Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Those with Fangs, Part 3

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"Another odd thing I noticed when out hunting with Star Charter was the common tendency for some animals to grow larger than they should normally be. Mostly it was just a small change in size. A normally medium dog sized gecko becomes far more terrifying when one becomes as big as a large sized dog.

Stranger yet, the larger mutated animals were often smarter and more aggressive than their normal sized kin. Some even developed unique physical mutations or magical abilities that made them even more dangerous. But what was often the most terrifying things to come across were the giant mutant animals that no pony could fight alone and hope to win.

With all those monsters lurking about in the wasteland, it was understandable why the ponies had barely yet to rebuild. It was as though this wasteland itself birthed disasters to throw at the ponies only ever giving them a temporary piece before the next challenge charges in." ~ Azure Dice

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Again I woke up in the medical center, this time with a splitting headache and a bunch of bandages covering my face. The fight was a bit of a blur to me now, but I was sure I was smashed into the concrete floor. Quickly checking my head, I found that everything was fortunately still there and not dented.

“So how long was I out?” I asked any pony that might be here.

A slight rustle was soon followed by an answer from Slowtrot. “Little over four hours now.”

Turning my head to him, I saw Slowtrot breathe a sigh of relief. “It was a good thing we had some healing potions ready for you. She literally cracked your skull with that last move.”

Slowly getting up, my whole body was still in pain. It was only made worse by the headache. “Seriously, aren't healing potions supposed to get rid of the pain?” I grumbled.

“They’re only meant to keep you from dying, or aid in recovery. They're not some cure all,” he said sternly as he pulled out the med-x he used on me before. “The Ministry of Peace taught everypony how to properly use healing potions as part of a worker safety instruction. Had to take it every time I started a new job.”

Jabbing me with the med-x, the pain quickly began to dull as he continued. “Always make sure the wound is clean and any broken bone is set straight before administering the potion. Never assume the pony is fine after healing and help them to a clinic or hospital to be checked by a professional. Healing potions only fix immediate and surface injuries, but leave the injured part of the body weak until healed naturally.”

“So what if I get hit in the head again? Would my skull split open?” I sarcastically asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe. There were a few ponies back then who said they developed chronic pain from healing potion abuse or thinner skin that got damaged easily. Something about their own body’s ability to heal, slowing down, I think.”

Slowtrot picked up a lid covered pot from the ground then opened it to reveal sweet smelling popcorn. “What I’m saying is that once this is all over, you're going to need to rest and let your body properly recover. Now after you're done eating, go thank Harp. She got a hot plate working to keep that popcorn warm.”

I gladly muched down onto the tasty treat. There is sugar and starch crunching in between my teeth. Bridget would have loved to eat some herself.

“So, how’s Harp’s plan coming along?” I asked.

Sitting back in a chair, Slowtrot looked at his pipbuck for a moment. “She should have a prototype snake trap ready by now and show it to Spritz.”

I raised an eyebrow “That fast?”

He nodded. “She was hoping for a day, but Spritz knows we're up to something. She is keeping us on our hoof tips by rushing everything. No brakes, you can say.”

“Fucking bitch” I huffed.

Again he nodded. “Ya, but she ain’t no fool. She keeps a tight grip on everypony around her. Harp has already planned for that and is keeping her busy in maintenance with the snake hunt. So, for the time being, her eyes are not on the atrums.”

Finishing off my popcorn, I got out of the medical bed and stretched. “Then I should go take a look. See how everypony is doing.”

“You should talk with Bitter too. She's been cooking up something really weird since you got bit by that snake. She wants to talk to you about it,” Slowtrot advised me.

Still sore, but manageable, I trotted out and down into the airtum where things were a lot more lively. It was no party, but clearly the ponies from Spritz’s side were unwinding. Some were drinking what little booze we still had and others were smoking the chem from before,. They let themselves figuratively melt. I even saw a few stallions with kiss marks on the side of their face. They clearly had spent some time with Cherrie’s mares.

