Fallout Equestria: Treasure Hunting

by Hnetu

Chapter 12: The Way Back

Chapter Twelve: The Way Back
“I don’t even know you anymore...”

Home.

We ran home from that horrible place, letting the fires burn, and not worrying about the other slaves tethered to our collars. Sacrifices for our own survival deemed necessary, no matter the cost. We didn’t stop running until the town was out of sight, and even the smoke on the horizon slipped from our view. Once we stopped running from the slaver camp and met up with Xeno, we slowed to focus on getting back and not burning out before we could get home. The trip took us a night of non-stop walking, down the same road we’d come, following markers Xeno had left us in her freedom.

I saw the river and we followed it, looking for the landmarks I’d seen on our slave march. None of the landmarks held our interest for being anything other than markers that showed we were heading in the right direction. The buildings in the distance weren’t opportunities for treasure hunting. They only meant we were closer to home. We used them to get our bearings, and moved on through the darkness of the Wasteland. We didn’t speak as we walked. Our escape had drained all our energy.

The march back wasn’t nearly as bad as the pace Mistress Amble and her bodyguards had kept us at. We went at our own speed, as quick as our tired hooves and shattered resolve would allow. The Wasteland was merciful for once, either through Xeno’s luck or because the slavers were smart enough to pick a path nothing else dared use. We saw no ponies on our way home: not a merchant, not a raider, not even a ghoul. Monsters left us alone, and even the radroaches stayed off the road. I didn’t question the blessing from the Goddesses. Ever since Gunbuck, we’d had nothing but bad luck. Any break we got was nothing short of a miracle.

The moment we reached Xeno’s hidden cache, she supplied us with our things, bags, weapons, and my battle saddle. Whatever she’d done to sneak in and blend in with the slavers also gave her full access to their armory. I knew I’d have to ask her at some point how she got in, but through the entire walk home, I could only think about getting back and flopping down into the bed we’d set up, and sleeping until I could put this all behind me.

Had we seen any other ponies, we’d have looked like nothing more than a slaver taking her possessions out from the town, which could have gone well or poorly, depending on who found us. Lost and I both walked with our heads low and eyes on the ground, with Xeno leading the way. She’d managed to sleep and eat well while we were captured, and led us back without problems. Whether that was part of her magical zebra luck, or just good survival skills, I didn’t know. I didn’t care.

Beyond just accepting it, I didn’t dwell on it.

It felt like we walked for a lifetime, constantly looking over our tails in fear that the slavers would be right behind us, but finally, we made it home.

We had a few hideaways spaced out here and there across the places we’d been: dugouts with a sleeping bag or two and a place for a fire. But Home was different. Home was the place we kept as the last resort if we went out, fearing that if a raider clan, or a pack of ghouls, or even a loose-lipped merchant were to find it, then we’d have no place to go. We’d found it shortly after mom’s death, and made it our own.

Home had once been somepony’s house, long before the War, that somehow managed to stay standing long after the owner died, and everypony in the world moved on from whatever used to be here. A half-dozen similar houses survived the destruction of Equestria, along a little back road, right at the edge of the woods. Our little secluded neighborhood. All the homes here were similarly ruined, with warped walls and rusted supports, and stone arches that collapsed over their doors. We hadn’t been able to get into any of the others yet, because when we’d found the place, we’d never had the strength or skill to find an opening.

This one, though, this house was our home. We’d made it look particularly difficult to get into for anyone other than the most seasoned scavengers, and pushed rubble over the doorways to make it look like nopony could get in, even if they tried. The secret we used to get in was on the roof, through a small hatch Lost had made, and a series of dangerous stepping stones to sneak up. A door on the main floor could open inward, allowing a pony to sneak in, if they knew which stones to push out of the way.

Lost and I had made the holes just large enough for the two of us to fit through, and since both of us stood just a few inches shorter than the average raider, we could sneak in while crouched down, and manage to be safe if somepony larger ever did manage to follow us home. Bastards like Seethe, as big as he was, wouldn’t have a prayer of fitting, unless they destroyed the entire building in the process. Unfortunately, that meant the entrance was also too small for Praline or Lamington, if they ever managed to visit.

Somewhere along the line, I made a note to talk to Lost about making the entrance bigger for emergencies, or for friends.

When we reached it, Lost went up and inside the house through the secret hatch, while I showed Xeno how to unblock the door so we could get in without climbing. A few moments later, I heard Lost’s familiar hooffalls on the other side of the door, clopping against our wooden floor. The door creaked open, and Xeno and I both crouched down and crawled in. We pulled the rubble back over the doorway and slammed the door shut.

It felt good to be home.

* * *

I jumped down from the terminal desk we used to barricade the front door. Hitting the ground, I dropped my saddlebags, and kicked them back underneath. Without the extra weight, I felt better, but still needed some time. I trotted on aching hooves to my bed. Lost tried to follow me, but I shooed her away. I needed a few minutes to myself to work my jumbled thoughts out.

I frowned at the broken staircase and the ramp we’d set over the rubble in the corner to reach it. The ramp didn’t bother me, but every step up the stairs, jostling as they were, sent bolts of pain through my legs. Whether the spikes or the aches caused it, I didn’t let it get to me. The threat of slavers following us had long since passed. I only wanted a moment to rest, then to get back to our normal life. Mistress Amble had done a number on my psyche, but without her around to lord over me, I could go back to how things were.

Right?

I flopped down onto the tattered and worn mattress, and looked down past the remains of the floor at my sister and Xeno below me. Home wasn’t in the best condition after two centuries of rot. We had set up a short wall through the center of the old bedroom, giving us some semblance of privacy in our own makeshift bedrooms. When we’d moved in, most of the second floor was collapsed down onto the first in pieces and rubble. We had cleared out or moved everything, leaving the upstairs as nothing more than the access hatch, our bedrooms, and a little storage area over the old kitchen.

I looked down at the table where Lost and Xeno sat. They’d set our bags up and were going through them, probably to figure out what went where, and what belonged to who. L.A. met my gaze a few times, but gave me space, all while working with our friend on our bags.

I couldn’t get comfortable. I rolled from my stomach to my back to try and find a position I could actually get some sleep in. Instead, my mind trailed back to Sunbright.

“I shoulda killed her,” I muttered. She’d been right there in front of me. A single stomp. One more second, and there would have been one less slaver to worry about. Instead, my sister gave me an order, and I couldn’t not follow it. It happened almost like instinct, but at least it wasn’t something Mistress Amble had ordered me to do. My hoof idly traced along the collar around my neck.

I could live with following my sister’s orders. Even being a murderer for her, that I could handle. I didn’t have a problem with the killing, not anymore. Guilt seemed so far away now... I rolled over again and looked at the dresser in the corner. I smiled. No guilt meant I could get revenge and not feel bad ab-

“Wait a minute,” I said, and rolled back over. I looked down at Lost and Xeno. “Hey, sis?”

“Yeah?” L.A. answered. She looked up at me, pulling her hoof from the saddlebag she’d been digging in.

“Can you check my bag for a dress?” I asked her. I hopped from the bed and faltered. The shackles dug in as I hit the floorboards hard, and I swayed, nearly losing my balance. I caught myself, and laid on the floor, just peeking my face and forehooves past the collapsed edge.

“Dress? Another one?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking over her glasses frames. “You don’t even wear the ones you have, when did you have time to get another one?”

“I found it right before that wirepony attacked, the first time,” I explained, ignoring her accusation of never wearing any of my collection. I didn’t know what made me think about it, but I suddenly really wanted it. I could put it in my dresser with the others and keep it as something to distract me, to remind me of a time when Equestria wasn’t a Wasteland, where I could have had a real life and not be fucked over by Mistress Amble and her slavers playing with my thoughts. “Just, can you please check...”

“Sure, hold on,” she said, and turned to grab my bag. She dug around in it, tossing out a few guns, and stacking ammo on the counter behind her. “I don’t see one. Why?”

“Those bastards!” I yelled. I wanted that dress! To calm down, I took a deep breath. I had more, and I could always find another one, I had thinky pony things to worry about now. “Oh well... Thanks, L.A.”

She shrugged at me and gave an apologetic look. “You okay up there?” she asked, “I can come up whenever you need.” She looked at Xeno and started to excuse herself.

“No. I just...” I sighed. “No, I’ll be down in a minute or two.”

“Alright, well,” she said, looking down. Her horn began to glow faintly. She closed her eyes, and another glow appeared overtop that one. In Lost’s telekinetic haze, the PipBuck floated from her leg and to the second floor. When I extended my leg, she wrapped it around, and latched it shut. The glow faded from her horn in an instant, and she gasped. “There... That’ll give you something to do... Until you’re ready to talk,” she said, forcing a smile.

“Thanks,” I said with a genuine smile. I made a mental note to ask her later about what had happened between her and Sunbright. Right now, I needed something to keep my mind off the stress of being enslaved. And until I could get the damn collar off... I ran my hoof along it again. Until I could get past what Mistress Amble had done to me. I blinked a few times as the familiar display appeared in the corner of my vision.

I switched it back to green.

Grabbing the broadcaster in my teeth, I pulled it from the slot it rested in. I didn’t want to be blasting music into the entire house. Hopping back onto my bed, I got comfy, and pulled the earbloom from the casing. After sliding it into over my ear, I turned the radio on and closed my eyes.

I just needed to hear a story about the hero I’d heard about when I was recovering with Chocolate Fondue. That’d be perfect to distract me.

Instead, the DJ announced a song by a mare named Sweetie Belle, and music played, giving a nice soundtrack to my thoughts. It was better than nothing. I laid my head on the tattered pillow. I really wished I lived in a different time, that Lost and I could have been born before the War and enjoyed a nice life of peace and quiet. A life where we had jobs and didn’t have to hunt for treasure, unless we wanted to. Then again, I always wanted to treasure hunt, so I doubted that would change. Still, it would’ve been nice to have a life where we could wear pretty dresses and go out with stalli- okay I could go out with... I sighed and laughed, just a little. None of that mattered. I didn’t have time to be interested. My fantasies revolved around living sometime where I didn’t have to fight to survive every day of my life, not worrying about wooing a special somepony.

I didn’t want to let Mistress’ hooks stay in my mind forever. I actually missed the little claws that played with my deepest fears and nagged at me to make everything I thought was wrong a million times worse than it actually was. Which was worse, coming up with horrible scenarios in my mind, or having them be real life torture? It wasn’t a hard choice. I wanted my nagging claws back.

I lifted my head from the pillow and skewed my ear back, listening to the scratching and banging of things on the tables and counters below. Did Lost ever have thoughts like this, little inner demons that she dealt with? She’d always been more composed than me, and she’d gotten me out of slavery. Despite being tortured, ill, and with that chip in her horn, she still managed to save me.

Like always.

No! I wouldn’t let this be how it went. I could be stronger than this. Mistress Amble couldn’t find us now. We were far enough away, and they hadn’t followed us. We were safe. I didn’t need to let her conditioning get to me!

The song ended, and the DJ’s voice returned while I was lost in thought. I missed what he’d said, but instead of another song playing, another stallion’s gravelly voice burst into my ear. With that static, it sounded almost like... I turned the volume down so I could actually make out what was being said.

“...you're looking for a hero, look to Chief Grim Star. He bravely sacrificed himself to save all of you. I only wish I could have saved him,” the stallion said. “Sheriff Rottingtail had been gathering a veritable army of zombie-ponies in the maintenance tunnels surrounding Tenpony Tower.”

Tenpony Tower? I rolled over and asked Lost, “Ever heard of a place called Tenpony Tower?”

“Tenpony Tower...?” she said, and shrugged, looking up at me. The bags sat on the floor next to her, and she and Xeno had several rounds of ammunition piled in little stacks on the counter. “No, why?”

“No reason, thanks,” I said, then rolled back over. I turned my attention back to the radio, hoping the talking was done and another song would play.

“...jeopardy. When I informed the Chief, he insisted we go down to investigate the Talons' story. We found the door and ventured through with the intention of making sure it could not be opened from the outside. We were destroying the terminal that controlled the door access from the maintenance tunnels when the zombie-ponies attacked us en masse,” said the stallion who couldn’t be Lamington. Eugh, zombie-ponies. How I missed that amazing brush gun I’d used on the ones we found in that Stable so long ago...

I flipped the radio off. Turned out, hearing about heroics wasn’t the perfect distraction. I found I wanted music to keep my mind busy instead. I didn’t need to be listening to the heroic tales of random stallions fighting zombies, or about the heroine I’d heard about before. After a week of having everything I knew shattered, it just rubbed in how much I’d truly failed at everything we’d done.

Maybe if I just threw the PipBuck into the Wastes as hard as I could? Then we could forget about how much our lives had changed, and go back to normal.

But if I did that, it meant that Mistress won. I closed my eyes, rolled onto my back, and took a deep breath. “Put it behind you, Hidden,” I told myself. End of conversation.

I looked down at my legs. A reminder. A reminder of what I’d escaped. A reminder of what I’d overcome, and something to drive me to get stronger and faster and better, and to make better decis-

Lost could make decisions for a while. She made better ones than me anyway.

* * *

I woke with a start. When had I fallen asleep? I looked at the PipBuck, and noticed only an hour or so had passed. “Must have needed a nap,” I whispered to myself, trying to wake up. I didn’t have time to sleep. I.. I felt like I should probably go talk to Lost. I rolled off the mattress.

