Author's Note

Chill music for this chapter

Sofa king by MF Doom

Bored! | Made By The Universoul Will

Mares tv and chilling beneath the dead earth

Every week, it's mystery meat, seaweed stewed

The cloud cover that blocked out the sun for nearly two hundred years oftentimes produces very severe weather, but in the Hoof, it was worse. An endless stream of storms always hit the Hoof every other week, turning an already miserable area of the Wasteland to a funfair of misery. To add to the view Hoofington’s towers that sat at the heart of all of it, the giant black spares overlooking the entire valley.

To Blackjack though the rain Hoofington meant listening to the endless rushing of water through pipes and the drips coming from the ceiling. More than once did she have to fix the cracks in the wall just to get some sleep, or what she now called sleep. Yawning and getting up with a tired posture, she scanned the mess that was her small room, glowing of eyes lighting up the room as she looked around. A table with empty blueberry whiskey bottles sat to the side of her bed, a terminal nestled against the wall with a faint blue glow from its view screen, shelves lined the room with an assortment of items from guns to armored barding.

As the white unicorn mare got to her hooves she scratched her mane with her talons, she sluggishly walked over boxes of old snacks and clothes littering the floor. “Mom would kill me if she saw how I treated my room now.” Blackjack let the thought pass as she opened her door to a brick hallway.

Making a clunking sound with every step, she walked down the hallway unlit she came out into a midsize living where a collection of living chairs and a couch faced a view screen, in the right hoof corner of the room a Contrabass next to a large sky blue piano on top a makeshift stage ready to play at any time. A kitchen faced the living from the opposite side of the cyber mare. There Rampage stood over a pot stringing as bubbles and the smell of cooking food filter throughout the room.

“What’s for dinner Ramp?” Blackjack yawned as she walked over to the couch.

“Fried Manticore and carrot soup.” Rampage said as she grabbed a piece of meat and tossed it into the pot.

Blackjack’s face just cringed at that. Clearly the thought of eating meat still didn’t sit right with her after all these years. “You know Rampage I know you like to eat meat but the rest of us.” She tried to hold her words. “Well, we never develop the taste for it.”

“Oh, So I go out there, risk getting caught by Harbingers and kill a month’s worth of food just for you to whine, whine, whine about how you don’t like meat?” the red stripe white mare stop her cooking and place her forehooves on the counter in a triangle formation, leading on to her hooves she smiled with a smuggish expression. “Since you don’t like my cooking we can go back to eating what we did before.” Her grin turned crueler. “You can go back to eating rusted scrap metal and bricks once a month, Luu Luu drinking Rads, and Charity will only get food.”

She grabbed the pot and lifted it off the table, standing on her back hooves she made her way toward a doorway in the kitchen. “Since you want to be a bludger I think I should get rid of this soup. How about that mate?

Blackjack protested as quickly as she could. “Ah, no thank you Rampage your meat cooking is great I’m just being a picky eater that’s all.” She laughed nervously.

Blackjack would rather eat meat Rampage savage off a dead mutant frog then go back to eating rusted scrap. It had the taste of mud mix with salt and eating it gave her stomach pains. All the tasty metals Blackjack could eat were off-limits, only to be used in repair or crafting weapons.

Rampage turned around, a smile of victory on her face as she walked back to the counter. “See Blackjack I knew you would see reason.” chuckled as she placed the pot down and went back to cooking. “Besides meat’s good you, it builds muscles and keeps you healthy.”

“Healthy if you don’t mind vomiting.” Lacunae walked out the hallway Blackjack entered from carrying a glass filled with red wine in her magic, her blue flowing mane magically flowed gracefully behind her. She wore a dark dress that had stars that flickered as she trotted. “Arloste in all the 30 years I’ve known you I’ve never gotten used to your.” She paused for a moment. “Refined tastes.”

Rampage just huff at that. “That’s because you got an elitist diet, Luu Luu. You were spoiled by those Canterlot 5 star restaurants.” Standing up straight and taking a high brown posture Rampage put her best high society voice. “Oh I only eat my carrots if their barbie to 250 degrees, with only the finest spice from Griffin lands and Canterlot sauces, added on.” the alicorn just giggled at her friend’s mocking. “Luu Luu we live in that Wasteland now! Ain’t no time to be a pretentious eater, gotta eat what you kill! Eat what you steal! And most importantly old shit from a 200 year old supermarket.”

“I don’t agree with the killing part but you are a little too hard to please Lacunae.” Blackjack wasn’t fully in the conversation, instead, turning on the view screen with a box shaped device. On it images of a pony being chased by a griffin played. “Remember when we went to Flank and you wouldn’t buy a drink unless it was fresh blueberries mixed with 7 month old liquor.” Blackjack stared back at her with a smug face. “Me and P-21 had to tell you how uptight you were being.”

