Fallout: Equestria: Call Me Joker

Chapter two.

All of us were frozen, staring into the eyes of the stallion on the screen. He wasn't physically in the room, yet it unnerved us, even Brick House was frozen. Finally, we were snapped back to our senses as Suzy grabbed the Overmare by her collar and screamed, "LOCK THE STABLE DOWN!” Everypony watched in shock as Suzy threw the Overmare into her chair and bolted from the room screaming as loud as she could. "Lock it all down!" The Overmare shook her head as she fixed her mane.

"What is her deal? How does she know about the lockdown procedure?"

Brick hit the alarm as he looked at the Overmare. “I don’t know, Heart, but I’d do as she asks. If this stallion is a threat I’m not taking any chances.” He left the office as she nodded and turned to the terminal and typed the codes to activate the lockdown. It buzzed when she hit enter.

"What? It's not accepting my codes!"

"What!" I rushed to her side looking at the screen. My eyes drifted to the clock at the corner of the screen. "What is that?" I pointed right at it before the Overmare tried to input her codes again.

"That appeared when the virus hit my terminal. We think it's part of it." She stopped and looked at me. "Cobalt, do you think the virus is doing this?"

"It has to be." I took off trying to pick up Suzy's trail. She mentioned the stable's lockdown. How did she know we had anything like that? The Overmare's voice booming from the intercom made me change direction.

"Cobalt! They're attempting to open the door!" I could hear the alarm blaring as I pushed my body to its limit trying to make it to the stable door. When I finally reached the door. I saw Suzy pushing against the coupler arm that opened the stable door.

"Arrrgh! Come on!" I watched as Suzy had wedged herself in between the arm and the stable door itself. The grinding gears started to screech as she pushed it back. How could any pony possible have this kind of strength? It was impossible.

"Suzy! You're going to overload the arm!" It was no good. The coupler exploded and Suzy dropped to the floor like a sack of meat. Her head making a hollow thunk against the metal floor. She groaned and pushed herself up, shaking a few pieces of shrapnel from her clothes.

"Damn it, at least those Slavers won't get inside."

"Get inside? We can't even get out!" I looked at the arm as smoke poured from the side. "We're stuck in here." Suzy looked at me brushing her shoulder off.

"What the hell do you mean we're stuck? You can fix it right?"

"No! We don't have the parts. You just trapped us inside!" Suzy looked at me as she started to panic. I could see the fear in her eyes as she hung her head down shaking it.

"No. No, no, no! This cannot be happening. Fuck!" She started to shake like a leaf, sinking down to the floor. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I watched her from a short distance. Suzy wasn't the same mare as before. She had completely changed since I mentioned we were trapped in here thanks to her.

"Hey," I tried to get her to look at me. "Suzy, what's wrong?" She just shook her head.

"I-I hate being restrained!" She blurted out making me jump back a bit. "I can't stand being stuck. Fuck! What am I going to do?"

"You? What about the rest of us!? You trapped everypony in here, not just yourself!" She shot me a glare that sent my heart into my throat.

"You honestly think I care about that?” It was like an animal was staring at me. Ready to strike at the slightest bit of agitation. But this was getting us nowhere. The stable was now sealed shut and we had no way of getting the door open. I was racking my brain trying to think of a solution when the intercom crackled to life with Sticky's voice.

"If anypony can hear me, I need some help down on the reactor level! The power grid is shutting down block by block and I can't get them to come back on!" Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. I left Suzy at the door and ran down to the Square. I saw everypony gathered in the center of the floor looking up at the Overmare's office window. Calling up to her for help or guidance in this time of a crisis. I just hoped she was up to the challenge. Finally, her voice was heard over the intercom.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, please, remain calm. I know you are confused and frightened by what is happening but I want to assure all of you that no harm will come to anypony in this stable. If you are in a section without power. Please proceed to the Social Square as calmly and as quickly as you can. Please help any of those in need if you can. All Swingers are hereby ordered to help in every section affected by the crisis. Goddesses, watch over us." Hearing the Overmare's voice helped calm down a few of the ponies. If it was one thing Dancing Heart knew how to do, it was getting everypony's attention. Sticky would have to wait, I took a sharp turn heading up to her office. She was leaving the administration wing when I spotted her.

"Overmare!" She jumped giving off a squeak as she looked at me. "Overmare, we have a problem. Suzy locked us in. We can't get out now."

"She what? Cobalt, what happened up there? You're not making any sense."

I sighed sitting down. "Suzy wedged herself between the door and the coupler arm, it overheated and exploded after she pushed it back away from the door. It was insane." The Overmare was staring at me like I had lost my mind again.

"Cobalt, that is impossible! She couldn't possibly be that strong. Nopony is."

"You'd be surprised, hun." We both spun around looking at Suzy as she entered the administration wing. "He's telling the truth. I broke the door. I have a slight mutation that makes me a bit stronger than your average earth pony.”

The Overmare's started to twitch erratically as she fell down on her flank. "She... broke... the door..." She repeated the same line again and again. Suzy looked at her and sucked on her teeth.

"Seems I broke her too."

"How the hell are you so calm about this?" She laughed and shook her head.