“Hey,” I said as I trotted down the last bit of ramp and walked to the table. I forced a smile.

“You okay, sis?” L.A. asked. She walked over and grabbed me in her forehooves. She hugged me so tightly that I could feel her legs shaking.

I hugged her back, and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered. “We’re away from her now. I’ll be okay.” I forced the smile again and took a seat at the makeshift stool in front of our table. Looking into the kitchen, I scanned the work they’d done while I stewed over my problems.

The kitchen had a nice wrapping counter that went along the whole wall. Aside from the rotted bit where the sink had fallen through, it looked pretty good. The fridge lost its door ages ago, but since it had burnt out long before we arrived, that had never mattered. We kept our food there anyway. Right now, the counter was covered in odds and ends taken from the slavers. I saw Persistence lying on its side, looking as pristine as ever. Next to it sat a shotgun in far worse condition: definitely not the one I’d had when we went into the slaver camp.

The battle saddle Lost and I had worked on sat on the floor next to the counter, which actually brightened my day considerably. It had taken forever to get it to fit perfectly, and having it back made things a bit easier. Unfortunately, that and Persistence seemed to be all the weapons Xeno managed to get back that actually belonged to us. I looked across the counter and saw my shovel! I'd never been so happy to be wrong. My smile twisted into a full grin. Shovel good, shovel meant slow, personal, death for the slavers.

More weapons lay on the counter in neat rows. I saw both types of magical energy weapons, plasma and laser, and a few older revolvers. Some apple-shaped grenades lined the wall, several with different colored bands across their centers. I looked to the far side, and let out a relieved sigh. In the cupboards bolted to the wall above the counter lay the armor that Elder Drop Scone had given us.

The important things were back; my sister, my friend, and the gifts from our new family... and that meant the world to me. I looked over to Xeno and motioned for her to come closer.

The black-coated zebra walked over, her eyebrow raised and a smoking cigarette in her lips. “What isit that you need, Hiddenpony?” she asked. She still wore the slaver barding that she’d taken with us, which gave me a moment of hesitation. But she wasn’t a slaver. She was Xeno. She was my friend.

I grabbed her in aching legs, and hugged her as tight as my weak body would let me. It took a moment for her to accept it, but after relaxing, she reached around with a hoof and patted me on the back. I finally released her, and looked past her white mane to her deep blue eyes. “Thank you,” I said, “for saving us.”

“Youare welcome,” she replied. “Isit really something you must give thanks for? I have forgiven the ponies who killed my brothers. I understand now, more than I did when I left home, why ponies shoot before offering to talk.” She patted me on the shoulder with her hoof. “One must only search to find the good ones. The ones who do not attack to kill, but to survive.”

She stared at me, hard enough that I faltered back. The look, coupled with the barding she wore sent a shiver down my spine. “Worse ponies, and zebra, are out there,” she continued. “Itis better we work together to stop them, before they can stop us.” She looked back toward Lost, then to me again. “Also, thereis the moving of my brothers, and for that, Iwill need help.” She nodded and turned back to my sister. “You are stained with black, Hiddenpony. Clean yourself.”

I walked to the bathroom as she ordered, and washed myself off. The leaky sink and cracked tub we had couldn’t compare to the warmth of a Stable’s shower, but it got the job done of washing whatever she’d used to stain her coat off of mine. I scrubbed myself clean and looked in the mirror, ignoring the idle ticks of the PipBuck on my leg. I couldn’t see much of myself through the grime that clung to the mirror’s surface, no matter how we tried to clean it.

I looked past the dirt, at the mare behind the glass. She stood there, white coat and green eyes staring back. A green mane with a single black stripe hung down over one side of her face, still wet with the water she'd used to wash off just a moment ago. We looked almost identical, her and me, but the eyes that looked back weren't ones I recognized anymore. I smashed the mirror with my steel hoof, hard enough to make a gigantic crack straight through from top to bottom. At least it went off to the side, so I could still see my whole face.

Wasn’t there a saying about mirrors and bad luck?

Maybe this mirror gave bad luck until you broke it. I looked at myself one last time, then walked off. We had food to find, collars to remove, Steel Rangers to call. I didn’t have time to wallow.

* * *

“Hold still!” L.A. shouted. She grabbed me with her hooves and twisted my head straight forward again. “Do you want me to kill us both?” she asked, her angry voice cracking. The haze of her magic wrapped around my collar again and pulled it back slowly.

I felt a jab from a screwdriver, then the collar dug into my throat.

“No, Lostpony, it is this one first,” Xeno said, poking me in the back of the neck with a hoof.

“I know, that’s the one I’m going for. I can't see what I'm doing, and it's not easy,” my sister snapped. “If it wasn’t going to explode, then I wouldn’t have any problems. But as long as the trigger’s there, I need to be careful. Just... Tell me again, please.” She let out an exasperated sigh and her magic released my collar. She started to breathe heavily, nearly panting.

I looked back at her and asked, “Can I?”

“Yes, you can get up. We’ll try again in a few minutes,” she answered. Sweat coated her forehead, and the chip in her horn gave off a spark every few seconds. Even the bags under her eyes looked bigger than normal, which sent up a red flag in the back of my mind. It was the first time I’d seen them like that since mom died. “Now Xeno, tell me again.”

“Itis simple, watch,” Xeno said, grabbing me by the neck. She sat me down between the two of them and pointed her hoof at something I couldn’t see. So much for getting up... “Thisis the the one that sets it off. And this one. And this one. The Hoofpony explained it all. She said much, very happy to have someone to work with on the collars. Theyare very boring to set up.” She tapped my neck a few times. “Thisis where youhave been working. The collars have many sittings to keep slaves from breaking them off. Careful, or you both die.” She tapped my neck one more time, off to the side.

I sat still, letting them do the work. The last thing I wanted right now was to die, especially since that meant my sister would die too. Dead ponies can’t get revenge. Dead ponies can’t help friends bury family.

“If they were easy to remove, anyone captured would simply take them off,” Xeno continued. “Itis important, no. There is a word.” She said a few things in her native tongue that I didn’t understand. “Ah! Mandatory? Thatis the word, yes? Itis mandatory that the collar’s trampling sensors are- Where are you going?”

“Fine. Fuck the collar. We’ll get it later,” Lost said, cutting her off. She threw the screwdriver she’d been using onto the counter. With a peeved harrumph, she turned and stormed off, up the stairs.

Once Lost moved out of sight, I leaned over to Xeno. “What’d they do to her in there?” I asked. Xeno knew more than she was letting on, and since Lost wasn’t going to tell me exactly what happened, I needed to ask somepony.

“Much,” she answered. “Itis not something I know all the answers to. Itis something sisters should discuss.” She stood and trotted off in the other direction, stepped into the bathroom, and slammed the door.

Wonderful.

I didn’t have the brainpower to be a thinky pony and help my sister yet. I still needed to work through my own problems. I stood and trotted slowly up the ramp, and to the stairs. One of the lights in the ceiling was burnt out, leaving us nearly in the dark. Just another thing to add to the list of treasures to hunt for when we finally got back out there. I stopped at the wall, and rapped my hoof against it a few times.

“Sis?” I asked. We didn’t have much in the way of privacy, considering that when the second floor collapsed after the war, it had torn down the inner wall of the two bedrooms. That left each of us with three walls and no doors. At times, that had been... awkward, but we both made sure to give one another as much privacy as possible. Right now though, we needed to talk.

“Yeah?” Lost said from the other side.

Slowly, I stepped into her room and knelt next to the bed. It hurt my shackles to put so much weight on them, but more important things needed handling. “Mistress-”

“Amble.”

“She got me bad, and I shattered,” I whispered, not wanting to admit it to myself. “But, I can’t let her keep that hold now that we’re out. She did terrible things. I know what happened to Spark Light, she had him killed in front of me.” I tapped the bomb collar around my neck with my steel hoof. “Blew his collar up when I didn’t kill him myself,” I continued, ignoring her shudder. “She killed another pony in front of me, because I couldn’t. Burnt her alive, because I couldn’t give her a fast death.”

Part of me, somewhere deep down, wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up in Lost’s hooves and bawl like a filly who’d just learned her cutie mark was something she hated doing. I felt like I should be blathering everything out, sputtering and having to stop between sobs. But it didn’t happen. I felt fine, almost cold, and still thought about the burnt out light with more concern than I did the deaths of the ponies in Mistress’ little kill tests.

“When she had you auctioned off, and I thought I was going to lose you... That’s when I lost it. She locked me alone overnight. And I told myself that you’d be there, and you’d have a plan. I saw it, I saw Mis-” I tried. “Mistress Amble.” Failed... “I saw her, heard her tell me how badly I would fail. I saw mom...”

Lost rolled over to face me. Her glasses lay on the bed, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She grabbed me in her hooves and pulled me down onto her. She held me, and I closed my eyes and let her. The story could wait.

I climbed up onto the bed with her, glad that the dirty old mattress was big enough for the two of us and then some. Holding with all my might, I let her cry into my chest. I thought I should cry too, but I didn’t. Still, I didn’t feel anything. What happened, happened. There was nothing to feel anything about. Regret didn’t exist, neither did guilt. Just curiosity, and worry for my sister.

After a few moments, I spoke again. “I killed Sourbelle without hesitation. Mom told me to trust you. The first thing I needed was for us to get back together, and... I didn’t even think. It just happened. Mistress told me to kill and I did. But she can’t get me here. We lost her.” I grabbed my big sister and held onto her for dear life.

“I can get past it. I need to know you can too,” I pleaded. “What happened?”

“Sunbright took... special care of me,” she answered between sobs. Her hooves held onto me tight, rubbing my shoulders idly. She didn’t look at me, but instead stared at the few remaining books on the shelf in the corner of her room. “I learned a lot from her. She's a... very efficient teacher. She didn't leave any permanent damage, not like Slipstock.” Her voice cracked. “I learned a bit about not having magic, until I figured her out. She taught me that magic energy bolt, if only to taunt me about it.” Her chest heaved and I felt her swallow hard.

“It’s not important, Hidden. What they did to me, it’s nothing compared to what they did to you,” she said, her voice back to its normal unwavering tone. “Sunbright did what she did, the end.” She pushed me off her and stood on the bed. “I'm going outside to hunt for food. I want enough to hole up here until we’re all ready to move out.”

“Going out? Where?” I asked, standing on the bed as well. “If you’re going for food or supplies, I can come with.”

“No, I want you here and resting. I'm taking Xeno, we'll handle it,” she answered. The look she gave said I shouldn’t argue. She trotted from the room and past the remains of the separating wall to my room.

I followed, arguing, “Lost Art. I’m fine.”

“Sit down and stay here. We’ll be back,” she ordered, and trotted off.

I sat, and watched her walk down the stairs and out of sight.

That was not fair!

* * *

Lost and Xeno had been gone for what felt like ages. I looked at the PipBuck’s clock. It had been... thirty minutes. I heaved a sigh and trotted from my room to the kitchen. The stairs still made my hooves ache, but even the few hours I’d rested this morning made the pain less intense. It felt good to be home. Sure, there was still rubble in the corners, and the ripped couch we’d found and shoved into the center of the room was covered in dirt and grime, but it was our rubble and our couch, and that made it the comfiest couch ever.

I crawled up onto it and looked around. Compared to what we’d lived in at the slaver camp, it felt like a mansion, like I could close my eyes and be in Canterlot. Beds upstairs, dressers, books that were still legible, safely barricaded doors, a small stash of food, and odds, ends, and little treasures we’d picked up stashed in lockers. How could I be sad and dwell on the torture when I was home? I rolled onto my back and looked at the roof above me. Stretching as far as I could, my back a cracked several times and I let out a relieved sigh. I draped my tail over the slashed-up arm of the couch.

Thank you Goddesses, for letting us find this sanctuary in the Wasteland. Your protective gaze gave us the greatest gift ever. I could ignore the moments you watched and protected others, because right now, life was perfect.

But, sitting here all alone, waiting on my sister and Xeno to come back with food, left out of the treasure hunt... I was lonely.

I pulled my hoof back in front of me and looked at the PipBuck’s screen. I ran upstairs, plugged in the Broadcaster, and returned to my comfy spot on the couch. Wriggling down into the cushions, getting to that perfect spot, I pressed the button with my hooftip to figure out how to use the damn thing. Five minutes later, I found the ‘on’ button, and the right frequency to call Praline. I really hoped it was the right one at least. The last thing I needed was to announce my position to the entirety of the Wasteland. Given my special brand of luck lately, the first pony to pick it up would run off and tell Mistress Amble, assuming it didn’t beam my location directly to her.

Celestia, Luna, please let this be right.

I hit the button, and the speaker of the Broadcaster erupted into static. Wrong signal? Did she have to answer? I didn’t know how this thing worked! The basics were fine. I’d figured out the E.F.S. and S.A.T.S. on the run, but the instructions for how to use the broadcaster were gone. I shook the PipBuck a few times, knowing it wouldn’t really help. I muttered to myself, “Okay Hidden, just...” Not knowing how to finish convincing myself that I knew what I was doing, I just stared at the PipBuck and tapped the screen a few times. The frequency should be good; it was the one Praline had called us on and nearly gotten us killed.

“Hello!” I yelled into the device.

