Fallout Equestria: Overture

Chapter Seven: Drop In

"Fix me, please, I don't wanna be dead!"

I was in my loft, splitting a bottle of wine with Noite and Perfect, just a cheap one but it was nice. It was evening outside, light low, the sky a dark hue of orange that was slowly giving way to royal purple. The room was bathed in dim yellow lamp light, cultivating a cosy mood as we chatted on the sofa. Perfect's cat had curled itself up on my bookshelf and was dozing away. A record span away quietly, some new Bossa Nova album Noite had picked up.

I picked up my glass and sipped. Noite had brought a medley of fruits and juices with her and made up a batch of Sangria, it was sweet and went down a little too easy. It was a good thing it was my day off tomorrow, I could already imagine the state I'd be in after a few of these.

Perfect was walking us through today's drama at the clinic, we were both giggling along.

"-and I swear on my life, we get the X-Ray back and there's an entire Power Ponies action figure lodged way up there!" He exclaimed, gesticulating wildly and almost spilling his drink.

"No!" I gasped, covering my smile with a hoof. Noite howled with laughter, beating down on the sofa arm.

"I know!" He giggled. "And then he starts the 'I have no idea how it got there' routine, so I said, 'well there's two ways it could've ended up there, and I'm pretty sure you didn't eat it!'"

"Gross!" I tittered. The room was filled with laughter for a minute. Perfect was always good for funny stories.

"Anyway, if you girlies will excuse me, I need a refill. Anyone else?" He pointed his empty wine glass between me and Noite. I shook my head, I still had most of my drink left.

"Sim por favor, Doutor!" Noite nodded. Perfect took her glass in his magic and trotted out into the kitchen, leaving me and Noite on the sofa. I took a sip from my drink, swirling the liquid around in the glass.

Noite was staring at me, a small, coy smile on her face, playing with a lock of her mane.

"What's that look for?" I asked, smiling back.

"Ah, querida Prata, tell me how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" I replied, looking at her quizzically.

"To be a killer!"

My mind reeled. A gun. A gun fight. A shot to the head. A dead mare. A killer. I dropped my drink, glass shattering on the wooden floor, sangria splashing up. I was a killer.

"Pretty heavy stuff." She continued, matter of factly. "Would never had thought you had it in you, our sweet Silver."

I had killed her, the fiend. But I didn't have a choice, if I didn't kill her she would have killed me! I was forced to.

"I-I did what I h-h-had to, s-she was gonna kill m-me."

"Oh sure, sure, it was life or death, you or her." She agreed. "But you wanted her dead, didn't you? She deserved to die, all of them."

Noite pushed herself up off the sofa and slowly walked over to the window. I was shaking.

"I-I didn't want to kill her, I had-"

"I never said you wanted to kill her, Prata, I said you wanted her dead." She clarified, looking back at me, smiling. "Similar, but not the same, yes? The sentiment is different. But you saw to the outcome either way. Assassina."

"T-they were evil! I had to!" I yelled. "They killed children!"

"Easy, Silver, easy. I'm not trying to upset you, just making a point. Desculpe."

She spread out her wings, long and graceful, stretching out almost the whole length of the room, navy blue plumage shimmering in the lamp light. She was wordless for a while, staring out the window into the eventide.

"As estrelas agora elas estão mortas." She uttered. "That's us, but you're still here."

I didn't understand. She was quiet a little while longer. My thoughts were racing, images of the firefight flooding my mind's eye.

"You've changed, minha querida Prata, whether you realise it or not. I've never known you to wish ill of anypony." She retracted her wings and turned around to face me. "This isn't bad, just an observation, meu amiga. Sometimes reasonable mares must do unreasonable things, no? We adapt and survive, we all change."

She closed the distance between us, until we were snout to snout. She looked into my eyes, hers a piercing yellow, caring, with a hint of mischief. I was trembling, I had no idea what was going on. She pushed me over, flat on my back. Before I had time to react, she'd jumped on top of me, straddling my barrel.

"What are you-"

"Familiar, yes? All I'm missing is a knife." She interrupted. The other mare from yesterday flashed before my eyes, bloodied and murderous. I squirmed.

"Change will keep you alive, Silver. Just maybe don't change too much, please. I would hate to see you tarnish." She winked at me, smirking slyly at her own joke. That at least was classic Noite. The room fell away, no music, no sofa, no loft. It was just me and her. She smiled a small smile, almost mournful.

"É hora de você acordar. Fique seguro, querida Prata."

"Noite?"

My eyes fluttered open. Noite was not there, none of it was, all just a strange dream. I sighed a little sigh, it all felt so real.

I was apparently making a habit of waking up hurting and not knowing where I was, which I was getting pretty sick of. My whole body was in pain, from the tips of my ears to the bottom of my hooves, though all things considered not as bad as it could've been. There was probably still painkillers in my system. Or maybe I was in shock.

I glanced around blearily, neck straining, a sudden razor sharp pain causing me to wince, inhaling sharply. I was folded up neatly in the bed of a rickety old wooden cart, leaning against the side. To my right was a big pile of stuff, mine and MD's saddlebags and armour mixed in with a load of assorted crap I didn't remember us having.

