Author's Note

Yea, I've rewritten the story completely because it was trash. If you still think it's trash, then I encourage you to tell me why in the comments so I can get better, Thanks!

Chapter 1 (Rewritten from scratch) - Next time, I will control myself, I promise!

You know how it is in the post-war wasteland. No laws, and nopony to enforce them. Well, except maybe the occasional hero here and there. They traverse the wasteland doing all the good they can, bringing law and order wherever they can. Helping those who need it. But there's only as much as one or a couple of ponies with guns can do, even with the best intentions. And unfortunately, they are very rare, for the most part ponies just try to survive.

You could say raiders are the exact opposite of that. Murdering psychopaths that, as the name implies, raid settlements that can't protect themselves, with the intention to kill, torture, and destroy as much as they can.

Heroes are loved by ponies living in the wasteland and everywhere else, hence why there are so many stories about them.

raiders on the other hoof are universally hated by everypony. Slavers, Steel Rangers, travelling merchants, salvagers, and every single settlement that had any contact with them ever. Which is why nopony wants to hear any stories about them. Ponies want to hear and read about heroic ponied doing heroic things. Shame, because I love a good story no matter who it is about.

***

"Hey! Assholes, what the fuck do you want?!" I yelled in annoyance at the two of my clan members who were forcefully herding me out of the house I was looting with excited smiles on their faces. "I'm not fucking done there yet!"

"You'll see," said Scythe as he pushed me out of the living room into the connecting hallway whose walls were full of bullet holes, while the other one, Bars, followed him.

'Why is Scythe here? Shouldn't he be planning our next trip or something?' I thought with confusion.

"You've been acting a bit weird lately," said Bars, following Scythe through the door frame. We entered the hallway whose walls were dotted with bullet holes. "We are very worried about you Pensie," He said mockingly like a mother to her foal and chuckled. "The whole clan is! So we just want to check if you still got the thing that makes you an Earchipper."

It must be something serious since the leader was here. It must be that I said I wasn't interested in 'playing' with the prisoners last raid. And the raid before that. I remember how surprised everypony was. "Why do you fucking care huh? It's none of your fucking business!" I shouted as I exited the house. In front of it, in a clearing full of corpses of ponies who naively thought they had a chance to defend this place from us. Shame they don’t give up more often. More prisoners is always nice, bigger stock lasts for longer.

Half of the clan stood in a hoof shape. Around fifteen ponies now to be exact. Before the fight there were more of us, but that’s just the raider's life. You live and have fun one day, and you’re rotting in a ditch the next. Once you accept that, you’ll be fearless. At least that’s what Scythe always says.

Maybe I'm not mature enough for that yet.

In the centre of the gathering, two more raiders had pinned a white mare to the ground, and another three, just next to the hoof shape, guarded a group of the prisoners we'd taken today. Everypony was silent and looked at me. I hate when ponies look at me like that. They’ve got a problem or what?!

"No! Leave her alone! You hear me! Let her go! I’ll do whatever you want!" Screamed some pony from among the prisoners.

I looked at Bars and Scythe "Why do you fucking care? And what is this?" I said more calmly, but still with anger.

"We care because it makes us look bad," Scythe said loudly to make sure he can be heard through the screams. "So, we prepared a little something for you "- he pointed at the thrashing mare in the middle -"she's all yours."

I looked at her, and then at Scythe again

That's it?

"You think I got soft?" I told Scythe calmly.

He shrugged his shoulders and puffed out his lips "Maybe."

And they all think that?

Hell no, I'm not soft, I'm a raider.

I started walking towards the mare. "You gotta fucking understand guys, I know that for some of you, this is beyond comprehension," I said jokingly, looking at my clanmates standing in the circle, " But If you do the same thing over and over again it gets boring, and you need to take a break, right?" They looked at each other and I heard some of them agreeing.

I didn't get soft, I'm gonna show them. But it's fucking frustrating. These idiots, somepony finds a slightly different entertainment other than killing and torturing for a couple of days, and they start thinking you're getting soft. I'm not soft! Maybe I just wanted to open up some of the weird devices we found during the raids to see how they worked? No! They wouldn’t think of that!

I bit my trusty dagger and pulled it out of the pocket on my right hoof, jumped at the mare, between the two raiders pinning her, which made her stop trying to break free, and made her look at me with fear.

