MLP-Multiverse: Chimera - The Snake's Charm

Chapter 9: Well... We're Homeless. I Don't HAVE A Title.

"Well guys, I dunno where we're headed now, but no matter what, we've gotta stick together."

We had just escaped from the vault, rather left quickly, considering no one was going to follow us, and we regrouped outside of the cave entrance to check and see who needed help. Butch had been pushed into a wall, but brushed it off pretty quickly, Freddie was fine and Dick was barely breaking a sweat despite caving a man's jaw in with a sledgehammer, Only I had suffered an injury, a bullet wound to the shoulder. I begin wracking my brain for a solution, thinking I might be able to tough it out, but not wanting to burden my fellow Tunnel Snakes. Luckily, I don't have to think too hard before Dick hands me a Stimpak, and a small pill bottle. It was the Buck we had taken from the slavers.

"I think this'll help with the blood loss. We're gonna be on the road a while, and you need a boost. Careful though, this is designed for Ponies like you, so you could get addicted if ya take too many.", he instructs, probably wanting me to pay close attention. I would, but I'm feeling a nagging pain that's making it very hard to focus. I decide to take care of that NOW.

I do as he says, only taking two pills and injecting the stimpak into my shoulder. Ugh... I hate needles, but i'm gonna have to get used to them with all the Celestia-damn gunplay here. Does everyone tote a firearm and just demand everything? What happened to common decency, and reasoning? Maybe those were never REALLY in high demand, if the Mack family is an indication. Sheesh, I spent all my years in that bucking steel cube working several jobs, for THIS? I find out I was intended for nothing but a goddamn slave? Butch can see something is wrong, and tries to ask in his own abrasive way, what it is.

"Hey man, you're freakin us out... You ok?"

"No... NO, I am not ok. We're homeless, I lost the only family I ever had, Even if some of those plotholes DID care about us, they LIED! They used ME..."

"HEY! Shut your yap, Snake-eyes. Those pricks used ALL of us, and ya know what? you're in the same boat we are, but ya know what?", Butch never gets THIS serious. What's his angle?

I decide to ask, "What, Butch?"

"We have the WASTELAND as our new home. Nothin' fazed us yet, and it ain't gonna. We're the TUNNEL SNAKES!", I see Freddie shout out the typical "Tunnel Snakes Rule!" mantra we've gotten used to shouting through the years.

I can't resist, and I get up, still gripping my shoulder, and shout out, "Tunnel Snakes, RULE!". Dick doesn't say anything, which reminds me to welcome him into the Tunnel Snakes, but also, I'm reminded of what the hell he DID in the vault. "DICK! What in the Tartarus were you doing with that dynamite!?... and HOW did you get your sledgehammer back?"

Dick looks a bit confused, "Wait... what's Tartarus?"

"Don't play dumb... WHAT was with the dynamite?"

He takes a deep breath and recounts what happened. "Well, they put me in the cell, but honestly, they pretty much fucked up the body search when you showed up and complained about that one stupid kid. They just shoved me in the vault with my lockpicks, dynamite, and... well, only thing they took was the hammer, so I just picked that up and snuck out when everyone was in the front room."

"That's not what I meant. WHY did you have dynamite?...", I get close to him and look him right in the eyes, with Butch and Freddie catching on and starting to question him as well.

He starts to shift, and looks away, eventually returning to face me and saying "Well, I was scared... but I was also wrong. You saw what those vaulties did to YOU, so... I decided to plan ahead, and it's a good thing I did, cause I didn't want you guys to die either. I may be a chicken-shit, but I'm a handy one to have around, eh?", and he gives a big grin, missing a few teeth. I may not trust this guy as far as I can throw him, but he DID save my life. He adds quickly, "I uh... I would have told you about it, but you wouldn't have let me keep it. and if you took it, then, well..."

"Look, I dunno what your deal is yet, but if you're going to blow up an old bastard and smash a childhood friend's jaw to save me... I'll let you tag along, ok?", I stare him down as his smile fades, and he speaks up in return.

"Yeah, I got it... but Snake, thanks. Not just for sparin' me, but givin' me a chance to return the favor. I know things are fucked up all around, in and out of the vaults, so I'm glad you took me along."