While Spritz is away, these ponies will play.

One stallion saw me and stumbled. “Oh fuck! You are already up!”

I grinned. I only now noticed that my face was still wrapped up. “Ehhh, I’ve been through worse.”

Removing the bandages from my face, the pony looked shocked at first, then relaxed. “You're looking quite good for a pony who just had her head smashed in. Say, you want to go up to the private room?”

“Don’t test your luck.” I said deadpanly as I glared at the pony.

“Say no more, boss,” the stallion nervously spoke then quickly scrambled away.

A whistle caught my attention. I saw Cherry waving down at me. She was hanging off a stallion. I would have been fine with it, let the whore do her work, but the bitch was wearing the same outfit as I was. “Star dear, so glad you're back up and so soon. You really are a pony not to take lightly.”

“The fuck is with the outfit?” I spat up at her.

She grinned wildly. “Oh, this? I made a few along with yours. As it turns out, a few of the colts took a shine to it. Personally I find that it adds a little extra excitement if you know what I mean. Maybe you can join me? Do some private wrestling with the stallions?”

Fuck, I would be lying if I said to myself that didn’t sound interesting. I was surprised that the outfit I still had on even survived Spritz, so it would definitely survive playing around with it on. But I had things to do. “Not the fucking time!” I said, shaking my head.

“Then come back when you do have the time.” she requested with a wink.

Needing something that didn’t subtly shout sex to focus on, I trotted over to where Bitter was hiding. The crude “Zebra Only” sign next to the door guided me, as no sign could ever keep me out.

The dimly lit room smelled like a drug den as chemicals and other magical shit waffed in the air. Bitter herself, along with two other zebras, stood around a large choking pot. It was bubbling with whatever was inside. Two armed zebra stallions sat far away from their kin. They were rolling up some strange stuff in the blank paper.

“One. No, two. Two things. What the fuck is that, and what the fuck is this?” I called out to Bitter.

She turned to me. A dumb grin was on her face and her eyes were bloodshot. “Oh, you… the weird eye pony. Ya. We are making some magic. Magic that makes... some good shit as a byproduct.”

I looked over at the two sober looking zebra stallions rolling up the chem. One sighed as he got up and trotted over to me. “Were making a poison enchantment potion using the raddler venom as a base. The foam the potion produces can be used to make a simulant. By soaking it in scraped paper and rolling them up, you can then smoke the shit to get high.”

I hadn't actually had the time to get to know the other zebras. This one was quite striking; tall, strong, and with scars in just the right places. The other sober Zebra was not bad looking himself. “Maybe once this mess with Spritz is over, we can go get high together.”

He huffed. “Rather not stay near your ponies. Nothing but trouble for my kind.”

I rolled my eyes at that and gave him a light jab. “Oh, you're right about that. But sometimes trouble can be fun.”

The other stallion snickered. “You pony can’t handle the fun we want. Wouldn't want to break you.”

“Never hurts to try.” I said, giving that stallion a wink. “And who knows? It might be fun to get a little broken.”

The first Stallion sighed. “Whatever pony. If you kill that Steal Ranger bitch, then ask me again. If not, go fuck yourself.” They turned around, returning to the pile of chems to roll up.

“Thanks,” I told the zebra then trotted over to the very high Bitter. “So why are you making this?”

“Old tribal recipe… I think.” She burst out into a fit of giggles then took a moment to calm down. “Made normal weapons magical. Like, making a gun shoot radioactive bullets.” She giggled again. “That realy pissed the fucking tin cans off when we could kill em… kill em withough having to get throught their power armor.”

“Soo… you want to add the raddler venom to some of our weapons?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.

Bitter scooped up a bit of foam then poured it into another pot filled with paper scraps. “Ya. Harp needed an edge against the big bitch. She wanted to make a fucking heat ray gun with those talasmens. Told her I could do something... less stupid. I just needed materials for it.”

