V is for Venom the most painful of weapons
Fallout Equestria: The ABC Dangers of the Wasteland
V is for Venom
By Dice Warwick
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The clanging of pots and pans, the pinging of glass bottles, and the stomping of hooves was a constant within the caravan of five merchant ponies hauling heavily packed and oversized saddlebags. My employer, Moody Peddler, and I were at the back of the caravan, being late additions of the group it was left to us to keep an eye on the flank. Moody hadn’t wanted to spend the caps for a second mercenary, so he had opped in to joining this group through the mountains. It was going to be a longer route, but the raiders were not known for camping up there.
"Hay Keep, something feels off with my saddle bag, can you go and check it?" Moody asked me, and I rolled my eyes and checked.
Checking the large saddlebag that covered his side back, and flank, I found that the stitching in the back was coming loose, with a few gun barrels sticking through. "I fucking told you that you should have payed the extra caps for a better bag, the stiching is alredy falling appart back here."
"Well can you fix it?" He huffed.
"My job is to shoot or hit things, not fix your shit!" I snapped at him.
A long sigh came from Moody, “I know, I know, but can you at least do something that will keep the bag together until we get to town.?"
I scratched my chin for a moment, and then smirked. "Fine, but your going to pay me extra for this."
Moody groaned. "Fine, just don't let the bag tear open on me, that’s also your pay in there."
Grabbing a rope that hung on the side of his bag, I then tightly wrapped it around the bag, and over where the tear was forming, finishing it up with a sturdy knot. "That should hold it together."
"Thanks, now lets catch up to the others." Moody got back to totting, and we picking up the pace a little. Through the cloudy sky the sun was growing lower as we moved through a mountain canon, it slowly dipping out of view. My eyes catching a glimpse of movement above, it too far away to make out. "What is it Keep?" Moody asked, seeing me scan the cliffside intensely.
"Shh!" I breathed, and he stopped, along with his baggs clanking, making things more silent. After a moment, I heard some jipping, and sighed. "Just coyotes."
Moody sighed as well. "I hate those mangy mutts, but they don't normally attack full grown ponies."
After some more brisk trotting, we caught up with the caravan, one of their guards giving me the stink eye. Bitch was probably jealous of my gear, it all was custom made by the Gun Runner’s Fillydelphia. My clan were hired by Red Eye to guard the walls, so we had access to the good stuff in terms of armor and guns. I had black matted combat armor, marked with my clan's emblem, a white scorpion, and connected to an old sturdy battle saddle were two 10mm SMGs, both had extended magazines. Overall, I was far more professional looking then the six other guards in the caravan, whom were not much more than a poorly disiplin militia. They had worn out looking leather armor over farmer rags, and their hunting rifles were corded with rust.
The four other merchants were not much better off looking, unlike Moody, it looked like they just read a bunch of potato sacks together, and called them saddlebags. Though, unlike moody, their bags weren't ready to rip open, so they at least seemed to know what they were doing.
The sun had finally dipped behind the mountain, and it was quickly becoming dark. Each of the merchants turned on a lantern, and continued our journey. We were not going to stop for the night, as to make up for the lost time of taking this long route. It was dangerous to travel through a mountain at night, but the caravans leader insured us that the path was mostly safe and as long as we kept to the path. At Least we were in the back, so the risk of falling off a cliff was low for us.
I did my best to keep an ear out, every now and then I could hear another coyote yip through all the clanking of the merchants. The canines were following us out of curiosity, it was nothing out of the normal, and like Moody has said, not a huge threat to us. But still, I was getting me a bad feeling.
"FUCK!" A guard cried out.
*Blam*
"A fucking rattle snake bit me!" The same caravan guards yelled.
Another guard ran over to the injured guard and asked. "Did you hit it?"
"Don't think so, I didn't even get a good look at it before it jumped away." The guard then stumbled. "Wait, snakes can snakes jump… or yip?"
A third guard ran over to them with a kit. "I got some anti venom, just stay still."
Something seemed off, my tongue on my bits trigger, the bad feeling only getting worse, and familiar. "Moody, I don't think we got coyotes following us, so get close to me."
He did just that. "If it's not coyotes, then what is it."
"Shoot your flare gun into the air, and we'll see if my hunch is right." I told him.
"Alright, but the flairs coming out of your pa…" Another guard screamed, followed by them firing off their rifle. What was attacking did not want to be seen, meaning it can’t have been a rattlesnake. "Firing a flare!" Moody yelled, and with a foosh, a bright red light launched itself into the air.
The area was illuminated in a red glow, reveling that we were surrounded by a large pack of coyote rattlesnake hybrids, I could see at least twenty of them. "Yep, night stalkers." Was all I said before all tartarus broke loose.
The caravan guards fired off their rifles wildly, managing to kill two of the night stalkers before the monsters scattered and attacked. Hissing and rattling their tails before leaping into a bight, the guards hunting rifles fired too slowly to keep up with them. The Night Stalkers quickly learned the pattern, and after a guared would shoot, the monster would attack. One by one, the night stalkers would bite into the guards and merchants before running off.
