Fallout Equestria: Future Visions

Fallout Equestria: Future Visions

By: DJ Bron3

Editor: Dr. Hoofs

Chapter 4: Patience

“When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves”

Time. Time is a precious thing. Sometimes ponies have too much time, sometimes ponies have too little time. Sometimes time seems to move fast, sometimes it seems to move slow. The amount of time it takes to do something is usually determined by how fast you do it. The amount of time it took Candy, Cobalt, Wonderhoof, and I to walk to the Crystal Empire was unbearable.

Because we were in the eastern corner of the wasteland, it took us several hours to reach the Ponyville ruins, and it became dark by the time we got there. From the information in the stable’s books, 200 years ago, Ponyville was the home of Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. From what I heard from DJ Pon3 and Cobalt, nowadays, Ponyville was now the home of raiders. But we had told Cobalt that the Stable Dweller cleared the ruins of raiders and saved multiple ponies from them. He apparently forgot everything we told him.

“How come it’s so quiet? Raiders are never quiet.” Cobalt commented. Yep, he forgot what we told him. “Oh yeah. There’s something we forgot to tell you Cobalt. There’s this pony called the ‘Stable Dweller’ and she’s the one who killed all the raiders in these ruins remember?” His expression became a combination of surprise and confusion. “Stable Dweller’? But you came from a stable didn’t you? Why are you calling somepony else ‘Stable Dweller’?”

I had forgotten two other things. One, that we had just rescued him from being trapped under a pile of rubble several hours ago, and two, that he didn’t have a pip-buck. So even if he hadn’t been trapped, he wouldn’t have been able to hear DJ Pon3’s radio broadcast.

“Well you see, there’s this pony on the radio, DJ Pon3, and he broadcasted a report after we left the stable, and he’s how we found out about the Stable Dweller.” I hoped I wasn’t going too fast for him, but he seemed to be following what I was saying.

Then Wonderhoof spoke. “They told me a little about the stable they came from. Stable 27.” Cobalt then seemed to ponder something. “I see,” he said. “So DJ Pon3 broadcasted that before you three rescued me. Did he say how long ago the Stable Dweller came out of their stable? Or which Stable it was?” I shook my head. “Only that they came out of Stable 2.” I doubted that ‘The Stable Dweller’ was the pony’s real name. Just a name used for discretion when talking about somepony’s heroics. My thoughts were once again interrupted by my pip-buck. The music cut off a second time, replaced by DJ Pon3’s voice.

“That was Sweetie Belle with ‘Let it go’. Just giving us all a reminder that sometimes, when things are at their worst, it’s best to just forgive and forget. This is DJ Pon3 with a shout-out to all my listeners back east around the Hoof. I know some of you feel like you don’t get as many headlines out there, but it’s a great big old Wasteland. So this news is just for you, Hoofington. Turns out the road between Manehattan and the Hoof is just a little safer now thanks to a pair of ponies fresh from a stable. You’re gonna love this… looks like the Hoof has just a little more Security than a few days ago. That’s right, she’s got it displayed loud and proud. She’s already carved up the raiders from Withers all the way to Megamart, and she doesn’t look like she’s going to be stopping any time soon. So here’s a big thank you from DJ Pon3 to the Security Mare. Looking forward to seeing what law and order you bring down next.”

Just like before, his voice ended, and music continued to play. “First ‘The Stable Dweller’, and now ‘Security Mare’? This guy is really inventive when it comes to nicknames.” Cobalt said, almost exactly quoting me from the first time I heard DJ Pon3 talk.

“I said the same thing when he did his report on the Stable Dweller.” I replied, letting him know he almost quoted me. “Really?” He replied. As if he didn’t believe me. Or maybe he was just joking. “Yeah, almost the exact same thing. Except I said ‘Stable Dweller’ instead of ‘Security Mare’.” Then it was Candy’s turn. “And I joked about what name DJ Pon3 would give our own DJ here.” I rolled my eyes. The conversation was still fresh in my head, along with the sight of bones outside my stable and me blowing somepony’s brains out. Once again, I locked those thoughts in my inner closet of thoughts I didn’t want to think about.

“That makes two more ponies who came out of their stable. What is going on? Is this a big coincidence or what?” A part of my mind thought it was too big of a coincidence, but the other part didn’t want to think about anything other than it being a coincidence.

Cobalt then shared his thoughts, “‘Law and order’? Seriously? This is the wasteland! There is no law and order!” Before Candy could share her thoughts, my pip buck chimed in with DJ Pon3’s voice again.