Overall she looked and smelled nice, really nice actually, they barely touched her. Only small bruises, no cuts, graceful figure, cute belly, pretty face, and eyes like a puppy dog. Or maybe that's because she was crying but, damn it she's hot. And my little guy thought so too.

"Oy, spweed hew wegs!" I said through the knife as I stood above her and looked at her pretty face.

Immediately my Clan members began cheering happily. And the mare began thrashing and screaming again. I backed away from above her to look between her legs. And good that I did because I noticed something, which almost made my face go sour. Somepony was there before me! Actually, more than one pony, definitely more than one. Eugh, I don't want peeing to burn until I get my hooves on a healing potion, and I doubt it's gonna be worth it.

I spat out my knife, "You just couldn't stop yourself didn't you guys huh?" Everypony started laughing. "I bet it was you Bondie, you fucking animal!" I said while laughing too.

Then she kicked me straight in the muzzle. I fell on my back while massaging my nose with my hooves. Ow my whole fucking muzzle hurt from that. After I checked if there was any blood, I got up as fast as I could. I picked up the knife and jumped over her with a smile.

She calmed down and everypony around me went silent when I pressed the flat side of my dagger against her chest, and rode it over her body while watching it carefully.

Well everypony except for the one screaming stallion, somewhere among other prisoners.

"P-please," She moaned through her tears, which I ignored. At least she's not screaming, that would be annoying.

"Please." She's pretty, it's a shame to ruin such a pretty body.

"Please." Her begging turned almost into a whisper. I shook my head. A real raider doesn't care about things like that.

"Plea-" I felt the ribs with the dagger, and carefully plunged it almost horizontally under them. Bits of blood spattered my face and she started screaming highly. Oh Shut up! I dug around with the knife in her chest, until I finally found her lungs, and her voice died. Finally. Her puppy eyes were wide open, and she began coughing and choking on her own blood. Damn it you bitch! I just cleaned that armour! I pulled the knife out, and quickly stabbed her between her ribs for the heart. Now that will shut her mouth quickly. I'm not gonna torture anypony, in front of everypony like that. Where’s the intimacy in that? I pulled the knife again and tried to wipe it clean using the little yellow gras that was almost everywhere.

"Nooo!" A desperate cry rang from the prisoner group, it lasted a bit, and then faded and turned into crying

Okay, there, I did it, not soft.

I felt my mood improve, and the frustration wash away. Actually, since she's all mine, and I’m dirty with blood anyway… I could have some more fun.

I made one long cut from her sternum almost to the crotch, then smiled, and spread her open with my front hooves. The smell of meat hit me, but it wasn’t so bad. The funny thing is, pony insides usually smell very similar to the outside. She probably wouldn’t taste that bad. Fortunately this time we have enough food for everypony. Seeing me get creative with her made everypony loosen up, and they began freely talking to each other.

"Ey! Why did you let her go so quickly? Should have let her scream for a bit longer!" Soprano Tails complained.

I spat out the knife, "Oy shut up! That's how I like it!" I replied to him.

Then somepony commented about Soprano having daddy issues. In response, Soprano threw himself at them and began beating them with his hooves while they both struggled on the ground. A circle of ponies chanting ‘Fight Fight Fight’ formed around them, and the rest of the gathering began to gradually disperse.

Not paying much attention to it, I began to dig through her guts with my hooves and mouth, which made her jerk with her hooves, as if trying to push me away, but quite blindly, she wasn't even lifting her head anymore to see what’s digging through her insides. "Who wants the heaaaaaart! And somepony start a fire!" I shouted with a light joy in my voice and looked around, which provoked a cheer from everypony around me. I couldn’t smell anything but blood, and I could feel my whole face was caked in it. Which, if you don’t breathe with your nose, is a pleasant feeling,. I bet that’s how a warm bath feels like. I dug my face deeper into her warm insides, held my breath, closed my eyes, and imagined myself swimming in a pool of sweet, scarlet red, warm and sticky blood. Oh that would be heaven. I started to run out of air so I pulled my head out, looked at the white clouds in the sky, and took a deep breath. How many prisoners would a pool like that take?

Four other raiders sat over her next to me, each of them wanting some of her body parts. Alright, then!