The sky was once again a solid dull grey, and it was darker than earlier. I didn't know how long I'd been out for.

MD was sat up the front of the cart, looking out away from me. Ahead of us was Rusty, hitched up and pulling us all along at a steady pace.

"Hello?" I called out, croaky. MD turned her head to face me, smiling gently. She was covered in cuts and scrapes, bandages hiding the worst of the damage. Her face was still a little swollen, but mostly back to normal now.

"Hey!" She replied. "How're ya feeling?"

"I feel like I fell off a cliff." I said flatly. I was not exaggerating. "Where are we?"

"Still on the road to Dodge, Rusty offered to help us rest of the way."

"Yessiree!" Rusty chirped in. "I could hardly just leave you two on the bridge after all that, it's the least I could do. Glad to have ya' back with us, miss!"

Well, I couldn't have been out for too long if we were still on the move, so that was something at least.

"Those fiends sure did a number on you, hope yer not hurtin' too badly." He continued. "I know they sure are though, we gottem all! Thanks to you ladies the road is back open for business!"

That did come as a bit of a relief, knowing they'd never be able to hurt anypony else. I could still see the piles of bodies and smell the death in the air. The pure evil in the knifemare's eyes. I don't think I'd ever be able to get any of that out of my mind. I shuddered.

I was glad for the outcome, but it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was there, I'd played a direct hoof in it. I'd helped end it. I told myself I did what I had to do, just like I told Noite.

I thought back to the dream, if only for a moment. I'd never really had particularly vivid dreams, but that one felt so real. Noitre was right there, I was sure I could still taste the ghost of Sangria sitting on my tounge. She said I'd changed, I wondered if that was true. I didn't feel much different. Sure, Silver before the apocalypse would never have hurt anypony, but that Silver never had to. I mostly just felt kind of dirty about the whole thing.

I supposed it didn't really matter either way, what happened happened and there wasn't any changing that.

I figured that I should probably give myself an actual once over, considering the state I was in earlier. It took some effort on my part, but I was able to crane my head around a little to see what I was working with.

I wasn't wearing my armour anymore. I was sticky with blood, drying out and turning an unpleasant maroon-brown shade. It ran all down my chest, back, and legs, snaking trails all over. Bits of dirt and gravel clung to my coat, soaked into the ooze. I was also covered in bandages, crossing all around, especially my neck and flank. I felt like a second rate Nightmare Night decoration. I felt disgusting.

"Gods, I need a bath." I muttered to nopony in particular.

"We did what we could, but we should probably get you to a doctor once we get to Dodge." MD started. "We stopped the worst of the bleeding and got that knife out, but there was no way I could dig that bullet out of your flank, so we couldn't give you a healing potion. I used magic bandages on your chest though, so that should help a little!"

I glanced down at my injured flank. I had bled through the bandages leaving them almost sodden. I didn't dare try to move it. I took a deep, calming breath, it would be fine, I just needed to get to a doctor. We were already on the way, panicking would get me nowhere.

"I couldn't do anything about your ear though, sorry." She added, ears flat against her head.

"My ear?" I repeated, suddenly very alarmed. "What happened to my ear? Which ear?"

Obviously I couldn't actually see either of them. I flicked them both frantically to try and work out which was the effected appendage, but they both stung.

"Your left one, when you were wrestling with that fiend she must've, uh... taken some with her..." She trailed off. "It's not as bad as you think though, honest!"

Amazing. Of course, of course I finish my first ever fight permanently disfigured, why would I expect anything less? My mind went wild with speculation, I couldn't see myself and there was hardly going to be a mirror lying around. How much had gone? The tip? Half? The whole thing???

"H-how bad is it?" I tentatively asked.

"Oh, it's not bad all, it's just like a little nibble out of it, right Rusty?"

"Oh for sure, I've seen worse!" He chipped in.

That really didn't help much. A nibble? That could be anything! I think it was pretty obvious I was still upset because it wasn't long before MD chimed in again.

"It really isn't that bad, it's kinda like mine, see?" She tilted her head towards me and I got a good look at her ears. The right one had almost an entire clean circle taken out of the edge near the top, obviously a bullet wound. "We're matching!"

I still wasn't happy, but that did actually make me feel a little better. I just hoped the doctor would have a mirror so I could actually inspect the damage. I just hoped it wasn't too bad.

Actually that goes for everything, stars I hoped none of this would scar too badly. I didn't have much else in this world but I would love to come out the other side still looking like me. Medical magic willing, I would be okay. I'm an Earth pony. We're built sturdy.

The cart rumbled on, Rusty's hooves clipping down the paving. I had to give it to him, for an older Pegasus he was handling the load of the cart well, we were rolling at a decent pace. I wondered what time it was, how far out we were. I was sure MD must have been keeping track on her map. The sooner we got the cello and got back to the junkyard the better, I was in no shape to go through anything so violent again, nor did I have the will or want to.

The land around us seemed rockier and more rugged that where we came from. Firmer and drier, scrubby and almost dusty compared to the other side of the river. It certainly looked more pleasant to walk on.

