Lost Words and Unfinished Thoughts

You’re listening to Equestria News Radio and I’m your host, DJ Pon3! First off, I’d like to wish my fellow wastelanders happy holidays with DA DADA DA, SOME NEWS! Looks like the Steel Rangers and the slavers are at it again, but this time, they’re hashin it out downtown for the old Bucklyn Bridge! You rangers better punt those suckers outta Manehattan before they enslave you fillies and colts. Things are gettin’ crazy down here, so steer clear if you don’t want to be destroyed! There’s also been reports of heavy feral ghoul activity to the south, near Red Racer Factory! It’s gonna get real cold tonight kids, so bundle up. THANKS FOR LISTENIN, THIS IS DJ PON3 GIVIN YOU THE NEWS, no matter how bad it hurts! Now, this is Let It Snow, a lil’ number from Sweetie Bell to get ya’ll in the holiday spirit!

*

The music sang from the pipbuck as I positioned myself in an office with a hole blown in the wall, facing the Bucklyn Bridge. I shook as the wind blew in and jumped when I heard a thud. I turned to look at the pink mare, who lay on her back, having fallen while trying to reach a footlocker that had been hidden atop a remaining ceiling tile.

“Hehe, sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“You need to be more careful Ruby, you could really hurt yourself,” I said, helping her up as she retrieved her half framed sunglasses.

“Re-lax Queen, I’m a professional,” she said with a giggle.

I sighed at the nickname.

“Why don’t you just use your magic?”

She blushed, putting on her sunglasses as she stammered weakly.

“Well-I-It’s….Could you get it for me.”

“Ok,” I said with a self satisfied smirk.

I set the footlocker on the floor and watched her set upon the box with a squee. I giggled and shook my head before lying on my belly, positioned behind my high powered anti machine rifle. The thermal scope helped me pick out the targets easily, but my concentration was broken by an especially excited squee.

“AW YEAH, WE GOT FANCY BUCK CAKES!”

I looked back at my friend, who looked at me before jamming a cake in her mouth.

“Showwy.”
I turned back to the weapon, hearing Ruby scramble over, picking up the pair of binoculars that I had laid out for her. She’d begun marking targets in buildings above the battle, in buildings, while I marked targets on the bridge, by the time she had finished chewing, we’d finished marking targets to pick off to help the final push and she’d begun ravenously attacking another cake.

“How are you still so thin,” I asked her.

She gulped down the second cake before firing a retort.

“Why is your accent so sexy,” she asked with a cheeky grin.

I shook my head and sighed, standing and walking to the ham radio that had been set up on the old desk. It clicked on and I tuned it to the frequency that I had been told to before speaking into the microphone.

“This is Scribe Carte Blanche, is there anyone on this channel, over.”

“This is Paladin Ironside, you’re clear to engage, Scribe. Happy hunting, over and out.”

I made my way back, looking down range. My first target was a sniper on an old fire escape. His head popped like a balloon as Ruby marked another target, this one in salvaged power armor.

CLICK CLICK

With another round chambered, I took aim and fired, blasting a fairly large hole in the side of the armor, killing whoever was inside.

“There’s one with a Fat Mare on the roof of that apartment,” Ruby said with a hint of amazement in her voice.

CLICK CLICK

BOOM

The mare’s body flopped down to the street below, a hole blown in her chest as I sighted another target with an anti machine rifle. I was about to fire when shots landed right beside me.

“Shit, take cover,” Ruby screamed, hauling me back behind the desk and drawing a silenced submachine gun from a flank holster.

“Celestia damn raiders,” she said, pulling a detonator from her saddlebag on the desk.

Hoof falls caused Ruby’s ears to perk before she activated the detonator’s first switch with a devilish grin.

BOOOM!!

HOLY SHIT!!!

Screams sounded from the blown apart floor below and I crawled to the rifle, taking aim at the slavers again as Ruby charged out of the room.

BOOM

RATATATAT

“AW, DON’T RUN, I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE WASTELAND A BETTER PLACE,” Ruby screamed from the hallway.

I then noticed that the Steel Rangers had advanced to the entrance to the bridge, but were pinned down by a firing line set up at the walls of the base. I aimed for the biggest guns first, killing their owners in rapid succession until it was mostly clear and I was out of ammunition.

Ruby staggered back into the room, panting heavily as she sat down. I cocked my head sideways at her, doing my best to show my confusion as I finished packing up the rifle.

“Only two got away,” she said with a chuckle.

“Ok, get your saddlebag, we need to go.”

She grabbed her bags and I helped her with the straps before following her through the rows of cubicles to the emergency staircase, nearly tripping down the stairs before we burst out into a back alley. We ran toward the rear of the building, but a raider with a rusted shotgun popped out, blocking our path.

“DIE!”

BOOM!

