Overture - A Fallout: Equestria Story

Chapter Seven: Drop In

"Fix me, please, I don't wanna be dead!"

It was evening outside, light low, the sky a dark hue of orange that was slowly giving way to royal purple. The room was bathed in dim yellow lamp light, cultivating a cosy mood as we chatted on the sofa. Noite's cat had curled itself up on my bookshelf and was dozing away. A record span away quietly, some new album Perfect had picked up, brassy and rich, upbeat.

I picked up my glass and sipped. Noite had brought a medley of fruits and juices with her and made up a batch of Sangria, it was sweet and went down a little too easy, I was already feeling a bit merry. One of the perks of being self semployed was that I got to decide my own working hours, and I'd already decided it wouldn't hurt for the shop to open a little late tomorrow...

Perfect was walking us through today's drama at the clinic, we were both giggling along.

"-and I swear on my life, we get the X-Ray back and there's an entire Power Ponies action figure lodged way up there!" He exclaimed, gesticulating wildly and almost spilling his drink.

"No!" I gasped, covering my smile with a hoof. Noite howled with laughter, beating down on the sofa arm.

"I know!" He giggled. "And then he starts the 'I have no idea how it got there' routine, so I said, 'well there's two ways it could've ended up there, and I'm pretty sure you didn't eat it!'"

"Gross!" I tittered. The room was filled with laughter for a minute. Perfect was always good for funny stories.

"Anyway, if you girlies will excuse me, I need a refill. Anyone else?" He pointed his empty wine glass between me and Noite. I shook my head, I still had most of my drink left.

"Sim por favor, Doutor!" Noite nodded.

"Sim, senhora!" Perfect bowed, dutifully taking her glass in his magic and trotting out into the kitchen and leaving me and Noite on the sofa. I took a sip from my drink, swirling the liquid around in the glass.

Noite was staring at me, a small, coy smile on her face, playing with a lock of her mane.

"What's that look for?" I asked, smiling back.

"You know what it's for, Prata!" She said, playfully shoving me. "I want to know how it feels!"

"How what feels?" I laughed, shoving back.

"To be a killer, of course!"

A bolt ran through me and I dropped my drink, I went numb. A gun, a gunfight, a shot to the head, a dead mare. By my hoof.

"Pretty heavy stuff." She continued, matter of factly. "Would never had thought you had it in you, our sweet Silver."

I had killed her, the bandit, I'd shot her in the head, left her lifeless eyes staring right through me. But I didn't have a choice, if I didn't kill her she would have killed me!

"I-I did what I h-h-had to, s-she was gonna kill m-me."

"Oh sure, sure, it was life or death, you or her." She agreed. "But you wanted her dead, didn't you? She deserved to die, right? They all did."

Noite pushed herself up off the sofa and slowly walked over to the window. I was shaking.

"I-I didn't want to kill her, I had-"

"I never said you wanted to kill her, Prata, I said you wanted her dead." She clarified, looking back at me, smiling. "Similar, but not the same, yes? The sentiment is different. But you saw to the outcome either way."

"T-they were evil! I had to!" I yelled, rising to a stand. "They were shooting at us- t-they killed children!"

"Easy, Silver, easy. I'm not trying to upset you, just making a point." She spread out her wings, long and graceful, stretching out almost the whole length of the room, navy blue plumage shimmering in the lamp light. She was wordless for a while, staring out the window into the eventide. "As estrelas agora elas estão mortas." She uttered. "But you're still here."

I didn't know what she meant by that. She'd taught me a little Lusitano over the years, but I was far from fluent. Truth be told my mind was too fixated on the firefight to try and figure it out.

"You've changed, Prata, whether you realise it or not. I've never known you to wish ill of anypony." She retracted her wings and turned around to face me. "This isn't bad, just an observation. Sometimes reasonable mares must do unreasonable things, no? We adapt and survive, we all change."

She closed the distance between us, until we were snout to snout. She looked into my eyes, hers a piercing yellow, caring, with a hint of mischief. I was trembling, I had no idea what was going on. She pushed me over, flat on my back. Before I had time to react, she'd jumped on top of me, straddling my barrel.

"W-what are you-"

"Familiar, yes? All I'm missing is the knife." She interrupted. The face of the Earth pony mare flashed before my eyes, bloodied and murderous. I squirmed under her weight. "Change will keep you alive, Silver. Just maybe don't change too much, please. I would hate to see you tarnish." She winked at me, smirking slyly at her own joke. That at least was classic Noite. The room fell away, no music, no sofa, no loft. It was just me and her. She smiled a small smile, almost mournful.

"Vou deixar você com sua vida desperta. Com amor, querido Prata."

"Noite?"

My eyes fluttered open. Noite was not there, none of it was, all just a strange dream. I sighed a little sigh.

I was apparently making quite a habit of waking up hurt with no idea where I was. I tried to stress but my whole body screamed in pain, from the tips of my ears to the bottom of my hooves. Horrible, but not as bad as I was expecting, probably whatever painkillers MD had given me were still in my system. Or maybe I was in shock. Or both.

I tried to glance around to work out where I was, but a razor-sharp tearing pain in my neck cut me off instantly, I winced and grunted, inhaling sharply. My eyes darted down to see-

THE KNIFE WAS STILL IN ME.

"AAAAH!"

