Outer Worlds: Equestria

Outer Worlds Equestria

Chapter 6: Breakdown

The last time I had been on the Non-Responsible most of the ship, with the exception of the bridge and engine room, had been sealed up. Now that it was unlocked I found the Captain’s Quarters. The last forty-eight hours had caught up with me. I was exhausted, running on adrenaline and caffeine for most of the time. The bed in the quarters wasn’t much. It was just a small preformed mattress lying inside of a shell. But at that moment it was absolutely heaven, and I found myself stretched out on it.

The bed had the smell of burned rubber, a lingering smell left over from its manufacturer, I’m sure, but it didn’t take away from the need of rest. No sooner had I stretched out then my eyes closed. Dreams, I had always enjoyed dreaming. It was a chance to see another world, to visit places and things that I’d only be able to witness in the realm of dreams. My sleep was never plagued with grotesque and horrific images. At least they never had before. Before me was the stable that Baldwin had been staying at before we boarded the Luna Seven.

But instead of rooms, and beds, there were hibernation tanks. I could see Baldwin inside of him, his eyes closed, a peaceful look upon his face, and I moved toward it only to watch the tank turn to liquid and pour out. Baldwin hit the floor, his body slowly dissolving as if his blood had been turned to acid and was eating its way out. I stepped back, uncertain of what was happening, and then I heard the sound of insane giggling. I looked away from my friend that I couldn’t save and I saw marauders, hundreds of them, rushing into the stable. All of them armed with mining equipment, rifles, battlesaddles, and they were busting open the tanks, laughing in glee. I screamed, ran forward, and tried to stop them. These ponies had done nothing wrong. I wrapped my magic around one of the marauders and she screamed as her body dissolved into ash.

The others turned on me, and I could hear them all around me. They were on the floor above me, in the walls behind me, and all rushing toward me. I tried to grab them, to wrap them in my magic, and each time they turned to ash, screaming in pain as they burned away to nothing, but as quickly as I dealt with one there were ten more to take his or her place. I watched as one got close to me, and her mask fell away. The other marauders disappeared and before me was Sugar Sweet. Her sorrowful eyes looked into my own.

“Why didn’t you get there quicker?” she asked “Why didn’t you go to the maintenance settlement before going to Day Dream’s camp?”

I swallowed and backed away from her. I felt something behind me and I turned to see Gilda. Her eyes looking at me in absolute sadness.

“Captain, why did you let her suffer?”

I shook my head, “No, I saved her!” I cried, “I took her back to Day Dream’s camp!”

She backed away from me, “If that happens to me, are you going to let me suffer while you explore and find loot?”

I shook my head, “Gilda, I won’t do that, please, believe me that I won’t.”

I looked behind her and saw a figure. She was wearing stable barding, I wanted to call out to her, but as I stepped forward she disappeared in a haze. I looked around and saw a small radiation suit with what looked looked like a fish bowl on it. The small head inside of the suit seemed to glow pink, but as I neared her the suit deflated and disappeared. I felt panic griping me, and I looked around seeing an overweight Earth Pony wearing stable barding, beside him was a Pegasus Ghoul and an Unicorn. I moved toward them only to watch them turn to dust and bones before my eyes.

I watched to reach them, any of them, and beg for help. Somehow I believed that I could find any of them, and get their help, that everything would be alright. But each time I turned they were gone. All of them, just disappeared. Then I saw Buttersworth. He looked at me with that tired smile of his.

“You can’t depend on your heroes out here,” he said, “The only thing you’ve got is yourself.”

I neared him and suddenly his eyes began to change. They became urine yellow, the irises became pin pricks, and he began giggling like mad.

“No heroes,” he giggled, “Only madness!”

I screamed as he crashed into me, “Madness and flesh!” he screamed as he ripped at me, “Sweet, sweet flesh!”