No response, just more static. I poked it a few more times, then twisted on the couch and looked at the counter and the table. Did Xeno manage to... what if Amble had the frequency! No, no, no! Bad! I slammed my hoof into the screen. I just needed to turn it off, and then-

“Hi!” yelled the cheery voice of Praline! “Who’s this? Is it who I think it is? I bet it’s who I think it is!” She sounded as happy as always, and in the back of my mind I knew she was bouncing around like an idiot.

“Praline, it’s me, Hidden Fortune,” I said to the PipBuck, still unsure where the microphone was.

“I know, silly! That’s who I bet I thought it was!” she exclaimed. “Hold on, let me go outside!” The static overtook her voice, though I could hear the heavy hooffalls of her armor clanking off in the background as she walked. A moment later the static mostly-faded and she yelled at me again. “Sorry! I was in the Stable, the reception is terrible down there!” she said.

“The Stable? Back at Sixty? Or are you working in Twelve and Twenty One?” I asked.

“We’re working on Twenty One right now. There’s a whole lot of good stuff down here!” she said, her voice getting louder and happier. “The ponies you warned us about must have been really stupid to leave so much stuff. We found parts to fix the- Wait.”

“Yeah?” I asked as quiet as I could. Here came the million cap question. I’d rather listen to her tell me about what she’d been doing than admit anything that had happened to me over the past week.

“How come you didn’t called sooner?” she asked. “I’ve missed you both! It’s been over a week, and I was worried!” I could practically feel her pouting at me.

“We were busy, and Lost had the PipBuck,” I admitted. “I don’t know why she didn’t, and I haven’t had a chance to ask her. Just... tell me what you’ve been up to. Please?” Just keep talking like you do, take my mind off everything I’d been through. “You’re the happiest pony I’ve ever met, and the one thing I need right now is some happy.”

“Oh, well, I’m very happy. I haven’t heard from you in ages, and this was great timing!” she said. I heard the clanking again, and guessed she was jumping up and down in her armor. “Lunch break just started, so I was coming up anyway. We started stripping Stable Twelve as soon as we got down here. The parts proved to be super valuable. The town, Pommel Falls? So many nice ponies there!”

“Nice, yeah... If you don’t accidentally kill Hydro’s lovers,” I said, my ears drooping. “So, you got the place up and running? Fresh water for all?”

“Well, yes and no,” she said. “We set up a talisman for it, and Lemon Tart helped to get it powered and running again, but there’s no way it can purify that much water. Sure, it’s mostly clean already, and the best thing a pony can drink outside of Stable water...” She sighed. I wished I could be there in person to see what she was doing. The blank PipBuck screen just didn’t feel right. “Anyway, there’s just a lot of it, so we need to strip out everything we can to add to the facility.

“I listened to the recordings left in the dossier, and they explained a lot. But with two centuries of not being used, a lot of the purification and recycling machines just lost every bit of power they had.” She started to talk faster and faster. “Everything down here runs on a big alternator and if they don’t keep running, they eventually shut down. The way it’s set up is to alternate between two machines, one charges the other while it idles. And both being down for so long... Err. The batteries just died!”

“Oh... Well, Stable Twenty One still has everything working right?” I asked. Since I didn’t have to watch her talk, maybe I could get up and check for some food? Or clean Persistence? I hopped off the couch.

“Yeah! That’s all still- what?” she said, suddenly sounding further away. “No, it’s Hidden Fortune. She- okay, Crème Brûlée wants to know where Lost Art is.”

“She’s out finding food with Xeno. I’m home alone right now,” I answered.

“Okay, hold on,” she replied. “No, she’s not there. Yeah, I’ll tell her. Crème! I’m trying to tell a story!” Her voice got louder again and she continued. “Hold on, I’m going to go somewhere more private.”

“Okay.”

While she walked, I trotted into the kitchen. I cracked open the locker we had standing in the corner near the barricaded kitchen door and looked for something to eat. We just had to have something left.

Nothing...

“Sorry about that!” Praline yelled into the PipBuck. I nearly fell over from the volume. “Had to get somewhere where I could still get a signal and be away from everypony else. It gets very loud when we’re all eating.”

I thought back to the conversations in the Stable with them. They were louder than what I was used to, but once I settled in, it didn’t seem so bad. Maybe they got new ponies?

“So... Did Crème Brûlée and Lost Art have something going on that I don’t know about? She keeps asking about her, it’s starting to get really annoying,” the chipper Knight said.

“Noidea!” I yelped. Eep! This was bad.

“Hmm, oh well. We’re all worried about you three. Mom keeps saying we should have made you come with us, and then she and Lamington get into little fights about it. He’s stubborn about the rules, but...” She stopped, and sighed. “Y’know, I think he’s been a bit heartbroken since we left. Either he really misses home, or there’s something else going on.”

Goddesses, maybe she talked too much. This idea was terrible! I damn near crawled back to the couch and curled myself up on it as small as possible. All I could do was whisper, “Uh huh?”

“He wanted you to join us, but now that we’re here, he doesn’t like that we’ve slowly been collecting helpful ponies. There’s only a few, but apparently that’s too many for him. I’ll introduce you some time!” she said with a laugh. “You really need to stop by. Now that we have a second Stable, well, second and third, we have plenty of raw materials for everything!”

“We will Praline. I miss you all too,” I said, feeling myself smile. Whether she talked too much or not, she made me feel better.

“Yay!” she shouted. “I can’t wait for you all to visit again! We’re not going anywhere for a while, so any time you decide to stop by will be great! I can show you around, well, I guess you already know your way around, but I can show you everything we’ve done and how we’ve helped here and introduce you to everypony who’s new and check on your hoof and make sure that Lamington gets to see you and make sure that Crème Brûlée gets to see Lost Art and everything will be perfect and I just can’t wait!”

“Praline, do you ever breathe?” I asked.

“Yeah, through my nose, silly!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Either she was oblivious or an idiot, but it helped so much. A chance to forget everything and laugh was just what I needed. She laughed with me on the other end, giggling like a foal with a new toy. We laughed together for a while, I don’t know how long.

“Thank you,” I said finally, wiping a tear from my eye with my flesh forehoof. “It’s been a rough week,” I admitted. “I’ll tell you about it some time, but umm...” I felt warmth on my cheeks. “Can I talk to Lamington?”

“Well you can, but you’d be talking through my armor! If you want, I can set up everything so the broadcaster’ll work with him. His armor’s always had a problem with its mic, so the static might make it hard to hear anything. He refuses to use any other armor, though. Either way, I think it should work, after some finagling,” she said. I heard the light tapping of steel against steel. “It might take a day or two though. I’ll get right on it!”

“Okay, thanks again, Praline. Just taking the time to talk to me... that means the world to me. You have no idea,” I said, from the bottom of my heart. “I miss you all...”

“I miss you too! I’m gonna go get to work now, lunch is almost over!” she shouted at me. “Byes!”

The broadcaster belched out some static, and I knew she was gone. I clicked it off and closed my eyes. Might as well pass the time some other way. I got up from the couch and grabbed Persistence. She could use a good cleaning, or maybe I could use a good anything to pass the time. Sitting at the table on one of our makeshift stools, I got to work.

* * *

I attached the nice and clean Persistence to my battle saddle, and pulled it on. The weight on my back felt good, despite the metal digging into the scars from the slaver’s whips. I’d missed it. She might not be the best weapon in the Wasteland, and certainly not as powerful as that brush gun, but having Persistence back in my hooves and ready to use for protection gave me the peace of mind not even the loving embrace of the Goddesses could. I didn’t bother with the trashed shotgun.

I couldn’t blame Xeno. She didn’t have to come save us, she didn’t have to get our possessions and stash them. If she’d been caught, things could have gone terribly. I needed to give her another hug. I pulled the release strap for my battle saddle with my teeth and let it fall to the floor. Now that my weapon of choice was combat ready, it was time to check my armor. I grabbed it from the counter, tossed it onto my back, and moved it to the table.

I was halfway through giving the steel armor a good polish, when I heard the trap door opened. My ears flicked as it clanked against the rotten wood of the roof, but I kept working. Lost would have food and we could make plans for the rest of the day. I finished with the leg of the armor, then moved to clean and polish the Stable Sixty insignia on the chest. It didn’t look like anypony’d worn the armor while we were being broken, but that didn’t mean they weren’t tossed around as roughly as possible. I dug in deeper.

Wait, why hadn’t Lost said anything yet?

“Hey sis?” I asked. I looked up at the ceiling, and saw the opening was closed off. I shrugged and went back to work. Considering that only the other night I’d had a full breakdown and felt my dead mother touching me and heard her voice, I didn’t think it was outside of the realm of possibility to mishear a sound.

The trapdoor slammed open, and I heard Lost swearing as she worked her way down. Xeno followed her, and the two walked down the ramp to the first floor. Xeno seemed pretty laid-back as usual, but Lost had her glasses off and was chewing nervously on the corner of the rim.

“Not a fucking thing,” Lost spat, taking the glasses from her mouth and setting them on the table. “Three of the neighborhood houses and not a fucking scrap, not even a single animal. I’m sick of this!” She slammed her hooves down on the table. “One. Break. That’s all I want,” she said, her teeth grinding behind her grimace. “One fucking break!” She looked over at me and her expression softened. “Hey, Hidden,” she said softly.

“Hey, Lost,” I said to her.

“So, we didn't have any luck finding food outside. Come out and hunt with me?” she asked. “We just... need to find a few days worth of food so we can stay in and rest up here.” She raised her forehooves in a shrug, sitting down next to me.

“Yeah, I could use a good meal after what we went through,” I said. I grabbed one of her hooves and pulled her into a tight hug. “Crème Brûlée misses you,” I whispered, then let her go.

My sister leaned back when I released my grip, and stared at me with her jaw halfway to the floor. Her white coat turned red, and slowly got brighter and brighter as the blush overtook her. She blushed so bright that even her mane looked like it might turn red.

“We should probably go now. Food is important, Hidden, we can’t get better unless we eat. Especially after the last week. Let’s go now. It’ll get late if we don’t. Hidden, c’mon!” Lost said. She waved her hoof for me to follow as she trotted back a few steps. “If we wait, it’ll end up dark, very dark, and then we won’t find anything!” The whole time her voice went from a yell to a whisper and back again. Without waiting for me to agree, she scrambled back up to the trap door and disappeared through it.

“Sorry, Xeno, can you watch the house for a while?” I asked as I stood up. Home had always been a safe haven in the years we’d lived here, so I left the armor on the table. I grabbed one of the better-looking pistols, and tossed it into my saddlebags, just in case. I took an extra magazine for it and threw that in too, then tossed my saddlebags over my back and headed up the ramp. “We won’t be long, I have a knack for finding whatever we need.” I waved to her and trotted up the stairs.

My shackles barely hurt at all.

Up and out the trap door I went, into the Wasteland once more. I looked up at the sky above, overcast with clouds so thick no trace of the sun could be seen through. It wasn’t raining though, not yet, so that was a good sign. Before us, several houses stood in a small circle, with one road leading out. Each was built close to the next, meaning that several had become one large ruin over the years, rather than individual houses. I turned the other way and looked back to what had once been a forest behind the house, but now was just more of the Wasteland. The mountains rose in the distance, and I could see a little indicator in the corner of my vision where the Stables were.

Good, a way to find friends.

I looked at the PipBuck screen. For a two-hundred-year-old piece of equipment, it somehow managed to know where everything relevant was. That had to be the magic of Stable-Tec. I turned around again and gave my sister a hug. Getting back to normal felt good, and even though I knew that deep down, Mistress Amble still had hold of my mind, right now that could... That could just be somewhere far, far away.

I really wanted to go treasure hunting again.

I checked the corner of my eyes, and saw several little red markers on my E.F.S. Really, danger this close to home? I prayed the markers just meant radroaches or something equally unimportant. Since I didn’t have Persistence, I didn’t want to go off fighting raiders or zombies, but little radroaches or even the larger, and far more disgusting, radscorpions I could take with my hooves. Plus, radroaches meant food, even if it wasn’t the best out there.

“So, where to first, L.A.?” I asked, not wanting to decide for myself.

“Well, I found a backdoor into the basement of that house,” she said, pointing to the house off the far side of the shattered street. “We'll give it a search, then move into the next house.” She stepped closer, leaned against me, and pointed off to the side of the building. “See there? We can cross into the next house over that collapsed wall.”

“Sounds good. Lead on,” I said with a smile. I could ignore the collar. I could ignore the shackles. I could ignore the steel hoof. It was just me and my sister, digging through rubble and finding treasure, just like we’d been doing for years. I smiled and looked up at the cloudy sky. Thank you, Goddesses.

The two of us trotted across the street, hooves clacking over cracked pavement. We circled around the back of the house, and Lost pointed out where the door was. The joints that once held it finally rotted through, and after years of living within spitting distance, we could finally get into our neighbor’s house. I pulled it open and looked down into the house’s cellar. Inhaling deeply, I smiled. I’d missed the smell of a house that hadn’t been looked into in over a century.

We walked down the rotting stairway into the cellar, while I kept an eye on the E.F.S. for anything that might sneak up on us. Lost’s horn began to glow, lighting up the entirety of the underground room with her magic.

I looked over at her, just in time to catch a second glow erupt over the first one. The room looked much the same as any room I’d ever dug around in searching for treasure, with boxes stacked high in the corners and enough dirt in the air to choke a manticore. With a nod to my sister, we got to work. I stayed close to her, and we dug through everything we could, searching for anything that looked even the littlest bit interesting or worth any amount of caps. Most of what we found in the cellar looked positively worthless, like things a pony threw down in storage because they couldn’t think of anything to do with them, but didn’t want to get rid of them.