Another giggle fit came as she struggled to grab a cup filled with blood and poured it into the pot. “This stable has everything we need for the basic shit, but to make it real effective I need a few things.”

“That is?” I asked.

Bitter then got muzzle to muzzle with me, almost kissing me. Her breath smelled of chemicals. “Yes. If you can get it, you must. Bit by the snake, you now have a symbolic connection to the main ingredients. First, just to give it that magical kick, the glands of a fire gecko. It’s not dragon fire, but it is magic originally born from the baelfire. Then venom from a less radioactive beast. We need something for the spell to latch onto that’s not just the radiation. That shit backfires even when made correctly. Then last, you must get the venom gland from the raddlers, and lots of it… or just one big one.”

Pushing her back before I started to get high from her breath, I needed some clarification. “So I get the first and the third things, but where would I get… normal venom… Wait. I did come across a nightstalker.”

She rummaged through a bag and pulled out a very sharp kitchen knife. “Yes. Harp told me you did and that is perfect for this potion. The Nightstalker. Just catch one and drag it here. Alive is best or the potency will be greatly diminished.”

“Okay, but why a nightstalker?” I asked.

“They are a strange fusion, so using their venom will make the magic fuse too... I think.” Bitter guessed.

Taking a step back, I was unsure if this was or was not the mad ramblings of a very high zebra. So, turning to the good looking zebra in the room, I gave him one raised eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Our tribe got entangled with some cultists over a good fifteen years back. We were paid to make some magically infused guns through alchemy. A lot of experimentation and shit ended up with that radioactive curse of a potion. They are not like the enchanted zebra rifles the Lighbringer used, but it worked well enough on Steal Rangers before that cult got stomped out. Our tribe saw the writing on the wall and vanished before the tin cans found us. We took the recipe with us too.”

The other stallion then continued. “Better the ingredients, the stronger the enchantment will be. Symbolism is also important too, magic being the way it is. The hunter that gathers the materials, the prey hunted, the alchemist who brews it, and how the enchantment is applied. You were bit, so you must bite back. You first saw the nightstalker, so you must bring it in. It all comes together to make a strong enchantment like our ancestors used to do during the great war.”

Okay. Now it was all makes sense, if in an esoteric way. “Right, so fire gecko fire glands, a live nightstalker, and the venom gland of weather a lot of raddlers or just the big one… Wait! What if I get bit again?”

The first zebra stallion just said. “Don’t.”

Messing with him, I blew the stallion a kiss. “So you do care.”

He frowned. “I will not be gentle if you get what you want.”

“Looking forward to it,” I told him before turning around to leave.

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Trotting down into the maintenance part of the stable, ponies were busily moving things around or cleaning things up. I was directed to the labs by one of our ponies who was hauling several rolls of fabric that looked similar to what my current clothes were made from.

In the Labs, Harp was fiddling with several cables along with looking at some glass beakers. She had found a clean looking Stable-Tec lab coat that gave her a real egghead look. In the corner holding a rifle was a pony I didn’t recognize. I kept an eye on her.

I suspected it was one of Spritz’s more loyal followers. A pony she trusted enough to not be swayed by Harp’s oratory skill.

“So stealing from the dead? How far has the princess fallen?” I teased her.

She looked over at me and sighed with relief. “Thank Celestia you’re okay, I know it was my idea, so I’m sorry for putting you through that.

“As for this lab coat, I got the extruder working. Had it printed me out a lab coat.”

This mare was really a wizard with technology. Just put something in front of her and she will make it work.

Looking over at what she was working on, I could not make heads or tails of it, so I asked, “So… is that the snake trap or something?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s all I could come up with in such a short time. I made a simple, smaller one to show Spritz. She gave it the okay,” Harp said as she pointed at a nearby box.

I trotted over the box to see a raddler all coiled up with a string like lasso tightly holding onto its neck. There was a rat in a cage not far from it and a pair of scissors with surgical tubing tying it to a stick.