The part I hate the most is that he's right. If I didn't take him with us, something worse could have happened to us. I look at this guy, knowing what he'd been through, wondering why he wants to help us so much if he talks about how corrupt humans are all over the wasteland. Maybe it's just me? I know Butch and Freddie are humans, but I'm not. My mind is elsewhere, though, and I lift my left hoof to my eye level, studying it for some reason, twisting it all around, examining the humanoid build of my arm, but the hoof at the end of it, hard and strong, not a single finger on it, scratched from all of it's use, and still able to interact with small tools, fine motor skills be damned, however. I lift up the sharpshooter and see something very different. Still attached to my right arm, I've got 4 fingers and a thumb. Just as good as a human hand, but obviously a fake. "A forgery of mere circuits and steel", one might say, if one were a pompous ass. I chuckle to myself as I keep looking over it, but it must have been a while, as Dick taps my shoulder and asks if I'm alright. I nod, and tell him the news. We need to find a new home.

"So, where do we go from here?", Freddie asks.

"I can only think of one place, but I think we'll have to be careful, since I'm the only Pony here. What do you think, Butch?", I decide to answer him, but he still looks confused, and probably will be until I tell him what I'm referring to.

"What are you talkin' about, Snake?"

"Dude, keep it under wraps, but we found a place pull of Ponies, like me.", I respond.

"No way! Are you serious?", Freddie looked taken aback.

"Yeah, they're the ones who gave us the supplies... which now we should probably give back.", I chuckle a bit, but if we are looking for a place to live, that would help.

"Alright boys, we're headed back to Celestia.", Butch barks his order, and we all start moving in the direction of the town of Ponies.

"Hey Snake, think they'll want me sticking around for more than a day?", I hear Dick speak up, and I decide to try and make him feel better.

"Well sure, dude, ya stuck around, ya helped us out, and once we tell 'em about how ya backed us up in the vault, you'll get some BIG points in the hero department.", I grin wide and nod in his direction, which earns the same grin he gave me a conversation prior.

"yeah, maybe you're right. I DID do pretty well. Thanks man.", he reacts.

We continue walking with the marker on my Pip-Buck guiding the way, and after a bit of time, we come across the same mountain as before. I wave to Freddie and tell him the mountain is an illusion, so he needs to grab onto one of us and make sure he doesn't get lost. I offer him my shoulder, and Butch, Dick, and myself all move into the mountain, into a shroud of darkness and toward the city, emerging as before, on the other side. As we come through to the other side, a few citizens turn toward us and begin to greet us, but upon seeing that not only had Freddie joined us, but also my gradual recovery from an obvious gunshot wound, and the fact that we still have the supplies they gave us, they move towards us, demanding to know what had happened.

I told them all about what happened, the crowd growing larger and larger as more of them heard what was going on. I was certain the whole town must have accumulated, even recognizing Barkeep, Droplet and Bar Fly in the crowd, but no Ellie. A few of the Celestians surround Dick and welcome him back, going as far as to shake his hand upon learning how he saved us from the Overseer. I begin searching my backpack for the supplies they gave us to return them, but the gatekeeper stops me, shaking his head.

"Now now, what's that for? I believe we GAVE you those.", he says.

"Well...", I respond, about to tell him our dilemma, "We don't have a place to stay, and the supplies were for the vault, so... I was hoping we could maybe give these back and... ugh, we need a place to stay, I hate to ask." I remember the junkyard, but before I can say anything, he interrupts.

"Now you wait a minute, you're one of us. Your friends might not be Ponies, but they're more than welcome to stay, long as they mind themselves. and put those supplies back. You can stock your place with 'em."

"Wait... you already HAVE a place?", I assume not, but I will be very surprised if they do.

"Well, hold yourself, I'll have to go ask the mayor and see what she has to say, but I'll put a good word in for the stallion that killed Boss Nitro."

He chuckles, and I feel relieved knowing the ponies here already think highly of me. I was fighting for my life, and it all led to THIS strange turn of events. Come to think of it... This all started when the Overseer decided to let me out in hopes that I would find my own kind, and the beginning of all this was...

"Hey, before you go... no, never mind.", I want to make sure he doesn't make a useless attempt to ask. "It's something personal. I would be lookin for someone you never knew."

"Hey, I know about you and Ellie, She REALLY likes you, ya lucky fella.", I was gonna correct him, but he smiles from behind his thick moustache, and I feel too happy about his pleasant attitude to say anything.

"Alright, I'm gonna go make sure she's doin ok, Is there anywhere we can meet up later?", I ask him, "OOH, what's your name, btw?"

"Gatekeyper, pleased ta meetcha kid." He gives me that smile again, and holds out a hoof to shake.

"Your name is Gatekeeper?", I ask, astonished at the seeming lack of inspiration.