Scythe and Bars approached me as I was pulling her intestines out with my sharp teeth. Apologies would be appropriate. I stopped what I was doing, got up and looked at them waiting for them to speak.

"Fuck, maybe I'll start pretending to get soft too to get a pretty mare all for myself," Bars said while nodding towards the mare.

"Good to know you're still you. We were starting to worry, about you too of course," He said with an ironic smile, "You know how it is, if anypony finds out that the Earchipper clan doesn’t want to kill, ponies might get cocky. We have to take care of our reputation as raiders."

"Ye, I get it."

"That's good." He patted my back and walked away. "Have fun."

"I'll kill you, you hear me!" The prisoner stallion began shouting again, but hoarsely, "I will kill you!"

Honestly, I forgot how fun playing with the prisoners can be, you just have to be in the right mood. Or it's because I took a short break from it, who knows?

"Ey Bars, come on, I just got a great idea!" I told Bars with excitement, Bars smiled. "Okay, this is what we're gonna do with her…"

***

The village proved to be a great target for an attack, we found plenty of food, places to sleep, and most important - Alcohol. It got dark, the fires were cracking, and raiders were talking, drinking, and burning everything that was flammable. Houses, wooden furniture, floorboards, bodies, everything. That settlement was in for a major rearrangement. And is gonna be unrecognisable probably by tomorrow. Everypony was happy. They had prisoners to play with, a place to sleep, and the air was filled with screams and wails of ponies. Perfect time to sneak out.

I remember we bumped into some abandoned caravans on the way to this settlement, or farm, or whatever this is before we got here. The merchants must have noticed us and fled, but they were going somewhere. I'm pretty sure there’s some kind of settlement near in the direction they were going.

I want to go there. I’ve got to remind myself why I have to stay strong.

I put on my black coat I got two raids ago, my face would be too visible with my yellowish green coat so I carefully smeared it with charcoal, cautious not to pull any of my piercings in the face or ears, put a hood on my cut-up ears, and got moving.

I walked toward the edge of the clearing the settlement was built on. The entire clearing was dotted with numerous fireplaces, and around every one of them was a group of raiders ‘playing’ with one of the prisoners. If I wanted to sneak out unnoticed, I’ll have to avoid getting too close to them so none of my comrades would see me leave.

On my way to the forest, I passed a campfire where Soprano Tails, accompanied by a few other raiders, was slowly cutting some prisoner’s skin with a cleaver he held in his mouth, stopping every once in a while to hear them beg and wail in pain. It always made him smile.

I’m not gonna lie, I like games that give you a feeling of power too from time to time, but he is obsessed with them, and never wants to play anything else. I wonder what he’s compensating for.

I passed them and kept walking. Around twenty metres from them I saw Gaag, Bars and two others playing tug of war, but at the centre of the rope was a foal, and in the middle between the teams was a fire. I could hardly hear his screams because of the opposing teams making so much commotion motivating each other to keep up the fight, joking, and insulting the opponents.

Then I passed the mare that I… massacred. After that, Bars and I hung her on her intestines from one of the trees at the edge of the forest. I looked at her, slowed down and sighed.

It seemed like a cool idea, to hang here like that. And It still does…

I felt like a relapsed alcoholic, disappointed with myself. I thought I would be able to stop myself.

I sighed again and moved further into the forest.

I walked along the road but through the forest to avoid random travellers. It was quiet. I still had some dried blood on my face and in my nose, but I could smell damp moss, the only thriving plant in the area. I was walking through the dark forest keeping the road in sight, avoiding the black dead trees for quite a while, about as long as, if I had a shot of vodka before I left, I would have sobered up by now. But I have a lot of time, a whole night. I walked like this in silence for a moment more, until I started hearing water, and saw a faint yellow light. I accelerated to a trot and stopped when I saw the nearest buildings clearly through the trees. A dozen or so houses built mostly of black or brown brick, but patched with almost every material I could think of, wood, scrap metal, plastic sheets or fresh cement. Almost none of them had glass in the windows, most of the windows were boarded up. They were arranged evenly in rows. In the middle of the settlement, there was a wide road from which symmetrically diverged smaller paths, behind them the forest ended and some kind of cliff began. I also could see railroad tracks in the distance.

I looked around to see if anyone was coming, but I didn't see or hear nopony. I crept to the nearest boarded-up window and heard regular creaking from inside the house. I looked through the gap between the boards.