I felt him push my legs apart, and I felt the first jab. It was huge, and I screamed before my eyes opened and I raised my head. My breath came in hard raspy gasps, and I looked around at the dark room.

“Captain,” Sweet Kisses voice came over the intercom, “Are you okay?”

I swallowed, “Yeah, just some bad dreams,” I said, “Where are we?”

There was some silence, “We’re still in orbit over Equestria Two,” she said, “That said, Captain, I believe that you may be having exceptionally lucid dreams because of the lack of sleep you endured. Perhaps you should attempt to sleep more often.”

I nodded, “You’re not wrong,” I said, “So, how did you know to check in on me?”

There was a soft chuckle, “Each of the crew's quarters has an intercom system with a basic security camera in it. I am patched into all of them, so I am able to view everyone at once.”

I sighed, “So, you get an eye full if we decide to engage in some questionable activities?”

The chuckle sounded again, “Perhaps, but please trust me that if you decide to engage in any activity that requires privacy that I will stop viewing. I only have access on the off chance that there is a medical emergency.”

I gave a small smile, “Good to know,” I said, “I know that Spark Gap said that we need to head toward Majesty, but why did everyone act so weird about it?”

There was some silence, “Captain, I suggest that you come to the bridge, and I will fill you in on it.”

I followed her advice and made my way to the bridge. I stepped inside and saw her looking ahead, “I know that for you most of this is new, but they reason they acted like they did is because Majesty is a free planet,” she said, “The Equestria Corporation Conglomerate pulled out of it completely, leaving only freelancers, dissadiants, and one corporation remaining. The entire planet is discouraged against being visited.”

I looked at her, “Why?”

She shook her head, “It’s unknown exactly why, but the rumors that exist are that there were some experiments happening there that were unfavorable,” she said, “Unfortunately I don’t know all of it. I only know that after they left the Equestria Corporation Conglomerate made it illegal for all Corporate bound ships to land there.”

She turned her head, which I noticed seemed to take a great amount of willpower, and looked me in the eyes. I noticed that her own eyes were gold, and they seemed to look more like cameras than actual eyes. The irises moved like shutters, constricting to give her a sharper image. She gave an odd smile, showing part of her exposed jaw, “Sorry,” she said, “I would turn the chair, but I’ve augmented myself so far that it is no longer an option.”

I looked at her, “Sweet Kisses, did the other captain do this to you?” I asked, “I mean, did she make you do this?”

She shook her head, “No, in fact Captain Hard Luck rescued me, or at least most of me,” she said, “It’s a very long story, one I will share with you eventually, but let's just say that I’m one of the oldest beings still alive. I was an experimental Synth, Classification Earth Pony, designed to take the personality of what I assume was a long dead pony. In my case I took the personality of Corporal Sweet Kisses of the Equestrian Heavy Armament Division. Specifically I, or rather the original Sweet Kisses, operated flying machines designed to drop bombs on the enemy. The ones that created, the Institute, threw me out when they were finished.”

She smiled, “I hung around for a while, made me way to Hoofington, and eventually I managed to get aboard one of the first ships coming out here. The ship ended up going off course, and it crashed on Celeste,” she said, “It’s the furthest planet out. Mostly it’s a giant ice ball, mostly barren, mostly a place left because of no obvious resources. It’s also a place that some freelancers use as a port. The ship that crashed there became the first, and only, settlement on the planet. Those ponies call their settlement the Earthquaker.”

“What happened there?” I asked, “What do you mean that she saved most of you?”

She sighed, “The planet did have something,” she said, “It had a species that lived deep in the ice, a violent species that doesn’t like warmth. They require it to be cold, absolutely cold, and they seem to feed on any number of things. If one managed to get to Earthquaker it would shrivel up and die, the heat surrounding the settlement was more than enough to drive them away.”

