Fallout: Equestria - Operation Killjoy
Chapter 4: Carcass
Previous ChapterNext Chapter“It is arrogant to believe ponies are not thriving on death. It was the war; the killing, that made us grow strong in the first place.”
Time passed by since the reunion of Fade and her mother. However all they had done since then was to look out the broken window in silence. Fade saw the mall and its bright lights, as well as the faint glow of the balefire crater in the east of the city, that kept her aware of the radiation burns she suffered. Yet it did not matter. Eighteen years had passed since they last saw each other and yet not a single word could escape their lips. Both patiently waited for the other to speak, a silence eventually broken by Fade.
“So… you decided to be a teacher again?” She hoped her mother would smile but it only left a sad expression on her face.
“It’s nothing like it was during the war, or even before that. For the parents, my school is a drop-off point for their kids. For the kids, it’s just a waste of time. They don’t want to learn how to read or do basic math, until I explain to them why it helps them survive… And even then, it’s still not enough.”
“Yeah, but… eh, young ones are all fucking smartasses, pretending they know better than we do. Reading may not save your life in battle, but it can prevent you from ending up in one. If you are lucky.” Fade turned her head to look over to Key to check if she was still asleep. She and her mother lied down in the opposite corner of the room, huddled together in blankets that Feather provided.
“What happened in the Stable?” Feather asked.
“The usual. Bad ponies came, shot around… And things just got fucked up.”
Feather nodded and remained quiet for a moment, looking at her daughter’s tired face. “Fade… Even after eighteen years I can still see in your eyes that something’s on your mind. Would you like to tell me what it is?”
Fade pulled her clothes tighter and sighed. “It’s…” She started, frowning at the answer that would follow. “I got them out in one piece, but not her father.” Fade rubbed her eyes, pretending that it was simply due to tiredness, it would take more to trick her mother. A moment later she felt a wing on her back. Fade’s ears perked up, then lowered as she hugged herself tighter. “It’s just Da—” She took a deeper breath. “Brave, all over again… Shib doesn’t want to tell her.”
Feather retreated her wing and sat up. She took a deep and heavy breath, then turned back to Fade. “Do you blame her for that, Fade?”
“Yes! Well… I guess… N-no.”
A long period of silence followed, only interrupted by a few sounds of gunfire somewhere in the city.
“So… you got over it?” Feather asked carefully. ”With your father, I mean?”
Fade shrugged. “I mean… yeah. After all, I never even got to know him.”
“Oh, but you did. When you were still very young you always asked for him.”
“I never knew Brave, okay?” Fade said a tad harsh in tone.
Her mother sighed and leaned against the cold wall behind her. “I only wanted to know if you are alright, that’s all.”
“I’m not a child anymore, Mother. I am beyond crying at this point, especially about people like him.” She then turned to Feather. “What about you though? Did you get over it?”
Feather hesitated, but then she took something small out of her jacket pocket. It was a war medal, golden and freshly polished. The decorative band was already heavily frayed from being carried around for years. “I guess…”
Fade glanced at the medal, alas dismissively. “It’s Brave’s, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Hero of Orlov, it says. Your father has gotten many medals in his time, but he was always proud of this one specifically.”
“Great. Couldn’t you have sold that piece of metal instead of your flight suit?”
Feather glared at Fade before she put the medal away again. Fade tensed up and the silence between them returned once more.
“Speaking of old times,” Fade tried to continue. “Are you still teaching history?”
“No.” Feather replied after a brief moment as she tried to relax. “They don’t want to learn history from… ponies like us.”
“Pegasi?”
“No, Just old ponies. They blame us for the state of the world.”
“Well, they aren’t wrong.” Fade shrugged.
“They are wrong, Fade.” Feather whispered. She glanced at Key and Shibboleth and shook her head. “Some tried to stop it.”
“Heh… like Brave?”
“Fade! Your father tried his best. He fought for—”
“Yeah yeah, for fucking up Equestria. Because of that stupid fucking war. And what did we get? A shitty wasteland and me growing up without a father… yet alone mother. And even then, Key had a father and he died because of some equally stupid thing from the past. Now you are asking me if I got over all of this shit. What am I supposed to say?”
“I just tried to be nice…”
“I know…” She sighed and looked out the window again.
“Fade…” Feather eventually spoke up. “When I asked about the Stable, I… didn’t want to bring back bad memories. I was more thinking about… why was The Mandate there?”
Fade leaned on the broken window frame and let the cold wind brush over her short messy mane. “Their leader thought Key’s father was a Shadowbolt. Apparently he was right. He was looking for something called Killjoy… and when Key’s father denied cooperation…” When she briefly looked at her mother, she saw something in her mother’s eyes… something that scared her. “You… you know about it, don’t you?" Fade asked.
Feather nodded and turned away. “I do, but… I will tell you tomorrow, okay? You know… I don’t want your friends to wake up and I also don’t want to repeat myself either.” Feather retreated into another room while Fade remained at the window. She couldn’t help but somehow feel lost. Her mother never retreated like this, not even when she asked when her father would return home.
The hours went by and Fade couldn’t sleep. She rolled around, curled up, then smelling the ashen air of the wasteland. Occasional gunshots could be heard every few minutes. These noises somewhat calmed her down, having become her lullabies ever since she arrived in the wasteland. It helped her guess how far away the enemies were, how many there were or even tell her a few things about their equipment. Energy weapons were quiet, but a pony being vaporized by their destructive magic screamed louder, before their vocal cords turned into pink dust.
Midnight had settled down in the hallway, pretending and remembering falling asleep. He was blissfully unaware of what Feather revealed to Fade. Feather’s school was left undisturbed during the night and Midnight certainly sought solitude among the colorful pictures Feather drew at the walls of the hallway.
At dawn the nightly battles were slowly replaced by the shouting and yelling of ponies waking up, arguments about what to do, to eat and to trade. Only now they realized how far voices could travel without the constant buzz of vehicles and heavy machines.
Tired but restless Fade followed Feather’s invitation to join them for breakfast, even though she wasn’t hungry. Her stomach felt cramped from the lack of proper food and the worry of what Feather’s knowledge of Killjoy may entail. She lost even the rest of her appetite when Shibboleth unpacked the meat she bought the day before. Feather offered stale oats but what really caught Midnight’s and Fade’s attention was a piece of chocolate Feather offered to Shibboleth and Key.
Midnight envied them, still smiling from the memory of how chocolate tasted. Fade however remembered that she only offered sweets to bribe some of the less loyal Enclave ponies. It reminded her of how easy it was to rat out your own friends and comrades if necessary.
“I talked with my daughter last night,” Feather spoke up. “She told me what happened at your Stable, why The Mandate was there and… about Killjoy. In fact I know what this Killjoy actually is.” The breakfast was dropped in an instant as everypony’s gaze quickly turned to Feather. She let the revelation sink in. Key didn’t even take some of the chocolate.
“How?” Fade replied first.