Is that what ponies did in Equestria before it became a Wasteland?

“You know the PipBuck has a light, right?” Lost asked. She looked at me, sweat covering her face and her horn sparking.

“Oh... A week with Mistres-”

“Amble.”

“Her,” I said. “A week with her makes you forget a lot.” I pressed the button she pointed to and the screen of the PipBuck lit up bright enough that we didn’t need her horn anymore. “Sorry,” I said to her, and dug my way back into another box.

“It’s okay, it’s just...” she said with a sigh, “hard to keep any spell going for more than a minute...” She sounded exhausted, which didn’t go well with her lifelong habit of rarely sleeping. She knew well how to counteract any need to sleep for days on end. I needed to have a long talk with her about that.

“Ahh!” I yelped, finding a radroach in the bottom of the box. Without thinking, I smashed my steel hoof in and cracked the little brown bastard’s head in. I really should have seen that, given that I finally had the PipBuck. A week without it made me a bit too rusty for my own comfort.

“What!” Lost yelled.

“Sorry! Radroach, it was under this... Whatever it is,” I grabbed the fabric that covered the radroach in my teeth and pulled it out. Looking into the box once more, I grimaced at the roach remains and passed the thing I found to Lost.

She grabbed it in her magic with a grunt, and held it up. The ‘thing’ I found was actually a patchwork brown leather jacket, something that had probably been put into storage after the previous owner decided it wasn’t worth sewing back together.

It might not bring in a ton of caps, but the patchwork design looked cool. I stuffed it into my saddlebags and looked back into the box. “Great way to start,” I said, stripping some meat out of the dead radroach. I threw that in the other saddlebag, and looked at my sister. “So, I’ll let you decide who gets what!”

Treasure hunting beat slavery, any day of the week.

We collected everything else in the box and kept working, moving from one end of the room to another until we hit the staircase. Anything that looked even the slightest bit useful or valuable went into our saddlebags. Together, we killed two more radroaches in the cellar before trotting up the stairs to the main floor of the house.

“Even if all we find is the roachmeat, it’s better than nothing,” Lost said, sounding a bit more chipper than before. She pushed the door open and together we walked into the much-better-lit first floor.

Half of the back wall leaned in, on its last support, but didn’t quite collapse to destroy the entirety of the house. The stairs to the next floor were completely gone, and, similar to our home, a majority of the floor had collapsed down to the level we were on. Still, a kitchen nestled in the back corner, and there were two other rooms we could reach.

Without the need to share the PipBuck’s light, we split up. I dug through the remains of the living room while Lost went to the bedroom in the back to hunt. I found a few odds and ends, a box of bullets in a rotten nightstand, along with a gun far too rusted to use. Some old-world bits from a cabinet found their way into my hooves, and so did a bent pipe that stuck far enough out of the floor that I could unscrew it to replace Lost’s missing pipe.

As I pulled the pipe back, she walked from the other room and into the second one. “Hwe, Wos’,” I said through the pipe. Realizing what I said made no sense, I spit the pipe out and repeated myself, “Hey, Lost?”

“What?” she snapped. She stopped mid-step and looked at me, her glasses sitting atop her horn and her eyelid twitching a little.

“Well, umm... How come you didn’t call Praline or the others while we were there with the slavers?” I asked, not making eye contact. She seemed mad, and I didn’t want to push the issue, but I needed to.

“Don’t you think I fuckin’ tried, Hidden?” she asked with a snarl.

“Well, I didn’t know if you even could. I was just asking,” I explained, shrinking back a little.

“It's not like I had a whole lot of free time to be making calls on the broadcaster. What do you think they’d have done if they caught me?” she asked. She took a few steps forward and bucked the wall behind her. “I tried, every free chance I got. I’m not stupid, sis. But nopony ever answered.”

“Oh,” I started.

“All I got, every time, was a burst of static and then nothing. I stopped risking it when I realized what would happen if I did get ahold of them. You think that bitch wouldn’t take the chance to get a whole family of highly armored Steel Rangers?” she yelled at me. “Of course she would! Lure them in, get them to lower their guard. Snap some sort of explosive to them. Then we’d be proper fucked. No, I tried, but there wasn’t any way I was going to put Crème Brûlée in danger!” She stomped her hoof on the floor again.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” I said, moving into the kitchen.

She followed me.

I opened a cabinet and looked inside, trying to keep busy to keep the fight from going on.

“I wanted nothing more than for them to show up. Save the day, be big heroes! See ponies we care about again,” she said, still stomping. “I thought I’d lose you. I didn’t need to lose them too, just because we were too weak to handle it!”

“Then why are you yelling at me about it?” I snapped at her, before realizing what I’d done and shrinking back. “All I asked was why you didn’t call. All you had to tell me was that you did. That’d have been enough!” I explained, quietly.

She shrank back too, almost mirroring me. It didn’t last long, before she took a deep breath, snorted, and stood at her full height.

I stared her down.

“That’s what I’m telling you now!”

“No, you’re yelling at me!” I turned away from her, flicking my tail across and kicked open another cabinet. Empty. To vent, I kicked open a few more. Each one came up short, nothing but cobwebs and dust.

“Because you asked a stupid question!” she snapped, “I didn’t want the last time I saw... I didn’t want to see them again only to have them taken away. I can’t go through that again!”

“Oh, sure, like I can? I went through torture there, Lost Art. Torture.” I turned around and stared her in the eye. “Mistress made me kill a friend, just to prove I’d follow orders without question. Mistress broke me down so far that I did without even thinking about it.” I leaned down a few inches and pressed my nose against hers, then pushed our foreheads together. I kept pushing, making her take a few steps back. “Remember how bad I felt about Chocolate Éclair? How Rough made us feel about Sweet Dreams getting sucked dry by bloodwings? Something that I damn near experienced myself, I might remind you!”

She said nothing. She just pushed back.

“I don’t feel a Goddesses-damned thing about it. And if it were up to me, or up to Celestia and Luna, I’d have the pain and the guilt back. I don’t get to choose that, though. I’m terrified of making even the slightest decision now, because Mistress Amble-” Lost tried to correct me that time, but I just kept talking, “-got it in my head that no matter what I do, I’m a fucking murderer,” I smashed the broken refrigerator with my rear hoof, and glared at her. “I know how stupid that sounds,” my voice cracked, “but I can’t... Not... Believe it...”

I slumped down, the full weight of it hitting like a bullet to my heart.

“I... I just wish I’d known the cavalry was coming,” I said. I fought back the tears, I didn’t need to be crying. We had food to find.

“I’m sorry, Hidden...”

I pushed myself back up, and returned to opening cabinets. Don’t think about it. Don’t let Mistress Amble win. The cabinet I pulled at didn’t budge, so I pulled harder and snapped it off the rotten hinges. I closed my eyes and moved to another cabinet. Just keep opening. Nothing.

“Hidden?” Lost said, calling for me.

“I’m fine,” I answered. I opened a drawer.

“No, Hidden, look,” she said. She sounded far calmer than just a few minutes ago.

“I know, I’m fine,” I pulled another drawer open. Some silverware lay in neat rows inside. One knife looked nice and sharp. I dug in and pulled it out in my teeth, then looked to my sister to show her my find.

She stood on her hind legs, pulling things from the corner cabinet that hung on the wall atop the counter. She pushed food from it onto the counter, organizing them with a weak telekinetic field into little rows of like food-types.

“Finally!” she shouted, lifting up a can of corn from before the War.

So much better than radroach meat!

* * *

“Nothing interesting, no,” Lost said, turning away from the terminal. “Some company notes. Apparently whoever lived here worked in an accounting office. Blahblah, finances.” She shrugged and we left the room.

“Think it had more to do with a company like Leathers?” I asked. “Converting over to make things for the War?” I hopped down onto a pile of rubble, groaning as I hit. “Owow...”

“You okay?” Lost asked as she hopped down after me.

“Fine... just the fucking shackles.”

“Alright...”

“Well?” I asked again, “y’think it was about a company working on stuff for the War?”

“I think so, the numbers were pretty steady for a long time, then shot up through the roof and stayed that way,” she said with another shrug. “So, more than likely- It doesn’t really matter, this house is clean. Let’s head back, have lunch, and start on the next place this afternoon.”

“‘Course,” I said. Shifting the saddlebags on my back, I followed her down the stairs and out the back. We’d found plenty of little things we could sell, some bottle caps in a disgusting old trash can, and the nice jacket I planned on wearing. Plus all that food! Sure, we’d only found enough for the rest of the day, but for now, that was a feast.

We walked from the back of the house around, toward our own. Lost smiled, bouncing excitedly with each step. I followed calmly behind her, not wanting to agitate the shackles. Then Lost stopped, and her right ear started to twitch. I skewed mine forward and listened too.

“...nopony around here. Why don’t you ever listen to me?” asked a voice. The PipBuck’s E.F.S. showed three green markers when I looked in the direction of the voice.

Together we peeked around the corner of the building. A frustrated-looking earth pony stood in the center of the broken street with a dark brown unicorn and a massive two-headed brahmin. She looked at the unicorn, who shrugged, then turned to face the brahmin standing behind her. A huge scar ran over her muzzle and just over her right eye, covered partially by her well-brushed brown mane. Her green eyes looked familiar. Both looked like typical wastelanders, and wore trader outfits that covered their cutie marks. The unicorn, a stocky green-maned stallion, had a machine gun strapped to his side.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not right every time,” the earth pony answered with a shrug.

“Hidden, she’s... Come on,” Lost said. She ran out from behind the building and to the merchant. “Hey wait!”

Just in case, I pulled up the PipBuck and arranged the inventory so the pistol sat on top of the rest of the treasure we’d collected, then followed her. Goddesses, had I missed the PipBuck.

“Wha?” said the earth pony. The stallion hefted his gun with his telekinesis the minute he saw my sister. The merchant caught a look at my sister and motioned for her guard to lower his gun. “S’okay, Clip.” She trotted over and met the two of us halfway. “I was right! I knew ponies lived down here,” her scar twisted as she talked. “How you- Oh. Collars, eh?”

“Just hunting for treasure,” Lost answered. She avoided mentioning the collars.

“Well go get your master or whoever. I got stuff to sell,” she said with a smirk.

I raised a hoof after a moment, just before the merchant could say something more. “We’re not sl-”

Lost snapped her hoof over my mouth to shut me up. “I’ll get her, hold on,” she said and trotted off.

“Right, we’ll wait here,” said the mare. She turned and looked at her bodyguard and said, “Right, Clip. Go stand guard, I’ll handle all this.”

The stallion gave a salute and trotted a ways off. He stood at the corner of one of the houses and looked back and forth between the road away and us.

“So... Hi?” I said in my most awkward voice. I rubbed the back of my neck with my steel hoof, making it clank a few times. I wasn’t quite sure how to pass time with the trader pony while Lost got Xeno. I didn’t know what to say to the merchant, I just wanted my sister to deal with it. After what I’d been through, dealing with ponies in a civil way wasn’t something I could handle. “What brings you around here?”

“Nice spot, nestled away in a forgotten part of the city? Best place to find ponies to trade with,” she answered, matter-of-factly. Motioning to the two-headed brahmin behind her, she continued, “I wanted to stock up with things to sell off next time I go toward Stirrup, and this place wasn’t far out of the way.”

“Oh,” I answered, feeling a bit dumb. The PipBuck on my leg flashed, and I looked down at it. On the map screen, I saw several more markers than I’d seen before. Skirt and U Cig both shone bright, highlighted since we’d been there. Stirrup on the other hoof just had a little dot over it. At least I knew where it was. “Is that where you’re from?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going until L.A. and Xeno got back.

“Nah, meeting up with another trader up there to swap some stuff, and sell off whatever I don’t need,” she answered, looking back at her bodyguard. “Oh, introductions. That’s Clip, my name’s Risk.” She brushed her mane aside to show the scar on her face. “As in, ‘took one too many,’” she announced, and offered the hoof to me.

“Hi, Hidden... Hidden Fortune,” I said to introduce myself. I met her hoof. “Well, she should be back shortly.” I smiled awkwardly. “I’m sure there’s plenty to sell, if you have the caps.” Bartering wasn’t my strong point...

“Looks like we’ll find out,” she said. We both turned to face the rubble of the house Lost and I dug through just moments ago.

Xeno walked out, still wearing the slaver barding, though without the helmet. Her white-and-off-white mohawk swayed with every step, as did the sniper rifle on her back. She looked the part, a little too well. Behind her trotted L.A., her head down, like she was showing servitude.

“So, the owner of these two ponies, eh? Nice to meet you,” Risk said. She waved and pulled the brahmin closer. We all met in the center of the little neighborhood, each of us with bags full near to bursting. “I take it you’re the zebra to speak to about trading. Let’s see what you have.”

“Correct, Iam the zebra to talk to, traderpony. Ihave been looking forward to seeing a pony like you,” Xeno answered, her voice suspiciously like it had been back in Skirt. Time to let her work her magic.

Together the four of us walked over to the nearest flat piece of rubble, and laid out everything we had. Risk wanted to buy, so she kept her products nestled within the brahmin’s bags. Lost and I though, we had plenty to get rid of. Aside from the food and ammo, we laid down every knick-knack and article of clothing, from the patchwork jacket to spoons and scrap metal.