We were passing by crumbled river-view mansions that must have been quite lovely in their time. A few were bored up, I could see the dancing light of fires in a couple, the sound of chartering bouncing off the walls. Homes, still serving their purpose after all these years, albeit not as grand as they used to be. I noticed MD was holding a new gun in her perched positions, presumably one from the fiend's camp, occasionally sweeping the path in front of us with it. Keeping watch.

"Alrighty, we're coming up on Dodge inna minute, I'll wheel you two in and set off home, Rover is probably worrying like nopony's business." Rusty chuckled. "I'll park up by the clinic, should be able to fix you up good as new! General store is next door too, and the 40 has beds if ya needed a place to stay the night."

"Thank you, Rusty." I replied, eyes closed. A bed sounded absolutely astounding right now.

"Ain't nothin', thanks for the help clearin' the route, ya both did a good turn by us." He smiled. "Sure everyone in town will be happy to know it's safe now, too."

We trunded onwards for a few more minutes before turning a corner. The mansions fell away and the road opened up, rugged rocky plains stretched way out. Far away I could see the ruins of another town, easy to spot thanks to the presence of a weather control tower. Dodge Juntion proper, I guessed.

In the middle distance stood a great metal wall made up of mismatched shipping containers, chainlink fences and flatbed train cars, rusted cargo cranes and old smokestacks poking out over the top. Running accross the road was a gate that looked like it was made out of the cargo door of a boxcar. A lone pony stood vigil on top of the wall, watching us approach. New Dodge City, it must have been. It was much bigger than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a similar size to Fortune, two or three town blocks maybe. This was sprawling, wide and imposing, cutting a blocky silhouette across the landscape and contrasting heavily against the flatlands it sat on.

The gate guard tracked us as we approached, staring us down through the sights of his rifle. As we drew closer to the wall, the guard lowered the gun before disappearing entirely, slipping down behind. The gate slid open with a clank, we were being waved in by who I could only assume was the same guard.

"Come on in, wasn't expecting anypony to swing by this route!" He greeted. "Though I'm sure I don't have to explain why."

"Well, me and these fine ladies here have just cleared out the bridge, so I reckon you'll be getting more traffic this way again soon." Rusty replied, wheeling us through the entrance, cart rattling. It was a small, dark room, that I think actually was a whole boxcar at some point in it's life.

"For real? Now that's the best news I've heard all week, the mayor will be extatic!" He beamed. I was nice to think that we'd genuinely made a difference.

"We're happy to help, though my friends could do with some medical assistance, if you'd be so kind to let us through?"

"Heya!" MD chimed, waving at the guard as he looked us over.

He was a bright, cheerful shade of red and was wearing a brown vest and sunglasses, obscuring his eyes from sight.

"Oo Celestia, they sure put you two through the wringer, huh?"

Rude.

"You go right on in, clinic is on Cana Ave off West Street, right from the centre and third left." He explained, pointing the way vaguely.

"Don't worry none, I know where I'm going, thanks buddy!" Rusty replied, starting us on the move again, the gate crashing back shut.

"Welcome to New Dodge!" The guard yelled behind us. We were in.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing already, this place was an honest to the stars town! We had emerged onto a wide street lined either side with buildings, a concrete road flanked by a sidewalk made up of old railway sleepers either side, a large sign read North Street. To the right seemed to be some kind of large warehouse, bustling sound floating out of open windows, brickwork holding steady against the elements. On our left were a load of smaller building made from container crates. Not simply repurposed, not bodged together, actual well crafted intentional structures, neatly arranged and well maintained. Alleys cut off between them, leading deeper into the settlement. Wires and cables ran overhead between building, swaying gently in the breeze.

The container buildings seemed to mostly be homes from what little I could see, and as we carried on we passed the gaping open loading door of the warehouse revealing the interior to be some kind of huge open market. It was heaving, easily as busy as the Merriweather Pavillion was, possibly even more so. Shouts of bartering and the low rumble of chatter poured out into the street. A group of elderly ponies were sat around a table outside playing cards.

The actual street was quiet compared to the bustle of the warehouse, but looked like it got busier further ahead. The ponies that we did pass were watching us as we went by, I gathered we were the first group to come into town this way in a little while.

We carried on rolling down the street as the crowd got denser. Past the warehouse stood another brick building, it had some kind of courtyard out the front filled with parked and empty carts. Small shops and outdoor traders started to pop up, vendors hawking their wares and yelling for the attention of passers by, hollering echoing off the walls. There was even a paperboy. This place had it's own newspaper!

We were reaching the town centre, the road opening up and essentially becoming a big crossroads where the four main streets met. A group of guards milled around, they were all wearing old hard hats which I found kinda funny. A large covered well sat in the middle of the crossroads, several ponies stood around it chatting, one was winching up a bucket from the depths.

We swung around the right of the well, weaving past a group of foals playing in the street, laughing as they ran by. We pressed forward, now on West Street, the smell of food wafting through the air as we passed a café.

"Jeez, this place makes Baltimare kinda look like a shithole." MD observed, head swivelling around, taking in the sights and sounds. "I've never been this far into town before."

"Sure is something, ain't it." Rusty nodded. "One of the biggest towns this side of Canterlot Mountain, so I've been told. Safest too, I reckon."