Feather sighed and met her daughter’s gaze. “Brave, Fade’s father, met a lot of ponies during his time in the army. After he… died, one of his acquaintances offered me a job. Since teachers weren’t paid as much as they used to, I agreed rather quickly and… kind of began my work for the Ministries.”
“Ministries? Which one?” Midnight chimed in.
“None in particular. It was more of a state agency to help the Ministries coordinate.”
Shibboleth’s ears perked up. “You mean the O.I.A.?”
“What is the O.I.A., Mom?” Key asked, looking at her mother, then turned her gaze to Fade, who wore an equally puzzled expression.
“The Office of Interministrary Affairs, dear,” Shibboleth said.
“How do you know about them?” Feather raised an eyebrow.
Before Shibboleth answered however, she briefly looked at Key. “My department at work used the Office to request stuff from Wartime. They produced all the radio equipment you see… But it still doesn’t explain how you know about Killjoy.”
“Right. You know… I started as a courier, mostly during the school’s holidays.” Feather looked over to Fade while she spoke. “When things got worse with the war, I decided to save up some money for a Stable ticket or… just to get very, very far away. So… they gave me a holodisk, vaguely telling me what was on there, how important it was and then they sent me off to the north. My mission was to hide it somewhere deep in Stalliongrad.”
“But what is it?” Shibboleth frowned, slowly growing impatient.
“A key. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Shibboleth sighed angrily. “So you want to tell me that The Mandate invaded my home, did… what he did, just to get yet another key? A random key? Don’t they already have a skeleton key to all of Equestria with the Mandate?”
Feather shook her head. “The Royal Mandate is a magic spell created… I don’t know… hundred or even thousands of years ago, to grant the holder access to all Royal Equestrian facilities like the treasury or, well, the Royal Guards. However, to prevent sabotage and infiltration, it was never updated to include newer branches like for example the Ministries, the mechanized cavalry branch of the military or the megaspell chambers.”
“And Killjoy can grant—” Midnight asked hesitantly, but Fade quickly cut him short.
“Why did you never tell me about this?”
“It was a secret, Fade.”
“Secret? A secret? You were a courier, Mom! Your job couldn’t have been that important most of the time. And, heh, why did you keep it a secret even long after the bombs had already fallen? We were still together back then…”
“Because you were sixteen and there were more important things to worry about.”
“Sixteen doesn’t mean I was a stupid child anymore! You could have shown—” Fade stopped abruptly when she noticed Shibboleth’s glare and subtle shaking of her head. She sighed and just sat back down. “Nevermind…”
“Do you know…” Shibboleth forced herself to speak as calmly as she could. “Just by chance… Was Killjoy a Shadowbolt operation?”
“No. I can say for sure that it wasn’t. Even if it was, it was kept secret from me. Is it really true that your husband was a Shadowbolt?”
Shibboleth frowned at Fade. “If he didn’t lie, he still is a Shadowbolt. To be frank, Valiant preferred not to speak about the war or his life before that.”
In the brief silence Feather’s eyes fell on Key. “It is only a matter of time until The Mandate knows you are here. I… could make you a proposal. An offer, which may even solve your problem.” The others stirred at Feather’s words. “I know where Killjoy is, but… I may require Key to come with me to Stalliongrad.”
After a while everypony but Feather and Shibboleth were asked to leave the room so they could talk. Fade and Key pretended they wouldn’t hear their mothers yelling at each other, while Midnight rested near the door to make sure nopony would interrupt the two.
Fade could understand Shibboleth’s temper to a degree. She remembered watching her mother killing an undercover Enclave agent with her bare hooves. Her first meal in days above the clouds was a hard oatmeal bar, taken from the pockets of the dead pony. She didn’t know what made the two mares shout at each other, but Fade knew Shibboleth was trying to protect her daughter.
“Why doesn’t Mom ask me about my opinion?” Key asked, taking a tiny piece of chocolate before wrapping up the rest. She looked up and hoped to get an answer from the others, but Fade was sitting at the window, brooding about why her mother kept her work secret from her all those years. Midnight was cleaning his rifle, but at least he gave Key a shrug, symbolizing he wouldn’t know.
“Midnight… would you teach me how to shoot that rifle?” She asked, nodding at Midnight’s gun.
He smiled and leaned forward a little. “No. Because this one is mine and it has my ghoul slobber all over it.”
Key didn’t laugh, showing how serious her request was. “I’m a unicorn, I’m fine.”
“Still, it is not my decision,” He leaned back against the wall.
“I didn’t ask if you would, if my mother allowed it. I asked if you would teach me.”
Midnight looked at Fade, giving him the same clueless shrug. He thought about it for a moment and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. The wasteland is dangerous and it is a necessity, yes, but on the other hoof using weapons is the last thing ponies should fall back to, even in these times.”
“Sounds smarter than my mom…”
Midnight put the rifle away and looked back at Key. “Your mother is a smart mare.”
“Do smart people really sound like that?” Key nodded to the door, where her mother was still yelling at Feather and vice versa, but Midnight didn’t know how to reply to that. “Whatever, forget the question… Can I ask you something else instead?”
“Sure thing.”
“Would you bring us to Stalliongrad?”
Fade turned around, huffing at Key. “It is not our decision. Even if you want to go north with us, if Shib says no, then it is a no. It sucks but that’s how it is.”
“You don’t have to talk to me like you are some kind of big sister,” Key snapped.
“And you don’t have to talk to me like you are my little sister. It is how it is. The end.”
Key crossed her forelegs and huffed, turning away from Fade. In the midst of the tension, Midnight slowly stood up and turned towards the door. “I may have an idea. Let me talk to them, alright? I’ll be right back.”
“This could have been very useful information days ago!” Shibboleth was angrily pacing up and down in the small room. Midnight was able to make them stop fighting for the moment, but Shibboleth's temper grew bigger after he told them about his brother.
“That is right, but that’s all I can offer you. I will bring you to Stalliongrad, help you get Killjoy and then you go to the Rangers and ask them for help.”
“And if they say no?” Shibboleth asked.
“Then… then tell them the leader of The Mandate is a ghoul and hope for the best.”
“You are kidding…”
“No, I'm not. My own brother said right into my face that he doesn’t like my kind. Also… I don’t know who else could be entrusted with Killjoy. They are the only ones in all of Equestria with the knowhow and resources to make a significant difference.”
Shibboleth sat down. “What about Key?”
“The Rangers can protect her.” Midnight answered. “Plus Key is smart, the Rangers would gladly give her the education she needs.”
“She would have gotten a proper education in the Stable.”
Midnight shook his head. “She would have learned to maintain a Stable. The Rangers can teach her how to build generators, radios, water purifiers, bridges, basic infrastructures. She would learn things that would help her survive and that are not about using a weapon.”
Shibboleth sighed. “Before I make a decision, you better tell them the rest of your stupid crap, Feather.” She stood up and left the room. “Fade, your mother needs to talk to you.”
“Shib?” Midnight called her before she left the room. “Ask Key about her opinion on this.”
Shibboleth scoffed and made room for Fade to step in. After Fade closed the door, Feather released a heavy sigh.