“This is a special announcement about yet another stable dweller. Actually, two more stable dwellers! One a DJ like yours truly, and the other a unicorn! The DJ and his friend came to visit yours truly before taking out a raider camp that was a little too close to Tenpony with the help of the local doctor, and in the process, rescued a lonely changeling from being trapped! What is happening in the wasteland nowadays? Are all these ponies coming out of their stables just to help us? Your guess is as good as mine my little ponies.”

“And now it’s time for a public service announcement. Remember ponies, when the raiders come, there’s no shame in hiding under the nearest table and hoping they just pass by. Raiders can’t be bargained or reasoned with. So run, hide, or fight if you’ve got the courage and the ammo. But by the looks of things, we won’t have to worry about raiders for long, because all these ponies are coming out of their stables and taking them out! And now, time for some music.”

Unbelievable. Watcher was right. DJ Pon3 actually did a report on us. I didn’t think it would happen, but it did. I looked u from my pip-buck and saw the floating robot Watcher hat controlled the last time. “You get all that Watcher?” I asked the machine. Watcher’s voice came from the depths of it’s mechanics. “I told you so DJ” Wonderhoof and Cobalt were surprised that I knew the name of the machine, or that I was talking to a machine, or both. “There’s more of you than last time.” Congratulations Watcher, you just named yourself Captain Obvious. “Watcher, this is Wonderhoof, the doctor from Tenpony, and Cobalt, the changeling we rescued.” I said while pointing with my hoof to each of my new companions respectively.

I then looked at my surroundings again. The Ponyville ruins were, as the name implied, ruins. Some buildings were completely destroyed. Some buildings had chunks missing so you could see the inside of the building. One or two buildings were miraculously intact. The one thing that was in abundance was graffiti.

Apparently, the raiders were also into spray painting. On every building, there were graphic images. One of somepony blowing another pony’s brains out. Similar to what I did to a raider once. One of, well, multiple swear words and other vulgar language, and several of...mating....ponies. Those of ponies having sex I was most uncomfortable with. It was sad how this town could have changed so much from one of the happiest, friendliest places in Equestria to what I was seeing before my eyes.

Suddenly, I had and idea. Even if the Stable Dweller cleared out all the raiders in these ruins, I didn’t want to risk the chance of getting somepony hurt if she missed any. I didn’t see any red bars on my E.F.S, but you can never be too careful. I wanted to take Cobalt’s advice and go around. And I knew exactly where to go.

In DJ Pon3’s report on the Stable Dweller, he mentioned a ‘Wasteland Survival Guide’. He said the Stable Dweller saved the author. I tried to remember the name of the author. What was the name?! Suddenly it came to me. Ditzy Doo.

“DJ, are you sure about this? If we make this side trip, it will take us even longer to reach the Crystal Empire” Cobalt complained after I told them my plan. “I promise this will be worth the time Cobalt. Who wouldn’t want a survival guide to the wasteland?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe somepony with a sense of time?” Jeez, somepony was on edge lately. Ever since he heard DJ Pon3’s latest report, Cobalt seemed a little bit tense. “Is something wrong Cobalt?” He shook his head. “No, it’s just, how did DJ Pon3 know what happened? We were the only ponies there when you killed the raiders and rescued me.” I just shrugged because I didn’t really know. Watcher had said that DJ Pon3 had eyes and ears all over the wasteland. Maybe it had something to do with all the terminals I had seen in Homage’s studio.

“What are your thoughts on this Wonderhoof?” I turned my face while we kept walking back south to Old Appaloosa. I didn’t know which Appaloosa was the one where Ditzy Doo lived, but my pip-buck probably knew. And if I got it wrong, then we would just go to the right one. But what if I got it wrong and somepony got killed? I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened. I would do everything in my abilities to protect my friends.

Wonderhoof seemed lost in thought, so I asked again, slightly louder “Wonderhoof?” Suddenly, he whipped his face around to face me. “Sorry DJ, I was just…....lost in thought. What did you say?” I started to wonder what he could possibly have to be lost in thought about, but I figured it wasn’t my business. “What are your thoughts on DJ Pon3’s report about us?”

“Oh” he said, still slightly confused. “I’m not really sure what to say. Nopony in Tenpony has any idea who DJ Pon3 really is. The only thing we know about him is that his assistant is Homage, nothing much else. And about his report on us, I have even less to say. He has eyes and ears all over Equestria and has been reporting about everypony’s heroics for years. Some ponies say that DJ Pon3 is an immortal ghoul and that’s how he’s been around for so long.” I remembered Homage telling me about ghouls. They were ponies who absorbed enough radiation to become undead monsters.