From what I'd seen so far, I could believe it. Ponies were going about their business just like how it was before the bombs. They chatted in the street, they shopped. They didn't seem worried about where their next meal would come from or paranoid about being attacked. They looked happy. Thriving.

I knew that there was more to this post-annihilation Equestria than I'd seen, I just knew it. Of course there were still resourceful ponies out here keeping the world going, rebuilding. If there were more places like this around then I could hold out hope that things might be alright.

We passed a large allotment full of Earth ponies busily harvesting fresh veggies out of the ground, a full blown irrigation system keeping everything well watered. Small cinder block huts sold freshly made food around the border of the field, I would definitely have to come back for something to eat once I was done at the clinic, an actual, home made meal would do wonders.

There seemed to be a lot more cart traffic on this street, mostly heading for the end of the road, another gate by the looks of things. This must've been the way to the long route. Large, dormant cargo cranes cast long shadows over us, their bases hidden behind walls made of railway wagons.

We hooked another turn down a smaller street, much narrower than the main roads we'd just been on. Darker too, the height of the buildings blocking light from reaching all the way to ground level. Neon signs lit up the way, pawn shops, a post office, general stores, and finally the clinic. We came to a stop just outside, Rusty parking out of the way as best he could.

It was a compact structure, looking to have been built of several passenger train cars cut up and assembled onto a building, seemingly to a very good standard, looking seemless and sturdy. A red cross was emblazoned on a sign above the door.

"Alrighty, this is us." He announced, unhitching himself. "I can help Silver here if you wanted to sell all this stuff off, Make Do, figure you could kill two birds with one stone."

"Yeah, makes sense to me, thanks." MD answered, stretching out like a cat before hopping down to the floor. "We're probably gonna need the caps to cover the bill anyway."

Money hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course we'd need to pay for this all, somehow. I think MD had managed to scrounge up 600 something caps before we'd set off, but I had no idea how far that would stretch.

Did we even pay Rover for the coffee earlier?

"Okay then, Silver if you're happy with that we'll give you a hoof getting down." Rusty said trotting over, I nodded and smiled.

I shifted to get up, pain instantly shooting through my chest. I'd kept so still and been so caught up looking around that my injuries had sort of gone to the back of my mind. Even just flexing the muscles around my barrel felt like I was being pulled apart.

"Yep, gonna need some help." I groaned through gritted teeth.

"On it." MD said lighting up her horn. I could feel her magic pushing up under me, sort of like being lifted in a harness. I was only off the bed of the cart by a little bit, but even so the movement hurt. I seethed as my wounds moved, sharp and burning.

"I'm gonna put you down on Rusty's back, that okay?" MD said, clearly straining to lift me up.

She slid me slowly backwards until I had cleared the cart, my hooves falling limp below me. Rusty quickly ducked beneath my barrel so I was across him, and MD gently placed me down. My injured ribs protested, but I held against it, I knew it would only be for a little but.

"Phew, are we all good?" She asked, clearly relived to have put me down.

"Eyep." Rusty grunted, I could feel him trembling beneath me. "Let's just get her inside."

I was NOT that heavy!

Slowly but surely Rusty made his way into the clinic, MD holding the door open for us. The lobby was small and spartan, a desk against one wall and a long bench against the other. It smelled clean, though, the kind of chemical sterile smell all hospitals seemed to have.

"Goodness me, is everything a right?" Gasped the mare at the reception desk, leaping to duty. She was a mule, I'd not met a mule before. A two tone grey with a black mane and a cotton nurse's hat.

"We just... need a little... help fer this one." Rusty managed, shambling forward. "Gotta... bullet in her flank."

"Please, thanks." I meekly added.

"Okay, well follow me and we'll get that right out!" She explained, cantering down a short hallway and nudging a door at the end open. "In here, please!"

Rusty struggled forwards, slowly but surely getting us down the hall. My weight shifted with every step and pressed my ribs into the armour running down his spine. I'd be very glad to be back on a flat surface again. Not that I didn't appreciate the help, but still. MD tailed behind us, sticking close by.

The room itself was a small examination room. A basic wooden bench sat in the middle, joined by a cabinet on the wall to the left and a desk. A sink was mounted on the wall, and a cold fluorescent light hung on the ceiling. Maybe a tad depressing, but it seemed functional. Not world class by any stretch, but it actually reminded me of the practitioners back home in Trottingham a little bit.

Rusty carefully weaved through the doorway, careful to not knock my head against the frame.

"The doctor isn't available at the moment, but if we set you down on the table then I can get that bullet out for you." The mule explained, searching through the cabinet for something or other.

"A-are you sure? Isn't this something a doctor should be doing?" I asked nervously. I didn't want just anyone poking around inside of me. Preferably no one at all, but if it had to be done, I'd prefer they'd know their stuff.

"I've been the head nurse here for three years, I know what I'm doing." She groaned, glaring at me with bright green eyes. Touchy subject, apparently.

Rusty butted up against the table, and MD's magic tingled around me again, pushing me off his back and onto the open surface. I think he was as relieved as I was to be off his back.