"Silver, Silver, hey!" MD yelled, suddenly coming into view. She was crossed with bandages but didn't seem to be too worse for wear otherwise. "It's okay, it's okay!"

"T-t-the knife's still t-there, MD." I whimpered, not daring look down again.

"I know, we're going to get it fixed, just listen, please?" She said softly. "We couldn't give you a healing potion until we get those bullets out of you, and taking the knife out in the meantime woulda made the bleeding worse, you just gotta hold on until we get to a doctor, okay? We're already on the way, we're almost there." She sat down across from me, I noted we were in the bed of a cart, gently rocking. "You're gonna be fine, promise."

I sniffled and tried to calm my breathing, unconsciously tensing up, staying a rigid as possible to not disturb anything.

"We're almost there already, Rusty offered to take us the rest of the way to New Dodge."

"Damn straight!" He hollered from the front, I could just about make out his shape pulling the cart. "I could hardly just leave y'all back there, it's the least I could do. Glad to have ya' back with us, miss! Figure I owe you both an order of gratitude more than this anyway."

"H-how long was I sleeping for?" I mewled, eyes half shut, trying and failing to not look at the blade sticking out of my neck.

"Not too long, maybe an hour? I've been keeping an eye on you, don't worry." MD replied.

"Those fiends sure did a number on you, hope yer not hurtin' too badly- uh, the obvious aside." He continued. "I know they sure are though, we gottem all!"

He sounded very pleased about that. My feelings were... mixed to say the least. They were obviously deeply evil ponies, and it's undeniably a good thing that they were gone. But to make that happen we ourselves had committed the worst of all sins, we'd killed them, and I wasn't convinced that didn't put us all in the same level. Who's to say if I'm truly better or worse than they were?

I could still see the piles of bodies and smell the death in the air. The pure hatred in their eyes, the empty, vacant stare of the mare I'd shot. The blade coming down on me. I don't think I'd ever be able to get any of that out of my mind.

I can't say my weird dream helped much. I could tell myself that I did what I had to do, just like I told Noite, but I couldn't help but feel dirty about the whole ordeal. Silver before the apocalypse would never have hurt anypony.

Silver before the apocalypse never had a reason to.

Either way, it was done. There was no undoing it.

I sighed. Even that hurt.

"How're you feeling, Silv?" MD asked, I must've been quiet for a bit.

"Like I fell off a cliff." I answered honestly. I could be worse, but not by much. I was aching and exhausted, my head felt like it was awimking. Slowly, deliberately, I glance over myself to see what condition the rest of me was in.

I wasn't wearing my armour anymore. I was sticky with blood, drying out and turning an unpleasant maroon-brown shade. It ran all down my chest, back, and legs, snaking trails all over. Bits of dirt and gravel clung to my coat, soaked into the ooze. I was also covered in bandages, crossing all around, especially my neck and flank. I had bled through most of them, leaving me looking like a second rate Nightmare Night decoration. I felt disgusting.

"Stars, this is bad." I muttered to nopony in particular. "This is bad, this is bad..."

"Silver, trust me, you're going to be fine." MD started. "We stopped the worst of the bleeding, once we get to the doctor you'll be good as new."

I took a deep breath. We were already on the way, panicking would get me nowhere, if MD said I'd be okay I would just have to trust her.

"I couldn't do anything about your ear though, sorry." She added sheepishly.

"My ear?" I repeated, suddenly very alarmed. "What happened to my ear? Which ear?"

Obviously I couldn't actually see either of them. I flicked them both frantically to try and work out which was the effected appendage, but they both stung.

"Your left one, when you were wrestling with that fiend she must've, uh... taken some with her..." She trailed off. "It's not as bad as you think though, honest!"

Amazing. Of course, of course I finish my first ever fight permanently disfigured, why would I expect anything less? My mind went wild with speculation, I couldn't see myself and there was hardly going to be a mirror lying around. How much had gone? The tip? Half? The whole thing???

"H-how bad is it?" I tentatively asked.

"Oh, it's not bad all, it's just like a little nibble out of it, right Rusty?"

"Oh for sure, I've seen worse!" He chipped in.

That really didn't help much. A nibble? That could be anything! I think it was pretty obvious I was still upset because it wasn't long before MD chimed in again.

"It really isn't that bad, it's kinda like mine, see?" She tilted her head towards me and I got a good look at her ears. The right one had almost an entire clean circle taken out of the edge near the top, obviously a bullet wound. "We're matching!"

Despite her efforts I didn't feel any better about it. I just hoped the doctor would have a mirror so I could actually see what I'd be dealing with for the rest of my life.

Actually that goes for everything, stars I hoped none of this would scar too badly. I didn't have much else in this world but I would love to come out the other side still looking like me. Medical magic willing, I would be okay. I'm an Earth pony. We're built sturdy.

I tried my best to feel sturdy. Physically and mentally.

The cart rumbled on, Rusty's hooves clipping down the road. I had to give it to him, for an older Pegasus he was handling the load of the cart well, we were rolling at a decent pace considering he was hauling two ponies and a pile of assorted junk that I presumed MD had decided to bring along. I wasn't paying too much attention to the scenery as we passed by, I was very much preoccupied with worrying about myself.

One thing I did notice though was unfamiliar voices. Muffled, but definitely present. We were passing close by crumbled river-view mansions that must have been quite lovely in their time. A few were borded up, I could see the dancing light of fires in a couple, the sound of chattering bouncing off the walls. Homes, still serving their purpose after all these years, albeit not as grand as they used to be.