"Hun, if I was calm I'd be chowing down on my last box of Sugar Bombs. Right, now I want to punch the door down just to get some fresh air."

"Ugh! Forget it, right now I just wanna know why you freaked out when you saw the stallion on the monitor?"

"He's a slaver. The way he looked at the camera, the way he spoke. I've dealt with too many other ponies like him." She grabbed my leg and dragged me back into the Overmare's office and pointed at the screen. The stallion was sitting just outside the door. He looked up at the camera and smiled. I felt a chill shoot down my spine. "See how calm he is, Cobalt? He's come prepared to round up everypony in here. I bet your buddy in the jail cell told him to get here and how to get in."

"For one, he's not my buddy and second, how the hell would Crackshot be able to contact somepony like this guy, to begin with? I'm not even sure if our broadcasting equipment even works anymore."

"Trust me it works." Suzy grabbed my leg and pulled me towards the Overmare’s desk then she reached under the desk and grabbed a manual throwing it on top. "This is the Overmare's manual with all of their procedures. How would you like to make a bet there are pages missing?" Hesitantly I reached out and grabbed the manual. Flipping through the pages I watched the numbers at the bottom of each one. Then I saw it. There was a skip between pages b47 and b55. A whole section was missing! I quickly flipped back to the index table at the front of the manual and skimmed over it until I found the missing section.

"You're right! The missing pages are for the emergency broadcasting equipment in the radio room. It was sealed up two years ago to save power since we never used it." Suzy nodded as nodded at the door.

"Shall I meet you there and we can do some investigating?" I gave her an odd look and just stared back at me. "Hey don't give me that look. My life is on the line too.”

"Pretty funny an orphan knows about the emergency manual and the lockdown procedure for the stable?" She clapped her hoof over my mouth.

"Oh no! You're not going to try and make it look like I lied to you. I told you the truth. I didn't have a family as a filly and I didn't have a name, I had a number! Whether or not I came from a stable isn't your damn business." I pulled away from her and moved out of her reach.

"And why shouldn't I ask? For all, we know you could be working with those ponies outside and Crackshot to snag us up."

"Wow! I honestly thought you were smarter than that but I guess even a smart pony can have a brain fart every once and awhile.”

"Brain fart? You overloaded the arm that opens the stable door, you know more about the stable than I'm comfortable with and you expect me to trust you? You're more deluded than Crackshot.”

“Well, dipshit if I was helping them do you really think I’d break the only thing that allows ponies in and out of the fucking stable? Normally hindering threats is a sign that somepony is on your side!” I couldn't deny she was right. If she was helping she could have easily pulled the door open and we would have been up a creek without a paddle.

"Okay, You have a point but I still find it hard to believe your strength came from a simple mutation. Unless you have some cyber limbs you’re trying to hide under those boots of yours." I got nervous when I saw Suzy smirking at me when I said that and she closed the door.

"Can you keep a secret?" She bit the tip of her boot and slowly pulled it off. Once it was off I felt my heart drop into my stomach. She had claws! Suzy had claws instead of hooves.

"What the fuck are you?"

Suzy chuckled as she slipped her boot back on. "You help me get out and maybe I'll tell you.” I just stared at her as my brain struggled to process everything I had witnessed in the half hour. First, Suzy is insanely strong. Strong enough to overload the stable's door and prevent it from opening. Second, she has claws instead of hooves. Did she have them on her hind legs too? What else was she hiding? I shook my head to refocus on the current situation.

"Okay, but after this, you owe me a story for once!" She giggled and sat down next to the door.

"Maybe if you've earned it. I don't just give away my life story to anypony. That little privilege is earned. Not given.”

"Ugh! Fine whatever, but I'm going to the radio room alone. You're staying here to tell the Overmare exactly what happened with the door." Suzy gave me a sour look when I walked over to the door and opened it.

"You're seriously leaving me here with the mother hen?"

"Who better to tell her what happened with the door?" I pushed the talk button on the intercom. "Glitch! If you can hear me meet me near the radio room." Suzy watched me as she tilted her head to the side.

"Glitch? Who's that?"

"You'll meet him in a bit. For now, keep the Overmare here long enough for me to check the radio room." Before she could she react I walked through the door and made my way to the Social Square. The Overmare was standing at the end of the hallway rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Celestia help us. What else could possibly go wrong?"

Anypony could see the stress was getting to her. I trotted up to her and placed my hoof on her shoulder. She looked at me, her eyes red from crying. Her cheeks still wet from the tears. "Cobalt, please tell me you have some good news. I really cannot take on any more problems than we already have. My plate was beyond full before the day started." I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Overmare. I just found out your manual was tampered with. The entire section on the emergency broadcaster was ripped out. The only idea I have in mind is that Crackshot may have taken it." The Overmare groaned as she clapped her hooves over her eyes and leaned back against the wall, her head hitting the metal.

"You what!? Couldn't you have at least brought it to my attention first? Fuck me, Luna! What else could you possibly do to us!?" She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Cobalt, if Crackshot has been using the radio room. I want tangible proof. Understand?" I nodded and trotted passed her.

"I'll find it. I promise."