"Well, there we go." He exhaled, working his shoulders. "How's that for service? Straight to the hospital bed, haha!"

"Thank you, Rusty." I managed. I felt bad that someone much much older than me had had to carry me around. I'd also left behind a big red stain on his armour. Hopefully he'd be able to wash it off, I'd hate to have ruined it.

"No problem, clearing the bridge was my idea, least I could do is take you to get patched up." He smiled. "I should probably get back to Rover though, he'll be worried sick by now. I'll let him know you're both okay!"

I definitely wouldn't have called my current condition 'okay' but I held my tongue.

"You're leaving?" MD pouted.

"Yes'm, with the road back open I got a business to attend to!" He replied, miming doffing a hat he wasn't wearing. "Thank you both for the help, sincerely. Stop by Outta Dodge again sometime, coffee's on the house!"

With a wink and a smile, he was gone.

"Damn, maybe I should've asked him to help us search, he woulda been good to have around." MD lamented from the door frame, watching him walk away. In the meantime, the nurse had finished assembling a tray of tools. A couple of them scary looking. I gulped as she brought them over on a tray.

"Okay, let's see what we're dealing with." She said, peeling back the blood soaked bandage covering my flank. I couldn't help but look, too.

"Is it bad?" I shakily asked.

I felt woozy looking at it. A deep gash ran under my cutie mark, flesh raised and raw, culminating in an angry looking hole that gurgled blood.

"Oh, just a little bite." She mused, putting on a pair of rubber horseshoes. "This should be easy. Have you already taken any painkillers?"

"Yeah, we gave her some Med-X maybe a couple of hours ago, we couldn't get it out by ourselves, didn't want to make it worse by poking around in there." MD chimed in, still stood in the doorway.

"Probably for the best, there's less chance of infection by doing this here." The nurse replied, picking up a pair of forceps. "And can you close the door, please? I'm trying to work."

"Oh, no sweat, I gotta swing by the store anyway, sell the rest of the stuff in the cart." MD pushed away from the frame, making to head out. "I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?"

"You're leaving me here!?" I almost screeched. I was gravely injured, somewhere I didn't know with someone I'd never met before, and the only person I did know was swanning off!

"The store's only next door! I just got to sell off all the shit we picked up and I'll be right back! You're gonna be fine, okay?"

With that she left, door swinging closed behind her. My ears fell flat against my head for a moment, before I realized how much that hurt. It was just me, the nurse, and the bullet wound now. My anxiety was going crazy.

"The Med-X will still be in your system so I shouldn't really give you any more, but it should still take the edge off the worst of the pain." She rattled off, settling down at the side of the table.

"I-I still think I'd like some more, actually." I said. I didn't think 'taking the edge off' was going to cut it, not for something like this.

"I can't, it's too dangerous. This'll hurt, but only for a minute."

I took a deep breath. The forceps plunged into my leg, forcing the wound open, pulling at the muscle. My vision went white for a moment as I held back a yelp.

The tool pushed deeper, I grit my teeth against the pain, eyes tearing up. My whole body was tense. The movements were only slight, but it felt like I was being torn up from the inside.

"Hmm, feels like it might have gotten turned around in there." The nurse mused, poking and twisting the implement around, stretching the already damaged tissue. Her hooves twitched on the handles, minutely adjusting them, trying to get a grip on the bullet.

An excruciating moment later and the nurse hummed positively. Slowly, she started pulling b the tool out, the slightly open jaws grazing along the inside of my wound. Finally, it emerged, soaked red with blood and clasping a much smaller than I expected bullet. I heaved a releived breath I wasn't aware I was holding in.

"All in one piece, that's good." She muttered, inspecting the bullet. "Means there's no surprises waiting in there. I'll just clean it out and we can get a healing potion in you, get everything closed up nicely."

She dropped it into a metal tray, clattering, rolling around, leaving a tiny trail of blood behind it. I watched as it swirled around in a circle before coming to a halt. The nurse had gotten up and walked over to the sink, coming back with a new tray holding some wet cloths and a bottle of disinfectant.

"Alrighty, let's get that cleaned up." She said, picking up a cloth before stopping. "Hmm, should probably clean the rest of this, too."

She stood up and carefully removed the bandage from my ear, before setting about the ones around my neck and chest. A tug told me that she was trying to take my scarf off, too.

"T-that can stay, thanks." I protested, raising a hoof infront of hers. She swiftly pushed it away. "Please?"

"Dont be silly, it's filthy! I'll need it out the way to-"

She pulled the sodden fabric off, revealing the bomb collar, standing starkly against my fur.

"Ah." She announced, eyebrows raised, long ears stood straight upright. "I see."

I didn't know what to do, I was frozen. I didn't know this mare! What of she thought I was a runaway slave or a prisoner or something? What would even be the perogative in that situation? 'Return' me to slavers?

I was startled and panicked, and tried to scramble away. Unfortunately for me, my body was still not quite ready to be moving like that again yet, and all I managed to do was sort of half stumble off the table and limp my way into a pile on the floor, weakly flailing like a frightened animal.

"Wait wait, it's okay!" The nurse blurted out, holding her hooves up. "I'm not going to tell anyone! I promise!"

I eyed her warily.