This didn’t seem like the kind of thing a princess would know how to make. “I think I’ve seen something like this before. Did you think it up?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Henbane did. I’m just making it bigger which requires some extra ingenuity.”

“What? Not just use explosives?” I asked.

She raised her eyebrow at me. “Because we can't risk a cave in. That and Bitter said it would be better if more of it was intact so we can cook more of it.”

Right. Bitters request. With the guard here it would be dumb to just blurt out the potion she was making. “Right. That weird zebra stew she wanted to make. She asked me to go get some ingredients for it.”

Harp nodded. “We're good on the gecko parts. The little monsters just run right at anypony they see. It made hunting them easy enough as long as we killed them before they started spitting fire.”

That left the nightstalker. “Any help on the last ingredient?”

She pointed over to a bag that was clearly reinforced along with some rope. “We're going to need it as live bait before giving it to Bitter. So just be careful and don’t go shooting your gun again. Also take this.” Harp picked up a sparkle-cola bottle of clear liquid and passed it to me.

Trotting over to her and taking it, I smelled something a bit odd but I couldn't put my hoof on it. “And this is?” I asked.

“Viniguer. If a nightstalker is part dog, it should hate that smell. I’m hoping it will help you in some way,” she explained.

“Thanks,” I said as I gave her a smile.

Taking the bag, I trotted down the hall and to the door outside. Here ponies were busy setting up the trap. Unfortunately they had to do it quietly as Spritz inspected their work. Using the natural rock formations to tie rope down for sheets to hang off of, it was an odd sight and clearly being done slowly.

“Such a disgrace. If it were the rangers, it would have been done by now,” Spritz grumbled as she watched them work.

Trotting over, I hummed a little song until she noticed me.

“Well they're far from rangers, so cut them some slack.” I told her.

She looked at me for a long moment. There’s a bit of confusion in her eyes. “You recover too quickly.”

I smiled at her, “A gift from the Goddesses some might say.”

Spritz did not look impressed. “Whatever. freek. What are you planning?”

“Oh, I’m getting the live bait. That’s all.” I held onto the lie with confidence.

She huffed as she looked over at the ponies at work. “It would be easier if we used one of them as bait, but Harp went on and on about how dangerous it was. Going out to get some mongrel to be bait is even more foolhardy. But as long as it’s one of you doing it, then whatever. Not my loss.”

It was good that Harp had already cleared the excuse. In the pronces, she was likely endearing herself to the others. Spritz, on the other hoof, didn’t think much of anypony here and it was showing. The ponies down here didn’t look like they were having fun, unlike the ones above.

“Well, if I come back screaming, you know what's behind me.” I told her before trotting off.

As I passed Henbane, she gave me a wink and said quietly. “Your really one fucking hard to kill mare.”

“I wouldn’t be alive if I wasn’,.” I responded.

“Good, because this is insane and we're all crazy for trying this,” she hissed at me before continuing in a more calm manner. “Anyways, we got Spritz believing that we need bait. I mean we do. A pony in a cage would be easier, but we just need to buy more time for the others to do their work. I don’t know why it has to be nightstalkers, but the mongrels love cool dry places for their dens. They're not as cold blooded like snakes, so they're not going to be as hard on staying warm like the other critters down here.”

“Right. Find the cooler part of the cave, and I’ll find the nightstalkers,” I said with a nod.Henbane nodded back in conformation.

Trotting further in, I made sure I was out of view of the others. After that, I checked my pip-map to retrace my steps. Carefully, I made my way back to the dead overmare where the corps of the nightstalker I killed was already a bloody mess. It had been eaten by the other critters here. The corps was now swarming with flies.

Looking around, I found several paw prints that lead down a different path. The tunnels here were smaller, but not too claustrophobic and a bit more sparse with the moss. Several rats also scurried past me, retreating to their little holes.

As I went on further, my ears twitched back and forth, scanning for any noise. I knew my eyes would be nearly useless in this situation. I was soon rewarded with the sound of yips and hisses from further in.