I saw two ponies embracing each other on a mattress. I could hear hispers, quiet moans of pleasure, and kisses. A lot of them. My little guy liked what I saw, but I only felt sad. And Jealous.

It wasn’t regular selfish buck and leave, I had sex before, I’m not a virgin. But it was completely different from this. This was full of passion. They were holding each other tightly, whispering in each other's ear, making sure it felt good for both of them. It's love, happiness.

No it wasn’t sex that I was seeing here. This is something else, something I have never experienced before, sincere love and affection. I watched as he held her, and she held him. Even after they were done, he didn’t just boorishly get up to leave, or start running away. Something that I was guilty of doing myself, but hey, what are you gonna do when a crazy-horny unicorn mare starts levitates a knife to your… And starts making threats about what she’s gonna do if you don’t do everything exactly as she says.

No, he stayed with her, and cuddled her until they both fell asleep in their embrace. That’s what hit me the hardest.

The more I looked, the more jealous I felt.

I moved away from the window and moved to the next house on the right.

I looked through the planks where the window should be and saw a dimly lit room, where a mare was feeding her foal by levitating a spoon with some mush into his mouth.

This one has it fine, getting food for free, having a mother like that. I had to do tricks to get food as a foal, ‘sit’, ‘give a hoof’, ‘roll’, ‘bring me a bottle’. Lucky bastard.

I watched for a few minutes, then decided it was enough. There were only three houses that I could sneak up to without having to run across the street deeper into the settlement. I snuck up to the last house in the row.

In the dark room, I saw two ponies sleeping cuddled together. Hard to tell the age in the darkness, but it doesn’t matter.

Could I ever have something similar? I imagined myself sleeping in that bed, lying on the mattress, cuddled with somepony. Then images of the mare from today, her body ripped open laying next to me on a wholly red and wet bed ran involuntarily through my head. Yeah… I guess that’s the answer.

Next time I will control myself, I will.

I'll have to smear myself in blood so they'll leave me alone, and get drunk or high for the night so I won't be able to join any games. Yeah, That’s a plan.

Then I heard a distant gunshot from the direction I came, then another, and then it became a sound of a serious firefight.

“What the fuck?” I quietly said to myself, and started walking hastily towards the noise, back to the camp.

***

As I was approaching the camp, the gunshots gradually quieted down. A few minutes later I jumped out of the forest into the clearing. The bonfires that my companions had lit were dying down. It was dark, but I could see that many more bodies were laying on the ground than there were after we raided this farm this morning. Numerous piercings and earrings in the bodies of my clan companions reflected the light of the dying fires.

I felt a wave of adrenaline go through my gut.

Somepony killed them? Or was this a big argument that went badly?

I noticed somepony standing next to one of the fires, fifty metres from me. He wasn’t a Raider, I don’t know anypony wearing armour like that. It was too decent and his weapons were too shiny for a raider. Only I and a few others cared about maintaining guns, but nopony did it to that level.

He was turned sideways to me and probably did not see me yet. I was dressed completely black, so I should be able to sneak up on him.

But he’s got guns and armour, and I have only a lil knife… Maybe I should hide? Prepare a plan or–no. I’d be a coward. Only cowards run away from danger. I’ll kill him. Somehow… It’s a terrible fucking idea.

I lowered my head and began quietly approaching the stranger. As I walked towards him, passing bodies of our victims from this morning, and my clanmates. I noticed a very familiar face and ears and stopped. Is this… Gaag laying there? I looked at the big dark figure again. Earchippers always return the favour. At least twice as much. I got moving again, faster this time. My breathing and my heart thumping were the only sounds that accompanied me. I was close now, a couple more steps, and I will be able to throw myself at him with my dagger. I lowered my head to my hooves, bit the button with my teeth, and opened the pocket on my right forehoof, it made a sound, but I barely heard it, he probably didn’t. I grabbed the knife in my mouth and took it slowly out of my pocket. I raised my head with the knife, and–

I saw the big dark figure, a head taller than me, in some thick dark armour aiming right at me with an assault rifle, attached to the saddle by a metal arm that held the gun at his eye level. Only his face was uncovered, and from what I could see through the darkness, it showed no fear.

