Fallout Equestria: Inertia

Fallout Equestria

Inertia

Screwdrivers

“Twitchy twitchy twitcha twitch!”

        The sound of the first grenade exploding was deafening. Shrill cries of pain and alarm pierced the calm void of the ravine as dust and debris flew about. The second sound shot a piercing wail of metal colliding with flesh and rock, sending a sonic blast throughout the cavern, nulling the hearing of any living organism inside. The last grenade was further back and spared us it’s unholy wrath, but only just so.

        Spare came out from cover, firing bursts of bullets at raiders, who were only just recuperating. Several out of the many remaining ruffians were dead. The ponies in the cages cowered, trying to avoid gunfire. I popped out from behind my cover, aiming for the particularly vulnerable head. I picked one off and soon caught a raider reloading his gun, which shortly blew up thereafter. He fell to the ground as the gunpowder explosion seared his face. The entirety of the gun exploded into shrapnel, making each cut pour gut-wrenching amounts of blood onto the ground. The stallion writhed in agony, screaming until his vocal chords tore. He stopped moving, twitching occasionally.

        Gunpowder was strategically lobbing grenades, being careful to avoid the caged ponies. Raiders began to take cover behind makeshift barricades. As they began to return fire, I ducked back behind the cave entrance. We’ll need to advance or they’ll push us back. I popped out, firing off a few more shots. Bullets hit the cover I was behind, sending vibrations through the stone and rattling my body.

        “Gunpowder! You have any smoke grenades?” I yelled, trying to get my already soft voice above the cacophony above.

        “Yea! Hold on!” She replied as she dug through her bags.

She pulled out a cylindrical object in her hoofs, and tugged it’s pin with her mouth. Tossing it out of the cave, a loud pop was heard, and a thick gray smog covered the land. The raiders kept firing, hoping to land a lucky shot upon an unlucky pegasus. Wasn’t gonna happen, hopefully.

I motioned to Spare Part and Gunpowder to advance. I fired my revolver, now reloaded, into the fray. Looking out into the warzone, I saw two mares hastily slide behind an outcropping, huffing as they skidded to a halt. Spare looked at me and began to fire towards raiders. Taking the opportunity, I booked it from the cave exit. I had almost reached them when a searing pain ripped through my left haunch.

I yelped and tumbled into Spare Part.

“Buck me!” I cursed through my gritted teeth.

As I had stared down into my lower leg, I had cringed in frightful pain, sputtering curse words through my clenched teeth as everytime I wrenched in pain the blood-curtling, shrapnel filled wound would reopen, letting out seeps of blood. I had once again looked down as my first attempt had failed to see the wound. This time I had succeed in looking at a deep wound impounded into my skin. The bullet didn’t go through. As I was in pain, Spare returned fire. Raiders occasionally yelled commands at their lackeys.

I reached into a pocket for some ammo cringing my teeth in horrific pain, I pulled out six magnum rounds. I loaded them into their respective sockets and clicked the cylinder closed. Rolling over on my back, I was able to lean out of cover and take shots. The smoke had cleared, and sighting the bulky raiders became easy. One after another went down. Only a couple remained, shots becoming more infrequent.

I got back into cover and onto my hooves. My weak leg was severely hurting, and tears were forming in my eyes. I sharply inhaled and galloped further up the area, keeping low to avoid bullets. I stumbled into a slight depression behind a boulder. I couldn’t fight like this any longer. Flopping onto my back, I shucked my jacket and barding. Blood poured from the wound, and I winced at the sight. Taking my saddlebags, I rifled through them looking for something to pry this bullet out. A sick feeling pooled in my stomach as I pulled out a flat-head screwdriver.

A bottle of Buck tumbled out, and I stared at the bottle. Prying it open, I downed two tablets and picked the screwdriver up in my mouth. Curling myself up, I brought my leg up to my mouth. The wound was now in front of me, and I inhaled. Gunfire still rang out. I was seriously about to do this. I jammed the metal tool into my leg, and a jolt of intense pain racked my body, arching up my leg and suffusing throughout my body.