Carefully, I got closer. I rounded a corner with the knife Bitter gave me at the ready. I was in some long tunnel that was clearly pony made by the looks of the old rotting wooden support beam lining the walls. In the distance was my prey, several nightstalkers yipping at each other in some sort of play fight.

My hoof then made a clang sound as I hit something big and metallic. Looking down, I saw a rusty railway line. Looking up, the nightstalkers were staring right at me. They all began to rattle their tails as they turned invisible. The sounds of paws scrambled away filled me with annoyance.

“Oh fucking get back her.” I mumbled with the knife in my mouth.

Quickly galloping over to where they were, I found myself at a cross section of this tunnel. Clearly no nightstalker to be seen.

Standing for a moment, I waited for a sound to be made. I then noticed a breeze. Warm air was ever so slightly moving down one end of the tunnel. Remembering what Henbane told me, it was likely cooler in the direction the air was moving to. Keeping as alert as possible, I trotted with the breeze.

The sound of a hiss ahead of me was my sign that this was the right direction. The sound of rattlaling was close. My head turned to the invisible fuck. In my pipbuck, the light of the blurry creature moved closer.

Anticipating the attack, I dodged to the side, foiling it’s attempt to jump me.

Stumbling onto the ground and hitting the wall, the night stalker lost it’s invisibility. It hissed at me in anger.

I just needed to bag it alive and get the fuck out of here, so knocking it around a bit wouldn’t be a problem. Taking a step forward, it took a step to the side while rattling its tail. The hairs along its spine raised in fear. The fucker then lept in for another attack.

Ready for it, I jumped back then did a hoof strike to the top of its nose, thus forcing it onto the ground. The thing practically screamed as I jumped onto it’s back and pulled out the rope.

A monstrously loud hiss set my own hairs along my spine on edge. A rumbling started, slowly getting louder and closer like some small train was coming our way.

Down the tunnel, I saw two low green lights slowly getting bigger. The rumbling got louder. When I could make out slitted pupils, I realised that it was the big fucking snake.

Abandoning the nightstalker, I galloped away, looking for any turn. Alongside me was the little fucker I had almost captured with it’s snake tail between its legs as it passed me and scurried into a hole too small for me to follow.

Asshole.

I could feel the snake get closer. Too close.

I galloped as fast as I could. When a cross section in the tunnel presented itself to me, I dove into it. I slammed into a wall because there was no way to slow down first. The snake grinded into the wall of the tunnel, unable to stop like I had just done, to chase after me.

Not giving it time to go back and come for me, I ran again. Fortune smiled on me as I found some miner outcrop in the tunnel. The small room even had a Goddesses blessed door, of which I slammed shut as soon as I got inside.

With a loud hiss, the door shook violently as the snake passed. It has not stopped.

It was now in the clear and just had to wait a bit.

Then I felt something bite my back leg.

Looking back and down, I saw a very thin looking feral ghoul attempting to eat me, but it was all rotting gums. Knocking it off me, I rushed in and thrusted the knife into the bastard's skull. The knife snapping from the blow.

I spit out the handle and kicked it away. I sighed with frustration and grumbled. “I want my fucking sword!”

There wasn't much in here other than some now useless mining tools and several boxes that were filled with equally useless junk. Strangely there was a table in the corner and on it was an ashtray filled with a whole mouth's worth of teeth. The poor soul must have had all his teeth fall out before even going feral. At least I put him out of his misery.

Feeling like I had hid long enough, I left the shelter. I trotted back to the second cross section and again checked the air. It was fainter, but I could still feel which direction the air shifted. As I trotted down the tunnel, the smell of sulfur became more bearable and the tunnel was cooler.

It took me a while, but I soon came to the end of the tunnel. It was blocked off by an old rusty fence. There was a hole in the fence that was just large enough for me to fit through. On the other side was a large room that echoed every step I made. Unfortunately I could not see a damn thing with how dark it was in her. Only a few dim red lights informing me that there once was civilization down here.