“Some say he’s a unicorn who found an undying spell or through some necromancy.” Cobalt chimed in. Wonderhoof turned to face him and told him something else he heard about the famous DJ.

“I’ve heard that he’s an earth pony”

“I’ve heard he’s a pegasus”

“Maybe he’s a changeling like you”

“Or some kind of Unity defected alicorn”

“Probably not. The Goddess keeps them in tight connection.”

Unity? Alicorn? Goddess? I knew I saw alicorns from the observation room of Stable 27, but I didn’t know they were in some sort of named group, or had a leader. I had to ask. “I’m sorry.” Candy and I interrupted Wonderhoof and Cobalt’s back and forth banter about the possibilities of what kind of pony DJ Pon3 was. “What are Unity Alicorns? And who is the Goddess?” We asked in perfect unison.

Apparently,Candy was wondering the same thing as I was, because we both stared at each other in shock. Cobalt’s mouth dropped while Wonderhoof answered me. “I keep forgetting that you and Candy are from a stable.” We both blushed before listening to Wonderhoof again. “Nopony really knows where they came from or what they actually are, other than they are really tall ponies with magic and flight abilities, so ponies just started calling them ‘alicorns’ because before the war, there were the princesses who were alicorns, and they say the blue ones look just like Princess Luna.”

I shook my head again, confused. “I’m sorry, blue ones?” Wonderhoof chuckled, “Sorry, maybe I should slow down a little. There are three types of Unity alicorns. Blue alicorns, green alicorns, and purple alicorns. Each with their own unique powers and abilities.”

I seemed to be following along. So blue, green, and purple alicorns. “What powers do they have?” He shrugged. “Nopony knows except those who have actually seen them with their own eyes. I’ve never seen an alicorn for real, so I can’t say.”

Damn. I was really hoping to find out exactly what power these “Alicorns” had. If they were anything like Celestia, Luna, or Cadence, they had to be good. But anyway, back to the task at hoof.

Reaching Appleloosa was going to take even longer than it did to reach the Ponyville Ruins because we had to go even further south than Stable 27, which was already in the southern part of the wasteland. If we traveled all the way to Appleloosa, it would take us longer to reach the Crystal Empire than it would if we would just keep walking from where we were.

Still, it would be very helpful to have a guide to the wasteland.

After a few more hours of walking, we finally reached what my pip-buck indicated as “Slaver Town”. The entire town was fenced in, with guard posts every so dozen feet. I had a feeling we came to the wrong place.

“Hey!” A guard yelled from above us. We looked up to see him. “Are you slavers or a caravan?” He asked us. Slavers? As in, buying and selling ponies like someone’s property? And caravan? I tried to remember what that word meant, but I couldn’t.

“I don’t see a brahmin with you, and that armor. Are the you and the unicorn from a stable?” He asked as he pointed at me. “Yes. You two are definitely from a stable. But what about that other pegasus and the weird bug-pony?” I looked at Cobalt, and saw that he seemed serious. The guard laughed and pointed at him “Are you mutated or were you just born like that?”

I looked back to Cobalt. He was glaring at the guard like he wanted to kill him. I think the guard might have struck a nerve. As for Cobalt, he wasn’t saying much. Candy was just staring at the guard with a mean look in her eyes. I had never seen that kind of look on Candy’s face before. It didn’t belong there.

“Well?!” The guard yelled. “Are you gonna say something or what you freak?!” That was the straw that broke the changeling’s back. The shell on Cobalt’s back opened, and out sprouted two transparent wings. They started buzzing like a fly’s and Cobalt lifted into the air to the guard tower. Don’t be impulsive Cobalt. Please don’t antagonize the guard who was nice enough not to shoot us with the gun on his back.

A second later, Cobalt was face to face with the guard. The guard jumped back in surprise. “Now listen here!” Cobalt yelled at the guard. “Where did you learn your manners?! Just because I don’t look like a normal pony doesn’t give you the right to make fun of me!” The guard was shaking now. A green flash of light illuminated from Cobalt’s body, and Cobalt became an exact clone of the guard. That made him even more scared. “Gah fuck! What the hell are you?!”

Cobalt reverted back to his own form and stared straight at the guard. “I’m a changeling! Not a mutated, bug-pony combination FREAK!” At the word, he flew back down to us. When he landed, he was completely calm.

“What?” he asked when he realised we were staring at him in complete shock. “What’s wrong with blowing off some steam?” We just still stared at him. True, nothing was wrong with blowing off steam. But that, that was not blowing off steam. That was complete anger rage. It was not something we had seen in Cobalt.

