Author's Note

This chapter is mostly unedited. I changed a few things here and there, but I wanted to keep the story moving along before I forgot. There will be more updates soon, I hadn't forgotten about the promises I made!

I'd like feedback as I don't have editors to help me out with the errors!

Chapter 7: Proposal

I sat in silence, listening to the blaring buzz in my ears. I thought of various ways I could escape from this hole. From finding a loose brick to use, or spotting a design flaw, anything that could get me out of this place. Though there was nothing that I could see.

I heard soft whimpers to the right of me. When I yanked myself out of my thoughts, I panned over to see Marvelous sitting right beside me, her hooves covering her face. She tried to suppress her weeping.

For a few minutes, I sat in silence, staring at her with a frown. I had this urge to say something to her, but as I tried to open my mouth to say something, nothing came out. I slowly slumped against the wall and continued to stare at my surroundings, trying to figure out how to get myself–and everypony else–out of this mess.

I forgot how much time passed. We've probably been locked up in here for hours. Most ponies under these circumstances would've been driven mad. However, a lot of us were collected, reserved, and patient. That middle-aged stallion from before paced from one end of the concrete room to the other. Other ponies around me sat in the dark, nearly motionless, I would’ve mistaken them for dead if they hadn’t shifted on occasions.

My ears flicked at the sound of a metallic squealing that came from a nearby staircase. Daylight shot down the staircase and illuminated the ground. Multiple footsteps battered in my ears as six bandits marched into the cramped basement, flashlights beamed into our eyes, blinding us.

"Good morning!" Somepony chimed in from behind the flashlight beam. "It looks like I'll be providing you ponies with spectacular new jobs!" The light melting my face off shone elsewhere. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw the bandit leader, Barb standing tall and proud in the middle of the room. "You are no longer free stalkers. You are now affiliated with my group. You'll all be working until you feel your bones crack, and until you can no longer carry your own weight. Only then will I grant you mercy." Barb explained as she panned around to stare at all of us. "Do I make myself clear?" She asked and waited for answers, but to her dismay, there were none.

"No pony wants to contribute?" She asked with a peculiar sweetness sprinkled in her tone. I surveyed the room and the faces of my new comrades. Nopony spoke, and nopony wanted to acknowledge Barb.

"Diamond," Barb deadpanned.

A female unicorn perked up and turned to Barb. "Yes?" The small mare inquired.

Barb closed her eyes and huffed through her nose. "Will you show these ponies why they should open their fucking ears?" She requested.

BOOM

Before anypony could react in time, a thunderous explosion reverberated inside the room. A shriek of terror clawed its way into my ear canals and drenched me in dread. I barely looked up, my heart raced in my chest and throat, and I spotted one of the Loners crumpled on the floor. The concrete wall had fresh crimson splattered against it. One of the pegasi from earlier was on the receiving end of a shotgun blast. Barb stood there with an expressionless face, her eyes still shut. She paced herself, taking a lingering breath through her nose before she exhaled.

"Okay," she said simply, "do you ponies understand what to do now?"

"Yes!" each of the free stalkers sounded off frantically.

I immediately resented my choice to ignore her when Barb's menacing eyes opened up. Her eyes shot toward me and bored through my soul. She ambled over. I did my best to squirm away, but my back pressed against concrete. Barb stopped a few paces away and gazed down at me with a sly smile.

“Wild Flower!” Barb barked, peering at Marvelous from the corner of her eye, and then gave the bandit an inconspicuous nod. “You know what to do.”

“No, wait!” I shrieked and watched helplessly as one of the unicorns strolled over with purpose. The bandit pointed a small pistol at Marvelous and then came the bang.

Marvelous went stiff and slid to the ground. She howled out in pain, bucking her hind legs wildly. The poor girl clamped her foreleg over her hip. Her eyes were filled with undefined rage, her pinprick pupils rattled as she sneered up at the bandits.

“You fucking cunts!” she screamed out in anguish.

“Whoa!” Barb exclaimed, grinning like a mad-mare. “Instead of cussing us out, you should be thanking me that she didn’t kill you!”

I caught my breath after a series of gasps and panicked shrieks. I realized that I was still alive. I was dumbfounded that I and Marvelous were alive after that. Barb stepped back into the center of the room, she seemed content by my cowardice. Barb composed herself and went on smiling as nothing had happened.

“Let’s try that again!” She exclaimed and slowly surveyed the room. “Are you ready for work?”

“Yes!”