"Just calm down, please? You're going to hurt yourself worse than you already are. I'm here to help!"

That was valid. She was a nurse, she had a duty of care, if there was anypony I'd like to think would do the right thing here it was a medical professional. I was letting blind fear get the best of me. Again.

"Sorry." I offered, slowly pushing myself into a sitting position. "I just... don't know what to think anymore. I've had a very rough week."

"It's fine, I'm sure you have, but you can trust me, okay? I don't get involved with slavers." She said, offering me a hoof. I took it and gingerly manged to get standing again, legs aching. "My name's Mercy, you?"

"Silver."

"Okay, Silver, I'll get you patched up and we can find a new cover for your collar, but then we should probably get you out of here quick." She explained, gesturing for me to get back on the table. "Dodge is a big town that draws a lot of people from all walks, if you catch my drift. Plenty of eyes on the lookout for 'lost goods'. The ponies with you, are they...?"

"Um, MD's a friend. She's got one too." I explained, pointing to the collar. "Rusty doesn't know about them."

"I see. If only Chek was here, he'd be able to actually help you out." She sighed. "Let's get you cleaned up."

I tried to hobble back on to the table but it was too high for me to get up in my current condition, I just couldn't reach without my body protesting. I set down gently next to the table with a sheepish smile.

"I can't get back up."

"It's okay, we can do it from here. This is going to sting a bit." She warned, placing the damp cloth on my flank and pressing down. It did sting, the cool water seeping into my injury and flushing it out, loosening any remaining debris, cloth working back and forth to make sure nothing was left behind.

She did the same thing for the knife wounds around my neck, although those were significantly less bloody already thanks to the magical bandages. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes of discomfort before she threw the rag across the room and into a bin.

"Now, this is going to sting a lot." Mercy said, picking up the disinfectant. "Just bear with it, I promise it'll be over quick."

It was a small spray bottle, brown glass with a sunbleached label. She picked it up in her mouth and bit down on the trigger, sending a cloud of burning mist over my raw flesh. I jolted as it made contact, dancing on my cuts and grazes, feeling like salt or acid being poured directly into my nerves, a horrible tingling.

I bit my lip and bore it. She spritzed my chest a couple of time too, but that was nowhere near as bad. Finally she sprayed my ear, causing it to flick involuntary.

My ear. I'd gotten so caught up in all the drama I'd totally forgotten about it.

"Is there a mirror I can borrow?"

"In a moment, I need you to drink this first, make sure everything closes up alright."

Just as she finished speaking the door clattered open, swinging until it hit the wall. I was expecting to see MD standing there, but instead it was a rather irate looking black unicorn wearing a labcoat and a frown. Curiously, he also had a PipBuck attached to his leg. He looked at me for a second before shifting his eyes to Mercy and slowly trotting in.

"Mercy what is the meaning of this?" He interrogated, marching right up to her.

"Goldheart, I-"

"DOCTOR Goldheart."

"Doctor Goldheart, this mare came in while you were out, I was just-"

"I have explicitly told you that you are not to tend to any patients, have I not?" He interrupted. "So what exactly is happening here?"

"Doctor Goldheart, I am fully capable of-"

"I don't care what you are or are not capable of, Mercy, I have directly ordered you to stay in reception and not get involved in any kind of medical work! So can you kindly explain to me why you've chosen to ignore that? And why are they on the floor?!" He poked her chest, nostrils flaring.

"With all due respect, Doctor Goldheart, I am the head nurse here, I am fully capable of treating this pony, and this is not your clinic." Mercy replied icily, swatting his hoof away. "Doctor Chekwas -"

"Now you listen to me you stupid mule, it may not be my clinic but I am your superior. When I give you an order you are to follow it. Doctor Chekwas isn't here, I don't know where he is and frankly I don't really care, but that leaves me in charge as the most qualified pony in the building. I don't want an animal interacting with my patients, leave that to those of us who can actually use magic. Is that understood?"

The two of them glared at eachother, unblinking. The tension was palpable, thick and swampy.

"Hey Silv, how're you- oh!" MD chimed, suddenly appearing in the doorframe. I don't think anyone had heard her approach judging by the fact that all three of us were now staring at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She sheepishly added before squinting at the Unicorn quizzically. "Goldheart?"

"Yes? Do I know you?" He asked, critically scanning her horn to hoof until he noticed her own PipBuck. He looked her in a face again for a moment, gears turning in his head. "Oh, you were one of the brats assigned to maintenance, weren't you? Mildew? Mackrell?"

"Make Do." She corrected, bluntly.

"Yes, Make Do. You look terrible." He said, examining her. MD's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, well, we weren't all so lucky as you to run away at the first sign of danger, some of us got shot for our trouble."

"Being on the Overmare's Priority List was not 'running away', we were the most important ponies, of course there would be vested interest in our safety." He replied, pointedly.

"Sure. Whatever." MD grunted, rolling her eyes. "Tell that to everypony who died."

The room fell quiet for an awkward moment. Nopony looked like they wanted to be here.

"Well, you all finish up whatever this is and then I expect to see you in my office, Mercy. I'm serious." He huffed, turning around and pushing past MD, slamming the door closed behind him.