"Cobalt." I turned around and saw the Overmare sliding a key towards me. "Take the key in case you need it." The key was for her room. Two years ago Dr. Shell and I had helped her hide a weapon in her room. She had always suspected Crackshot being capable of something awful. If we only knew the truth sooner. I nodded and continued to the radio room. It was sealed up when we began rationing the resources the stable had left. It's been out of use for at least two years now. Located next to the administration wing it was always one of the first rooms to get the news of the day. It was a sad day when they had closed it down. Getting closer to the door I heard Glitch trilling excited when he buzzed by my head, making me jump to the side.

"Hey! Slow down Glitch, you could hurt somepony." He growled a bit before he started to speak in a series of meows. "I know I made you worry but the Overmare said she wanted to see me right away.” He growled again as I reached up and patted him. "I know, boy. Come on. We have to look into something." He thrilled and hovered at my side as we made our way to the radio room. Glitch jetted ahead and meowed as he pointed at the lock. I came up to him and looked at where he was pointing. "What did you find, Glitch?" He was pointing at sine scuff marks all over the keyhole. The lock was picked, no doubt who it was. I opened the door and peeked inside. What I found didn't surprise me. The terminal that operated the radio equipment was on. I trotted over and pressed a button on the keyboard. The screen lit up and displayed a message being exchanged between Crackshot and somepony else. "He didn't even put a password. I don't know whether to call him careless, lazy or just plain arrogant thinking nopony would find this."

"Why not all three?" I spun around and saw Mint and Sourdough in the doorway. Mint smiling as she shoved her brother aside and tackled me with a hug.

"Oh, Cobby. I was so worried you got hurt!" Sourdough rolled his eyes as I smiled and hugged her back.

"I'm okay, Mint."

"Alright, You saw him now let's head back to the Square before somepony notices we snuck away."

"Dang it, Sour! Why can't you just relax around Cobalt?"

"Mint, I will not get in trouble because of your damn crush on him. Now let's go or I swear I will drag you back kicking and screaming." Mint glared at him as she clamped her forelegs around mine.

"I am not leaving! I am tired of you being a jerk to Cobby!" Sourdough growled as he reached for her. The whole block went dark which made Mint scream in my ear.

"Can she possibly be any louder?" The nightmare me's voice made my blood run cold. I turned my head to see the shape of him lying on the floor rubbing his hooves on his temples. However, he looked different this around. He looked... older. I looked down at his flank and saw he had an identical cutie mark like mine, except it was backward. My cutie mark was a pony with a third eye on its forehead, the side of the face was black and pointed towards my own flank. His was pointed towards his face. He looked at me and cocked his brow as he sat up straight. "What is that look for?"

"You're not the same-" He blinked and looked down at his body. Smiling he started to rub himself all over in an eerie fashion.

"Well, this is different." It made my skin crawl when he smiled at me. "I wonder what could have produced this? Heh, either way, it doesn't matter. Thanks to recent events I believe I know how I can make you listen to me for once." He opened his mouth and in tandem, my mouth opened as well. With a swift bite, I felt my teeth break the skin of my lips, my own blood touching my tongue. Yet nothing was happening. I sat there in a bit of shock while The Nightmare me continued to force me to lick up my own blood. "Grr! Why isn't it working? Crackshot's blood was enough to shake me loose." Asserting my own will I managed to gain control again.

"No way in hell you're getting out again! You're not using me as a meat puppet again and I'll make sure you stay buried! Got it?" He just smiled as he started to fade into the shadows.

"Perhaps you will today, but I'm not the one you need to worry about."

He vanished as soon as the lights came back on. The last sentence had me worried, so I spun around to Sourdough pushing Mint out of the door while she tried to push back. "Sour! He needs help, he's been hurt!"

"HE DID IT TO HIMSELF!" Sourdough gave me a glare that tied my stomach in a knot. It was just like before. They heard me talking to the dream colt and now Sourdough had even more of a reason to hate me. He finally shoved her out in the hallway and pointed her to the Square. "Go back to the Square, now. I'll be right behind you." Mint looked at me, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. I nodded for her to listen to Sour and not make things any worse. She hung her head before walking away. Sourdough glared in my direction as he pointed his hoof at me. Glitch growled as he hovered in between us. "Whatever is going on inside that head of yours, Cobalt, it better stay away from me and my sister. If I find you anywhere near her again, Crackshot won't be your only enemy." He left the room and closed the door behind him. I sat there with a bloody lip as Glitch softly whined and nudged my cheek. I patted him and sighed.

"I'm fine, Glitch. Everything is going to be okay." Which was a lie. I had no idea how things were going to turn out. With the colt taking control of my body and gaining a new appearance, I was scared that something terrible was about to happen and I had no way of stopping it.

I took a deep breath and let it out before I turned my attention to the terminal and turned it back on. “Either Crackshot is going to be the one to kill or It’ll be Sourdough,” I muttered to myself. before I heard

“You really think the grumpy brother would go that far?" Suzy's voice called from the door which made me jump a bit.

"Ah!" I spun around and looked at her while holding my chest. Glitch dove under the terminal hiding just out of sight "Suzy? What are you doing here?" She stepped into the room and closed the door.

"Mother Hen was driving me crazy. I get she's mad at me for the coupler arm but I don't need a damn lecture."