Everypony—myself included—replied frantically to Barb’s question. I hoped Swift Wings’s plan would play out. Whatever it was.

The bandits hustled everypony out of a decrepit schoolhouse which now served as a makeshift prison for Stalkers. One of the more familiar bandits, Prancer, probed me with his shotgun muzzle as he led me outside.

The rain came down much harder than before. It pelted my back and drenched my mane and tail in a matter of minutes. I closed my eyes and let the downfall wash away the crimson and muck. And that’s when the tears came. I tried to fight it, but I would soon break down, joining the others in their sorrow.

So much has happened. Luck’s head exploding right in front of me, hearing the devastated cries of Luck’s friend before she was ultimately killed by Prancer, Barb ordering around those bandits and killing those who weren’t useful to her. Reality caught up to speed and ran me down like a steam roller.

Barb stood in front of us with a relaxed smile on her face. We waited in silence as she started pacing again.

“Your first job is to lug around loot for me. You ponies will be forced to take it to the abandoned hospital just north of here. Any pony who tries to flee will be shot and killed,” Barb explained with a booming voice. “You got that?” She turned to us and seemed excited for a response.

“Yes!” A lot of us replied individually. As I felt the yes escape my mouth, I realized that the yes that I hesitantly got out wasn’t of my own doing. I fought to say something else. I even fought the urge to run right then and there. Dying could’ve been a better option for me. For anypony.

“Good!” Barb stomped her hoof in the ground. She gave a small nod at her bandit buddies. Four of them approached us with leather harnesses. One of the bandits stepped up to me. I heard what sounded like tearing before I felt him wrapping it around my horn. He was using duct tape to ensure that I wouldn’t be using my magic any time soon.

The bandit stepped back and admired his craft before he chucked the leather harness over my barrel. He tugged at straps on the harness, securing it firmly. The leather was so tight that it felt as if a snake was coiled around my body.

Without any warning, something shoved me forward and I stumbled toward Barb. With wobbling hooves, I straightened my posture and glowered back at that grinning asshole who pushed me. Barb trotted up to me, her foreleg wrapped around my withers as she faced me toward my group.

“This pony has the right attitude!” Barb ruffled my mane and stared into my eyes. “What’s your name?”

I gnawed at my lower lip and shook my head somberly. Barb frowned and used her awful stare to coax the name out of me.

“What’s your name?” She repeated.

“Dossier…” I choked as I yanked my head away from hers.

“Good mare,” Barb snickered. She then pointed at a pile of crates. “Load her up!”

Once more, I was forcefully led to where they wanted me to be. A bandit mare filled an empty rucksack full of goodies like magazines for guns, military MRE’s and crackers, armored vests that covered the body. I was dumbstruck by how much loot they managed to gather.

“It’s something ain’t it?” Barb chimed in, she leaned against my back and put all her weight on me. I felt her bones digging into my sides. “Managed to take out those red bastards that were holed up at the hospital,” Barb chuckled and stared at her bloody hoof. “Duty is supposed to be made up of ex-military soldiers and stalker vets, but they’re all the same to me: easy pickings.” She secured four bags to my harness. The weight added on and I felt two times heavier than before. In my weakened state, my legs faltered and I sank to the ground.

“Oh, for—” Barb groaned. “Can somepony get that pathetic bitch patched up?”

“On it!” A random bandit replied. The bandit pony stepped up to me and helped me to my fatigued legs. Her pink face was riddled with scars. She glowered at me and sat on her haunches. The pink mare dug around inside her bag until she pulled out a small orange case.

As I stood there, my legs once again gave out on me. My strength was gone entirely. I couldn’t keep going like this.

“Just… kill me.” I muttered to the pink mare.

“Can’t lassie,” she deadpanned.

Those words hurt a lot more than what would surely happen. I shakily exhaled and wiped the tears staining my face. Suddenly, there was a prick of pain that shot through my neck. The pink mare had just stabbed me with something. I couldn’t help but jerk away, the moment I did so, the mare glared, unamused by my actions.

“That was for yer pain,” Pink said with a growl. “Don’t be tryin’ that again.”

“Fuck you…” I said with a rasp.

“Sure, lassie!” Pink said with a wide grin. “What time would ya like to mash clams?” She caressed my cheek with her hoof. I frowned, threw my head back, and smashed my forehead against her face. I heard and felt a loud thunk. Pink’s head snapped back as she recoiled.