"Oh no, give me a moment...", and he picks up a piece of paper and a pencil, and holding the pencil in his mouth, he spells it out for me, I see it and finally understand the pun.

"Oh, cause you work with keys a lot?", I ask him, and he confirms that while showing me his err, "cutie mark"... I will DEFINITELY have to get used to everyone being so free with their bodies.

"Anyway, Ellie should be over by the honey shed, like usua-... Say, I don't think I noticed your eyes last time you were here..."

"Ugh, yes, I have a snake's eyes", I grit my teeth and grimace at the stallion, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well... I don't mean no offense, pal, I was just thinkin you look similar to those subway fellas.", he leans in close and whispers into my ear, "I wouldn't want this goin any further, but I recommend you stay away. They ain't really dangerous, but if you're alone at night, and they get hungry... well, ya get the idea."

"Whoa! subway dwellers?", I can't help but blurt out.

He shakes his hooves as if warning me to keep my voice down, and turns around to go see the mayor, telling me to wear those shades I wore last time if I plan on drawing attention away from my eyes. I wave goodbye to Gatekeyper, still amazed at the coincidence presented by his name. Moving on, I put on the shades, and walk toward Ellie's little "Honey Shack". Sheesh, just that thought sounds too sweet. It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it. As I come close to the field of flowers, I barely get a chance to lay eyes on her before she charges at me, yelling my name.

"Ohmycelestia! SNAKE!", I thought she was happy at first, but she pulls me into a tight hug and begins to gently touch around the bullet wound, demanding to know what happened. She looks absolutely horrified.

"Sorry Ellie, kinda got myself banged up. We tried to give 'em the supplies, but one of my so-called friends let another of our friends get eaten... Then when I called him out on it, his dad tried to bring us in and told us this whole plan was just so I would hopefully find more of my own kind. He shot at me when I pulled my own gun to protect ourselves.", I tell her the long and short of it.

"Wait, why would he want that? He's a HUMAN leader.", Ellie looks puzzled.

"Well, I'll give ya three guesses.", Immediately, her ears perk up, seeming to know what I mean given the amount of slavers and raiders all over the world. "Yeah, that's the idea. He thought I'd bring him more 'happy little workers'. Didn't even bother to realize I LIKED working with them. I was able to do a lot of different things, and I felt like they all cared about me."

"Then why would they treat you so badly?", she asks me, her ears lowering back down.

"Because, I guess trust isn't good enough for 'em, They need some kind of insurance or something.", as much as it pisses me off, I have to admit the entire vault was against me seemingly since day one. and I fell for it.

"Humans, they're all so horrible!", she looks at me with these sad, scared eyes.

"Now wait a second!", I start, trying to calm her down, "They're not all bad. Listen, Freddie's a good kid. He's always trying to make peace, and Butch has been my best friend since childhood.", She wipes away a few tears and speaks up.

"Really? You trust them?", she seems more concerned for MYSELF, what a sweetheart. I try to stop myself from giving a cheesy smile.

"Of course I do. I even trust Dick. He saved our lives down there, ya know? He smuggled dynamite into the vault in case things got scary, and boy did they!"

"Dynamite!? But... wait, what if that WASN'T the reason he brought the explosives?", she starts to look suspicious. I admit, that crossed my mind a few times, but I didn't want to believe it myself.

"Well, we spared him, and he saved us, so maybe this was some kind of test, like... say we both needed some kind of proof that we could trust each other.", I respond.

"I hope you're right, Snakey... I can't think of losing you now that we're... well...", I see her move her hoof closer to the wound, but stopping around it, and looking back up at me with those beautiful eyes. "Does it hurt, baby?", I blush and look away, too startled by her sudden tone of worry.

"Er... Yeah, but only a little. I'm a tough pony." I give a big grin, as if ignoring the pain to look tough in front of my marefriend.

"I don't care if you are, you didn't dress it properly. I know those stimpaks seem to work wonders, but you should at least pull the bullet out and bandage it up. Do you want some help?", she pulls me closer and points towards the shack, and as I agree, she pulls me towards it, and opens the door. "I have a medical bag in here SOMEWHERE, I don't wanna bother the doc right now, so we'll use these. Now, let's get that shirt off...", she says with a big smile while pulling out a par of tweezers, a bottle of vodka, and a roll of bandages. This is gonna hurt.