“There is a big problem with Killjoy,” Feather began. “And that’s why… I said that we need Key.”
“Well, tell us.” Fade also began to grow more annoyed by the secrecy and formalities.
After a brief nod Feather began to tell them what she kept hidden at first. “The holodisk is hidden in an abandoned salt mine, half a day north of Stalliongrad.”
“Oh… I know this area,” Midnight smiled. “I think I know where this is going. Hippocratic Research bought these mines to dump their toxic waste there. Mostly taint.”
“Wait…” Fade couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “You mean the rainbow sludge we saw in the factory yesterday… that stuff is stored alongside Killjoy?”
Feather nodded. “Yes.”
“Hah, what stupid dumbfuck got that aneurism of an idea?”
“Watch your language, Fade.”
“Oh don’t you—” But Feather continued before Fade could even start.
“This was before the bombs fell, priorities were a bit different back then.”
“Yeah sure, but it’s been twenty fucking years. The barrels and crates will have torn open by now! The entire cave is probably filled with toxic sludge and mutants by now.”
“Actually It’s even worse.” Feather added. “The mine got mostly flooded by snowmelt during the past summers. So, wearing rubber boots and wrapping ourselves in clothes and plastic bags won’t be enough.”
Fade rubbed her face with her hooves in frustration, even Midnight couldn’t hide his disbelief by raising his eyebrow.
“This is where we need Key,” Feather said.
“How is she going to help?” Fade laughed.
“That is the part where we have to rely on The Mandate’s research about Valiant to be true. If Key’s father really was a Shadowbolt, the inheritance protocols allow her access to the Ministry of Awesome Hubs.”
“Ministry of Awesome?” Midnight spoke up. “What does Awesome have to do with the Shadowbolts? I thought they were air force.”
Fade shook her head. “No. Awesome was… Equestria’s spec-ops. The princesses were able to keep it secret. However, it got well known among pegasi, because the Enclave is only as smart as the clouds around them and couldn’t keep their mouths shut.”
“But I still don’t know how it helps us with the salt mine.”
“The Shadowbolts were used for more than just aerial missions behind enemy lines.” Feather explained. “They were trained for all kinds of missions, including chemical warfare. In case the zeebs would poison a city or something else.”
“First, it’s zebras and second they wouldn’t have done that,” Midnight said defensively.
“Doesn’t matter, if we are lucky then they will still have hazmat suits stored in their facility.”
Fade shook her head and looked at her mother. “I get why Shib was yelling at you.”
Nopony dared to say it but they all knew the decision to go to Stalliongrad was made, not by free will but by sheer necessity. They already dreaded the week-long hike to the city, which was already battling the early, northern winter. Not even Midnight was looking forward to seeing his home, knowing that each step would be accompanied by the reluctance of his companions.
Midnight was cleaning his rifle a second time, a little ritual he would turn to to calm his nerves or simply concentrate. He didn’t know how to break the silence after the argument, given every party was rather tense and a wrong word could only worsen the situation. All but Key were eating the meager food they had prepared, not out of any appetite but out of a habit, drilled into their heads by the harsh wasteland.
Eventually Midnight sighed and put his rifle away. “Should I try to get us some food or new clothes?”
Feather looked up and replied first. “Didn’t you say you were in a Hippocratic Research factory yesterday?”
Midnight nodded briefly. “Yes. That’s where the monster is.”
“Well… not too far away is a Ministry of Image. The ghoul, leading that place, put out a bounty on that monster.”
“This ghoul,” Shibboleth said. “Does he go by the name of Endeavor?”
“Yes, that’s him.” Feather didn’t hide the aversion in her voice.
“Great, It’s getting better and better…” Shibboleth shook her head in resignation. “Do we really have to work with this weirdo?”
Even Key looked up from her crumbs of oats when she heard her mother speak that way about somepony. “What’s wrong with him, mom?”
Shibboleth took a short breath to hide her annoyance. “He believes ghouls are the next stage of pony evolution, because they are better fit to survive in the wasteland. His ramblings over the airwaves got really annoying and everypony is glad that somepony took down his transmitter.”
“Uhm… and why is this bad?” Key tilted her head a little.
Shibboleth pondered for a moment, trying to think of a good way to answer the question. “Let me say it like this… he doesn’t have any problems letting his supporters hunt normal ponies.”
“And kill them.” Feather added harshly.
“Why does he want the monster dead?” Midnight asked.
“I don’t really care why, but… other ponies all over the city think the monster is responsible for a lot of killings anyway,” Feather said. ”The corpses are usually found closer to the industrial district and are lacking meat, but intestines and organs are left—”
“Uhm, Feather? Could you spare my daughter the details?” Shibboleth intervened.
“Fine, what I want to say is that even if you have a deal with Endeavor, killing the monster still does the city a favor.”
“I usually don’t hunt animals.”
“Heh… that fucking thing? That is not an animal,” Fade smirked. “It’s some fucking disgusting abomination made by ponies, or fuck, maybe even zebras. And you weren’t fussy when Valiant gave us a job. To hunt an animal.” Her cussing brought a frown into Shibboleth’s face once more.
Midnight got up and took his rifle, shouldering it in one fluent movement. “Valiant told us to search for tracks, not hunting. Also… Fade? Key? Make sure that your parents won’t go for each other’s throats, while I am away.”
After Midnight arrived in the industrial district, he landed on one of the roofs of the remaining buildings which survived the shockwave. Still, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that the balefire crater and the destruction was like a disease in a once busy city. And yet he found himself asking if the balefire wasn’t just a vaccine to a different kind of sickness.
A few ghouls caught his attention. They were slowly wandering through the ruins, indifferent to the destroyed city or their own condition. He heard them laughing with their raspy voices. Midnight wondered if they played chess. Sadly however he didn’t have time to sit down for a game, so he decided to march on. He kept searching the area for a building that was in a much better shape than the rest. Not much later he eventually found just that, quite far away as well. While the buildings around it were mostly turned to rubble, its own structure was too intact to be a coincidence, making it stick out like a bone from a wound.
He took off, landing a few blocks away to not cause any concern or unnecessary attention. He kept his rifle on his back while he wandered down the streets, noticing many more ghouls along the way. They weren’t laughing however, instead they were guarding the area from the windows and rooftops. Midnight waved his hoof at a few, but they just kept staring at him as if he was simply too alive.
When he turned into the street he immediately saw the Ministry building. During the war it would have been a completely unremarkable building, one of many, a facade without any decoration, the windows barred shut with metal plates and bars. Just another office building defined by ponies’ paranoia of zebra spies. Two ghouls were guarding the entrance, one having a face mostly void of any flesh and skin.
“Uhm… Good day. I’d like to talk with Mr. Endeavor, if that’s possible.” His body was tensing up. The eyes of the faceless ghoul made him worry that they could lash out at any moment.
“Do you have an appointment?” The other ghoul asked, his lips more intact than his raspy voice.
“Actually, no. I am here because of the… the bounty.”
“If this is your inquiry, I will inform Mr. Endeavor. Please come in.”