“You damn cunt!” Pink spat and rolled herself onto her hooves with surprising agility. “I’ll let you have that one, but we aren’t done, lassie…” She stuffed wads of bandage into her nostrils and stormed off.

I didn’t realize right away, but my body stopped aching and relief washed over me like warm water. I couldn’t help but sigh dreamily. As I looked down, I spotted the syringe used on me—so, she wasn’t joking about helping. Before I could react, a unicorn mare used her magic on me. My limbs locked in place and I was lifted up and forced to stand up again. No longer did I feel fatigued... I didn’t know how to react to whatever was used on me...

Those bandits loaded us up with plenty of gear. It took them thirty minutes to load our harnesses up. I listened in on a conversation the bandits had. One of them talked about how they accumulated so much gear. He mentioned there were plenty of groups raiding and robbing ponies in pathetic ambushes along the frequently traveled roads. Often they would kill the ponies they rob, something their leader, Old Barbarous—who I now know the name of—disapproved of, but it’s not like that mattered much to her, considering she ruthlessly murdered a mare back at the school.

I got tasked to head north with two bandits, Prancer and Pink. We started off on our journey. One led, while the other lagged behind me to ensure that I wouldn’t try anything ‘funny’. I stared at the ground with a blank expression.

Pink snickered and then said, “Damn, Barb messed you up good?”

“Piss off,” Prancer groaned.

“Never seen her do that to any other pony.” Deathwish snarked.

“I said piss off, Deathwish!”

“Pal, can’t I have a wee bit of fun with you?”

“No,” Prancer growled, “and I’m not your pal, get that in your thick head,”

“Another time, pal,” Deathwish chuckled. “Look we’re almost there.”

When I looked up, we were approaching the aforementioned hospital. The building was impressive. It hardly looked like it aged at all. Sure, there were a few vines that snaked along the sides and into the windows, but this was the most intact structure I’ve seen. The bandits must’ve fortified this place. There were rusted sheets of metal bolted on many windows on the first floor. A tattered flag above the hospital swayed back and forth in the wind, I could barely make out a red crosshair symbol spray-painted on it.

Prancer and Deathwish led me inside. The interior wasn’t as impressive as the exterior. The wall’s paint was chipped and covered in graffiti, the ceiling was moldy and water dripped from above, the wooden floor sagged and crunched underneath our hooves as we trotted inside.

“Should we take her to the morgue?” Prancer asked as he trotted over to Deathwish.

Morgue? Oh, goddesses. It wasn’t going to end like this. Not like this.

“We got to unload the gear from her, remember?”

Prancer wordlessly pointed his gun at me and motioned it down the hallway. “Head on over to the staircase. Don’t make me splatter your brains on the wall.”

I said nothing as I trotted down the hall. Their conversation made my blood run cold, but I managed to steel myself. It sounded like they still needed me around for their slave work. As I trotted down the hall, I heard guitar music in the room to the left. I caught a quick glimpse of ponies huddled around a kettle. I guessed they were another set of bandits. I didn’t get enough time to see what they were up to because Prancer shoved me forward.

I came across the staircase. There was an upstairs of the hospital and the aforementioned basement. Immediately, I made my way down into the basement. The basement was much different. The floor changed to shattered tile. When I stepped forward, I heard an audible cracking, as if I were walking on bones.

Once more, Prancer pressured me to move again. I was led through maze-like corridors. Prancer and Deathwish exchanged insults at each other, arguing about which direction the morgue was. It took them a few minutes of bickering until we finally reached a steel door with an enormous padlock on it.

Deathwish dug out a rusted key from one of her pockets, shoved it into the keyhole, gave it a clockwise turn and the gigantic lock disengaged and clattered to the tile floor.

Wordlessly, Deathwish yanked me toward her and shoved me through the door which sent me flying to the floor.

Fuck!

As I examined the room, my jaw immediately fell to the floor. There were many firearms, backpacks, canned food, and dizzying, miscellaneous items, irresponsibly strewn about the room. Padlocks were installed on the morgue freezers. I suspected that they must’ve kept loot in those things as opposed to bodies. My mind started to wander on how long it took for these bandits to gather all of these supplies.

“Stay down,” Deathwish growled, “Prancer, watch her horn. Shoot her in the head if it glows.”

As much as I hated this. As much as my blood boiled. I had to wait for an opportunity. Being gutsy like before wasn’t getting me anywhere anytime soon. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for them to finish taking off all the gear on me. The backpacks were tossed to the side without consideration.

