Fallout: Equestria Destinies Alingedby TheRowdyPegasusChaptersMy SaviorTrue TreasureFamily DramaThe Next Day's TroublesSteel RangersCompanionshipMy Savior(Ratchet Sparks) Darkness surrounded me. All I could hear was the labored sound of my own hot breath. Terror gripped my chest, my heart pounded in my ears, my only thought... Don't get caught. I heard the door open and shut along with hoofsteps outside the cupboard I was in. I held my breath as I heard trotting and the opening of containers. "Is somepony here?" A gruff voice asked. "I promise I won't hurtcha." Please don't find me... Please don't find me... I thought to myself as my heart raced faster and faster. Suddenly the cupboard door swung open and I was face to face with a large white Pegasus stallion with a tattered blue and silver mane, and dark sapphire blue eyes. "Aww! Well, aintcha a cutie!" He practically gushed. "Now, I won't hurtcha unless I got to, kay?" "P-please don't sell me out to the raiders!" I cried out, pleading him with my eyes. The stallion chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I ain't not that kinda prick." He said gently. "Come on out, are you alright?" I looked right, then left, and crawled out of the cupboard. "I'm fine... My name's Ratchet Sparks." I said, looking at the stallion. He looked even bigger now that I was out of the cupboard. He was brawny and looked tough, his white hide was marred with scars. His cutiemark appeared to be a sword broken in three pieces. "Broken, Broken Sword." He introduced. " What happened here?" "I was with my mom and dad, and then the raiders came... Dad got his battle saddle on and fought, mom hid me in the cupboard and went out to fight too... I... I think they're dead." I said sadly, bowing my head. I felt tears rush to my eyes, but fought them back. I had cried enough already. To my surprise the stallion wrapped his forehooves around me and pulled me in close. "S'okay to cry, little one." He said in a soft tone. "I cried when my mum was struck down by raiders, you'd better believe it." I laid my head on his shoulder and tried to imagine the large pony as small, crying over the death of his mother. What I imagined was a little white Pegasus without his cutiemark even, and with a neat mane. The tears in his eyes quickly dried and I watched him go out on his own. "Are you alone?" I asked cautiously. My gut was telling me he was, but I had to be sure. "I've been alone ever since I got kicked out of the raider group I ran with." He said carefully, releasing me from his embrace. Fear bubbled up in my stomach, my eyes got wide and I took a step back... Or at least I would've but I hit the cupboard. It was in that moment I realized that I was trapped, at the mercy of the ex-raider. "Now, now, come on kid, I'm not a raider no more!" Broken sword said much too casually. "But... I ain't exactly no good guy either." He clarified. I relaxed a little. "If you're not a raider, and you're not a good guy, what are you?" I asked curiously. Broken thought for a moment. He seemed as puzzled by the question as I was. "Guess I'm neutral, kinda in between." He said thoughtfully. " I do good things, like saving you, which I'm about to do in a second, and I do bad things, which we won't discuss." My heart nearly stopped when I heard him say that he was going to save me. "How are you going to save me?" I asked, still in shock. "Well, it requires some fancy wing work." He said with a grin. I smiled in return. Maybe this would be fun. "Just tell me what to do." True Treasure(Broken Sword) Oasis. The town I had come to in order to trade and get repairs was in ruins before me. Some of the buildings were still smoldering from flamer-happy raiders. The smells of charred and rotting flesh permeated the air around me. Raiders milled about the ruins, filthy stinking raiders. They paid me no mind as I trotted into town, it was almost as if I was still one of them. I entered a nearby house and instantly felt another presence with me. I began to rummage through cupboards and containers. "Is somepony here?" I asked. "I promise I won't hurtcha." I opened another cupboard and found a small pegasus filly who couldn't have been more than 16 or 17. She had a fluffy light brown coat with blue dapples and a black mane. Her emerald eyes stared at me, full of alarm. "Aww! Well, aintcha a cutie!" I nearly gushed. "Now, I won't hurtcha unless I got to, kay?" "P-please don't sell me out to the raiders!" She cried out, pleading me with her eyes. I simply chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I ain't not that kinda prick." I said gently. "Come on out, are you alright?" The filly looked left, then right, and then crawled out. The "little" filly wasn't quite as small as I thought. "I'm fine... My name's Ratchet Sparks." She said, looking me right in the eyes. The filly's cutiemark was a wrench and screwdriver crossed in an X. "Broken, Broken Sword." I told her. " What happened here?" "I was with my mom and dad, and then the raiders came... Dad got his battle saddle on and fought, mom hid me in the cupboard and went out to fight too... I... I think they're dead." she said sadly, bowing her head. Tears came to her eyes but she shook her head to clear them. I decided to hug her, and pulled her in close. "S'okay to cry, little one." I said in my best soft tone. "I cried when my mum was struck down by raiders, you'd better believe it." That was the first time I had admitted to that in years. Ratchet laid her head on my shoulder and was silent for a long time. "Are you alone?" She asked carefully. Something told me she already knew the answer, but I told her anyways. "I've been alone ever since I got kicked out of the raider group I ran with."I told her cautiously, releasing her from my hug. Ratchet's eyes went wide and she tried to back away. "Now, now, come on kid, I'm not a raider no more!" I said casually. "But... I ain't exactly no good guy either." I clarified. I wasn't about to lie to this kid. Ratchet Sparks relaxed visibly, but was still a bit tense. "If you're not a raider, and you're not a good guy, what are you?" she asked curiously. I had to think about that for a moment. Good and Evil couldn't be the only things a pony could be, right? "Guess I'm neutral, kinda in between." I said thoughtfully. " I do good things, like saving you, which I'm about to do in a second, and I do bad things, which we won't discuss." A look of shock sat on Ratchet's face. "How are you going to save me?" She asked tentatively. I gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, it's gonna require some fancy wing work." I said. My smile was returned and Ratchet nodded. "Just tell me what to do." "Wing it!" I said, turning to the door, opening it and galloping out before taking to the skies. I forgot to ask how well Ratchet could fly. Worry began to drip into the pit of my stomach and I turned my head to look behind me. Sure enough, Ratchet Sparks was on my tail, flying confidently. That's when the first gun went off. More shots were fired at us, so I took an evasive maneuver, Ratchet right behind me. Soon we left the town of Oasis behind us, the sounds of shouting raiders faded in the distance. I looked behind me and saw Ratchet landing, so I followed her down, down into the dead yellow and brown wasteland below. "You alright, Sparky?" I asked. "Don't..." She huffed. "Call me Sparky." I laughed, and patted her on the back. "Alright, I won't." I couldn't help but ask myself why I helped the Pegasus filly. In another part of my life I would have thought nothing of raping her, killing her and throwing her body with the rest. The answer was simple, when you find something truly valuable... You keep it. Family Drama(Broken Sword) Darkness had fallen upon the city and I stayed outside for a long time before I heard a loud BANG of metal on metal from inside the house. I whipped around and ran inside, drawing my shotgun. Inside I found Ratchet crying on the ground, her wings covering her face. Her mother and father looked on in horror, a broken desk fan sat on the ground near them. "Anypony mind telling me what the fuck happened here?" I asked around my shotgun, gripping it tight. The Earthpony burst into tears and sobbing. "We told her the truth!" "Hmm... Rach, uh, Sparks, or whatever. You 'Kay?" I asked, holstering my rifle. "Th-they abandoned me!" She cried. I sat down beside her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Why did you leave her?" I sternly asked Ratchet's parents. Her mother cried more and her father looked me dead in the eyes. "That was back when we were popular, we didn't have the time for a foal." He says carefully. "We gave her to my adopted brother, because his wife can't have kids, see?" "So you pushed away your responsibility, and gave her up." I took a deep breath then said "Alright I think I get it in a way... At least how Rach here feels." I put a hoof around her. "My father did me the same Celestia-Damned way." "We... We didn't know what else to do... We couldn't put off giving ponies justice for our own self interest." Mr.Heartstrings says sadly. "We loved her, I swear we did." I was shaking with rage, but kept my composure. "At... Least... You're here now." I said through clenched teeth. "Rach, maybe we should leave for a bit... give you a break from everything you've been through today." "Y-yeah..." Ratchet said without emotion. "Come on then." I said to Ratchet before locking eyes again with the unicorn before leaving. "We'll be back when she works over all... this." Mr.Heartstrings nodded, holding his crying wife in his hooves. I stepped outside of the Agency with Rach, and looked for a quiet place so she could get her thoughts together. Soon enough we found a quiet little area on the outskirts of town. "Th-they gave me up..." Ratchet mumbled, holding her head in her hooves, haunches on the ground. I hung my head low, sitting beside her. "At least you got to meet 'em. I didn't even get to know either of my parents before one flew the coup, and the other bit the bullet." I said in a monotone. Ratchet nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, I didn't even consider that you might have gone through something worse... I will in the future." I shook my head. "No love, ain't what I meant. You have a chance to meet them now." I leveled his eyes to hers. "You already got a taste of what the world is like, it ain't nice, but sometimes you just gotta take the good witheverything elsehere." punctuating the 'everything else' with a hoof presenting the town around them. "Y-yeah, of course!" Ratchet looked inspired by my words of kindness. "If this world is nasty, let's make it better and take out some raiders!" She said, gesturing in the direction of Oasis. I bursted out laughing "That's the spirit!" I paused for a minute then checked my bag for ammo, inside there are only two more clips of ammo for my rifle. "Hey, you ain't ever shot a gun before, right?" "Only once, and I got a black eye cause I put my eye up to the scope." Ratchet admitted, embarrassed. "But, I know a lot about fixin' em!" I gave a guffaw before saying " you know how to fix something you can't use?" I pulled out my rifle and took a look around for a fence or a platform. I found a chain link fence round a nearby house, too ruined to possibly be inhabited. "Alright, come with me. I'll show you how to use one proper." I walk towards the house then take the caps off the fence before putting a few torn open tin cans on the top. Ratchet looked nervous. "Promise the recoil won't hurt?"She asked uneasily. "Ain't nothin' but a basic 5.56mm, kicks like a fly." I winked at her. Then I cock the rifle, put a single bullet in it, release it, then pull it to my shoulder, guiding