He followed the ghoul inside, past two heavy and reinforced doors and a small hallway. The entrance hall was dimly lit and each of Midnight’s steps crunched on the dirty floor. The carpet was covered in dust and brittle pieces of plaster that fell from the ceiling. To his left was a desk with a mare behind it, slowly typing away and working on a long dead terminal. She held a machine pistol in one foreleg as if it was a pet.
“Please wait here.” The ghoul went down a corridor and left him alone. Midnight’s ears flicked when the mare struggled to press a key. When he looked at her, he couldn’t say if her hooves or the terminal would cease to function first. But he knew he didn’t want to be around if either of it happened.
Luckily he didn’t have to wait long in the presence of the undead mare. An orange unicorn strode down the hallway towards Midnight. Most of his fur and mane were long gone by the looks of it, even some flesh had already rotten away. His white suit however was kept in pristine condition for some reason.The unicorn used his magic to remove dust off the sleeves and straighten the fabric, repeating the process whenever he discovered a crease he didn’t like.
“Excuse my appearance. It is not very easy to keep up the standard of proper attire these days. I requested new business suits multiple times. Hm. I have no idea what the Ministry Mare is thinking, to simply ignore proper clothing for her subordinates like that. Ah, but please ignore my ramblings, the name is Endeavor. How can I be of service?”
Midnight looked to the door, unsure if he wanted to keep up the facade or leave before Endeavor would forget about ghouls. “Uhm… I am afraid I have to be the bringer of bad news, but… the Ministry Mare—”
“Shhh…” The ghoul stepped closer to whisper. “Ms. Buttercup doesn’t need to know. She is a very… delicate flower. If you allow, please follow me to a more discreet location.”
“I understand. Please lead the way.” Midnight followed Endeavor to a small conference room. It wasn’t in a much better shape, but the ghoul was constantly using his magic to nudge dust and dirt into the corners.
“I got informed you are here for the bounty. Are you planning to hunt the creature or did it happen that you were already successful?”
Midnight sat down. “I heard that the monster is hunting ponies, but why do you want it killed?”
“It kills our kind. Apparently not as often as our… less fortunate cousins.”
Midnight furrowed his brows.
“Oh… You don’t know yet. I mean the ponies who didn’t have the great opportunity to be turned into our kind by the balefire.”
“No. This is not what I meant. See… I have seen the monster. It lives in the old Hippocratic Research facility alongside a few dozen ghouls. They lost their mind but… it didn’t attack them. It actually ignored me as well.”
“This is indeed a quite particular detail, one I was not aware of.” Endeavor rubbed his chin and began pacing up and down the room. “Then what else could leave my kind in such a horribly mangled state, some describe as… being butchered.”
“Butchered?”
“Yes. The meat was removed and everything else left for the rats. Animals wouldn’t do this. And now that you told me that this monster shows no interest in ghouls, I would rather have it alive to be honest,” Endeavor said, still walking up and down the room.
“And the bounty?”
“In this case, you would have to hunt a pony, but don’t be concerned about it. After all, they are going to go extinct very soon anyway. Why not speed up the process?”
“Because—”
“There is no ‘Because’. You have to admit that no one of our kind wouldn’t eat its own for the primitive reason of hunger. Or are you disagreeing?” He stopped his restless pacing, glaring at Midnight.
Midnight shook his head quickly. “No, I am not. What I wanted to say is that hunting a pony is more dangerous than hunting an animal. I would like to negotiate payment first.”
“Very well, what do you need?”
“Food and clothes.”
“Food… ?” He raised his brow, looking at Midnight.
“F-for trading of course! You see I am from Stalliongrad. It’s my home there and… uhm, I am trying to get more warm clothes. Many ghouls freeze and go wild. They need warm clothes and the best way to get them is to sell food to ponies.”
“Hm…” The old ghoul growls a bit under his breath. “I don’t appreciate your stance on this matter and maybe you should leave. If you don’t want to accept that we are the superior species, you are no longer welcome in our midst.”
Midnight felt the urge of violence returning, however he kept his composure. “You said it yourself, ponies are willing to eat each other to survive, but they can’t eat each other to prevent freezing to death. If they keep their clothes, they can survive the winter and maybe they kill one or two for the meat. Without the warm clothes however, they will freeze to death in a few days.” Midnight wanted to cut his tongue out for saying this.
It mollified the ghoul and he was smiling. “I like your way of thinking, to use nature to accelerate the inevitable. Unfortunately we don’t have food here and since you want to help our kind in Stalliongrad… I am willing to pay. Ten sets of fine winter garments oughta be enough I assume. Provided by the ever so generous Ministry of Image.”
“And this is why Luna is to blame for the state of Equestria.”
Midnight returned to the small apartment building, when he found Feather teaching Key a few details about the war. Details she didn’t learn in the Stable’s school. He saw in Key’s eyes concern and confusion of how bad Feather talked about the princesses who ruled over Equestria during the war.
“What about Princess Celestia?” Key asked.
Feather responded with a sigh. “Nothing but a coward.”
“But the Ministry Mares—”
“Useful idiots, most of them at least. Their somewhat-leader, Twilight Sparkle, was so indoctrinated by princess Celestia, that all her wits and intelligence she may have had, didn’t help to see through the actual damage they had caused.” Feather looked up when she noticed Midnight. “Oh you are back, any news?”
Midnight frowned at what he just heard, but he nodded. He briefly told her about Everlast’s offer, all the while trying to hide the fact he wasn’t too keen on hunting a pony, especially not for a ghoul like Endeavor. Every time Midnight thought about him, he felt the urge to clutch his rifle tighter to his body.
“You can ask Fade,” Feather said, pulling Midnight out of his thoughts. “If Endeavor’s suggestion is true, then it means a cannibal is on the loose. She will gladly help.”
“No, I don’t want to drag her further into this. I pushed her to return to the Stable but now she has a chance to get away from all of this.”
Feather shook her head. “That’s not quite correct. We all got dragged into it, even me. Everlast looks for something I was involved in. No matter if he looks after you or me or Killjoy, just because you were here, will make Everlast look for all of us.”
“Then we should keep a low profile instead of causing a fuss by killing some random pony in the city.”
“Ponies are getting killed in this city every day, Midnight. Especially with a psychopath on the loose.”
“But that doesn’t mean Midnight and Fade have to kill one as well,” Key chimed in.
But Feather simply continued. “There is a serial killer here who may have killed dozens of ponies already. If he won’t be stopped he may kill a dozen more, maybe even one of us if we are unlucky enough.”
“That’s… unnerving. Doesn’t the city have a police force, or basic laws?” Key asked.
“Not anymore. I’m also sure that your mother wouldn’t like you listening to such a conversation. Could you please go to the other room and tell Fade to come in here?”
Key rolled her eyes and turned. “Do all mothers treat young ponies like foals?”
“No,” Midnight said. “I’ll talk to her by myself.” He took a few steps through the room when he suddenly stopped. “Say, Feather? Before I leave, may I ask you a question?”
She looked up, waiting.