"Yeah, she can be like that sometimes." I stared at the terminal screen and looked at several entries it had on there. Selecting the first entry I hit return and a full conversation between Crackshot and somepony with the initials B.C. filled up the screen. "Whoa, Suzy look at this." She walked up next to me and stared at the screen.

"So Crackshot has been talking to somepony on the outside, huh?" She pointed to the first entry date. "That was last year."

"He's been planning this for a year? How did nopony see this until now?" It was a stupid question to ask. Suzy just shrugged it off.

"Guess Closest Pony wasn't the only one who was careless, I guess." I looked at her with a confused expression. "Closet pony, That's what I'm calling Crackshot from now on.” I just shook my head and looked at the screen reading everything out loud.

5/08/76

Crackshot: Hello! My name is Crackshot of Stable 18. I am reaching out to anyone out on the surface. If anypony is receiving this please respond.

5/12/76

BC: Hello, Crackshot. Am I correct to assume you’re from a genuine stable?

Crackshot: Why the hell would I make something like that up?

BC: Let’s just say there are some undesirables who would take advantage of a pony’s curiosity. Now you said you came from Stable 18? Is it still operational?

Crackshot: If you call circling the drain “operational.” We’ve been running low on supplies for years now and it’s getting to the point we’ll be killing each other before we know. I’m trying to find my way out of here before that happens.

BC: Perhaps I can assist you in that regard. All I ask is that you find a blue holo-cassette for me.

Crackshot: A blue holo-cassette? I didn’t think they made those.

BC: They were only popular among the military and other high ranking members of society

Crackshot: Okay, so where would I even find one in my stable? Would something like that actually be in here?

BC: No doubt it would be in the Overmare’s office along with the other cassettes.

Crackshot: Other cassettes? How many could be in there?

BC: Possibly 4 or 5 depending on what the procedures specifically were constructed for your stable.

5/13/76

Crackshot: Okay, let's say I believe you. Who's to say you won't just stab me in the back?

BC: I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm simply asking you to have a look around your stable and get back to me when you find some evidence that confirms what I'm looking for is there.

Crackshot: Right... I'll have a look around.

"Okay, so closet was looking for something and this BC jerk wants it." Suzy stated as I just gave her shrug.

“Yeah, but what exactly is it?” She shrugged and pointed at the screen.

“Good question, now keep reading.” I nodded at Suzy and continued to read.

5/22/76

Crackshot: Hey, I found the holo-cassette! It was inside the Overmare's office. Didn’t expect it to be so small.

BC: Excellent, Now we just need to get you out. Have any suggestions?

Crackshot: There's a hidden section of the stable my mom showed me when I was a colt. Not a single dolt in this place knows about it. I can use it to sneak out. I just need something to keep the Overmare busy.

BC: I can arrange that. However, I will require some time.

Crackshot: Whatever, Don't keep me waiting.

6/26/76
Crackshot: It's been over a month and I still haven't seen or heard anything from you. Don't tell me you're backing out of the deal?

BC: I'm not. I told you I required some time to arrange your removal from the stable. You're not the only one with a pair of eyes watching over their shoulder.

Crackshot: What? I thought you said you called the shots?

BC: Within a certain group, yes; however I’m working with a well-known group who have the resources I need to accomplish what I have set out to do. For now, I ask that you be patient and wait for my signal.

6/28/76
Crackshot: At least tell me why it's blue instead of beige like the others.

BC: The short answer - you need special hardware to read the data on it.

Crackshot: Special hardware? Is that why the holo-cassette feels so much smaller?

BC: Correct, the blue holo-cassettes were designed to be approximately 13% smaller and had greater security. Once the data is recorded on the blue cassettes it stays on there. It cannot be recorded over or rewritten.

7/03/76
Crackshot: So it's permanent? What's the point?

BC: Like I mentioned. Security. The cassettes you could find at any military base. They were cheap to make. The readers are rare, however. They only made at least 100 I know of. Who knows how many survived the last two centuries.

Crackshot: Okay, I get the concept. So when are you getting me out?

BC: I told you to be patient. I have to work around somepony who's been keeping an annoyingly close eye on me and I can't afford any mistakes on my end.

Crackshot: Who?

BC: The Sledge.

Before I could read anymore Suzy shoved me out of the way giggling as she looked at the screen. "Oh shit! I have got to read this!" I punched her in the shoulder which didn't didn't seem to phase her and left me with an aching hoof. No surprise coming from a pony who overloaded the coupler arm.

"You actually know that guy?" Suzy smiled at me in a way that made me feel uneasy.

"The Sledge, my naive little pony is the biggest badass that the Dead Hills has ever seen. Took on a dragon with his own hooves and survived with almost no injury except for a big slash across his shoulder. Some ponies say he's bulletproof, explosions can't hurt him and fire just keeps him warm."

"He's... bulletproof? You really expect me to believe that?"

"Well do you really expect me to believe that you have a pony dancing inside your skull?" She smirked leaning her head against her boot. "You really wanted to kill Crackshot didn't you? Admit it."

"Ugh, forget it. Now either you can read the rest or move out of the way." Suzy took a big step back and I moved back in front of the screen. I had to search for the spot where I left off. "Okay, here we are."

