Fallout Equestria: Endless Horizon

Chapter 4: An Awesome Rescue

-🖂︎🖂︎🖂︎-

It's good to hear from you Aella. Things back home have been getting pretty hectic. We haven't had any losses yet, but supplies are wearing thin. I’m worried we’ll have to start prioritizing who gets treatment. Sharing the healing potions and talismans isn’t going to cut it forever. Everyone is getting steadily worse. Me and the other unicorns have been doing 20 hour days making healing potions and trying to help the sick. They’re talking about sending out a reclamation team for medical supplies and equipment, but no one knows where it’ll go.

There's something else that worries me too. With everyone in isolation, those of us with implants or synthetics haven't been able to get them tuned up or repaired. My lung is running fine, but Mr. Abernathy's leg failed outright. He just stays locked in his room now. Those who need medication for chronic issues like diabetes or anxiety aren’t faring any better.

Don’t worry about us too much, yet. We’re managing, and supplies are still going to last a while. If you're dead set on helping us, we could use it... Even if you could bring back a stash of meds or something, it'd keep us going. But no matter what, take care of yourself first. Stay safe, and do your best. No matter what happens, we're all proud. Love you.

-Aqua Tide, Uni 27

*** *** ***

The building shook with terrifying intensity, sending shelves and lights flying from the walls and ceiling. The magical power that lit the building struggled as it braved the undeserved beating. Every breath burned from the dust and smoke clouding the atmosphere. The scent of burned gunpowder and hot metal stung the red mare's nostrils, as she did her best to lead the enemies away from her new friend.

Another series of explosions shook the building. The young mare galloped through the facility turned hostile against her. The robots and turrets were determined to kill them, even if that meant destroying the building they were built to protect.

Scarlet dove through an open door, narrowly escaping a cascade of grenade shells. The pony put her hooves over her ears as they went off, ears screaming from the countless explosions that slammed into her eardrums. She ducked into what looked to be some kind of nursery and daycare. She tripped over stuffed toys and blocks as she rushed behind the desk across the room for cover. She crouches behind it and probes around under it with her magic.

“Holy shit. Kid was right!” She smirked as she grabbed her looked over her objective. The revolver was in rough shape, but the hammer and trigger worked. It was enough. She grinned as she plucked a super restoration potion from the desk as well.

As she checked over the weathered firearm the robot rolled into the doorway. Its bright red eye turned towards her. Smoke trailed from the barrel of its devastating grenade machine gun. The seasoned wastelander grinned at the bot and took aim with the rusty pistol. The gun groaned and strained as the cylinder rotated.

BANG BANG BANG

Three streaks of silver lightning fired from the chamber. Bullets enchanted to channel the weather spirits themselves. Scarlet closed her eyes to keep the blinding flashes from searing her retinas. The bolts shot through the robot's chassis. Horrid feedback screamed from its speakers. Its eyes flickered as it slowly died.

Scarlet dashed down past the Hellbringer in the doorway, and down the hall. She left the rusty pistol on the floor of the daycare, it's precious ammo spent. The shock rounds wouldn't fry the machine's systems completely, but it would take a bit to reboot. It bought us a bit of time.

I had no idea why anypony would need such a powerful and terrible weapon, let alone a robot guarding a factory. If this was the kind of firepower Equestria had brought against the zebras, I wondered what kind of firepower the zebras had of their own.

Scarlet was panting and wheezing as she sprinted back into the security office. Her red coat was covered in a layer of soot. She was matted and soaked with sweat. She smelled like a munitions factory. I was so distracted working at the computer, I didn’t notice she was there until I felt her hoof on my shoulder. She was eyeing the screen with a frown. “That doesn't look good. What’s it mean?”

I sighed and slammed my head onto the keyboard. One of the hoof-shaped buttons cracked under the pressure of my beak. “He used some kind of improvised processor widget. I had no idea he had this level of technical know-how. The widget passed all control of the security systems to his Pipbuck. I can’t do anything without it.”