“Since you worked at the O.I.A., have you ever heard of a pony named Blue Sky? He is part zebra, part pony. He has some blue stripes…”
She furrowed her brows. “You know… I met a lot of ponies, but never one such as that. Believe me, I would certainly remember.”
“I see… Well, thank you.” He continued, knocking politely before entering Fade’s room. She was sitting near a window, sewing some rags onto her clothes in order to repair them. By the looks of it, she seemed to have gathered some experience doing so over the years. Midnight couldn’t ignore her loss of fur and the blackened skin on her hindleg
“Hey, are you alright?”
“Sure.” She answered directly, not bothering looking up. Midnight put his rifle against the wall and sat down a few feet away from her. “I have a question.”
“I’m kinda busy here.”
“It’s just a small question. Are you coming with us to Stalliongrad?”
“Small, huh? Also, us? So you decided to bring us there?”
“It’s not really a decision. I’m still searching for my friend. Or at least a trace. I don’t know where Blue Sky was when the bombs fell, but I wonder if he may have returned home just like… us.”
“Hm… Well, this ruin here is not my home. Heck, I honestly don’t even want to find my old home. I am sure by now it’s either filled with shit, corpses, roaches or all of it.”
“Then why did you come back here in the first place?” Midnight asked. “Especially after such a long time?”
Fade scoffed. “Do you know why you came back?”
“I can’t put it into words. I felt somewhat… incomplete. Only coming back made the feeling go away, you know? And while I am here already, I could look for Blue Sky.”
“Lucky you. Personally I have no fucking idea, except that being back in Tall Tale doesn’t feel as shitty as I was afraid of.”
“And Stalliongrad?”
“I don’t give a fuck about Stalliongrad. Mom does though. I don’t care about Killjoy either to be honest. I don’t even believe there is such a thing as a magical key. I mean, no sane pony would build something like that. Not even the Enclave was that stupid. And trust me, I snuck into their facilities often enough to steal food and valuables. After all, it was the food we deserved.”
“So you think she may not be telling the truth?”
“I—” She sighed and shook her head. “N-no, Mom wouldn’t lie, at least not about Killjoy.” She seemed a little unsure about her own answer.
Midnight nodded briefly. “So… I still didn’t get an answer to my question.”
“What fucking question?”
“I just…. Will you come with us to Stalliongrad? Yes or no?”
Fade groaned and put down the needle. “Yes, even though I have no idea how to get there without having figured out provisions and clothes that is. I found this rancid piece here in the garbage.” She nudged at the piece of cloth she attached to her suit. “I have no idea what literal shit it may have seen. Maybe somepony even died in it.”
“Lovely picture, Fade. Why don’t you just wear the flight suit?”
“Why? First, it’s hers. And Second, we need every piece of cloth we can find in order to get to Stalliongrad without freezing to death. Don’t you need some clothes too? Ghouls can still freeze solid, right?”
Midnight nodded again. “About that, I actually made a deal to get that covered, but we have to hunt down a pony.”
“You got us a bounty?” Fade chuckled. “I thought you were security for hire, not a bounty hunter.”
“I’m not, but the pony in question is likely a serial killer and… there are concerns that this one may be a cannibal too.”
Midnight kept his distance from Fade and the other ponies in the mall. He wrapped a dirty blanket around his body, trying to hide his wings and hopefully cover his smell. After he met Endeavor, he saw the wary glances of other ponies in a new light.
“Say… How do you find a cannibal, Fade?” He asked quietly.
“How do I know? It’s not like I’ve been hunting cannibals all my life. Or do I look like I would buy their trash?”
“No, but you certainly want to know how to avoid them.”
“Avoiding them doesn’t mean I have to find them.” Fade stopped and looked at a food stall nearby, which was selling canned food. “But you are right, let’s split up and check the stores around here.”
“What should I look out for exactly?” Midnight asked while Fade pulled her hood over her head. Before he knew it she was already trotting down the hall and up the stairs to the upper galleries.
“Alright, I'll just stay down here then I guess.” He mumbled to himself. The first stand on his route was proudly presenting its delicacies, a bunch of dead rats, dangling upside down from some dirty rope. Charred and ready to be sold to hungry ponies.
“You wanna buy somethin’?” The owner of the store grumbled when he noticed Midnight.
“No, thank you.”
“Then fuck off!”
With a charming flip of his hoof, the vendor turned away from him, having Midnight question his idea of the mall being the best place to investigate. He couldn’t share Fade’s enthusiasm, not to mention that he was more concerned about her eagerness to hunt down a pony.
Continuing to look around aimlessly, his gaze eventually fell upon a gaunt mare sitting not too far away from another stand. He only noticed her because she was the only one not bartering for anything, but rather sitting idly in front of an old blackboard, draped with big photos and pictures of a beige pegasus. He didn’t know if that was his natural coat or if the pictures had simply aged too much and faded in color. Strangely enough he felt a familiarity with that pegasus.
“Do you recognize him?” The mare asked Midnight in a tired tone as he stepped up to the board.
He shook his head. “Should I?”
“Only if you are from Stalliongrad. Are you?”
“Yes, yes I am. But uh, how did you know?”
“You look like the one from the newspapers. Maybe a bit older, but I have seen so many of Featherweight’s pictures that I recognize that blue mane and gray coat every time.” She squinted her eyes. “You are Midnight Gambit, aren’t you?”
“I-I don’t really remember that Featherweight.” Midnight stepped closer and looked at the picture. “Who was he?”
“A journalist and a war hero. He reported from the front lines until the zebras began to hunt him down. He managed to move to Stalliongrad, the farthest place away from the war. There… he reported about you.”
Midnight shook his head in disbelief. “You must have mistaken me, I don’t remember any journalist.”
The mare took a tiny booklet from her thick rags. Midnight caught but a small glimpse of how skinny she was underneath the clothes. She began to flick through the pages of the old journal in her hooves. “Here, isn’t this you?” She turned the booklet around to show him its old yellowed pages.
It was a photo of himself back when he was young and still able to eat, sleep and feel the cold air of Stalliongrad’s winter burning in his nose. Next to him was an even younger mare. He didn’t recall her face or name but she was resting a foreleg around his neck, while they were posing for the camera. “No doubt that’s me, but… I really don’t remember anything else, especially that mare.”
“I see… Must have been the balefire. I am sorry.” Regret filled the eyes of the elderly pony as she closed the book.
“Do you… have more of these pictures?”
“I have only sixteen pictures in my collection. The rest of his are archived in the Ministry of Image Hub here in Tall Tale. I’ve sent a letter and asked to receive them for the museum, but I never got an answer. It’s too dangerous for non-ghouls to go there, you see.”
“Wait, Endeavor has them?”
She nodded slowly.
“Hm… Do you want me to get them for you?”
This time she shook her head however. “No, they are better kept there. In fact, maybe it is better to ask you to bring the exhibits to Endeavor too.”
“What? Why? Honestly, I wouldn’t entrust him with this.”