I plunged the cold steel further into my haunch, blood spewed from the wound, and my vision darkened around the edges. Cartilage and muscle split apart with each consecutive stab. Sounds became dulled and distant, and all I could feel was the screwdriver going deeper. It felt like a lifetime. Spare Part and Gunpowder stared, wide-eyed, but were interrupted by a volley of bullets.

Deeper.

I felt the metal stop at something solid, and another jolt of pain shot up my body. I moved the screwdriver with my tongue to see if was the bullet, and not a bone. An agonized grin crossed my face, as I dug the tool under the embedded projectile. My vision and hearing were darkening still, and I could not tell if the fighting had stopped.

With a shuddering inhale, I snapped my eyes closed and yank on the screwdriver, up and out. I let out a loud yell as I ripped the alien material from my body. I could feel each thread of muscle tearing and straining. Capillaries and veins screamed to my nervous system, sending pulses of horrible pain to my already delirious brain. The steel shredded more flesh, and with a disgusting shick, it burst from my body, and I spit the screwdriver from my mouth.

Breathing heavily, I glanced to my side. A small piece of bloodstained metal was on the ground. Laughing with relief and agony, I groped for my bags. I was still in terrible pain, and my vision still clouded. I pulled a bottle of a violet-purple liquid. I tried to open it with my teeth, but they ached, and I grunted in frustration. I smashed the top off on the ground, spilling a portion of the nectar. I chugged the bottle, the fragmented top slicing my lips.

I felt the potion begin to work, a warmth spreading from my mouth down to my legs. The now-numb pain from being shot was clearing, and I sighed with relief.  The darkness surrounded my peripheral vision was gone, and my hearing was now up to par. No shooting. My head began to spin as my brain fully processed what I had done. Skull thumped against rock as I slipped into unconsciousness.

        “Do you think... Concussion... Shot!”

        “I don’t... He’s alive... Hurt?”

        “He’ll be... Don’t move... Prisoners...”

        “It was... Hero... Two Note... Double...”

        “Grease... Dead... Finished the job... Let... Rest...”

        Ow. I ached everywhere. Voices were talking softly near me, though at that moment, I didn’t care. My eyes fluttered open, a piercing light stunning my already groggy senses. Crust limited how far eye could open my eyes, and this annoyed me. I rubbed the gunk from my eyes. Well, I wasn’t in Grease Trap’s place. Wait. Was he dead? Were the caged ponies okay?

        I shot up, or at least attempted to, but a sharp pain stopped me. Instead, I opted to slowly wiggle up, groaning along the way. I shook my head to jog my delayed senses. As my eyes slowly accustomed to my new position, I was greeted with two mares standing over me.

        “Holy shit, he’s awake.” Spare Part spoke in awe. “Dude, that was the most bucking brutal thing anypony has ever done.”

        Gunpowder only nodded.

        “You were prying out that bullet, which was already brutal in itself, but you got shot again and again.”  Spare continued.

        I looked down at my torso, and saw bandages wrapped around most of my body, save for a few sensitive areas.

        “We saw you drink that healing potion, and then get shot as it was healing you. One of the ponies in the cages is a doctor, luckily, and he cut you open, dug ‘em out, and patched you up.” Gunpowder put in.

        I shook my head and looked around. We were in a building, but what building?

        “Where the hay are we?” I asked.

        “Double Action’s office. It doubles as a clinic.” A stout unicorn said, as she stepped into the room.

        “My name is Numb Skull. No pun intended.” She added with a chuckle.

        I laughed along, paying no mind to the stinging that hit me every laugh. I laid back, and closed eyes for a second. I opened them a while later and checked my Pipbuck. It was 4:51 AM. Oh. I flipped over to my inventory, and almost yelled when I found everything was gone, caps included.