The red mare stomped a hoof, groaning. “How does that jackass always think this far ahead! Ok, ok. “ She looked at me, chewing her lip a bit. She was trying to calm down and think, but the stress seemed to be getting to her. “There’s gotta be something else then. A weapon we can use, like the pistol!”

I shook my head. “N-no, that was it. A few of the staff had stolen some shock ammo because they were afraid of the robots, but I didn’t read anything about weapons strong enough to kill them, unless…” Could it work? I’d never had to work in such intense conditions, but everything I need should be downstairs in magical weapons development. That meant fighting our way to the basement, which-

“Equestria to egghead, what is it?” Scarlet had been trying to get my attention when I trailed off, waving a hoof in my face. “You have a plan, don’t you? You got a planny look.” She leaned closer to me as her wounded ear twitched. The proximity made me uncomfortable, and I pushed her away gently.

“There’s nothing here we can use as a weapon, but there’s enough stuff we can use to build a weapon! We need to get downstairs, which… will be hard since I had you to use the magic bullets on that bot…”

The pony rolled her eyes a bit, then nudged me. “The robot isn’t getting anymore broken. We should get moving! Come on.” The red mare took off, forcing me to follow. She had shorter legs than me but was just as fast. I was kind of impressed with the agility of the little unicorn pony. Had she been born with wings, I was sure she’d have made a very skilled flyer.

Impressively, she’d managed to memorize the building's floor plan in the short time she’d been scavenging (mostly hiding) there. The root we took was a lot longer than it could have been, but it dodged all of the turrets we hadn’t taken out yet. Scarlet was quickly running out of ammo for her shotgun, so we had to save what we could.

We made it safely to the stairwell and headed down the basement

*** *** ***

Woosh

The strangely phallic projectile flew past at mind-bending speeds. The explosion rocked the building and blew apart the wall near the end of the hallway. I cried out as the shockwave sent my battered body skidding across the floor. Scarlet landed on top of me, crushing my mangled wing under her weight.

The hot air was burning at my coat and mane as a fiery blaze grew behind us. The growing plumb of smoke burned at our lungs worse than the air around us. The hallway's lights flickered and died, leaving us in the orange glow of the growing fire behind us.

It brought back memories of the firehawk back home. The one that nearly torched me alive before my sister swooped in. But my sister was on the other side of the world. She wasn't here to save me this time. No General Seaspray or Desert Glo- Fuck.

The hellbringer seemed to cackle as it rolled towards us on heavy tank treads. The missile pod on its shoulder opened to slowly load another projectile from its back. This one had bright red lines and bolts painted across its weapon and body, making it appear much more imposing than the others.

My chest was on fire. No matter how I gasped and coughed I could hardly get any air in. My talons wrapped around my throat as I struggled to breathe. I was panicking, failing to understand how I could be suffocating with so much air in the... air.

Scarlet was managing a bit better. A large bloody gash graced the side of her coat, running from her cutie mark to just below her neck. Her blood was pooling at her hooves as she struggled to stand. She limped over to me, face white as a ghost.

“Come on, we need to go…” She panted, shaking me. I couldn't respond. I could hardly gasp. suddenly my scalp burned, but not from the heat. And I was moving. Being pulled away from the fire by my mane. Even in Scarlet's condition, wounded and bleeding she was doing whatever she could to save me.

The pain barely registered as my vision blurred. It had only been thirty seconds or so, and I already felt myself starting to slip away. My mind snapped back to the biology class I’d taken years ago, and just barely passed. How long could a griff go without oxygen? Was I dying? Was this how Aqua felt when her lungs failed?

The hydraulic door clanging shut pulled me back to reality. Then a rhythmic thud reverberated through the cold steel floor. The killer robot trying in vain to take down the pressurized door.

A blurry mess of colours I assumed was Scarlet stood over me. Sweat ran down her face, and her eyes were bloodshot and watering. “A-Aella are you ok? I don’t see any wounds, what’s wrong?” I tried to respond, but all that came out was a series of weak, bloody coughs. My new friend rolled me onto my side, so I could spew blood and gore from my damaged airways.