Brushing the last few seconds aside like they didn’t happen, Cobalt turned back to the tower. “I would like to talk to your boss if you don’t mind,” he yelled at the tower. A few seconds later, the gate opened without the guard having said a word. Wow, I didn’t think that would actually work.

Once we were inside, we saw what looked like a makeshift base. Ammunition boxes were scattered around. Some looked like they were locked. Guards were on top of posts and were looking out to the wasteland. We also saw ponies in cages with collars on their necks. What they were for, I had no clue.

Suddenly, a guard was walking up to us. “Come with me. I’ll lead you to the boss.” he said, and turned away before waiting to see if we would actually follow. I guess we had to, seeing as how the guard had been so serious. He also had a sniper rifle slung across his back, and I could still remember the raider with a sniper rifle shooting Candy in the leg. So we followed.

We passed several cages with several ponies in them each. We also passed several guards cleaning guns. They payed us no attention as we walked by.

After a few minutes of walking, we reached a set of double doors. “Wait here,” the guard told us, and he slipped inside and closed the doors behind him.

“Well?” I asked Cobalt. I turned around and saw that he still had a stern look on his face. “What was that all about?” He had the nerve to respond with, “What was what all about?”

“Are you serious?! You just yelled the ears off of that guard back there, and then you ask to see his boss?!” Before Cobalt could explain himself, the other guard came out again. “The boss will see you now.” I guess i would have to drill Cobalt about his actions later.

The inside of the room was dark. There were no windows, and the only illumination was from a single light hanging from the ceiling. The only furniture was a desk at the end of the room with a swiveling chair on the other side facing away from us.

“Welcome,” said a voice. It was deep and raspy. Cobalt was the first of us to speak. “You! You traitor! Show me your ugly face!” Huh? Candy spoke next. “Cobalt, do you know this pony?” Cobalt nodded. “Or at least I thought I knew him. That rat bastard left me to the raiders.”

He what?! I had wondered what Cobalt was doing under a pile of rubble when we found him. Now I knew. This traitorous little piece of shit left him to die and he knew it. He didn’t even have the humility to show his face.

“I didn’t betray you, I made a strategic retreat. I was going to come back for you.” Apparently, the bastard was going to make an excuse. Cobalt wasn’t buying it. “You liar! You were never coming back! I waited for who knows how long under that ruined building!”

The voice kept it’s cool as it tried to explain. “Look Cobalt, I was going to get the others to try and dig you out, but I forgot I had an important meeting to attend.”

“See?! You just made that up! You didn’t have a meeting to attend!” Cobalt yelled back. He sure was pissed at the pony in the chair. The chair swiveled around. Celestia help us. Half of the pony’s face was gone, exposed to the bone, and the other half looked burned and was rotting. Candy screamed.

That explained the raspy voice. This pony was a ghoul. I remember Homage telling me about ghouls in Tenpony Tower, but I didn’t think I would see one for real, much less so soon. “Cobalt, I was going to come back for you. In fact, I was making a plan to arrange a rescue party right now.”

Cobalt still wasn’t fooled. “You changed the story again! Admit it! You were never coming back for me!” Cobalt was mad, Candy was frightened, Wonderhoof wasn’t saying anything, and I had had just about enough of this. “THAT’S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!” I yelled at the two of them, who looked at me in surprise. “That’s better.” I said more calmly. “Now Cobalt, explain to us exactly how you know this pony and what happened between the two of you. But calmly.” Cobalt sighed. Either because he realized that this wasn’t going anywhere, or because he thought I was scary when I was mad. Probably not the second one.

“I met him weeks ago.” Cobalt started. “When I first left the Crystal Empire, being the first to leave in over 200 years. I met him soon after I passed the Ponyville ruins. He said he would stay with me, help me fight. Until we went against the raiders, I actually thought I could trust him.”

“So what happened when you went against the raiders?” I asked. Cobalt sighed again before continuing. “We were outnumbered and outgunned. The raiders were beginning to surround us. He threw a grenade at the wall behind me. It exploded, causing the wall the fall on top of me. The last thing I remember hearing is the raiders shooting at him as he ran away.”

So that explained everything. I assumed the raiders trapped him there, but now I understood that it was this pony’s fault that Cobalt was trapped under rubble when we found him. “But what is his name Cobalt?” I looked at the rotting ghoul. Cobalt pointed at him and said, “Crossbones”.

Crossbones, huh? Ironic name for a ghoul. “So he was alive before the bombs fell?” I asked Cobalt. “Yep.” The ghoul replied for him. “And during. And after.”

Before, during, and after the war? Becoming so irradiated that you live forever? No wonder Homage told me that most ghouls lose their minds after transforming. But somehow, this ghoul had managed to keep his sanity. How? I needed to know.