        “Where’s my stuff?” I asked, trying to hide my agitation.

        “Relax, bud, it’s in the corner. With some goodies, too. We made a bit of money and some good salvage.”

        I nodded, processing this.

        “Okay, then. It’s time for sleep.” I said with a yawn.

        There were no dreams.

        I awoke, rather suddenly, to the feeling of icy steel on my torso. I spazzed out, which startled a unicorn with a stethoscope. Oh, so that’s what it was. I rubbed the back off my head, laughing awkwardly.

        “Heh. Sorry.” I apologized.

        “It’s alright. Happens enough, I suppose.” Numb Skull replied, taking the instrument from her ears.

        “So, what’s the story? Nopony really explained what happened.” I asked.

        She looked up as if in thought, and tapped her chin with her hoof.

        “From you friends perspective, it was, ‘the most metal shit I have ever seen.’ But from her marefriend’s and a few released captives’ perspectives, you ran out into the open, pried a bullet from your leg, and got shot some more. Apparently, you took enough fire to draw aggro off of your pals, and they snuck around and blew them to Tartarus.” She recalled, and I nodded.

        “So Grease Trap is dead, I assume?”

        “Yes, it seems so. You also rescued a few of our townsfolk, including me!” She exclaimed, “Double Action was impressed. You’d also want to know that using a screwdriver to remove a bullet is incredibly imprudent of you. I suppose it doesn’t matter now, but you’re lucky that neither you or the bullet nicked a bone.”

        I chuckled, and sat up some more. Checking my Pipbuck for the time, I discovered it was 9:24 in the morning. I felt good. As if cued by a higher power, a loud and resounding grumble was released from my stomach.  I was really damn hungry. Numb Skull’s ears perked, and she began to laugh.

        “I’ll bring some food.” She said, but I stopped her.

        “Won’t be necessary. I think I can manage.” I said as I slowly climbed out of the bed I was in.

        Wincing as weight was put onto my injured limb, I regained my land legs.

        “Oh, and thank you.” I added.

        As I took each stride, the pain in my leg subsided, residue of a bloody grapple with villains. My limp turned back into a regular walk as I strode up a set of stairs. It occurred to me that I had been in one of the walk-in freezers. I walked through the kitchen, a once-living beacon of charity and goodness reduced to lifeless aluminium. I closed my eyes, inhaling.

        I could imagine ponies bustling around, devoting their time to those less fortunate than them. It made me smile. The kitchen was coming to an end, and a door stood between me and the real world. A part of me wanted to just stay in here. I couldn’t do that, though. The door creaked as I pushed it open.

        A dull green mare stood, leaning against a wall. Idly chatting with her was a ghoul, absent-mindedly fidgeting with her shotgun. She turned her head and cracked a grin.

        “Well, look who it is. Fresh from the clouds and already prying shrapnel from his body.” She greeted.

        “I never got a chance to thank you. We hadn’t a clue that there were prisoners. According to them, they was captured down in Ponyville. That means Grease’s crew is part of a larger group. That’s really bad, in case you didn’t know. A couple ponies did decide to stay, though.”

        I nodded.

        “Now about our deal.”

        My ears perked.

        “You did what I asked, and delivered. You even went above and beyond, by helping some of our citizens out, including my Deputy, Hammerlock. You and your companions earned your place. I’ll be expecting to hear about you in the future.”

        My face turned hot and suddenly the floor became incredibly interesting.

        “I- Uh, thanks...” I managed to get out.

        “Gee, kid, just complimenting you. A little red now, are we?” She teased.

        I nodded sheepishly.

        “Uh. Can I get some food?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

        Double Action began cracking up. Her ghoul companion snorted as well, but didn’t roll on the floor. The mare calmed down, occasionally snorting as her laughs were stifled. I rolled my eyes, and nudged her to get up.

        “Okaaaay. Let’s get some food.” Double Action said, still chortling.