“Stop, who are you,” he said in a deep voice. I stopped instantly and just looked him straight in the eyes. “Drop that right now,” he added quickly.

Throwing myself at him right now would be suicide. And I should drop the dagger or he’ll kill me.

Fuck, that’s not what a raider would do.

But I’m definitely gonna get killed if I try any–

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot and a sudden light pain in the side of my chest. The force knocked me to my side, and I felt an incredibly strong need to cough something out of my lungs. I started coughing violently and tasted blood in my mouth. Feeling that my breathing just isn’t as effective as it was a moment ago, I panicked for a second

They fucking shot me!

But quickly collected my thoughts, after I felt the pain spread a bit more.

You’re gonna shoot me? That’s how you wanna fucking play?

“Hey! Stop! What are you doing!” The big pony shouted to somepony I couldn’t see. From the ground, I had a nice view of his hooves, and getting up would hurt for sure. Okie dokie, not the first time I’m in this situation. Good that I still had my dagger in my mouth. I planted my left forehoof firmly on the ground, Then I set my rump upright and lifted it at the same time as I lifted my front with, first the left, and then both of my forehooves. Okay, It was harder than usual, but I was standing again. The wound on my chest began hurting more and more, but I have some time before the pain fully kicks in, not much though. “... just a kid, look at him! Bring it right now!” The big Pony said. Hey, I’m around eighteen you asshole! I raised my head and jumped at him with all the force I could muster, aiming the knife at his neck with a smile that gradually built itself on my face, as the anger melted away for some reason. Die! Ha! I would prefer to hit his face for what he did to Gaag, but he was just too tall.

After I stuck the knife in, I used it to support myself to make standing easier. He should be falling down any moment now. Shen he does, I’ll cut his fucking hea–

Then I looked at the knife closely, then at his neck, and then more upward at his face. I missed the neck entirely, and the knife got stuck in his shoulder. From the lack of reaction whatsoever, I guess I didn't even penetrate the armour. Damned rich ponies and their fancy armour! He looked at me surprised for a split second, and then immediately slapped me with a hoof in the face. The shock from being hit on the head made me fall back and on my side again.

“Ow fock,” I said, holding a hoof to my face, “That’s how you want to play you cocksucker?” I said in a playful and challenging tone and began getting up again, the same as before. First, Left hoof… I wasn’t even angry anymore!

“Lay there!”

“Hah, that’s what I said to your mother when”--I lifted my rump–” I loaded her in the ass!” I said, lifting my head from the ground, and looking straight at his face while smiling smugly. Okay, front hooves… And I’m standing again. “Ha!” with a good mood now, even the pain was ignorable!

He turned to face me, “Stop it kid, you’re gonna get yours…” He looked above my head, “ You’re a raider.” His face took a horrified expression for a moment.

Only now has he noticed my ears? “Whoa, congratulations mister fucking”-- He stood two metres from me, I ran up to him, turned around, and sold him a solid buck in the chest, which didn’t move him a centimetre, instead it pushed me away a couple of steps from him, as if I kicked a wall. “perceptive…” I turned around and saw him aiming the gun at me again.

I started slowly walking towards him, which was getting harder and harder with every passing moment, but steadily quickening my step. If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die with the rest of my clan, and have fun!

“Pussssssyyyyy,” I said, dragging the word out and mockingly. “I’ll shove it up your ass and pull the trigger.” And just as I was about to jump at him, I tripped on something and landed on my jaw and belly right at his hooves. Okay, fuck. I doubt I can– He raised one of his big hooves, and something hard hit me on the top of my head.

***

Waking up chained to a tree was a new one for me. I lifted my head and looked around me. By the weight on my neck, I’d assume they used some metal collar. I sluggishly got up from the yellowish moss, my chest still hurt, I looked over at myself, my greenish-yellow for was stained with a lot of blood, and I could see a stitch where I probably got shot earlier. Assholes didn’t want to use a healing potion on me. I peeked over the tree I was chained to. Three or four metres away was a bonfire, four ponies who sat there looking like they were discussing something. The chain was the same length, so that gave me some options. One of them was the big armoured one. Now that his face was lit by the fire, I could see his coat was brown, and his mane black. Another one, a battered light grey unicorn with a light blue mane was looking right at me. Was he staring at me this whole time?