She looked at me, and I could see her face looking contemplative, sad, and then she closed her eyes, “They looked like spiders, strange spiders made of crystal. A foal was playing, throwing a ball to another foal, and it went outside. She ran after it. I was helping with the front gate, and I saw her run through. I went out, afterall the cold might slow me down, but as an older synth it doesn’t stop me. I saw her, and then I saw them. Several of them, and they surrounded her. I managed to kill one, getting her loose, making her run back, and they attacked me,” she shook as she looked at me, “They tore away right hind leg, and I watched as they ate it. If it hadn’t been for Captain Hard Luck I would have died.”

She looked back toward the windshield of the bridge, “She saved me, most of me, but damage was done,” she said, “I couldn’t help anymore, and I didn’t want to be just taken care of. So, she offered a place with her. Originally the Non-Responsible had a hibernation tank, and Captain Hard Luck would run jobs to other colonies, further out, ones that would take a decade to get to. She could communicate with me through the tank, but she wouldn’t age.”

I looked at her, “How old was Hard Luck?”

She sighed, “Nearly a hundred years old,” she said, “I’d been at Earthquaker for about ten years before that foal ran out, Captain Hard Luck had just gotten the Non-Responsible in a card game, and somehow our fates alined.”

I studied her, “I’m sorry she died,” I said, “I really am.”

She nodded, “As am I, but I believe that she was planning on getting out. She had the tank removed, talked about foals, explained that she was considering gifting the ship to me, and letting me become her captain,” she said, “It was a nice gesture, but by that time I had integrated myself almost fully to the ship. I couldn’t repair my body, so I gave myself a new one. The Non-Responsible is me, and I am her. It’s not perfect, but I can do more now than ever before, and it gives me a chance to meet and know new friends.”

I gave her a soft smile with the hope that she could see it, “I’d count myself fortunate to be considered one of that number.”

She nodded, “You are,” she said, “I won’t ask anything foolish, such as that you remain with me forever.”

She looked toward me, “In truth, given an adequate powersource I could potentially run forever. Since I am tied in with the ship itself it’s likely that unless something happens to ship, or the universe itself ends, I have the potential to outlive every other being in the universe,” she said, “But don’t think for a moment that it means that anybeing’s life is worth less to me. My friends, all of them, mean the world to me. I mourn Captain Hard Luck, but I am pleased that you are my new captain.”

I nodded, “So, what’s your suggestion on going to Majesty?”

She studied me for a second, “I would say that my suggestion is to not go. But unfortunately that is not possible. While I am certain that you have some currency, bits I believe its called, you don’t have enough to purchase the armament needed,” she said, “However, the settlement that Spark Gap wants us to land in is nothing more than a home to marauders and mantalings. There should be plenty of armaments there, along with bits. I would suggest that you attempt to salvage as much as possible, and when finished you can do something else. The planet is free from the control of the Equestria Corporation Conglomerate, from the Board as it is commonly referred to, and as such any abandoned settlement can be claimed.”

She turned her head again, “Claim the settlement,” she said, “If you do it means that any secret that resides there, any weapons, any homes, machines, and any amount of bits belongs to you. Take your symbol, your cutie mark, and create a flag with it. Raise it over the city. It isn’t the most sophisticated way to do it, but it will be a legitimate claim, and it will give you the right to allow others to visit.”

I looked at her, “You’ve thought of this before, haven’t you?”

She gave a half smile, “Yes,” she admitted, “Captain Hard Luck was going to do it. It would become her city. I suggest it to you because I would like for it to become yours. Once it is claimed you can invite others into it, and there are several groups that would pay tribute to be allowed to enter, and use the resources there.”

The idea wasn’t without merit. Actually, it was a damned good idea. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but having an entire settlement set aside would be a bonus. If it could be made safe, and if it was large enough, then there was no reason why the colonists from the Luna Seven couldn’t be brought here. It was a strange thought, but honestly it gave me some hope. It gave me hope that maybe there would be a place that Baldwin could potentially call home.

I looked out at the horizon, “What’s the Settlement’s name that’s abandoned?” I asked, “And does it have a landing pad?”