        She rolled over onto her hooves and stood up. An uneasy feeling in the pit of my gut told me she’d never let me live this down. The door to the outside world burst open, and a wave of fresh air decked me in the face, albeit lovingly. I inhaled deeply and attempted to savor the moment. However, I was brutally interrupted by a massive hug from at least five ponies.

One, two, three, four- yeah, that’s them, I thought to myself.

        In order, Ballista had assaulted me, followed by Tesla Jolt, Gunpowder, and Spare Part lastly. I returned the embrace after a second or two. One by one they released me.

        “So did you really pull a bullet from your leg with a screwdriver?” Ballista asked skeptically.

        I nodded, glancing at a bandage on my leg. Her eyes widened, and Tesla Jolt and I burst into laughter.

        “It’s not that bad, really.” I assured the paralyzed mare, chuckling.

        A silence came over us, and everypony exchanged awkward glances. Spare Part cleared her throat.

        “Well. We did what Double Action asked, and we are set to settle down. So... when are you leaving?” She asked me.

        I froze for a moment, remembering that I had in fact said that I’d be leaving. I shook my head. That plan wasn’t changing.

        “Soon.” Was all I could say. Truthfully, I had no idea. “I’ll see to it that you guys are settled in, and then I’ll be off.

        “We already are. When you were sleeping, we talked to all the ponies ‘round town. Got ourselves some work, albeit with minimal pay.” Tesla returned.

        “Philanthropy?” I asked with a smirk.

        He nodded and chuckled.

        “Would you like to see our place? And yes, I do mean, ours. I know you’re leaving. But, if- if you need a place, you’re always welcome her.” Ballista asked.

        “Lead the way.”

        The housing that Double Action had promised was better than what I had anticipated. I had expected a few bunks in the communal house, but this was far superior. Located in what used to be a thrift shop, a cozy little one-room was prepared for them, lacking in proper furnishings, but still had storage and beds. They’d have to furnish it themselves.

        Ponies belongings were strewn about, generally gravitating towards their owner’s beds. There were four single beds, smushed together in pairs. I could only guess to as why. All in all, it was a fairly nice place by wasteland standards.

        “Like it?” Tesla asked.

        I nodded. They’d do well out here. A lone saddlebag in the corner of the room caught my eye. I trotted over to it. It was mine. I guess I hadn’t noticed it was moved while I was sleeping. My jacket and barding were on top of it, folded with care. I smiled as I shimmied into the armor. I hoisted the saddlebags over my shoulder, and pulled the jacket on after. I looked to and met the eyes of a several confused ponies.

        “Are you leaving? Like, now?” Gunpowder asked worriedly.

        I nodded, and began to trot to the door. I turned and smiled at them.

        “Stay safe.” And I trotted out the door.

        Part of me wanted to turn back; to stay with them. I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find Scoutwing. I’d find him, and then what? I had no clue. But I needed to find him. But how, was the question. My father had left no clue as to where he might have gone in his audio log. Knowing Scoutwing, he would’ve went to The Hoof.

        That’s a place to start. I walked towards the gate of Two Note, a new drive in me. I waved at the gate operators, who gave life to the winches keeping the jaws of the gate closed. It creaked open, inch by inch. The gate stood open, beckoning me. I walked towards it, glancing behind me one more time. A stallion with his hoof around a teary-eyed unicorn, and two lovers shaking their heads. They’d get over me.

        I turned to the open wasteland and stepped forth into it’s vastness. The safe walls of Two Note were behind me, and the dangers of the open world invited me in.

        “Are ya gonna come back?” The gate guard, Barley, asked.

        “Probably not.” I admitted. Of course I couldn’t say that to my friends.

        “Well, if’n ya do wanna, you’re always welcome. You done a great thing.” Wheat said.

        I nodded and waved goodbye. Word spread fast. I looked down at the cracked road as I walked. Wondering why I had left so abruptly puzzled me. Looking back, I kind of just up and left. Probably shouldn’t have done that. There was no going back now, I suppose. All I could do was keep going.