“Aw shit, that looks bad. D-drink, now!” She wheezed. I felt the neck of a potion bottle touch my lips as I let my eyes close. I choked a bit on the potion going down, but it didn’t matter anymore. I was so tired. All I wanted was to rest.

*** *** ***

The tiles above me were a clean, porcelain white. If I could ignore the pain in my body and the sleeping mare's head next to me, I could have pretended I was in the clinic back home. Like when I’d clipped a tree and needed my wing in a cast. When my sister and I went to donate blood together.

This wasn’t my home or a clinic. The continued banging of the Hellbringer trying to breach the door made that very clear. All I could remember was passing out on the floor of weapons development. From what I could figure, the shockwave of the missile collapsed one of my lungs. I’d probably want a medical pony to look me over the next chance we had.

I'd almost died again. I was just lucky enough that there was someone there to pull me from the proverbial, (and literal) fire. Even halfway around the world, it was exactly the same. I was tricked, manipulated, and nearly killed. The only reason I got through any of it was because a stranger saved my life. I couldn't afford to be useless in the wasteland. My sister was counting on me.

I was laid out on one of the workbenches. Scarlet had pushed all of the tools to the floor so I could have a place to sleep off the floor. She was curled up in a chair next to me, her head resting on the bench next to mine. I blushed a bit as her warm breath tickled my neck.

Her body was wrapped up in bloody bandages that had somehow managed to stop her bleeding. She was alive and hopefully would recover. No doubt the rest was helping, but the pain killers and empty potion bottles on the floor probably helped more.

I gently nuzzled her head. “Thank you for saving my life…” I whispered to her before sitting up. I was sore, and my chest burned whenever I breathed too deeply. Not a great start to my patented full-proof plan, but at least I was alive. I peered down at my Pipbuck and tapped at the screen. 0300 hours… We slept for over three hours! Specter would be long gone.

We were lucky the building was as sturdy as it was. The basement was mostly steel and concrete, so the fires didn’t spread past the hallway. The heavy door had started to buckle but was still managing to keep the Hellbringer out of our manes.

I needed more rest. Wanted so badly to curl up and sleep away my pain and fear. But I didn't have time. Scarlet couldn’t get out of here without me, and I was next to useless without her. So I did what I do best. I got lost in my work. I was careful not to wake the sleepy red mare, wanting her to be as well-rested as she could be. Scarlet had cleared out several of the first aid boxes placed throughout the large room. They were the familiar cross with a butterfly I saw on some kits at home, though these ones were more rusted and worn.

After 15 minutes, I had a sizable pile of junk and scrap to work with, and a rough idea of what I needed to do. Every clang on the door served to remind me that my time was limited. Another 45 minutes, and I was done. The devices looked simple enough. Three spark batteries were taped and wonder glued together, connected with wires and conductors. All running through a high-intensity wave emitter on top of them.

The homemade Matrix Disruption grenades were complete. I knew they could be powerful enough to overload the Flux Regulator on a sky carriage, so as long as I’d built them properly…

A pained hiss from across the room drew my attention from the thought. Scarlet had winced a bit when she'd sat up. Still, she was smiling as she watched me work. I couldn't help but notice a cute scar along her nose, going partway to her eye. It was thin and faded, but noticeable under the bright basement lights. “I’m glad you’re ok. You had me worried for a minute there.” She slowly got to her hooves and limped over to me. I offered her some meds for her pain, which she graciously accepted. My body and mind calmed as I took a few for myself as well.

She wasn’t sure about the weapons I had crafted for us. She’d never heard of anypony building their own EMP grenades. It made sense why. Overloading arcano-tech isn’t an easy feat. They were hardened against magical interference. I assured her they would pack more than enough punch.

*** *** ***

Zzzzaaaaapppfffttttttt-t-t-

My mane stood on end as the homemade EMP grenade went off. (I was still workshopping a name for them, that was a beakful.) The magical energy rushing past was the magical equivalent of someone randomly pounding on a piano, random, inconsistent, and very uncomfortable. Even if not for how vulnerable my pip-buck, pistol, and few implants were it's not a feeling I wanted to repeat. The magical noise left me dizzy and nauseous.