Carefully following the red lights, I found an emergency braker.

Hoping things didn’t just blow up, I flipped the switch.

Lights then turned on one by one. A few blew out and sent sparks falling down. As everything was illuminated, an annoyingly familiar sight came into focus. Ths place looked like a fucking touist trap! It had all the signs of one; wooden cutouts for ponies to put their heads through. Advertisements were everywhere and there was a place to eat. Though this was a far more old world trap then the shitty wasteland stops Prism and I wasted our caps on.

This place also had the hallmark of Stable-Tec all over, but everything was strangely labeled as “SMU”.

“Welcome everypony!” a loud robotic voice spoke as a few working spotlights illuminated some weird looking robot in the shape of a big rat… I think. It had a hard hat and held a pick axe along with a big goofy smile. “I’m Miles the mole pony miner, and I’m here to teach you about Equestria’s glorious history of mining. Be it coal, iron, gems and even the smelly yellow rock here called sulphur. It all has helped Equestria become the nation it is today.”

Looking around, I saw bones everywhere; pony bones, animal bones, and bones of some large monster I really did not want to see with skin on. But I saw no sign of the nightstalkers.

The damned robot continued its loud speech which echoed through the empty cave. “It all started over a hundred years ago with the company Surmount Mining Unlimited. They braved the depths of Equestria and the lands beyond to bring back this world's bounty. They helped provide the coal needed to power our steam engines the iron to make the railways and trains. Even this sulfur mined here was used to make the explosives needed to change the land itself. The city of Manehattan would never be what it is if the company had not provided the resources to build it.”

“Ya, ya., Shut up already.” I grumbled as I kept my eyes open.

The damned robot made it hard to hear anything. It just kept on yapping. “Even now, Surmount Mining Unlimited provides Equestria the raw resources it needs to fight the striped menace. Even when mines similar to this one no longer provide its rich bounty, the company still found a use for it. Partnering with three young entrepreneurs, the company helped Stable-Tec get its start by selling them the old mines to build their underground shelters known as Stables. Even aided in the excavation of old tunnels to fit the new stables.

“Yes, that's right. If you ever get to go inside a Stable, it’s more than likely it was built inside a Surmount Mining Unlimited mine!”

An off tune jingle played as the robot finally stopped talking, allowing me to finally listen to my surroundings.

There was a lot of damned tail rattling surrounding me...

Jumping onto one of the old tables, I pulled out the bottle Harp gave me and smashed it down, hoping it would keep them away. After that, I drew my 10mm full auto pistol, ready to kill a few of the sneaky hounds. But the invisible fucks did not move. They just hissed and yapped at me. Their voices sounded a bit too high pitched.

One then became visible, and it was really small…

Too small.

It was a fucking pupie!

Wait, then where are its parents?

As though on que, a low growl came from in front of me. My eyes fell onto a large blurry shape, it’s form becoming visible. In front of me was one big bitch.

“You must be the mama.” I said to the alpha nightstalker.

It snarled back at me.

I needed to be careful. Even one of the little bastards could kill me with one bite. Probably. But luckly they were still dumb beasts and the biggest one wanted to look me in the eyes before attacking me. I might as well oblige it.

Using my evil eyes, it was trapped in my stare as I shared with it the pain I have had to endure for the last few days. Getting shot, beaten down, bit by a fucking snake.

But something was off. The alpha nightstalker only growled more. Its tail raised and hair stood on end. Then she took a step forward.

This… this was new, and not good. If this didn’t work, I was fucked. So very fucked.

Then a thought crawled into the back of my head… What if I did the opposite? She was a mom. I was a mom. What if I could pacify the bitch by sharing something friendly? Was it even possible?

Digging up the feelings of my time with Prism and my darling Bridget, I felt a sharp pain in my head and in my eyes. It was as though this was exactly the wrong thing to do. As though my evil eyes hated it. But despite the pain, I could feel the emotions being sent.

The alpha’s tail lowered. It’s hairs smoothed out. She then stopped growling.