MD shifted over to the front of the cart, clutching a new gun, cautiously sweeping around us. She must have heard them too. I couldn't blame her for still being on edge, if anything I appreciated it. The last thing I needed right now was anypony getting the jump on us.

"Alrighty, we're coming up on Dodge inna minute, I'll wheel you two in and set off home, Rover's probably worrying like nopony's business." Rusty chuckled. "I'll park up by the clinic, should be able to fix you up good as new! General store is next door too, and the 40 has beds if ya needed a place to stay the night."

"Thank you, Rusty." I replied, eyes closed. A bed sounded absolutely astounding right now.

"Ain't nothin', thanks for the help clearin' the route, ya both did a good turn by us." He smiled. "Sure everyone in town'll be happy to know the road's safe now, too."

We trunded onwards for a few more minutes, me trying to keep as stoic as possible. The mansions fell away and the road opened up, rugged rocky plains stretched way out. Far away I could see the ruins of another town, easy to spot thanks to the presence of a MAs tower poking into the sky like a needle.

Before that though stood a great metal wall made up of mismatched shipping containers, chainlink fences and flatbed train cars, rusted cargo cranes and old smokestacks poking out over the top. Running accross the road was a gate that looked like it was made out of the cargo door of a boxcar. A lone pony stood vigil on top of the wall, watching us approach. New Dodge City, it must have been. It was much bigger than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a similar size to Fortune, two or three town blocks maybe. This was sprawling, wide and imposing, cutting a blocky silhouette across the landscape and contrasting heavily against the flatlands it sat on.

The gate guard tracked us as we approached, staring us down through the sights of his rifle. As we drew closer to the wall, the guard lowered the gun before disappearing entirely, slipping down behind. The gate slid open with a clank, we were being waved in by who I could only assume was the same guard.

"Come on in, wasn't expecting anypony to swing by this route!" He greeted.

"Well, me and these fine ladies here have just cleared out the bridge, so I reckon you'll be getting more traffic this way again soon." Rusty replied, wheeling us through the entrance, cart rattling. It was a small, dark room, that I think actually was a whole boxcar at some point in it's life.

"For real? Now that's the best news I've heard all week, the mayor will be extatic!" He beamed. In spite of everything, it was nice to think that we'd genuinely made a difference.

"We're happy to help, though my friends could do with some medical assistance, if you'd be so kind to let us through?"

"Heya!" MD chimed, waving at the guard as he looked us over.

He was a bright, cheerful shade of red and was wearing a brown vest and sunglasses, obscuring his eyes from sight. He waved back to MD and poked his head into the cart, giving me a once over.

"Ooh Celestia, they sure put you through the wringer, huh?"

Rude.

"You go right on in, clinic is on Cana Ave off West Street, right from the centre and third left." He explained, pointing the way vaguely.

"Don't worry none, I know where I'm going, thanks buddy!" Rusty replied, starting us on the move again, the gate crashing back shut.

"Welcome to New Dodge!" The guard yelled behind us. We were in.

I winced as the cart trundled out of the guardhouse and back out into the open, nut honestly it wasn't much longer after that that I found myself almost agape at what I was looking at. We had emerged onto a wide street lined either side with buildings, a concrete road flanked by a sidewalk made up of old railway sleepers either side. To the right seemed to be some kind of large warehouse, bustling sound floating out of open windows, brickwork holding steady against the elements. On our left were a load of smaller building made from container crates. Not simply repurposed, not bodged together, actual well crafted intentional structures, neatly arranged and well maintained homes. Alleys cut off between them, leading deeper into the settlement. Wires and cables ran overhead between building, swaying gently in the breeze. Further down the road ahead of us I could just about see the beginnings of a crowded market square.

This was an honest to the stars town!

Chatter filled the air as we passed a converted warehouse, now some kind of indoor market, loading bay transformed into a flower lined courtyard, a mural of Celestia and Luna gracing the tall rendered wall. A group of elderly ponies were sat outside playing cards and drinking coffee as a news vendor replenished his stall. This place had it's own newspaper.

Couples walked down the street, foals played in grassy gardens, tradesponies marched up and down the road, there was even somepony sweeping the street.

We were reaching the town centre, the road opening up and essentially becoming a big crossroads where all the main streets met. A group of guards milled around, they were all wearing old hard hats which I found a little funny. A large covered well sat in the middle of the crossroads, several ponies stood around it chatting, one was winching up a bucket from the depths.

We swung around the right of the well, weaving past a group of fillies playing in the street, laughing as they ran by. We pressed forward, turning onto a road signposted as West Street, the smell of food wafting through the air as we passed a café.

"Jeez, this place makes Baltimare kinda look like a shithole." MD observed, head swivelling around, taking in the sights and sounds. "I've never been this far into town before."

"Sure is something, ain't it." Rusty nodded. "One of the biggest towns this side of Canterlot Mountain, so I've been told. Safest too, I reckon."

I could believe it. Ponies were going about their business just like how it was before the war. They chatted in the street, they shopped. They didn't seem worried about where their next meal would come from or anything like that. They looked happy. Thriving.