The Hellbringer got a very bad surprise when it rolled through the remains of the door we were hiding behind. Scarlet and I watched in quiet anticipation as the robot sparked and twitched, praying that the weapon shut down its systems. After a moment the machine went still, and its headlamp died.

The ruby mare next to me raised her hoof to me, which I happily bumped with a fist. “Holy shit you did it!” She shouted happily. “Fuck yeah! I've never seen anything like that! Alright, let's get back to that airship of yours. I’m so done with this place.” I couldn’t agree more.

The two remaining robots were easy to take out with our new weapons. They had set paths to roam inside and outside the facility, so all we had to do was make sure they’d roll past when the weapons were armed. I was sad to be wasting so many spark batteries on this, but I didn't have a choice.

The Robot in the hall was easy enough to find and deal with. All of the hallways and offices in the Admin wing made it very easy to get behind it. We knew we’d have a very hard time getting out the front door to hit that one with the magical grenades, so instead, we tried to bomb it from the roof. It took two tries before we’d managed to land a hit, but the bot shorted out with a satisfying show of sparks and feedback.

*** *** ***

Scarlet was in awe of nearly everything on my ship. She’d never been in the air before, nor had she ever seen as much food or supplies I had at my disposal. Her favourite thing seemed to be the shower. Specifically the hot water. She spent nearly an hour in the Washroom cleaning up. The one in the Galley, no one was allowed in my room. The mare saved my life. The very least I could do was get her a hot bath and some of my food. Besides, it was nice to have somepony on the skiff with me. Well somepony who didn’t scare the feathers off me.

I used up a few of the healing potions we’d liberated from Stable 24. One for Scarlet, and two for me. I was still in a lot of pain from the missile attack, and I didn’t want my lungs to get infected in their weak state. I definitely couldn’t afford to end up like Aqua. The healing potions fixed me up for the most part. I only had a bit of pain when I coughed.

I flopped into my bed shortly after. The circular mess of soft blankets and various plushies and trinkets helped me relax. I got shot. My lung collapsed. I was being led around the wasteland by a slaver! Every terrible thing I could have imagined had hit me all at once, and I was just starting wasteland day 3!

I whimpered and curled up in my cozy nest. I pulled my goggles onto my forehead to keep them from collecting tears. I was used to crying a lot. Hurting myself a lot. Making mistakes. But in Equestria, it all seemed amplified. A small mistake back home could kill me here. And if I died, everyone in Hippogriffia could too. It was almost too much. Every cough and whimper sent fire through my lungs, and just as I felt like the emotions would drown me I had a few pain pills I had tucked behind my alarm clock.

*** *** ***

It was barely sunrise when Scarlet appeared in the doorway of my room, wearing a grim expression. I slowly pulled myself out of my nest, nearly knocking over the bucket I had put down next to it. My blanket was pulled tightly around me as I half trotted half crawled to my door.

My stomach was upside down. My limbs wouldn't stop shaking. Every heartbeat thudded in my chest. I felt too terrible to get any sleep, and the last thing I needed was more drugs in my system to try and force it. Coming down from the steady was more than enough. I wiped some sweat off my face before opening the door.

“Are you alright?” Scarlet asked as she looked me up and down. She had heavy bags under her eyes, and her mane was a mess of knots. On the bright side, she was clean. I hadn't noticed in the chaos of survival, but she'd been in desperate need of a shower. I'd even given her a set of my mom's clothes, a blue jumpsuit to match her hair. Much better than her slave rags.

Everything felt far away and distorted. I didn't realize she had asked me a question until she repeated herself. “R-rough day yesterday, but I’m be fine. Just nee' coffee. What about you? Yer up early.”

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” She cast her eyes down towards the floor, her ears flopping back a bit. “Assuming your in a condition to chat, I mean. I need a favour. I know it’s a lot to ask after all of this shit today, but it’s super important.”