Xeno got to work. They talked fast, with Xeno slipping into her native zebra tongue from time to time. The scarred earth pony didn’t give in right away like Sale Price had so long ago. She bartered back just as tough and stubborn. If nothing else, we earth ponies never gave up. The two went back and forth for several minutes on each piece before finally coming up with a price they could agree upon.

I took a few steps back and moved to stand next to my sister. “Hey, think she had time to rest while we were...?” I couldn’t finish my sentence, but I knew Lost would pick up on what I meant.

“I’m sure she did. Doesn’t mean she’s not happy to be out too,” she said. “Look at that smile.”

I looked over at Xeno, who slammed her hoof down a few times on the rubble, haggling the price of some scrap electronics to something more reasonable. “You donot want these? They will go well to the Monopoly pony! Itis good to have what your rival wants!” she nearly yelled through her wide smile.

“Doesn’t matter if I don’t make a profit off it!” Risk yelled back.

A gurgling rumble filled the air, coming from next to me.

“Mares?” Lost interrupted. “Maybe... Lunch, then we finish?”

Risk and Xeno both looked over at the same time, then each slammed a forehoof down on the scrap electronics bundle sitting between them. “Great idea!” said Risk. Xeno said something in zebra, but I figured it meant about the same thing.

* * *

“Y’know, you’d make a good trader if you ever tried for it,” Risk said through bites of radroach meat. She pointed the remaining chunk at Xeno and bobbed it up and down a few times, splattering whatever juices kept radroaches alive all over. The five of us sat around a makeshift table of rubble, while Risk’s brahmin idly grazed at patches of brown grass beside one of the houses.

“Please stop doing that,” Lost said, grabbing the meat in her telekinesis and holding it steady. She clenched her eyes shut as she did, but didn’t complain or break out in sweat like before.

“Soz, just... Not often you meet a good trader out in this neck of the Wasteland. Not unless it’s one of the big Players like me,” she said with a laugh. “Shit food though,” she said, spitting some of the juices out.

“Iam flattered, but the trade of goods and services is a talent, not a passion,” Xeno explained. She bit down on her piece of meat without so much as a flinch.

I took another bite of my piece, trying not to look at it. I liked meat, sometimes, but radroach meat had the worst aftertaste. On top of that, every bite made the PipBuck click a few times. I didn’t join in the mealtime conversation. Talking with Risk was hard enough, and now that Clip was sitting with us, I feared saying the wrong thing and getting a bullet to the face. I knew it took a lot to down me, especially after what I’d experienced in the past week, but I didn’t want to tempt the Goddesses.

“You think we need more competition, Risk?” asked Clip. He still wore the machine gun across his side, having refused to take it off. I knew how he felt, considering the pistol was still sitting atop my inventory thanks to the PipBuck.

“Look, I specialize in something different than the rest of them. They can fight amongst themselves and figure out what they want to do. I’ve been at this long enough to know my niche,” she said through another bit of radroach. How she managed to speak so clearly with food in her mouth, I didn’t know. I wanted to learn, though. “I learned my lesson about competition, okay?” she asked, pointing to the scar over her face.

“Wait!” I shouted. “I know where I know you from!” I pointed at the scar across her face.

“What are you talking ab- Ohhh! The scar!” Lost said as realization hit. “You sold to our mom!”

“Uhh, nope. I don’t recognize you,” she said. “Should I?”

“No, no. Not us, our mother. Green unicorn, rust-colored mane. Few years back,” Lost explained. “Green Gypsy, that ring any bells?”

“Hmm,” she mused while taking another bite of radroach. “Seriously this tastes terrible. I don’t know! If it’s been years? Clip, how many ponies have we sold things to?”

“More than the number of bullets I’ve shot,” he answered, rolling his eyes.

“Okay that’s a lot then, that gun of his fires bullets like they’re going out of style,” Risk said with a laugh.

“I asked her if she could get me a toy...” I said, mostly to myself. I stared down at the meat in my hooves and sighed.

“Oh! I remember her!” she laughed as she realized. “It’s not often you meet a Wasteland hardened mare looking for toys.” She snapped her head to the side, suddenly looking deadly serious. “Clip, guns.”

I checked the E.F.S. and saw several red markers in the corner of my vision, all moving in the same direction. “I don’t think we can take that many,” I said, looking back and forth to check for more markers. I couldn’t see how many there were, far too many to count.

“Best to lay low and hide,” added L.A.

“You two sure?” asked the dark stallion.

“Trust me,” she answered. “Xeno- I mean Mistress?”

“Yes, wewill go back and stay inside. We can finish trading there, it will be a good afternoon,” said the zebra.

We all collected our things, and Risk led her brahmin somewhere safe. As a group, we moved to one of the abandoned houses. Lost lead the way, despite Xeno ‘owning’ us. With five of us, we managed to move enough of the collapsed awning to get to the front door of one of the houses. Breaking it open, we jumped through to relative safety. Inside, the house looked like every other one in the area; old world architecture and lots of rotten shattered everything inside. The second floor sagged and every window had been blown out long ago.

“That way,” I said, and pointed to the far wall, where the markers had been heading. Whether they were just walking up toward us from that direction, or passing by entirely, I didn’t know.

Clip and Risk took a seat on one of the moldy couches on one side of the room, while my sister and I huddled together waiting on another. Xeno played brave mare and looked out the broken window to see just what the red markers had been. “Itis manticores,” she whispered to the rest of us before slowly backing away from the window. “I see many passing, wewill be here a while.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Better manticores than slavers.

Still, without Persistence or my armor I felt useless. Manticores took a good bit of work to take down, but with five of us that wouldn’t be a big deal. Since we couldn’t leave without tempting our luck, I took the time to look around. I had plenty of it, so I hunted.

While most everything inside was broken beyond use or repair, I found a few gems and stuffed them in my saddlebags. When I looked up, I saw Risk doing the same, while Clip and Lost joined Xeno at the window. We earth ponies dug through, working together to move furniture and check underneath, and find anything of value. What we found we piled up on a cracked table in two little mounds that slowly grew.

“Newspaper here, want it?” asked Risk. She pulled an old newspaper from behind a moldy and sagging couch. Traders didn’t care much for old news, since few buyers cared enough to actually spend caps on it.

“I... I guess I’ll-” I stuttered. Shaking my head hard, I fell to my haunches. A newspaper couldn’t hurt anypony. If I took it, Risk wouldn’t just keel over and die or anything. Me taking the paper didn’t matter in the long run. Either of us could take it and nothing would be different. I looked at it again, the yellow mare holding it in her teeth with a very confused look on her face.

“If you...” I said, clenching my eyes shut. “I. You can.” I took a deep breath and looked over to Lost. If she would just turn around, and see. My brain didn’t make a choice. It was easy, I wanted to look at the paper and read what happened in our little neighborhood before the world ended. But, but my brain just...

“You decide!” I yelled at her.

My forelegs gave out and I slid from my sitting position to lie on the floor completely. Mistress? Fuck you. My head hurt, so I covered my eyes with my flesh hoof. A simple decision, and Lost not around to make it for me.

“Uh, okay. I’ll throw it in the pile,” she said, and tossed it through the air. I still wanted to know how she managed to talk without muffling her words, even when her mouth was full. She looked at me once more and dove back into the rubble, searching again.

Lost ran over and skidded to a stop next to me. She bent down to look at me and asked, “I heard yelling. Are you okay?”

“Fine. Perfectly fine,” I lied. The back of my head throbbed, almost like my brain was on fire. I forced myself up, and hugged my sister tight.

She grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back. Behind her glasses, she stared at me with furrowed brows. It wasn’t a look I could meet. “Are you okay?” she asked again. I couldn’t tell if her voice changed because of concern, fear, or anger that I’d dodged the question.

“Yes,” I lied again, looking her in the eye. I focused on my own reflection in her glasses, but it looked convincing enough. I hoped. “I’m okay.” I looked to the table and back. “Risk found a newspaper,” I said to change the subject. Wrenching myself from her grip, I stepped away and grabbed it.

The newspaper’s name was printed in thick letters: Blackhoof Gazette, with a little black horseshoe in the upper corner. A tear split the name of the Gazette, where it had been torn from the wall decades ago. I looked at the article title on the yellowed paper.

Government Takeover: The End of Local Business?
The War has affected every pony in Equestria, but today those woes come one step closer to home. Government crews have taken up residence in the newly minted Ministry Circle, and are working to construct several buildings to completely renovate the city skyline. Officials tell us this is routine business, but many locals fear it means the War is coming home to us. Previous articles in this series have shown ponies we’ve known in the city for our whole lives have been affected, sent off to fight in battles that had nothing to do with them, sent to die for our Princesses. Now, this reporter loves Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as much as everypony else, but when they come to tread upon our beautiful city, I cannot help but question just how far is too far.
I spoke with Carriage Bolt, President and C.E.O. of Leathers Skywagons, and learned that she feels her company’s business models will be made obsolete by the encroaching Ministry buildings. I was assured that this is not bad, and only meant that she planned on adapting to new business climates, but when we see staples of business that have been in the community since Blackhoof was a one-pony town only two short generations ago change to focusing their energies on war and murder, well. This reporter disagrees.
On the other hoof, many fresh-faced young mares and stallions have begun to move to the city in an effort to become the first to train at the soon-to-be-opened Royal Equestrian Army Academy, excuse me, the Lunar Army Academy, just outside the city. Once again, locally owned farmland was purchased in bulk to build this Academy, edging out another family that has been here since the founding of the city. Speaking to Golden Crop, I was told the family was offered a generous sum for the land rights and are happy with the sale, but the good of the community should come before profits from fighting.
In the end, this reporter doesn’t know if all of this will help or hurt the city in the long run. This reporter urges all readers to keep informed, and keep opinionated. From this point forward, Letters to the Editor will be included in daily papers, rather than just weekend posts. Please be vocal about the War effort. These are your foals and your family fighting! Never forget that.
-Grapevine

The faded picture of a green and purple pegasus stallion split the article in half, and several of the words had faded with time, making me takes several minutes apiece to decipher the entire page. Lost and I read it together, with her finishing well before me.

“What happened in this town?” I asked her, looking at the mention of Leathers Skywagons.

“War,” she answered. “Risk? Do you know anything more about what happened here?” she asked, looking over at the scarred earth pony.

Risk pulled herself out from behind a fallen grandfather clock and looked at my sister. She smirked. “Information costs extra.”

“We’re stuck here, remember, why not pass the time talking about a world that doesn’t exist anymore?” she asked, sounding rather reasonable.

“I can pull up some old-world music to set the mood,” I offered, clicking the radio on the PipBuck on. Familiar music played through the broadcaster’s speaker, filling the room with nice, distracting music.

“Fine, but only because I like this song,” she muttered. Clip and Xeno stayed on watch, never leaving the window where they could see the manticores. Lost sat on one of the busted couches, and I curled up against her, still feeling outside of my own head at the earlier exchange. Risk took a seat across the table from us in a smaller sofa. “Any particular stories? I only know a few about Blackhoof. I try to only come here once or twice a year, and usually then I only go toward Stirrup.”

“Something about the history of the city, if you know any?” L.A. suggested. She wrapped a hoof around me and pulled me close.

Risk laughed, leaned forward, and took a deep breath. “Alright, since we’re stuck here. I know a rumor, and I’ve no idea if it’s true, so listen close. I’m only going over this one time.” She motioned with her hoof for us to move closer. When we didn’t, she rolled her eyes and continued anyway. “This city’s got a fucked-up past. While cities like Manehatten and Fillydelphia had long histories as cities, Blackhoof was just a farming town before the War started. A few businesses opened here and there, using the natural resources of the mountains to help carve out a niche, but true expansion didn’t happen until the War.”

Lost and I both nodded, surprised to have even learned the name of the city we’d lived in most of our lives. After the past week, this seemed like a whole different world.

“Now, when the War did start, this place built up something fierce. Rumor says Hoofington got razed in the War and was rebuilt bigger and better. Well here, they didn’t need to be burnt to ashes to grow from the ground up. The big earth pony families,” she paused and placed a hoof over her heart, “we knew what needed to be done and set upon it like a bloodwing out of Tartarus.” She smiled and her scar shifted across her face. “Built this place up in a matter of months, before the Ministries came in and took over. Everypony was loyal to the Princesses back then, and the Academy was built as the foundation of the new community.

“Now, not everypony liked that, and it caused some serious backlash,” she said. She reached out and grabbed the newspaper we’d been reading just a few moments ago. “See this? I’ve seen this article before, hanging in Stirrup in The Salt Liqueur. When they got too big, the Ministries decided it was the perfect place to set up shop, even if not everypony agreed with it. Ever see six buildings in a circle a ways from here? Yeah that’s them.” She pointed to the wall, in the direction I remembered seeing that odd set of nearly pristine buildings while trekking to U Cig. “Everything in this city revolved around the War effort from that point forward. They say the biggest thing to come out was the rail cannon.”

“The what now?” I asked, somewhat confused. I understood from what we’d heard about at Leathers and the memory orb Lost had described to me that what Risk said made sense, but I didn’t know enough about the Ministries or the Academy or any of that to actually understand it.