“Would you entrust them to a starving mare? Sometimes the ponies give me a bit of food. But to be honest, I surely won’t make it past this year’s winter. But I don’t mind. It’s just—”
“Please don’t say such things.” Midnight wanted to steer the conversion into a different direction and to get rid of the sad atmosphere that took hold of him. ”The pony who buys the rats from the store over there… Do you know where he is?”
“Who?”
“The green and red stallion who sells burgers. He makes them from rats I believe, so he surely buys them from there.”
“Oh, that charming fellah? No no, I never saw him buy any food. He usually gives me the leftovers, you see? Sometimes he even keeps a warm meal just for me. Such a nice gentlecolt”
Midnight smiled a little seeing her do the same. “Why don’t I get you a warm meal from him? You should savor every piece of strength you can get, especially… since you try to keep some memories alive. And… since you already know my name… may I ask for yours?”
She smiled wider and nodded. “Praise.”
Midnight tried to follow the smell of greasy meat and toasted bread. The scent was unfortunately very faint and dull. As a ghoul he could no longer easily pick up subtle and finer scents such as that, but he was still glad about it at the same time, considering how many unwashed ponies he had to pass by. He wondered if they got used to the scent and not noticing it anymore.
He moved to the upper galleries, where he found Fade sitting in front of an old dress shop. The big shop windows were long broken and turned into makeshift sleeping spots instead. Next to fade he saw an old toppled over display dummy, bereft of clothes and purpose, yet still able to carry its stupid smile. An eerily familiar one at that, but Midnight didn’t mind. A dummy like that had it easier to be a good pony.
While approaching Fade, he noticed that she was staring at the pony he sought after himself. His cart was on the opposite side of the mall’s hallway. She didn’t avert her gaze for a second, carefully observing the burger cooking pony and his dozens of customers swarming him and his stand. “It’s him,” She whispered.
“That guy? How do you know?” He tilted his head and sat down a small distance away.
“Many reasons. First off, he is too friendly.”
“I am friendly too.” He smiled.
“No Midnight, you are what I’d like to call ‘idiot-friendly’. You don’t try so hard to make others like you. This one does.”
“Hurtful as always.” Midnight rolled his eyes, but had to think about the trader who sold the rats. “Maybe you have some more… reliable reasons? Like, you know, where does he get his food from?”
“I was getting to tha—” Suddenly her eyes widened and she got up. “Fuck, he saw us.” She started to walk away towards the stairs.
Midnight looked at the cook and noticed that he was still flipping the meat and buns without a care in the world, all the while his main attention seemed to have shifted to the two. “We don’t have to scamper away. We could just… pretend to relax?” He asked silently while following after her.
“Relax? When was the last time you saw a pony actually relaxing?”
“Hm… About a week ago, maybe in Stable Fifty-Four? When we were playing chess, remember? Anyway, you can’t just say he is the murderer, just because he is friendly.”
Fade stopped and turned around. “Have you not noticed yet that being friendly is what kills ponies? If you are friendly and share your resources and your resting place with others, they will take your stuff and outright murder you in your sleep.”
She frowns and looks down. “Or hell, perhaps do even worse things to you. Oh, and if others try to be your friends, then usually for yet another ulterior motive!”
Midnight grew silent for a brief moment, then he raised his hoof and cleared his throat. “You do know that it was friendship that defeated Nightmare Moon and turned her back to Luna, right?”
“Yes, great point Mr. Midnight. And said Luna turned Equestria into a fucking ass wasteland.” She scoffs. “Face it Midnight, Friendship is not magic. It’s dead!”
Midnight scoffed and stomped his hoof himself. “Then why do you help Key? Why do all this stuff for Shibboleth?”
Fade opened her mouth for a reply, yet stopped herself last second. Instead she sighed and rubbed her face with her hooves. “Alright… Okay… If, and that is a big if here, you say the burger freak is not actually our cannibal, then tell me exactly why.”
“Well… okay, I don’t have proof that it isn’t him. Quite the opposite actually.” Midnight began to explain, much to Fade’s surprise. ”Rats alone can’t feed so many ponies and he doesn’t seem to buy them from the traders here. Not just that but the Vanhoover region was more focused on heavy industry. Mining in Edmareton, manufacturing here, bio-technology in Vanhoover. There were not many deer and cattle to survive the bombs in the first place.”
“And the rest is probably eaten by now,” Fade said.
“See? I am not as stupid as you call me all the time.”
“Maybe you are,” Fade smirked. “However, didn’t this Endeavor hire you because of a dead ghoul? Why would he mix ghoul meat into the burgers?”
Midnight thought about it for a moment when he suddenly remembered the feeling of being sick. “Dry aged…”
Fade made sure they both remained hidden, while they waited for the burger cook to finally depart. To their dismay this took quite a few more hours than expected. Midnight quickly regretted having put Fade on his heels with even more enthusiasm. On his way out he gave the unicorn who maintained an elevator a tiny snack and even gave Praise some leftovers as usual.
After he finally left the mall, Fade and Midnight followed him by flying and leaping from roof to roof. It didn’t take long until they were annoyed by the constant rattling of the food cart as it was pulled over the rough roads underneath. The cook happily greeted the ponies he encountered along the way. But as he progressed onwards fewer and fewer ponies would cross his path. Eventually he was completely alone on the road.
“I have a bad feeling, Fade.” Midnight whispered, waiting on a moldy roof nearby for the cook to continue. Both were laying close to the edge, barely daring to lift their heads high enough and risk being discovered. “What if he is the wrong one?”
“Really? Heh, you named all the reasons why he is the right one, now you are having doubts?”
“I mean, those were just assumptions. It’s basically the same Everlast did in Stable Fifty-Four.”
“Hey! Do not compare us to that asshole,” Fade hissed.
Midnight sighed, his breath rattling. Then he heard a strange growl from the street below. He lifted his head a bit more to look down. “Fade! I think our friend may have gotten himself into some trouble.”
When Fade looked as well, she immediately recognized the upright walking creatures. “Diamond dogs…” She mumbled. They must have stumbled into their territory without even noticing. A small pack of these doglike creatures was stomping out from the ruins, their fur the same colors as the dirt and debris around them. They didn’t cover their bodies against the cold as ponies would. Their rabid barks and growls were echoing up to the roofs and reminded Fade and Midnight that these creatures grew only more feral since the bombs fell. The biggest one of the pack calmly approached the lonely pony, one bulky energy rifle in one massive claw, a dirty sack in the other.
“What is this?” The cook asked with a harsh and cold voice, devoid of the bubbly personality he used to carry. “Did you kill a stallion?”
“Two…” The leader of the pack growled.
“I told you only one every three days or so. Why two?”
“Home.”
The cook shook his head. “I still haven’t found a way into the Hub’s center.”
“I said home!” The leader roared. “We promise meat. You promise safe home.”
The cook sighed but nodded. “I appreciate your gift, but keep it. If you want me to go faster, get me E.M.P. weapons or a Stealth Buck.”
“We don’t have Stealth Buck!”