"Ugh, that unbearable plothole!" Mercy growled. "I hate him so much!"

"You know him?" I asked MD.

"He was the head surgeon back in the stable." She explained. "One of the Overmare's super special cool kid's club. Always was an arrogant ass."

"Arrogant is an understatement. Gods I want to tan his hide!" Mercy vented. She looked at me as if suddenly remembering where she was and took a deep breath in through her nose, exhaling out the mouth.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very becoming of me, you're still under my care after all." She said quietly, bowing. "Please accept my apologies."

"It's honestly fine, he seemed like a prick." I said.

"No, it's not fine, you're mid-treatment and here I am having an argument with a co-worker." She rebutted, fetching a healing potion.

"He called you an animal, that's way past an argument!" I countered. "I'd say you held your nerve pretty well all things considered."

"He called you an animal?" MD asked. We both nodded. "Celestia above I can't believe he's still clinging on to that shit. Why in the world are you working for a guy like him?"

'Clinging on to that shit'?

"I don't work for him, we're technically colleagues. Not that he sees it that way. Doctor Chekwas, the owner, hired him because despite everything he's a fantastic surgeon." She groused, removing the lid of the healing potion and passing it to me. "Make sure you drink the whole bottle, you should feel as good as new."

I thanked her and inspected the potion. It was a small vial of purple liquid with a Ministry Of Peace sticker slapped on the front, looking a bit newer than the one MD gave me when I first woke up at her place. I wondered if these things had a best before date. It smelled vaguely of lavender. I sipped the potion down, slightly sweet and a little viscous, not entirely unlike cough syrup, it started working pretty instantly. My body tingled as the magic ran it's course, pain slowly fading away, cuts closing up. I could actually feel the skin on my flank put itself back together, which was incredibly strange, if slightly unpleasant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, medical magic is amazing.

I tentatively gave my hind leg a flex, flapped my ears and turned my head side to side. There was a lingering dull ache all over, but anything agonising had all but disappeared. I stood up properly for the first time in a few hours and stretched, joints popping. After so long limp and folded up, it felt really good. Looking down at my flank there was no sign of the gunshot. Fully healed.

"I'll fetch you that mirror." Mercy said, searching through the cabinet. "I'll try and find something for the collar, too."

"Collar? Oh buck, your collar!" MD exclaimed, apparently now noticing my missing scarf.

"It's okay, Silver told me about your mutual binds." Mercy said, trotting back over with a mirror and a folded gown on her back. "I won't tell a soul."

I took the mirror in my hooves, staring at my reflection.

"Who are you?"

I stared at the face looking back at me. This mare was tired and frenzied, dried blood ran down her face, staining her ivory coat. Her silvery mane was matted and ratty. Her left ear was missing the tip, about an inch and a half of it torn away, ragged edge standing stark against the smooth contour of the right ear. It twitched as I stared at it.

That was real, that was tangible. That was something no healing potion would ever be able to fix, a permanent change to my body, ugly and jagged. I was asymmetric, marred for life, a grim souvenir of my fight to the death. I won't lie and say I wasn't a little heartbroken. The only thing I had right now was myself, and I didn't even have part of that anymore.

Those eyes were still mine, though. Darker and sunken, maybe more distant, but still mine. Still alive.

"Gods I look like shit." I mused aloud, deflated.

"Yeah, well, not many ponies come out the other side of a firefight looking peachy. But you came out the other side though, so that's a win at least!" MD reassured, patting my back.

"There's a shower you can rinse off in in room 3, if you'd like. You can use this to cover the collar up, too." Mercy offered, passing me the hospital gown she'd fished out the cupboard. A pale seafoam green, she'd folded it lengthways so that it more resembled a scarf, it would be pretty easy to wrap it around my neck.

"Thank you Mercy, for all your help." I nodded, taking the gown from her. "How much do we owe you?"

"I can't in good conscience charge someone in your situation for treatment." She shook her head, idly running a hoof along the base of her neck. "I know what it's like."

"Are you sure? I don't want to get you in any more trouble." I offered. I felt bad enough in the first place.

"It's fine, Goldheart may be a nightmare, but Chek actually does have a heart of gold, I know he'd encourage this. I just wish I could do more." She lamented. "I can give you directions to a safe place, though! The whole region east of here has signal disruptors to stop the rangefinder in those things from detonating, there's good people that way."

"That's very kind of you, but these are a bit different from normal collars. We're on a timer, they're going to blow one way or another." MD explained.

"Oh gosh, really?" Mercy replied, horrified.

"Yeah, we got, uh-" MD paused to check the timer readout on my collar. "139 hours to figure something out."

"Here's hoping." I added weakly. 139 hours sounded longer that it was.

"Bless your souls, that's horrible!" Mercy gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof.

"We got a plan, we've not given up yet!" MD smirked. "We should probably get you cleaned up and get a move on though, Silv. With any luck we'll make it to Old Dodge before it gets dark."

"Wait, Old Dodge? You're going to Dodge Junction?"

"That's the plan." MD replied, a bit more on guard. "Why?"

"That's where Chek went, he said it was for research. He was only meant to be gone a few days but..." She trailed off. "I have to find him. Please, can you take me with you?"