“Rail Cannon,” she repeated, slower than before. “Supposedly, there’s a big fuckoff gun that was designed to move on the rails to give the zebras a hard time.” Risk looked over at Xeno, who still stood with Clip at the window. Neither were listening, so she continued. “Anyway. The Academy got bombed something fierce shortly before the world itself ended, and the radiation there is so bad it could kill you in minutes. Or turn you into a ghoul, depending on how you take to the stuff.” She laughed to herself, then sat back in the seat. “Doesn’t matter now. Point being, this city thrived off mass-producing things to kill others, and tested everything in-house. That was the big one to end it all, but it never got used because of the Academy’s destruction. Turns out Balefire and Megaspells trump ‘really big gun’ in the end.”

“Like Leathers,” Lost said, focusing on the city rather than the weapon. “We’ve been there, saw what it became. I found a memory orb, saw the pony announce them switching from peaceful manufacturing to armor for the War effort.” She looked down at me, and squeezed a little.

I just nodded. I hadn’t seen the memory orb, since I didn’t have any cheater magic to view it, so I couldn’t say much about it. The idea of a gigantic gun meant for railroad tracks though... that had me interested.

“Well, maybe it’s more than just a rumor then,” Risk answered with a shrug. She looked over at Clip. “How goes out there?”

“Finishing up now,” answered the green-maned unicorn buck. He turned from the window and trotted back to us, followed shortly after by Xeno. “We should probably leave. We’ve spent enough time here.”

“You’re right,” she said, standing up. We stood as well, following her example.

“The manticores have passed, itis safe to leave,” Xeno said.

The five of us returned to the front door, stopping only long enough to grab the newspaper clipping and stuff it into my saddlebags. Clip left first, followed by Xeno and Risk, then Lost. I looked at the corner of my vision, wishing I could see the red markers to know for a fact it was safe. I jumped through the opening in the door to ask the others.

“Fuck yeah! Told you we’d find some fresh meat here!” yelled the hoarse voice of a mare.

I landed behind Lost, and looked over her shoulder. Around the four green makers of my sister and the others, were half a dozen red ones. Of course it wasn’t safe. Of course the minute I thought about it, some raiders showed up. “Fuck,” I swore, and we all ran for it in different directions.

Actually, this was perfect. I needed something to vent my frustrations on.

* * *

Bullets flew past my head. I didn’t flinch. Clip yelled something as he returned fire. Xeno and Lost stood behind the rubble, Xeno with her rifle trained on somepony or other. Risk barked orders at her bodyguard, not that I cared what she said. In the chaos of it all, I felt... not a Goddesses’ damned thing. No fear, no worries about who these ponies had been before they went raider, just a cold calmness that came with knowing that I was the murderer, and that they would be murdered.

I grabbed the pistol from my saddlebags with my mouth, and bit down. I charged as I fired. It didn’t feel particularly good to do what I was doing, but it didn’t feel bad. I gunned down the closest raider and changed course. Pistols weren’t my strong suit; in fact, I was pretty terrible with them. It took an entire clip from the pistol before the crazy-looking mare went down.

I tossed the gun and changed course. One down, too many to go. The sound of gunfire filled my ears, but not loud enough to deter me. Bullets hit me, and they hurt, but I didn’t stop. Remembering that I had the PipBuck, I reared at the next raider, an earth pony stallion, and activated S.A.T.S. I never wanted to have the thing off again, not when it could help me end these ponies so easily. With the spell doing the hard work for me, I released the spell, and attacked without a second thought. The stallion fell to my kicks, screaming about how he’d kill and rape me.

CRUNCH!

He didn’t threaten anything else. He wouldn’t, ever again. A bullet tore through my ear, making me scream. Same ear as last time, too. I looked over, and saw another mare with pinprick eyes firing at me. Her aim was terrible, rattling up and down, side to side. For a moment, I wondered if that’s what I had looked like that one time I took Dash... Trying to go the same speed as everything else when you felt like you were running at super speed. Fine corrections in aim got lost in the rush.

I put her out of her misery. I applied a steel hoof to her face, and she went down. These raiders had nothing on the group we’d fought a week ago. But then, they’d been on their home turf. I turned away and watched another raider drop. His back exploded as a half-dozen bullets from Clip’s machine gun tore his body to shreds. What hit the ground couldn’t even be classified as a pony anymore.

I went for the gun from the mare I’d just- The gun wasn’t there. I shifted on my hooves and looked to my side. Apparently I hadn’t killed her. She shot, and it hit me in the shoulder.

“Fuck!” I yelled, dropping to my side. As I fell, I smashed the raider in the face again. Her jaw bent in a way that I could tell wasn’t natural, even as the not-thinky pony.

“Hidden!” yelled Lost, her voice nearly overcome by the din of gunfire. She wasted no time in casting her healing spell. Her horn sparked madly, and she broke out in a sweat. The glow from her horn erupted, a second wave overtaking the first. Still, I could feel the warm familiar sensation of her magic. It felt like no other in the Wasteland.

The bullet in my shoulder slowly worked its way back out. I bit down, it didn’t feel better coming out than it did going in, just slower. Slamming my forehoof into the dirt, I watched as the little hunk of lead popped from the skin and fell to the ground. Cheater magic or not, that was a useful trick.

Without waiting for her to actually heal me, I dove back into the fray. I went for another earth pony, this one with a wicked-looking knife. She wasn’t looking at me, but instead focused on the group holed-up in the rubble and firing back. Xeno and Clip didn’t see her; they were too busy taking out the raiders hiding in cover on the opposite side of the road. Lost couldn’t do anything without her guns, and what magic she had wasn’t strong enough right now to defend herself. Especially not after the spell she’d just used on me.

So I tackled the mare with the knife. We both fell to the ground and rolled a few times. She yelled something I couldn’t understand through the knife she held. We traded kicks and stomps as we rolled around. She sliced at me, and most of her attacks caught flesh. I could feel the blood running down my face and neck. She didn’t get anything vital, and I didn’t have the old emotions in the way to make things feel frantic.

I grabbed the knife in my teeth, cutting into the sides of my mouth, and ripped it free. Her rotten teeth gave way with little resistance. I tossed the knife away and slammed my head into hers. It hurt me, but it hurt her more. She flopped back, finally out.

Time for the next.

I stood and looked around. Only a few left. Clip stopped firing and reloaded, while Xeno stood there with her gun up. If she was out of ammo, at least she could use the long barrel and heavy stock as a club. It worked, in a pinch. Clip finished reloading and unleashed another spray of bullets across the road. A few raiders got caught in his line of fire. Less to worry about.

Steel flashed past my face, and I heard a groan on the other side. The knife I’d thrown away now stuck out of a stallion’s neck. The knife didn’t go deep, and he’d already wrapped his telekinesis around it to pull it free.

I didn’t let him.

I spun on my steel hoof, queued up S.A.T.S. to make sure I’d hit, and bucked hard. The spell dropped. One hoof caught the knife’s handle, and the other his nose. With a crunch and a slide, he dropped down in a heap. I looked down at my legs and saw they were coated in blood. Just like after every fight. I looked to the sky.

Celestia, Luna? How did I always manage to survive this?

One last raider. I ran to her. I wanted this over so I could get back to my sister. Murder to keep her safe. Methods didn’t matter. Just that I got the job done.

“Hidden!” somepony yelled. It sounded like Lost, but with the wind in my ears I couldn’t hear.

“Stop!” the voice yelled again.

I ignored it.

“Miss Fortune, stop now!” yelled the voice I knew for certain was L.A.’s now. I didn’t move another inch, just stood balanced on two hooves.

A bullet jabbed its way into one of my standing legs, and I fell to the shattered pavement. Still I didn’t move. A light yellow haze appeared around the raider’s gun, and wrenched it from her. The mare dropped to her haunches, no longer putting up a fight.

Lost ran to my side and grabbed onto me, her horn sparking from the chip as she tried to cast a spell. Nothing happened. Instead she just nuzzled me. “As soon as we get to the house, I’ll fix this,” she whispered. “And stop when I tell you to.”

“She needs to die so you can be safe,” I answered. The pony in front of us was a raider. She was dangerous. I refused to let my sister be in danger.

“She’s a filly. Leave her be.”

I looked at my E.F.S. Without her gun and no longer fighting, the mare’s marker shone bright green. I looked back up and saw a filly no older than the one Sunbright had burnt to a crisp. I wouldn’t make it hurt like that.

I wouldn’t have made it hurt like that.

“Okay, sis,” I answered.

The fight over, my murderous rampage complete, I simply stood. “I’m going to loot them, let me know if you need me,” I said, and got to work. Let the rest deal with the living.

* * *

Risk waved, then nudged Clip. They both waved and started off. The raider filly went with them, strapped to the back of the brahmin. We’d paid a bit extra for Risk to take her with. Lost insisted, so that I wouldn’t kill her.

I’d been told not to. The filly was safe.

But we couldn’t trust her. And without a way to force her to not give away the location of our home, the best choice was to have Risk and Clip take her somewhere and get her into a city, where she could live an honest life that, hopefully, wouldn’t get her killed by somepony like me. Turned out, the raider group had survived by following the manticores and picking through what remained after the stampede. We’d just been so unlucky as to be in their path.

I sat on a pile of rubble and waved my steel hoof back. I hoped we’d see Risk again before she left the city for another year. When she was out of sight, we went back into our real house.

Spoils from the fight were split down the middle: we got half and Risk got half, though we sold most of our half back to Risk. The Raiders had had some food, which ended up being the main prize.

Once inside, Lost looked me right in the eye. She turned to Xeno and said, “Could you give us a moment?”

“Of course, Iwould ask the same if Iwere to discuss private matters, were my brothers still alive,” Xeno answered, already going back out the door. “Iwill allow you your immolation.” She pulled her head from the doorway and we were alone.

“What was that out there?” Lost asked. She sounded deeply concerned.

“I’m a murderer, Lost, didn’t I tell you?” I asked, not meeting her look. “If I’m going to be a murderer, I’m going to do it to keep you safe.”

“I can handle myself. I’m a big mare,” she chided. “You can’t run off like that. We don’t have the supplies to heal you right now.” She ran a hoof along one of the larger gashes on the side of my face. “And you got shot in the ear, again.” Oh, so she’d picked up on how it happened repeatedly, too.

“I...” I said. Shifting on my hooves, I searched for a word. I could apologize, but I didn’t feel like I needed to. They attacked us. I killed them. Why should I feel bad for that? Even the young one should have been killed, for safety. Not because I wanted to kill her out of bloodlust, but because it was the safest choice. “I did what I needed to,” I said, and sidestepped her.

She grabbed my collar in her fetlock and pulled me back. “If you’re so hung up on what Amble did, and to protect me... Will you accept an order I give you?” she asked, her brows furrowed. I could hear the hesitation in her voice. She had to know what I went through, she had to understand the impact of what I’d told her earlier. L.A. had no right to pull this, she’d done the exact same thing to the raiders between Leathers and Skirt. She was just as guilty as I was of running off on killing sprees.

I bit my tongue, knowing better than to bring that up.

“To the best of my abilities,” I answered, truthfully. I knew how broken I was, and I knew that Mistress Amble’s hooks went deep. Saying I’d do it wasn’t a guarantee that I could.

“Miss Fortune,” Lost said, hesitating. She paused a moment and looked me up and down. Gulping, she ordered, “Don’t kill unless you absolutely have to.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Lost stared at me for a very long while. Finally she took a deep breath and nodded slowly, obviously trying to hold back tears. “Good... Let’s get the collar off you,” she said. With a wave of her hoof to lead me back to the table, she smiled. “Because once I know how, I can take mine off. And right now, it’s digging into my throat.”

“Right, let’s get to that,” I said, then trotted over and hopped onto a stool. I wanted the collar off just as much as she did. That little bit of freedom could change everything. The last remnants of Mistress Amble and her leashes.

“Let me get Xeno, then we’ll start. Then dinner,” L.A. said. She popped her head out the door and yelled something too muffled to hear, then pulled back. She trotted back to me, then grabbed another stool and pulled it around. With the weak haze of her telekinesis, she picked up her screwdriver, and got into position.

Xeno crawled back in through the doorway, over the barricading desk. She joined us at the table, standing next to Lost. Together they got to work.

I couldn’t see what they did, but I could feel the collar move and jostle as they fiddled with it. Now and then, they’d poke me in the neck with the screwdriver, but mostly I just had to sit still and pray to Celestia and Luna that Lost didn’t set the collar off.

Though stuck stationary, I occupied myself by watching the PipBuck and the dirty counter. Lost and Xeno’s markers shifted around at the very edges of the E.F.S., pretty boring. The other side had a long row of little green markers but no indication on what it was for. I hadn’t bothered to look at it before, but made a note to keep an eye on it in the future. Another marker moving around on the...

“Lost?” I asked, looking back.

“Hidden stop- Dammit!” Lost yelled, embedding the screwdriver in our table. “I almost had it!”

“No, youwere off. Itis okay. Given time, wewill get it,” Xeno said. “Patience, Lostpony, thereare many stages. Itis not simple to remove.”

“I just...” I muttered.

“No, hold still. We’re getting these off now,” Lost said. The frustration in her voice hit a fever pitch, before she grabbed the screwdriver in her mouth. Her hooves latched onto the sides of my head and she repositioned me facing forward again.

“But-”

“No bufs. Holf sfkill, Higgn,” Lost snapped at me. The screwdriver dug into my neck, apparently she’d let go of it to snap at me.