As soon as he noticed I woke up, He grabbed a shotgun in his cyan magic and started walking towards me with death in his eyes.

Fuck fuck fuck, feeling adrenaline shot in my gut. Without thinking about it, I opened my eyes wide and started backing up from the danger as fast as I could. He shot where I was a second ago, but fortunately missed, one of the pellets chipped my left front hoof, but nothing more, so it didn’t hurt. I continued backing up until the chain got taut, and the collar pressed against the back of my head. He pumped the shotgun as I stood in this awkward position where my whole body was backed up, but my head bound by the chain stayed in the front. My heart was pounding heavily. Fuck he’s got me right on a plate like this.

Fortunately, before he could take another shot, the big armoured pony jumped at him and pinned him to the ground, the magic around the shotgun became yellow, and it floated to an orange-yellow pony standing next to them.

“No! Let me do it!” He screamed not taking his eyes off me.

“Stop it you hear me!?” The brown shouted into his ear, looking into his eyes.

“He killed my daughter!”

“Killing him won’t change anything!” The brown pony gradually lowered his voice, he was talking calmly while saying the last word.

“Do you want to see her now!? See what he did to her?!”

The brown earth pony looked at his orange yellow, and the dark grey friend who stood further back, they both nodded positively. The brown looked like he didn’t like the idea, but sighed and looked at the light grey unicorn. “Okay, take me to her.” The light grey stopped struggling, and they both slowly got up. The unicorn looking straight at me while doing that. When he finally took his eyes off me, he turned around, and they left together into the darkness that began a couple of metres away from the fire.

It took a moment after they left for me to relax slightly. I made a step forward to be able to stand in a normal position and exhaled with relief. The Dark grey unicorn with a black mane walked towards the tree I was chained to and leaned on it.

“Bear Hearts is the only one of us who wanted to keep you alive. Try anything, and you'll have a hole in your skull to match the one in your chest,” he said calmly in a low voice while looking into my eyes without any big ger emotions. Then he and the orange-yellow unicorn went back and sat together on one of the logs lying next to the fire.

I shook my head, slightly shut my wide-opened eyes, and relaxed my facial muscles. I probably looked like I was about to piss myself when he tried to shoot me. Fuck, raiders don’t show fear, I should do something, something to show that I’m not scared.

I heard Scythe’s voice in my head insulting me and mocking me for being such a coward.

Did they get Scythe? He was one of the sharpest in the clan, would he get himself killed that easily? What about Gaag, Soprano, or Bars? Yeah, Bars would get himself killed that easily.

I suddenly felt lonely, very lonely. I haven’t felt like that in a long time. My eyes began… Am I actually gonna fucking cry after them? My throat swelled up too!

These motherfuckers probably killed them all!

Even if I escape, or something, I doubt I can join another raider clan just like that. I’d have to get a new pair of ears to get rid of the Earchippers stigma. And I doubt I could find life among normal ponies even more.

What am I supposed to do?

Fuck. Calm down, don’t be a crying pussy. If you’re a raider and Earchipper. Act like one.

I’ll–I’ll figure something… Yeah, I’ll figure something out. I just need to think of a way to escape, kill them all. And not get killed in the process.

Then everything will work out.

After a few moments, I eventually sat behind the tree I was chained to, which allowed me to hear the conversation of my captors a bit better. Any information is valuable now.

“Maybe let’s sell him as a slave, it would be a punishment, and he wouldn’t be able to hurt anypony,” The Yellow Orange suggested. That fucking cunt! Hearing somepony else than me deciding my fate made me furious. I’m gonna sell him to a cheap griffon brothel and see how he likes that.

“I heard that Red Eye buys every slave in the entire wasteland, and brings them to Fillyadelphia. And I also heard raiders there group in clans again and do the same they did before,” the dark grey unicorn replied. I wish somepony killed both of your whole families and sold both of you to Filly, so you see how it is on your fucking skin.

“Kill-no, sell as slave-no, what, maybe we're supposed to whip him like in the Middle Ages and let him go? What is Bear Hearts thinking of? Because I don’t intend to be a nanny for a little psycho.”

“I don’t know, but he looked like he cared a lot about it.” There was a pause, “Hey, look, there he is." The dark grey unicorn nodded his head towards two figures approaching the fire.

The yellow-orange unicorn stood up, “What? I told him to drag that stallion away from here.”