Something about this was incredibly nostalgic for me. It wasn't just like how life was before the last day, this was like how I remembered life as a child, before anypony ever had to worry about the Zebrican Empire. A more carefree, innocent time that I had assumed was long lost forever.

I knew that there was more to this post-annihilation Equestria than I'd seen, I just knew it! Of course there were still resourceful ponies out here keeping the world going, rebuilding. If there were more places like this around then I could hold out hope that things might not be as all-encompassingly dire after all.

We passed a large allotment full of Earth ponies busily harvesting fresh veggies right out of the ground, a full blown irrigation system keeping everything well watered. Small cinder block huts sold freshly made food around the border of the field, I would definitely have to come back for something to eat once I was done at the clinic, an actual, home made meal would do me wonders.

I yelped as a particularly heavy bump jostled the blade sticking out of my chest. Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself, though I has to admit the peaceful sights had done a great job at keeping me diatracted. That and the painkillers.

There was more traffic down this road. Large, dormant cargo cranes cast long shadows over us, their bases hidden behind walls made of railway wagons. We hooked another turn down a smaller street, much narrower than the main roads we'd just been on. Darker too, the height of the buildings blocking light from reaching all the way to ground level. Neon signs lit up the way, pawn shops, a post office, general stores, and finally the clinic. We came to a stop just outside, Rusty parking out of the way as best he could.

It was a compact structure, looking to have been built of several passenger train cars cut up and assembled onto a building, seemingly to a very good standard, looking seemless and sturdy. A red cross was emblazoned on a sign above the door.

"Alrighty, this is us." He announced, unhitching himself. "I can help Silver here if you wanted to sell all this stuff off, figure you could kill two birds with one stone."

"Yeah, makes sense to me, thanks." MD answered, stretching out like a cat before hopping down to the floor.

"Y-you're leaving me here?" I squeaked. I was scared and hurt, I didn't want to be left in the hooves of a stranger, no matter how capable he seemed.

"I'll come in with you, but after I'll only be next door. We're probably gonna need the caps to cover the bill, I'll be back before you know it!"

I gulped. Money hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course we'd need to pay for this all, somehow. I think MD had managed to scrounge up 200 something caps before we'd set off but I had no idea how far that would stretch.

Did we even pay Rover for the coffee earlier?

She may have had a point, but I still didn't feel good about this. Doctors made me nervous at the best of times. In the state I was in could really use a friendly face.

"Alright Silver, lemme give you a hoof." Rusty spoke, trotting around the back of the cart as MD lifted her pile of assorted junk out of the way. "Real slow now, okay?"

Anxious, I steeled myself and shifted to move, pain instantly shooting through my chest. I groaned as I melted back down into the bed, tears starting to form in my eyes.

"C-can't..." I gasped.

"On it." MD said lighting up her horn. I could feel her magic pushing up under me, sort of like being lifted in a harness. I was only off the bed of the cart by a little bit, but even so the movement hurt. I seethed as my wounds moved, sharp and burning.

"I'm gonna put you down on Rusty's back, that okay?" MD said, clearly straining to lift me up.

She slid me slowly backwards until I had cleared the cart, my hooves falling limp below me. Rusty quickly ducked beneath my barrel so I was across him, and MD gently placed me down. My injured ribs protested, and I'm not too big to admit I squealed, I felt my back click as it bent and the movement of my barrel tugged on the knife.

"Phew, are we all good?" She asked, clearly relived to have put me down.

"Yep." Rusty grunted, I could feel him shifting beneath me. "Let's get her inside."

I didn't say anything, I was to busy gently whimpering as every step he took jostled me around. My wounds must have been disturbed by all the movement because I could see myself leaving behind a small trail of red drips on the floor.

MD held the clinic door open for us as Rusty trotted in. I held my breath to try and keep myself together just a little bit longer. The lobby was small and spartan, a desk against one wall and a long bench against the other. It smelled clean, though, the kind of chemical sterile smell all hospitals seemed to have.

"Goodness me, is everything alright?" Gasped the mare at the reception desk, leaping to duty. She was a mule, I'd only met a couple of mules before. A two tone grey with a black mane and a cotton nurse's hat.

"We just need a little help fer this one here." Rusty managed, carrying onwards. "Got inna tangle with some bandits."

"Right this way, first room here." She directed, opening the nearest door and walking through. Rusty prrssed forwards, slowly but surely getting us down the hall. My weight shifted with every step and pressed my ribs into the armour running down his spine. I'd be very glad to be back on a flat surface again. Not that I didn't appreciate the help, but still. MD tailed behind us.

The room itself was a small examination room. A basic wooden bench sat in the middle, joined by a cabinet on the wall to the left and a desk. The mule mare was washing her hooves in a sink that was mounted on the far wall, and a cold fluorescent light hung on the ceiling. Maybe a tad depressing, but it seemed functional if unwelcoming. It actually reminded me of the practitioners back home in Trottingham a little bit, not that was necessarily a good thing. Rusty carefully weaved through the doorway, careful to not knock my head against the frame.

"On here, please." The molly directed, point Rusty to the bench. He ducked down and I gently slid down his back, seething as I was slowly transferred onto the wooden surface.

"Well, there we go." He exhaled, working his shoulders. "How's that for service? Straight to the hospital bed!"

"Where are you hurt the most?" She asked, almost appearing at my side, now sporting a paper mask and some rubber horseshoes. "Oh."