her step by step. "First off hold it tight, too soft and it'll hit ya in the face." Speaking through his bared teeth I say "then take aim." Broken looks down the sights at a tin can. "Fwir" Then shoots at the can. Ratchet nodded and took the gun in her mouth, gripping it tight as she can. She put in to her shoulder, aimed, put her tongue around the trigger and fired. BLAM! A tin can was knocked from it's perch "Nicely Done!" I patted her on her back. That's when I caught myself just gazing at her smile... "Damn you remind me of her..." Ratchet grinned. "Thanks!" She thought for a minute. "I think..." "Hey, umm, how old are you?" Ratchet asked, frowning. "S-seventeen." I replied, taken aback. "I'm sixteen as of a few weeks ago!" Ratchet said with a huge smile. "You are not 16!" I exclaimed. "You've got to be 14 at the most!" "And I thought you were 20." She shrugged. How was she being so casual? Had she been suspecting that I was younger Than I looked? "Don't worry about it." I chuckled nervously "You think you can use it now?" "Yes..." Ratchet suddenly looked down, her smile dissapeared. "You can use it then, and give me back the switchblade." I knocked myself out of it. then took a quick breath. "Maybe I should explain... Don't want you to get the wrong idea..." Ratchet looked away. "I dropped your switchblade back at my house..." "Shit that's right..." I looked back into my pack, rummaging through what I have left, finding little but an old bag of jerky, and some 'magazines'. "You're just a lot like Cherish, that's all, even act a lot like her too." I fidgeted a little from the emotional release, and turned away, hanging my head a bit low, a lone tear coming from my eye and drifting down my muzzle. "Broken?" Ratchet asked. I realized that this is the first time she's ever called me by my name. "Just, everything happened so fast, and that bastard killed her... " I broke down, then just sat, my wings blocking nearly everything out. "Broken!" Ratchet exclaimed, rushing forward and moving my wings away before embracing me. I froze up in her embrace, then cried into her shoulder. "I'm here now. Forever and ever." Ratchet said to me softly, petting my back. That was a little awkward. "I...Just..." Then I looked into her emerald eyes. "So am I..." I pulled her close to me in a firm embrace. After awhile, Ratchet pushed away and poked my nose with her hoof. "Big brother!" She giggled. I very nearly giggle back. "Better then nothing." then poked her on the nose. "Lil sis, ready to pay dear mom and pop another visit, and see if we can bum off them for a while?" "Ugh, fine." Ratchet snorted. "I still don't know what to think of them." I smiled slyly, Then gave her a peck on the cheek, at which she blushed, as we started towards the agency. We went inside, looking for the parents who's names slipped my mind. "Hello Mr. and Mrs.Heartstrings." Ratchet says flatly."You probably don't want to, but if you'd like you can call us mom and dad." Mr.Heartstrings said calmly, levitating a pen in amber colored magic. His wife appeared to be in an other room. I took a look at Mr. Heartstrings and said "I take it you understand why she took it so hard..." "I do, as well as I can anyways." He replied with a heavy sigh. "My brother, would know more, he was abandoned by his parents as well." "Good to hear that you can." I then gave a little head nod to Ratchet. "Give 'em a chance." I turned back to Mr.Heartstrings. "Do you have a place we can stay?" "Of course!" He said giddily. "Anything for my daughter and her companion. "Don't call me your daughter." Ratchet said through gritted teeth. Mr.Heartstrings flattened his ears and took a step back. "S-sorry..." He stuttered, looking down. "One step at a time, you know?." I said to him in an attempt to be comforting. "Of... Of course..." It was obvious he was still hurt from Ratchet's earlier outburst, and was being hurt by Ratchet's cold disposition now. I dipped my head and looked at Mr.Heartstrings. "Where will we be staying?" I asked. "Follow me." He replied, brightening up a bit. He lead us through a kitchen, which was the next room over, where Mrs.Heartstrings prepared dinner, and up a staircase. At the top of the staircase there were two rooms. "You two can share the spare room." Inside were two beds, both well made and a window that looked out on the town. There were no curtains or blinds though. "Thanks." I said, letting my exhaustion take me over as I flopped onto the bed. Despite there being a second bed, Ratchet came up and huddled close to me. "Rach, can you move to the other bed?" I asked tersley, reminded instantly of Cherish. I heard a small sigh. "Yeah." She said sadly, getting up and going to the other bed. I felt a bit guilty but slowly, I fell asleep. Footnote, level up! New perk: Bladed Heart, give a +10% bonus to all bladed weapons, including bayonetted guns. The Next Day's Troubles(Ratchet Sparks) I awoke the next morning to the smell of hay burgers. I rolled over in my bed, not wanting to get up until I saw that Broken was gone. Wriggling out of bed, I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where my "family" was eating. "Good morning." I yawned. "Mornin'!" Broken greeted me, clearing his plate into his mouth. "Sleep well?" "Mhmm." I said groggily. "I don't wake up well." Broken let out a stifled augh but quickly stopped. He then looked down at his plate in contemplation. "Is something wrong?" I asked, troubled by my friend's behavior. Broken smiled and waved my question off with a hoof. "Who cares, how are you holding up, Rach?" "I am way too tired to answer that." I replied, sitting down at the table. "Hey, Mrs.Heartstrings, where's the mister?" Broken asked. "Oh, he's just out on a case." Mrs.Heartstrings replied, serving me some food. I instantly started eating, but stopped when Broken got up to leave. "Big brother, what's wrong?" I asked, getting up to follow. Broken cringed at 'Big Brother' and turned around. "This don't feel right... I'm gonna air out a bit. Kay, Rach? You should go eat." I figured this was a gentle way of telling me not to follow. "Oh... Okay." I said apologetically. "I'm sorry." "Nothin' to be sorry for." Broken replied. "Meet me at the abandoned house if we're gonna take down raiders, and bring my rifle. It's up in the room. If not, goodbye and keep my rifle. Consider it a gift." I nodded and looked away. "I'll see you soon then." I told him. He stopped, maybe for a second but then continued on. Sadness came over me and I let a few tears fall before heading back to the table to finish. As soon as I got done with my food, I fetched the rifle and came back downstairs. "Hey, Ratchet, before you go, I know it's not much but here's some clothes." Mrs.Heartstring I stopped and turned around. Mrs.Heartstrings held a flannel, a scarf and a holster for my rifle. I thanked her and put them on. The rifle didn't quite fit in the holster and the clothes were a tad big, but I was grateful for her generosity. I thanked her again and ran out to meet Broken Sword. Broken had a large piece of glass in his mouth when I saw him, it had duct tape around the bottom so that it didn't cut him. "You ready to play?" he asked around the makeshift weapon "I wouldn't call it playing, but I'm ready to go." I sais grimly. The former raider laughed. "If you say so, let's go." And he led the way out of town. I saw a cloaked pony in an alley, a mint coat barely visible in the shadows. I could help but let out a chuckle as we passed by. "Hmm?" Broken asked. I pointed to the cloaked pony in response. The pony soon walked away after being revealed. As soon as we were out of town, I unholstered my weapon and took to the skies. I looked back to see Broken right behind me. "What is it?" He yelled over the wind. "We'll get tere fafer." I replied around the rifle in my mouth. "You're right." Broken shouted back with a smile. He had lost much of the gloom from earlier. I was sure to land several yards away from the outskirts of my former home. I went into a sneaking position and went up behind the first raider I saw. I hesitated pulling the trigger once the gun was up to his head, but as he started to turn around, I fired, blowing his head off. Blood and brain matter splattered my and the ground. Another raider started to charge at me, so I shot him, only getting his shoulder, and flew up high. I looked down to see Broken locked in combat with a raider, but he quickly ended it with a blow to the head. He drove he piece of glass through the raider's eye, blood squirting everywhere when he pulled it out, she slumped to the ground, dead. Broken then took her machete and charged, wings unfurled for the cover of a nearby wall. I looked away and dodged the bullet of a sniper, positioned on the roof of the town hall. I fired at them and heard a shouted curse word. Below I saw a cloaked figure, one I assumed to be Mr.Heartstrings, getting charged by two raiders. He wasn't moving, nor did he draw a weapon, so I fired rapidl at the raiders, missing every shot. As I got lower and lower I heard Broken shouting at me. "Try not to waste ammo!" I didn't say a word, for fear of dropping my only weapon. I flapped my wings harder in an attempt to get more altitude. It seemed as though my efforts were futile, my wings were too tired, and I had never flown so much in my life. I landed and looked around to see where I was. Before I could figure that out, a sharp pain entered my body, specifically my back leg. I looked up and saw the sniper from earlier, setting up for another shot. I ran towards Mr.Heartstrings who held a revolver is amber colored magic. He fired at one of the raiders, missing and then the other, merely grazing his shoulder. I saw Broekn in the sky above, heading for the sniper. That's when the second bullet hit me in the flank. I let out a cry of pain, but ingnored it. I aimed for one raider as he fired at Mr.Heartstrings, who ducked out of the way. The bullet went right into the raider's knee, causing him to fall. The other raider turned on me and sent out a gush of flames right at me! Oh sweet Celestia!I thought to myself as I fired two more shots, hopefully at the flame weilding pony. The flames stopped and the fire weilding pony had fallen, blood oozing out of a wound in his neck. I heard an inoherent scream and turned around to see the two peices of falling body of the sniper and Broken following it. "Thank you, for helping me that is." A male's rich velvety voice said. The voice had an accent I couldn't place. "You're not Mr.Heartstrings!" I said incredulously. "That, I am not." He replied calmly, taking off his hood. "I am Knives Edge." His coat was white with black stripes, just like the Zebras who had come to Oasis to trade. But... He also had a long Unicorn's horn. Instead of rudely asking what he was, I extended a hoof. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Ratchet Sparks" I said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Knives said with a charming smirk. I felt my knees get weak, so I sat down. "Who is that?" Knives asked, pointing to my companion who was collecting Celestia knows what off the sniper's body. "That's my traveling partner, Broken Sword." I said. I was wiling to tell this stallion just about anything. That's when Broken came to rest by my side. "We were just talking about you!" I told Broken with a smile. "Broken, this is Knives Edge, Knives, this is Broken sword." A moment passed and suddenly I didn't feel so amiable towards the newcomer. Not that he had a suspicious air, he was just suddenly less charming. I stood back up and looked into his amethyst eyes. "What are you?" Broken asked, breaking my concentration. "Like, those stripes tattoos or somethin'?" Knives threw back his head and laughed. "I am part Zebra." He clarified. "But the rest of me is all Unicorn, I assure you." "Well, ain't that unusual. What brings you to this side of paradise?" Broken asked Knives curiously. "I came to Oasis to trade, but it would seem raiders took over not long ago." He chuckled a bit. "I should have recognized a raider town sooner." I nodded in disagreement. "Anyone can make a mistake." "Thank you, Ratchet." Knives said with a bow of the head. "So, did you two know each other before everything happened?" Broken asked casually as he searched the bodies of the other raiders. "Sadly, no." Knives said. "I wish I could've been here to help defend this place." "Well, it is the wastes." Broken threw out. "If people aren't gonna protect themselves, this is what happens." I felt the beginnings of rage start to smolder inside of me. "My parents did protect themselves! And others!" I fumed at him. "Were the just casualties, too weak for the wasteland? Did they deserve to die?!" Broken didn't wince. "Do you really think I beleive that?" He asked harshly. "I came here to help you avenge your parents and everypony else for that matter. I'm just sayin' that mybe if they had built a wall or somethin' this woulda never happened." I softened as Broken looked to the sky, and then headed west. I galloped to catch up. "Wait! I'm... I'm sorry!" I shouted "Wait for me!" Knives said, catching up to Broken and I with graceful ease. Broken stopped and turned around. "You know, about a week ago I was just like them. I thought nothing except chems, rape and murder." He said in a growl. "Every life was just another mark on my rifle. Until I learned how death could be. When that bastard Broken Oath took my Cherish away... He raped her, killed her and just threw her away. I made him pay. I kiled him nice and slow, along with everypony that held her down for him." Broken went nose to nose with me, his sapphire blue eyes full of flames and sadness. "I killed that fucking peice of shit and it was the last life I'd ever take without a hint of guilt." He paused, letting the fire in his eyes die down. "Never mistake me for one of those peices of shit." I looked down and away. "I'm... I'm sorry..." i mumbled. "I won't make that mistake again." I looked back up to see Broken walking away again. "P-please! let me travel with you! I have no home anymore!" Broken Sword stopped and looked back before coming over and poking me on the nose. "What kind of big brother would I be if I left my little sis all alone in the wastes?" He asked, the sadness in his eyes disappearing. "I'm not mad at ya, I'm just trying to deal with the way everything's changed." "I'm so sorry I shouted at you..." I apologized. I couldn't believe I had gotten angry with the only pony I was sure I could trust. "Don't be." Broken replied gently. "It would be wrong if you didn't feel anything about what happened." I nodded back. I didn't want to say a word. "Do you wanna grab anything before we leave?" Broken asked. I told him yes and headed towards m old house. We grabbed his switchblade and my tool case, which had been looted but still had some useful tools and scrap bits. "Anything else you wanna do while we're here?" Broken asked. "Yeah..." I took a nervous breath. "Can Knives edge come with us if he wants to?" Even though his charm had worn off, I couldn't help but find that I was fond of him. "Yeah, sure." He replied carelessly. "Hey, Stripes!" He called outside. "Wanna come with us?" Knives winced visibly at 'Stripes' but agreed to come with us. "It's been too long since I've been in decent traveling company." He said. The wind picked up as headed away from my house and Knives put on a set of goggles. All I could do was to pull my scarf over my face. "You two wanna scav around a bit?" Broken asked us. "We could poke around a bit." I said. "Knives, what do you think?" "It makes me sad to pick the houses of the dead, but it most be done to survive." Knives replied. We did a thorough search of all the houses we could get into. Before we left the town we came upon a safe. I tried to pick the lock, with no success, and Broken tried with the same result. "Let's just hit it back to Candlestead." Broken said in frustration. So, we set off. Footnote Level up! New perk: Cherchez la Filly, +10% damage to those of the same sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters. Steel Rangers(Broken Sword) On the way to the town my companions called Candlestead we were stopped by Steel rangers. "You're from Oasis, are you not?" The leader asked Ratchet, voices made robotic and tinny by their power armor. "Yes, she is." I said, stepping between the two. "What's it to ya?" The leader of the squad let out a heavy huff. "We are seeking a powerful object that our sources confirm to be in Oasis. She's coming with us." He said before forcing me aside and grabbing Ratchet. "Sure she is." I said sarcastically, drawing my machete and plunging it deep into the ranger's weak spot. Blood oozed from the wound and the Steel Ranger let out a grunt of pain. "Still think she's coming with you, big guy?" I asked, twisting my machete. "Apparently not." He sighed, stepping away from me. I pulled out the machete. "You." He looked back to Ratchet. "If you come with us willingly we would be willing to pay you. It must be expensive to keep around a body guard." "I ain't no body guard!" I exclaimed hotly. The iron clad pony dismissed this. "Everypony needs caps." He says casually. "Ratchet, what do you think?" I asked her. "Caps are always good, but I don't know anything about what you're looking for." Ratchet said nervously. "Don't play games with us, Pegasus, we believe the citizens of Oasis proudly displayed their weapon's power. I gave him another smile and swung the blood off my machete. "Wait... Wasn't there a safe back in Oasis?" "A civilian's safe would never hold the weapon we seek." He says gruffly. "Well, damn if I know." I replied, sheathing my weapon. "Rach, what do you think?" "I think that whatever it was, the raiders must have it." Knives Edge interrupted. "If raiders have the Light we are all doomed!" The paladin boomed. "The hell is the Light?" I asked. Knives and Ratchet paid rapt attention as the paladin explained. "Celestia's light is a grenade launcher. It is enchanted to have range greater than any other launcher, and it replenishes it's own grenades over time. It is called the Light for the grenades create a blinding flash when they explode." "Oh... Shit... As much as I don't like your attitudes, it MIGHT be a good idea to help you out." I was shocked by the concept of the weapon, thinking through everything I know about grenade launchers, unfortunately not much. "Will you help us?" "I'm in, what do you tow think? Knives, I know ya ain't for them but this weapon's in the hooves of dangerous ponies." Knives nodded. "I protect the lives of the innocent, I am helping." He said. Ratchet looked grim. "Of course I'll help, anything to make the world safer." "Good answers." The paladin says, continuing on to Oasis. "Paladin, you're wounded!" A female voice says from among the eight other Steel Rangers. "Don't mind it." He replies. "At least somepony gets it." I muttered to nopony in particular as I followed the paladin and his squad. Because we had been almost to candlestead, the on hoof journey took awhile due to the slow pace of the power armored rangers. Sunset had come upon the wasteland and the sounds of nighttime were beginning to come out around us. "We should probably camp for the night." Knives said, looking at the sky. "Right." I agreed. "I don't want a Manticore to come and fuck us in the dark." "Agreed. Sword, are you willing to go on first watch with me?" the ranger, that I now knew as Paladin Drake asked. "Sure thing." I said. "Rach, you go get some sleep. It's been a long day." While on watch nothing eventful happened, except for a couple Bloatsprites passing by. We were relived by two rangers and sent to get some rest. I found a place to sleep not too far from Ratchet And Knives, laid out my sleeping bag and laid down. Ratchet was fast asleep, but Knives was up, looking at the stars. "What's up?" I asked in a hushed tone, careful not to wake Ratchet. "Is nothing, I am simply wishing I could return home." He replied, rolling over. "I wish I could say the same, but there's always hope for a new one, for everyone" I said, letting my eyes meander to the moon before falling asleep. *** *** *** The next morning I woke up to find Ratchet gone and Knives stretching out. "Hey, Knives, where's Rach?" I asked "She is with Drake." He threw on his cloak and then sniffed the air as though he could smell something. When I tried nothing hit my nose. "Alright, where's Drake?" I asked, looking around. "He's in the town hall with the other rangers, searching for Celestia's light." Knives said. "But, it's been more than an hour, this operation reeks." "Let's investigate." I said, rushing towards the town hall. A sudden scream, undoubtedly Ratchet's resounded from the hall. I unfurled my wings and charged for the town hall, machete drawn. Knives was on my heels and drew his revolver. As we got inside we heard gunfire. I barreled down a set of stairs and found them all. Instead of taking in the situation, I focused on finding Ratchet. I saw her nearly instantly, cowering behind Paladin Drake. "What the hell happened here?!" I called out to Ratchet, taking cover. We were being fired at my robots! "We set off the security system!" Ratchet called back. "Oasis used to be a military town for Luna's forces of Bat-ponies!" "That's a first!" I shouted back before drawing my pipe pistol and firing at the robots. My bullets didn't look like they were doing much, but one of the robots exploded in response to my shot to the head. An idea struck me, and I took out my flamer, loaded it and unsheathed my machete, who shall now be known as Betty. I put it on the floor, and shot flames at it until the flamer was out of fuel. When I was done the blade was red hot. I had to stop myself from kissing it before I picked it up and charged for the robots. I hacked and slashed, severing robotic limbs and taking energy shots to every part of my body. They stung and burned but I kept fighting until all the robots were down. "Everypony alright?" I asked. There were complaints from the metal cased ponies of Drakes squad, but their leader overruled them. "We're fine." Drake then stepped away from Ratchet, who was still shaking. "There was a fucking reason we never went too deep into the town hall." She said grimly. "Rach, you okay?" I asked, as gentle as an ex-raider can be. "I'm... I'm fine, just shook up." She said, looking in horror at one of the robots. "I can't believe those sick pre-war ponies used real pony brains when building security robots!" "I'm not surprised. After, what they did led us to... Well, to that." I said, pointing back out to the wasteland. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had kept a magical beast locked away for it's power." "What?" Ratchet asked, confused. I noticed the quizzical look on Ratchets face. "It's a Rumor I heard involving a dracona...draconi, Drakono-whatever that was locked away and used to make that taint stuff over in the 'Hoof'" I told her. "Probably just a rumor though." Ratchet, who still looked uneasy took a sneaking pose and crawled ahead of the party, scouting for traps, turrets, and hostiles. I followed her, Betty unsheathed and in my mouth. I had an idea and I tapped Ratchet on the shoulder before beckoning her to follow me. "Hey, Drake." I called out to our armored 'friend'. "That's Paladin Drake to you, civilian." Drake reminded me. "Right, Paladin Drake, there's a raider settlement to the Southeast of here, you should go investigate for Celestia's Light. Ratchet, Knives and I will split ways from you here." I said, trying not to smile. "Of course, thank you for your help." He rummaged around in his saddlebags and threw us a bag of caps. "This should be sufficient payment for your help." He then commanded his squad to leave, and went ahead of them. "What the actual..." I took the bag and divvied it up between us, which left one cap left over, I slipped it into my bag and looked around. "Somethings got my mane itching, and it isn't the blood. Raiders couldn't tell the difference between a 50 cal, and a 22. Sp. We should look around a bit." Ratchet nodded and so did Knives. "Rach, Stripes, be on the lookout for anything strange, got it?" Both didn't say a word as we moved down the stairs. As we did, we could hear the mechanical sounds of a Protectapony pacing while on guard. I went into sneak and slowly descended the steps, one at the bottom I surveyed the area for the Protectapony. It was down a long hallway, at least fifteen feet away from me, it's back turned. I unfolded my wings and dashed down the hallway. Before it could turn around I swung my machete and took what I assumed to be it's head clean off. the head fell and shattered, showering me with brain matter. Unperturbed, I went onwards, seeing that the hallway ended in a room. I entered the room and was bombarded b bullets, most only grazed me, but one went right into my flank. I backtracked as fast as I could and sat down, the stinging from the grazing quickly died down. Sadly, my poor flank wasn't so lucky. "Drink this." Knives said, holding out a healing potion with his magic. I took the top in my mouth, cracked the seal with my teeth and guzzled it down. I looked into the room, around the corner. Inside were two doors, both closed. On the ceiling was a machine gun turret. I had to duck my head back around the corner before it spotted me. "Rach, Stripes, got any idea on how to murder that thing without getting turned into swiss pony?" I asked my companions. "Well, it's a mark 2 turret, on it's back it a combat inhibitor. As it swivels, I say we fire at the inhibitor." Ratchet says confidently. A startled Knives simply agreed. "Alright, Knives, you sneak past it, and I'll draw it's fire, then you shoot it in the combat inhi-thingy." I said. Knives nodded. "It's been too long since I've done a stealth mission." He said with a grin. I charged in and was barely able to dodge all of it's fire before it stopped spitting bullets and exploded. In the midst of the wreckage stood knives, face contorted in pain, with a bit of shrapnel stuck in his shoulder. I walked towards him with the intent of inspecting the wound, but as I got there, Knives wrapped his magic around the piece of metal and pulled it out. Blood oozed from the wound and he took out a bandage, sticking it to his shoulder. "You alright?" I asked cautiously. He gave a wide grin and drank down a healing potion from his bag. "You see, I am fine." I nodded to him and we continued onward, unknowing of what we would find. Companionship(Ratchet Sparks) Upon landing I felt blood running down my leg. It was the first time I had ever seen this much blood, but that was fine. It was the stinging pain I couldn't stand. Broken Sword landed next to me and took my hoof in his. He then took out some cloth and wrapped up my wound, a large gash cut out by a bullet, in the bandage. Blood nearly instantly soaked through it. He then took out a near empty bottle of liquor. "If it hurts, drink this." He said calmly. Broken uncapped it and I took it in my mouth, guzzling it down.. As it went down the drink burned my throat, I spat out the now empty bottle and cried out. "Yuck!" I couldn't believe something could taste so awful! "For the love of Celestia, you're just as bad as Cherish." Broken said disappointedly. "If you're hurtin' it'll kill the pain a bit." "Who's Cherish?"I asked, clueless. "Cherish was... She was my mate, I guess you could say... She was just..." Broken trailed off. "I'm sorry but I'm not sure if I can tell this right now. Too many open wounds." He looked off into the distance in thought. "I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."I apologized, looking away. "That must be rough." It felt strange to be giving sympathy to this pony. "Don't be. You didn't know so no harm done." Broken put a hoof on my shoulder, and gave me a half-hearted smile "Come on, we probably need to put some more distance between us and those raiders." I nodded in reply, leading the way to the nearest road. Broken followed along. "Where do you think we should head? I don't really know the area." He admitted. "Me either, I've never even been outside the city." I said, untroubled my this. "But, I know if we follow that road we'll make it to the next town over, Candlestead." "You seem awfully calm about all this..." Broken says, unsure as he stumbles on a rock. "Of course I do," I relplied. " I remember what my ma always told me, that if anything ever happened that I had family in Candlestead and all I had to do was tell them my name, and they'd help me." "Good to hear, I was starting to think we were gonna have to work from dust...." Broken said before falling silent, letting me take the lead. Soon enough a town appeared in the distance. Smoke rose from chimneys and the sounds of talking could be heard. As we walked into the town, it's became clear that the main road was a market place. But, there were very few weapon smiths or armorers. Instead the main commodity seemed to be... Junk. Piles of useless trash such as souvenirs, empty soda bottles, and more seemed to be what was selling. There were of course, food stands, and one stall sold weapons. Another sold chems but the main event was the garbage. Broken took a look around "Could be worse I guess. Have any idea about where your folks are at?" I let out a bout of nervous laughter. "No clue, momma just told me they run a detective agency." I informed him, stopping in the middle of the bustling marketplace "For fuck's sake..." Broken puts a hoof to his face, and stopped beside me, just before his stomach starts to growl. "Alright... You hungry?" I nodded yes emphatically and pointed to a stall heaping with bread, carrots, apples, mutfruit and more. The stall was run by a light yellow pony with a purple mane. Her cutiemark was a tree. The mutfruit looked especially good. I loved the tart taste of mutfruit. It was also tangy with a dry fruit under think skin. Broken checked his pack and found a small bag of caps, while also checking out what he brought from home. Then looks to the stall vendor "How much for each?" The stall owner looked at Broken sourly, but her expression quickly changed when she noticed me and she softened visibly. "Three caps for a piece of fruit, five caps for the bread." She says, talking to Broken but looking at me. "You don't have to get me anything." I said, breaking eye contact with the shopkeeper. "You gotta eat too." Broken says, taking out everything in the bag, but only 10 caps come out. "Well then... A piece of fruit for me, and bread for my friend.... You know about any detective agency around here? She's looking for her folks." he nods towards me. I mumble a thank you as the shopkeeper begins to speak. The mare running the stand smiled and gave Broken the food he asked for, taking eight caps. "You're looking for the Heartstrings, they live south of town, just follow the signs." She says, pointing to one of the signs. It reads "Heartstrings Detective Agency" and points down an alleyway. "But, I'm not a Heartstrings, I'm a Sparks!" I said incredulously. Broken chuckled. "Sometimes family names change." He told me, giving me the bread. I nodded back. I had some questions as to how the name changes, but I figured I'd save it for the Heartstrings. "Thanks for the info, keep the rest." He said to the shop keeper, leaving his two other caps on the stall. Broken took a look around, as if trying to find something. I bit into my bread and flavor filled my mouth. The oats on top were toasted to perfection and the bread had the perfect consistency. "Mmmmmmm!" I said, mouth full. Broken smiled and ate his fruit in two bites, while keeping his eyes trained on a particular alleyway. "Tell me when you're ready to go see your folks Rach. Somethin's stinking here, but I ain't sure what." He said with a warning tone. I gave Broken a skeptical look and looked where he was, the empty alley. "If the smell bothers you, let's move along to see my family." I said, looking back to him. Broken gave me a strange look, maybe it was disbelief on his face. "Nevermind, let's just go." He then tossed the core of the fruit aside and made his way over to the Heartstring's detective agency. *** *** *** We followed sign after sign until we reached an old beat up metal building with a rusted roof and new rain gutters. A flickering neon sign on the building read "Heartstrings Detective Agency, Partners in Justice" The entire place had an ominous feeling about it that only grew as the sky became darker and darker. "I don't like this place." I announced defiantly, making any trace of fear in my body flee. Broken turned and gave me a reassuring look, which looked very out of place on him, and then went inside. I had no choice but to follow. The inside was a complete mess. it was by far was the second largest room I had ever seen. (The first being our town hall back in Oasis.) Inside was a neat wooden desk covered in papers, and several rusted filing cabinets lined the walls. Two ponies stood in the room. One was a minty green Unicorn stallion with a black mane, and the other was a light brown Earthpony mare with a blue mane. They both wore trench coats and fedoras. The mare looked surprised to see us, while the former gave her the 'I told you so' look. Much to my surprise Broken laughed out loud. "You're the stallion I saw spying on us." I turned to Broken. "I'm sorry, but what now?" "Guilty as charged, sir, you've got quite the eye." The stallion replied. Apparently nopony was going to answer me. "So, you're part of her family?" Broken asked them with a smile. "If that there is Sparks." The strange stallion said, leaning on the desk. The Earthpony spoke up. "That is our daughter, isn't it?" She asked, her hazel eyes full of hope. Daughter? What in haystacks... "Wait Ratchet... Didn't you say that you're mother and father were with you over at the other town." Broken looked towards me for an answer. "Sure did!" I replied, happy as ever. "But I always did wonder why I'm not a Bat-pony if they were. Actually, the whole town was Bat-ponies!" I shrugged. "They just told me I fell outta the sky one night and I never questioned it." "You mean they didn't tell you?!" Asked the couple before us in horror. "Well... I guess not, or they didn't get the chance before the town was burned down." Broken said casually. The Earthpony suddenly started to cry and the unicorn held her close. "Did raiders finally get to Oasis?" He asks as tears come to his eyes. "Yep... Hate to say it, but I couldn't find any other survivors other then Rach here." Broken wavered a bit when he looked at me. The stallion turns pale and looks as if he may faint."R-rach huh?" He asks faintly. "What's her full name?" "My name's Ratchet Sparks." I interrupted the second Broken opened his mouth. "Ratchet Sparks?" The Earthpony asks, clearing her nose with a nearby tissue. "They kept part of the name we gave you after all." "What was my name before?" I asked. "Sparky Heartstrings." replied the stallion. "Hey, Ratchet, I'm gonna step out, you catch up with your folks, alright?" Broken said to me before stepping out. *** *** *** Footnote: Level up! New perk, Empathy: Reaction levels are shown when in an in-depth conversation