A few came for Moody and I, but he was fine as all he needed to do was retreat into his tortus like shell of a saddlebag, protecting all but his face from the night stalkers, of which he then covered his face with a pan. I on the other hoof was mostly in the open, using Moody to have my back, but unlike the other guards, my SMGs were more than enough to take them out, and my reflexes were quick enough not to get caught off guard. After the first few minutes of the attack I had three dead night stalkers around me to provide as a warning to the monsters.
Barking at me, the night stalkers would begin the circle around, watching me. The two of us were the only ones not bit, making us dangerous to them, unlike the rest of the caravan. I watched as the rest of the caravan would vomit and fall over, succumbing to the night stalker venom. Soon after, the night stalkers would drag the unfortunate ponies away, they whimpering for somepony to save them, all before being drowned out by the sound of cheerful yips, barks, and howls.
"Arnt you going to help them?" Moody asked, still keeping a low profile under his baggs.
I shook my head. "Not the best idea, there’s too many of them, and if I leave, they will come for you. Also, I doubt there's enough antivenom for all of them."
He grumbled, "Then what, we can't just wait here all night!"
Seeing me distracted, another night stalker charged, and I pulled the trigger on my bit, and sending a burst of led into the monster, killing it. "Were going to have to, running now will only trigger their case instinct. By standing our ground, and not making sudden motions, they will be more wherey of us."
"Keep, I think one just jumped onto my saddlebag!" He shouted.
I turned in time to see a hissing night stalker jump down at me from the large saddle bag. I managed to block it with my leg, the monster biting into my armored fenlock, and braking its fangs. With a swift slam of my other hoof, I felt its skull crack before it lifelessly tumbled away. The sounds of paws hitting the ground hard caught my attention, and turned to glare at the next night stalker, whom stopped in its tracks. Growling at it, the monster tucked its rattlesnake tale under its legs, and backing away slowly.
"That's right, know your place bitch!" I shouted right before feeling a sharp pain back leg, a pain that turned to a strong burning sensation. Looking back, I saw a small night stalker biting into the back of my leg, its fangs having gone passed where my armor was. Swiftly kicking the runt with a hefty buck, it flew off and hit a large rock, and fell to the ground dead. I got back into my defensive position, knowing I was in for a bad time.
"Shit, are you alright Keep?" Moody now sounded very worried.
I was now feeling a bit light headed, and my mouth was salivating. "If their venom is anything similar to that of a rad-scorpions, then maybe."
He retreated deeper under his saddlebag. "Are we, going to die."
My vision blurred a little, and my body felt week, forcing me to struggle to just hold my body up. All the while, the night stalkers gathered around me, none getting close, the six I killed was enough of a warning for them to not try and attack again. Well, not attack while I'm standing, if I would collapse, they would be all over me before I could get back up. "Yrust me…" I slurred, my throat was sore, and my voice was weak. "Trust me, my clans known for surviving worst venom than this."
"You say that, but you sound like you're about to die!" Moody stated.
"Not as bad as you were after our second date." I said, feeling like death. "Maybe after this we can have a celebrity romp, and see how well you come out this time?"
He groaned in frustration. "How can you talk about sex at a time like this? Also fuck that, I don't need to be bed ridden over your flank."
I laughed, and it hurt.
The night went on, and the night stalkers and I continued our standoff. Every now and then, one would take a step forward, and I would fire a shot at them, re-establishing myself as a threat. One of the bastards began dragging parts of a merchant over, chewing on his flesh and bone as it stared me down. It was a game of who would give up first, and I was not keen on losing, not to some mutant coyotes.
….
….
….
With heavy eyes, and wobbly legs, I still stood as it finally it came, light glowed through the clouds, and slowly illuminating the canyon. The sun had returned, and with it, the night stalkers finally began to retreated. A few at first, but soon they all wandered off back to wherever their den was, leaving us with what was left of the mangled corpses of the caravan, and their dead.
I stood there for ten more minutes, if a bit longer before letting my legs collapsed under me. "Keep!" Moody cried, popping out from under his saddle bag, holding his fryingpan up, ready to fight. "You better not die on me… wait, their gone!"
I took a deep breath. "I'm going to be fine, the venoms already passing I just need to rest."
Moody detached himself from his oversized saddle bag. "You White Scorpions are something crazy, taking venom like that when everypony else dropped like flies. But still, let me scavang something to help you out."
"If they had booze, get me that too!" I shouted with a pained voice.
He glared back at me. "The fuck you will be drinking, not when your pregnent."
I shrugged while on the ground. "Oh getting venomized is fine, but no booze! Your sounding like my grandmother."
Moody trotted back with a healing potion, and some bandages. "She sounds like a smart mare, and I'd like to meet her some day, now let me patch you up." He treated my leg, which was only a little swollen, and gave me the healing potion. "Alright, you take a break while I fix my saddlebag."
The venom had run its course through my body, and I was only dealing with some of its after effects, the healing potion did help to make me feel better. Looking around, I spotted a night stalker far above us, looking back down, our eyes meeting for a brief moment before it darted off. I made a mental note to one day come back here with a hunting party, night stalkers make great guard dogs for places you want no pony to go, meaning their worth a lot of caps of a pony could get their hooves on the.
But right now I need to take a nap, then get us the fuck out of here.
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The end