"Ahh road-apples..." is all I can say. I sit down and prepare for stinging as Ellie carefully pours a bit of vodka on a cloth, uses the tweezers to pull the bullet out, dabs the wound with said cloth, and then prepares to wrap my shoulder in the bandages, oddly enough, leaving a little bow to tie it up.

"Aaaaaaand THERE. Whaddya think? feel better?", she blushes as she looks up at me.

"Well, I LOOK better... I guess.", I say looking at the little ribbon.

"Well, I thought you could use a feminine touch. Whaddya think?", she asks, clearly proud of her handiwork.

"Alright, it's pretty damn cute.", I say with a grin. With that, she cranes her head a little, and gently kisses the spot she bandaged.

"Good. Now, you might wanna get back to Gatekeyper about that house. I dunno if we have any vacant spots, but the mayor would know for sure.", still listening, I get up, put on my jacket and my shades, and start to head out, with her saying one more time as I leave, "Snake... PLEASE stay with us if you can. I kinda like you, you know?"

I nod my head in agreement and leave the shack, thinking over how great it is to finally be out of that, what was the term?... "Roman holiday". Imagine, a whole family you were surrounded by since birth, turned traitor. Now... wait a minute... I don't know these Ponies from Adam... but why are they being so nice? Is it just because I'm a Pony myself? No... they trust Dick too, and he used to be one of those raiders. I'll let myself relax for now, but only until something else bucks up.

I walk towards what I can only assume is City Hall, at least, it's near the center, looks big and official, and more detailed than all the other buildings. less like a country town general store and more like a carving of one of those big marble ones. I head closer and open the door to see Gatekeyper putting up a bit of a fight with a receptionist, and I ask what the issue is, only to be told that the mayor is very busy, and I should take up the homeowning business with her instead, clearly with the intent of not budging. I start to say something, but he only continues to argue that they need to find a vacant spot, as all ponies should look out for each other, and this seems to convince her to lower her guard a bit.

"You know... perhaps I'm being too hasty. Who is this er... Pony anyways?, she asks him.

"This is the one everyone was talking about, Snakebit. He's the one who brought Ellie back from the raiders, killed their boss and reformed that Dick fella.", he proudly proclaims like I'm some hero for killing people.

"Oh my... This is the Snake?", she seems surprised. What on earth were they arguing about for so long if they didn't even get to the point?

"The name is Snakebit, pleased to meetcha." I extend a hoof towards her, and instead, she jumps to her own hooves and pulls me into a hug... Wow, these folks are either the nicest, or have no regards for personal space... Ah well, I decide, "When in Celestia", and hug her right back.

"YOU killed those raiders? I didn't think anyone could do it, much less one of our kind... Why did you do it?", I feel a bit confused, no Pony has ever killed someone before? This town must be well hidden, or it's citizens must be total pacifists.

"Well, I noticed their wagon was wiggling around, so I went to ask 'em what was in their cargo, and... well, they set their sights on us. Long story short, we survived, and one of 'em ain't so much of an plothole.", I say, eliciting a gasp due to my rather coarse language.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear about that, but I'm glad you're all safe and sound. I'm definitely glad you brought Ellie back safe and sound, such a sweet thing. Perhaps I could speak with the mayor about this, and see if we have any vacancies in town... I certainly hope so. You may very well be Celestia's first hero!"

Then it hits me... "HERO"? All I did was survive, and then let a few people out of a cage. It's something any decent person would do, IF they had the capacity to defend themselves in the first place. Is THAT what counts as a hero these days? If so, society is pretty bucked.

"A hero? You sure about that?", I ask her, and she nods before she leaves for the mayor's office.

I don't get to see the mayor, but once enough time passes, and I shoot the breeze with Gatekeyper a bit, learning of a few places to go, people to meet, and even something about asking to hear Bar Fly's war stories, whatever those may be, I see the receptionist emerge, telling me they DO have a spot of land open, but there's no house on it. beyond that, the mayor wants to hire us as scouts, watchmen, and town guards. Well, I guess this means we gotta build our own house. I should go tell the guys. I leave and head for the bar, expecting to see the rest of my fellow snakes, not at all surprised when there they are, right next to Bar Fly once again. It seems like they just started passing drinks around, each of them taking a swig after each time they speak. Nice to know some things aren't gonna change anytime soon. I walk to the table where they're all sitting and I join 'em, delivering the news.

"Hey guys, I hope you're excited to live in a secluded town full of Ponies, cause we have an open lot. All we gotta do is build the damn thing, and then we officially have a job as well.", I grab a seat and a mug of that cider. That stuff's starting to grow on me.