Crackshot: Who the hell is that?

BC: A very ruthless raider boss who has taken most of the region under his command. He's not somepony you want to make your enemy. I have to move carefully or else he'll discover what I'm doing.

7/10/76

Crackshot: Okay, so what am I supposed to do once I get out of here?

BC: I have a plan in motion. Can you open the door without raising the alarm?

Crackshot: No, I can't. But there is a second door I found in the hidden section.

BC: A second door? That's rather odd for a stable.

Crackshot: What do you mean by odd?

BC: That second door shouldn't exist. Every other stable I've ventured into only had one door to it.

Crackshot: So there was only meant to be one door? I think we can use that to our advantage.

BC: I believe we have the same idea in mind. Do you have a way of broadcasting a signal from your Pipbuck?

Crackshot: Hell if I know. I hardly ever use the thing. They just make me wear it so they can track me down whenever or wherever, but it doesn't seem to work in the hidden section. I screwed around in here and fell asleep for a few hours. When I went back to my room the Overmare grilled me for two hours trying to find out how I managed to avoid security for so long. I just told her I turned my pipbuck off and she believed me.

BC: Not the brightest pony, is she?

Crackshot: Oh, you have no idea! Anyways she hasn't taken her eyes off of me since, so it's going to take longer to get a message to you.

BC: Not to worry. However, if you do possess a broadcaster on your pipbuck and you get outside for at least 5 minutes I can send some supplies you'll need for your new life on the surface.

8/02/76

Crackshot: You're sending supplies? Is this cassette really worth that much to you?

BC: In more ways than you can imagine. Now, I'll have the supplies to you as soon as I am able. Please endure things for a while longer and I promise it'll be worth the wait.

Crackshot: Damn well better be.

It was no surprise Crackshot made a deal to get out of the stable. I pointed at the last entry. "See this? Almost every date after this he just logged in to see if this B.C. replied to his messages or not."

"So closet pony makes a deal to escape the stable and BC wants some kind of a blue holo-cassette as a payment for their help," Suzy closed the door as she stood up on her hind legs and removed her boots wiggling her claws around. "Sounds like they're well organized, smarter than most ponies on the surface." I did a double take when I saw her standing up straight on two legs. She merely smiled as she ran her claws through her mane. "Yeah, I can walk on two legs. You'd be surprised how much of a pain it is walking on all four legs."

"Okay, then." I looked at the screen. "You said they were smart and organized. You really think they have the resources to pull off what they're promising Crackshot?"

"I'm damn sure of it. If this BC is working under the Sledge's command they're probably using a false name to have access to the resources would be otherwise restricted from other ponies. The Sledge keeps a close eye on his resources so nopony steals them and uses them to do some real damage." She looked at me when I gave her an inquisitive gaze and her smile just grew wider. "What? You suspecting something, Hun?"

"Suspect? It's like you're practically telling me every secret detail that only a member of the Sledge's gang would know. So why don't you drop the merchant act and tell me who you really are?" She laughed as she crossed her forelegs.

"I could tell you, but in all honesty it'll be more fun to show you. Hehe. Just to see the look on your face."

I just rolled my eyes and looked at the screen. I noticed one last entry on the screen. "Suzy! Take a look at this." I pointed at the last entry dated only months ago.

Crackshot: Okay, I have the supplies you sent me along with the weapon, it looks like it was made in somepony's garage.

BC: Pipe weapons are very common out on the surface. You should get comfortable with it while you can.

"Pipe weapons?" I asked. Suzy nodded as she sat down next to me.

"Yep, they're a kind of weapon that is cobbled together from scrap parts you'd find just about everywhere." She leaned closer to the screen and pointed at the next entry. "Look at this. It looks like Closet Pony kept his supplies just inside the door that leads into this hidden section." She hit the arrow keys to move the cursor down and stopped at one particular section. "Ah, there it is. Looks like there is a door that opens up into the hidden section. Right next to the stairs leading to the reactor level."

"Alright!" I got up and walked over to the door. "Come on, Glitch." Glitch buzzed by Suzy making her jump to the side and stared at the two of us.

"What the hell?" She tilted her head looking at Glitch. "Wait, that's Glitch? It's a spritebot. Where did you find it?" I smiled and patted Glitch.

"He was in the trash compactor when I was a colt. I took him home and pieced him back together." Suzy blinked as she looked at him.

"Wow, you must have been a smart little pony. But I have to ask one question. Where did Glitch come from?"

"What? He was in the trash compactor I told you that."

"I know you did, but what I'm asking is where he came from? He's the only one I've seen so far. Have you ever considered whether or not he may be the only spritebot in the stable?" I looked at Glitch as he whined a bit. We had never considered the possibility of there being other spritebots like him.

"No, I never thought about it." Glitch groaned as he nudged my leg. "So how did Glitch wind up in the trash compactor?" Suzy shrugged as she slipped her boots back on.

"No idea, but I think you should ask around." She smiled and walked over tapping my shoulder. "After that, you should consider joining up with the Sledge's crew. You'd be making a shit ton of caps within a week with your skills if you can revive something like Glitch." Glitch beeped as he buzzed around us. I nodded and opened the door heading towards the reactor putting the mystery of Glitch's origin on the back burner for another day. I could hear Sticky swearing as he tried to shut off all the alarms going off at once in the P.D.R.