My vision blurred and my eyes felt like they were about to explode, forcing me to stop. I closed my eyes. More blood than normal was leaking from my eyes. More than it had ever done before. My head also felt light. Stumbling from where I stood, I fell onto a scaly, furry beast.

The alpha nightstalker then licked me with its long forked tongue.

She howled a friendly tune, causing three other adult nightstalkers to turn off their invisibility along with six other pups. They all now looked more relaxed than scared or angry. It's likely because the alpha said that I’m good. Amazingly enough.

Now was the next problem. How do I bag one of them and take it back with me?

After a momentary rest, I was feeling better, though my eyes still hurt like fuck. At least they didn’t feel like exploding on me. Putting my gun away and getting off the table, I froze as the seven nightstalker pups mobbed me, playfully nipping at my legs or trying to jump onto me.

One of the pups ran off and returned with some chew toy in its mouth. It looked like some old world tech. It also looked like it could attach to a pipbuck. When the pup dropped the thing in front of me, I figured that I might as well see what it did.

Attaching it to a slot on my pipbuck, my pipbuck screen flickered for a moment. The words “Stealthbuck attached.” appeared on the screen, followed by “Activating spell.”

For a brief moment I turned invisible. My own hoof turned translucent. With a pop, the stealth buck then burnt out, turning off the spell.

The same pup yipped, ran off, and returned with another chewed up steathbuck.

Taking it, I trotted over to where the pup had run to. I entered what looked to be a locker room. This place was clearly the nest. It was filled with torn clothes, sticks, mud, broken shells, and a shit ton of stealth-bucks.

There were boxes of them, all having spilled all over the floor. They practically decorated the nest. When I reached out to touch the nest, my own hoof turned invisible and stayed that way for a few seconds.

If I could get a few of them, maybe Harp could make an invisibility talisman. Then I could be like Mom!

A loud crash caught me by surprise followed by aggressive barking and panicked yipping. The other pups rushed into the room, diving into their nest as they turned invisible.

Taking a look at what was going on, I saw the mother fucking gigantc raddler in the room. A fifth Nightstalker helpless screamed in the snake's mouth before being swallowed whole.

The four other adult nightstalkers were distracting it. They ran back and forth as they barked aggressively. The alpha got in the closet. Her aggressive barks are far deeper and louder than the other three.

Looking down, I saw one pup with the stealthbuck in its mouth hiding behind my legs. This might be my opportunity. I could just grab it and run while the animals are distracted. I could… but looking at the little monster, I really didn’t want to do that.

But there was no way for me to fight the big fucking snake. Not with just my pistol.

But I did have a few powder charge sticks on me just in case something needed to be exploded.

I didn’t know if it was going to be enough to kill it, but I know that a powder charge explosion would be enough to stun the fuck out of anything near it. Now what to do with the Nightstalkers? I couldn’t leave them here to be eaten by that snake.

Breaking open one of the locked lockers, I found a weirdly thick saddlebag. The thing was likely used for hauling that damn sulfur. I picked up the one pup that stuck with me and put it into the bag. After that, I whistled at the others hiding in the nest. It took a moment, but once the pup already in the bag playfully yipped, the others rushed in to join in. Once the seventh pup was loaded, I pulled out my sticks of powder charges and a lighter.

But there needed to be one more distraction, and I knew what it should be.

I quickly ran to the power switch. I flipped it off and returned everything back to darkness. After a few seconds I flipped it back on. The lights crackled and popped back to life.

As the damn robot started yappin, I galloped to the mine tunnel I came out from. I whistled loudly to catch the other nightstalker’s attention. The alpha looked at me and saw one of her pups poked their head out and playfully yipped.

Making eye contact with the alph, I did my best to send a message of “Follow me” to her. The attempt caused my head to feel like it was splitting open.

The robot, Miles, began his speech. “Welcome everypony!”

The four nightslakers turned invisible and the big snake attention turned to the sparnking robot. Attacking it with a big bite, the snake coiled around the robot and pulled off it’s head.