“Did it hurt?” I asked the ghoul. His became howling laughter. “Oh yes it did! Of course it did! It hurt so much that I wanted to put a pullet in my head. Fortunately, there were no guns nearby. And I’m glad there wasn’t, because now I’m immortal! I will live forever! I have outlived the princesses! I will outlive you! I’m practically a god! HAHAHAHA!”

He finally stopped laughing, caught his breath if he was breathing, and calmed down. “Anyway, I wandered the wastes for years, seeing how everything had been destroyed, trying to find a reason to live. Then, I found this place after almost two hundred years of walking around. Finally, a place to call my own again.”

Cobalt interrupted him with anger, “It’s a slaver camp! You killed the original boss here and took over as the leader!” How did Cobalt know that?

“Wait, so it was a slaver camp before or after you took over?” I asked Crossbones. He kept smiling. I wished he would stop doing that, because it was taking a lot of effort not to throw up from the sight of the ghoul, not to mention the smell. Something told me that Crossbones hadn’t bothered to wash himself after 200 years. It was either that or the fact that he was a walking corpse. Maybe both.

“Both my friend.” He said as he got out of his chair. Now I could see him better as he stepped into the light. He was a light brown earth pony with a skull and crossbones for a cutie mark. It also wasn’t just half of his face that was exposed. His entire body was decomposing. Chunks of flesh from his right foreleg and left hind leg were missing also, revealing the bone underneath.

Candy stood frozen, Cobalt wasn’t phased, and even Wonderhoof made a disgusted face. It seemed that ponies living in Tenpony were used to a higher standard of looks.

“You see, when I got here, the slave business was already up and running.” he started. “When I asked if I could stay here for a while to get back on my hooves again, they told me to either fuck off or put on a collar. Naturally, I wasn’t gonna do either of those things, so I blasted his brains and took over, bada bing, bada boom.”

I really found it distasteful how the ghoul ended the story. Also, ‘bada bing bada boom’? Who says that?

“But how did this place become a slaver town anyway?” I asked him. Crossbones frowned. “Look kid, I get stuff done first, ask questions later, so if you ain’t buyin’ or sellin’, get the fuck out.”

Cobalt was suddenly in the ghoul’s face. “Hey! That’s my friend you’re talking to!” Crossbones kept his cool despite having an angry changeling in his face. “Aw, that’s sweet, but you who else was your friend? Me! And as soon as you saw an opportunity, you betrayed the one pony who loved you the most!”

Now I was confused. What was he talking about? “Uh, DJ?” Candy asked me. “What is he talking about?” she said, replicating my own thoughts. “I have no idea.” I responded.

“It was an accident!” Cobalt said, redirecting our attention. “I didn’t mean to! It wasn’t my fau-”
“THEN WHO’S WAS IT?!” The ghoul shot back, once again frowning. “Who’s fault was it if it wasn’t yours, hmm? Are you saying it was my fault? Are you saying it was your friends’ faults?” He asked coyly. “Who’s fault was it really?” he continued.

Cobalt started looking guilty. And it was time I stepped in. “His fault for what?!” I asked Crossbones. The ghoul looked at me like I just rained on his parade. “You haven’t mentioned, said, or referenced anything that Cobalt did!” The ghoul chuckled. “Oh but I have mentioned it. Weren’t you paying attention? I said he betrayed the pony who loved him the most.”

I tried to wrap my head around who a pony could love the most. A friend? A family member? “Cobalt?” I asked cautiously. “Who was the pony he is saying you betrayed?”

Cobalt sighed and stifled a sniffle. “My brother.”

Candy, Wonderhoof, and I all gasped at the same time. “Your brother?! You didn’t tell us you had a brother!” We all said simultaneously. Cobalt took a step back in surprise. “Well, it was never really brought up-” “Ah! So you haven’t told them your little secret.” Crossbones interrupted Cobalt again. Something told me Cobalt didn’t tell us the whole story.

“Cobalt! Crossbones! Both of you tell us exactly what you are talking about and exactly what happened!” I yelled at them.

“Wow, this one is annoying. Constantly yelling.” I shot the ghoul a nasty look and shut him up. “I mean in a good way.” I groaned. “Calm down DJ. This isn’t anywhere near as annoying as he was when I first met him.” Cobalt replied in response to my increasing frustration. These two were really working my last nerve.

“Alright, enough of this. Tell us everything and tell us now.” I demanded to know why this ghoul would say this changeling betrayed his own brother. Seriously, its like they were trying to stall forever.