She was silent for a moment, “The documentation that Spark Gap sent states that there is a landing pad, along with the access codes to use it, should the security system still be active,” she said, “And the settlement’s name is Taffyta, former secondary headquarters for Auntie Frosted Cake, and if the notes that Spark Gap has sent us is correct the resting place of Auntie Frosted Cake’s secret lab.”

I looked ahead, “Well, set a course for Taffyta,” I said, “We’ll set down, and go from there.”

She laid in the course, and there was no use for the Flash Drive. Granted, using it would have made the trip nearly instant, but Sweet Kisses explained that while she had no doubt that she could navigate it easily enough, if the Non-Responsible was off by even the slimmest margin then it could end up buried into the face of the planet, and it would be crushed like an empty can. Instead at highest speed without using the Flash Drive the trip would take six hours.

I nodded, and thanked her. I then left, walked toward the kitchen, and I found Gilda already getting into some of the food. The can she had cracked open smelled like beans and something else. She was eating it, making little happy noises as she enjoyed it. I walked past her and found a loaf of Auntie Frosted Cake’s famous Sliced Bread. I took two slices out, found a jar of Spacey’s Favorite old fashioned Mock Apple Butter, and a jar of Tootie Fruitie’s Synthetic Strawberry Jam.

I made a sandwich, smelled it, and ate. It tasted well enough, and I enjoyed the meal. I half expected it to taste terrible, and I expected to not finish the sandwich. Instead the bread was some of the softest that I’d ever had. The Mock Apple Butter tasted fresh and it had just a hint of tart with the sweet. The Synthetic Strawberry Jam was just as good as any strawberry jam I’d ever had. The sandwich made me feel nostalgic for my friends, and certainly for Baldwin. He’d given me a few samples of his family’s cooking, including Apple Family Apple Butter. The Spacey’s Favorite Mock Apple Butter was a poor substitute for Baldwin’s Apple Butter, but it still reminded me of sharing a sandwich with him.

After eating I watched Gilda as she listened to something. Without waiting she traced the noise, and I watched as she pulled an access panel and crawled into a small space. Her hindquarters stuck out, moving left and right, up and down, until she made a little happy cheer and crawled back out.

“Everything alright?” I asked, “You seemed like something was drawing you.”

She nodded, looking decidedly sheepish, or at least as close to being sheepish as a gryphon hen could look.

“Yes ma’am Captain ma’am,” she said, “I just heard a slight hum that shouldn’t be there, and I found a loose connection. Just had to power down the switch, connect the connection, and power it back up again. Should make it easier for Sweet Kisses to open and close the access door to the engine room.”

“Yes, thank you,” Sweet Kisses said over the intercom, “The blast door to protect the engine room, or protect everyone inside incase of shielding failure, only seemed to work every sixth try. I was sure that I could get it to close, but I wasn’t sure if I could get it to close without some harm to all of you.”

I looked at a camera that was facing us, “What kind of harm?”

There was silence, “Magical radiation,” she said, “It would be within survivable parameters, most likely.”

I was silent for a few moments. That wasn’t exactly something that I wanted to hear. I certainly didn’t want to know that if the shielding around the engine failed there was a chance that we would all get dosed with radiation. I had learned about it, and I had learned that it had caused ghouls. Actually, it still caused them occasionally. Ponies that worked with magical waste sometimes had a faulty shielding suit, and when that happened it allowed the radiation from the waste to leak in.

They weren’t as prevalent as they once were, but there were still a few ghouls in Equestria. I certainly didn’t want to end up as one. At least with the blast door operational Sweet Kisses could get it down, and we would be safe until we reached a planet. At which point if we had a contamination suit one of us could go in, repair the damage, and then we could get going once again.

I smiled at Gilda, “Thanks,” I said, “If you don’t mind keeping a look out for anything else like that, please do.”