The cook stomped both his hooves on the ground. “You are sitting in a Stable-Tec production facility. If somepony has Stealth Bucks then it’s you! Fucking hobo bitches…”
The pack leader bared his teeth and growled.
“Don’t even dare to grunt at me! Without me, you won’t get home.” He reminded the diamond dog and stepped forward. He grabbed the dirty sack and emptied the bloody chunks on the floor. Fade held her breath when she recognized the colorful fur of a pony. “I ordered one pony, not two. I don’t have fingers like you and even I can count to two.” He kicked one of the body parts. “Ugh… See this as payment for a Stealth Buck.” He returned to his cart and dumped the sack inside it, ignoring the angry growls of the pack as he simply walked past them. But soon the pack was more occupied in picking up the meat.
Midnight and Fade moved quieter and avoided longer instances of flight as the chase continued. Slowly but surely their target would lead them to a huge production complex at the edge of downtown. Countless storage and fabrication halls surrounded a large office complex with the Stable-Tec spire in its center.
“This is the last chance, Midnight. Better you take him out now.”
Midnight nodded and took place a few feet away from Fade. With his rifle in his hooves he briefly looked around, making sure that none of the few scavenging diamond dogs would see him on the rooftop. He took aim and aligned the iron sights with his target, carefully steadying the rifle for the shot, however he suddenly hesitated. “Fade…?”
“Is there a problem?” She crawled to the ledge to take a closer look as well.
“You surely want to take back your apology for calling me stupid earlier, but I think we should follow him.”
“Don’t worry, the apology is already taken back,” she grumbled. “Why though?”
“Well, If I shoot him right here and now, we can’t get any proof for Endeavor. More importantly is the food he has. Bread, flour and canned vegetables are still good for you to eat.”
Fade grew quiet for a moment as she watched the cannibal approaching the factory halls. “Say, how far is it to Stalliongrad?”
“About a week’s worth of constant walking. You know what? Make that two weeks, in case of very bad snowfall, which is very likely this time of year.”
Fade realized that the clothes Midnight supposedly acquired wouldn’t be enough to supply them with enough protection, yet alone buy the needed food for the journey. “Fuck… Alright, let’s follow him then.” Fade glanced over the ledge. She saw two diamond dogs arguing about something they had found. Be it a dead animal or some sparkly trinket, it didn’t matter as long as it kept them distracted long enough. She couldn't make out any words in the growling and barking anyway. Sadly another one was waiting at the entrance the mad cook was heading towards, making their plan of following him more complicated. Her skin crawled at the sight of the large guardian. Calling it a dog would have been a compliment at that point, given its grotesque physique and size, a terrible mix of both worlds.
“Any idea how to get inside?” Midnight asked her.
“We wait until the streets and yards are clear, then we rush in.”
Time passed on, Fade and Midnight landed on the roof of the factory hall the cook entered a few hours ago. They quickly realized that following him through the hall itself was out of the question. The pack of diamond dogs made the hall their home, working on all kinds of devices, mostly weapons made from the tools and scrap they had found. Despite the stench and the constant growling and barking, Fade was surprised to see a few older dogs taking care of the younger ones.
They searched for a different entrance up on the roof. Midnight noticed some open cargo lifts nearby, but he didn’t want to move underground where there could be even more dogs on guard or taking a nap. They kept searching until they finally found their way in, a badly damaged tile on the roof. Parts of it were sunken in and allowed dirty water to gather in deep puddles, other parts around it had already collapsed years ago. Even though they found a way in, they had certainly lost their target by now.
Without another choice, they squeezed through the broken opening and finally figured out what the hall was used for originally. A storage for Stable-Tec’s massive, gear shaped doors. Row upon row they were lining up in an upright position to be rolled away by heavy transporters, carefully parked at the sides. Without any new Stables ever to be built, the storage hall appeared more like a massive, strange graveyard.
Even though it was rather dark, Fade and Midnight decided not to turn on their lights, in case someone was nearby. They quickly and silently moved through more dimly lit factory halls, each one supposed to build another monolithic device for the stables. It was quiet and Fade barely dared to breathe, afraid it could alert the diamond dogs in the other halls.
Eventually they reached a maintenance hall. Dozens of workbenches were cluttered with broken PipBucks and tools, as well as boxes containing even more. Countless more crates were stacked up in a nearby room, almost reaching the ceiling. Searching for anything valuable, ponies and diamond dogs tore open the crates and spilled the useless devices into the hall. Midnight examined the workstations with the terminals, but without any power they were of no use.
Suddenly Fade stopped in her tracks when she stepped onto something hidden under the dust. She leaned forward and brushed the thick layer of dirt aside.
“Fair Pay and Stable-Access!”
Looking at the heaps of hundreds of busted PipBucks, she wasn’t surprised anymore that Key’s Stable broke down that easily. “Real professionals…” She mumbled.
Midnight waved his wing in order to catch her attention, his eyes locked on the neighboring storage hall. Fade walked up to him and listened in, soon enough she picked up a faint buzz. A noise neither Fade nor Midnight heard for years and only through its absence they found the hum of a fridge rather intrusive. The noise brought another sensation with it; Hunger. Even Midnight remembered the feeling of appetite.
Following the noise they soon found the emptied out cart next to a cargo lift and a stairwell to the basement. The buzzing definitely originated from below, accompanied by a sickly smell that quickly replaced Fade’s hunger with the icky feeling of entering the bowels of a beast.
Fade bit down onto the leathery grip of her Dagger while she took the lead through the facilities’ underbelly. It only took a minute before she yearned for the ashen air of the wasteland to replace the musty basement scent. Only very few lamps with dim lights burned inside, their only guides through the labyrinth of shelves and corridors. It was too dark to make out any details of their surroundings, yet still too bright for them to hide in the shadows.
Following the ever growing buzz, they eventually had to turn into a much more narrow corridor. The noise grew louder and an unsteady rattling joined, which also grew louder with every step. The walls were covered in wires and pipes, only interrupted by maintenance doors, or other narrow hallways or crawl spaces. It was as if they were moving through the rotting carcass or a machine, but somehow its heart was still frantically beating.
Midnight held his rifle tightly. He was looking over his shoulder, checking the path from which they came, stopping and blinking every time he thought he saw a shadow rush by. Midnight was never sure if it was his own, somepony else’s or simply the flicker of one of the lights.
Fade had to pull her cape over her nose once the smell of rotten meat grew too much for her to bear. The noise began to hurt her ears and she began to hesitate to continue onwards. But soon they reached the room containing the source of the noise and stench. She braced herself and took the last few steps.
And with that, the heart of the cook’s operation was presented in front of their very eyes. The steady rattle came from a huge industrial freezer, too old to function properly, but being kept alive by a few magic spark batteries. Without any detergents available for maintenance, everything was covered in a thick layer of grime and dust. Piles of old or leaking batteries were piled up in the corners of the room. The oven and stove were fueled and heated by an industrial machine, with some of its components glowing in the colors of a rainbow; Having it glow and dip everything into a twisted fever dream. A gaunt rat was lured in by the smell of fresh bread, but ended up trapped in a snare. It was still breathing, while the two heads of a mutated roach were gnawing at its body.