“Fine, fine. We’ll tell you.” Crossbones said impatiently.

“You see, when Cobalt came to find me, he wasn’t alone. He had his brother with him as well.” He started. “It was the both of them who asked me for help. I must admit that my first thought was that you and your brother would fetch a high price on the market Cobalt.”

Cobalt looked horrified. “You were going to sell us?!” Crossbones waved the question aside. “Sell you, keep you, kill you, it doesn’t matter. But what does matter is this. I didn’t. Instead, I gave you a much better deal. I stick by your side and help you get where you wanted to go, you keep to yourself about your past, why you wanted to go there, and I keep to myself about asking you, because honestly, I just didn’t care. As long as you paid me for my services.”

“He’s not lying.” Cobalt added. “He agreed to show us where to go as long as neither of us asked the other about why. Oh, and as long as I paid him in caps for his help.”

I tried to follow the story, but Crossbones talked a mile a minute, but luckily Cobalt gave me the abridged version, so I didn’t say anything.

“Anyways.” Crossbones started again. “We both agreed to the terms, so that’s basically how we met each other. Then came the raiders.”

“You already know the basics.” Cobalt stepped in. “But here are the details. You see, the first time we fought raiders, my brother and I didn’t have any experience at all with fighting, so Crossbones here tried to protect us. He was doing very well, but even he couldn’t keep it up forever. The raiders started surrounding us. I got the feeling that we weren’t going to make it out alive, so I told him to make run for it. He told me I was crazy if I thought he was going to leave me there, but I told I’d be fine and that he should get help. He finally agreed, but the raiders saw him trying to fly away, and… and they shot him down. I saw my brother killed right in front of my eyes.”

I was going to try to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. “Cobalt you couldn’t have known that would happen-” “But it did!” Crossbones interrupted. “And if it weren’t for you, Copper, that was his brother’s name by the way, would still be alive! Do you deny it?” He asked Cobalt. “No.” He said silently.

“Then you’re guilty.” the ghoul said. Cobalt’s response to that was even more shocking. He yelled, “NO!” and ran out of the room. “Cobalt!” Candy yelled. “Wait!” But it was too late. Cobalt was gone.

“You!” I yelled as I turned to the living corpse. “How could you say suck a thing?! It wasn’t his fault that his brother was killed. It was the raiders!”

Despite the fact that I was yelling at the top of my lungs, Crossbones continued to stay calm, which really annoyed me. “But if Cobalt wouldn’t have told his brother to fly off, he wouldn’t have gotten shot down.”

I hated to admit it, but he had a point. What was Cobalt thinking? And what about running off just now? What would he do? He could get himself killed if he just ran out into the wasteland. In all honesty, despite the fact that Cobalt kept a secret from us, he was still our friend. I had to go after him.

Without another thought, I darted out of the room too, with Candy and WOnderhoof right behind me. We ran up to the first guard we saw.

“Did you see Cobalt? Tall changeling? Blue with a red shell?” Luckily, the guard nodded. “He said something about going to the cells.”

“The cells?”

“Yeah. The cells are where we keep all the slaves before we either sell them or move them.”

“Where are these cells?”

The guard pointed his hoof to a door. Behind the door was a long hallway. There were windows on either side looking down on what could have been hundreds of cells. At the end of the hallway, there was a terminal next to an elevator. On the terminal, there were three option.

Activate Elevator

Slave Profiles

Cage Cameras

Before activating the elevator, I clicked on the cage cameras. Another screen popped up.

Cage 02

Cage 11

Cage 27

For some reason, I went straight for Cage 27. What I saw and heard were simply horrible. They were actually selling the pony inside. I couldn’t see the buyer or the seller. Just the pony inside. Se was a unicorn mare with a white hide, a light blue name, a cutie mark of a cupcake, and a red spray paint over said cutie mark of the number twenty seven.

Around her neck was a metal collar also with the number twenty seven on it with a rope attaching it to the wall. There was also a thick, gold ring around her horn witch in my guess stopped her from using her magic. There were also scars on her back that looked like marks from a whip. Red dots on her left foreleg also implied that the slavers had been using injected drugs to control her movement so she couldn’t resist. Her left ear was torn halfway down the middle, and her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying.

Part of the rope was stained red, with a tooth stuck in it. She tried to chew through the rope. Two more teeth were on the floor next to a puddle of the mare’s tears. Then the two ponies outside the cage started talking, but not before the mare said, “Who am I anymore?”

“She’s a good mare and she will do anything you tell her to do.”

“Does she have drug problems?”

“How do you think we trained her?”

“Can I whip her?”

