe to assume that these are the anomalies we were told about.”

“Yeah. There was something, though… let me try another one,” I said, levitating out another bolt.

This time, I floated the bolt towards the anomaly. That tingle buzzed along my horn again, getting stronger as the bolt neared the anomaly. The tingling suddenly ramped up into an agonising resonance. It tore along my horn and bored right into my head. A raw scream erupted from my throat as my world turned to black.

Grass. Horrible, wiry, blurry grass. I must have fallen down when I blacked out. I must have sneezed, too, since my muzzle felt wet. My head pounded, feeling as though it were about to explode. I picked myself up, slowly.

For the second time this day, my friend helped me up. “Oh my gosh, Moony! What happened? You didn’t even set the anomaly off.”

I took a moment to process what had been said. “Um–”

“–You’re bleeding!” Blossy was a blur to me. She seemed to be shuffling about. “Here, drink this healing potion.”

Something pressed against my mouth, and I sucked greedily at the nub. It tasted medicinal, even though they had tried to mask it with a citrus flavour. Almost immediately, a soothing coolness washed against the pain in my horn and head, and my vision began to clear.

A ripping sound caused my ears to flick towards Blossy. What the hay was that? I finished guzzling the potion, panting for air. I felt awful, but at least the potion seemed to be helping me keep together. The empty potion pouch was pulled away from me, and a short length of bandage came up and smothered my muzzle.

“Mrrmph?!” I tried fighting it, but my forelegs were weak and heavy.

“Shh, relax. I’m just clearing that blood up,” Blossy said, her gentle voice calming me back down.

The bandage rubbed around my muzzle, which tingled slightly. It was then withdrawn, blotches of crimson stained into it. Blood. My blood.

“How do you feel?” my friend asked.

“Pretty bad. But better. Thanks, Blossy,” I replied with a weak smile. “It was like some sort of magical feedback. At first, it wasn’t bad, but when the bolt got closer, it… hurt, so much.”

“Alright. Do you think you can make it to the checkpoint?” Blossy asked, her voice gentle. “It’ll be safer for us to rest in shelter.”

I nodded, wincing from the pain the sudden movement caused. “Ow, yeah. But we should really push on. I don’t need to rest.” I wanted to get out of the Zone as soon as possible.

“No,” Blossy stated, flatly. “I don’t want to even hazard a guess as to what just happened to you, but we’re going to take a break so that healing potion can do its work.”

“Fine,” I sighed. Truth be told, I didn’t have the energy to argue with her. I resigned myself to the increasing likelihood of being in the Zone for another day.

Progress was slow– fatigue dragged at my every movement. But each step brought me closer. Closer to rest. Closer to home. All of my attention and all of my energy was spent on keeping moving. I didn’t even bother keeping a lookout for any hostile mutants. Hay, I wasn’t even aware of what was ten meters ahead of me.

We finally made it to the checkpoint. I took a moment to actually look at it– solid metal gates, left ajar, were flanked by concrete walls. A small guard tower poked up from behind the grey barrier, and the Zoner inside shouted down at us.

Blossy did the talking (or rather, shouting– my ears clamped down against the pain-inducing noise), and we were let in. My friend slipped through the gates with her usual grace; I knocked my saddlebag against one. Even that unexpected contact nearly had me tasting the concrete courtyard.

We walked past an early model of armoured pony carrier on our way to the modest structure. If I were feeling better, I’d have been feeling a lot more curious about the piece of military technology. The APC rested on four wheels on either side, each wheel dwarfing me. Armour was sloped to deflect incoming fire and painted a camouflage green, and there was domed a turret on top, housing some kind of autocannon.

I let Blossy lead us into the building. I had to admit, it was nice to get out of the wind and daylight. There was a group of Zoners, talking. Loudly. Ugh. Beyond that, I didn’t care to pay anymore attention to them. My friend was right, I did need rest. One of them came over to us, but it was up to my friend to interact with him in any meaningful way– I was zoning out again.

I was guided over to an old, musty mattress, which I gratefully collapsed on. I was able to pick up snippets of the conversation as Blossy force fed me another healing potion.

“Woah, what happened to her?” A stallion asked.

“She did what?!” the same stallion exclaimed, after Blossy’s answer.

“There are less painful ways to end it,” another darkly muttered.

I finished the potion, and let my eyes slide shut. The conversation shifted to something about these Zoners resting up before striking out into the Scrapyard. We were even welcome to join them for when they would be setting off, in about an hour’s time. My grip on consciousness slipped, and I dozed off.