My Savior(Ratchet Sparks) Darkness surrounded me. All I could hear was the labored sound of my own hot breath. Terror gripped my chest, my heart pounded in my ears, my only thought... Don't get caught. I heard the door open and shut along with hoofsteps outside the cupboard I was in. I held my breath as I heard trotting and the opening of containers. "Is somepony here?" A gruff voice asked. "I promise I won't hurtcha." Please don't find me... Please don't find me... I thought to myself as my heart raced faster and faster. Suddenly the cupboard door swung open and I was face to face with a large white Pegasus stallion with a tattered blue and silver mane, and dark sapphire blue eyes. "Aww! Well, aintcha a cutie!" He practically gushed. "Now, I won't hurtcha unless I got to, kay?" "P-please don't sell me out to the raiders!" I cried out, pleading him with my eyes. The stallion chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I ain't not that kinda prick." He said gently. "Come on out, are you alright?" I looked right, then left, and crawled out of the cupboard. "I'm fine... My name's Ratchet Sparks." I said, looking at the stallion. He looked even bigger now that I was out of the cupboard. He was brawny and looked tough, his white hide was marred with scars. His cutiemark appeared to be a sword broken in three pieces. "Broken, Broken Sword." He introduced. " What happened here?" "I was with my mom and dad, and then the raiders came... Dad got his battle saddle on and fought, mom hid me in the cupboard and went out to fight too... I... I think they're dead." I said sadly, bowing my head. I felt tears rush to my eyes, but fought them back. I had cried enough already. To my surprise the stallion wrapped his forehooves around me and pulled me in close. "S'okay to cry, little one." He said in a soft tone. "I cried when my mum was struck down by raiders, you'd better believe it." I laid my head on his shoulder and tried to imagine the large pony as small, crying over the death of his mother. What I imagined was a little white Pegasus without his cutiemark even, and with a neat mane. The tears in his eyes quickly dried and I watched him go out on his own. "Are you alone?" I asked cautiously. My gut was telling me he was, but I had to be sure. "I've been alone ever since I got kicked out of the raider group I ran with." He said carefully, releasing me from his embrace. Fear bubbled up in my stomach, my eyes got wide and I took a step back... Or at least I would've but I hit the cupboard. It was in that moment I realized that I was trapped, at the mercy of the ex-raider. "Now, now, come on kid, I'm not a raider no more!" Broken sword said much too casually. "But... I ain't exactly no good guy either." He clarified. I relaxed a little. "If you're not a raider, and you're not a good guy, what are you?" I asked curiously. Broken thought for a moment. He seemed as puzzled by the question as I was. "Guess I'm neutral, kinda in between." He said thoughtfully. " I do good things, like saving you, which I'm about to do in a second, and I do bad things, which we won't discuss." My heart nearly stopped when I heard him say that he was going to save me. "How are you going to save me?" I asked, still in shock. "Well, it requires some fancy wing work." He said with a grin. I smiled in return. Maybe this would be fun. "Just tell me what to do."
True Treasure(Broken Sword) Oasis. The town I had come to in order to trade and get repairs was in ruins before me. Some of the buildings were still smoldering from flamer-happy raiders. The smells of charred and rotting flesh permeated the air around me. Raiders milled about the ruins, filthy stinking raiders. They paid me no mind as I trotted into town, it was almost as if I was still one of them. I entered a nearby house and instantly felt another presence with me. I began to rummage through cupboards and containers. "Is somepony here?" I asked. "I promise I won't hurtcha." I opened another cupboard and found a small pegasus filly who couldn't have been more than 16 or 17. She had a fluffy light brown coat with blue dapples and a black mane. Her emerald eyes stared at me, full of alarm. "Aww! Well, aintcha a cutie!" I nearly gushed. "Now, I won't hurtcha unless I got to, kay?" "P-please don't sell me out to the raiders!" She cried out, pleading me with her eyes. I simply chuckled and nodded. "No worries, I ain't not that kinda prick." I said gently. "Come on out, are you alright?" The filly looked left, then right, and then crawled out. The "little" filly wasn't quite as small as I thought. "I'm fine... My name's Ratchet Sparks." She said, looking me right in the eyes. The filly's cutiemark was a wrench and screwdriver crossed in an X. "Broken, Broken Sword." I told her. " What happened here?" "I was with my mom and dad, and then the raiders came... Dad got his battle saddle on and fought, mom hid me in the cupboard and went out to fight too... I... I think they're dead." she said sadly, bowing her head. Tears came to her eyes but she shook her head to clear them. I decided to hug her, and pulled her in close. "S'okay to cry, little one." I said in my best soft tone. "I cried when my mum was struck down by raiders, you'd better believe it." That was the first time I had admitted to that in years. Ratchet laid her head on my shoulder and was silent for a long time. "Are you alone?" She asked carefully. Something told me she already knew the answer, but I told her anyways. "I've been alone ever since I got kicked out of the raider group I ran with."I told her cautiously, releasing her from my hug. Ratchet's eyes went wide and she tried to back away. "Now, now, come on kid, I'm not a raider no more!" I said casually. "But... I ain't exactly no good guy either." I clarified. I wasn't about to lie to this kid. Ratchet Sparks relaxed visibly, but was still a bit tense. "If you're not a raider, and you're not a good guy, what are you?" she asked curiously. I had to think about that for a moment. Good and Evil couldn't be the only things a pony could be, right? "Guess I'm neutral, kinda in between." I said thoughtfully. " I do good things, like saving you, which I'm about to do in a second, and I do bad things, which we won't discuss." A look of shock sat on Ratchet's face. "How are you going to save me?" She asked tentatively. I gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, it's gonna require some fancy wing work." I said. My smile was returned and Ratchet nodded. "Just tell me what to do." "Wing it!" I said, turning to the door, opening it and galloping out before taking to the skies. I forgot to ask how well Ratchet could fly. Worry began to drip into the pit of my stomach and I turned my head to look behind me. Sure enough, Ratchet Sparks was on my tail, flying confidently. That's when the first gun went off. More shots were fired at us, so I took an evasive maneuver, Ratchet right behind me. Soon we left the town of Oasis behind us, the sounds of shouting raiders faded in the distance. I looked behind me and saw Ratchet landing, so I followed her down, down into the dead yellow and brown wasteland below. "You alright, Sparky?" I asked. "Don't..." She huffed. "Call me Sparky." I laughed, and patted her on the back. "Alright, I won't." I couldn't help but ask myself why I helped the Pegasus filly. In another part of my life I would have thought nothing of raping her, killing her and throwing her body with the rest. The answer was simple, when you find something truly valuable... You keep it.
Family Drama(Broken Sword) Darkness had fallen upon the city and I stayed outside for a long time before I heard a loud BANG of metal on metal from inside the house. I whipped around and ran inside, drawing my shotgun. Inside I found Ratchet crying on the ground, her wings covering her face. Her mother and father looked on in horror, a broken desk fan sat on the ground near them. "Anypony mind telling me what the fuck happened here?" I asked around my shotgun, gripping it tight. The Earthpony burst into tears and sobbing. "We told her the truth!" "Hmm... Rach, uh, Sparks, or whatever. You 'Kay?" I asked, holstering my rifle. "Th-they abandoned me!" She cried. I sat down beside her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Why did you leave her?" I sternly asked Ratchet's parents. Her mother cried more and her father looked me dead in the eyes. "That was back when we were popular, we didn't have the time for a foal." He says carefully. "We gave her to my adopted brother, because his wife can't have kids, see?" "So you pushed away your responsibility, and gave her up." I took a deep breath then said "Alright I think I get it in a way... At least how Rach here feels." I put a hoof around her. "My father did me the same Celestia-Damned way." "We... We didn't know what else to do... We couldn't put off giving ponies justice for our own self interest." Mr.Heartstrings says sadly. "We loved her, I swear we did." I was shaking with rage, but kept my composure. "At... Least... You're here now." I said through clenched teeth. "Rach, maybe we should leave for a bit... give you a break from everything you've been through today." "Y-yeah..." Ratchet said without emotion. "Come on then." I said to Ratchet before locking eyes again with the unicorn before leaving. "We'll be back when she works over all... this." Mr.Heartstrings nodded, holding his crying wife in his hooves. I stepped outside of the Agency with Rach, and looked for a quiet place so she could get her thoughts together. Soon enough we found a quiet little area on the outskirts of town. "Th-they gave me up..." Ratchet mumbled, holding her head in her hooves, haunches on the ground. I hung my head low, sitting beside her. "At least you got to meet 'em. I didn't even get to know either of my parents before one flew the coup, and the other bit the bullet." I said in a monotone. Ratchet nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, I didn't even consider that you might have gone through something worse... I will in the future." I shook my head. "No love, ain't what I meant. You have a chance to meet them now." I leveled his eyes to hers. "You already got a taste of what the world is like, it ain't nice, but sometimes you just gotta take the good witheverything elsehere." punctuating the 'everything else' with a hoof presenting the town around them. "Y-yeah, of course!" Ratchet looked inspired by my words of kindness. "If this world is nasty, let's make it better and take out some raiders!" She said, gesturing in the direction of Oasis. I bursted out laughing "That's the spirit!" I paused for a minute then checked my bag for ammo, inside there are only two more clips of ammo for my rifle. "Hey, you ain't ever shot a gun before, right?" "Only once, and I got a black eye cause I put my eye up to the scope." Ratchet admitted, embarrassed. "But, I know a lot about fixin' em!" I gave a guffaw before saying " you know how to fix something you can't use?" I pulled out my rifle and took a look around for a fence or a platform. I found a chain link fence round a nearby house, too ruined to possibly be inhabited. "Alright, come with me. I'll show you how to use one proper." I walk towards the house then take the caps off the fence before putting a few torn open tin cans on the top. Ratchet looked nervous. "Promise the recoil won't hurt?"She asked uneasily. "Ain't nothin' but a basic 5.56mm, kicks like a fly." I winked at her. Then I cock the rifle, put a single bullet in it, release it, then pull it to my shoulder, guiding her step by step. "First off hold it tight, too soft and it'll hit ya in the