        I had walked an easy hundred yards from Two Note when I realized I could be flying. Huh. I extended my wings to full span, hearing bones crack. I let out a satisfied relief. I started into a trot, then a canter, and leapt into the air at a gallop. I pumped my wings furiously, trying to gain loft. A warm thermal passed under me, and I flew up higher.

        The vast sky surrounded me, a million different choices in front of me, and a billion more beyond them. Flying was incredibly stress relieving, as well as thought-provoking. I didn’t need to think now. Only fly. I held up my Pipbuck up and switched over to the Radio tab. A song began to blare through the speakers. It was progressive rock.

... suffer but I ain’t gonna cut you ‘cause,

This ain't no place for no hero

This ain't no place for no better mare

This ain't no place for no hero

To call home...

“Hey, kiddies, it’s me again; DJ Pon3 comin’ to you from my lovely locale in Manehatten. Got some news for ya. Caravans in the New Pegas region have been reportedly meeting raider bands along the highways. Rumors suggest that the bands are working under Water Wheel. More on that as it progresses.

Now for the interesting news, if I say so myself. Waaaaay out in the Badlands, yes, the Badlands, the small town of Two Note had reportedly sent out ponies to drive out a bandit by the name of Grease Trap and his gang. This happens often, children, but sometimes something else happens. In the aforementioned gang’s lair, a group of townsfolk were being held hostage. Also relatively common.

But one of the ponies sent to clear them went above and beyond. Apparently, one of them threw ‘imself into the hail of bullets. All so he could rescue those ponies. This comes from one of the former workers of Grease Trap. That’s all, kiddies. Stay alive, children. Here’s Sweetie Belle, singing about going your own way.”

Word does spread fast. Manehattan was a while from here, so unless DJ-Pon3 had hidden journalists throughout the wastes, I had nothing. The thermal I was riding had started to peter out, leaving me flapping my wings to keep lift. Music continued to play as I slowly descended, the air becoming thicker and easier to fly in.

Loving you... isn’t the right thing to do...

I hummed along to the music, bobbing my head. The bobby pin I had used to tame my mane was still in place, keeping purple locks from distorting my vision. I realized I had never given Spare’s pins back. Shaking my head, I chuckled. Ahead of me, mountains rose, towering over everything near it. Although it wasn’t officially the boundaries for the Badlands, it was where most ponies thought it ended.

Smoke rose from dying campfires, caravans packing and ready to continue making caps. I scanned the ground. It was a light brown blur, the cracks moving by too fast for the eye to capture. A greyish strip of concrete marked the highway. It was a relatively empty place, merely a crossroad of destiny. I looked forward again, breathing in.

A faint whizzy noise flew by my right ear.

Huh?, I thought as I looked down for the source.

Another whizzy noise to my left. What the hell was it? I shrugged mentally and continued flying. I got maybe five feet. A force like that of a tidal wave slammed into my chest. I just got shot. Again. The pain spread from it’s impact, suffusing throughout my barding. My wings froze up and I plummeted. I caught myself before impact, pulling up with several hard flaps. The benefit of a light body was less force required for lift.

The sudden exertion of labor on my wings disabled me from gaining height. I was going to crash, but it wouldn’t be bad. Just had to aim right, and not get shot. I aimed myself at the highway, going for a group of totalled carriages. I was feet from impact when I decelerated as quickly as I could. I hit the ground with a light thump. I got up to my hooves, shaking my head.

A garbled voice rang out in the distance, obviously pissed off. I pressed myself against an overturned cart, slinging Judicis into my shoulder. I looked into the scope. Five ponies galloped, firearms primed. I centered the crosshairs on the pony in the middle. A mare with no armor, and a rather rusty pistol. I held my breath and squeezed the trigger.