I hadn't said anything but the hilted weapon sticking out of my front was not hard to miss.

"There's a bullet in her flank too." Rusty added. "Didn't want to give her a potion 'til we could get everything out."

"Good call." The molly acknowledged, eyes scanning the rest of my body. "You're safe now, okay? You're going to be fine. What's your name?"

"S-Silver, Silver Sterling." I eeped out. My anxiety was back through the roof.

"Ms. Sterling, I'm Mercy, I'm going to get you all healed up." She turned away and opened the cabinet, the sound of metallic jangling chiming in the air. "Have you taken an pain relief at all?"

"Her friend sorted her with a shot of Med-X after the fight."

"How long ago?" She asked, trotting over with a tray of implement balanced on her back.

"Not too long, I reckon."

"Hmm, better safe than sorry then." She mused aloud, checking over the tray before turning back to face me. "Okay Ms. Sterling, I'm going to take care of that bullet before the knife, that should minimise the bleeding before I can give you a healing potion. Does that make sense?"

I shakily nodded.

"Can we close the door so I can work, please?"

"Don't worry none, I'll be on my way anyway." Rusty answered.

"Y-you're leaving?" I cast a frightened glance over to the door, he was stood in the frame smiling apologetically, MD was nowhere to be seen. I'd left a not-unsizeable red patch on the back of his armour.

"I gotta get home, Celestia knows Rover is probably worried sick about all three of us. But you're in good hooves, miss, trust me." He nodded. "And ya friend'll be back any minute now, you don't need an old stallion like me hoverin' around. Thanks kindly, swing by our way again soon, everything's on the house for the both'a ya."

My ears folded flat despite how much it hurt, I wanted to protest, surely he could at least stay until MD got back? I barely knew him, but anything was better than bring stuck alone with a total stranger, especially when said stranger was about to be fetlock deep in my open wounds. But I didn't get a chance, with a wink he swung around and left, pulling the door closed behind him. It was now just me and this Mercy.

"Okay, let's see what we're dealing with." She said, peeling back the blood soaked bandage covering my flank. I started as her hooves contacted my fur, and I couldn't help but look.

I felt woozy seeing it. A deep gash ran under my cutie mark, flesh raised and raw, culminating in an angry looking hole that gurgled blood.

"Oh, just a little bite." She mused. "Looks fairly clean, should be nice and easy. This'll hurt, but only for a minute."

Should I even be awake for this?

Mercy grabbed a pair of long forceps from the tray, gleaming in the harsh light. I shrank away, they looked huge! I took a deep breath as she held them in both forehooves, dreading what was to come. The forceps plunged into my leg, forcing the wound open, pulling at the muscle. My vision went white for a moment as I held back a yelp.

The tool pushed deeper, I grit my teeth against the pain, eyes tearing up. My whole body was tense. The movements were only slight, but it felt like I was being torn up from the inside.

"Hmm, feels like it might have gotten turned around in there." Mercy mused, poking and twisting the implement around, stretching the already damaged tissue. Her hooves twitched on the handles, minutely adjusting them, trying to get a grip on the bullet. Every miniscule movement amplified by my nervous system.

An excruciating moment later and the nurse hummed positively. Slowly, she started pulling the tool out, the slightly open jaws grazing along the inside of my wound. Finally, it emerged, soaked red with blood and clasping a much smaller than I expected bullet. I heaved a shuddering breath I wasn't aware I was holding in.

"All in one piece, that's good." She muttered, inspecting the bullet. "Means there's no surprises waiting in there. Let's take care of that blade and then we can get everything disinfected."

My breathing was now shallow and fast as she made her way to my front, studying the handle proudly protruding from me. I watched her studying me, and though her face was mostly obscured I picked up that she seemed rather weathered. Small scars crossed what I could see of her snout, her long ears were cut and slit, long since headed. It was a little unsettling, to be honest. Intimidating, even.

"Okay Miss Sterling, on the count of three I'm going to pull this out." Mercy announced. "I need you to hold as still as you can. Yell, scream, whatever you need, just try to keep still."

I scrunched my eyes closed and nodded, right on the border of outright panic. I don't know if there was anything she could have told me that would make me feel more scared.

"One... Two... three."

"AGGHHH!"

Mercy slowly but firmly slid the knife out of my neck, it pulled on my flesh and the cutting edge was raw against my insides, feeling like it was shearing through me all over again. The blood that had been trickling down my front was now almost a spout being dragged out along with the metal.

It couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds before the knife was finally removed, but it was agonising. I hadn't really thought much about it but now that it was gone it's absence was noticeable, though I couldn't be too sure that that wasn't just because I now just had a gaping hole in my neck.

"That was good! Almost done now Miss Sterling." Mercy reassured, the knife falling into the tray with a clang. "We just need to get your wounds disinfected and then we can administer the potion. I'm just going to remove your bandages, okay?"

I wasn't paying much attention to her at this point, I was shivering and my heart was pounding, I was trying to tell myself that the worst was over as Mercy peeled back the blood soaked fabric wrapped around my body. But I snapped to attention as she started pulling on my scarf.

"T-that can stay, thanks." I protested, raising a hoof infront of hers. She swiftly pushed it away. "Please?"

"Dont be silly, it's right over the wound, I need to-" She pulled the splattered fabric off, revealing the bomb collar, standing starkly against my fur.