“Or course. After you’ve paid for her.”

I couldn’t take any more of this. I closed out and activated the elevator. Apparently, my friends could tell I was up to something, because Wonderhoof asked in a cautious tone, “DJ what are you doing?”

I didn’t really want to tell them what I was about to do, but I had no other choice. After all, our changeling friend was down there anyway. “You heard what’s going on down there. We can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Candy and Wonderhoof looked to each other, and then to me, with a concerned look on their faces. “DJ, I understand that you want to help,” Wonderhoof said, “But there’s just nothing we can do to help her.”

Nothing?! There was nothing we could do?! I just didn’t buy it. There had to be something, anything that we could do to help that poor mare down there.

“No.” I said. “There has to be some way, any way we can help her, even just a little.” My friends were still skeptical, but I could tell even they couldn’t say no forever.

Wonderhoof spoke up. “As a doctor, I have little to no combat experience. But maybe you and Candy can knock out the two ponies who were talking, and then try to pick the lock on the cage.”

Picking a lock? For some reason, Stable 27’s library had a book that taught you how to pick a lock using a bobby pin and a screwdriver, so I had a basic idea on how to do it, but until now, I had no reason to put that skill to use.

“Sounds like a plan.” I said before anyone had time to hesitate. The three of us got in the elevator and I pushed the button with the arrow pointing down.

A minute later, we were on the same level as the cages. “Alright, look for cage number 27.” I said to my friends, who nodded in response. Each cage had it’s number above the door, so all we had to do was look for number 27 to find cage 27.

Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks, and I motioned for Candy and Wonderhoof to do the same. Why? Voices. They were the same voices we had heard on the terminal. They were the voices of the slavers who were buying and selling the mare in the cage.

I looked around the corner and sure enough, there were two ponies talking. One of the ponies, who according to his voice, was the one buying the mare. He was dark brown with a short blond, spiky tail. He was wearing leather armor and had a red cap on his head, with a unicorn horn poking out the top.

The other pony, the one selling the mare, was a white unicorn with a black mane and tail. She wasn’t wearing any armor, but simple clothes with a strap with lots and lots of bullets on it.

“Alright,” I said to Candy in a whisper. We didn’t want the slavers to hear us. “Can you levitate one of those boxes over there, and slam it into those two ponies?”

I thought it was simple enough, but of course Candy had to make things difficult. “Mind explaining to me why?” I facehoofed. Wasn’t it obvious? “Because if you do, it’ll knock those ponies unconscious so I can pick the lock and free that slave.”

Finally, Candy understood. “Oh, that makes sense. Sorry.” She said with a cute blush. Honestly, sometimes I really wonder about her. I rolled my eyes as I looked back around the corner.

As Candy worked her magic on one of the boxes, it started floating with the ever so slight glow of unicorn magic.

“Hey, what the-” was the last thing the male slaver said before both he and the other slaver were knocked out cold.

So far, so good. But now it was time for my part of the plan. I had to pick the lock on the cage. “Candy, do you have a screwdriver? And possibly some bobby pins?”

As Candy dug around in her saddlebags, she replied just like the smartass she was. “You mean to say that you put together this genius plan while at the same time either not knowing or forgetting that you didn’t have everything you needed to put it all together?”

I gave her my reply as she gave me the screwdriver and five bobby pins. “So I made a mistake. So what? Everything worked out in the end.” Then Wonderhoof stepped in. “I don’t know much about life in the stable, but I do know that out here in the wasteland, you can’t afford to make mistakes. It could get you killed.

What I couldn’t afford right now was distractions. I had already broken two pins trying to pick the lock while talking. Moving the pin into the right spot while turning the lock with the screwdriver was harder than t looked.

Finally, the lock turned all the way, and the door opened with a nice little click. “Hey.” I said to the mare inside. “We’re here to rescue you.”

“It’s no use.” The mare said with a sniffle. “Even with the door open, I still can’t get out as long as the collar around my neck is attached to the wall.”

Damn, that meant that even with all our hard work, we still couldn’t- “I got this.” Wonderhoof said, cutting off my thoughts. “I can get you out.” But how? The rope attaching the mare’s neck to the wall was as thick as my leg. Then he answered my unasked question by pulling out a bonesaw from his own saddlebag.

“Ah, I see.” I said in realization. “Yep. I’m gonna saw through this rope faster than Rainbow Dash could fly.” So Wonderhoof also knew about Rainbow Dash. He had been kinda quiet after we left Tenpony. Maybe he knew about Homage’s secret.

Apparently, he wasn’t kidding when he said he was fast. His bonesaw sawed through the rope like butter. In almost no time at all, the rope binding the mare to the wall was severed.