I decided we’d talk over breakfast. As unpleasant as I felt I knew I needed to eat something, and I’m sure Scarlet was hungry too. Scarlet didn’t get much more sleep than I did. We were both yawning balls of fluff with bags under our eyes.

I put her up in one of the four other, much smaller bedrooms the ship had, but I guess her mind wouldn’t stop. I can’t blame her, considering I needed sleeping pills to get any shuteye. Instead, she went over a bunch of stuff we’d scavenged in the not too Awesome Facility. Mainly the weapons and ammo we’d picked up. Well, 'weapons' was generous. They were basically scrap.

Scarlet hardly touched the bowl of shredded wheat in front of her as she explained the situation. “So I was captured doing a run down to Caledonia, south of the Equestrian border. They killed my guards outright and managed to nab me. They had me caged with a few others they bagged. I know they’ll be making their way back into Equestria this afternoon, and I was hoping… I know you have no reason to help, and I don’t have any caps, but-”

I smiled at her and cut her off. “Of course, I’ll try to help. I’m not much of a fighter or anything, but I’ll do whatever I can. In fact…” I narrow my eyes at her collar, then smirk. “I bet I can get all of their 'pretty' necklaces taken care of. So is that why you went back for all those weapons? If you could arm them, I could take care of the collars. Definitely. But I’m not a fighter… Robots are one thing, but I can't take someone's life.”

She smiled back. “Wow... thank you. I honestly didn't think you'd say yes. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d fight. Well, I thought you might, but you’re really bad at it. Would rather you not get your head blown off.” Wow, thanks I guess? “The captives are more than capable on their own, they just need a fighting chance!”

I picked up my bowl and quickly shot back the last of my cereal and oat milk. I ignored my stomach tightening in protest. “We should get to work then! Come on, I’ll show you the workshop! I have so many tools and spare parts, and you can see some of the projects I've been working on! You’ll love it!”

-🖂︎🖂︎🖂︎-

Hey Aqua, it’s me again! Listen, communication might be limited from here on out. A friend needs my help, the mare from my reports. I’m going to help free some slaves with her, but to do it I need the Deep Range Transmitter from the Skystar. Or what's left of it. The connection speed on the normal transmitter is too slow for video calls.

To help with my mission, CORE is transmitting one of her AI core into the ship. She won't have access to all the data at Skya, but I’ll still have an AI to help me out and keep track of things. Try not to worry about me. I’ll check in when I can. I just can’t let over ponies suffer when I have the means to help. So, just take care of yourself. I love you.

-Aella Breeze, Technical Apprentice H-71

*** *** ***

I was like a seapony in water, sitting over my workbench. Having something to tinker with helped ease my nerves. Scarlet didn’t know anything about electronics or machines, but made a great assistant! Having someone who can levitate your tools to you and make things weightless was an invaluable asset.

We’d already gotten everything set up for the plan. Now I was just tinkering with Rumble, trying to get him back online. He sat lifelessly on the bench. Other than the stillness of its wings, it looked fine. The faceplate wasn’t even scuffed where the bullets had hit him. I had to wonder if he’d actually been hit at all. For the life of me, I had no idea why he shut down in the first place. Could robots faint? He was more advanced than the basic ones I'd worked with back home. There was something more to him.

I jacked my terminal into Rumble, hoping I could restart his smell matrix. While the computer did its thing, I turned my attention back to my assistant. Specifically, the heavy, dangerous and somewhat garish necklace she was sporting.

“You know, we can get that thing off of you. I have plenty of tools, and it can’t be fun having a bomb next to your throat.”

I balked as Scarlet shook her head no. “I can’t… well, I won’t. I don’t expect you to understand, but if I take this collar off, it means I’m a free mare. And I’m not… I can't be. Not until all of us are free. I wear this to remember everyone who didn’t get the chance to remove theirs.”

I didn't understand it, but I wasn't about to question it either. Hippogriffia was home to over a dozen different species by that point, all with different believes and ideals. One of the first things I learned was to accept them all, even when they didn't make sense. “You’re right… I don’t understand. Not completely. But can we at least remove the explosives from it? I’m honestly terrified that it’ll blow your head off at random.”