She gave me a nod, and I headed up stairs. Once there I found Hard Luck’s terminal, and I decided to poke around in it. I found reports she had made on smuggling operations, legitimate jobs, and of course leads on other jobs and who would be best to work for. I spent so much time reading her notes that I didn’t realize how much time had passed. It wasn’t until Sweet Kisses announced that we had landed in Taffyta that I realized six hours had passed.

The three of us left the ship, and I looked at the landing pad. The railing was mostly still up, and I could see a few vending machines near the elevator. We walked toward it, and as we looked over I saw the dead bodies of marauders, and the dead body of something that remotely looked like a pony. We took the elevator down, listening to the soft scraping sounds as it lowered, until we reached the ground. I walked forward and looked at the pony-like creature. It was large, black with small green joints. It’s face was different. It looked almost like a pony’s eyes but the muzzle was drawn back, twisted, and hundreds of sharp needle-like teeth stuck out.

“Mantaling,” Buttersworth said, “I’d heard of them before, but the stories didn’t do them justice.”

“What are they?” I asked, “I mean it almost looks like a pony, or a changeling.”

They looked at me, “What’s a changeling?” Gilda asked, “I’d heard the name once, but it wasn’t brought back up.”

Buttersworth also looked at me, and I shook my head, “Back in Equestria, the original Equestria, there was a race of insectoid like ponies called Changelings,” I said, “They could change their shapes, take on other forms, and they fed off of love. They had something of an unsteady alliance with Ponies. More or less they agreed to help us rebuild, and protect ourselves in exchange for love.”

Gilda looked at me for a moment, “Well, Mantalings just want to eat you, or at least that’s what the serials say,” she said, “Course I don’t rightly know if it's true.”

I looked at the marauders, and I could see that several had parts missing. Legs, heads, parts of their stomachs, and necks seemed to be gone. It looked like the idea that the Mantalings ate ponies wasn’t far off. We moved, and began gathering weapons in the area. There were shells for the rifle, which was wonderful, and I found a working magical rifle. It looked worn out, but not damaged. I floated it, up, studying it, and my Eye Dentity Scanner took note of it. I realized that it could connect to the weapon, power it up, fire it, and inform me when it needed its battery replaced.

The rifle found itself a new home on my back. We moved forward and I heard insane laughter. We looked to see a marauder firing wildly at a mantaling, attempting to hit it, and some of the shots finding purchase. But it didn’t look like those shots were doing much more than pissing it off. Finally the mantaling rushed forward, lifted its forleg which glowed for a second, and then turned into almost a blade like weapon. It sliced at the marauder, catching him in leg and slicing it off. The marauder laughed as he fell, bleeding to death, and the mantaling rushed forward ripping the rest of the leg off and eating it. I watched as the marauder died, and the mantaling finished its meal. As it did I took aim, looking at the back of its head, and I fired a shot. The blast caught it at the base of his head, and I saw something green splatter the ground in front of it. It fell forward, kicking a few times, but then it laid still.

I hadn’t expected a single shot to kill it, but then it occurred to me that I had caught it unprepared, and I had shot it in the head. Typically things shot in the head died fairly quickly. So, the trick to dealing with mantalings was to sneak up on them, and shoot them in the head. We moved forward again, and slowly we began exploring the abandoned town. There was a huge gate that connected the landing paid to the settlement itself, but the gate was sealed. I figured that the controls had to be around, so it would mean searching for them, but I did go up into the guard tower that connected to the gate.

There were no marauders, and no other creatures other than something that looked similar to mice running around inside of it. There were a few more rifles, similar to mine, but most of them looked to be in poor repair. I decided to take them all, and I’d let Gilda see if she could use them to make a couple of decent rifles. But the weapons weren’t the only thing. Sweet Kisses had suggested putting my flag up, and I planned on doing that. I found an old coat, something that looked like it had been a lab coat, and I searched until I found some grease.