“Again, itis this one first. Cut it, and the collar cannot see when we are trampling with it,” Xeno said, jabbing my neck with her hoof.

I went back to being a good little sla- A good little sister, and holding still. The E.F.S. probably just picked up something small wandering around outside. I looked back, to check if it was red or green. But the only markers I saw hung in my vision at the back-ends of the display, Lost and Xeno’s.

After several attempts to unwire the thing, under Xeno’s watchful gaze, we gave up. Twice Lost nearly detonated the collar, but managed to stop just before she hit it. After all that, I felt that keeping the collar for a short while longer was worth it, as long as I got to keep my head as well. Killing both of us and leaving Xeno stranded when she needed help with family definitely didn’t fit into any plan we had.

Instead, we had dinner.

Preserved food beat radroach meat any day. Cans sat in the center of the table, while the three of us sat around it. Lost used what weak magic she could to pass things around. On filthy plates, we split the meal into three parts. The cabinet in the other house didn’t have a lot, but we had enough to last us through the night until tomorrow.

I took another bite of some Wartime canned watermelon, and chewed slowly. The table felt empty, like it should have a dozen others around it in various armor and robes. I looked at the PipBuck, and thought about whether I should call or not. They might have accepted us as part of their family, but if we relied on them any time something happened, we’d lose what mom taught us about survival.

I snapped my thoughts elsewhere, from the ancient device to my sister. “So, what next?” I asked, hefting it up. I clanked my steel hoof down on the table for emphasis.

“We recover,” L.A. answered. She looked up from her food, and stared right into my eyes.

“We’re fine,” I said. “A good night’s sleep, and we’ll be on track. Look at what happened with those raiders.” I shuffled my hooves under the table, praying to the Goddesses she wouldn’t argue.

“We need more time, and you know it,” she said. It wasn’t an order.

“I took out those raiders without any trouble!” I argued. I didn’t mention the fact that I was, again, missing one of my ears and that I had several cuts crisscrossing my face and neck.

“I won’t win this unless I give you a direct order will I?” she asked, deadpanning.

Ow. I lowered my ears and rested my chin on the table. My forehooves curled up against my chest, under the table.

“Then no. We’re not ready to go fighting, we need supplies, and better guns, and time,” she explained, tapping her hoof on the table with each example of what we lacked.

“We can find all those things on the way... Please?” I begged. She kept telling me I was okay and that I needed to be strong and push past it, but when I tried she wasn’t letting me. “Please,” I whispered again.

Xeno looked up from the corn she’d been nibbling and shook her head. “If itis revenge that you seek, itwill not end well,” she said, before taking another bite.

“I really hate to admit it, but Hidden’s right. They hurt us. They’re hurting others,” L.A. said, her ears pinning back. “If it were just us... Revenge would be bad. We need to stop them. For the good of the Wasteland.”

“Skirt then? Then we’re done helping other ponies?” I asked, pushing away the desire to burst into tears. Helping ponies was good, and so was- I thought back to why we started in the first place. Skirt was the last place we’d planned to go...

“No, not done,” she said, thinky pony in full effect. “We start there. This isn’t about Skirt as a place the PipBuck was leading us, this is about ruining things for Amble so other ponies aren’t subjected to her. If we succeed there... We head to the place Spark Light and Cluster were caught, Idle. The ponies there will need help if Amble has her hooves dug in there, too.”

I nodded.

“We go to Skirt, and finish what we started a week ago. We’re there to do good, first and foremost,” she said, a smile creeping across her lips. “Assuming nothing goes wrong with that psychopath alicorn... I want to cripple Amble’s operation for what she did to you, and to me. If we can’t, then we won’t, but I think it’s for the best that we at least try.” She looked over at Xeno. Her eyes scrunched up into a glare. “Revenge or not, we make sure that evil mare can’t hurt other ponies.”

“What about heading back to Pommel Falls and meeting up with Praline and Lamington and the others?” I asked. “Surely they could help?”

“What happens if we fail, Hidden?” Lost asked with a sad voice. “If we get captured, we can get out... We can’t rely on them. The same reason I stopped calling them before. Putting their lives in danger isn’t something I’m okay with.”

I smiled, naturally and without forcing it. Lost planning things helped give me some resolve. She thought of consequences and made tough decisions. I sat up straighter. My shackled hooves felt better. “What about the alicorn?” I asked.

“We’ll think of something, no matter what,” Lost answered.

Just like the Stable pony on the radio, killing slavers and saving ponies. This could be the start of something great. Gunbuck owed us this much, after all we’d been through.

“And my brothers?” Xeno asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“As soon as we finish,” answered Lost. She sounded better too, without the hesitation or anger in her voice. “You’re a priority too. Where do we need to go once we have them?”

“Itis not very far. A long trot past the mountains,” explained the zebra. Past the mountains, where Gunbuck came from. This could work.

“Good. They’ve waited long enough. But...” Lost said, before pausing to take a few bites. With her food swallowed, she continued, “It’s still more important to save ponies, or zebras, or anyone who’s still alive before the dead. They won’t be going anywhere.”

Xeno only nodded. In the silence, we all continued to eat. The sparse meal didn’t last long, but it filled us up enough. After so long on so little food, it didn’t take much to make a filling meal. Still, even after the week of nearly no sleep, I didn’t feel tired.

“So, Skirt, then... We’ll see. Then back to Pommel Falls?” I asked.

“Then to where ever Xeno needs us to be,” Lost answered. She pushed her plate toward the center of the table and stood up. “Excuse me.” She trotted off to the bathroom and left me with Xeno.

“I’m sorry, Xeno...”

“Itis not anything you should worry yourself about, Hiddenpony. I just...” she sighed. Raising her hoof, she brushed her lightly striped mane back and out of her face. “My parents must be informed of what has become of Zahi and Zaki. For too long they have lay in the view of the stars. I donot believe in their evil, but for my brothers, who believed, itis important.” She closed her eyes and sighed again.

“We’ll do it, for our friend,” I said, offering her a hoof.

She didn’t see it, and didn’t react to it. “I... Iam becoming something Iam not sure would be approved of. I feel the call of home, wishing me to return. Ponies have too much influence in my life, Iam now thinking in your language.” She muttered something in zebra, something that sounded particularly sad. “Perhaps theywere correct...”

“Correct? Who?” I asked, shifting forward in my seat.

“Zahi and Zaki knew ponies would come. They saw it in the stars,” she said, choking up slightly. “When the clouds would break, light shone on both of them, but not on me. Perhaps then... My beliefs are not correct. Perhaps my mark is...” Her eyes crept open and she looked past the slaver barding at the hypnotic swirl on her flank. “I donot know what itis telling me anymore.”

I looked down at my own mark, the stylish X plastered over my flank. “I know how you feel...”

* * *

“Last try tonight,” I said. Sitting still like this all day really started to hurt after a while. When neither zebra nor pony responded, I looked back. “Okay?”

“Alright, I’m getting sick of working on it anyway. We’ll get it off in the end, promise,” Lost replied. Satisfied with her answer, she got to work on the collar.

Xeno stood next to her, ready to give instructions. Before we started, she’d washed off the remainder of the blacking she used to disguise her coat, and now looked like the zebra I was familiar with. The slaver barding lay in a pile across the table, ready to be worn as armor once we left to get our revenge.

“Okay, it’s this one right?” Lost asked. “I want to be one hundred percent sure.” She tapped my neck with the screwdriver, presumably where whatever bit she wanted to work on was.

Without waiting for an answer, L.A. started digging between my neck and the metal of the collar. She twisted the tip of the screwdriver back and forth, roughly digging into my neck now and then as she worked. A few minutes into her twisting, she moved over and pressed her face against the back of my ear.

“Yes, thatis the one that we must disavow first,” answered Xeno. She moved closer, and pressed her face against the back of my other ear. I felt her breath on my neck, and shivered.

My coat stood on end, feeling both my sister and friend breathing on me. I didn’t mind Lost being so close, but both of them pressing up against me had me a bit worried. All of us so close to something that could explode with just a wrong breath...

“No, down!” said Xeno.

“I know. Just let me work,” snapped Lost. The screwdriver twisted again.

“No! Not that one,” Xeno snapped back.

“I said I know!”

The collar dug into my throat as Lost pulled on it. I said nothing. The last thing I wanted was to be a distraction.

Xeno muttered something in her native language, but didn’t stop her. She grabbed my head and pushed it down, digging the collar deeper into my neck.

“There. There first,” she yelled, practically in my ear.

“Okay, okay, I just...” Lost cut herself off, and I felt the familiar warmth of her telekinesis on my neck. “Got it!” she shouted, pulling the screwdriver down and digging the metal rod of it into my neck.

“Good, Lostpony, disavow it, wewill move to the next stage,” said Xeno. She placed her hoof on the back of my neck and pushed down again.

I coughed, but didn’t move or talk. They were so close, if she could just get it off...

My sister tugged at the whatever it was and then pulled the screwdriver away.

“Next is this part,” ordered Xeno. She tapped my neck, a few inches to the side of where they’d been working, several times.

“Right,” Lost said. They got back to work, poking and prodding at my neck and the inside of the collar.

I shook and shivered, worried about what they were doing. I didn’t hear or feel a wire or cable or sensor get cut or get pulled out. Unable to see what was going on, I just worried. The bomb could go off with one wrong move. Xeno said they were disabling a tampering sensor, but then why hadn’t she cut anything?

“Lost?” I asked.

“Not now,” she answered.

“You must focus, Lostpony,” chided Xeno, “this step is very important!”

“Look, I understand how important this is,” Lost said, frustration in her voice. The screwdriver dug into my neck, deep enough to make her pull back. “Ahh! Sorry, Hidden,” she said. “This isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew how easy it sounded, and that wasn’t easy at all. My ears pinned back, now that I could move them, and I let my tail droop. This would be how I died. Not protecting my sister or saving the Wasteland, but by a misstep while disarming a bomb strapped to my neck.

“STOP!” yelled Xeno.

“What!?” we both yelled in unison.

“Thisis the wrong spot,” Xeno admitted. She sounded embarrassed, or the closest to embarrassed I’d heard her. “Thereis another step. Here,” she said, as she tapped the the hinge of the collar.

“Goddesses, Xeno! You could have killed us!” yelled L.A.

“Iam sorry, I only happened to learn so much,” she said. “The collar has words written in my language, itis... What is the word for accident and realization in your tongue?” I could feel the blush on her face.

“Fluke? Serendipity?” offered Lost. “Does it matter?” She grabbed my neck and pushed me to the side, then bend down at collar’s hinge. “Where? Which?”

“This, here,” answered the zebra. She grabbed the collar and pulled it back, sticking it to my neck again.

The screwdriver dug into my neck again, and both mares pressed their faces against the back of my head. Lost twisted the tool back and forth, scratching me a few times. Nothing she did managed to top the slashes I’d gotten from the raider earlier.

“Yes, there,” Xeno said. “Lower,” she coached. “Itis... No, there.” She prodded my neck. “Yes, go-”

“You want to do it?” Lost yelled at her. She pulled the screwdriver back and lifted from the back of my neck. Xeno did the same. “You’re distracting me!”

“Iam trying to help, Lostpony. I cannot do it, you must,” she answered.

“Umm, I don’t care who gets it off of me,” I offered.

“Hiddenpony is right, we need to remove it.”

“Don’t you think I- I just. ARG!” Lost yelled, and slammed her face against the back of my head again. She plunged the screwdriver back between my neck and the collar and twisted it sharply.

“No, you mus-”

“Yeah yeah, all at once,” Lost interrupted her. Three snaps sounded through the air.

“Sis?” I asked, turning my head only slightly.

“Done,” she answered. She pushed the collar back up onto my neck. “You can move now.”

I stood up and looked at the collar. I tried to look at the collar, all I actually did was look at my shoulder and spin in a circle twice. Giving up, I looked at the two other mares and shrugged, “Now what?” I asked.

“I haven’t figured that out yet. Anti-tampering is disabled, but I don’t have a clue how to get the lock open,” Lost said.

“Itis true, Amble, Slipstock and Sunbright, they are the only slaverponies that know how to unlock it,” agreed Xeno. She shrugged, an apologetic look on her face.

“Oh...” I said. I ran my hoof along the collar again, not sure how I felt. On the one hoof I wanted it off as soon as possible. On the other hoof, I’d had it a week now, and having it off might feel weird. Now that it couldn’t explode, it was safe, right? I tugged at it. I’d rather have the choice myself.

“Let’s... I’ll get mine disabled, then we can...” L.A. muttered. “I don’t know. Something.”

“Mind if I turn on my music?” I asked. After all that, I needed a distraction.

“That’s fine I guess. Just help me with this,” Lost answered. Her horn glowed and the screwdriver lifted back into the air.

I flicked the PipBuck’s radio program on and turned the volume down. The music played softly through the broadcaster, just loud enough for us to hear it. I took a seat next to my sister at the table and did as she had just a moment ago. I watched as she worked, with Xeno opposite me, giving her directions.

Together we guided her by feel to the same spots she’d been working on my collar. Now that she knew what she was doing, it went faster. Rather than three separate tries, she managed to get the first two stages of the release in just a few minutes.

The sound in the air suddenly changed, as somepony started whistling along with the song. I ignored it, thinking it was Xeno making the noise. She stopped giving instructions, since Lost seemed to manage just fine with her telekinesis and the screwdriver. The song ended, and far further than where Xeno was, echoed a whimper.