“He’s not here.” Fade whispered through her knife. “Hide and wait for him! His food seems to be almost done.” She hid next to the door, trying not to step into the gunk covering the floor.
Midnight couldn’t shake off the memories of vomit when he first entered the room. Looking for a distraction he spotted the rat, reminding him of feral ghouls, trapped under rubble and eaten equally indifferent by roaches.
Eventually the rainbow colored glow briefly caught his attention. “He uses the rainbow plasma from the cutting bench to heat the oven.”
“That’s too much information, Midnight.”
Suddenly the light turned off and only the glow from the workbench remained. Too dark for Fade and Midnight to see anything except the constantly shifting color. The freezer’s compressor was slowing down and eventually dying. There was no noise left except an occasional squeak by the rat.
“A power outage?” Midnight whispered.
“Don’t know. Hey, can you make that thing glow brighter?”
“Nope, I only know how to make it explode,” He replied with a smirk.
“Not helpful—” Fade ducked down when she saw something rushing past her.
Midnight suddenly felt a heavy blade digging into his left foreleg. He was confused by the lack of pain and didn’t understand what was happening at first until when a kick drove the blade deeper into his bone, making it snap. His leg gave way, making him tumble to the ground.
Fade stormed at the dark silhouette in front of her, only to feel a cut slash across nose. She shook her head, ignoring the pain when the same blade pierced the side of her muzzle only seconds later. The impact of cold metal scraping over her nostril bone stunned her for a brief moment. In her desperation she threw her body forward, ramming into somepony in front of her and began to keep pushing; pushing and praying the blade wouldn’t strike again.
Both of them soon bumped against the still searing hot oven. Dishes and kitchen utensils fell and shattered on the floor. Fade heard a loud clang in the oven and realized the scent of burned bread. Then suddenly the smell changed to seared fur and screams. An ear piercing cry of pain was echoing through the basement.
With a mad and desperate cry he lunged his head forward and rammed his teeth into Fade’s nose. Blood filled her already injured nostrils as they sank deeper into her skin and down into her bones. She groaned in pain and jerked her head around, feeling her blade cutting into something, warm blood flinging into her face moments before she was pushed back.
Then, a sudden flash of light illuminated the area followed by a loud bang from Midnight’s heavy rifle. She gasped and covered her head in an attempt to shield herself from any potential stray bullets, only catching a glimpse of the cook’s green coat and red mane. Neither she nor Midnight knew if the shot hit or missed entirely. He fired again and again, each time the muzzle flash gave him barely enough light to adjust and shoot again until Midnight could no longer spot his target.
Fade rolled onto her belly and groaned, blood dripping out of her nose. The smell of blood and the stinging burning pain caused a deep urge to gag. She forced herself back onto her hooves, her legs shaking. She knew they needed light. She stumbled to the oven and frantically searched and turned every dial she could find. “Come on damn it!” She growled, almost burning her hooves when small, but super-heated rainbow colored flames erupted from the cooktop. It wasn’t as much light as she would have wished for, but she could see a whole lot better at least. Midnight used the rifle to pull himself back up, aiming it at the door just in case. He found a cleaver still stuck in his foreleg, almost severing it completely.
“This fucker…” Fade hissed through her teeth, spitting some blood onto the ground. Her entire muzzle was aching, yet she wouldn’t dare let go of her weapon. “I’m going to fucking blow this entire shithole sky high!”
“W-wait, are you sure?” He had to yell over the noises of the oven.
“Shut—” Fade stopped herself and exhaled sharply. “Tell me, can you run?”
“Well…” He took a look at his leg. “N-no? Barely. But uh, it’s not far so… I can make it if you want to detonate the workbench that badly.”
Fade only nodded, speaking posed too much pain for her. At least they had enough light so that Midnight could shoot whenever he saw something by the door.
“Flip the switches on the right, then turn the red valve. The bench will start to leak pressurized plasma. It will melt through the floor and superheat the air. We have less than a minute.”
Fade wanted him to be quiet, but she didn’t want to reply simply because she gave up caring at this point. Instead she just did what he said, flipping the switches, searching for the valve and turning it until her hooves couldn’t move it anymore. ”Done!” She shouted and noticed that the rainbow glow was getting brighter and brighter. “Let’s book it!” She yelled and started to dash away from the contraption. They started running, rushing down the tunnel they came from, wanting to smell the wet and ashen wasteland air again. Midnight lagged behind, his damaged hoof flopping uselessly, while he limped forward as fast as he could.
A violent hiss started to grow louder behind them. Fade looked back to check the source of the noises, spotting the streams of colorful fire erupting into the hallway behind Midnight. It plastered the walls like glue and made them turn bright red through the heat. An old pipe got hit and exploded into a cloud of steam when the plasma heated up the stagnant water inside of it.
Midnight wasn’t fast enough however, even Fade was starting to grow unsure if she could reach the elevator. Her sides were burning from the lack of air as the heat vaporized any moisture that could have been around them. While frantically looking around she noticed one of the doors she just passed.
She turned around, rushing back into Midnight’s direction in a desperate attempt to open the door with a strong enough ram of her body. She growled and leaped the rest of the distance, using her momentum and weight to throw herself against the metal door. Luckily for them it gave in with a loud metallic bang. Midnight caught up just in time. They felt the air on this side growing slightly colder and fresher.
“Quick!” She got up and waited for Midnight to pass through before throwing the door shut as the building started to rumble and shake. Dust was raining from the ceiling, coating Midnight’s eyes and clogging Fade’s nose even more. They rushed through the long tunnel, Fade scouting ahead for Midnight in search of an exit.
The door they just passed began to glow behind them and the noises of screeching metal echoed through the room. The heat of the plasma began to catch up quickly. In her mind, Fade knew what plasma could do to a pony, expecting the door to follow the same fate very soon.
“Fade! Cargo lift!” Midnight suddenly shouted, his voice muffled in Fade’s ears.
The lift itself was not too hard to spot, and seemingly not blocked either. Two old crates were still on the loading bed. Fade climbed on top of them and forced her body against the rusty hatch, until she heard the joints slowly squeak and bend; Or at least she thought so. Midnight crawled onto the crates shortly after Fade and added his meager strength to their attempt of opening the old hatch. The air began to sear, even the sweat on Fade’s forehead felt hot as precious seconds ticked away.
“Fade! On Three!” He strained his voice and began to count. Together and with a quick last push of their combined strength, the hatch finally broke open, allowing them through and out of the building. The sudden light blinded them as they slowly tried to get back onto their hooves.
“Fade… Don’t stop!” Midnight groaned. She heard concern and even a hint of panic in his voice. But they escaped! Looking around she noticed the source of Midnight’s fear. Everlast’s white hellhound stood further in the distance, surrounded by even more diamond dogs. All their attention was drawn to the erupting maintenance hall. Fade huffed and flapped her wings, praying that Maverick didn’t see them. Midnight and Fade didn’t know why they were here, but they knew that they must leave the city now.