"Ah." She announced, eyebrows raised, ears standing straight upright. "I see."

I didn't know what to do, I was frozen. I didn't know this mare! What if she thought I was a runaway slave or a prisoner or something? What would even be the perogative in that situation? 'Return' me to slavers? Sell me off?

I was startled and panicked, and tried to scramble away. Unfortunately for me, my body was still not quite ready to be moving like that again yet, and all I managed to do was sort of half stumble off the table and limp my way into a pile on the floor, weakly flailing like a frightened animal.

"Wait wait, it's okay!" Mercy blurted out, holding her hooves up. "I'm not going to tell anyone! I promise!"

I eyed her warily.

"Just calm down, please? You're going to hurt yourself worse than you already are. I'm here to help!"

I didn't move, I just stared at her.

"Please, you're still bleeding, let me help you."

She sounded earnest. She was still holding her hooves up, and the small pool of blood under me was slowly but surely getting bigger. She was a doctor, she had a duty of care. If there was anypony I would expect to do the right thing, it would be somepony like her. I was letting blind fear get the best of me. Again.

I allowed my muscles to relax, tentatively falling to my haunches. Mercy seemed to visibly relax a little bit too.

"S-sorry." I offered. "I just... don't know what to think anymore. I-I've had a very rough couple of weeks."

"It's okay, I know it's scary." Mercy closed the distance between us and pulled down her mask, giving me a reassuring look, warmer than before. "We don't engage with slavers. You're safe in here, I promise. Let's get you back on the table and get you cleaned up. The ponies you came in with, are they...?"

"MD's a friend, she's got one too. Rusty doesn't know..."

"I see. If only Chek was here, he'd be able to actually help you out." She sighed. "Let's get you fixed."

I tried to hobble back on to the table but it was too high for me to get up in my current condition, I just couldn't reach without my body protesting. I was starting to feel a little woozy, to be honest. I set down on the floor like a foal struggling to walk.

"I uh, I can't get back up."

"That's okay, we can work from here." Mercy nodded, removing the final bandages from my ear and retrieving a bottle of disinfectant and a clean wet cloth. "This might sting a bit."

It did sting. She pressed the cloth down my flank, the cool water seeping into my wound and flushing it out, loosening any remaining debris, working back and forth to make sure nothing was left behind.

She did the same thing for the knife wounds around my neck, obviously paying special attention to the main offender. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes of discomfort before she threw the rag across the room and into a bin.

"Now, this is going to sting a lot." Mercy said, picking up the disinfectant. "Just bear with it, I promise it'll be over quick."

It was a small spray bottle, brown glass with a sunbleached label. She picked it up in her mouth and bit down on the trigger, sending a cloud of burning mist over my raw flesh. I jolted as it made contact, dancing on my cuts and grazes, feeling like salt or acid being poured directly into my nerves, a horrible tingling.

I bit my lip and bore it as my flank and chest were thoroughly sprayed. She spritzed my ear too, that was nowhere near as bad, but still enough to cause it to flick involuntary.

Giving me one last once over she trotted back to the cabinet and pulled out a fresh looking vial, a healing potion. I'm no chemist so I couldn't say what kind, but it looked a little different that the ones me and MD had been carrying around. As she was faced away from me I couldn't help but notice more scars crossing her back and withers, long, deep gashes that must have been agonising once upon a time. I shuddered to imagine what could have caused them.

"This should close up all your injuries, then we can get you clean."

Just as she finished speaking the door clattered open, swinging until it hit the wall. I was expecting to see MD standing there, but instead it was a rather irate looking black unicorn wearing a labcoat and a frown. Curiously, he also had a PipBuck attached to his leg. He looked at me for a second before shifting his eyes to Mercy and slowly trotting in.

"Mercy what is the meaning of this?" He demanded, marching right up to her, towering over the Mule.

"Goldheart, I-"

"DOCTOR Goldheart."

"Doctor Goldheart, this mare came in while you were out, I was just-"

"I have explicitly told you that you are not to tend to any patients, have I not?" He interrupted. "So what exactly is happening here?"

"Doctor Goldheart, I am fully capable of-"

"I don't care what you are or are not capable of, Mercy, I have directly ordered you to stay in reception and not get involved in any kind of medical work! So can you kindly explain to me why you've chosen to ignore that? And why are they on the floor?!" He poked her chest, nostrils flaring.

"With all due respect, Doctor Goldheart, I am the head nurse here, I am fully capable of treating this pony, and this is not your clinic." Mercy replied icily, swatting his hoof away. "Doctor Chekwas -"

"Now you listen to me you stupid mule, it may not be my clinic but I am your superior. When I give you an order you are to follow it. Doctor Chekwas isn't here, I don't know where he is and frankly I don't care, but that leaves me in charge as the most qualified pony in the building. I don't want an animal interacting with my patients, leave that to those of us who can actually use magic. Is that understood?"

The two of them glared at eachother, unblinking. The tension was palpable, thick and swampy. I tried my best to shrink away, feeling like this was all my fault.

"Hey Silv, how're you- oh!" MD chimed, suddenly appearing in the doorframe. I don't think any of us had heard her approach judging by the fact that we were all staring at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She sheepishly added before squinting at the Unicorn quizzically. "Goldheart?"