"What?" MD bluted out.

"You want to come with us?" I asked, surprised.

"I have to find Chekwas, the only reason he wouldn't be back by now is if something went wrong. I need to at least try and help, I owe him that much!" Mercy pled, bowing her head down. "The Junction's dangerous, I'd have no chance on my own. But I have a strong back and obviously can be a first aider. Please, this town needs him here. I need him."

"Look, we really appreciate the help, but we don't have any time to spare finding this guy, we're already on the clock as it is." MD said, trying her best to sound sympathetic.

I didn't know what to think. MD was right, we were in a very dire situation, literally on a timer. But we did have five and a half days, give or take, and finding this Doctor would be the right thing to do.

"I don't know, MD, just leaving doesn't feel good."

"I know it doesn't, and if things were different I'd be glad to help, but me and you are both walking time bombs, if we get sidetracked too far we die, Silver." She said. "We have to focus. If we can't find what we're looking for and spend a load of time searching for this guy then it might as well be over for us, we won't have enough time to search anywhere else."

Her gaze was steely and serious, if a little melancholic. I didn't want to leave Mercy here under the hoof of that horrible unicorn around, but MD was probably right. In hindsight she was probably right about the long road too, it'd already been more than a whole day and we still weren't even at Dodge Junction yet, and that was going the quick way. The constant march of time was our enemy.

"Sorry, but we can't help you. We've got our own shit to deal with."

"I'm sorry, Mercy." I said, giving her the most apologetic look I could manage. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I was a slave." Mercy replied, sullenly. "I wasn't on a timer, but I know the weight those collars carry. I spent 11 years in a gem mine, digging and hauling every single day. 11 years."

She stood up and turned side on to us. I hadn't noticed until now but her back and hindquarters were crossed with scars.

"It broke me, I couldn't do it anymore. My body gave out dragging an ore caravan. We'd been pulling for hours. They unhitched me and left me for dead, I guess they figured the collar would detonate once they'd gotten far enough away. I'd exceeded my useful life. Chekwas found me on the road, as good as dead."

She pawed at the base of her neck again, hoof running along it's contours.

"The next thing I know my collar is gone. I still don't know how he did it, but that's what Chek does. He helps, no questions asked. He brought me back here and fixed me up, I've seen him help other slaves, I know he can help you too! I owe him my life. Please, I'm begging you, I have to find him."

This changed things. Mine and MD's ears were both stood to attention.

"He took your collar off?" MD asked, almost incredulous.

"I swear on the Earth. The time I've been here with him I must have seen him remove dozens more of them too." She nodded.

I can't really begin to describe the prospective relief I felt at just the idea of being rid of this bomb collar. It was a full body type of excitement.

"MD if he can get these things off us we need to find him." I said, hopeful. Maybe more desperate than hopeful, but still. Not only did I think this was the right thing to do, but if it meant losing these collars then there was no other option as far as I'm concerned.

"Please. I feel awful using your situation against you like this, but he really can help, I promise." Mercy added.

MD's ear twitched, she stared off in thought.

"You're definitely sure he's in Dodge Junction?" She asked.

"Absolutely, he went to research Ghouls, no better place for it."

Ghouls? Like little green ghouls? Ogres & Oubliettes type shit?

"Why is nothing ever easy?" MD sighed, staring at the ceiling. A beat passed.

"Okay, fine. If it means losing these collars, we'll help find your guy." She conceded. "But we have our priorities too, okay? If we start cutting too close we have to look after ourselves."

"Absolutely, I understand, thank you both so much. This means to me than you know. " Mercy said, I could see the tension leaving her body. "I'll get a bag made up as quickly as I can, we've got tons of medical supplies I can bring. What time is it?"

"About a quarter to five, why?" MD asked, checking her PipBuck.

"If we're quick we can hop the train, leaves at six everyday and passes right through the junction, that should cut the journey right down and mean it'll still be daylight when we get there. Freighty owes the clinic a favour anyway." Mercy said, hurrying out the door. "I'll be as fast as I can!"

That left the two of us alone for the first time since the rest stop. MD seemed antsy. Anxious.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." She answered. "I just hope this doesn't backfire on us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we've only been going a day and we've already gotten sidetracked twice now. We're just meant to be finding this cello but we keep getting caught up in other pony's messes. I'm just worried we're gonna end up biting off more than we can chew." She explained. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this."

"Well, if we find Chekwas then we've got nothing to worry about, right?" I countered. As far as I was concerned losing the explosives attached to me was my number one priority.

"Yeah, but that's a big 'if'. I just hope Mercy is right, or it's our backs against the wall."

I supposed I couldn't really argue with that. I was still hopeful, but maybe this was more of a longshot than I thought. We fell quiet again, waiting for Mercy to come back. I looked myself over one more time. Filthy.

"I really hope I can still use that shower before we go."

Level up!
New Perk (Silver Sterling): Savvy Salving - Get well soon! Healing potions supplied by medical vendors are heal 5% more HP.

New Perk (Make Do): Bulk Goods - Get more bang for your buck! You receive a more favourable rate from vendors when buying or selling in bulk.