face." Speaking through his bared teeth I say "then take aim." Broken looks down the sights at a tin can. "Fwir" Then shoots at the can. Ratchet nodded and took the gun in her mouth, gripping it tight as she can. She put in to her shoulder, aimed, put her tongue around the trigger and fired. BLAM! A tin can was knocked from it's perch "Nicely Done!" I patted her on her back. That's when I caught myself just gazing at her smile... "Damn you remind me of her..." Ratchet grinned. "Thanks!" She thought for a minute. "I think..." "Hey, umm, how old are you?" Ratchet asked, frowning. "S-seventeen." I replied, taken aback. "I'm sixteen as of a few weeks ago!" Ratchet said with a huge smile. "You are not 16!" I exclaimed. "You've got to be 14 at the most!" "And I thought you were 20." She shrugged. How was she being so casual? Had she been suspecting that I was younger Than I looked? "Don't worry about it." I chuckled nervously "You think you can use it now?" "Yes..." Ratchet suddenly looked down, her smile dissapeared. "You can use it then, and give me back the switchblade." I knocked myself out of it. then took a quick breath. "Maybe I should explain... Don't want you to get the wrong idea..." Ratchet looked away. "I dropped your switchblade back at my house..." "Shit that's right..." I looked back into my pack, rummaging through what I have left, finding little but an old bag of jerky, and some 'magazines'. "You're just a lot like Cherish, that's all, even act a lot like her too." I fidgeted a little from the emotional release, and turned away, hanging my head a bit low, a lone tear coming from my eye and drifting down my muzzle. "Broken?" Ratchet asked. I realized that this is the first time she's ever called me by my name. "Just, everything happened so fast, and that bastard killed her... " I broke down, then just sat, my wings blocking nearly everything out. "Broken!" Ratchet exclaimed, rushing forward and moving my wings away before embracing me. I froze up in her embrace, then cried into her shoulder. "I'm here now. Forever and ever." Ratchet said to me softly, petting my back. That was a little awkward. "I...Just..." Then I looked into her emerald eyes. "So am I..." I pulled her close to me in a firm embrace. After awhile, Ratchet pushed away and poked my nose with her hoof. "Big brother!" She giggled. I very nearly giggle back. "Better then nothing." then poked her on the nose. "Lil sis, ready to pay dear mom and pop another visit, and see if we can bum off them for a while?" "Ugh, fine." Ratchet snorted. "I still don't know what to think of them." I smiled slyly, Then gave her a peck on the cheek, at which she blushed, as we started towards the agency. We went inside, looking for the parents who's names slipped my mind. "Hello Mr. and Mrs.Heartstrings." Ratchet says flatly."You probably don't want to, but if you'd like you can call us mom and dad." Mr.Heartstrings said calmly, levitating a pen in amber colored magic. His wife appeared to be in an other room. I took a look at Mr. Heartstrings and said "I take it you understand why she took it so hard..." "I do, as well as I can anyways." He replied with a heavy sigh. "My brother, would know more, he was abandoned by his parents as well." "Good to hear that you can." I then gave a little head nod to Ratchet. "Give 'em a chance." I turned back to Mr.Heartstrings. "Do you have a place we can stay?" "Of course!" He said giddily. "Anything for my daughter and her companion. "Don't call me your daughter." Ratchet said through gritted teeth. Mr.Heartstrings flattened his ears and took a step back. "S-sorry..." He stuttered, looking down. "One step at a time, you know?." I said to him in an attempt to be comforting. "Of... Of course..." It was obvious he was still hurt from Ratchet's earlier outburst, and was being hurt by Ratchet's cold disposition now. I dipped my head and looked at Mr.Heartstrings. "Where will we be staying?" I asked. "Follow me." He replied, brightening up a bit. He lead us through a kitchen, which was the next room over, where Mrs.Heartstrings prepared dinner, and up a staircase. At the top of the staircase there were two rooms. "You two can share the spare room." Inside were two beds, both well made and a window that looked out on the town. There were no curtains or blinds though. "Thanks." I said, letting my exhaustion take me over as I flopped onto the bed. Despite there being a second bed, Ratchet came up and huddled close to me. "Rach, can you move to the other bed?" I asked tersley, reminded instantly of Cherish. I heard a small sigh. "Yeah." She said sadly, getting up and going to the other bed. I felt a bit guilty but slowly, I fell asleep. Footnote, level up! New perk: Bladed Heart, give a +10% bonus to all bladed weapons, including bayonetted guns.
The Next Day's Troubles(Ratchet Sparks) I awoke the next morning to the smell of hay burgers. I rolled over in my bed, not wanting to get up until I saw that Broken was gone. Wriggling out of bed, I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where my "family" was eating. "Good morning." I yawned. "Mornin'!" Broken greeted me, clearing his plate into his mouth. "Sleep well?" "Mhmm." I said groggily. "I don't wake up well." Broken let out a stifled augh but quickly stopped. He then looked down at his plate in contemplation. "Is something wrong?" I asked, troubled by my friend's behavior. Broken smiled and waved my question off with a hoof. "Who cares, how are you holding up, Rach?" "I am way too tired to answer that." I replied, sitting down at the table. "Hey, Mrs.Heartstrings, where's the mister?" Broken asked. "Oh, he's just out on a case." Mrs.Heartstrings replied, serving me some food. I instantly started eating, but stopped when Broken got up to leave. "Big brother, what's wrong?" I asked, getting up to follow. Broken cringed at 'Big Brother' and turned around. "This don't feel right... I'm gonna air out a bit. Kay, Rach? You should go eat." I figured this was a gentle way of telling me not to follow. "Oh... Okay." I said apologetically. "I'm sorry." "Nothin' to be sorry for." Broken replied. "Meet me at the abandoned house if we're gonna take down raiders, and bring my rifle. It's up in the room. If not, goodbye and keep my rifle. Consider it a gift." I nodded and looked away. "I'll see you soon then." I told him. He stopped, maybe for a second but then continued on. Sadness came over me and I let a few tears fall before heading back to the table to finish. As soon as I got done with my food, I fetched the rifle and came back downstairs. "Hey, Ratchet, before you go, I know it's not much but here's some clothes." Mrs.Heartstring I stopped and turned around. Mrs.Heartstrings held a flannel, a scarf and a holster for my rifle. I thanked her and put them on. The rifle didn't quite fit in the holster and the clothes were a tad big, but I was grateful for her generosity. I thanked her again and ran out to meet Broken Sword. Broken had a large piece of glass in his mouth when I saw him, it had duct tape around the bottom so that it didn't cut him. "You ready to play?" he asked around the makeshift weapon "I wouldn't call it playing, but I'm ready to go." I sais grimly. The former raider laughed. "If you say so, let's go." And he led the way out of town. I saw a cloaked pony in an alley, a mint coat barely visible in the shadows. I could help but let out a chuckle as we passed by. "Hmm?" Broken asked. I pointed to the cloaked pony in response. The pony soon walked away after being revealed. As soon as we were out of town, I unholstered my weapon and took to the skies. I looked back to see Broken right behind me. "What is it?" He yelled over the wind. "We'll get tere fafer." I replied around the rifle in my mouth. "You're right." Broken shouted back with a smile. He had lost much of the gloom from earlier. I was sure to land several yards away from the outskirts of my former home. I went into a sneaking position and went up behind the first raider I saw. I hesitated pulling the trigger once the gun was up to his head, but as he started to turn around, I fired, blowing his head off. Blood and brain matter splattered my and the ground. Another raider started to charge at me, so I shot him, only getting his shoulder, and flew up high. I looked down to see Broken locked in combat with a raider, but he quickly ended it with a blow to the head. He drove he piece of glass through the raider's eye, blood squirting everywhere when he pulled it out, she slumped to the ground, dead. Broken then took her machete and charged, wings unfurled for the cover of a nearby wall. I looked away and dodged the bullet of a sniper, positioned on the roof of the town hall. I fired at them and heard a shouted curse word. Below I saw a cloaked figure, one I assumed to be Mr.Heartstrings, getting charged by two raiders. He wasn't moving, nor did he draw a weapon, so I fired rapidl at the raiders, missing every shot. As I got lower and lower I heard Broken shouting at me. "Try not to waste ammo!" I didn't say a word, for fear of dropping my only weapon. I flapped my wings harder in an attempt to get more altitude. It seemed as though my efforts were futile, my wings were too tired, and I had never flown so much in my life. I landed and looked around to see where I was. Before I could figure that out, a sharp pain entered my body, specifically my back leg. I looked up and saw the sniper from earlier, setting up for another shot. I ran towards Mr.Heartstrings who held a revolver is amber colored magic. He fired at one of the raiders, missing and then the other, merely grazing his shoulder. I saw Broekn in the sky above, heading for the sniper. That's when the second bullet hit me in the flank. I let out a cry of pain, but ingnored it. I aimed for one raider as he fired at Mr.Heartstrings, who ducked out of the way. The bullet went right into the raider's knee, causing him to fall. The other raider turned on me and sent out a gush of flames right at me! Oh sweet Celestia!I thought to myself as I fired two more shots, hopefully at the flame weilding pony. The flames stopped and the fire weilding pony had fallen, blood oozing out of a wound in his neck. I heard an inoherent scream and turned around to see the two peices of falling body of the sniper and Broken following it. "Thank you, for helping me that is." A male's rich velvety voice said. The voice had an accent I couldn't place. "You're not Mr.Heartstrings!" I said incredulously. "That, I am not." He replied calmly, taking off his hood. "I am Knives Edge." His coat was white with black stripes, just like the Zebras who had come to Oasis to trade. But... He also had a long Unicorn's horn. Instead of rudely asking what he was, I extended a hoof. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Ratchet Sparks" I said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Knives said with a charming smirk. I felt my knees get weak, so I sat down. "Who is that?" Knives asked, pointing to my companion who was collecting Celestia knows what off the sniper's body. "That's my traveling partner, Broken Sword." I said. I was wiling to tell this stallion just about anything. That's when Broken came to rest by my side. "We were just talking about you!" I told Broken with a smile. "Broken, this is Knives Edge, Knives, this is Broken sword." A moment passed and suddenly I didn't feel so amiable towards the newcomer. Not that he had a suspicious air, he was just suddenly less charming. I stood back up and looked into his amethyst eyes. "What are you?" Broken asked, breaking my concentration. "Like, those stripes tattoos or somethin'?" Knives threw back his head and laughed. "I am part Zebra." He clarified. "But the rest of me is all Unicorn, I assure you." "Well, ain't that unusual. What brings you to this side of paradise?" Broken asked Knives curiously. "I came to Oasis to trade, but it would seem raiders took over not long ago." He chuckled a bit. "I should have recognized a raider town sooner." I nodded in disagreement. "Anyone can make a mistake." "Thank you, Ratchet." Knives said with a bow of the head. "So, did you two know each other before everything happened?" Broken asked casually as he searched the bodies of the other raiders. "Sadly, no." Knives said. "I wish I could've been here to help defend this place." "Well, it is the wastes." Broken threw out. "If people aren't gonna protect themselves, this is what happens." I felt the beginnings of rage start to smolder inside of me. "My parents did protect themselves! And others!" I fumed at him. "Were the just casualties, too weak for the wasteland? Did they deserve to die?!" Broken didn't wince. "Do you really think I beleive that?" He asked harshly. "I came here to help you avenge your parents and everypony else for that matter. I'm just sayin' that mybe if they had built a wall or somethin' this woulda never happened." I softened as Broken looked to the sky, and then headed west. I galloped to catch up. "Wait! I'm... I'm sorry!" I shouted "Wait for me!" Knives said, catching up to Broken and I with graceful ease. Broken stopped and turned around. "You know, about a week ago I was just like them. I thought nothing except chems, rape and murder." He said in a growl. "Every life was just another mark on my rifle. Until I learned how death could be. When that bastard Broken Oath took my Cherish away... He raped her, killed her and just threw her away. I made him pay. I kiled him nice and slow, along with everypony that held her down for him." Broken went nose to nose with me, his sapphire blue eyes full of flames and sadness. "I killed that fucking peice of shit and it was the last life I'd ever take without a hint of guilt." He paused, letting the fire in his eyes die down. "Never mistake me for one of those peices of shit." I looked down and away. "I'm... I'm sorry..." i mumbled. "I won't make that mistake again." I looked back up to see Broken walking away again. "P-please! let me travel with you! I have no home anymore!" Broken Sword stopped and looked back before coming over and poking me on the nose. "What kind of big brother would I be if I left my little sis all alone in the wastes?" He asked, the sadness in his eyes disappearing. "I'm not mad at ya, I'm just trying to deal with the way everything's changed." "I'm so sorry I shouted at you..." I apologized. I couldn't believe I had gotten angry with the only pony I was sure I could trust. "Don't be." Broken replied gently. "It would be wrong if you didn't feel anything about what happened." I nodded back. I didn't want to say a word. "Do you wanna grab anything before we leave?" Broken asked. I told him yes and headed towards m old house. We grabbed his switchblade and my tool case, which had been looted but still had some useful tools and scrap bits. "Anything else you wanna do while we're here?" Broken asked. "Yeah..." I took a nervous breath. "Can Knives edge come with us if he wants to?" Even though his charm had worn off, I couldn't help but find that I was fond of him. "Yeah, sure." He replied carelessly. "Hey, Stripes!" He called outside. "Wanna come with us?" Knives winced visibly at 'Stripes' but agreed to come with us. "It's been too long since I've been in decent traveling company." He said. The wind picked up as headed away from my house and Knives put on a set of goggles. All I could do was to pull my scarf over my face. "You two wanna scav around a bit?" Broken asked us. "We could poke around a bit." I said. "Knives, what do you think?" "It makes me sad to pick the houses of the dead, but it most be done to survive." Knives replied. We did a thorough search of all the houses we could get into. Before we left the town we came upon a safe. I tried to pick the lock, with no success, and Broken tried with the same result. "Let's just hit it back to Candlestead." Broken said in frustration. So, we set off. Footnote Level up! New perk: Cherchez la Filly, +10% damage to those of the same sex and unique dialogue options with certain characters.
Steel Rangers(Broken Sword) On the way to the town my companions called Candlestead we were stopped by Steel rangers. "You're from Oasis, are you not?" The leader asked Ratchet, voices made robotic and tinny by their power armor. "Yes, she is." I said, stepping between the two. "What's it to ya?" The leader of the squad let out a heavy huff. "We are seeking a powerful object that our sources confirm to be in Oasis. She's coming with us." He said before forcing me aside and grabbing Ratchet. "Sure she is." I said sarcastically, drawing my machete and plunging it deep into the ranger's weak spot. Blood oozed from the wound and the Steel Ranger let out a grunt of pain. "Still think she's coming with you, big guy?" I asked, twisting my machete. "Apparently not." He sighed, stepping away from me. I pulled out the machete. "You." He looked back to Ratchet. "If you come with us willingly we would be willing to pay you. It must be expensive to keep around a body guard." "I ain't no body guard!" I exclaimed hotly. The iron clad pony dismissed this. "Everypony needs caps." He says casually. "Ratchet, what do you think?" I asked her. "Caps are always good, but I don't know anything about what you're looking for." Ratchet said nervously. "Don't play games with us, Pegasus, we believe the citizens of Oasis proudly displayed their weapon's power. I gave him another smile and swung the blood off my machete. "Wait... Wasn't there a safe back in Oasis?" "A civilian's safe would never hold the weapon we seek." He says gruffly. "Well, damn if I know." I replied, sheathing my weapon. "Rach, what do you think?" "I think that whatever it was, the raiders must have it." Knives Edge interrupted. "If raiders have the Light we are all doomed!" The paladin boomed. "The hell is the Light?" I asked. Knives and Ratchet paid rapt attention as the paladin explained. "Celestia's light is a grenade launcher. It is enchanted to have range greater than any other launcher, and it replenishes it's own grenades over time. It is called the Light for the grenades create a blinding flash when they explode." "Oh... Shit... As much as I don't like your attitudes, it MIGHT be a good idea to help you out." I was shocked by the concept of the weapon, thinking through everything I know about grenade launchers, unfortunately not much. "Will you help us?" "I'm in, what do you tow think? Knives, I know ya ain't for them but this weapon's in the hooves of dangerous ponies." Knives nodded. "I protect the lives of the innocent, I am helping." He said. Ratchet looked grim. "Of course I'll help, anything to make the world safer." "Good answers." The paladin says, continuing on to Oasis. "Paladin, you're wounded!" A female voice says from among the eight other Steel Rangers. "Don't mind it." He replies. "At least somepony gets it." I muttered to nopony in particular as I followed the paladin and his squad. Because we had been almost to candlestead, the on hoof journey took awhile due to the slow pace of the power armored rangers. Sunset had come upon the wasteland and the sounds of nighttime were beginning to come out around us. "We should probably camp for the night." Knives said, looking at the sky. "Right." I agreed. "I don't want a Manticore to come and fuck us in the dark." "Agreed. Sword, are you willing to go on first watch with me?" the ranger, that I now knew as Paladin Drake asked. "Sure thing." I said. "Rach, you go get some sleep. It's been a long day." While on watch nothing eventful happened, except for a couple Bloatsprites passing by. We were relived by two rangers and sent to get some rest. I found a place to sleep not too far from Ratchet And Knives, laid out my sleeping bag and laid down. Ratchet was fast asleep, but Knives was up, looking at the stars. "What's up?" I asked in a hushed tone, careful not to wake Ratchet. "Is nothing, I am simply wishing I could return home." He replied, rolling over. "I wish I could say the same, but there's always hope for a new one, for everyone" I said, letting my eyes meander to the moon before falling asleep. *** *** *** The next morning I woke up to find Ratchet gone and Knives stretching out. "Hey, Knives, where's Rach?" I asked "She is with Drake." He threw on his cloak and then sniffed the air as though he could smell something. When I tried nothing hit my nose. "Alright, where's Drake?" I asked, looking around. "He's in the town hall with the other rangers, searching for Celestia's light." Knives said. "But, it's been more than an hour, this operation reeks." "Let's investigate." I said, rushing towards the town hall. A sudden scream, undoubtedly Ratchet's resounded from the hall. I unfurled my wings and charged for the town hall, machete drawn. Knives was on my heels and drew his revolver. As we got inside we heard gunfire. I barreled down a set of stairs and found them all. Instead of taking in the situation, I focused on finding Ratchet. I saw her nearly instantly, cowering behind Paladin Drake. "What the hell happened here?!" I called out to Ratchet, taking cover. We were being fired at my robots! "We set off the security system!" Ratchet called back. "Oasis used to be a military town for Luna's forces of Bat-ponies!" "That's a first!" I shouted back before drawing my pipe pistol and firing at the robots. My bullets didn't look like they were doing much, but one of the robots exploded in response to my shot to the head. An idea struck me, and I took out my flamer, loaded it and unsheathed my machete, who shall now be known as Betty. I put it on the floor, and shot flames at it until the flamer was out of fuel. When I was done the blade was red hot. I had to stop myself from kissing it before I picked it up and charged for the robots. I hacked and slashed, severing robotic limbs and taking energy shots to every part of my body. They stung and burned but I kept fighting until all the robots were down. "Everypony alright?" I asked. There were complaints from the metal cased ponies of Drakes squad, but their leader overruled them. "We're fine." Drake then stepped away from Ratchet, who was still shaking. "There was a fucking reason we never went too deep into the town hall." She said grimly. "Rach, you okay?" I asked, as gentle as an ex-raider can be. "I'm... I'm fine, just shook up." She said, looking in horror at one of the robots. "I can't believe those sick pre-war ponies used real pony brains when building security robots!" "I'm not surprised. After, what they did led us to... Well, to that." I said, pointing back out to the wasteland. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had kept a magical beast locked away for it's power." "What?" Ratchet asked, confused. I noticed the quizzical look on Ratchets face. "It's a Rumor I heard involving a dracona...draconi, Drakono-whatever that was locked away and used to make that taint stuff over in the 'Hoof'" I told her. "Probably just a rumor though." Ratchet, who still looked uneasy took a sneaking pose and crawled ahead of the party, scouting for traps, turrets, and hostiles. I followed her, Betty unsheathed and in my mouth. I had an idea and I tapped Ratchet on the shoulder before beckoning her to follow me. "Hey, Drake." I called out to our armored 'friend'. "That's Paladin Drake to you, civilian." Drake reminded me. "Right, Paladin Drake, there's a raider settlement to the Southeast of here, you should go investigate for Celestia's Light. Ratchet, Knives and I will split ways from you here." I said, trying not to smile. "Of course, thank you for your help." He rummaged around in his saddlebags and threw us a bag of caps. "This should be sufficient payment for your help." He then commanded his squad to leave, and went ahead of them. "What the actual..." I took the bag and divvied it up between us, which left one cap left over, I slipped it into my bag and looked around. "Somethings got my mane itching, and it isn't the blood. Raiders couldn't tell the difference between a 50 cal, and a 22. Sp. We should look around a bit." Ratchet nodded and so did Knives. "Rach, Stripes, be on the lookout for anything strange, got it?" Both didn't say a word as we moved down the stairs. As we did, we could hear the mechanical sounds of a Protectapony pacing while on guard. I went into sneak and slowly descended the steps, one at the bottom I surveyed the area for the Protectapony. It was down a long hallway, at least fifteen feet away from me, it's back turned. I unfolded my wings and dashed down the hallway. Before it could turn around I swung my machete and took what I assumed to be it's head clean off. the head fell and shattered, showering me with brain matter. Unperturbed, I went onwards, seeing that the hallway ended in a room. I entered the room and was bombarded b bullets, most only grazed me, but one went right into my flank. I backtracked as fast as I could and sat down, the stinging from the grazing quickly died down. Sadly, my poor flank wasn't so lucky. "Drink this." Knives said, holding out a healing potion with his magic. I took the top in my mouth, cracked the seal with my teeth and guzzled it down. I looked into the room, around the corner. Inside were two doors, both closed. On the ceiling was a machine gun turret. I had to duck my head back around the corner before it spotted me. "Rach, Stripes, got any idea on how to murder that thing without getting turned into swiss pony?" I asked my companions. "Well, it's a mark 2 turret, on it's back it a combat inhibitor. As it swivels, I say we fire at the inhibitor." Ratchet says confidently. A startled Knives simply agreed. "Alright, Knives, you sneak past it, and I'll draw it's fire, then you shoot it in the combat inhi-thingy." I said. Knives nodded. "It's been too long since I've done a stealth mission." He said with a grin. I charged in and was barely able to dodge all of it's fire before it stopped spitting bullets and exploded. In the midst of the wreckage stood knives, face contorted in pain, with a bit of shrapnel stuck in his shoulder. I walked towards him with the intent of inspecting the wound, but as I got there, Knives wrapped his magic around the piece of metal and pulled it out. Blood oozed from the wound and he took out a bandage, sticking it to his shoulder. "You alright?" I asked cautiously. He gave a wide grin and drank down a healing potion from his bag. "You see, I am fine." I nodded to him and we continued onward, unknowing of what we would find.
Companionship(Ratchet Sparks) Upon landing I felt blood running down my leg. It was the first time I had ever seen this much blood, but that was fine. It was the stinging pain I couldn't stand. Broken Sword landed next to me and took my hoof in his. He then took out some cloth and wrapped up my wound, a large gash cut out by a bullet, in the bandage. Blood nearly instantly soaked through it. He then took out a near empty bottle of liquor. "If it hurts, drink this." He said calmly. Broken uncapped it and I took it in my mouth, guzzling it down.. As it went down the drink burned my throat, I spat out the now empty bottle and cried out. "Yuck!" I couldn't believe something could taste so awful! "For the love of Celestia, you're just as bad as Cherish." Broken said disappointedly. "If you're hurtin' it'll kill the pain a bit." "Who's Cherish?"I asked, clueless. "Cherish was... She was my mate, I guess you could say... She was just..." Broken trailed off. "I'm sorry but I'm not sure if I can tell this right now. Too many open wounds." He looked off into the distance in thought. "I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."I apologized, looking away. "That must be rough." It felt strange to be giving sympathy to this pony. "Don't be. You didn't know so no harm done." Broken put a hoof on my shoulder, and gave me a half-hearted smile "Come on, we probably need to put some more distance between us and those raiders." I nodded in reply, leading the way to the nearest road. Broken followed along. "Where do you think we should head? I don't really know the area." He admitted. "Me either, I've never even been outside the city." I said, untroubled my this. "But, I know if we follow that road we'll make it to the next town over, Candlestead." "You seem awfully calm about all this..." Broken says, unsure as he stumbles on a rock. "Of course I do," I relplied. " I remember what my ma always told me, that if anything ever happened that I had family in Candlestead and all I had to do was tell them my name, and they'd help me." "Good to hear, I was starting to think we were gonna have to work from dust...." Broken said before falling silent, letting me take the lead. Soon enough a town appeared in the distance. Smoke rose from chimneys and the sounds of talking could be heard. As we walked into the town, it's became clear that the main road was a market place. But, there were very few weapon smiths or armorers. Instead the main commodity seemed to be... Junk. Piles of useless trash such as souvenirs, empty soda bottles, and more seemed to be what was selling. There were of course, food stands, and one stall sold weapons. Another sold chems but the main event was the garbage. Broken took a look around "Could be worse I guess. Have any idea about where your folks are at?" I let out a bout of nervous laughter. "No clue, momma just told me they run a detective agency." I informed him, stopping in the middle of the bustling marketplace "For fuck's sake..." Broken puts a hoof to his face, and stopped beside me, just before his stomach starts to growl. "Alright... You hungry?" I nodded yes emphatically and pointed to a stall heaping with bread, carrots, apples, mutfruit and more. The stall was run by a light yellow pony with a purple mane. Her cutiemark was a tree. The mutfruit looked especially good. I loved the tart taste of mutfruit. It was also tangy with a dry fruit under think skin. Broken checked his pack and found a small bag of caps, while also checking out what he brought from home. Then looks to the stall vendor "How much for each?" The stall owner looked at Broken sourly, but her expression quickly changed when she noticed me and she softened visibly. "Three caps for a piece of fruit, five caps for the bread." She says, talking to Broken but looking at me. "You don't have to get me anything." I said, breaking eye contact with the shopkeeper. "You gotta eat too." Broken says, taking out everything in the bag, but only 10 caps come out. "Well then... A piece of fruit for me, and bread for my friend.... You know about any detective agency around here? She's looking for her folks." he nods towards me. I mumble a thank you as the shopkeeper begins to speak. The mare running the stand smiled and gave Broken the food he asked for, taking eight caps. "You're looking for the Heartstrings, they live south of town, just follow the signs." She says, pointing to one of the signs. It reads "Heartstrings Detective Agency" and points down an alleyway. "But, I'm not a Heartstrings, I'm a Sparks!" I said incredulously. Broken chuckled. "Sometimes family names change." He told me, giving me the bread. I nodded back. I had some questions as to how the name changes, but I figured I'd save it for the Heartstrings. "Thanks for the info, keep the rest." He said to the shop keeper, leaving his two other caps on the stall. Broken took a look around, as if trying to find something. I bit into my bread and flavor filled my mouth. The oats on top were toasted to perfection and the bread had the perfect consistency. "Mmmmmmm!" I said, mouth full. Broken smiled and ate his fruit in two bites, while keeping his eyes trained on a particular alleyway. "Tell me when you're ready to go see your folks Rach. Somethin's stinking here, but I ain't sure what." He said with a warning tone. I gave Broken a skeptical look and looked where he was, the empty alley. "If the smell bothers you, let's move along to see my family." I said, looking back to him. Broken gave me a strange look, maybe it was disbelief on his face. "Nevermind, let's just go." He then tossed the core of the fruit aside and made his way over to the Heartstring's detective agency. *** *** *** We followed sign after sign until we reached an old beat up metal building with a rusted roof and new rain gutters. A flickering neon sign on the building read "Heartstrings Detective Agency, Partners in Justice" The entire place had an ominous feeling about it that only grew as the sky became darker and darker. "I don't like this place." I announced defiantly, making any trace of fear in my body flee. Broken turned and gave me a reassuring look, which looked very out of place on him, and then went inside. I had no choice but to follow. The inside was a complete mess. it was by far was the second largest room I had ever seen. (The first being our town hall back in Oasis.) Inside was a neat wooden desk covered in papers, and several rusted filing cabinets lined the walls. Two ponies stood in the room. One was a minty green Unicorn stallion with a black mane, and the other was a light brown Earthpony mare with a blue mane. They both wore trench coats and fedoras. The mare looked surprised to see us, while the former gave her the 'I told you so' look. Much to my surprise Broken laughed out loud. "You're the stallion I saw spying on us." I turned to Broken. "I'm sorry, but what now?" "Guilty as charged, sir, you've got quite the eye." The stallion replied. Apparently nopony was going to answer me. "So, you're part of her family?" Broken asked them with a smile. "If that there is Sparks." The strange stallion said, leaning on the desk. The Earthpony spoke up. "That is our daughter, isn't it?" She asked, her hazel eyes full of hope. Daughter? What in haystacks... "Wait Ratchet... Didn't you say that you're mother and father were with you over at the other town." Broken looked towards me for an answer. "Sure did!" I replied, happy as ever. "But I always did wonder why I'm not a Bat-pony if they were. Actually, the whole town was Bat-ponies!" I shrugged. "They just told me I fell outta the sky one night and I never questioned it." "You mean they didn't tell you?!" Asked the couple before us in horror. "Well... I guess not, or they didn't get the chance before the town was burned down." Broken said casually. The Earthpony suddenly started to cry and the unicorn held her close. "Did raiders finally get to Oasis?" He asks as tears come to his eyes. "Yep... Hate to say it, but I couldn't find any other survivors other then Rach here." Broken wavered a bit when he looked at me. The stallion turns pale and looks as if he may faint."R-rach huh?" He asks faintly. "What's her full name?" "My name's Ratchet Sparks." I interrupted the second Broken opened his mouth. "Ratchet Sparks?" The Earthpony asks, clearing her nose with a nearby tissue. "They kept part of the name we gave you after all." "What was my name before?" I asked. "Sparky Heartstrings." replied the stallion. "Hey, Ratchet, I'm gonna step out, you catch up with your folks, alright?" Broken said to me before stepping out. *** *** *** Footnote: Level up! New perk, Empathy: Reaction levels are shown when in an in-depth conversation