"Yes? Do I know you?" He asked, critically scanning her horn to hoof until he noticed her own PipBuck. He looked her in a face again for a moment, gears turning in his head. "Oh, you were one of the brats assigned to maintenance, weren't you? Mildew? Mackrell?"

"Make Do."

"Yes, Make Do. You look terrible." He said, examining her. MD's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, well, we weren't all so lucky as you to run away at the first sign of danger, some of us got shot for our trouble."

"Being on the Overmare's Priority List was not 'running away', we were the most important ponies, of course there would be vested interest in our safety. It's just common sense." He replied, pointedly.

"Sure. Whatever." MD grunted, rolling her eyes. "Tell that to everypony who died."

The room fell quiet for an awkward moment. Nopony looked like they wanted to be here.

"Well, you all finish up whatever this godawful mess is and then I expect to see you in my office at once, Mercy." He huffed, turning around and pushing past MD, slamming the door closed behind him.

"That unbearable plothole." Mercy practically spat, words dripping.

"Prick." MD agreed, glaring at the door.

"Not to interrupt, but I'm starting to feel a bit lightheaded..." I added quietly. As interesting as it may have been to know that MD and Goldheart were stablemates, it was probably best to delve more into it when I wasn't profusely bleeding.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry!" Mercy shook her head and removed the cap from the potion bottle. "That wasn't very becoming of me, you're still under my care after all. Please accept my apologies." She said, giving me the bottle and bowing. "Drink this up and you should be as good as new."

The liquid was a pleasing lilac colour and glowed ever so slightly, sporting a Ministry Of Peace sticker slapped on the front, looking a fair bit newer than the one MD gave me when I first woke up at her place. I wondered if these things had a best before date. It smelled vaguely of lavender. I sipped the potion down, slightly sweet and a little viscous, not entirely unlike cough syrup, and it started working pretty instantly. My body tingled as the magic ran it's course, pain slowly fading away, cuts closing up. I could actually feel the skin on my flank put itself back together, which was incredibly strange, if slightly unpleasant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, medical magic is amazing.

I tentatively gave my hind leg a flex, flapped my ears and turned my head side to side. There was a lingering dull ache all over, but anything agonising had all but disappeared. I stood up properly for the first time in a few hours and stretched, joints popping. After so long limp and folded up, it felt really good. Looking down at myself I couldn't see any sign of my stab wounds or gunshot. I was still a bit lightheaded, I doubted the potion could just generate blood to replace what I'd lost, but otherwise I was fully healed. Almost as if nothing had happened.

But I knew that wasn't really the case, my ear...

"Is there a mirror I can use, please?"

"Of course, let me fetch one." Mercy said, searching through the cabinet. "I'll try and find something for the collar, too."

"Collar? Oh buck, your collar!" MD exclaimed, apparently now noticing my missing scarf.

"It's okay, Silver told me about your mutual binds." Mercy said, trotting back over with a mirror and a folded gown on her back. "I won't tell a soul."

I took the mirror in my hooves, staring at my reflection.

I stared at the face looking back at me. This mare was tired and frenzied, dried blood ran down her face, staining her ivory coat. Her silvery mane was matted and ratty, full of dirt and detritus. She was gaunt and vacant. Her left ear was missing the tip, about an inch and a half of it torn away, ragged edge standing stark against the smooth contour of the right ear. It twitched as I stared at it.

That was real, that was tangible. That was something no healing potion would ever be able to fix, a permanent change to my body, ugly and jagged. I was asymmetric, marred for life, a grim souvenir of my fight to the death. I won't lie and say I wasn't a little heartbroken. The only thing I had right now was myself, and I didn't even have all of that anymore.

"Who are you?" I whispered, deflated, scanning my own features, unfamiliar as they were.

Those eyes were still mine. Darker and sunken, maybe more distant, but still mine. Still alive.

"How're you holding up, Silv?" MD asked, appearing over my reflection's shoulder.

"Bad." I answered bluntly. "Pretty bad."

I was a mess inside and out. I had so many conflicting thoughts and feelings about just about everything. I was incredibly overwhelmed.

"Yeah, not many ponies come out the other side of a firefight peachy keen. But you came out the other side though, so that's a win at least!" MD reassured, patting my back.

I couldn't return her enthusiasm, I was still rattled at being left here by myself. Realisticly I knew it was literally only a few minutes, but being in as a vulnerable state as I just was I couldn't help but feel hurt, or abandoned, or something. I was sure the junk could've waited five or ten minutes.

"Where's Rusty?" MD asked, glancing around the room.

"Gone. He went home."

"Ah, alright. Damn, maybe I should have asked him to come with us, he woulda been good to have around."

Mercy —having cleaned up a little— re-entered the conversation carrying a hospital gown on her back. "There's a shower you can rinse off in in room 3, if you'd like. You can use this to cover the collar up, too." Mercy offered, nodding to the gown. A pale seafoam green, she'd folded it lengthways so that it more resembled a scarf, it would be pretty easy to wrap it around my neck.

But first, a shower sounded absolutely heavenly.

"Thanks, Doc." MD chirped. "How much do we owe you?"

"No, I can't in good conscience charge someone in your situation for treatment." She shook her head, idly running a hoof along the base of her neck. "It wouldn't be right."

"Are you sure? I don't want to get you in any more trouble." I offered. I felt bad enough in the first place.