This time, the mare smiled for the first time since we had seen her, and probably for the first time in a long time. “Oh thank you, thank you. Thank you so much.” Same as with Cobalt, I was going to ask this mare her name. “My name is Cupcake. I know because I kept telling myself that I would never forget who I was. I have been praying to Celestia and Luna for years, and finally somepony has saved me from these awful slavers.”

Praying to Celestia and Luna? I didn’t need help to feel bad for her. “I’m DJ, and this is Candy and Wonderhoof.” I introduced myself and companions. “And don’t mention it. We just did what anypony would have done.” I said. “Oh, not everypony is a charming, handsome……..courageous…….Oh where was I? Oh, and brave pony as you are DJ.” I blushed as my friends rolled their eyes. “I’m very flattered Cupcake, but I just realized that you’d better save your thanks until we’re far away from here.”

Cupcake frowned, then looked around. “Sweet Celestia! I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot that we’re still in the building!”

“Technically, since we went down an elevator from ground level, I’d say we’re actually underground.” Cobalt corrected. We all shot him a dirty look. “Oops, sorry. Not helping.” he apologized. We rolled our eyes again. “Come on, it won’t take long before these ponies regain their consciousness and see that we’ve set you free.” Cupcake nodded, eager to leave.

We were just about to turn the corner when the two unconscious unicorns woke up. “Hey! What are you doing with that slave?!” the male yelled. “AW, SHIT! I JINXED IT! RUN!” I yelled, which was not really necessary, as my friends and I were already running from the slavers who were yelling, “STOP!” and “COME BACK WITH THAT SLAVE!” Yeah, right. I thought as I kept running towards the elevator that had brought us down. The four of us jammed into the elevator and pushed the button. The screen closed just in time. As the unicorn slavers started pounding on the door, we lifted into the air. As we looked down on our pursuers, their horns glowed and they started talking to the air. That couldn’t be good.

As we ascended, the gears in my brain started churning. What did that last spell the unicorns used do? They started talking to the air as if somepony were in front of them. Whatever it was, I was sure that it spelled bad news for me and my friends.

We reached the top of the elevator. And as we walked out, I was still thinking. Lost in thought, I was surprised to feel Cupcake touching my shoulder with her hoof, trying to grab my attention. “DJ, what will we do once we’re out of here? Its not like I can live the rest of my life as a runaway slave.” Honestly, I didn’t want to think about what to do with her once were a safe distance from the slaver camp. But, my brain did some quick thinking and came up with a temporary solution. “You can travel with us until we find someplace safe and far away from any slavers.” She seemed okay with my suggestion. For now.

Slowly, we stopped walking. Our path was blocked by a brown earth pony stallion with an afro mane and tail, a business suit, and dark black sunglasses. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with me. The boss wants to have a word with you.”

I almost choked on my own breath. Oh no. Was it about freeing the slave from captivity? Or something completely unrelated? Either way, I whispered to my friends to play along, hopefully out of range of the stallion’s earshot. “Alright, I’ll follow you.” I said as we started walking again. “Did he say anything about why he wanted to talk to us?” In front of us, the stallion shook his head. “All he said was for me to bring you to him.”

That didn’t sound good. Either somehow, Crossbones had found out about us rescuing Cupcake, or he just wanted to say goodbye to us before we left. But I didn’t intend to leave until I had found Cobalt. I would search the entire base if I had to!

Afro slaver stopped before a familiar looking set of doors. “Wait here.” Afro said to us, sneaking inside. I turned to face my companions. “Well, this isn’t exactly going according to plan now is it?” Candy replied with a hushed yell. “No it’s not! What are we still doing here?! We should be halfway to Appleloosa by now!” I reminded her that we were still looking for Cobalt. “What?! Are you crazy?! You are going to get us all caught! I’m surprised that they haven’t raised an alarm by now!”

I actually had been wondering about that myself. Why hadn’t they raised an alarm? If they knew, then why didn’t they just send every slaver in the camp after us? It would be the most efficient way to dispose of unwanted freedom fighters.

“Alright. Come in.” The Afro pony popped his head out to say. I gulped. Hopefully this was just a friendly conversation.

Crossbones sat in his signature chair with his signature smirk on his signature rotting face. His grin made me want to buck him upside the skull. But instead, I kept my emotions in check and kept my mouth shut. He had the home field advantage.

“Candy, DJ, Wonderhoof! So nice of you to join me again.”

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk: Element of Surprise- You should have seen this coming! Your sneak skill is increased by ten and you have an increased critical strike chance.