Power
Distribution
Room.

"Son of a fucking mule! Somepony help me shut this shit off!" He screamed into the intercom before he grabbed some oily cloths from his tool bag and stuffed them into his ear trying to drown out the noise. After hearing him yelling I dashed over to the main terminal and pressed the volume down button for the speakers in the room. Sticky was holding his hooves over his ears so he didn't notice me until I tapped him on the shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he spun around and looked at me. "COBALT!" I almost covered my own ears when he started yelling at me. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU CAME TO HELP! I CAN'T GET THE ALARMS TO SWITCH OFF!" I grabbed his hooves and pulled them away so he could see that the room was silent again. "Oh, Thank you." He said sheepishly while he pulled the clothes out of his ears.

"Sticky, What the heck is going on in here?" He leads me over to the terminal that displayed every kind of warning you'd see with the power grid.

"I have no blooming idea!" He pointed at the screen.

Air circulation- Malfunction
Power Grid- Malfunction
Mainframe connection- Malfunction.

"You see this? I've been trying to reset the system to clear everything up but the system won't respond and nothing seems to be wrong." I looked at the screen and turned to Sticky.

"Sticky, I think I have an idea what's going on? We discovered there's a hidden section to the stable. The door to get inside is supposed to be close by." He blinked and looked over at the stairs.

"A hidden section? And you mentioned a door?" I nodded. "You know, Cobalt, I think I might know where it is. I found something odd when I tripped over the mop bucket running down here. I was lucky i didn't come rolling down the stairs." He leads me back up to the top of the stairs and pointed at a sign.

Safe work is Good Work!
Wear your safety gear!

He walked over to it and lifted it up showing a keypad underneath. Suzy gave an impressed whistle when she walked up to it.

"Wow! Guess we found our way in but how the hell do we get it open?" Sticky just shrugged.

"No idea. What do you think Cobalt?" I looked at Suzy and smiled.

"I say we get Closet pony to open it for us." They just blinked at me before Suzy smiled at me and popped her neck.

"Want me to twist his legs behind his back?"

"Whoa! No, that's not what I meant. I have an idea. But we need the Overmare and Brick house. Plus you get to help Suzy.” She just groaned at me while we started back towards the Square to find Brick and the Overmare.

"Come on, Cobalt. You can say he doesn't deserve to get managed a little bit for setting everypony up like this." I shook my head.

"Sorry, Suzy. If he gets mangled it'll be the wasteland to do it. Not me." Two hours later, Brick, Suzy, The Overmare and I were sitting outside in the hallway just a few minutes away from the security cells where Crackshot was waiting inside his cell.

"You're certain he's still in there, Brick?" Brick house nodded firmly.

"Yeah, I made sure he couldn't get out after his stunt with Loom. Though I don't see why Cobalt would think he has a way of escaping."

"Trust me. He's been planning this for an entire year. He's got something up his sleeve."

"If that is the case then we should interrogate him and get some answers." Brick started to walk away before Suzy grabbed his leg.

"Hold on, Big guy. You actually think you can scare him into spilling his guts? I'm pretty damn sure he's a hell of a lot more stubborn than you give him credit for." Brick snatched his leg away as he glared at her.

"He's not that damn smart if he managed to get caught."

"Brick," the Overmare tapped his leg. "Suzy is right. It pains me to admit it but Crackshot has been plotting this scheme behind our backs and we never considered the possibility that he was capable of deceit. I'm sorry, but we need answers and this may be the only way to do it."

"By me going in there and ordering away the only two guards we could spare to watch his sorry hide so the couldn't try anything?"

"Hey!" Everyone looked at Suzy. "Let Cobalt explain one more time and we'll go from there, okay?" The Overmare nodded first and reluntcally Brick nodded too before they turned to me. I took in a deep breath before I gave them my plan again. "First, Brick will go in and order the guards away so Crackshot will be tempted to try and escape. Before he gets away I'll step in and talk to him while he's still locked inside the cell.

"At which point you'll give us some kind of a signal to determine how Suzy and I will carry out our roles." I nodded and looked at Suzy.

"Then Suzy will play as a slaver." Suzy raised her hand.

"One question, Why am I the slaver in this little charade?"

"Because you have the most experience with their kind. So you'll be able to act like them and make it look like they got inside. She looked at me for a split second and smiled as she popped her neck again.

"Okay, I see where this is going." Brick sighed as he walked away from us.

"Celestia help us if he causes any more trouble." It wasn't a minute later that we heard Brick yelling as loud as he could. Which in all honesty was enough to rattle the pipes on the ceiling. "LISTEN UP YOU SLACKERS! I need you both to come with me to the Square! We have a riot in progress and I need all hooves on deck!!"

"Are you serious, Captain?"

"Yeah, What about Crackshot?"

"Leave the shit stain in there. I need every guard in the Square now!" We saw Brick and the two guards running towards the Square. Before I could take a step the Overmare grabbed my leg.