Using a spell I’d learned when I took art I made a copy of my cutie mark on the coat itself. There an image of three aces and two eights, the dead mare’s hoof, resided on the makeshift flag. I used my magic to attach it to a window of the tower, and specifically to make the symbol shine. This was now my settlement, if Sweetie Kisses was correct, and that meant that I had rights to the entire place.

I left the tower, and we began exploring. Most of the buildings were locked up, something that could be gotten past, but not without taking more time. As we walked I felt an itch around the base of my tail. It was a deep seated itch, something that began feeling more and more like tiny flames licking against my dock. My eyes widened as I realized that I was starting my heat. I glanced at Buttersworth, my eyes resting on his flanks as he walked. I needed to keep myself clear headed, and that meant not thinking sexy thoughts.

We moved and I moved toward the building. I tried the door, found it open, and stepped inside. It was dark, and everything was silent. I used my horn to light up the area and I saw a pair of eyes looking back at me. They were slitted like a cat’s eyes, the soft smell of smoke filled my nose, and I watched as the power came on. He was green with a purple mane, and odd looking purple ears, a pair of wings folded at his sides, and his muzzle looked mostly ponish except for the sharp teeth. I started to say something when he reached forward and pulled me out of the way. A bout of green flame shot past me against a creature that screamed.

“Get inside all of you!” he exclaimed as he shut the door after they got in, “Who are you, do you have a ship, and is there anypony else out there?”

I shook my head, “I’m Captain Slim Chance of the Non-Responsible, mostly we’ve just seen marauders and mantalings, and our ship is on the landing pad.”

He groaned, “Then they’re dead,” he said, “Shit. Sorry, I’m Smog.”

He leaned against the wall and I realized that he looked odd. He saw me looking, “I’m a dragony, you know half pony, half dragon.”

I looked at him, “You mean like those old stories about the Dragonequis?”

He snorted a puff of smoke, “No, I’m not a god of chaos. If I was then I wouldn’t be here,” he said, “I just happen to be tough enough that bullets won’t do much to me, but magical beam weapons will.”

I looked at him, “Is that why you’re here?”

He nodded, “The marauders were some of the ponies, yaks, and gryphons from the settlement. They changed, went crazy, and we had to kick them out. One of them seemed to remember the code for the gate, left it open, and let themselves in.”

He looked up, “That’s about the same time mantalings showed up,” he said, “Not sure where they were before, but it wasn’t like this place really cared. We had weird mutated dragon like things that spit acid, Rapadon’s somepony called them, and then we had the canids, those wild dog things. The marauders were the icing on the shit sandwich we were fed.”

I looked at me, “I’m sorry,” I said, “I really am, but we’re looking for something, and when we find it we can leave. If you want to go with us, you’re welcome to.”

He looked at me, “Okay,’ he said, “What are you looking forward for?”

I explained the lab, what we had hoped to find, and why. He listened, and for the most part he agreed to help us. Of course I suggested that we take some time to get a little rest. Be ready for what we find. I went into a room, and laid down. When I woke up it was light outside, and I groaned as I sat up. Everything felt weird, wrong, but at the same time I felt good. My eyes opened to the off blue light of the sun as it stretched across the room.

I could hear breathing around me, and then I felt a clawed hand touching my leg.

"Mmmm, that was delightful," a raspy voice said, "Makes me realize what some of those old-timers meant by riding a pony."

Everything hit me. My heat, and I had seen Smog as he passed by my room. I had invited him in, we joked, and then we kissed. We kissed and he was an amazing kisser. One thing had led to another, and I had found myself with my face buried into an old dust covered pillow as he took me from behind. The soreness in my dock told me that my backdoor saw action that I wasn't completely ready for.

You’ve unlocked Seductress Perk: You can now begin a romantic relationship with one or more companions. While using this perk, if you sleep next to your romantic interest you will wake up refreshed, fully energized, and gain double amounts of experience points for the first thirty minutes of the day.