"Man, so we got more work on all sides, huh? This sucks.", Butch complains.

"Yeah, you're tellin' me, but it's work, a four room house, a bar and food, and citizens who ain't gonna attempt to enslave us... or we can go and try to scrape Mr. Mack off the floor...", I say grimly.

"Jesus, man!", Freddie looks disturbed by that comment, and a few of the Ponies look at me kind of strangely for that comment. I take a look around, then turn back to Freddie.

"Look bro, I don't like how things played out, but let's face it, all over the world, things are messed up. Raiders, slavers, and manipulative creeps like Mack, we should stick around, and make sure no one else'll buck with us.", I try to convince them, but Butch seems to have an issue.

"Hello? They want us to build our own place, AND they're tellin' us to protect 'em. Ain't THAT manipulation?", I'm a bit shocked at his perception, both sudden AND incorrect.

"Butch, you need to work to earn anything. and besides, they're hiring us to do something we're good at, seeing as we thrashed those raiders. and as for building, I'm SURE the Ponies here will happy to help if we ask em nicely, or we offer to trade with em, especially since we-"

"Shut up, ok? You ain't the leader of this gang, ok? And we ain't a bunch of goodie two-shoes. We need to worry about ourselves. Besides, Dick, what about your place?", Butch is starting to get on my nerves...

"Well, it doesn't have any food, and anyone can just show up and shoot us in the ass while we're sleepin', so do they math, Butch. This is a better idea.", Dick responds, and I'm happy he at least understands the merit of this decision.

"Man, what the hell... Freddie, do YOU feel like doin any fuckin' carpentry?", Butch has officially gone into his asshole mood. THIS will be fun...

"Well I dunno, but I don't have any real alternatives, so...", and Butch takes this as a sign that we've apparently gone off the deep end.

"MAN! You guys must be losin' it! We're TUNNEL SNAKES, not some loser security. We ESCAPED the security, remember those goons? Afraid to step outside, so they sent US to our deaths?", He starts ranting... Ranting? I guess he had more on his mind than I thought.

"Butch, man, calm down... We ain't stickin' around cause we HAVE to. We're doing this cause it's the best idea we have, and besides, we can always offer to leave town for supply runs." I think of something he just said, and I quickly add, "Besides, you weren't complaining about being sent to your death when you said you could handle anything thrown at you, right, man?"

"Motherf- Ya know what... I don't like it, but ya got a fuckin' point. Get this straight though, I'm not gonna be anyone's hero.", I decide to humor him and agree.

"No prob man, just let ME deal with the guardian stuff, alright?", Butch looks up at me, drunk and pestered.

"And another thing, if I hear "Tartar Sauce", or "Road-Apples", or "Bucking" out of you again, I'm gonna punch you in your dumb yellow eyes...", I think he's being a bit petulant, and maybe a bit racist... but he's my best friend, so I gotta do SOMETHING about him.

"Alright, I'll go back to "FUCK" and "SHIT" when I'm around you monkeys.", I say, shaking my head like I'm dealing with a child and he starts to laugh, for some reason.

"HAHAHAHA! What did I tell ya, Barkeep? This horse ALWAYS knows what to say... Fuckin' smartass...", He keeps laughing, slurring like a fool, with Freddie already easing back into his seat. I make a motion to Dick to keep an eye on them as I move to Barkeep and ask him how on Earth I'm gonna acquire the material to build a house.

He tells me I'm gonna have to talk to the workers in the orchard and convince them to part with some of their trees. Only problem will be the fact that the trees bear the apples that the Ponies eat. I ask if he has any ideas, and he tells me to try and tell them what exactly I'll do once I settle into town, and why I'd be a good friend to everyone here. Not useful... but a good friend. I wonder why he said that, it was oddly specific... I ask him if he has a cot for my drunk monkey, and he throws me a look at me as if I said something funny, but still a little mean, one of those guilty pleasure looks. Nonetheless, he offers the cot to Butch so I can go and see about the supplies without worrying about him. As I leave the bar, I see Dick attempt to join me. I'm not one to go without company, so I take him with me as we move towards the orchard. I suppose whatever comes next is child's play compared to what just happened.

Leveled Up. Perk Selected.

"Tough Guy"

You ain't as tough as you look, but you sure as Tartarus inspire others to try and bring out their inner badass. And hey, if it DOESN'T work, you'll still look cool while ya bleed out on the pavement. You gain +5 DT for every companion in your party, and when your health falls below 50%, your party members gain +5 DT.