The mare’s head was not whole anymore, rather distributed in quite small chunks on the road and her friends’ faces. A stallion barked more orders, and the group split. Oh, good, make this more difficult. The remaining four split up into pairs, trying to flank me.

I wish my friends were here, I caught myself thinking. No. It was the right choice.

I swiveled to a pair of approaching ponies. From my scope I could see two mares, the red one with a shaved mane and a indigo one with dreadlocks. Armor covered red, but indigo was exposed. I aimed for her head. A glimpse of her cutie mark told me everything I needed to know. A pony impaled on a pike; how do you even get that?

I pulled the trigger, the round going slightly lower than expected. It caught her in the throat and she fell, gripping her severed windpipe. She stopped writhing. I aimed for her friend’s head and pulled the trigger. This round took her right eye out, and she screamed as she dropped. As I turned to face her other companions, I heard her sobs quiet until she was silent.

Her friends were much closer, probably around 25 feet away. No time to switch to my revolver. I aimed down the sights, and saw one pony charging. His eyes widened as I shot. Bone and grey matter painted a grotesque mural of sin and evil on the ground.

I ejected the shell from the action, grimacing at my work. One, two, three, four corpses. Wait, where was the fifth? A crunch sounded from my left, and the realization of what it was caused me to freeze. I only had a fraction of a second to stare at the oncoming freight train of a stallion slam full force into me. My body went limp as skidded across the pavement, flesh sanded off at every point of contact.

My head was spinning. There weren’t stars out during the day, were there? My vision cleared and I look up, getting an even scarier view of freight train running at me with what looked like a sledgehammer in his magical grasp. I scrambled to my hooves, but freight train caught me in the side. A sickening crack was felt in my chest and I began to cough violently, blood spraying from my mouth.

My revolver was knocked loose, skittering upon the cracked ground. I drug myself towards before freight train could finish me off. I leaned over and chomped on the mouth piece. Hoof stomps approaching rapidly, I had to be quick. The revolver was in my grasp and I whipped my neck around, pulling the trigger. And then nothing.

I kept my eyes closed, too scared to see if the big brute of a stallion was still alive. Taking my chances, I opened my eyes. Buck me. There he was, horn aglow with the fury of a thousand suns. The sledgehammer he wielded was bloodied and caked with gore. His nostrils flared, sending an absolutely repulsive blast of putrid breath at my face. My revolver dropped from my mouth as I fought vomiting.

“Water Wheel wants you dead!” The brute screamed, his voice still garbled but comprehensible.

I couldn’t say anything. The bullet I had fired missed, and now I was going to die. The brute raised his sledgehammer, and grinned. I closed my eyes, preparing my head for it’s inevitable popping. Freight train let out a sadistic laugh and brought his hammer down.

BLAM!

The sound of bullets and prolapsed skulls filled my ears. Was that what it sounded like for my head to be squished? I opened one eye. A dull green mare stood in front of me, offering her hoof.

“Looked like you needed some help.” Double Action said, grinning.

I grabbed her hoof and pulled myself up. Hold up; everything spinning. I looked around, hoping to see a three more pegasi and a unicorn. No such luck.

“Thanks... for saving me... heh.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Jeez, thanks for the big welcome. You realized that you were pretty much dead, right?” She retorted, rolling her eyes.

Images of freight train passed before my eyes.

“Yea. Thank you, though. Honestly. Why were you out here, anyways? Don’t you have to keep law in Two Note?” I asked.

“Well yea, I guess. But your friend Tesla Jolt was more than happy to take over. Of course Philanthropy and him had a, uh, minor scuffle about it.” She replied.

I nodded.

“Doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, yea. I came out here to join you!” She answered, grinning widely.

If my jaw could’ve dropped to the ground, it would’ve.

“Why on this Celestia forsaken world would you do that?! It’s so much better at Two Note! ” I yelled.

She looked taken aback as her brows furrowed in agitation.

“Do you know what it’s like? Being cooped up in the fucking Badlands? There is nothing. To. Do.” She replied, prodding me with her hoof.