"It's fine, Goldheart may be a nightmare, but Chek actually does have a heart of gold, I know he'd do the same thing. I just wish I could do more." She lamented. "I can give you directions to a safe place, though! The whole region east of here has signal disruptors to stop the rangefinder in those things from detonating, there's good people that way."

"Yeahaha, that's sorta the way we came." MD chagrinned. "And I don't think these are standard collars either..."

Mercy seemed a little perturbed by that, and leaned in close to my neck, analysing the collar. "What in the world is..." She was quiet for a moment, and to be frank I was starting to get a little but uncomfortable with her being so far into my personal space. "This is... Terra Mater, that's not a timer is it?"

She pulled away with a look of abject horror plastered on her face.

"Yeah, it is. We got, uh-" MD paused to check the readout on my collar. "139 hours to work something out. We gotta get a move on."

"I-I-I've never seen anything like this, that's abhorrent even for slavers!"

Well, it was good to know our situation was so cruel and unusual it was notable even in a world full of monsters and foal murderers.

"Bless you both, I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something." Mercy sighed, ears flopping down dejected. "I'm afraid you're in the right place at the wrong time."

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Doctor Chekwas, he's the head of the clinic, he's with the Redemption Order if you've heard of them?"

"Kinda rings a bell?" MD mused. I shook my head.

"They're good people, maybe the best among us. Chek is some kind of magic with collars, I've lost count of creatures he's freed. He's something special." Mercy smiled before directing her gaze to the floor. "He took a research trip to the Junction. He was supposed to be back last week but we've not seen any sign of him. If he was here I know he'd be able to help you..."

Both me and MD perked up.

"The Junction, as in Dodge Junction?" I asked.

"That's right, he said he was going to be researching Ghouls, no better place for it." She confirmed.

Ghouls? Like little green ghouls? Like Ogres & Oubliettes?

MD was looking at me, flashes of intrigue daring to spark in her eyes, trying to keep a poker face despite her obvious intrest. I presumed she was thinking the same thing I was. Did I dare hope that this whole ordeal could be ended?

"You know, the funny thing is that we were actually heading to Dodge Junction." MD replied, Mercy's ears immediately standing to attention.

"Please take me with you." Mercy said, no hesitation, no pause.

"We could- wait, what?" MD tilted her head, apparently only just registering the sentence.

"Take Me with you. I'm not much of a fighter but I've got a strong back and medical skills. I'd have no chance on my own, but three of us would make things much easier." She bowed her head down and closed her eyes, solemn. "Please, I owe him my life, this town needs him."

This proposition seemed to leave MD torn for some reason. As far as I was concerned having the extra help could only be a good thing for us. An extra set of eyes and professional medical training? It was a no brainer to me.

"I don't know..."

"Why not? You literally just said about bringing Rusty along!" I pointed out, baffled that she hadn't already immediately agreed. "MD if she can help us get these collars off we'd be stupid not to take her up on this."

"That's different, he's a veteran-"

"And Mercy is a nurse! Rusty couldn't help me just now and neither could you, are you telling me you wouldn't want her around in case something like this happens again?"

"I'm more than happy to bring supplies and provisions, I'll help however I can." Mercy added.

"I'm not saying that, we just have to remember what we're here for." MD gestured to my collar. "We don't have a lot of time here, say we don't find him, then what? With the best will in the world I know if we bring her along finding this Doctor will become the priority, and we can't afford to lose a day or even days searching if he's not there."

"Will become- MD it should already BE the priority, he can take these bloody collars off!"

"I'm just saying we can search for him at our own pace by ourselves! We know what we're dealing with here, I think it would be better to keep our options open rather than putting all our eggs in one basket."

"MD right now there couldn't possibly be any more eggs in our basket! We're risking our lives just to find an old cello for Celestia's sake! We have no backup, no contingency, and now that we're presented with somepony who can actually help us you're not sold? I don't understand you at all sometime!"

I liked MD, I really did, and I won't claim to know to know her or the wasteland inside and out, but stopping to think about ot a lot of the things that we were doing at her behest were questionable at best. I had blood on my hooves by her say so!

Nope, it was my turn to call the shots. MD might have had the world experience, but I'm very sure that I had the wisdom in this scenario.

"No, we've done it your way so far, I'm as tied up in this as you are, I'm making the call this time." I announced, flowing at her before directing my attention to the mule. "Mercy, thank you for your help, we would greatly appreciate it if you'd accompany us to help find your friend."

"Silver-"

Thank you!" Mercy exclaimed, relaxing on the spot. "I-I know time is of the essence, I'll get a bag made up as quickly as I can, we've got lots of medical supplies I can bring. We might even be able to hop the train if we get moving soon, Freighty owes the clinic a favour anyway." Mercy said, hurrying out the door. "I'll get ready, I can fill you in along the way!"

That left the two of us alone for the first time since the rest stop. MD was glaring at me, she seemed antsy.

"I hope you know what you're doing." She said curtly. "If this goes wrong it's our necks on the line."

"If we find the doctor then we have nothing to worry about." I replied.

"That's a huge if. IF we find him and IF he can actually remove these things. I'm just worried we're biting off more than we can chew here. We don't even have anything to go on!"

"Well then I'd say that puts us on about even odds of finding this cello, then." I pointed, giving her a flat stare. MD didn't have anything to say about that. The way I saw it this was literally doubling our chances if solving our problem. A win-win.

I really hoped I could still use that shower before we left.