"Cobalt, How do we know what kind of reaction Crackshot has?" I hadn't thought of that. From this distance, they wouldn’t have been able to see anything. Luckily I was a fast thinker.

"Okay, I'll stay in the light so my shadow extends into the hallway. I'll wiggle my ears to signal you ladies. My left ear will be the mark to act like you're making a deal with Suzy." They nodded as Suzy pointed at her own ear.

"And the right means Mother Hen gets dragged away." I nodded back at them before I made my way to the security office. Crackshot glared at me from his cot.

"Come to finish the job, Cobalt?" I'm not sure why but I just smiled as I sat down looking at him. I was praying to anyone who was listening that I could at least pull off a good enough bluff.

"Not really. I just came to say thanks for the gear before I left." That got his attention when he sat straight up.

"The what? What the hell are you talking about?" I widen my smile before I cross my legs.

"The supplies gave you. I have to say they gave you an impressive collection. Especially that blue cassette." He just narrowed his eyes at me.

"Bullshit, you only know about the holo-cassette because I left the messages on the radio terminal." Damn it, He knew he left a trail of breadcrumbs but that didn't stop me from trying. I reached into my pack and pulled out one of the blue holo-cassettes I borrowed from the Overmare. I scratched the label off of it. It was pretty but it was enough to get a reaction from Crackshot as his eyes widened at the sight of it. He launched himself at the glass separating us hitting it with his full weight. He glared at me huffing like a bull ready to charge. "You son of a mule. If you think I can't get out of here..."

"If you do have a way out why haven't you escaped by now?"

"With the two babysitters watching me? Wake the fuck up! I'm not getting caught again so they'd throw me into some other cage."

I just shrugged and stood up. "I see. Oh well, I better get going before the slavers get inside and take everypony." He blinked and took a step back from the glass.

"Slavers?" He started to pace back and forth from one end of the cell to the other. "No, No. That wasn't the deal. He said he was sending a trader, I thought..." He looked at me. I could see the fear in his eyes. Was he actually afraid? "You're telling me that skinny bitch doesn't work for BC?" I shrugged it off.

"Honestly, I don't know and I don't care. After the way, they chained me to a bed I could care less about this stable anymore.”

"What?" His expression said it all. He hadn't expected any of this. "They chained you to a bed?" I nodded as I wiggled my right ear.

"Yep, they chained me down after we had our little tussle this morning." The moment I heard the Overmare scream I dove under the desk to act like I was hiding from her.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU CUNT!!!" She dashed down the hallway trying to get away from Suzy. Suzy chuckled as she bit her tail and pulled her back then pinned her down on the floor.

"Hehe, This is getting exciting. I hardly find anypony who could outrun me. Makes it so much more entertaining." She licked the Overmare’s neck making her squeal and squirm in her arms. She looked up at Crackshot and smirked. "Oooh, Hello. BC sends their regards. I'll be back for you in a bit." She grabbed the Overmare by her neck and pulled her away kicking and screaming.

The look on Crackshot's face was almost perfect. The mix of fear and anger was more than obvious when he punched the glass.

"THAT ASSHOLE! He said nothing about slavers!" He looked at me and shook his head. "Damn it, This isn't what we agreed on. I need your help Cobalt. I can't get out on my own. It'll go a lot faster if we work together." I crawled out from under the desk.

"Last time I checked you said you hated me. So why suggest we work together? If anything I'd be pretty suspicious that you'd shoot me in the back and take off with the goods."

"You have the fucking cassette tape, Alright! I don't have any damn choice in the matter. If you want out of here like I do we can speed up the process if we work together." I sucked my teeth like Suzy did to keep up the act. Finally, I shrugged and smiled.

"Okay, deal. But we're waiting for Glitch."

"That flying rusted toaster of yours!? Are you kidding me? It's going to attract too much attention. Not unless you gave him a silent mode or some shit."

"You really think I haven't thought of that? I can turn off his speaker." Speaking of the devil, Glitch flew into the room beeping softly as he hovered around my head. Crackshot groaned as he held his head.

"Fuck me, Celestia." He looked at Glitch and then at me. "Are you really attached to that damn thing you can't leave it behind?"

"Hey! I built him back up with my own hooves so he's my child. If you got a problem I can go my own way." I started towards the door.

"WAIT!" He blurted out before he his head on the glass. "Fine! Just open the cell already! The override password is Rough Diamond." Rough Diamond, she was Brick's wife before she and the other mares vanished from the stable. I walked over to the terminal and entered the password then opened the cell. Crackshot wasted no time heading for the hallway, heading for the reactor level. I followed behind him. Suzy and the Overmare were hiding in one of the rooms we passed. I stopped for a brief moment.

"Overmare, Use my pipbuck tag to follow us from a distance. I'll explain everything when you catch up." Before they could respond I ran off catching up with Crackshot. He was already at the keypad typing in the code. I caught the last three numbers. 6-5-3. He looked at me and cocked his brow.

"What took you? I thought you'd be right behind me."

"Brick and his goons were behind me. I took a side route to lose them." He just looked at me and hit enter.

"Smart." He said before a panel opened up revealing a door underneath. It opened with a hiss letting Crackshot and me inside. The thing I noticed even before I stepped into the hidden section was the smell. I covered my nose trying not to gag.