Lacunae just looked between both of them, giving them her best ‘really?’ look. “Ah yes, I’m getting food advice from Mare who eats her own flesh, and Stable pony who ate chips made from recycled shit and body parts her whole life. Truly my tastes are to “Uptight” for mares of such good tastes.” That got both of them to shut up while Lacunae took a sip of her red wine in victory.

Charity trotted into the room, carrying an assortment of sacks in her magical grip. “Blackjack move over I got cartoons to finish.” She took a seat next to the bigger mare and unwrap a candy revealing a chocolate bar underneath.

“Say boss mind if I borrow some caps? I want to buy some new parts for my bike, he needs more spark mileage..” Blackjack put on her widest grin, the grin that any filly would do when begging their parents for something.

The actual Filly just gave her a look any parent would give that begging. “Do I look like I’m made of money? Bitch no, go sale that trash you horde in storage.” She said barely looking at the cyber mare.

“What! I can’t sell my stuff off! Some of that stuff was hard fought!” Blackjack protests to Charity that just gave her a look.

“Oh, you mean like that sniper rifle you never use?” She said in an angrier mocking tone. “Or that collection of old porn you barely watch?”

Blackjack looked away, her face turning red at the claim. “I wasn’t finished watching all of them, I was just half through.”

If Charity groaned any louder they would hear in the heavens. She closed her eyes and she muttered angrily. “Luna damn it Blackjack, why are you such a pervert.”

Lacunae chuckled at the display trotted over to the kitchen where she sat the glass down on a counter. “Arloste I’m going out tonight so I won’t be able to partake in your cooking. Could you leave me a bow for when I return.” Rampage just nodded to her friend, the two having a perfect understanding of each other.

“I have a date at the society and I don’t like being late.”

Blackjack’s ears perked up at the conversation. When it came to relationships and most importantly physical interaction she was all ears. “So Lacunae you and Strong Hooves been bumping flanks?” Rampage asked while grinning ear to ear.

The question was met with a friendly eye roll from the Alicorn. “No, we’re taking things steady, I’ve only been on three dates. We don’t rush anything.”

Blackjack just giggled and fell back on the couch holding back full laughter while the Alicorn glared daggers at her. “Geez Lacunae even your nightlife is uptight.” the cyber mare ignored the burning look she was getting and just grinned. “Live it up Lacunae, you don’t have to do the good little pony thing like before the war. Back in Stable 99 if you didn’t get some flank after the first time you weren’t worth it.” Lacunae just rolled her eyes, always listening to Blackjack gave her a headache. “Where I come from you would still be a virgin up there with the Stable’s priestess. And I think even she got some behind the scenes.”

“Your right Blackjack I should live like you and your kin do. I should act like a degenerate who has sex with every mare I see like some filly in heat, while having no real relationships what so ever, truly the life.” Lacunae said as she looked at Blackjack with the most contemptuous look.

If words could kill Blackjack would be a pile of ash from the levels of burns Lacunae could dish out. Blackjack just shut up and went back to watching the viewscreen, Lacunae just turned back to Rampage. “I will be back probably in the morning, no need to wait up.” She turned back to the cyber mare. “And you Blackjack do your horn treatment while I’m gone, Arloste will tell if you didn’t.” Blackjack nodded shamefully. With that, the Alicorn walked gracefully out of the doorway in the kitchen.

“See ya Luu Luu, tell Steel Boy I said hi when you see him.” Rampage went back to cooking while Blackjack and Charity watched a cartoon of two cowponies battling aliens.

Later the trio sat at the bar that lined the front of the kitchen, Blackjack, and Charity sitting on the outside while Rampage sat on the inside like some type of bartender, Blackjack had to cringe her way through the meal while Charity and Rampage ate the meal like it was candy.

Blackjack pushed away her food trying to find a topic to get her mind off it. Getting lost in thought her thoughts fell again on the big question that they all had on their minds. “Do you guys think we’re ready for this?” the tone of fear and uncertainty in the cyber mare's voice gave pause to the others. “Dawn and her Harbingers are going to throw everything they have at us, this gonna be the biggest battle since we fought Sanguine and his mutants.”

Rampage and Charity had expressions of longing desires written all over them. Rampage spoke up first in a cold voice. “For what those Dongos did to Chapel, did to the Crusaders, to my husband.” Now her voice was becoming more threatening. “We’re gonna buried those fuckers.”