It was hard to imagine the things she could have been through, not just recently but in her entire wastelander life. She wanted to keep the collar on, for solidarity, or to remind her of what’s driving her now. I wouldn't stop her, but I'd make damn sure she did it safely.

She shrugged at me. “Yeah… That’s probably a good idea. I’m no good to anypony if my head explodes.” She smiled at me and giggled silently. Was it a joke, or was she breaking tension? I had no clue.

So I got to work tinkering with her collar. It was delicate work, but thankfully she didn’t move too much. I did my best to do the same. The collar's electronics were mostly fried, but I made sure to disable them first. The only thing that it seemed to still be powering was the collar’s tag, not the explosive itself. Oh ugh, not like a tag for names! No, Pipbucks and some other devices from before the war had a tagging spell on them, so anyone with that tag could track them if needed. In this case, it most definitely was not needed.

All I had to worry about after that was accidentally setting off the blasting cap. I figured since we were both a bit tied up for a while, it was a good chance to get to know one another. Scarlet didn’t seem opposed to the idea.

“Well, I was born in a tribal village near Hoofington. Don’t go there by the way. Doesn’t live up to the hype. There was a bandit group that ruled over the area. They protected it but ruled with iron hoofs. No pony outside of their gang was permitted to have guns, they didn’t want any of us fighting back. So we used spears, axes, bows. Anything we could craft ourselves, really. I got to be a pretty good archer. Anyway, I started a caravan after I got my cutie mark,” She motioned to it. I’d never really looked at it before. It was a sheet of parchment with a quill against it. “and travelled Equestria. Made some good friends, seen some nice places.”I got the feeling that there was much more to her story than she was saying, but I didn’t want to press her. Knowing the wasteland, it was probably something grim and depressing. Better not to bring up those sorts of memories. Better to just-

“What about you, ‘Aella Breeze’.” She said, attempting to mimic my upbeat and high-pitched tone. “What’s it like outside Equestria? Got a Stallion waiting for you back home? Orrrr, maybe a mare?”

I giggled at her attempt to copy me and shook my head. “N-no, nothing like that. My parents died when we were young. Exploring Equestria, I guess… So it’s just been me and my sister. I had, someone once, but…” My heart felt like it was splintering into pieces just thinking about it. I wasn’t ready to talk about Karma yet. Too much pain. Too many memories. No sense in rubbing salt in a fresh wound.

I pulled the small blasting cap out of its housing and let out a victorious caw. “Ahah! Got it! Now um, I’m gonna need to focus on getting Rumble online, then we can go over the plan one more time. Meet you upstairs in a bit.” I was lying. Changing the subject. I tried to make it look natural, but I was sure she knew. Thankfully she didn’t press it, leaving me to my own devices.

*** *** ***

There were 7 slaver ponies leading the group north. A grey-coated mare was laying on top of the carriage armed with a sniper rifle, keeping an eye out for ambushes. A large purple buck was pulling the rusted, enclosed carriage. The remaining ponies trotted along beside it, keeping an eye on the area. I couldn’t help but notice the one in the back had wings. I thought all of the pegasi lived in the sky? How curious.

To my dismay, three of the nine captives being held were tiny, blank flanked foals. Anger gripped me as I struggled to process it. I know Scarlet had said that the slavers had been taking foals, but seeing it first claw was so much worse. They were bruises, frightened, clinging to one another for whatever comfort they could get. One foal was curled up against a mare's chest, the brown earth pony slowly running a hoof through the child's filthy mane. Even in an impossible situation, she still did everything she could to comfort and project her colt.

The slavers weren’t remarkably equipped, just pistols and shotguns mostly. One of them had a grenade launcher, but it was nothing like the ones the Hellbringers used. This one was more similar to Scarlet's sawed-off shotgun, having to open the breach to load a new grenade each time. I figured as long as the sniper slaver and fiery filly was dealt with, the slaves would make easy work of the rest. Scarlet agreed.