"Oh Goddesses! What is the hell is that smell?" Crackshot looked at me and nodded towards the end of the hallway. I followed him a short distance where he showed me a corpse laying on the floor.

"Whoever lived on this side didn't make it. The whole section has corpses around every corner.”

"Any idea what killed them?"

"Why would I care about that? Let's just get out of here before they catch us again." He leads me towards the second door. Along the way, I noticed the other bodies inside the rooms and laying on the floor. My stomach was in knots from the smell. I stopped in front of one marked 'storage closet.' My curiosity was getting the better of me so I opened the door. A rush of air nearly pulled me inside.

"Whoa!" I looked around to see what the hell was pulling the air inside. Crackshot looked back at me and groaned.

"You idiot. We need to keep moving." He came over and lit up his horn into the room. When I saw the rows of shelves full of spare parts reaching the back of the room. A quick glance and I saw a huge number parts we desperately needed. "This whole place has everything they'll need to make repairs for a few more weeks. The other side has a fully stocked kitchen so they won't starve either."

"You've known about this and didn't tell anypony?"

"Last thing I want to be stuck with the responsibility of having to support this shit hole. Once we get outside we won't have to worry about anypony else but ourselves." I just stared at him.

"So is that the whole reason you acted like a major ass this whole time?"

"What do you think?" He doused the light from his horn and kept walking. "Last thing I want to be stuck with the job of having to babysit this stable after we leave. The Overmare will just pawn off all the hoofwork onto us to do." Unbelievable, Just when I thought Crackshot couldn't any more of an asshole he springs this on me. Glitch groaned as he nudged my shoulder. I patted him before I followed behind Crackshot.

"Just a little longer boy. We'll be free in a bit." A full 20 minutes had passed as we approached the second door at the back of the hidden section. There was a massive difference between the two. This door was a third the size and there was no coupler arm. Which left me to consider how the hell were we going to open it? "Um, how are we going to open the door?" He pointed to a mechanism attached to the door and a groove in the floor.

"The door slides out onto that groove and opens just like the main door at the other end of the stable." He nodded over to the room next to the door. "We need to reconnect this section to the mainframe to restore the power. We have to act fast if we wanna make it out in one piece." He took the lid off of a nearby trash can and pulled out a huge duffle bag. Placing it down in front of him Crackshot opened it up and pulled out the pipe weapon I read about along with a box of ammo. I looked up at the expression on his face when he found the blue holo-cassette still in the bag. "You fucking lied to me?" I just smiled as I waved my hoof back and forth.

"Well I needed to get you to cooperate somehow so I figured if you thought your freedom was on the line you'd be more inclined to help me out." He glared at me.

"I see." He turned his attention back to the duffle bag and pulled out some other items. I recognized the med-x syringes. They were exactly like the ones the doctor used but there were a few bags filled with some orange liquid. I heard a small click just before I saw Crackshot charging at me with something on his hoof. It looked like a metal glove. I froze, every part of my body was screaming at me to move but I couldn't move a single inch. Everything was moving in slow motion as he got closer to me. Before he made contact, however, I watched Suzy ram into him and sent him flying into the wall. The impact left a dent and Crackshot fell to the floor out cold. I looked at Suzy as she grinned at me.

"Seriously? You didn't think he wouldn't turn on you?" I gulped and fell back on my haunches.

"I had a feeling he would but he moved so fast I didn't have a chance to react." I took in a deep breathe then let it out. "Damn it, he would have killed me." My ear twitched when I heard Suzy pop her knuckles. I just noticed she wasn't wearing her boots. "Suzy, You're not wearing your boots."

"Yeah, I can't run at my full speed on all fours so I ditched my boots for the moment." She started to chuckle a bit. "You should have seen the look on Mother Hen's face when she saw my claws! It was hilarious!" She stopped when she saw the door. "Holy shit. I can easily pull that door open. We can leave!" The expression on her face was that of pure joy. Her smile couldn't possibly get any wider. "Yes!" Like a wild animal, she dug her claws into the door and growled pulling it back into the groove in the floor. Rolling the door to the side Suzy stood there smiling as she panted heavily. "Finally, we can head outside. Alright, Cobalt, let's say you and me go and take care of the slavers." The thought made me flinch.

"What? Why me? I haven't been in a single fight or do I have any kind of fighting skills!" She just smiled at me before she rolled the door back into place and grabbed Crackshot and threw his limp body over her shoulder.

"Relax, You give yourself too little credit. Now I'm going to drop this jackass off at the security station and I'll be right back. Maybe you and glitch can check out his gear for anything we can use." She winked at me before walking away. Crackshot's weapon clattered to the floor. I looked at it and picked it up. Glitch mewed as he hovered around me.

"Yeah, it looks like some kind of a glove."

"Power Hoof," Suzy said at the end of the hallways. "It's a melee weapon worn around the hoof. It gives your punches a bit of a kick. You should consider taking it with you. Might give you an edge." She turned the corner heading back towards the exit.

"Power Hoof huh?" I looked at the weapon and turned it around to give it a better look. "Mmm, maybe I can use this as a chance to see what the surface is like."

Level Up! New Perk: Intense Training: Charisma +1