I tried to reply, but she cut me off.

“I was born here. I’ve been here for fifteen Luna-damned years. I want out.”

She was only fifteen? Before I could say anything, I had been pushed back into a carriage, my back pressed against it. Double looked at me for a second and turned away. A small sniffle came from the shaking mare. A grim frown came across my face. Did she really get upset about it? Was she really that miserable? She didn’t sound that way at Two Note.

I hesitated. Should I comfort her? Or should I just go. I couldn’t leave her here. She just saved my life. I walked over to the shaking pegasus and sat down. I sat for another minute or two before putting a hoof around her neck. I let out a sigh.

“I do know what it’s like.” I said.

She sniffed and looked up.

“When I was fourteen, I was taken from the surface to the Enclave. Some secret project. I dunno. The only pony I had was my brother. For three years it was like that. Then he left; Never said a word about it. I was devastated. There was nopony else that I had. I was transferred to Neighvarro. Four years there. Sure, I had friends, but they were few. Then I got kicked out again, and they were thrown into it with me. So yea. I know what it’s like. Being alone. Trapped. But you know what? Nopony deserves it.”

I still couldn’t believe she was only fifteen. Then again, the wastes called for mature ponies. I looked down at her cutie mark. Two revolvers crossing at the barrels. I sighed and shook my head.

“You know what? Fine. You can come with me, kid.” I gave into her request.

“Yes! Oh my Goddess, thank you so much!” She sprang up, embracing me in a rather tight bear hug.

As she bounced in circles around me, I clambered to my own hooves. As I stood up, her bouncing ceased as she composed herself.

“So, where are we going, anyways?” The teenager asked.

“Finding my family members. What do you plan to do once we get outta here?” I replied.

She thought for a moment, tapping her hoof on her chin.

“I don’t know, bud. Probably gonna follow you. See the world.” She answered.

I smiled.

“That’s a start. We’re going to The Hoof, just so you know.”

She nodded.

“Well, let’s get going. We’re wasting daylight.” She replied.

After gathering our supplies, we began to loot the dead raiders. Double Action fished through the belongings of the two raiders I had killed first, while I walked to the corpse of the brute. He was big, but by no means bigger than the hulk we encountered at my old residence. His sledgehammer was useless to me. Too heavy to swing. However, he had a pretty fancy looking magnum in his bags, along with ammo and food.

The most interesting however, was a dinged up Pipbuck with some suspicious stains on it. I took the computer watch and clicked it on. There was nothing in stats, as the Pipbuck was missing a leg to be clamped onto. I switched to Notes. A single audio log titled “Revenge” was on the screen. That wasn’t conspicuous at all. I pressed play. A quiet but soothing voice poured from the speaker.

“Hello, friend. If you are listening to this, you have been kindly asked to eliminate a rather big issue. You see, an outpost of mine, one I find dear to me, has been utterly slaughtered. The culprits have been identified as pegasi. Three mares: One pegasus with a violet mane and brown coat, another pegasus with greyish fur and a silver mane, and lastly, a unicorn with apricot fur and an orange mane. Once you have located them, kill them. You will be rewarded. I, Water Wheel, will personally give you said reward. Good luck, fillies and gentlecolts.”

I pouted. I was not a mare. Double Action had an eyebrow raised.

“Well, ain’t that something. Somepony has a vendetta on you.”

“Huh. Seems so.” I replied.

“Well, you just blew Water Wheel’s ‘hit squad’s’ heads off.”

I chortled and shook my head.

“Yea, I guess you’re right. C’mon, lets go.”

She nodded and off we went. I had left behind me friends to start a new life. I would have to deal with them not here to back me up or to share a laugh or two. I may have started over, but at least I wasn’t alone.

“Into the great wide open...” I mumbled under my breath.

Perk Acquired: New Start - Leaving your old life behind has reset all karmic imbalances. You are a new pony with no guilt or good deeds.