I'd never considered how best to end a group of people's lives before. I was slowly learning that sometimes you had to do a terrible thing to do good in the wasteland. But I wasn’t ready to take someone's life. Hippogriffs believed that all life was sacred and worth protecting. We only kill out of necessity and give the fallen the utmost respect.

The slavers raised their voices, shouting to one another. I looked through the binoculars I'd grabbed from storage, curious what was getting them so excited. Had they somehow caught on to our plans? No, they were just complaining to one another about a Spritebot that had fluttered into earshot. The sphere was playing some strangely upbeat music at the slavers, March of the Parasprites. I didn't care for it. a more perceptive pony may have noticed the large antenna sticking out of the blush bots

Luckily they just seemed to be complaining about a Spritebot that had flown into earshot. The little sphere was playing some strangely upbeat music at the Slavers. A more perceptive pony may have noticed the larger antenna sticking out of the bluish bot's body.

Originally I had planned to fly the weapons to the captives, but the sniper on the roof ruined my idea. Thankfully we’d picked a little something from The R&D Facility that helped. I scanned the area, looking for any sign of my scarlet-coated friend. The sudden movement of the captives drew my attention. A burlap sack had slipped between the bars, which the ponies quietly began to look through. I let out a happy caw. Finally, something was going our way!

Five minutes later, the Sniper pony almost had a heart attack. A red unicorn with an orange and blue mane appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere. She wore a devious smile as an ethereal spear manifested behind the grey pony, and impaled her.

As Scarlet let out her battle cry, hell broke loose. The sounds of gunfire filled the air as the slaves took their chance at freedom. All of them had grabbed a weapon and ammo from the bag. Even the smallest filly brandished a tiny pistol in her muzzle. The sight made my skin crawl.

They Whooped and hollered as they fought against their oppressors. The slavers had no time to get their bearings. Three bodies hit the floor before they realized they were being attacked. The pegasi took flight once his companions started dropping, deciding that the meagre pay of a guard pony wasn’t worth his life. With everypony busy fighting, He had no problem escaping. Even if I’d been willing to take him out myself, he was well out of the meagre range of my resonance pistol.

A dirt-coloured pony with a shotgun battle saddle levelled her weapon at a distracted Scarlet while she was busy ducking and weaving her way around a unicorn's magically welded knife. Before the shotgun stallion had a chance to fire, a bolt of prismatic lightning thundered through his side. He fell to the dirt, twitching and whimpering pitifully. Rumble floated past slowly, still playing his orchestral song.

Scarlet hardly noticed the fight right beside her. She knocked the unicorn's mare knife away with her magical spear and sent it right through the mare's eye socket.

I winced and sat my binoculars down for a moment. I needed to take a breath. The fighting was far more brutal than I expected. It quickly escalated to hoof to hoof fighting when guns didn’t do the trick. Looking back down, I saw a pair of slaves holding a slaver against their caged cart by his hooves, while a third was slamming her hoof into his muzzle repeatedly. After nearly a dozen blows, the swollen and bleeding slaver fell lifelessly to the dirt.

Two other slaves, the mother and her colt, were standing over a fallen captive. The Mare had her hoof held against the downed stallion's belly, trying to stop the bleeding a stray bullet had caused. The colt was crying, hugging her mother's leg as she worked to save the stranger's life.

The purple Stallion who was pulling the cart had pulled a small metal box from his saddle bags. He was slamming down the large red button on the makeshift detonator. To his dismay, the rioting ponies' explosive collars didn’t respond. By the time he unhitched himself to join the fray, Scarlet had gotten the keys from the blade welding unicorn to the captives. They were piling out of the wagon, grabbing the guns and blades of fallen enemies to replace their own empty ones.

I like to think the stallion had a moment to rethink his life as he starred down the barrels of a half dozen guns, a magical spear, and a very determined Spritebot. He may have even had time to pray to Celestia before he took up arms.

The fight was brief.

*** *** ***

I’d offered to give the slaves a ride to someplace safer, but they felt we’d done too much for them already. I made sure to give them a good supply of food and water and let them keep the slavers' gear for themselves. Their bomb collars were in a heap in the dirt, along with the bodies of the slavers who’d tried to take them. Hopefully, any slavers who happened by would see it as a warning.