“Xeno, since when did you whistle?” I asked.

“Iam not whistling?” she said, looking at me very confused.

I looked at the E.F.S.

Three bars.

“Lost?” I asked.

Snap. Snap. Snap. The collar’s anti-tampering mechanism disabled, she looked up.

“Yeah wha-” Lost started. Her voice changed. She looked over my head, distressed. “Hidden?”

I looked where she was looking. Dear Celestia and Luna, why hadn’t I kept a gun next to me?

A unicorn stallion stood, unmoving, in the kitchen. He looked vaguely familiar, with a pale blue coat and hollow blue eyes. They glowed slightly, and tears fell down his cheeks. He took a lurching step forward, and the three of us collectively took a step back. Xeno made a full retreat, grabbing her rifle and propping it on the table. The stallion had a collar around his neck just like the one I had.

“Mistress Amble found us?” I nearly screamed. I flailed my forelegs a little, before stomping them down in fear. I couldn’t go back. I’d rather die. We just got somewhere safe and finally got the collars to a point where we could actually remove them! I could see freedom, and nearly taste it. I started to cry, shaking. It couldn’t get taken away again.

The stallion followed my every motion, the brightest spot in the center of his eyes moving to follow my leg.

“Where’s my gun?” Lost asked, looking at me.

“I don’t know!” I yelled, nearly choking on my tears.

We both looked, and saw it sitting on the counter across from us. With her horn sparking, she snatched the gun up. Her telekinesis didn’t hold. With a cry, her horn gave one final spark, and the blue glow surrounding it died.

Even as the gun floated into the air and crashed down, the stallion’s hollow eyes never looked away from me. Why did he keep staring at me? Did Mistress send him for me, specifically? I took another step back. Why hadn’t Xeno shot him yet?

“Who are you? What do you want?” Lost demanded. How she managed to keep her cool, I didn’t know.

The collared pony didn’t answer. He took another staggering step forward. The brightest spot in his eyes shifted, looking down, but never away from me.

I looked down at the PipBuck. Quiet music still echoed around the room from the broadcaster attachment. Looking back at the stallion, and how he followed the PipBuck when I moved my leg. I brought it up to my face, his eyes followed. I turned the music up. Sapphire Shores’ voice cut through the tension, singing a song about the sun not hiding forever.

The stallion’s jaw dropped. Suddenly the kitchen erupted in flames, unlike any we’d seen before. Bright green fire flickered as high as the rails that were once the second floor. We all braced ourselves, and I expected to die. The flames looked exactly like I pictured Balefire, horrifyingly lethal this close. They died down a second later, before disappearing entirely and leaving no trace of fire left in the room. In place of the blue unicorn stood something that resembled a pony.

Something that couldn’t be a pony.

The same hollow, glowing blue eyes stared at the PipBuck. Instead of a pale blue coat, the creature had skin that looked more like a radroach’s carapace than anything else. On his back sat a pair of blue-tinted insect-like wings poking through what looked like shiny armor. It had a small curved horn where a unicorn’s would be. Where a mane and tail should be, instead were black... somethings, that looked almost like a real mane and tail. The oddest thing; riddling his legs were a series of random holes.

“Lost, what is this thing doing in our house?” I asked, almost in a whisper.

“I have no idea... but I need something big to hit it with!” she said.

“I don’t think that’ll help...”

The creature moved closer, sinked closer to the ground with each unsteady step. Its torn ears skewed forward and his eyes stayed locked on the PipBuck. None of us moved, but Xeno kept the sniper rifle aimed at it. A shrill series of chirping noises came from his mouth, and he laid down on the floor, staring directly at the broadcaster. Tears still rolled down his black, chitinous cheeks.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Footnote: Level Up!

Hidden Fortune:
New Perk: Steel Hoof (Rank 1) – Finally putting that cyberpony hoof to good use? When attacking with the metal attachments to your body, you do extra damage equivalent to just how much steel you throw around.

Lost Art:
New Perk: Deadshot – Your penalties for aimed shots are halved.

“Give me that newspaper we found!”
“What? This isn’t canon, it won’t help.”
“But he’s a bug! A really big bug looking thing!”
“I know, but nothing we do here will affect that!”
“Why are you both yelling, sisters?”
“Don’t you see the bug!?”
“Don’t you see the bug?!”
“Itis a Changeling, not a bug.”
“How do you even know that?”
“Tribal Knowledge, remember.”

Author's Note:

(A massive thank you to Kkat for creating, and everypony else who has helped to flesh out the universe of Fallout Equestria. And to everypony who has/will help with with editing and making this more palatable... Big hearts to Dimestream, Sabsy, Heartshine, Moth, and everypony else who helped with ideas, editing, and brushies. And of course everything is copyright their respective owners. ~Hnetu)

Chapter 11 Synopsis: As promised, here’s what happened in Chapter 11.
After failing to kill a pony when ordered to by Amble and her slavers, Hidden is dismissed back to the pen with the others. As punishment for her failure, Amble decides to instead attack what she loves, in hopes of breaking her spirit. Subsequently, she has Lost beaten nearly to death while Hidden is forced to watch. Afterward, Hidden is given a lecture both on the reasons a pony would give in, to protect their family, and a lecture from Amble on why its more important to know why she’s there than it is for her to simply accept it. Through the remainder of the time, Hidden is kept between Solitary and lectures from Amble, who continues to play tricks on her mind. When she fails a second time to kill a pony, who is once again murdered regardless in a familiar way, Lost is again punished. This time, Lost is put on the auction block and humiliated to scare Hidden into working for Amble. Once more Hidden is placed in Solitary, and begins to hallucinate her sister, mother, and Amble. Her will broken, she accuses Sourbelle of being a mole, before being forced to kill her as her final chance. Regretful about her last words to her friend being an accusation, she’s again put in Solitary. Now resigned to her fate, Amble finally gives in on her promise and gives Lost to Hidden. With the help of Xeno, who had lied her way into U Cig to be a guard, the three escape, but not without killing the slave processor Lead Line and crippling Sunbright in a fight.

Comments

[Deathpony]

good chapter and I see you added a changling, this could get interesting

[MetalGearSamus]

Why must you be so good at this!? I want more now! Also Changelings! <3

[Joey]

A music-loving changeling?
Oh pleasepleaseplease let them become friends!

[Hnetu]

Ah, Changeling love, how wonderful it is. Here's hoping it all works out!

Then again, this is the Wasteland. Who's to say what will happen? (Aside from me who knows what happens nextMWAHAHAHA)

[Y1]

“Miss Fortune, don’t kill unless you absolutely have to,” she ordered.

Am I the only one who finds this fucked up? I know for a fact if one of my brothers or sisters had been psychologically conditioned to respond to that phrase, I wouldn't use it, ever. And I doubt I'm even half as close to my siblings as Hidden and Lost are. Seriously, Lost is way to ready to order her sister around like that. Instead of reasoning with her, or even taking more than a minute to think it through, she instantly uses this horrifyingly cruel destruction of free will. And Hidden doesn't even seem worried about it.

Everything else about this chapter worked fine for me, but Lost intentionally abusing her sister's trauma like that was waaaaaaaay off base for me.

[sk2150ad]

2688255
Hidden isn't just conditioned with that phrase, she's conditioned to kill and Lost doesn't know the extent of how badly her sister is messed up. The presence of conditioning in Hidden makes her dangerously unpredictable for Lost, she can run off and get herself killed at any moment, trigger off of anything, and kill colts and fillies.

Hidden is a loose cannon until Lost can figure out her conditioning and understand how and when she might do something compromising. Not to defend the use of conditioning but they don't have time for this, they can deal with it later but Hidden needs to be kept under control. She could do anything, she could hightail back to Amble or worse. It's not exactly an easy position for Lost to be in...

[Y1]

2688390
Okay, I over reacted a tad. I should have moderated my tone in my above comment, because undoubtedly I came across as too harsh. That said, your argument is only valid to a point because of this scene:

“I won’t win this unless I give you a direct order will I?” she asked, deadpanning.

That is taking it too far. It's basically her saying, 'I acknowledge the existence of your free will, but that doesn't matter because I'm smarter than you and bend you to my whims without effort. Suck it up, do what I tell you, and remember I have absolute power over you.' I'm sorry, but that's just not okay. Lost just seized the opportunity to completely undermine her peer and close companion. She's threatening to use this power, this horrifying, cruel, unfair, painful, traumatic experience against her own sister in a manner that borders on casual. And that is messed up.

[sk2150ad]

2688445
As I recall that scene was about Lost going outside to get some food and not wanting Hidden to come with. Hidden is safe inside from everything Lost fears could take over her. Hidden only got to go outside with her out of sheer necessity, and look what happened...

I don't condone it, but it's not a simple black and white situation. Everypony has priorities and Lost's is to keep Hidden under control and safe until she can fix this, rather than, I think, having a slave minion.

[Hnetu]

A lot of the situations in the past few chapters have been really messed up. And well, when we have two characters who haven't had more than the bare minimum of sleep or food for a week, they don't make the best decisions.

Hidden's all sorts of messed up in the head, and Lost's so wracked with frustration and anger at the fact that everything seems to go wrong, that she cuts to the quick with it. I think the logic that she has, as a character, is that she's doing what's best for her younger sister. That's always been her logic, really. Do what she can for Hidden, while Hidden thinks almost exactly the same. Their codependancy, combined with what both went through, has them making mistakes. Lost will acknowledge this in the next chapter, at the very least, trust me.

Either way... I'm sorry, I should have been able to come up with a better way to handle it. I'm not the best writer and none of us caught just how fucked up that is...

[Dawn Darkling]

Absolutely excellent. The way Hidden is still being effected by Amble's 'hooks' is very interesting.
On the other side, poor, addle-brained Hidden...

[Hnetu]

2689050

Expect the unexpected!

2690311

Well, this isn't a Hanna-Barbera cartoon! Things don't go back to normal at the beginning of each chapter! Hehe, but seriously, Hidden's in a bad way...

[Dawn Darkling]

2692179
Yeah, I was suspecting as much in the comment I left on the last chapter. Most good stories aren't as happy as one may hope. I am rooting for Hidden to work out her problems eventually, though.
But this is just me and I wouldn't want you to write it any different than you have planned. I shall support your decisions as far as they may go, for I am the one enjoying this story for free. You are spending your own valuable time on this in a much greater portion than I spend reading it. Enjoyment factors aside, you deserve to make your own decisions.
lol, long-winded comment is long

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

I always feel a deep melancholy at chapter's end. Good chapter though.

[sk2150ad]

Don't forget everypony, our new tumblr Gunbucks!

If you ever had a burning question you wanted to put to Hidden Fortune or Lost Art, or even Xeno here is your opportunity to sate that curiosity.

Also a great place to see fanart, commissioned art and even an interview with Wastelanders Weekly.

[IamaUnicorn6]

I'm having a lot of fun reading about Hidden being broken after being a slave and still having the mentality of being a slave, I find it very interesting.

[Hnetu]

I'm really glad that everyone's been enjoying the story so far, it'sfun to write the majority of the time.

But, I mean... 2807121

I needed a comment like this, right now, more than you can possibly imagine. Thank you so much.

[StormyVenture]

2689050
Might be messed up, but if it's the only way to keep her from going insane on anything potentially dangerous it's worth a shot. Assuming they can break the conditioning, Fortune might lose it over how many ponies she's killed if Lost had let her go on killing.

What's really scary is that somepony could be as screwed up as Amble. Ponies (or people) don't come that way (not sane ones at least). That one's brain is totally scrambled. I do have to wonder what they spend the caps on. The whole thing is even more screwed up if they're trying to get rich, but only breaking even. You're really bad off if you can't tell that your screwy reasoning doesn't add up.

[sk2150ad]

2807121
Big loves and hugs to you from me as well, thank you so much, this comment right here is what little sister writes for, and she doesn't get to hear it enough. Thank you so much

[S3rb4n]

Another great chapter from you! Nice to see that cliffhanger ending with a changeling popping in. I could have expected a Predator-inspired punchline or something in that direction, lol. Well, I’ll keep reading, that’s for certain.

[Doctor Ham]

This was shaping up to be such a nice breather chapter, too. I knew it couldn't be, though, not after all of that. I'm glad Hidden got to vent it out to her sister, but at the same time, those hooks do indeed run deep. I winced every time Lost gave Hidden an order, I really did. It is totally and completely fucked up that Lost is ordering Hidden, but I don't know that she has a choice. And I feel like I could hear her heart cracking when she did.

And part of it I think is that Lost may have gotten worked over more than she's letting on. That crack in her horn may be making her more irritable than normal, and she may not be making the best decisions, but... I can't disagree with what she wants. If Hidden is ever going to try and overcome this conditioning, one thing she needs to do is stop killing.

But steering away to nicer things, it is really great to see Hidden and Lost's home finally! And hear from Praline again! That conversation with Praline was just great. I'm actually glad Hidden didn't immediately spill the beans about what had been going on. That can come later. For now, just talking with family is good, even if it led to the first real fight we've seen Hidden and Lost get into.

I don't think I missed anything did I? Hmm... Nahh....nothing's coming to mi- Oh right, changeling! I was not expecting that, at all. The hell did he come from? The hell does he have a collar on for? Aaaaaah! Oh well. That'll have to wait til ch 13 I guess.