***

I awoke with a groan. That caught Blossy’s attention, and she stopped tapping at her PDA. I felt considerably better, though definitely still on the fragile side.

My friend ceased her activities with her PDA and looked up at me. “Hey,” she said with a relieved smile. “You feeling better?”

“Hey. Yeah,” I replied, sitting up. “Still a bit rough, but I feel… functional.” Weird choice of word, Moonlight.

The mare snorted softly at that. “That sounds more like the Moony I know. You had me really worried, you know?”

My ears flattened against my skull. “Sorry. I didn’t know that would happen.”

Blossy sighed. “Neither of us knew. What’s important is that you’re okay. I couldn’t live with myself if –” her voice caught in her throat, and she turned away. I managed to glimpse the wetness in her eyes, though. My friend faced me again, her composure regained. “Nevermind. I’m glad you’re okay,” she finished with a small smile.

“Thank you, Blossy,” I said, throwing myself into a hug with the unicorn. “I owe you so much.”

When we withdrew from the embrace, I noticed Blossy’s eyes were downcast, her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. Something’s bothering her. I really wish she wasn’t so good at hiding what she’s thinking. I also wished I knew what to say to get her to open up, but without being excessively blunt, I came up short.

I could at least take her mind off of whatever was bothering her. “Hey Blossy, weren’t there a bunch of Zoners in here not long ago?”

The unicorn looked up, regaining her focus. “Yeah. They left a while ago, why?”

“But. Didn’t they offer to let us go with them?”

“Yes, they did.” Blossy must have sensed what I was thinking, because she continued, “I wasn’t going to wake you up just so we could go with them. You needed to heal, and the tone of those Zoners suggested that… well, what you did was dangerous.”

“Okay, fair enough,” I said, raising my forelegs in acquiescence. I silently cursed myself for costing us not only time, but the company of some friendly Zoners who could have made our journey safer. “Should we trot on to Swift’s co-ordinates? If I wasn’t out for too long, that is.”

“As long as you’re sure you’re up to it. We could make it, as long as we don’t get really bogged down.”

Like this, I finished for her. “Yeah, I’m a lot better now.” My aches had reduced a fair bit, and my horn and head were throbbing with numbness, rather than splitting pain. “Let’s get out of here.”

We left the checkpoint behind us, once again following the road that had been our near-constant companion for our time in the Zone. As we racked up the distance, there was a subtle change in the land– the scraggly grass became more sparse, and the brown tones of earth started to assert themselves more. The sky had also darkened somewhat, clouds gathering threateningly as a distant mutant’s growl echoed ominously across the land.

I took a sip of water and withdrew a ration bar. The wrapper crinkled merrily at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. I needed food, but my appetite refused to return. I returned the bar to my pocket. I’ll have it later, I told myself.

We had to wind our way around a few clusters of anomalies. At one point, I got close enough to set off a conspicuous beeping sound in my head. The sudden noise startled me, and I continued towards the anomaly for a moment, which made the beeping quicken. Blossy unceremoniously yanked me backwards, and I gave her a sheepish smile. Still, it was good to know that we had more than just bolts to help us find anomalies.

A cluster of trucks loomed ahead, acting as a blockade to the Scrapyard. A short distance from either side of the road, radiation signs had been hammered into the ground, slowly rusting as they warned of the invisible but deadly hazard. The heavens chose this moment to open, small droplets falling all around me. Wonderful.

We threaded our way around the rotting trucks (thankfully without any skeletons in their cabins), and found ourselves before a group of Zoners. There was a decaying bus opposite us, and several other vehicles were dotted around, abandoned. This bunch were somewhat better equipped than most of the ponies we encountered in the Cordon, mostly sporting shotguns or smaller weapons like my carbines. We quickly became the center of their attention.

One of the Zoners trotted forward, his gruff voice calling out to us, “Hello, fellow Zoners! What a wonderful day it is, no?” The unicorn’s tattered black overcoat had a hood, which obscured his mane, while a shortened double-barrelled shotgun was holstered on his foreleg.

Blossy gave me a sidelong glance before putting on an artificial smile. “Why, yes it is. What, may I ask, are you up to, here?”

The stallion stood before us, a wide grin on his face. “We keep the roads safe, of course! Any mutants that come near get sent packing with a lead lunch.”