After they finished unloading the loot from me. I was promptly pulled to my hooves and hustled out of the morgue.

“Right, let’s keep this up!”

The bandits strapped barrels of food and water on my harness and I could feel the leather digging into my skin. I had to follow Deathwish and Prancer around, along with a couple of bandits. I had no clue what happened to the rest of my comrades, but I assumed it wasn’t good. For hours, we trotted around the town carefully.

The layout of this area was familiar to me. My stomach lurched when I remembered meeting Stroke-a-luck here. Prancer glanced back at me with a sly smirk.

“Remember this place, twat?” He asked, rubbing salt in the wound.

I lowered my ears and ground my teeth together. It didn’t take long for the sweet stench of death to overwhelm me. My nose rebelled, at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel that this horrendous stench felt familiar. Deathwish brought her nose up and gave a sharp inhale through her nose.

“That’s the stuff. Nothing like that fresh smell of death to keep ya goin’!” She snickered.

“I certainly don’t work like that,” Prancer grumbled softly. “Weren’t you some kind of famous murderer?” He continued to trot toward the town hall building.

“Famous is one way of puttin’ it. My favorite place was the Bloodbath Arena before they dissolved it.” Deathwish replied.

“They still got another arena at the Castle, but seeing as you’re with us, I doubt those red bastards would let you in,” Prancer glanced back at Deathwish and smirked, “why don’t you go get captured? I heard that’s the only way into the arena. They capture bandits like us. We’re either lined up and shot, hung, or forced to fight in the arena. Either way, you get fucked.”

“Don’t feel like botherin’ with another arena, besides ponies still fear me,” Deathwish said coolly, “I’m like a ghost story with one of them chants you use to summon me. Don’t be callin’ me, otherwise, you won’t like what I have in-store.”

“Last I checked, no pony talked about you the way you think they do,” Prancer replied, half-chuckling through his speech.

“At least I’m recognizable in the Zone, unlike you.” Deathwish snorted.

“Fuck off with you.”

I and the group of bandits decided to take shelter in the now-abandoned town hall. They removed the large barrels of food and water off of me and placed them down on the empty bullet casing floor. My skin burned severely once the weight was lifted. I rolled on my side and groaned out in agony.

“Fuck!” I cried out and glared up at Deathwish, who cracked a devious smile at my misery.

“Told ya this wasn’t over, lassie,” Deathwish said coldly, “if anythin’ you should be so lucky to be alive. Not a lot of ponies can appreciate livin’.” Deathwish turned, raised her hindleg off the ground, and gave my barrel a hefty kick that knocked the air out of me. I furrowed my brows and glared daggers at my captors.

You’ll get yours eventually. It’s only a matter of time before then.

My back, limbs, and head felt as somepony pressed burning coal onto my skin. One of my teeth wiggled as I tried to wet my dry mouth with my tongue. I weakly glanced over at the open doorway not too far from where I sat.

The bandits boisterously laughed and sang a song in unison, relishing their victory. At least they were distracted. I hoped to sneak by while they were busy smashing heads. I figured now was the time to go, before they noticed anything amiss. I carefully rose up from the ground with trembling hooves and limped for the exit. The open door was a few paces away. I tried to break out into a sprint, but the moment I did so, I tripped over something.

“Where ya goin’, lass?” That all too familiar voice pelted my ears. “Nowhere, I bet.”

I strenuously rolled onto my side and glared up at the deranged pink mare. She stared back at me with an ugly, toothy grin. Without warning, Deathwish grabbed a hold of my tail and swung me across the floor. I cried out in pain as I rolled a couple of meters and hit the wall.

“Fucking, bitch!” I screamed as I struggled to climb to my hooves.

“How about you behave for a few minutes? Much as I enjoy throwin’ you about, it gets tiresome.” Deathwish replied as she strolled over to me.

“I’d rather die…” I growled through clenched teeth.

“Kill her, Deathwish!” I heard somepony from the audience call out.

“Yeah! Do it, you pussy!” Another pony screamed.

“Shut up!” Deathwish bellowed as she snapped her head over to the group of bandits. “Barb asked us to keep these ponies alive! Get off my fuckin’ back!”

That alone shut the group up. There was an awkward silence that settled after Deathwish lashed out like that. It was then that she turned to me, miniature fires blazing in the blacks of her eyes. She stomped over to me, before I could brace myself, there was a blinding flash of pink, and then blackness.

A deafening bang brought me back to life, and I realized that I was still alive, save for feeling like shit again. My whole head hurt this time, my face throbbed in pain.