Bear Hearts approached and then passed the fire together with the light grey unicorn, the eyes of both of them were locked firmly on me.

My heart began thumping faster and I began backing away again when I realised both of them were going straight for me. What the fuck is he doing?

You're an Earchipper! Don't show fear, stand your ground. I thought to myself in Scythe's voice and stopped, trying to calm my breathing. Okay, they said he doesn’t want to kill me.

But he saw her body, that might have changed things a bit.

“Looks like our problem solved itself,” The grey unicorn said indifferently

Fuck.

When he was flush with the tree I was chained to, he pulled the chain with his teeth so hard it yanked me forward, then he pressed his hoof against my back, so I fell flat on my belly, and then, I didn’t have to see it to know, he pressed a gun barrel hard against the top of my head.

“Ouch ouch, ouc–”

“Give me one fucking reason not to blow your fucking head open right fucking now!”

Ow Celestia, that hurts. Is he trying to scare me or is he really that close to killing me? fuck what should I say? Thoughts and scenarios ran quickly through my head.

Beg? No way. Plus it wouldn’t work anyway

Apologise? Same.

Promise I won’t do it again?

“I. Am. Waiting.” he pushed the barrel even harder, my heart thumped hard and I began hyperventilating. Okay, he wants to kill me for real!

A shiver ran through me.

Burst into tears? Even if I wanted to…

Make a run for it!?

I closed my eyes.

None of these will fucking work! Nothing I can say will fucking help!

“Fuck you!” My voice broke as I whined it through my clenched teeth, half on accident, and half on purpose.

I never sounded that much like a scared foal in my life.

…I should not have said that, I should not have said that! Fuck!

“Huh, he’s very self-conscious for a raider,” I guessed it was the yellow-orange one like it was some kind of a joke.

“Yeah” added the grey one lightly, “At least he didn’t just start laughing as most of them would do,” he added and chuckled.

I.. I did it? Did I save my ass?

I opened my eyes, but the pressure on my head increased even more. No, not yet! Ouch!

“Why did you do that to her?” He said in a normal tone, but with poorly hidden anger and disgust.

“Aaah,” I groaned, “I didn’t want to in the beginning.” I tried to look at him, but he was outside of my field of view. I ran my eyes around everything and noticed the light grey unicorn looking dissatisfied, I quickly averted my gaze from him and looked at the ground.

“Oh, you didn’tmean to?! I guess it just turned out like this by itself!” He started loudly, but gradually toned his voice throughout the sentence. I could still hear anger and disgust in it.

Ow fuck he’s gonna crush my fucking skull fuck!

“I guess it fucking did-aAAAh! I tried to control myself! I did! But I did what I always did for my whole fucking life! That’s fucking it you Assh–" The gun barrel pressed harder "-Aaah, stop!”

Then the pressure decreased for a couple of moments, I sighed in relief, but then it increased again, but less than before. “Your whole life?” He seemed to have calmed a bit.

I'll shove that gun up your ass someday! “Are you deaf-" the gun pressed harder again "-aaaaaoooww!”

He took the gun away from my head completely, and I instantly began massaging it with my hooves to get rid of the pain.

Now I also wanted to press a gun against his skull so hard that it would crack. I’ll add that to the list. He thinks he can do anything to me, I’ll show him.

“What are you doing!? You saw what he did to her!” The light grey unicorn standing next to the chain tree was furious.

Bear Hearts approached him with a firm step, put a hoof on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. “Let go,” he added after he moved away from him. The light grey unicorn opened his eyes and mouth wide. His battered face took a furious expression, then it became sad, and then all the emotions disappeared. He looked Bear Hearts in the eyes again, then turned around without a word, walked away, passed the campfire, and disappeared into the darkness. His step was quick, he still was probably furious.

“What now?” Light grey asked Bear Hearts.

“We’re not letting him go,” he said while walking towards the bonfire, he opened one of the bags with his mouth, sat in front of it, and began looking for something.

“Oh good, because I thought you were gonna want to do the same thing you did in Radwaters.”

Bear Hearts fished out two different-looking collars from the bag and showed them to his companions. “I have a better idea.”

The orange-yellow put his hoof to his face and sighed resignedly. “No, please.”

Bear hearts looked at them seriously. “We’re taking him with us.”