Something about this pony’s demeanor made me uncomfortable. I also noticed all of the Zoners here were wearing either simple, dark armour, or black overcoats with armoured segments sewn into them. Mud stained most of their clothing, and many of them looked as though they hadn’t washed in a long while.

I heard somepony hawk up a mouthful and spit it out loudly. My mouth pursed in disgust.

“Well, that’s a most laudable endeavour. How about I send you some bits, as a token of our appreciation, and we’ll go on our way?” Blossy offered amicably.

I did a double-take. Why was she offering them money?! I didn’t even see any dead mutants lying around, just bits of rubbish and smashed bottles!

“Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse!” the Zoner laughed. “Why don’t you lovely ladies get out of the rain and we’ll get things sorted?” He gestured to the bus behind himself.

Blossy paused, once again glancing sideways at me. My stomach tied itself into a knot– this didn’t feel right. My ears flicked about nervously as rain softly pattered against the ground and trucks. I entertained the idea of suggesting we turn back, but my voice had left me.

“Very well,” my friend finally said. A tenseness crept into her voice as added, “Lead the way.”

“Excellent! It really means alot to us, let me tell you.” The stallion gave a nod towards a pair of ponies who had been flanking us, before leading us to the bus. I followed close behind Blossy. I didn’t like the way these ponies had fallen in beside us.

My ears flicked toward a pair of Zoners who were leaning against a truck, and I was able to catch a snippet of their conversation.

“... so gonna destroy the little one,” one said

“Heh, fine by me. Don’t look like there’s no fight in that one anyway. I prefer havin’ to break ‘em in,” said the other dismissively, to which the other chuckled.

A shuffling sound caught my attention, and I turned my head towards it– a sudden impact cracked against the back of my head. I passed out before I hit the ground.

I drifted in and out of consciousness, too weak to act or shout for help. Waves of nausea crashed through me, my stomach threatening to empty what little it contained. One moment, I was being dragged along the ground, which was starting to get muddier in the worsening rain. The next, I heard shouting, and I was dumped… somewhere. I managed to slide my eyes open long enough to get a glimpse of Blossy. She was out, cold. I wanted to reach out to her, but my foreleg wasn’t responding.

Gunfire was the next thing I became aware of, but it all sounded so far away. Tinny rattles, bassier thuds and punchy blasts that shook my lungs punctuated the battle, while screams and shouts made for a terrible melody.

Rain fell from a cold, grey sky. The sound would have been soothing, if it weren’t for the impacts on my face. Hoofsteps squelched in the mud. The best I could manage was a weak moan. The hoofsteps halted.

“Aww, sweet! A live one!” I mare’s voice exclaimed. She trotted over to me and took my foreleg in her grip.

“‘Elp,” I croaked out pathetically. I got a short look at her before my eyelids became too heavy again. A pretty unicorn with a blue coat, dark green mane, and eager, yellow eyes.

“I’ll help myself, alright. Thanks for the offer,” the mare sneered. She started tapping at my PDA with my spare hoof and whistled. “Fifty thousand bits! Holy crap, you just made my day!”

Words appeared in my blackened vision, but they were just a jumble of letters to me. After a few more taps, they disappeared, and my forelegs were allowed to drop into the mud.

Hooves started rummaging around my back. “What the fuck is this, a sword? You think you’re some kind of ninja pony? Fat lotta good that did you,” the mare snorted derisively. “Yeah, you can keep that. Nice sniper, though!” My rifle was roughly yanked off of my back. I needed to do something, I needed to stop her, but I felt my consciousness start to slip away again.

I caught barking in the distance. “Ah, shit. I guess I got enough already.” I felt… lips?! press against my own. “That’s for being so generous. I’d best be going, though. Ciao!” The mare’s playful tone echoed over in my mind as I drifted off.

Cold. I felt cold. Sickness continued to worry away at my stomach. Teeth rended flesh, the wet tearing noise striking up a dim terror in me. The cold was making me numb. At least I wouldn’t feel it, right?

A burst of gunfire ripped out, and the dogs started barking. Several more rapid bursts, and the barking turned to whimpering. Still barely awake and shivering profusely, I heard hoofsteps approach. Did the mare return to finish what she’d started? Did I even care anymore?

The last thing I remembered, I felt muscles rhythmically shifting underneath me, like I was on somepony’s back. Wherever I was being taken to, there was nothing I could do about it. The steady movements sent me back into the blissful embrace of nothingness.