“We didn’t prepare for a year just to back out now.” Charity interjected. “Remember what Dawn did to P-21? Remember how Scotch die?” Blackjack shink back at that. “Remember who has your wife locked up in their base. Or have you gone back to merciful little saint have you?”

Blackjack glared with red burning hate. “The only mercy their getting is the barrels of my shotgun.”

“Well I hope ya’ll don’t go and get yourself broke before I can finish the upgrades Sugarcubes.” A robotic voice with a strange accent made the mares turn to look at the large view screen. On it a light yellow mare with a light red mane done into a bow stared back excitedly at the mares. “Y'all gals already saddling up for the final battle, and I still have several upgrades to test out.”

Charity huff at the view screen mare, she gave her best ‘not this again’ face as she spoke. “Listen Apple Bloom. I told you that we don’t need any more upgrades to our gear, we’re literally about to have the big final battle. We don’t have time to waste getting more upgrades.”

The image of the yellow mare’s ears lowered, disappointment showing as if Charity had taken away her favorite toy. Blackjack sensing the awkward mood that had spur up, walked back into the living room, a good idea coming to mind. “Apple Bloom howse about I test some of those new limb and SATS mods. I’m sure they can help in the upcoming battle.”

The cute looking mare shot up at that, the vigor she just had a moment ago returning in full force. “Thanks Blackjack, I’ve been dying to try out the new SATS mods!” The joy at which the view screen pony shouted made Blackjack cringe back a little but she kept her smile. “Come to the lab, I can do the tests now.”

Blackjack nodded, the thought passing through her mind, this was the perfect escape from the dinner and the perfect excuse to skip horn treatment. “Sorry, Rampage can’t finish dinner today, put it in the fridge okay? Also tell Lacunae that Apple Bloom needed me.” Rampage raised an eye brow at that but before the mare could protest Blackjack was already running down the hall.

The room Apple Bloom called her lab was an old medical area that had been converted into a more general sciences room, there was still sighs of the old medical center with med beds and scanning equipment scattered around, but the area clearly had been redesigned. A set of workbenches and metal forges lined the front wall, piles of scrap metal, and robot parts laid in an eastern corner of the room, in the center of the room a silver metal table stood. From the ceiling, several spider-like arms extended toward the table below, various devices such as a saw blade and injection needle on them.

“Alright Sugarcube, let’s get this business on the road.” The gleeful accent mare’s voice boomed from speakers in the corners of the room.

Placing herself on the table and turning to look up at the spider-like limbs, a sense of unease hit Blackjack. She had been in this position before, going through several of these operations, but no matter how many times she did the feeling that those arms would rip her apart never went away. But she fought to keep that unease to herself, never allowing Apple Bloom to know it.

“So Bloomie, what’s the mods your installing?” Blackjack hoped some small talk would take her mind off the limbs of death above her.

“Oh! I decide to redo SATS to make it faster to activate, and it can now target more specific parts of a target like say the or the eye pupil. I’ve also added a system that will tell you how hurt ponies around you are, for letting yall know who to shot more.” An arm with a wire at the end lower itself down toward Blackjack’s left forehoof, a compartment on the hoof opened showing a collection of ported embedded into the hoof.

The wire connected with a small blue and in an instant Blackjack’s vision was filled with numbers that she seldom understood. “The mods should take 30 minutes to install, but the limp upgrades will take an hour.”

“What are the limp upgrades anyway?”

“Oh, it’s a new Stealth Buck system along with grappling hooves for ya. Should make getting out of a spot easy for ya honeypie.”

Another limp extended down, this one having a drill that lower to blackjack’s left forehoof. The cyber mare simply laid back and tried to relax as the drill undid bolts in her arm. “So do you think this will help me beat Dawn?” The thought hung on the mare’s mind. She had given her remaining eye, limbs, and some organs to become this cybernetic creature, all in hopes that it could beat the Angel of the Harbingers.

Apple Bloom took note of the mare’s doubtfulness and tried to reassure her the best she could. “ those cyber pony addons are my best work, I used both Deus and Dawn’s model for yours. Your gonna do fine sugarcube, You’re the Deomh, Deamon?”

“daemonium et stellas.” Blackjack corrected her, laughing a bit. “Sorry I got a hard Zebra name.”
“Well hon you're the deadliest thing outside of Rampage. Y’all will do just fine when the battle starts and you will kick that Prophet's can while saving your wife.” Blackjack smiled at that, the happy upbeatness of the A.I. always brought up the mood no matter what. “Plus I got a score to settle with a certain A.I., got something cooking for her when the fighting starts.”

She didn’t quite know what that last part meant but Blackjack just relaxed and let the arms from the ceiling do their work “For all of this I’m going to make it worth it.”