I drew Ruby’s SMG and placed four rounds into his chest, dropping the weapon to tend to my best friend, who cried out in pain as I put pressure on the wound and rifled through my bag, pulling out a shattered healing potion from my bag, throwing it as I became frantic. I opted to use combat gauze and a pressure wrap before lifting her in my telekinesis.

“Queen, I don’t feel so hot,” she said with tears threatening to fall.

“Don’t die, I owe you some new sunglasses,” I replied, trying to hide my fear as I nodded to the crushed pair on the ground.

She wouldn’t stop bleeding and I heard more raiders coming, whooping and hollering. I narrowly avoided being shot as I ran, carrying her through the wrecked streets, ignoring the mental strain as I galloped. A round hit my flank and I staggered, tumbling into the open maw of a subway station, losing my telekinetic grasp on Ruby as I fell down the stairs. My head spun and my ears rang. I got up and staggered back, crying out as I picked up Ruby, dragging her into the subway station after me. I set her down and shot a raider coming down the stairs with the SMG before noticing a sign for the security office. I dragged her into the dingy office, closing and locking the door behind me.

I looked around, seeing papers littering the floor, a few desks, a yellow medical box, and a blown open door with a few holding cells. I levitated over the medical box and sat her up against me as I sat on my haunches and rifled through the medical box, relieved to find a healing potion. I looked at her and saw that she was pale and barely conscious if at all. I shook her a little, but she was still far too faint to drink, so I pulled an empty syringe and surgical tubing from my saddlebag and rigged up a makeshift IV. I used old seat cushions to elevate her legs and held the healing potion up, watching as the wound slowly began to close.

I knew that she was still gonna need blood and rest, but this would buy me plenty of time to scavenge what I needed.

BANG BANG BANG

A raider pounded at the door, manically laughing as he shouted, “I’M GONNA SKIN YOU RIPE CUNTS AFTER MY BOYS AND I HAVE SOME FUN WITH YOU HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

I gently moved Ruby behind the reception desk, holding the SMG at the ready.

“Good luck getting in you bellend, I’ve locked the door and called for reinforcements,” I shouted back.

He growled, “RRRRRRRRR NO NO NO NO, YOU DID NOT! YOU CAN’T PLAY ME YOU STUPID CUNT! I WILL GET IN THERE, OR YOU WILL COME OUT, AND WHEN I GET AHOLD OF YOU HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’M PFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’M GONNA RAPE YOU WHILE I CUT YOU AND THAT MAREFRIEND OF YOURS INTO TINY PIECES HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

I shivered at the thought, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. I checked the magazine and my heart shattered at the empty magazine. There was one bullet in the chamber. I wouldn’t let them touch Ruby. It’d be painful, but if it came to it, I would gladly suffer before she did. I lay the weapon on the counter, lying down beside my best friend. I hoped that she was having a good dream as I lay there beside her.

*

I cried, curled up in a gray corner of the dull bunker’s barracks. No one cared to acknowledge me as I whaled. Star Paladin Steel Hooves walked away after telling me about my parents. They were killed in a shootout against a gang of slavers.

“I hate you,” was the last thing I’d said to my father before he left. He was nothing but kind to me and I had said something so heartless to him. I never wished my mother a happy birthday. Now I was all alone.

“H-hey, are y-you o...ok,” a filly stammered beside me.

I could only cry as I turned to look at the little pink filly with a messy orange mane. A look of terror entered her eyes and she quickly looked away, but stood somewhat firmly.

“W-would- would you c-come with m-me,” she asked hopefully.

I couldn’t stop crying, but I slowly stood, following her out into the halls and into an uncovered vent. We crawled for what seemed like forever before reaching another missing vent cover that led outside. We stood in a cave and I was led to the open maw, which overlooked a fair amount of Equestria from the cliffside cave. I had stopped crying as I stared out at the vast world, from a blackened city in front of me to the little lights of civilization scattered about the dark landscape.

“Whenever...I l-like to c-come here w-when I’m sad. I l-like to think ab-about if the...if the w-wasteland was p-peaceful,” she stuttered.

I began to tear up again, but she pulled me into a hug.

“It wi-we could….we c-can all make it g-good if we t-try,” she said, pulling me close.

“If w-we work hard, no one w-will h-have to s-suffer any...anymore,” she said.

*

I had fallen asleep. Celestia, that was the worst meeting I ever had with anypony, but it didn’t change the fact that we were best friends. I turned my head, letting out a sigh as I noticed some of her color had come back. The healing potion had completely drained into her, so I removed the needle from her foreleg, setting the set up on the counter as I got to my hooves. I had to figure out an escape before we ran out of supplies, but it was still gonna be a bit too risky to move Ruby, she had lost far too much blood, and I didn’t have the ammunition to war with the group of raiders.