Fuck… Where am I now?

I blindly moved my hooves around the small room, attempting to get an idea of where I was. I realized this wasn’t even a room, they shoved me inside a cramped box. I was left with absolutely no room to move around freely. My back and neck were in an odd position. My forelegs and hindlegs barely got enough space to extend fully.

As I continued to feel around the stuffy box, I realized how panicked my breathing became.

Oh, damn it! I need to get out! I need to get the fuck out of here now!

I dug my rear hooves into the ceiling, but that gave me no leeway. I was made painfully aware of how uncomfortable it was inside after a few minutes of testing the walls and ceiling. As I sat there, the worse the pain got in my neck and back.

“Let me out of here!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I pounded at the walls to the best of my ability. “Please! Get me the fuck out of here!” as my strength withered away. I screeched loudly and attempted to find a better position to get into, but to my dismay, I was forced to suffer in this position.

I went through different phases as I attempted to break the box. For a while, I sobbed and wept like a foal. I was relieved once my whole body suddenly became numb, moving caused me a great deal of pain, so I stopped entirely. I became oddly intrigued by the blood running through my ears. I imagined that there was a train beneath me, rolling through a subway station without stopping.

I also became angry at one point, screeching and roaring up a storm, pounding my hooves on the inner walls. After a while, I strained my voice and tired myself out. I could do nothing more than remain in this nightmare-inducing box.

My ears twitched at a peculiar noise beneath me. Something shuffled across the floor, and before I could figure out what that noise was, the box moved.

“Hello?” I frantically clawed at the box ceiling. “Please, get me out of here. I’ll do all your work!” my voice became brittle as I begged for freedom. I tried to push aside the thought that they wouldn’t let me out, but the ceiling top creaked open. A pony wearing a gas mask peered inside and tilted their head.

“Good morning!” the pony chirped and pulled me out of the nightmarish box.

“Thank you! Holy fuck, thank you so much!” I babbled and then stood up straight. My neck and back didn’t feel like my own. It took a while before the blood started flowing, but the moment it did so. I couldn’t help but take great pleasure in being able to stand up straight and walk around freely.

I forgot about the pony who saved me, it was then that I glanced at the pony. Their whole body was covered head to toe in a trench coat. They couldn’t help but watch me. I imagined my savior grinned ear to ear behind that gas mask. My savior reached for their gas mask and pulled it off their face. Once their mask came off, I frowned deeply upon seeing who it was.

“Lassie, you’re not free yet.” the bandit mare from earlier said and then chuckled under her breath.

I glowered at the mare in front of me. It was Deathwish. I swallowed the lump in my throat as my blood began to boil and my head started to throb harder. Without hesitation, I lunged forward at a newfound speed, my hoof clenched as I prepared to strike at Deathwish. But, when I expected it to connect, she followed up by grabbing my foreleg. She jerked me so hard that it felt like my foreleg would pop out of its socket. In an instant, she wrapped her hooves around my torso and body-slammed me against the floor with an audible thud.

I lied there motionless for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, it took me a full minute before I was able to catch my breath and gather what just happened.

“Holy fuck...” I rasped. At that moment I started wondering why she hadn’t killed me yet.

“Lassie,” Deathwish sighed. “I’m tryin’ to help you!”

“That’s horseshit!” I had no strength to fight back, but my hatred for this mare was alive, much like a blazing fire. I had to eliminate her.

“Okay, how about we put you back in the box?” Deathwish asked as she glanced back at the wooden crate they stuffed me in earlier.

“No!” I shook my head wildly. “Don’t do that! Don’t put me back in there!” I uttered as tears began to stream down my face.

“Right, then listen,” Deathwish glared down at me, her gaze didn’t break contact. “I knew when I first saw you and yer horn, I knew that I'd need help.” she paused, took a step back, and gave me some space to breathe.

Completely dumbfounded by this. I stared up at Deathwish wordlessly, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. I couldn’t tell if she was fucking with me one last time before she finally slit my throat.

“So, what do ya say? Want to help me?” she asked, her voice nearly inaudible. “You best be takin’ my offer, lassie. Otherwise, I’m going to have to kill you.” She added and took a step forward.

I sat there with too much on my plate. I made a few indecipherable noises as I tried to give her a straight answer... and then I finally found my voice.

“What’s going on here?” I asked hesitantly.

“A proposal.” Deathwish said with a chuckle as an unnerving grin crept across her lips.