The Stallion who’d been shot was alive, though he wouldn’t be on his feet for a few days. They kept the cart to keep the wounded Stallion and foals in, while the rest walked with their weapons ready. I still worried they might end up falling to a group of bandits or more slavers, but they assured me they’d be fine on their own from there.

I was glad to see them all free. It was the first time in my life I felt like I was making a difference. Doing something that mattered. I was very happy that it put a hitch in whatever operation Specter was trying to run. Anything I could do to inconvenience that stallion was well worth the effort.

Scarlet was happy to see them free to live their lives but was less sure what to do with her own freedom when I asked. “I um… I don’t really know. I lost everything I had when the Slavers got me. They sold off or burned all of my goods by now, and I don’t have the capital to start a new caravan anytime soon. Maybe you could use a hoof, while I get back on mine? If you wouldn’t mind some company.” Her hoof dug anxiously at the ground as she waited anxiously for my answer.

I wrapped my wing around her, a big smile on my beak. “That would be great! I could use a friend who knows the wasteland! And a sale pony who understands currency and knows the lay of the land! It’ll be so cool! Just two mares, odds against them, us against the world!” I was practically hopping with excitement as I started mouthing off taglines, much to Scarlet's amusement.

“Hahah, you really are a strange mare. Let's get back to your starsky 45 and figure out what's next, yeah?”

“Skystar, V, yeah!”

*** *** ***

Scarlet got set up in a room just outside of mine, to the left. She didn’t have much in the way of belongings since her liberation, but she did her best to make it homey. Several weapons we had that were in too poor condition to sell or use had found their way onto her walls as decor. Not how I would decorate, but it was good she was settling in well. She also had her tattered slave rags hung up, and a pretty rock one of the foals had gifted her for saving them.

She was still amazed at the water and power the ship produced, though got very concerned when I mentioned it’s solar-powered. I was too distracted making some adjustments to Rumble's new signal jammer to notice it at the time though. Getting lost in my work as always.

When I explained my mission to Scarlet, she suggested checking in at the Ministry of Peace hub in what was left of Trottingham. It was a city now, which made things a bit harder. But Scarlet said she’d be able to get us in there, and I trusted her.

Or… I was pretty sure I trusted her. Since the fiasco with Specter, I was still a bit uneasy about trusting anypony again. The idea of being betrayed or stabbed in the back tied my stomach in knots. But I couldn’t do this on my own, and she seemed like a good pony. Selfless, strong, determined. The kind of person I wished I could be.

In the meantime, she suggested going to a nearby town for supplies. While I had enough food and water for us for a few weeks, Scarlet needed a proper weapon and ammo. Some proper barding would be nice too. She suggested I get another weapon to use along with my pistol, but I was reluctant. I’d never done well with combustion pistols in training, and I wasn’t very big on change. Save for the Enclave and some isolated groups, finding a quality magical energy weapon in the wasteland was implausible at best.

When I finished showing Scarlet the basics of the ship, I retired to my room for a long bath. It was a nice relaxing way to reflect and process everything that had happened. The chaos of the wasteland had the tendency to compound, and I felt I needed to rest while I had the chance.

She took the time to get some food into her and get to know Core, finding the advanced artificial intelligence interesting and charming for some reason. Meh, as long as they were getting along it wasn’t an issue.

The warm water was heaven on my strained muscles, helping me to finally relax. Even with the potions, I’d drank, I’d still be sore and off for the next few days. No amount of magic will replace the rest. Still, we were in a better position than I’d been a day ago. We saved some lives, and I have a direction to go now. With Scarlet by my side, the wasteland was just a little less frightening to me.

Footnotes:
Welcome to level 4... again! No level for you this time 'round.

Companion perk: Liberator. You’re experience getting to know Scarlet has made you sympathetic to her cause. You now have +15% critical chance against Slavers in combat, and an Increased reputation with slaves and escaped slaves outside of combat!

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed! <3