I felt one of the nightstalkers pass by me. Hoping that they understood my plan, I lit my three sticks of powder charges and tossed them at the snake.

I did not wanting to stick around and see if this even worked. I galloped down the tunnel as fast as I could. Three very loud explosions were followed by a very pissed off screaming hiss and a lot of thrashing.

Briefly using my pipbuck’s map function, I galloped as fast as I could, backtracking my way out of the mine tunnel.

Finding myself back in the moss covered cave, I took a quick break. My lungs felt like they were on fire now. I had never run so hard in my life before. The moment quickly ended as I heard a very angry hiss and aggressive rumbling getting closer.

At full speed, I made it back to the stable. The loud angry hissing from behind me had long tipped everypony off that the big snake was coming. They had constructed some sort of pathway with a big loop in the middle. Seeing Harp on the other side, I jumped through the hoop and skidded to a stop in front of her.

Panting, I said, “You are not going to believe what I just did.”

“I know you pissed off the snake!” she yelled at me. “Did you at least get the bait?”

I rolled my eyes at Harp as I passed the saddlebag over to her. “No problem. The snake is pissed at me, so I’ll be the bait.”

“You're insane!” she told me.

“I’m having fun being insane though,” I said back at her.

The big fucking snake bust through. Burn marks were on its face and body. Its green glowing eyes looked at me. With the most angry body language I didn’t know a snake could make, it charged at me.

“NOW!” Harp shouted, and like an executioner's noose, a looped cable wrapped around the snake's body as it passed through it. It’s head lunged at me. Wenom dripped from its fangs. But it stopped just a hair's breadth from reaching me.

Letting out a loud pained hiss, the snake then coiled and thrashed. The curtains fell, revealing that a lot of us were pulling on the cables, thus holding the snake in place.

Then came Spritz with a long crude spear. Safely, she stabbed the snake over and over again.

I watched as the snake finally gave one last pained gasp. Its blood pooled onto the dirt floor of the cave.

Cheers were all around as everypony let go of the cable. They celebrated our victory over this monster.

Trotting closer, I laughed loudly. “Fuck you! And fuck all your nomal sized kin!”

The snake's body twitched. With one last spasm, it lunged right at me. It was as though it wanted one last act of revenge. Slamming into the snake's head, thus causing the snake to miss, was the alpha nightstalker. The snake twiched a few more times as everypony watched it in silence, waiting for it to attack again.

It eventually stopped moving and everypony breathed a sigh of relief.

A worried looking Henbane trotted over to me. “Star… why do you have a nightstalker nuzzling you?”

I nervously chuckled. “Not just one.”

One of the pups poked its head out of the saddlbag Harp was holding followed by the rest. The three other adult nightstalkers soon appeared next to me.

“So… they like me now,” I announced with a chuckle.

_______________________________________________________

-Unique companion obtained-

Ghost Nightstalker - this strange breed of nightstalker can naturally turn invisible, much like how a stealthbuck can turn a pony invisible. It’s unknown how many of these extra dangerous nightstalkers are out in the wasteland, but it’s clear nopony has seen them for obvious reasons. They are slightly larger and less aggressive than the common nightstalker. They also have gray on white fur that is reminiscent of a mountain farm dog, but with a diamond along it’s back much like the common rattlesnake.

“I don’t know where Fluttershy found these rattlesnake coyote hybrids, but they're awesome! I was able to get a bunch of them for my own ministry to work with. Most are going to be bred for high aggression and smuggled behind enemy lines to mess with the Zebras. But, I want some for my own, like crazy guard dogs, but also snakes. I asked Applejack about where I can get some good guard dogs along with passing her an idea about using stealth-bucks on dog collars. If this works, I’m going to have the most awesome guard dog to ever exist. Those Zebra spies can’t kill what they can’t see, or understand.” ~ Ministry Mare Rainbow Dash of the Ministry of Awesome.